Cat Tales and Crew Have Been Busy!

There is so much to cover since our January 2nd weblog. We were contacted by hiking friends Louise and Joseph, s/v Tangaroa, about attempting a guided hike of the Soufriere Volcano on northern St. Vincent. Steve (Aspen), Joanna (Cloud Street), some other boaters, Dawn, and I took the bait and signed up. The attempt was made on the 6th of January, starting with us all getting to the ferry dock at 5:45 am. In Kingston, we boarded a private bus with our guide Fraser, and his driver, and a large contingent of younger hikers from a cruise ship and the southern vacation area. It took an hour to get to base camp, and the hike to the top was to be 4 hours of hiking and climbing.

While we were driving up the west side, Fraser enlightened us on the recent volcanic history (2001 eruption), and the difficulties it created for the island. That is best reviewed by you here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_eruption_of_La_Soufrière Base camp itself had recovered from the eruption, with just the odd tree with tops totally removed, and new vegetation taking over the new piles of dense ash and small rocks. It was a lush tropical forest we stepped into, albeit the path was newly made with shovels and log steps. The hiking was brisk, but with Fraser stopping regularly to explain the sights. As expected, the hike became steeper and the devastation more obvious. An almost constant rain and fog limited our vision, but kept us rather cool. Soon, we were climbing and scrambling along the tops of the newly formed crevasses through the ash, with very sparse vegetation. We covered some amazing landscapes, including steep rivers with volcanic riverbeds at outrageous angles – regular sluices for rainwater and pyroclastic flows. Sadly, we were stopped at one point by Fraser, who said we’d done the worst of it, proven we could get to the top, but with the fog, we’d see no more than what we were looking at. If we turned around, we’d be able to catch the early ferry. The younger, faster hikers and a different guide made it to the top and admitted it was true – nothing to see. Steve and I blamed Fraser and his regular stops for explanations, but other hikers said our progress was at just the right speed. Oh well, now we know how and can return. I think it was when he referred to our group as the ‘senior citizens’ group that we felt the most pain! The wind did not let up after New Years, and we couldn’t have left Bequia anyway, but on the 7th, our good friends Charlie and Anina (s/v Prism) arrived by air (and ferry) for a land vacation. Charlie had suffered a stroke in the early fall, was recovering remarkably, and they had chosen to travel to see us, some of their floating friends. We met them for lunches, and also booked a cruise to the Tobago Cays with them aboard the Friendship Rose, an old wooden schooner that was originally the region’s mail boat and ferry.

The January 10th sailing was wonderful, with two scrumptious meals served onboard, some great sailing, complimentary drinks of punch, wine, and beer, and an opportunity for snorkelling in the park. Another full day with great people. Although our second time on this adventure, we’d do it again. During the high winds, Dawn and I were involved in saving boats and dinghies and arguing with people in front of us who refused to put out more chain with their anchor. However, the winds finally relented, and we took off for St. Lucia with Steve and Maria (Aspen) and Fred and Sandy (Dakota Dream). Steve, who prefers to motorsail, got across to St. Lucia in fairly good weather, while the rest of us were involved in a heavy squall that took almost three hours of our time and at one point caused us to put our fragile mainsail away. Although we made it with nothing broken, I was so tired I was a zombie. We met our long-time friend John Fallon (Stopp Knot) a few times for lunches and happy hours, usually with a crowd.

We made our way to Ste. Anne, Martinique on a lovely sail on the 17th, and are hiking around with Steve and Maria, sitting amid over 200 other boats, while waiting for news of our new sail. When it is on its way to Rodney Bay, St. Lucia, we will be as well.

For some reason, Blogger wouldn't allow me (Dawn) to add text to the photos today. Looks like we had a blogger.com update! Anyway, you can put it all together. The last couple shots were taken at the Sextant restaurant in Marin, Martinique. Amazing duck confit and very cold and very large Lorraine beers! Alls well!

