Jet Maxima in control

Oriole
Tue 20 Mar 2012 10:39
 Chatham Bay, Union Island.                                12:36.29N  61:27.04W.
 
Until this week we did not know what a jet maxima was.  However the week's weather has been dominated by an upper level high pressure system anchored over the Caribbean and Tropical North Atlantic. This has brought a stream of high level cloud pouring in a north easterly direction out of Venezuela and Columbia.  This is a jet maxima in case you are interested!  The result is that for the first few days of this week we have had overcast skies but apart from occasional showers it has been dry. The wind has diminished to light weather trade wind sailing and the seas have reduced to 4-5 feet rather than 10-12 feet.  What a change!
 
 
Before setting sail we had to do the walk to the Turtle Sanctuary.  (well two of us walked back!) 
 
We have been pottering gently south with Graham and Margaret who have been really enthusiastic about everywhere we have taken them in the Grenadines. They were here 15 years ago in their Bowman 45 Flight of Time, and subsquently visited, we understand, almost every island in the Pacific on the route to New Zealand. 
 
The Grenadines sadly are dominated by bareboat charter catamarans which have the habit on coming and anchoring close in front of you whether you are nearly on the beach or not.  Last night at 0200 I was awakened by the plop plop plop of a generator exhaust close by. I poked my head out of the hatch and there close ahead of us was a really large Moorings charter catamaran, coming closer with every gust.  So we had to get into the dinghy and go and wake them up and get them to move before they hit us.  They were grateful, but they had laid out so little chain that anyone with any experience would have told them they would drag their anchor.  The sad part about it is that they thought that 15 meters was enough, but most experienced yachtsmen NEVER put out less than 20 meters even in the very best circumstances!!
The only qualifcation you need to charter one of these monsters appears to be the ownership of a credit card.  Only two days ago a friend in another anchorage in the area had another charter catamaran hit them in the night in similar circumstances.  You have to be very defensive.  Our friend, who shall be nameless but has his brother aboard who is member of the RCC,  screamed "F*****g, f*****g, f*****g French" at them!  He was then surprised that they did not come and apologise in the morning.  These errant catamarans do seem usually to sport a rwb tricolor although last night's was actually from the US.  Our favourite defensive ploy if someone anchors too close in front of us, assuming we have a generous surplus of chain out, is to slowly and silently haul the chain in so we get closer and closer to their stern.  Eventually their nerve breaks and they think they are dragging and lift their anchor and go somewhere else!  It works. Graham thought I was being ridiculously defensive until last night's fiasco, through which Graham and Margaret slept like babies.  Must be the effects of the rum.
 
Enough of the trials and tribulations caused by a few of our fellow yachties, if they actually qualify for that title.
Chatham Bay is a gem which is one of our favourites and the crew are currently snorkling in the crystal clear water just ahead of Oriole.  We have described it before but just to repeat, it is a steep sided bay which is totally undeveloped except for a few local shack bars on the beach. We are about to go ashore for lunch in one of them. 
Finally we have been playing an almost nightly game of Mexican Train Dominoes which has become fiercely competitive.  The final results will be posted next week. 
 
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