Fish Catching Video from the past

We're hauling anchor later today (5:30 pm), and heading for Trinidad, but I wanted to share this little video taken back on May 19th to keep you entertained until we find Internet again. Hopefully, we'll catch another one on our way tonight...bigger this time, and have more news to share!

Click here for video

Enjoy!

Dawn

Last Full Day in Grenada

We sail tomorrow, Sunday, for Trinidad; expected departure at 1730 hours, or 5:30 p.m. Expected weather is 15 to 20 knots from the east, with 7-8 foot ocean swell at 7 seconds frequency, and a 3 foot wind-wave at 4 seconds frequency. The typical current is to the west at 2 knots. That could be bumpy, and will definitely cause saltwater to fly into the cockpit during most of the 12-15 hours of travel. Our plan is to travel through the Boca channel between Trinidad and Monos Island at the entrance of the Gulf of Paria well after sunrise.

Last night, we joined many other cruisers as they entered busses at 6 p.m. headed for a special fish-fry and concert an hour away at the town of Gouyave. Travel each way was one hour, but during the 4 hours we had there, we enjoyed some of the treats purchased from a dozen different vendors: tuna-kebabs, shrimp-kebabs, fried red snapper, fish & bake, fish-potato pie, stewed lambi, fried lambi (conch), etc. I had the fish ;-)

The stage show was fabulous, with a dance troupe, a major drum team, a poetry reading, and a top-name reggae band, all well punctuated with quality fireworks.

Thursday in Grenada

It feels like short-time now. We're still in Prickly Bay, enjoying new and old friends, but the time is always on our minds. We watch weather reports, hoping that a magical 15 knot breeze will show up for the 12-16 hours of dark sailing across to Trinidad, and talk about strategies for the crossing with other boaters. Presently, we expect 20 knots of wind, with higher gusts, and sees of 8 feet. There is a 2 knot current to the west that, along with a south wind, could make it a terrible time. Hopefully, there will be no south in the wind, and a beam reach will be pleasant.

We've carried on with chores. I sat overtop the port engine in the little cubby ("the shed"), yesterday, and slowly removed wires and battery tops to put in about 4 ounces of distilled water into all of the 36 battery cells. I lost about the same amount of water to sweat, and took quite a few minutes reteaching my back to straighten up and my legs to unbend. I followed that with changing the glycol in both engines. After working on changing crankcase oil last week, I am ready to begin constructing a theorum that explains why the probability of spillage increases with: toxicity, ability to stain, corrosivity, odour, amount of preparation, and amount of intense effort to prevent a spill. I'm sure Einstein would have been interested, as I am instinctively sure he was aware of the relationships.

Enough of that. We were heading into town yesterday, to get some things; accompanied by our friends from 2006 aboard Aspen, and our newer friends aboard Casa del Mar, when as we were tying up the dinghys, we were engaged in a riotously excitable extemporaneous conversation with two people from the boat Unchained, who really didn't know any of us, but just were outrageously extroverted. The lady, Sue, insisted that we had loads to talk about and insisted that we had to get together at 5pm to chat. We set a date at "De Big Fish", and by the time 5 rolled around, our group of loosely extended friends had grown to about 16, and we had a loud, boisterous time until after 9. It was a lot of fun, although it didn't allow any quality time with anyone in particular - just a regular party.

Well, before chores begin, Dawn and I are going to do a Sudoku puzzle. She has been beating me terribly lately.

Clarke's Court Bay, Hog Island, and Prickly Bay

We left St. David's Harbour on Wednesday, and made it to Clarke's Court Bay in time to join some cruisers at a marina for a hamburger barbecue. We met some new cruisers as well as older friends Mike and Linda of Casa del Mar. It was a nice night, although we met a true Texan hawk supporter of Bush, who insists that the next US administration will bring much needed wars against Mexicans and Muslums. Most others just rolled their eyes at the old bastard. It was a new one for us, who had heard of these people, but never had met one.

Thursday found us behind Hog Island, where we had a lovely, quiet night, surrounded by mangroves and birds, albeit with 30 other boats.

