Living in a hot air dryer dryer.

Oriole
Tue 16 Apr 2013 19:31
Crews Inn Marina, Chaguaramas, Trinidad.                                                                                           10:40.76N 61:37.89W                                                         
 
 
We left Carriacou on Tuesday afternoon for an overnight 110 mile passage to Trinidad.  It was hot and sunny again and still no rain, but the sea between Grenada and Carriacou was extremely confused and uncomfortable.  It was spring tides with a fast flowing stream over relatively shallow bottom with a big swell.  Once we were clear of the of the passage between the islands the sea settled down, the wind filled in, and we flew with the needle nudging up to 8 knots at times.  There was no moon, but the sky never got completely dark.  We could not work out if this was light pollution from the gas platforms or Tobago, but both were still a long way away. Perhaps it was just the brilliant display of stars. 
The automatic identification system (AIS) is a wonderfully reassuring device on a passage like this where there is an appreciable amount of commercial shipping.  We identified a ship on a collision course with us when it was still twelve miles away long before its lights were visible.  At eight miles it altered course to avoid us just before I called them on the radio.  He had been plotting us on his AIS and had our name at the tip of his fingers.  Contrast this with a rig support vessel which was right in our path going round in circles in a most unpredictable way.  We had his name from the AIS but he would not answer when repeatedly called on the radio. Anyway we managed to get past him without too much anxt.  However we picked him up again a few days later when he was leaving Chaguaramas, and still refusing to answer the radio either to us or North Post Radio, the local ship to shore station, who I had alerted!  Needless to say the skipper of Oriole was incensed. A little Google research revealed the ship to be a relatively new high tech American flagged rig support vessel, one of three in the area, with a shore based manager with a local phone number!  On Monday morning, a phone call revealed a delightfully helpful guy who admitted that there had been other complaints of the ship not responding, and as it was now tied up to the dock he was going right down there to investigate.  That all of the four radios on the bridge were not working is unlikely, that they were turned off or being ignored is perhaps more to the point!  Even the rig had been unable to contact them!!
Still on the radio, the local cruisers morning chat session yesterday reported a near fatal accident caused by a large local motor yacht charging through the anchorage at high speed producing a huge bow wave.  Several boats were damaged by their dinghies crashing into them and a guy working up his mast was thrown off into the water and apparently nearly drowned.  There has been a recent proliferation of these fast motor boats which go out in droves on Sunday afternoons.  Crews Inn used to be almost exclusively inhabited by visiting sailing yachts, but is increasingly dominated by these noisy gas guzzling party boats.  There have been some horrible accidents with fatalities in smaller fast boats, and there will be more unless the problem is controlled.
 
 
These predators are breeding fast and they are dangerous!
 
Meanwhile the laying up process is proceeding apace, and the weather has been ideal - hot, dry and sunny, with no rain since we arrived nearly a week ago, and practically none since we left Antigua in February.  We washed off all the sails starting at 0630, they were all dry by 0930 and packed up and in the sail loft by 1100.  Chris has now washed everything that moves and a few more things besides.
The little yellow motor car (The Yellow Peril) which we have previously been lent by its generous owner and has found its way into our hearts inspite of its less than basic climate control (windows only) has been superseded by a smart luxurious vehicle, again by the generosity of the Kelshall - Pantin clan.  It feels as though our status has now been elevated to that of high class yachting executives!
So our waterborne life is coming to an end again, we haul out on Monday and fly home a week later.  Meanwhile Trinidad carries on us usual. Boats come and boats go. The parrots fly across the anchorage always in pairs morning and evening, the corbeaux (Trinidad's vultures) soar above us searching for carrion, an occasional frigate bird delicately steals the catch from another seabird,  pelicans fly past in formation and we wake to the cheerful cheeky call of the kiskadee.  On a good day we also catch sight of the secretive oriole flitting about in the tops of the trees.  Its been a great season with some good sailing and very social in the various anchorages we have visited.  It has been hard work taking enough exercise to compensate for the partying. We plan to be back for more in November, so until then, thanks for being with us and this is "Oriole clear".