Admirity Bay Bequia. ... Part two

Arrived in Bequia Friday about 4:00. Just checking out the town today after clearing customs. We'll post more tomorrow. 

Part two

Sunday morning now and after a quiet day yesterday I'll bring you up to date.

We left Rodney Bay on Wed after struggling to get the dinghy out of the water,flipped over and secured to the fore deck to prepare to sail. Our dinghy davits have not been installed yet ( another job hopefully for Bequia). We left about noon and had a pleasant sail down to the Pitons. We sailed down at about 6-7 knots along the coast line for about 18 miles. Our friends on Saltscar III were there with dinner waiting. We were off early on Friday morning for a 50 mile sail. We made 7-8 knots most of the way and managed to dodge any showers. The winds gusted to about 20 knots but no difficulties at all. We sail with 3 reefs in the main for more control and 7-8 knots is lots for us so far. We arrived in Admirlity Bay 4:00 in lots of good sunlight to anchor. It is a large bay and not crowded at all. So an easy spot to anchor. On Sat we checked in to customs and set out to explore the town. The main road is very quaint with fruit and vegetable stands,jewellry,t-shirts etc set up but no one is aggressive and not at all intimidating. We found a good spot for wifi and a good spot for lunch. We found the shop where the canvas work will be done. Wel'll see him Monday am .... he doesn't work on the weekend.....amazing. 

The last picture is Sea Bound Spirit anchored further out in the bay and a couple boats getting under way. A slight shower had just finished .... not enough to rinse the salt off the boat yet. Rainbows are so prevelant here it always amazes me. 

Hope everyone is having fun preparing for the busy Christmas season. They have been playing Christmas songs in the stores and decorations abound since we got here. 

Peace and Plenty out 

Rain rain and more rain

We are having a very rainy couple of days ... Open the hatches close the hatches and duck for cover. It has been quite windy too. We had been grocery shopping and getting back to the boat when the heavens opened. The rain and wind was so strong it actually flattened the waves. We pushed through and got to the boat drenched dispute our ponchos flapping in the wind. 

 We were anchored in a nice spot but when Brian swam and checked the anchor this morning  it was totally undone. Three charter boats came in the evening and the closest one was perhaps too close and maybe he upped our anchor along with his own. We took two tries to get set today in a new spot not so far from town if we get caught in the rain again. 

We have seen lots of pictures of the nasty snowstorm in London,Ont. We really wish you all well but sure don't miss any of that.  This was our Sunday afternoon in the photos. 

We are making preparations for our first sail of the season. We are leaving on Thursday or Friday for the small island of Bequia. It will be about a 60 mile sail south of St Lucia. We have contacted a person to have our canvas work done and need to there the first of Dec for about two weeks. We were there many years ago with Dawn and Laurie . 

All for now take care 

Peace Out 

Ready for Sea?

Well maybe it would be more correct to say ready for the bay!

We've had a couple of good days when it comes to getting things done and there has only been some minor bloodshed. First of all after three tries by Island Water World the dinghy is no longer taking on water. It seems the manufacturer (caribe) considers sealant on hulls optional! We took it from the marina to Jambe de Bois, planing most of the way there and back,  pulled it out, opened the drain and just a few drips came out. Another success story was with the raw water pump on the engine. When we hit the water and started the motor it was dripping very steadily. It's old ( as in obsolete) so we were concerned that it may need to be replaced. Into the manual we go and onto the Internet. By the way we don't have a model number just the make. We have a schematic diagram, so we pulled it apart. The lip seal is gone. Nice to know but where do you find a new one. Since we use a Volvo-Penta impeller and they were referenced on Google they seemed to be the place to start. Finding them is the first step. It turns out they are about two blocks from the boatyard and in a residential area. After calling on the phone and getting no answer it was time for a walk. The place is a shipping container! Keeping the story short, it was cleverly divided into office an shop. The part number we had made no sense so we had to return the next day (yesterday) when the boss was there. Well we came back with the housing containing the seal, should have brought the shaft as well! Back to the boat. Back with all the parts. Low and behold they had just received a shipment of seals and they fit! So Egbert Charles of MarinTek cleaned up the parts and re-assembled the pump and only charged for the seals. We bought a spare. He did suggest that the pump was well worn and we should look for a replacement. We had already come to that conclusion.  Back to the boat, install, run motor, PERFECT! Having prayed for favour in the morning we believe we received it along with considerable excercise hiking back and forth.

Now for the bloodshed part. While installing the pump and replacement hoses the lid over the engine compartment fell on the captain's head and drew blood. Not severely just enough to be annoying.

Otherwise the admiral has scrapped all the varnish with a chisel (it was that thick!, people must have a varnish fetish here!) Now we are going to rub the wood down with teak oil and see what happens. We are not so particular with the appearance of the wood. It's overrated on a plastic boat!

So today, Saturday, we hope to get out into the bay and start relaxing and reading up on how to operate our new equipment.

Brian 

Saturday has come and gone and we are indeed in the bay. What a joy to be here! It was a beautiful afternoon and we anchored on our first try always an accomplishment. The evening was perfect light breezes and a starrry sky. We had a BBQ having found a butcher shop in the marina village that has beef as good or better than anything we have ever eaten. So wonderful first day in the bay. The sunset was great too although no green flash. 