Friday had us in Prickly Bay, where we investigated another boatyard, bought some needed maintenance supplies from Budget Marine, and hosted Casa del Mar for supper. They expressed great gratitude over the baked pork tenderloin and the chocolate desert, both gifts of Ron and Judy Roy so many weeks ago. We were asked to pass on that the Roys would be welcome on their boat anytime.

The water is rather less clear here than on and around other islands, but we are enjoying it anyway. We are waiting for old friends from 2006 aboard the Colorado boat "Aspen" to catch up, so we can enjoy their company and travel to Trini with them.

Just a side, again about boat names. We have often heard three friends call each other down the chain. The names are: "Quietly", "Whisper", and "Tranquility". One can imagine what irony it might be if one or more of their radios were not up to snuff. Well, indeed, they often cannot make contact with each other or the controllers of the various nets, with responses including "say again", "speak up", "can anyone else here that boat", and "I can't make you out"; following or preceding these boat names.

Ourselves, we might hesitate to make friends with some, so that we would never have to call them: "Sold the Farm", "Preparing for Take-Off", and others. This morning, another Canadian boat, aptly named "Excusme", had real trouble calling in to a radio net, where you start by calling out your boat name and wait to be recognized.

Bye for now,

Laurie

St. David's Harbour and Grenada Marine

We took a rather short trip yesterday, albeit it took a long time. We traveled about 12 miles around the lower west corner of Grenada and up the south shore to a long, skinny bay with a boatyard. Our intention is to investigate alternatives to storage in Trinidad for future years.

The trip was long because it was almost all upwind. We made short tacks because we wanted to cross into the shallows often while trolling for fish. It was a little scary, as the seas were rough, and so is the coastline. It paid off, however, as we caught a beautiful yellow-tailed snapper. I gave a video interview to Dawn after catching it - That may be on the weblog in a day or so. I filleted the snapper after we arrived here, and we now have had it for two meals. Sadly, we have a story about the one that got away - actually two did; but one was some kind of monster that bent the rod something fierce before breaking the steel leader and getting away with an expensive lure. We have no idea what it was, but can't stop thinking about the missed excitement and meals. I'm a little angry about the lure as well.

I also changed the oil in the starboard engine after our arrival, and lost about a litre of sweat while working on a hot engine in these warm Grenadian conditions. One more engine to go - the downside of catamarans.

We just got back from the boatyard, having inspected the facilities, acquired prices, dumped the waste oil, and of course - tried out their pub for a beer.

We have a good network connection here in the bay outside the boatyard, and are taking care of some business and personal issues (and updating virus and other shareware) before going further. We will be heading to another bay, looking for clean water to swim and bathe in. We have not chosen the bay yet. Hopefully we'll catch another fish on the way.

Lawn Furniture of the Caribbean

Because our good friend Ron from our cove makes amazing lawn furniture, I thought I'd look for the plans for these babies. Perhaps he can add them to his collection.

These beauties were found at a beach bar in Union Island. Very comfortable! ;-)

We're heading for Grenada in the morning and will spend some time looking for an alternative haulout area for next year. For now, we are committed to hauling out in Trinidad and will keep our date with Peake's for June 2nd.

If We Cook It, Will They Come?

Tyrell Bay is a nice large, deep bay, light in wind and waves, and with lots of boats. The boats that are here seem to all be the older variety, with older people, small dinghys and small motors. There are no charter boats.

We went ashore yesterday, and walked all the way back to the beach that looks north to Sandy Island, the island where we were last anchored. The beach is appropriately called Paradise Beach. It is as beautiful as the nearby island, but with some beach bars, and accommodations. A local, Curtis, told us that we could easily anchor Cat Tales within swimming distance of the beautiful beach. We found a place with rooms starting at $35 US, and a two bedroom house at $70 US per night. We toured the house, thinking it would be a nice place if some of our friends wanted to spend time here some day. It was a lovely hike, with a picnic of beer and barracuda sandwiches, and the discovery of a lovely bakery with whole wheat bread and numerous economical treats. It was a nice, slow day.

