Rainy Vacation....

Mike arrived for a weeks vacation last Tuesday...it has now rained 5 out of the last 7 days.  Not the usual tropical showers...but day long monsoon rains dumping 3 to 5 inches of rain per day.  We are saturated.

So on Monday, we decided to sail south to show Michael St. Lucia's impressive Piton Mountains.  All of the moorings were reserved (new thing) except for one in the southern corner of the bay directly under the larger of the two Pitons. The location was dramatic as we were under the mountain; only 100 feet from the rocky base.  We were enjoying watching a video when the wind shifted to the Southwest and the ocean swell shifted from the west simultaneously.  An ocean surge started pounding into the bay....the sea floor raises from several thousand feet to only 50 feet in a mere 100 yards.  The result was a dangerous surf  re-bounding off the side of the Piton wildly rocking Persephone from side to side. Suddenly, our situation became perilous !!

Rainy approach to the Pitons......

  Despite being 11 pm and driving rain, there was only one seaman like decision to be made....immediately escape the 'deathtrap' to the safety of the sea.  Quickly we bailed out the flooded dinghy (full of rain water, as it was pouring that hard...being in the dinghy was like riding a bucking bronco; without the clowns to get you out !), readied the boat, reviewed our escape plans to safety and quickly dropped the mooring lines.  There could be zero error...as we were only 100 feet from the pounding surf against the base of the mountain.  THE PLAN was executed perfectly and Persephone motored away from danger.  It is counter intuitive to drop a mooring line and motor out to sea, in the black of night,  with driving rain studded with cracks of lightning.  But boats like water... not rocks.   Persephone was MUCH safer at sea than trapped against a lee shore.

We motored back to Marigot Bay and arrived just before 2 AM where we picked up a mooring, had a beer and had a comfortable, safe nights sleep.

Lesson Learned:  Last summer there was a debate among serveral  sailing friends about whether radar was a worthwile expense in the Caribbean.  Many 'seasoned' sailors said I was foolish to spend the money replacing our radar as it was an unnecessary, needless expense which used to much power.   Despite their 'sage advise', I bit the bullet and installed a new digital radar system when  upgrading the navigational equipment.  Was this the right decision !!  Without radar, our escape from Monday's deathtrap would have been much more difficult, and entering narrow Marigot Bay  in the black of night would have been as dangerous as staying on the Piton mooring.  (The light on the outter marker at Marigot had nearly failed;  blinking only sporatically).   Simply, radar saved our butt, making a very difficult situation managable by increasing our situational awareness.  Thank God I listened to my gut and kept radar as an essential part of our navigational instruments. 

RADAR ROCKS (and keeps you off them too) !!

THE CREW

Third Tropical Thanksgiving...

'Persephone' celebrated a wonderful, traditional Thanksgiving Day in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia....

L to R:  Ann 'Impressionist', Janice 'Sailacious' and Trudie

Trudie prepared a fresh turkey, cranberry sauce, and two pumpkin pies.  Ann and Janice prepared all the 'side fixings'.   Mike (who is aboard until Wednesday) and I went to a beach bar while Trudie was slaving in the galley !   We ate and ate and ate some more.  It was a terrific turkey day among friends.

Yesterday, I went to the dentist in Castries while Trudie and Mike hung out on Persephone cleaning up after the feast.  We all spent the afternoon lounging on the beach and just relaxing.   The beer supply is running short !  THE CREW

Quick Update....

Good morning from Persephone....

Marigot Bay...'Persephone' is in the center of the anchorage.

 This is just a quick update on what's going on here.  Persephone spent 3 nights in Marigot Bay, St. Lucia; one of our favorite anchorages.  When we arrived, several of the 'boat boys' welcomed us back to the Bay...guess we have become 'regulars'.
On Sunday, we moved up to Rodney Bay; only eight miles from Marigot.  We dragged a fishing line with only a single hit, but the fish was not hooked....hate it when that happens !

Persephone, for the first time in 6 months,  went into a marina.  This is a rare occurrence due to the cost, noise and lack of privacy.  But, the batteries on Persephone needed to be equalized; which can only be done efficiently with shore power.  The other treat of being in a marina is being able to take a LONG  shower ashore with limitless water.  Thinking back,   I haven't taken a shower ashore since being in New England a year ago !!    It was luxurious !!

Our friend Mike arrives today from the States.  We are picking him up at the airport (1 1/2 hours away) in the early afternoon.  The taxi fare is approximately $100.00 US one way !!  NO WAY !  So, we are going to take a bus from here to Castries (St. Lucia's capital) at a cost of $3.50 EC ($1.30 US)  and then transfer to Vieux Fort which is located at the opposite end of the island from Rodney Bay.  (Cost:  appx $7.00 EC or $2.60 US)  Less than $4 US sounds a lot better than $100....we will let you know how we make out.....

