Activity whirlwind to the end.

Oriole
Sun 27 Mar 2011 15:59
Crews Inn Marina, Chaguaramas, Trinidad  10:40.73N  61:37.90W
 
We had our first dive on a beautiful reef outside Tyrrel Bay on Sunday.  John got very short of breath swimming against the current and had to keep stopping and hanging on to rocks to get his breath.  Anyone who knows his normal exercise tolerance will find this unbelievable.  We think that his diving regulator was badly adjusted! 
On Sunday night the swell rolled into the bay and we had a very disturbed night and the prospect of hanging around for the next few days for our survey and more diving did not appeal.  The haulout and survey were hurriedly rearranged to take place in Grenada and we took our leave of Carriacou and had a great sail down to Grenada Marine in St David's Bay where Oriole had survived Hurricane Ivan in 2004.  St David's was blissfully swell free. We were joined there by Homarus owned by Blair and Sherri, the former a retired Maine lobster fisherman, who were to accompany us for their first passage to Trinidad. The haulout and survey passed uneventfully and we rewarded ourselves with dinner at La Sagesse, the small and attractive hotel and restaurant where we had survived the post Ivan period when Grenada was in total turmoil.
On then to the SE corner of Grenada to check out with Customs and visit Graham, who had just arrived from Cape Town to complete his circumnavigation on Eowyn, who we had waved off in Rodney Bay in January 2010.
Finally at 0300 we raised the anchor for the last time for the 80 mile passage to Trinidad.  This is a fascinating expanse of water which a verse of one of John's poems explains.
The passage from Grenada to Trinidad's fair isle
Has just a bit more challenge and requires a bit more guile,
You're often hard upon the the wind and currents do not aid,
And Venezuelan pirates some traps for us have laid.
 
In the event we had a really great sail and had judged the weather just right with 15-20 knots of wind either just ahead of or just behind the beam.  Homarus, a slightly bigger and faster boat, kept close station astern. The Venezuelan pirate threat is not to be forgotten, and is a realistic threat off the coast and islands of Venezuela itself, but there have been no recent problems between Grenada and Trinidad.  The NW going current in the middle of the passage sweeps up from the east coast of South America and always slows progress to a crawl for a few demoralising hours.  However it is relatively short lived and fairly predictable. As you approach the north coast of Trinidad the water suddenly turns from deep blue to dark green with the outflow from the Orinoco and other South American rivers. We pass several tide rips where the current suddenly changes and if the wind is against the current it kicks up a "washing machine" sea with overfalls and tumbling waves which threaten to, and sometimes do, break into the cockpit.  Yesterday it was doing its best or worst depending on your point of view and with a good 20 knot wind we had a very exciting last three hours sailing in the approach to the Boca, the dramatic steep sided entrance into the tranquil waters of the Gulf of Paria, where we were accompanied by dolphins.  By 1700 we were tied up in the marina and cleared Customs and Immigration which is always a much more cheerful experience when you are paying the officers on overtime!  They really are keen to see you and process you as quickly as possible!
 
 
Oriole at rest and the mate in customary pose - chatting.
 
Now comes the less exciting task of putting Oriole to bed again for the Hurricane Season, so this is our final missive.  We have had a lot of fun, good sailing and great company and if you have dipped into our blog we appreciate your interest and we look forward to continuing in the same vein in December.