We got up today, and saw that the stalk of bananas in our fruit hammock were all black; meaning any breakfast not rich in bananas would be totally wasteful. This ties in to our main story. I’ve always been intrigued by the special difficulties that must be paramount in the management of a restaurant. The managers must buy all the food and even do some preliminary preparations to it without being sure how many patrons might arrive for a meal if any, and what from the menu they might want to eat. Profits can be hard to come by, and wiped out when the food is wasted by a bad guess.

Last night, I convinced Dawn that I wanted to eat in a restaurant for supper for a change. A vendor had swung by our boat from one restaurant when we first arrived, and provided us with an overview of the wonderful menu and prices. Most meals were only $30 EC, or $15 CAN. Yesterday, we were further enticed by another visitor with a menu including a meal with chicken cooked any way we wanted for only $25 EC, at the restaurant known as “Lambi Queen”. He also said that meals were served after $6:30, and the happy hour rum punches were the best. Wee, we’re going out for sundowners and dinner!

We arrived at the Lambi Queen at 5:45, with ony 15 minutes of happy hour. I acquire 4 rum punches for two of us for only $20 EC. They really are the best – large glasses, significant ice, beautiful colour, wonderful taste, appropriate bite, and fresh nutmeg on top. They are lovely, and we stare over the bay, also being entertained by the street, with the odd dog, goat, child, cat, chicken, and other traffic. Some of this traffic often saunters up to you in restaurants for a pat, a word, a bite, or a sniff, and it is no exception tonight. The sun goes down while we chat up another patron, an ex-military from Toronto who probably has been “out here” too long (another story), and we move to order another round and our meals, at 6:40. The young, attractive British girl who is tending bar tells us that, in spite of what we were told on the water, the cook would not be there until 8:00, and food could be served some time after that. She was honest, helpful, and sweet; and recommended two other places where we might get food served. She appreciated that most people don’t want to sit and drink for two or three hours when the primary objective was a meal. Interestingly, most of the other patrons were finishing up their sundowners, and were also exiting the establishment.

We sauntered down to the “Rum Shop”, where our new Toronto friend was already sipping on rum and waiting for his dinner. We ask about the food, and get some information, and look around for other options. Finally, we settle on the Rum Shop, and sit down to give them our business. We make ourselves quite comfortable in the best chairs, and at the best table, but a long wait brings no service. We notice that some young man is just starting to get the charcoal barbecue ready, and no one is taking orders for drinks or food. There is a baby in a carriage, soundly sleeping until the young man, obviously the father, stops work on the barbecue and sits the kid up for no reason but to be reminded of his good effort in her creation. As the kid bawls herself into awareness, a second child grabs the carriage and starts winging it around. The “father” gives her such a slap on her wrist (somebody should have slapped him – he started the mess) that my eyes water from the consideration of the sting of the blow. However the little girl doesn’t even wince, and ignores the father and the yelling mother (who we expected to be taking our order) and continues to wheel the child around. She settles the “bawling machine” at a table of British cruisers, and attempts to entertain them by lifting the confused bundle of baby and swinging her.

Dawn and I look at the clock (7:40) our bare table, no sign of refreshments, no burning charcoal, no service, no potential in letup with the children, and instantly start thinking about a fabulous meal of Kraft Dinner, marinated carrots, and red wine on the splendid back deck of our beautiful, airy, quiet yacht, Cat Tales. We left, and thoroughly enjoyed our late supper on the flat water of the bay.

Now, we aren’t fussy. We are used to having our food stolen by the dogs, cats, and blackbirds; we don’t mind the goats, as they don’t smell as much as most people say; we like the sweet little children, although we often remark when they are overtired and ought to be in bed; we are entertained by the cats and the mangy dogs that wander around us, usually only wishing to be acknowledged; we sometimes smile while trying to ignore young couples wooing each other in the corner with big eyes; and we attempt to ignore the guys who in our minds are telling the big lies to the girls so they will bear them a child to ignore. But dagnabit, there ought to be some hope of getting fed.

