To Trinidad
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Wed 22 Jul 2009 22:27
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En route to Trinidad and
Chaguaramas
Well excitement on a GRAND scale,
just before we left Bear stuck his head in the bedroom and asked did you just make a loud crack noise - "No, what
have I got in here that do that then". Keep it clean people. Racing past him to
get a look outside, we saw a man laying flat in a high speed but small craft
with Customs in hot pursuit firing off a full clip of bullets. As we were just
undoing ropes said Customs was seen towing small but fast craft behind him,
said prone man now in handcuffs looking sorry for himself next to Customs men.
Marina man, Junior was most put out, "this just doesn't happen in Grenada, let
alone in St Georges, and definitely not in Port Louis. I just don't believe it".
Had he have watched One Foot in the Grave he would have got the voice and pitch
right..................
Off we went at 18:15 on the 19th of
July. We got out to sea without further ado until we heard a Pan Pan message to
be on the lookout for a snorkeler who had gone missing on the 15th of July from
a beach in Grenada. I thought "if I see a body I may have to turn my head
because I know the paperwork is gross, but then again it would give a family
closure, so please may it not be us".
The wind was just strange and fluky,
the sea didn't now what to do and the tidal current all held hands to have our
speed at 2.2 knots in eighteen knots of wind. We had supper and fell in to our
usual shift pattern.
   Next day we saw Trinidad slowly appearing through the clouds. Time for our
last flag change of the season. A rare sight at this
time of year to see a cruise ship.
 Funny to see the
gap slowly get bigger as we approach to sail through into sheltered
waters that are really green in colour.
   Through the
gap and beyond we can see masts. Scotland Bay anchorage.
 First thing that struck us was
hundreds of Pelican at a conference
 Past the house on
the promontory we knew we had to turn left.
 Next up was a Trinidadian (Trinny-day-dian) Naval Base
 Little could prepare us for the sheer
size of Chaguaramas. This is just the first of the thirteen
boatyards.
  Every size of vessel can come here and get just about anything
fixed, replaced or repaired, painted, fibreglassed, waxed and polished, oh err
Mrs.
 The industrial
end
 A fairly big chap and a
fishing vessel in for an MOT
   We arrived at 17:20 on the 20th July
knowing we should go straight to the Customs jetty, off Bear went to do his
stuff. An officious woman told him I had to be there. I sat for two hours
watching hideous US TV. Then the rains came. The first picture is of the lighthouse on the customs pontoon, it is a twenty four hour
entry port, of course you are charged overtime after 16:00. View of Crews Inn (another yard) and
across their visitors pontoons.
   Bear now in
Immigration. "Oh we have a parcel for you, come back for it tomorrow or
we will charge you overtime on it". Heaven knows what goes on behind the curtain. I didn't want to ask. An hour
later it is still raining and Bear has not moved, we
ARE on Caribbean time you know. Out at nearly dark we went to anchor, took a
while to dig in but both tired time for an early night. When I eventually went for said parcel I was directed out the back
to await the opening of a four foot high dungeon-like door containing
parcels.
   22nd July. Up bright and breezy with
a job list as long as Beez Neez we set forth. Booked in, picked up the forms for
our haul out at Peakes, met Suzanne in charge of letting sheds for stuff. Met
Troy aka Head Honcho. Went to KNJ to organise bow thruster replacement. Shiva is
to be our Clerk of Works when we are in the UK. Calypso for a quote for cockpit
cushions and chat to Jim on Delicado - Pam and Pete from Troutbridge had gone
shopping - while Jim was quietly electrocuting himself. We ambled to seek the
bar, had some lunch feeling chuffed with what we had achieved, had a chat to Pam
and some good info from Pete post shopping trip. His legs looked like the
mossies had won, time to check the stores of insect repellent. Plan to go get
ships papers, shower, finalise paperwork with Peakes and meet Jim, Pam and Pete
for a small sherbet at five. Meantime I had met Mark the fabricator, after
he had finished with Pete and - no sooner the word than the blow - I got him to
come with us to Baby Beez to look at our metalwork needs on Beez Neez. NO. Baby
Beez engine would not start. Mark gave us his number and disappeared. I waited
for Bear to go seek help. Took this picture to the right of
the bar. The size of just this boatyard is
vast. Baby Beez to the left of these stern-to
boats.
