back to Bequia
True Colours
James Scrimshaw
Sat 7 Feb 2015 16:29
So on Friday (we think it was, but we are both losing track of time) we set off at 9.00 for the 35Nm trip back to Bequia.
All went brilliantly to start with, Rosemary retrieving the anchor like a seasoned professional, and the wind spot on forecast at 14 knots, giving us a close reach at 6.5 knots under double reefed main and full Genoa (we, as policy, always sail conservatively). But then about 10 miles from Bequia we saw the storm clouds coming.
Engine on, Genoa furled. It's always strange to see a boat 500 m away suddenly disappear, as does the view of the island and everything else around you. And then it comes - not too much wind this time (maxed out at about 22 kn) but torrential rain. Swimsuits only, so it does not matter too much that we are soaked, but it is still a relief when it passes,and again you can see all around. This happened twice, but thankfully it was clear when we arrived at Port Elizabeth, meeting Blue Sky on the way in who led us to the same mooring we had four days ago.
Ashore to clear in, book space on the Friendship Rose (schooner trip to the Tobago Cays on Monday) and the to Doris's for some food shopping. While there it rained again, but this time a prolonged misty type rain, and we noticed that the wind had dropped.
Returned to the boat in the rain to find chaos. Boats facing in all directions, and a boat anchored next to us was now really close, not only to us, but also to an Australian boat. They said they were OK, their boat was made of steel! (Were they joking?) James stayed in the dinghy and used it to repeatedly push True Colours away, while Rosemary phoned Blue Sky (aka Dennis). Dennis came out, had discussion with the men of steel; they snorkelled by the boat to make sure their anchor line was clear, then took up their anchor and moved further away.
We decided to stay on the boat for the evening, to make sure there were no further issues.
Today is another day - but still no sunshine.