Interestingly, by about 9:30, we look into the establishments, and they are all barely lit and most are empty. We don’t know if anybody got fed anywhere but on Cat Tales. We might try another meal ashore, but I think it might be a lunch.

Barracuda Dinner at Uninhabited Sandy Island

We spent Monday morning preparing for our sail from Clifton, Union Island, to the Grenadine island of Carriacou. We had been inspired the night before to do some fishing by Chris and Chris(tine) on Stray Kitty, who had caught a 54+" Mahi Mahi, and lived on it for a long time; so when Dawn saw an opportunity to pick up a 1 pound bag of small fish for 2 bucks from a vendor, she did so.

During the 1 1/2 hour sail, we dragged three lines, with different combinations of length, lure, and bait. Just as we were entering Hillsborough, we caught a feisty 25" barracuda on the line from the sea-fishing rod. We reeled it in with great excitement, getting tangled up with line, net, safety lines, etc. We got the fish tied to a line at the back, and (a first for us) we took the time to bleed the fish by severing its gill areas. Supposedly this gets rid of a lot of toxins and improves the flavour. Once we got control of this great silver-sided fighter, it seemed to us it was all-teeth.

As we got ready to anchor, we hauled in the other two lines, each on simple spools. One was set with a clothespin to hold the line, provide some buffer to the attacking fish, and provide an indicator of a fish-strike. Well, that was one strong clothespin, as something big took the lure and bait, breaking a steel leader. Boy, we'd like to know what it was.

Rather than fillet the little beast, I cleaned it, de-scaled it, beheaded it, detailed it (no decals), and cut it into steaks. The work was not easy, and a good, strong, serrated blade was required to cut the backbone. We got to see the size of the backbone later, as, after we cleared customs, we motored to a beautiful little spot behind Sandy Island, and pan-fried all of it. With a little butter, spice, and heat, the steaks flaked apart to reveal a backbone that was 5/8" at the thinnest area.

The taste was wonderful, and greatly complemented the couscous with pigeon peas and onions.

Sandy Island is a low, 1500 foot spit of sand and coral stones, about a mile out from Carriacou. The vegetation was somewhat trashed by the past hurricanes, but the locals have replanted it, and the palm trees, albeit short, add to the beauty. The water is crystal clear; the same beautiful blue that graces the Tobago Cays. We've enjoyed Monday night here alone, and will stay at least until Wednesday morning. As this is significantly clearer water than we will see in any harbours from here to and including Chaguaramas, we may find more excuses to stay. Snorkeling today provided us with a little turtle, a small sting ray, many types of surgeons and tangs, 20+ squid, and the most vibrant blue chromis we have seen so far. It isn't a safe anchorage, being somewhat exposed to the weather, but we'll be careful and will set the anchor alarm for overnight.

When we were here in 2006, we reported into a ham net, and had another sailor saying he knew the place, and the last time he was here, it was being used for a porno shoot or movie. I'll keep my eyes peeled.

Leaving the Grenadines...how sad!

We've spent a whole week anchored in Chatham Bay. Notice in the photo above that I'm holding Cat Tales in my hand! Over the last few days our hiking took us to one of the taller peaks looking down into the Bay, across the mountainous divide and into the little town of Ashton for a nice lunch, and a trip around one of the peaks on one of the new concrete roads. This island has beautiful concrete roads almost everywhere, albeit steep at times and narrow, but with literally no traffic. I figure that a country provided some economic development money that had the roads constructed to open up the areas (Chatham Bay, for example, has had no habitation for some time, although there appears to be some plantation ruins in there), while providing work and training. Anyway, with hiking we did from Clifton when we first arrived, we've covered most of the island. It's been fun.

Coast of Union Island


Above is Ashton, Union Island.