Busing our way across St. Lucia....  THE CREW
  

Time for Pictures.....

After days without internet, I managed to find an internet connection (weak)  tonite in Saline Bay, Mayreau.  (A small island part to the Grenedines island chain, owned by the country of St. Vincent....  So, it is time to post some pictures of the adventure:

Sandy Island, Carriacou.  The mountains of Union Island in the background.
"Sailacious" and "Persephone" anchored here for the night.

Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau....'Persephone' is anchored in
middle of the bay...beautiful !!

Mayreau Island looking out over the Tobago Keys where 'Persephone' anchored last night.

A rum shop in Mayreau..."Love Happens"

"Pink Lady" anchored in Saltwhistle Bay.  You may remember "Pink Lady" from the April Blog from the
Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua.  This is the boat with the all woman crew deck out in pink bikinis
 floppy white hats, and occasional T-shirts saying "Girls for Sail" !!

FLYPAPER......

"PERSEPHONE !! PERSEPHONE !! DAVID, GET ON DECK QUICK !!!!! YOU HAVE A KITE WRAPPED AROUND YOUR MAST !!!"; the radio blared. It was Janice on 'Sailacious' shouting into the mike….
I bounded through the companionway expecting to see a kid's kite caught in the rigging. WRONG !! It was a HUGE kite-wing from a kite boarder. He was trying "sail" through the fleet of anchored boats in the Tobago Keys. He lost control and flew his kite directly into Persephone; wrapping the rigging of the kite wing (including the harness) around the upper two-thirds of Persephone's mast !! The rigging lines of the wing (sort of looks like a parachute) was wrapped around the second spreader, and the rest of the lines were wrapped around the masthead. The wing was blowing in the wind about 40 feet behind Persephone and about 50 feet off the water.

WTF !!! I examined the situation and realized that something had to be done; and fast. The immediate issue was preventing damage to the instruments at the top of the mast. Steve and Janice (sv Sailacious) arrived by dinghy with their mouths literally wide open in amazement. We discussed THE PLAN… Now, you all know how I feel about heights….I would rather have a quadruple root canal without Novocain than go up the mast. Simply, I don't do heights, nada, never, no way…but the wing had to be cut down; and soon.

So, with mucho bravado I rigged the bosom chair for the assent up the mast. I rigged the chair, attached a safety line, swallowed heavily, and Steve winched me up the mast to about 30 feet. Did I mention the wind and the approaching squall ? The wind was blowing 20+ knots and the boat was rolling side to side in the swells. My legs were tightly wrapped around the mast to prevent me from becoming a human pendulum as the boat rocked side to side in the waves. I brought a boat hook with me and was able to hook the rigging of the kite-wing and pull it from the spreader end. The pole jammed and started to bend due to the pressure of the wind on the flogging wing…."Look out below", I yelled as I released the pole. The pole sprung free, and was propelled 50 feet into the air and nearly 100 feet behind Persephone where it landed in the water (at least this time I had bought a floating pole…recall the anchoring dilemma in St. Lucia last year ? ). The wing was partially freed; but continued to stream straight back as it was still wrapped around the very top of the mast., I just didn't have the testicular fortitude to go to the top of the mast in the wind and waves. (I don't leave the deck in the BEST of conditions….what the hell was I doing dangling between the first and second spreader 30 + feet in the air ? )

As I was hanging around (literally), a crew of charter boaters who we had met in Saltwhistle Bay arrived by dinghy and offered to help. One of the crew was a mountain climber and offered to go aloft. "NO problem" …I gasped in relief. "Steve, get me down "!
As Steve lowered me to the deck the wind increased as the squall approached….it just wasn't safe for anyone to be up the mast with the boat rolling in the wind generated waves. As we were re-working THE PLAN, POP !! the rigging line on the wing broke and the whole rig streamed free of Persephone . Free at last, free at last !! The last I saw was the wing flying toward Union Island….I never looked back.

Being a bit shaken from my aerial acrobatics, I darted below and reappeared with shot glasses, a nice bottle of rum, and beers for all. We (all 6 of us) retired to the cockpit to toast the squall (and for me to settle my frayed nerves). This is the first time I know of that a sailor toasted a squall !

