First, things first. We intend to leave Grenada at 2:00 am on Wednesday and will sail the 14 to 16 hours to Trinidad. Don't expect to hear from us until at least Thursday afternoon sometime because we'll be out of Internet contact until then. Denis, our friendly weatherman suggests that the weather will be fairly nice with light winds and from the proper direction (E to NE), however, we can expect a few squalls along the way! We should arrive into Trinidad just before dark on Wednesday and will stay in a little bay overnight and then make our way into Chagauramas to check into customs and immigration on Thursday morning.
Now for the big Birthday Party!! We met Denis and Arlene from the boat "Tiger Lily II" back in 2005 through one of the morning Ham Radio nets. Denis, in his working days in Ontario, was a weatherman. Every morning, Denis appears on the ham radio at 7:45 and talks to everyone who is interested in moving their boat to a new location and are looking for safe weather to do so. Laurie composed a poem to honour our friend Denis. To those down here who listen in daily, it will make perfect sense, but to those from away, it might be confusing. I have included the poem after the photos.
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| Laurie's delivery of the poem written in honour of Denis |
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| Denis' 75th Birthday Party |
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| After the birthday lunch, a few of us went on to the Saturday run/walk. It was to be a Pirate HASH! Pirates Paul, Lynne, John & Laurie before doing the HASH run. Want to know more? Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers |
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| The officials giving the new (virgin) HASHers instructions on what to expect on the walk/run |
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| Because of my sore foot (Dawn's) I was able to lounge by the pool waiting for the hot and sweaty HASHers to return from the walk/run |
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| John, the perfect pirate gets a ride to the HASH in Cat Tales' dinghy! |
Friends of Denis (FOD net)
Its
Denis who connects us all,
And
why we gather in this hall.
He’s
paid for us to get a lift,
To
join him for his 75th.
When
I met him 2005,
He
made my radio come alive.
Time
and again he makes a fan
By
offering out his helping hand.
A
weatherman he used to be,
Before
he ventured out to sea.
For
years he wouldn’t let them know
For
fear that some boats would follow
From
bay to bay, bouy and tether,
Trying
to escape inclement weather.
But
now he knows his destiny,
To
spread his lore to you and me.
I
think he’s up at 5:30
Boots
computers up to see
What
all the special progs will tell,
If
his dongle’s doing well.
Then
he’s checked in George’s net
To
verify what we might get
If
we venture out to sea.
It’s
ground truthing, he tells to me.
For
hours he has been awake,
The
weatherman knows what’s at stake
Not
your average sailor man,
A
hard working, sober man.
Coke
Zero he brings to a party,
It
doesn’t matter, he parties hearty.
And
better still, he brings Arlene.
Belle
of the ball, I have seen.
Let’s
talk about these SEED meetings,
(Sometimes
they’re awful drunken things)
We
seem to get no business done,
Again,
it's all part of the fun.
Few
of us would ever fail
To
check with him before we sail.
We
check in most every day
To
hear what he (and others) say.
Arlene
is there and that is nice.
His
external memory device?
We
do hear her when we should,
Only
when our jokes are good.
Let
us talk of our friend Myrl,
Our
superior propagation girl.
Tells
us of the strength of wind,
By
the state her windmill’s in.
Kokopele’s
to be sold,
With
shiny water tanks I’m told.
The
cockpit bright work will stay grey,
But
Gary’s checking every stay.
The
chain plates will be like brand new,
They’ve
taken past a month to do.
What
she’ll fetch, no one knows,
The
price excludes one toilet hose.
Clive
likes to stay in touch,
Though
he doesn’t listen much.
Denis
says: “Ya otta stay”
Clive
goes sailing anyway.
Free
Spirit covered lots of ground,
They
sailed up they sailed down.
We
hear John on the radio,
They
say that’s English, I donno?
I
Donno, that’s June and Mike,
Both
of them easy to like.
But
is that name just out of hand?
Talk to Mike, you'll understand!
Talk to Mike, you'll understand!
Kristin,
Terry, scared of the swell,
Don’t
ask Laurie, he can’t tell.
There
are more names that I should rhyme
But
I am running out of time.
Back
to our host, and our hostess,
You
people really are the best.
This
party we just couldn’t miss,
But
it is time I had a … comfort stop.
Sorry
this went on and on,
One
more line and I am gone.
Happy
birthday, Honoured One
This
is all part of the fun!
by Laurie Corbett
s/v Cat Tales