We also made a hard attempt at fishing. I came close to perfecting the skill of throwing the bait fish net, but still didn't catch any of the little buggers. Undaunted, we got into the dinghy one early evening and trolled around the rocky edges, in the shallow and the deep, changing lures regularly. Although some young fellows from a charter boat (unworthy) caught a couple of barracudas, we caught nothing. I'm not bitter - ha - I'm devastated. Nancy Cole asked us if we can eat the barracuda here. Absolutely. There are a number of fish that feed off other reef fish (pelagic fish) that can build up a toxin from the reef called "ciguatera". It can cause great distress to the central nervous system and even death if enough of it is consumed. The amount of toxin, especially in barracuda, increases with size and age. However, the books say that the probability of a problem starts dropping fast after you are south of Guadeloupe, and all sizes of 'cuda are enjoyed.

Yesterday we had a wonderful sail around to Clifton, where the customs office is. To do it sailing, we had to tack way up to almost beyond Mayreau, then back. It took about 2 1/2 hours, but with little sailcloth up, it was a nice sail.

When we got here, we motored in to anchor past another Canadian catamaran, a PDQ 42 named "Stray Kitty", with a couple and three young children. We've been waving to them for months now as we moved along the island chain, and they dropped by and invited us aboard for sundowners, which we happily accepted. It was an enjoyable time. One of the children was having a birthday, so all three were being doted on. The funniest one was Kerry, about 4 years of age. Father, Chris, had made them all a chocolate, ice cream, crushed cookies and gummy-worms dessert called "Dirt", that got rave reviews. At one point, the mother, also named Chris, called out to ask for a damp rag to clean up where Kerry was eating; and he responded that there weren't enough damp rags in the world for the job. Kerry came out to the cockpit while eating (they were in watching reruns of "Gilligan's Island") and asked us to be quiet. She had no top on, and had a chocolate smile the size of Batman's Joker's grin. Chris explained that, to control laundry, the little girl was told to remove her top for all eating to control laundry. Apparently, skin is easier to maintain. She reappeared 20 minutes later (we were getting loud again) and indeed had a completely chocolate chest and body. She was a really cute kid, but I didn't want any sticky hugs.

Today, we are going into Clifton. I'll track down the customs people to check out, and Dawn will get an Internet connection and send this along with a picture or two. We're off to Hillsborough, Carriacou. This is the last of the St. Vincent Grenadines, and we start into the Grenada Grenadines. The sail should be only two hours, but maybe we'll catch a fish!

Happy Mother's Day to my mother-in-law along with all the other moms out there!

These are the mangoes we picked back in Bequia. They became ripe 2 by 2 and then the last 7 ripened all in one day!

Shark Attack!

Yum...if you've never experienced a BBQ put on by the local vendor called Shark Attack here in Chatham Bay on Union Island, then you've really missed out. Mid afternoon yesterday, we were sitting on our boat reading when "Shark Attack" stopped by and informed us that he had gathered enough cruisers to do a fish BBQ on the beach. For only $40.00 EC a person, he would cook a red snapper each for all who arrived and would supply salad and rice as well. We could either buy drinks from him, or we could bring our own! Well, the price was right and packing our own drinks would make the price stay rather fixed, other than customary tipping and the like.

When we arrived around 6:00 pm, a crowd of British were there already, playing a game on the beach and enjoying their sundowners. There were 10 of them which included the couple who owned the 61 foot boat. The paying guests were having a ball and claimed they'd be back!! They were of course, "brilliant" as they say and arrived with a cooler full of the mixings for gin and tonic along with about 10 bottles of wine, both red and white. We knew then that they were serious vacationers and cuddled right up to them! Before long, another couple (middle aged newly weds) from California on a charter boat arrived. The fish was delivered in bowls and were beautifully BBQ'd, the white meat flaky and full of the flavour of the marinade. How I wish I knew just how they cooked them! The fish were complemented by a cole-slaw-type salad and a rice dish. In the middle of the meal, 10 more people arrived, from 2 French (France) families including 5 young children who ate chicken instead of fish.

