Snorkeling on Canouan

Capt Dave

Yesterday, 'Persephone, 'Silver Heels III', and 'Liahona' spent the afternoon snorkeling the reefs of Canouan.  Willie of 'Liahona' was the photographer.....

Sea fans in foreground.  Sgt Major swims by in the background

Underwater seascape......

Lynn (right) of SH 3 enjoys snorkeling along the surface, while husband

Ken (below)  bobs to the surface; looking very natty with his baseball

hat turned around for sun protection.... 





Ole Dave checks a 'hidy-hole' for lobsters to keep in practice.
If lobsters were in season, I would have my spear ready !! 

Ole Dave points out some sea critters to the group snorkeling above
(The critter was a spotted sea snake)

Parking Lot....Canouan style 

The BLUE form !!

Tuesday night:
Mon, it’s been a long day….time for bed !! These shorts are really getting funky....time for the laundry. Let’s see if there is anything in the pockets. Yup, some old, folded up blue hunk of paper….must be a store receipt. Better tear it up…and into the wastebasket it goes. “Now I lay me down to sleep”…..snore…ZZZZZZZZZZz

Wednesday morning:

Good morning world, and good morning Bequia. ‘Persephone’ is anchored in Bequia, flying a yellow Q flag, after sailing down from St. Lucia yesterday. We have not yet cleared into the country. So, what’s on the agenda today ?? ‘Liahona’ and ‘Persephone’ decided to make the16 mile hop down to the island of Canouan. (“can-ou-wan” a small island located in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines…or simply SVG). 'Persephone' decided we would save time and clear customs and immigration in Canouan. We had a fast, super sail from Bequia to Canouan, arriving just before noon.

Wednesday afternoon:

“Well, be better get legal in SVGl”, I said. It’s time to clear into the country with Customs and Immigration. Persephone has never been to Canouan before, so we pulled out the guidebook to find where C and I were located….easy, at the airport. But, where’s the airport? And how do we get there ?? After looking at our navigation charts, we were able to find the airport, and determined that it was too far to walk, especially in the heat. So, why not take the dinghy. OK, let’s go !! We dinghyed about 2 1/2+ miles around the south side of the island, and pulled the dinghy up on the beach near the airport; just as a rain squall arrived. It was a short, easy walk to the airport in the rain. We found Customs and Immigration, and started filling out the forms; as we were still dripping from the rain (essentially looking like a drowned rat). The customs agent asked for our clearance form issued when checking out of St. Lucia. He looked straight at me and said, you know mon, the BLUE departure form ?? “You, do have it, don’t you” ??!! Oh, my God !! NOT THE BLUE PAPER THAT WAS IN MY SHORTS, I thought !! Terrified, I said: “Sorry, sir, but I can’t find the BLUE form”. (I couldn’t tell him I threw it away !! Now I thinking 3rd world jail !! ) “Mon, we going to hold onto your passports”,,,better go back to to da boat and find da form, mon”..... “Yes, Sir”, I said sheepishly…..and off I went to the beach and the dinghy. (Just maybe I was wrong, and the BLUE form was somewhere in the desk at the nav station and NOT in the trash). So, I dutifully made the 5 mile round trip back to ‘Persephone’ in the dinghy just in case. As I dinghyed around the island all I could think was: “Are they going to throw ‘Persephone’ out of the country” ? “Fine us” ?? “Impound the boat” ?? “Or, just throw us in jail” ?? This is NOT good !! I never been thrown out of a country before !! When I returned to Customs, the official had checked the passports and saw the proper stamps from St. Lucia which showed we were legitimately in St. L, and had our passports properly stamped. He decided reluctantly that ‘Persephone’ could stay…..but not after a stern lecture about being responsible, keeping government paperwork safe, and not ever showing up in SVG again without the proper paperwork. Yes, Sir, yes, sir, no problem….Thank you, thank you, for not throwing us out of the country !! We got back to Persephone just shortly before sunset. The end of the day was perfect !! Friends, a cold rum punch, a green flash and Persephone could remain in the SVGs !!

Pigeon Island.....

Pigeon Island is located on the north rim of Rodney Bay.  On the left (western) hill of Pigeon, the English built a fort so that they could keep a close eye on the main French naval base at Martinique, just 25 north. Just getting the stone blocks up the hill, not to mention the cannons, had to be a monumental engineering feat.  The right (eastern) part of the island is called 'Signal Hill'.  The US Navy set up a radio installation here during WW II.  

Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay

Anne on 'Impressionist' suggested (in her delightful English accent)  that we (we:  the crews of 4 cruising boats) climb up to the fort !  "Climb" and "UP" are the the operative words......As it turns out, we actually climbed BOTH hills.  We first climbed to the fort and then crossed over to Signal Hill...

Looking UP at the fort

Anne chose the perfect day for the accent....Friday was hazy with a nice breeze; perfect for the climb.  It was well worth the effort....sweating out all of those evil spirts left over from the tour of the rum distillary two posts ago.....This is looking down on the Fort from Signal Hill....

This is looking south along the St. Lucian coast.  The Pitons are faintly
seen in the background 20 miles away

And, this is Rodney Bay.....Persephone is anchored among the fleet :

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Rodney Bay, St. Lucia

Altenator is the white device on the
right side of the engine. Harness is
on the floor.

During the past couple of trips, the electrical charging system on the main engine has been fluky; sometimes charging, and sometimes not.  I was not particularly worried as Persephone has a back-up generator and the solar panels.  Finally, while motoring earlier this week up to Rodney Bay, the charging system failed entirely.  Guess I have to do something about it, I thought.