TECHNICAL Beyond the usual boat chores and working with the specifications for a new sail with North Sails Antigua, there isn’t much going on. I’m working on the designs for improved wiring, as a result of comments by our insurance surveyor. Much of what I need (besides room for the new system) is not on the islands, so not much can be done until the fall. One thing I just finished was the combination of small wires to decrease all the connections to the batteries. I installed a 2-way switch from the auxiliary 2 ampere output from the Blue Sky Solar controller so I can switch it between the two start batteries, then combined these wires with alternator sensors and voltage meter wires into a terminal strip. From the terminal strip, I took two wires to the output of the diode block connecting them to the two start batteries that way. Both wires are fused near the block as that is the new requirement. A little tidier, a little safer, a little better organized.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2023

We’re still in Bequia, anchored off the lower end of Princess Margaret Beach.  The wind and rain continue, sometimes with outrageous squalls.  Still, we’re having a pretty nice time.

 

We hike with a crowd every 2-3 days, choosing old and new destinations and walking and climbing for 2-3.5 hours in the morning and hitting a restaurant at the end.  The Port Hole is becoming the favourite, and they are used to us coming in and rearranging the furniture for 8-10 people.  Their food is good, and their service – most of the time – is great.  On other days, we tend to stay onboard, doing chores, correspondence, and reading.

Hope Bay, Bequia

 

We are meeting some great people to offset those who have swallowed the anchor or left the region over the last two years.  A fun addition to our group also the couple, Garry and Linda, who were close friends in and prior to 2010 aboard their boat July Indian.  They are ashore, moving from rental to rental, and have joined us most days.  They seem to be seriously considering another boat, and the talk is interesting.

 

Looking behind us at yet another beautiful rainbow!

Along the side of the road, we had to work hard to sort out from where this pumpkin plant originated.  Finally we found that it had climbed up into a mango tree via another invasive vine and then went through the mango tree and dangled here and there with loads of pumpkins hanging all over it.  What a jungle it is in the tropics!! (No, we didn’t help ourselves…this time!)

Christmas and New Years involved get-togethers, with New Years Eve on Dakota Dream being a blast.  We took control of the boat while Captain Fred took the ferry to the big island to pick up wife Sandy.  They got back around 6 pm, just before things got in full swing.  All in all, 20 people filled his cockpit, stern platforms, and the galley.  The food was fantastic, the drinks flowed, and the conversations great.

 

Pot Luck dinner at the Fig Tree - Steve & Maria, Garry & Linda, Fred and of course the owner of the restaurant, our good friend Cheryl Johnson.

New Year’s Eve onboard Dakota Dream.  Many are missing in this picture because they were in the galley or out on the bow!  Twenty people in all!!

We’ve never seen so many boats in Bequia’s main harbour.  Many cruisers are complemented by crewed and bareboat charterers and some impressive megayachts.  The bare-boaters are interesting to watch as they seldom understand how to anchor and drag about.  Funny they don’t just google it!  Our own anchor is at about rhode to depth of 6/1, and buried in the sand.  Luckily, we have not had a problem with boats dragging in front of us…yet.

Dawn with Ravine Bay in the background.

 

One impressive megayacht is Sea Eagle II.  It came in yesterday with all sails up and spray flying.  See it here, but don’t forget to come back:  https://www.yachtingworld.com/news/sea-eagle-ii-launched-worlds-largest-aluminium-sailing-yacht-126624

 

We are arranging two events before we leave:  a Friday hike of the Soufriere Volcano on the big island of St. Vincent; and a January 12th trip to the Tobago Keys aboard the schooner Friendship Rose.  Hopefully we’ll both survive and get good pics.

 

We’re healthy and happy and hope the best for all of our friends for the New Year.

 

TECHNICAL

 

We finished renovating the hatches, with a feeling of accomplishment.  This should decrease further deterioration of the levers and latches for a while and save a dollar and some stress.  The stern lifeline 8 snap-shackles have been cleaned and lubricated and we have a solenoid and warning light on the propane line.  I’m looking at other issues from the insurance survey, but the key ones are done.

Laurie working on getting the gas tank to sit up straight while located at the bow of the dinghy.  It was designed to sit on the flat part at the back, but with the engine at the back, it’s just too much weight.

Mixing epoxy and gluing down little pieces of wood to keep the gas tank well behaved in the dinghy!

 

The waterproofing of the Bimini was done reasonably well, considering the wind, but the rain has shown some spots that were missed.

 

The main issue is a new sail.  I’ve worked through 4 quotes, settled on North Sails in Antigua, and have completed the specifications for them.  We have the work scheduled for completion in early February, delivery in St. Lucia, and we put the deposit down tomorrow.  It was a lot of work to get to this point.  Now to find a weather window to get to Rodney Bay with the delicate cloth we now have.