As everyone was finishing their meals, a local named 'Pleasant' arrived to play us a few tunes, complete with a bongo drummer. He apologized right away for not having all 6 strings on his guitar. He apparently was missing his "E" string, which we all thought was better than missing his "G" string. We're still not sure he got that one! I was told by the hostess on the British boat that 'Pleasant' could sing a bit, but he often had a bit too much ganja (marijuana) and he'd do the "doo, dah, bah, la la etc" and then break out in the chorus. She was right on and he sang "Let It Be" in just this way! (Not that anyone else in the party was excelling at the tunes or lyrics) Laurie asked him which one of the original Beatles he was, but I'm not too sure he knew who they were either! After singing, he brought out his carvings and that's about when we decided it was time to get back to the boat!

Ganja is a constant here. So many of the men we have seen smoke it just about continuously. We sincerely do not understand how they function, but that is the way it is.

By the way, the night before that, we had the pleasure of meeting again with Linda and Mike from "Casa del Mar" along with their visiting son. We all headed in to shore for the $5.00 EC rums at Seckies. Mike and Linda are heading to Carriacou on Monday and we'll probably check out of the Grenadines and meet them there. Carriacou Island and part of Grenada, which is on our way as we head further south towards our haulout spot in Trinidad the first of June.

Chatham Bay, Union Island

We said good bye to Gene and Susea Gearhart, of Moody Blues, as they head south towards Trinidad and their May 18th haulout date. We totally enjoyed their company and hope to cross paths again next year. Check them out at: www.moodybluescruise.com

We were planning to leave Clifton on Monday to head for Chatham Bay, however, we received an invitation for drinks on board "Dignity" with Steve and Helen Southwood. (www.AboardDignity.com) We would also have the pleasure of the company of "Bees Knees" where Anne and Jim live aboard. We had been hearing both these boats on the VHF radio planning this and that and had not to date had the opportunity to meet them. We had a lovely time and really enjoyed the tour of their 44 foot Lagoon Catamaran which is a rare hybrid design (electric engines drive the propellers, and work as generators to charge the batteries when the yacht is under sail, and made a quick change of plans to leave the next day). Laurie enjoyed snooping around the engine rooms and figuring out how this design worked. I got a tour of their lovely cat with their 3 large staterooms and 3 full heads with showers. Because they live onboard 12 months of the year, they sprung for a washer dryer too. It would be sweet, but it's not going to happen any day soon on Cat Tales!!

On the western side of Union Island in the Grenadines lies Chatham Bay, with a beautiful sandy beach. There is only a small road leading into the bay which is where several fishermen start early in the morning.

A few years ago, we stumbled onto this spot and enjoyed the solitude. At the time there was a tiny shack in the bay where a local named "Shark Attack" entertained the sailors with his BBQ and drinks on the beach. But that was then and now it's slightly different. We sailed in here yesterday and were met by a man in a boat called "Seckie". Seckie, the name of the man as well, tells us that there are now 3 other Bars and restaurants along with one that's been underway for several years but not yet open. I asked him why he came to us and not the other Bar/Restaurant owners and he told us that they take turns and he gets to visit alternating yachts. He told us that Vanessa would cook us a nice meal of fish, a red snapper for $60.00 EC (about 30 CAD) each, but when he told us that he had a happy hour at 5:00 and the rum punch was $5.00 EC, he now had our attention! Yesterday was Laurie's birthday and we ate well onboard mid day and were ready to do a bit of celebrating on the beach. In we went where we met two other crews from boats anchored in the bay. We asked how much the drinks were after happy hour ended, and we were told that the price was double ($10.00 EC), but not to worry, they would have twice as much rum in them...ahh simple math!!

This bay is where we met Mike Campbell a few years ago. He is a Canadian who had been living aboard for 25 plus years and had a circumnavigation of the world under his keel. We stayed here for a few weeks and entertained this single-hander aboard Cat Tales many times. He'd often supply the fish for dinner and I'd put together all the extras. He fished from his dinghy every evening just at dark and would bring in a 4-5 foot barracuda or two! These were awesome to eat: nice flaky white fish cooked to perfection! We were hoping he'd be sitting right here yesterday when we arrived, but we weren't lucky enough to find him. Seckie tells us that he doesn't even know Mike. Before we left Clifton on the other side of the island yesterday, I asked Jenny, the vegetable lady who Mike used to visit for dinners and provisions if she had seen him, but she hasn't seen him all season. We're hoping that he's still cruising somewhere and we'll see him again. Perhaps, this bay has become too busy for Mike and he's found another secluded spot. Maybe there aren't any more barracuda left here and he's off searching for more to catch and can for the summer months when he lives in a boatyard in Trinidad!