     Bear found an outboard engineer. No
he needed tools, off he went, we sat in the sun and waited. He gathered another
Troy and he went for his tools, we sat in the sun. Troy was just to the
spark plug phase of checking when the heavens not only opened they slammed the
gates back. Photos show first engineer - orange
shirt, then Troy and Bear getting their heads
together. Bear debunking, followed by Troy. Then running for
it. Whilst we sheltered Troy told us that this would happen every
afternoon around four until a hurricane was birthed here. Then things would
clear and settle. Meantime Pete had just had his outboard serviced and very
kind lent it to us. A HUGE THANK YOU as Bear had to be at Crews Inn at
07:30 the next morning to get to the US Embasssy for his 08:30 appointment. My
new chipped passport meant I could apply on -line for a waiver. Poor Bear had to
wait three and a half hours before seeing anyone. I had stayed on board to do
chores. After all the waiting he stood in front of a bloke for all of three
minutes to get his visa application done THEN he has to go and pick it up on
Friday, this is all just to LAND at JFK, not tour the US. He said there
were about two hundred waiting with him. Great system for the supposed
leader of the western world.
 The usual view
from the bar out to sea. Many boats at anchor waiting for the hurricane
season to pass or like us waiting for their haul slot.
PLAN. Take our
outboard to Troy, take the kayak, scrub Baby Beez, put her in our storage shed
and kayak back to Beez. Plan set, really simple, I had forgotten that the best
laid plans usually end "tits up" Oh don't they just....... Bear returned Pete's
outboard, they returned, hauled out Baby Beez for me to scrub while they carried
our engine to Troutbridge ready for Troy to pick up. We knew we could
borrow a barrow to get Baby Beez from the dinghy dock to the shed and then just
have to man-handle her up the stairs to number sixteen. Bear returned with the
main key to get into storage, no barrow. We got the dinghy up over our heads
but, me at the front couldn't see where I was going.
Plan B, carry like a
stretcher, off we went. I gathered a passing Frenchman and John who was working
on a boat. Much better with four of us - "Thank You boys, buy you a beer later".
Beer and a sandwich later it was time to blow up the kayak. That went well, oars
fitted together. I chose to get settled in the back and Bear was supposed to
gently get in the front. NO. My hero and defender leapt like a bull at a gate
and guess what, we tipped over. My dress is now floating over my head, "tits up"
and out, legs akimbo, laughing so hard people around us started to laugh too. A
Swedish man said "I bet you are English".
Plan C. Bear get in
and settled. I stand astride and lower my weight evenly. Marvellous off we set.
Stopped to chat to a Dutchman en route who is going to explore the Orinoco
River. Back at Beez, Bear out, our new American friend motored over to see
if we had made it only to find me have a swim fully clothed. I should put in
that he became our friend when I went running after him in the boatyard and
scooped him into a huge hug, I thought he was Pete, he looked like him Honest
Guv.......... I had decided that to haul myself out of the back of the
kayak was like being reborn so I just loosed upside-down. The couple on the
boat behind us stared in abject horror that
a madwoman was anchored next to them, and swimming fully clothed. I climbed the
swim ladder like a lady, slipped into the cockpit and had an al fresco shower.
Plan D. An early
night after watching a film. Hopefully with a kayak pumped much harder and a
better plan, tomorrow may be a little more orderly??????
Total miles 5892.36. Looking forward to visiting family and friends back
home.
Congratulations to Peter and Rita for
getting away on holiday - the first in their love bug since the arm repair
op.
ALL IN ALL STRANGE TO BE AT
OUR FINAL PORT OF CALL FOR THIS
SEASON |