Waiting for Christmas in Bequia

Last Blog found us anchored in Prickly Bay, just over 3 weeks ago.  Since then, we’ve made a few moves. 

We moved downwind to a mooring ball outside of St. George’s as planned, and for some time made that our base of operations.  We made good use of the dinghy dock at the Yacht Club, touring St. George’s and making the long hike to the Spice Island Mall and the Umbrellas restaurant.  A couple of trips picking up provisions tied up the time until our friends arrived.  While we waited, we hosted the new owners of s/v Aspen: Rachael and Susan.  These ladies each own a boat in a northern Ontario yacht club, and on an investigated whim, went searching for an Island Packet down here for joint ownership.  They seem fun, and are definitely enjoying their time down here, albeit with the typical problems of boat ownership.  We also hosted Jock of s/v Unleaded.  He had helped move a Jaguar 36 catamaran from Carriacou to Antigua and had flown into St. George’s late in the evening and needed a bed while waiting for the next ferry to Carriacou.  We were honoured to host, and happy to catch up on his news.

 

Savannah Sky, Steve and Maria’s new Island Packet 48+, with Anina and Charlie s/v Prism) and Fred (s/v Dakota Dream) aboard, arrived from the Cape Verde Islands as part of the ARC+ Rally at 04:00 hrs on December 6^th, and Dawn and I got up to see them pass by on the way to the dock.  We caught up with them later that day, and found them all in good spirits, albeit a little groggy from the 19 days of sleep deprivation.  They came in 89^th out of a group of 90 or 91 finishers.  To be fair, they had no real downwind sails on a voyage that was totally downwind – when there was enough to move the boat; and north swells disrupted the sails and made for a rather uncomfortable trip.  Island Packets are comfortable, durable boats – not speed demons.

 

We spent some time with them before Charlie and Anina headed to Trinidad to start working on Prism, and we all spent a full day helping Fred in the boatyard with Dakota Dream.  We got rewarded by a lovely lunch and a later happy hour at One Love restaurant by Fred.  After a few more lunches with Steve and Maria, we caught a weather window to Carriacou, on December 11^th.  The weather models lied about both the strength and direction of the wind, and our Carriacou trip was a 6-hour motorboat ride.  However, we got in early, and had a lovely evening. 

 

We answered a call on the VHF radio from a boat called Zepher needing assistance.  Coincidentally, they were right beside us in the mooring field.  They required help to get their crew and lots of luggage to shore that evening.  They had just sailed across the Atlantic and their crew had overnight accommodations on land.  This meant that the owners of the boat would get their bed and space back!  Laurie jumped into the dinghy and took them into St. George’s where they could hail a cab.  The owners of the boat were so grateful, they gave us a few pounds of fresh tuna they had caught along the way.  We ate tuna for days!!

Tuna for two for days!

The very next day, we responded to a call from Louise and Joseph of s/v Tangaroa II and went on a 3-hour hike to a bay by Dumfries near the Cassada Restaurant.  The hike was partially new to us and much fun, with 20 other participants.  We kind of just enjoyed the boat for the next day and used Thursday to do Customs out of Grenada and enjoy the Iguanas Bar – and their fantastic fish tacos.

Hike in Carriacou - 9.6 km and 3.5 hours

This is Hamish who easily doubled our distance…what energy in this heat!!

Friday’s sail to Bequia will go down as one of the best.  Compared to last year, when on this leg we were soaked, blew our mainsail, had a leaky Bimini, and other wind-blown issues, this sail was just as advertised.  A fair wind, good angle, reasonable speed, and just spray salt on the boat.  Dawn enjoyed it so much she let me sail on and into the anchorage!  A rain before bedtime washed the boat.

Carriacou into Chatham Bay, Union Island (3:00 to 5:30pm)

Union Island up to Bequia…all sailing until the very end!!!

Directly into Port Elizabeth, anchored right off the reef in Sweet Bequia!!

 

We have made contact with shoreside travellers Linda and Garry, and have had a lunch with them at the Fig Tree.  Tomorrow, we all hit the trails again with Louise and Joseph.

We’re one of the wee boats in behind this monster!

Getting caught up with Garry and Linda at the top of the hill at the Fort.

The Old Fort, Bequia

We have several old time friends arriving in the next couple days here in Bequia and we’re organizing our own potluck Christmas dinner.

 

TECHNICAL

 

We were were once again surprised to find our water maker doing well in the waters of St. George’s.  The membrane was installed in 2012 and is still putting out water below 315 ppm hardness.  We bought a new membrane for last year, and still wait for the inevitable failure.  The water maker still needs 35 amps at 12.6 Volts, so an engine must be run.  However, with the new solar panels, we can run one engine, and manage the power requirements of both the water maker and the refrigerator cold plate.  We make water every 2-3 days.  When not making water, we run the cold plate at 15-minute intervals with just solar.

 

One concern we have is the barnacles we found on our bottom paint this week – the worst we’ve seen, especially concerning how early in the season it is.  We tend to want to blame the inconsistent quality control of Islands 44, but it also could be the extreme high temperatures of the water this year.  Our little bit of snorkelling has provided us with some views of bleached-out brain coral, more than we’ve ever seen.  The water temperature this morning is 28.5 C.

 

We also have significant browning of our screens, both the radio and the Raymarine chart plotter a75.  We’ve been speaking with George of s/v Fathom this, and he says he is having luck with dismantling the devices and replacing the thin polarized film with film from Amazon.  We’ll research that.