About an hour ago, we were called on the radio by Linda and Mike on 'Casa del Mar' who we met in Bequia only a few weeks ago. They told us that they'd be heading for shore for happy hour at Seckie's and would we like to join them?? Well...gosh, let me think...of course we would!!

photos

A little bar where we had drinks with Gene and Susea, on a reef a half mile from the mainland of Union Island


Salt Whistle Bay, taken from the top of Mayreau


Sunrise in Mayreau


Laurie, Dawn and Gene from Moody Blues on a beach in the Tobago Cays


Dawn sitting on the dock of the bay... Clifton, Union Island, Grenadines

Still Here On Saturday

Yup. We are still in Tobago Keys. It is one of those decisions made by not making a decision. Chances are good we'll haul anchor even before this is posted, and follow Moody Blues to another anchorage. They're a nice couple of people, and we enjoy their company. Susea has some minor claims to fame: she has credit for a cover shot for a Steve Miller album ("Fly Like an Eagle"), numerous articles and covers for Latts and Atts, co-written a book called "Red Sky in the Mourning" - a true story of the other co-writer who loses her husband during a storm, and a few other endeavours. We passed a couple of our scanned copies of my articles from Multihulls Magazine, and she said enough nice things that if my head can still get around the boat, I may go back to writing.

Some minor corrections from past posts: The turtles don't seem to be hawksbill, and are much more likely large green turtles. The sucker-fish we spotted on a turtle's back is more likely a remoray fish, with a unique suction device on it's forehead. It doesn't have the capability to clean the turtle's shell, but seems to only hang on. It's almost as long as the turtle, and annoys him/her greatly; but what is a turtle going to do?

The turtles' lack of concern with humans in the water, coupled with Dawn and I hitting the books resulted in the improved identifications. How the turtles keep their shells clean is still a mystery; and we'll work on it.

Yesterday, it rained like stink and we caught ~10 gallons of rainwater; so today we wash the sheets and some other small items. Rain is forecasted for today as well, so drying is an iffy proposition. Dawn is being kept busy right now both with the laundry and chasing those black 'banana pecker' birds away from the boat. She is doing a great job with the birds - who needs a dog?

Sincere thanks to all those people who work to keep us informed of what is going on in the world: Hugh and Ron for their regular postings; Mike and Anne O'Brien and Arnold Morehouse for civic news, Gary Parks, Claire MacFarlane, and Brenda MacDonald for the Education Dept. updates; Paul and Lita, Ken and Linda, Mike and Anne, Lolly, Brian and Lorna, Mike and Nancy, and Ken and Jean for family news updates. We enjoy hearing the changes, trials, successes, and celebrations in your lives, as well as the general news. We are spending long periods of time these days without any internet connections, potentially leaving us in the dark about any news without your emails. To answer some questions posed to us:

We will end our wanderings this year with Cat Tales coming out of the water on June 1st in Chaguaramas, Trinidad. We will stay to do some of the major boat maintenance while we are still acclimatized, and will fly home on June 6th. We are investigating storage options for next year, including two locations in Grenada, and possibly even one in St Lucia. The St. Lucian one requires some negotiations with our insurers. The reasons for such shopping include the storage costs, some safety considerations, climate improvements from one area to the next, and convenience. We have been wounded by the economic situation, but we expect to pull through until Laurie's pension starts in one year. We do not anticipate returning to work unless an offer comes up that we can't refuse. Worst case, we'll be lying low all summer, and will continue with being annoyingly frugal when traveling in the Caribbean next year. Certainly, we intend to return to the boat before December of 2009. It'll be fall of 2010 before these poor boat vendors get much real business out of us.

We are especially thankful to all of you for your good wishes, and greatly anticipate seeing you all soon.