Trinidad to Bequia

Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Tue 21 Dec 2010 23:40
Trinidad to Bequia

 

   

 

                                                       We were both chuffed to get on the move, loved our time in Trinidad but new pastures call. A huge moon soon after we got going

 

We left Trinidad at midday on the 21st of December, went through the Bocademonos (Dragon’s Teeth, mentioned by Christopher Columbus and Walter Raleigh) without even noticing a ripple. The weather predicted motor sailing but the wind picked up and we had a wonderful sail, reaching Grenada in fourteen hours, best speed over the ground eight point three knots, cracking. We kept going and reached Bequia at 17:00 on the 22nd.

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                          The sun faded leaving darkness

 

    

 

 

 

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A special treat happened at two thirty on my night shift, when a total eclipse of the moon began. A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes behind the earth so that the earth blocks the sun's rays from striking the moon. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely so, with the Earth in the middle. Hence, there is always a full moon the night of a lunar eclipse. The type and length of an eclipse depend upon the Moon's location relative to its orbital nodes. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be viewed from a certain relatively small area of the world, a lunar eclipse may be viewed from anywhere on the night side of the Earth. A lunar eclipse lasts for a few hours, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts for only a few minutes at any given place. Some lunar eclipses have been associated with important historical events.

 

 

 

Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked.

 

 

 

 

Then the whole thing reversed by 06:00

 

 

 

Sunrise just off Bequia, time for the first flag change of the season

 

 

 

As ever a happy skipper as we get settled

 

 

 

My favourite houses now have a blue friend, built since our last visit. Bequia town from our position

 

 

The crowded beach beckons

 

ALL IN ALL DELIGHTED TO BE HERE