About a year ago, Lynn and Ken on 'Silver Heels III' changed 'Persephone's name to "Flypaper". The change of name was due to the uncanny number of boats that anchor way to close to ' Persephone'. 'Persephone' could be the only boat in a wide open anchorage and the only other boat (usually French flagged) will drop it's anchor 15 feet away. When asked to anchor further away, the offending boat usually puts out fenders, and gives me the finger….thus, the moniker "Flypaper".

The name "Flypaper" now has a whole new literal meaning…. it gets things with wings stuck in the rigging….could the name be any more perfect ?

Capt. Dave

Ham Fist Mechanic !!!!

So, there I am motor-sailing from Grenada to Carricou on Sunday watching the engine temp gauge teetering on the edge of over-heating. When I got to Carriacou, I tore much of the cooling system apart looking for the problem. The final part of reassembly was putting a 2 1/2" cap on the end of the heat exchanger. As I am tightening, I am saying to myself..."not to tight...not to tight...that's it...NAW, one more 1/8 of a turn will do it". SNAP !!!!!! Yep, that did it !!! I cracked the damn thing. Of course it leaked like a sieve....I knew it !! Well, not to be deterred by a gushing leak, out came the Gorilla Tape and Crazy Glue and I was able to stem the deluge to a moderate drip.

THE TEST came on Tuesday when 'Persephone' motored the 3 miles from Tyrell Bay to Sandy Island. Sandy Island is an idyllic, tropical mini-island; perfect for beaching and snorkeling. (This posting is being sent via ham radio, so I can't send pictures). My best description is the small island where CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow was left by Capt Barbosa in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. The kind of island with white sands, and a handful of picturesque palm trees. On yeah, back to THE TEST...(I get distracted so easily these days...) Other than the drip, the temp was pretty good...just a bit elevated, but acceptable for now. I will deal with it when I arrive in a more civilized spot ie. St. Lucia.

Yesterday was a perfect sailing day, so 'Persephone' flew up to Clifton, Union Island (part of the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines...SVG for short). Customs and Immigration were cleared with the usual hassles and Clifton was left astern as quickly as possible. (Clifton has a lot of pastel, tropical colored paint but that is about it...) 'Persephone' took advantage of the favorable winds and made the short hop over to Chatham Bay. Chatham is on the FAVORITES list...A long curving bay of white sand, dotted with a couple of rustic beach bars...the way the Caribbean was 20 years ago. There is only a very rough road to Chatham, so it is insulated from the tourist, and left in its natural state. I will post pictures when I have internet....it is truly beautiful. As I type this, the sky is bright blue, a couple of puffy white clouds, and just a zephyr of a breeze. Just the kind of day which makes one glad that they are a ham fisted mechanic breaking things in paradise...
Capt Dave

On the Road Again.....

As our Texan friend Miss Kitty (sv 'Falcon') says: "This cruising life is just a series of 'howdies and 'so longs'"…. She is so right. After five months, it is time for 'Persephone' to say 'so long' to Grenada. This year's departure is even harder than last year's due to the additional friendships we made this summer. Saying 'so long' to 'Silver Heels III' was especially "tuff"…last winter we buddy-boated for nearly 6 months from Grenada to Antigua and back. This year, the Heels are spending the Christmas season in Toronto so they won't get underway from Grenada until late January. They will be missed…..hope to see you up island later in the season.
'Persephone' left Grenada on Sunday, and sailed the 38 miles north to the island of Carriacou (one of the 3 islands which make up the country of Grenada). This was a "shake down" cruise to get the kinks out after sitting in the harbor for five months. The Gremlins were obviously at play while 'Persephone' sat in Mt. Hartman Bay (rhyme intentional) …The most serious issue was overheating of the main engine. Although it didn't reach the critical stage, the engine was running about 20 degrees hotter than normal. (all the time the engine was running, the over-heat alarm was sounding…enough to drive you nuts ! Thank Neptune that it was good sailing and the engine was only needed for about 45 minutes to enter the harbor). Yesterday, I spent the entire day trying to find the problem; replaced the thermostat, checked the sea water intake, and cleaned the heat exchanger. I have not been able to determine if my labors solved the problem as I found (or I over tightened it during re-install) an end cap on the heat exchanger cracked which is now leaking salt water all over the transmission. This is a $2.00 proprietary part which must be ordered from the states. Carriacou is a very small, rural, quintessential Carib island and has no marine parts or services… heck, the internet hasn't worked since I arrived…and I want boat parts…good luck !! So, I am going to have to use my best Rube Goldberg skills and jury-rig something so I can use the engine to leave. Now, I'm trying not to over-heat !!

(I still don't have internet so I am posting this via amateur (ham) radio)