Return to Trinidad
Oriole
Tue 25 Apr 2006 01:09
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As many will know the megayacht on which Andrew now
works, Mirabella V, now three years old, had a major grounding needing expensive
repairs within a few months of being launched, and the subsequent report did not
completely exonerate either designer, owner or crew. So we were more than
mildly amused on Monday evening when a large megayacht attempted to enter Mount
Hartman Bay in full view of the yachts in the anchorage. At the time
the sun was very low and the reefs would not have been visible and not
surprisingly it went aground on a bit of coral which HM Hydrographic Service do
not indicate on the chart. Our amusement reached megaproportions when we
discovered next morning that this was Mirabella 3 (same owner). She was
not aground for long and would have been undamaged, but only a real charlie
would have attempted to enter this reef infested channel with the sun so
low. We sent Andrew a text message with some Daily Express type headlines
for the amusement of him and his M 5 colleagues.There but for the grace of God
etc etc, but now we are safely back in Trinidad at the end of our cruise we feel
safe to chuckle.
 Monday mid-morning - sails washed off,
hanging out to dry,
 and for her next trick Chris washes
all the ropes.
Our last sail from Grenada to Trinidad (75 miles)
can be a real pig with interesting currents and tidal streams and can be hard on
the wind. However we had a real riproaring sail with a steadily freeing and
increasing wind and sea so that as we approached the north coast of Trinidad we
were wooshed into the Boca at a speed which Chris on the helm was`finding a
decidedly overpowering, but her request to reduce sail was denied and we all
survived the excitement. We spent a very relaxing weekend and had a very
lazy day on Sunday with Don and Cathryn at their lovely island home. The hard
work has now started and Oriole will be put to bed for the hurricane season, far
to the north we hope, and we will be home in just over two weeks. If you
have been reading our diary, thank you, and that is all for now. We
will resume again in November.
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