Christmas dinner at Jambe de Bois

There was great debate for the week prior to Christmas as to what we should do for Christmas dinner. Finally it was decided to make it an organized Pot Luck at a local restaurant that we frequent quite often which would be closed for the day. Marsha on Crusader cooked the turkey and stuffing. Since we all have small refrigerators the turkey can't be bought too far ahead but just long enough to thaw before cooking time. On Tuesday, the day of purchase, there were only four turkeys left in the supermarket. But she got a wonderful butterball and cooked it to perfection. Marsha and Bob's son Robert visiting from LA was an added surprise guest. He let his parents know on Monday to send someone to airport to pick him up on Tues.  Barbara on My Island Girl provided pumpkin soup as an appetizer and green beans. I made the mashed potatoes, carrots and gravey. The two single men in the group provided the water,ice,rolls and an after dinner liquor. John on Stopp Knott and Mike on Jackfish were pretty happy to be part of such a fine meal. So much so they decided to sit at the buffet table! Lise on Zardo provided two cakes for dessert and music that turned out to be for dancing. Getting everything loaded into dinghys and getting it all there hot proved to be challenge but worked out well. Food was served in the pots with lids no serving dishes. We started at 2:00 and were home about 5:00 before sunset so everyone was happy and stuffed like a turkey!

Some clarifications

I have some clarifications of some information given in previous blogs. The first question we had was "what is the ARC". Well ARC stands for Atlantic Ralley for Cruisers. It is really not a race although it is said that whenever two sailboats are going in the same direction it usually turns into a race. They left the Canary Islands on route to Rodney Bay Nov 24. The fastest boats arriving in about 12 days and the family cruisers in about 18-21 days. There were 242 boats with over 1200 people including 34 children, under the age of 16, travelling 2700 miles across the Atlantic. Thirty six nations were represented. The marina is buzzing with people and vendors and music and an award ceremony will be held tomorrow. We are anchored behind and off from the finish line and it is fun to sit back and watch the boats arrive sometimes missing the line and having to tack around and come on again. The winds have been very light the past few days and often they are motoring across the finish line. 

Secondly we are not sailing anywhere for the time being. We are having the standing rigging replaced which are the wires that hold the mast upright on the deck of the boat. Ours being made of stainless steel rod as apposed to multi stranded wire has to be made in the US and sent by ship to us. It was supposed to be a five week process.  We have the mast down and laying on the hard (the ground) in the boat yard. Our sails are in the bags and all our new lines are still in the bags. We have a wire and a couple insulators (loaned to us from Dennis the weather friend ) to make our Single Side Band radio work somewhat well. We have a temperamental light Brian has tied off the wind generator pole to provide an anchor light so we can be seen at night in the anchorage. We have still not heard anything from the people in Florida about a date our rigging will be ready to ship. Our supplier here said they would contact before the weekend but I guess they didn't say what weekend. As we have often said there certainly are worse spots to be stuck in! 

I have been making some Christmas treats to deliver around on Christmas morning. Super simple! Just as we were leaving the apt in Oct I spied the Christmas lights we had for the balcony in the apartment. I squeezed them into the suitcase without Brian seeing and pulled them out as a surprise last night.  I think the picture of the lights is too dark but it will give you an idea. We have been sitting up the fore deck the past few nights and watching the meteor showers. There has been really light winds so it is lovely to sit under the stars. 

Sitting in the Bay

We got off the dock and onto the anchor out in the bay on Thursday last week as we had hoped. The air is so much better and of course a swim off the back is always a welcome relief in the heat. The barnacles sure started to take hold in only the one month at the dock. We are anchored just off the finish line of the ARC and the boats have been arriving daily. At least 10-12 daily. Some are huge boats with 18 or more crew and some are small with maybe two or three crew. They left the Canary Islands about the 24th of Nov. So the marina is buzzing with activity, vendors, music etc and we are happy to be out. Pics are just a couple random ARC boats. 

We have been working away on the many jobs while we wait for rigging. We have heard nothing yet and as it gets closer to Christmas we know there will be down days. But it is certainly a great place to be stuck in. Last week as we were preparing to go to anchor Brian checked the anchors and the lid of the anchor locker came off in his hand. There were 24 screws holding the piano hinge and there were 3 left dangling. It so easily could have been lifted by a wave and lost had we been sailing. 

The weather has been so quiet for the last few days almost no winds at all and almost no rain. Nice and peaceful but not good for making energy. But keeping the fridge going has been so much better due to Brian's enhancements last season with the insulation. Even though we turn it off at night the ice cubes at the top don't totally melt by morning. Meat in the bottom is still frozen. So we are getting somewhere.

Busy in the marina

We are still in the marina and this Thursday (tomorrow) will be four weeks! Too long in many ways. But tomorrow is get out in the bay day. 

We have been busy everyday with so many projects and all big jobs that often spawn another job. But we are coming together and can start to see light. The salon cushions are done and look amazing if I do say so and I often do!  To do the curtains I have decided is just too much pattern. So I will either look for more fabric here or bring down some next season. But what a huge difference new fabric makes. 