After an hour of diagnostics, it was determined that the regulator and not the alternator had failed.  No problem.....as  SUPER CAPTAIN has a spare regulator on board.  I adjusted my super hero cape and pulled out the spare, still in the factory sealed box.  I opened the box, (even) read the instructions and was about to install the regulator.  BUT !!!  A second look showed that the regulator was a 24 volt unit, NOT the needed 12 volt.....I spun around so fast trying to find the packing box, I damn near tripped over my cape !!  I rechecked the box....it was correctly labeled, but contained the wrong regulator.... The factory put the wrong regulator in the box !!  Well, at least it wasn't SUPER CAPTAIN'S fault......      

I removed the old wires, and installed the new wiring harness.  Now, I am just waiting for the new regulator to arrive from the states....  Well waiting, perhaps I will do some 'mountaineering' .....but you will have to wait for that adventure until the next blog....

Capt. Dave

    

Rhythm of Rum....

Well, here we ('Liahona' and 'Persephone') are still at Marigot Bay, St. Lucia.... Another squall front is approaching with rain, high winds, overcast, and it's Friday the Thirteenth.  No sane sailor would EVER set sail on a Friday never mind Friday the 13th.  It's just plain SUICIDE!!

Sometime in the 19th century, the Royal Navy attempted to finally dispel the old superstition among sailors that beginning a voyage on a Friday was certain to bring bad luck. To demonstrate the falseness of this belief, they decided to commission a ship named HMS Friday. Her keel was laid on a Friday, she was launched on a Friday, and she set sail on her maiden voyage on a Friday.   She was never seen or heard from again !! 

Now, you can understand my reluctance to leave Marigot Bay today. So, what's a safety minded sailor to do ?? There is ONLY one answer..... go to a rum distillery and watch how rum is made..... let's go !!







The basics for making rum are straight forward. Blend sugar (from sugar cane or molasses), water and yeast. Let is sit for 24 hours, distill it, let it age for a while, bottle and drink.

Above left is a small copper Pot Still.  Below is a larger copper Pot Still.  The larger still is used for distilling St. Lucia's premier rum....Admiral Rodney which is aged in oak barrels bought used from the Jack Daniel's distillery in the states for minimum of eight years before it is ready to bottle.

After a strenuous tour of St. Lucia's only rum distillary, there is only one thing left to do...sample the product !!  Here I was worrying about the weather, and Friday the 13th.  Now I have to worry about a Rum Squall !!!   Think I will have another taste of the coconut creme, no maybe the Director's Spiced,  no the Admiral Rodney, no...on the other hand..... ???

 





Just Liming........

Yesterday, Persephone motored the 6+ miles from Rodney Bay, St. Lucia to Marigot Bay.  It was such a short hop, I was just too lazy to put up the sails.  I dragged a fishing line with a brand new lure all the way hoping for a nice tuna dinner...unfortunately, no luck.

'Liahona' and 'Persephone' will spend a couple of days enjoying Marigot.  Yesterday, we went to one of the local "watering holes" for lunch.  Little did we know that they had a drink special...buy one get one free.  Made for a long afternoon.... :)

After lunch, we took the dinghys around the corner to a deserted, black sand beach were we cooled off.
We have no scheduled projects so the plan is just to lime for the next couple of days.  Future plans call for installation of another solar panel, and perhaps a washing machine....meanwhile I am going to enjoy the down time !!   

St. Lucia.....

"Liahona" sails south to St. Lucia

After being in Martinique for a bit over a week, it was time to move south to St. Lucia...back to a place where I can actually speak the language !!  The distance between Martinique and St. L is only 25 miles, a mere 'hop' after the lengthy sails of late.  The sail itself was spectacular !!  The winds and seas were perfect and allowed Persephone to 'stretch her legs' and show her speed.  Persephone arrived in Rodney Bay an hour + ahead of SH3 and Liahona.

We plan on being in Rodney only a day or two, as there is not much happening here.  The bay is beach-lined with resort hotels, including Sandels.  So, after some reprovisioning, we will be heading south probably to Marigot Bay and then on to the Pitons.  Will keep you up to date.....

Capt Dave

Saturday Night....

This is just a quick update from the Bay of Cyclones, LeMarin, Martinique. Persephone has been here for the past week. Bay of Cyclones is a great place to get work done on the boat as it is a nearly completely enclosed mangrove 'swamp". The winds are dissipated by the surrounding hills, and all seas are abated by the shore lined mangroves. So without wind and seas, I have been able to get Persephone completely washed and waxed. She is looking really good...to make her look great I need my electric buffer which I left in Connecticut. But, she passes the fifty foot test !

But, it hasn't been all work and no play. We celebrated Cinco de Mayo, took a bus trip to the capital Fort de France, and checked out a local boat show; not to mention shopping in the French super markets. As I have said before, the French sure know their food....I am on the baguette a day program !!

The most significant feature of the week has been the rain. It has rained and rained and then rained some more. And, this is NOT the wet season !! It has rained so much that I have not had to use the watermaker, as fresh water is being collected off the decks. Actually, it has been raining for nearly two weeks, and the updated forecast features MORE rain for at least the next week !! A freak front is stalled over the central eastern Caribbean. There is even talk about this front forming the first tropical low of the season...no thanks !!

Persephone is loosely buddy-boating with Silver Heels III and Liahona. We have decided to leave Martinique in the morning for St. Lucia. This is an easy twenty-five mile hop which we will do in the morning.

Hopefully, we will have regular internet in St. Lucia and I can get back to regular postings of both text and pictures....

Happy Mothers' Day as it applies....

Capt Dave