Sunday has turned out not quite so good so far. When we arrived in early Nov. the bed cushions had to be cleaned and came back smelling fresh and clean. But after a week as I was retucking the sheets around the cushions I found wetness under the middle section. That cushion must have not completely dried and gravity pulled the wetness down. We have it out in the sun trying to dodge the showers... one so far. That also meant the sheet was wet so today became laundry day. 

The bay has been very busy this morning. The marina holds an event to mark the beginning of the ARC. That is a race from the Canary Islands starting Nov 22 and ending here in Rodney Bay. So this morning about 20 sailboats took off for a sail to Castries. Then a Clipper Ship ( a cruise line) arrived and anchored behind us and the general traffic generated from Sandles made for a very busy spot this morning. We spent some time finishing up tidying up the inside of the boat and hanging pictures we brought from home. 

Lorna 

Checking off the list

The work list is getting shorter, room to walk around inside the boat now and generally feeling good about things so far. The Mack Pack sail cover went on quite easily and the main sail is on this morning. The sailing instruments have been finished,the dinghy still leaks back again to the shop and no sign of the davit installer. Win some and lose some! 

It is a good feeling as you are tied up at the dock and people stop to say hello. What a difference a year makes for knowing people. We have friends! The swimming pool here in the marina is a great place to chat with other cruisers. 

We took a dinghy tour out into the bay last night for sunset and the winds were from the west...very unusual to see the boats pointing bow to the open sea. The area we usually anchor in was quite flat but on the south side it was very confused seas with the boats rocking and the masts swinging. Glad we were at the dock! 

So as you can tell we are busy but not too much interesting to blog about. 

Whipper

The new dinghy we purchased at the end of last year was picked up today and put into service. We have named it Whipper in honour of a long time trusty dog Brian and his brothers had. We are hoping the dinghy will serve us as long and well. 

We are still working away on getting things organized down below. Every time a job needs to be done we have to drag out every tool we own it would seem. The weather has been very hot even the locals say so. That really makes a difference when you are trying to work. We still have no cooking as the propane tank was recalled ( new one bought at the end of last season) and new ones have not arrived yet. The owner of the local marine store will loan us one but has not produced it yet. A sad morning without coffee for sure. Some of the hardships we must endure. But on a good note we have wifi on the boat at the dock. So emails and blogs will be regular for a short while. The FaceTime connection is not too good anywhere we go it seems. But always good to see a face even if the audio is poor. 

So much for news today.hope everyone is warm and well.

Peace out

Safe and cooler in the marina

Yesterday Thursday was launch day and we are in the marina for about a week while most of the jobs get finished before heading out in the bay to anchor. It is amazing how much cooler it is. The picture really shows just how much space the yard men have to work with as they move your boat around. The day before they actually leaned the power boat to make room for a 50 footer to pass. But they manage somehow.I don't seem to be able to move the pictures around so things are out of order. The shot of the golf cart is all our laundry returning from cleaning after the mould issue. The shot under the boat is the stuff we brought down. Brian's hand is healing well and still requires a large bandaid and still swollen but he will live to drink another beer. 

Blood, Sweat and Tears

Well here we go, we're not talking old rock groups here. 

We arrived in lovely St. Lucia on Thursday and hit the tarmac running. Well not quite. What happened was we were the last people off the plane so by the time we got to customs with four bags and two boxes all the West Jet passengers had gone and a BOAC flight was clearing through. We got waved over to a customs agent who proceeded to sign papers and take phone calls before giving his attention to us. To make a long story short he asked what was in the boxes and we said boat parts. Next thing you know he's on the phone to Rodney Bay Marina customs office and informs us we have until 6:00 to get there to have them clear us in and we will have to pay overtime. Fortunately our pre- arranged taxi driver Smarty had the patience to wait for us. When he heard our deadline he called an associate to check the traffic in Castries (the capital) because it would be busy and we needed to get to the other side. By the way it was 4:30 when we finally got everything loaded into Smarty's van and hit the road. Anyone who has been here knows it is nearly impossible to get from one end of the island to the other in an hour and a half. We made it at 6:10. What a ride. Fortunately Smarty had some Pitons (beer) on ice for us. So the customs agent was still there and came down to the van and looked at the boxes and said that we will need to show the items installed before we leave the country. Quite anticlimacticn! Smarty was a bit peeved at them but we were relieved. Much to do about nothing.

Moving on, we are staying at the BayGardens Hotel which is quite nice and just a short walk or $3.00 EC bus ride from the boat.

The boat was clean on the outside; apparently they had a lot of rain this year. Unfortunately there had been a lot water in the bilge resulting in mold. Most of it had been cleaned up for us but Lorna has been scrubbing and disinfecting like mad. We sent all our bed cushions and linens out to be laundered. They should be ready for us on Monday. I have been busy crawling through the innards of the boat getting the motor ready, hooking up the batteries and generally staying out of Lorna's way!

So much for The Sweat and some of the Tears.

More Tears:

We received this picture from our daughter Kendra:

That's our Grand Daughter Sydney (6 mos) looking at Lorna (Nana) while we face timed from St. Lucia. Nana was crying then and when she saw the picture.

About the Blood:

My hand after a bit of attention. I was removing a line from the wind generator when "twang" my hand got nicked by a blade!!!! Lorna asked if I was okay and I said "yes" then I saw the blood and said "no". No tears though. We got busy with some peroxide and steri strips and stopped the bleeding. I have a cut about two inches long on the knuckle. The first bandage didn't last too long so we went with more peroxide, steri strips, gauze pad and gauze wrap topped with duct tape. No more bleeding and it's not too sore. We will see what tomorrow brings!

Brian