The wind generator is up and oh so quiet. It was quite a job as it was so high up off the stern. Thankfully we have a friend on a BIG boat and he has lots of tools we just couldn't imagine carrying. A ladder really came in handy. The existing aluminium pole had to be cut down and a new base pole acquired and the connection between took some modification. The whole thing went up quite easily (at least from my view point.) It is such a lovely quiet unit and no vibration. Our old unit shook the whole boat and made a lot of noise. The installation of the solar panels was completed yesterday and this morning as I write Brian is doing the wiring hookup. All the wires were run last week during one of our many rain storms. But for Brian to do the wiring a small locker at the stern of the boat has to be emptied and then he has to crawl into the hole and forget a tool or two. That's where I come in chief  gopher. I made four trips to the chandlery for bits as the solar panels were being installed. Two allen keys and a couple set screws went overboard during the process. Your hands get so sweaty as you are working it is hard to hold on to things. Then the cordless drill runs out of juice as you have one more screw hole to drill. The hardships! Support sections of stainless steel tubing had to added at four places just to add to the rigidity. It was an evolving construction plan for sure.

No word on the rigging project yet. 

Today is the first of the weekly gathering of the lady cruisers for lunch and it is always so nice to get together. More and more cruisers ....many old friends now are arriving daily. 

Updates

Things have been moving along at a slower pace than we might like but moving just the same. We have been here for three weeks now and for the past two weeks we have been on the marina dock. It is a great place to be.....no energy restrictions, no water restrictions, an easy walk to bars and restaurants, a pool and hot showers, wifi connections but not much breeze and no sunsets. But for all that we will have a bill to pay. Anchoring is free. But to get the work done we need to be on the dock. The solar panels still aren't up the wind generator still isn't up. Our cockpit table still isn't done and eating on our laps is tedious. I am working away on the salon cushions and although it is slow work the results are amazing. Each cushion takes about three hours and there are 16 cushions in total. 

The outside cockpit cushions turned out well too. I had taken home the old covers and patterned new ones and made them. The last sewing was too much for my home machine so I had to have the two layers and the piping sewn by an upholstery company in London. After some tight folding they fit into our luggage and arrived in good shape. 

It has been quite rainy since we arrived and very humid. The showers are usually brief but very heavy. But it is a pain to close the hatch over our bed in the middle of the night as the rain hits. We have a cover over the hatch but that rarely keeps all the rain out as the winds whip.

Brian has been working away on his list of projects and as he fixes one thing another opportunity pops up. The dinghy davits are in place but still not working quite as well as hoped. Brian is still working out the bugs on that. 

The bits and pieces for our rigging work on the mast have been ordered and we are awaiting news on that. We don't expect any action there for a few weeks. We have lights, antenaes and gear to attach to the mast ourselves but I since it is not near us we can't attach anything valuable too soon. While it is down we are going to give it a fresh coat of white paint.

People are starting to arrive and it is getting a bit busier around the marina village. So nice to see old friends again. 

Heavy rains

The rains started on Friday on and off throughout the day very heavy at times but short as per usual around here. But on Friday night about 5 it really started in earnest. It rained all night and until about 5 on Sat. It was not fun being trapped inside and not fun chasing leaks. We knew we had a couple problems and they really reared thier ugly heads at that time. One side window leaked into the hanging closet and into the clothes and everything else stored there. Brian emptied the dinghy with the water up to the top of the transom. Behind him is one of cruise ship tenders from out in the bay. Even in the rain the tourists get off the ship to explore. 

We had planned to leave the boat tied to the dock and go off with John and Sue to Martinique but when they called for 40 knot winds we were neither leaving the boat or sailing on Sun. But it turned out to be not much of anything. So we left on Sun am as planned. John and Sue have Pan Oceanic 46 foot and as a boat gets bigger so do all the lines and the work. We had a lovely sail, lots of wind, lots of waves but not much water over the bow which is lovely. We had only one day there because the ferry only returns a couple times a week so we had to grab it. A pleasant ferry trip back in a fast high and dry ferry but sea conditions were quite bad and several people on the ferry were sick. Home Tues before noon and Brian continues to put things together. The propane tanks and the auto pilot to reconnect after the dinghy davits reinforcements were done. Lots more jobs as we sit and wait for the rigging. 

Launch,mast pulling,the barrel arrived.

Been a busy past few days with getting the boat ready to launch. The rudder repair went well but being a last minute thing it puts everyone's schedule behind. At 8:00 Thursday morning we were ready. The launch was smooth as always the boatyard is very good at what they do. The company replacing the rigging was there to help pull the mast. There were four of them, four guys from the yard and Brian on the deck and I was trying to stay out of the way passing tools as needed. It was very stressful as the mast had probably not been pulled in 20 odd years and salt water and corrosion had set in. After considerable banging and prying it released and was lifted. Once we were in the water and they lifted the dinghy off and we were free to go as a motor boat with a sky light. 

Once we were at the dock the settling in started. Trevor made a delivery of frozen food from his place, we filled up the propane tank and ready to relax. The barrel arrived in perfect condition and we have found a home for everything. Amazing how easily we found space. Can I bring more?????

It has been raing most of yesterday,all night and all of today. We have discovered a few more leaks  and are working at stemming them. We are going to help sail Saltscar III to Martinque on Sunday if it stops raining. It will not be pleasant if it keeps up like it is now. This is just outside the Bread Basket where we are having coffee this morning. Of course all the debris is washing down into the lagoon, very remeniscient of Kettle Creek on Lake Erie, colour and all! Forecast humidex of 38C, 100% humidity. Anybody feeling sorry for us yet? 

I cannot seem to be able to place pics in the proper order to make sense with the text. I do apologize.

We're Back!! - 2014

Where does 12 hours and 35 minutes get you? From Tim Horton's on Wonderland Road South London to Trevor's deck in Cap Estate, Saint Lucia with a cold Piton in your hand! Thanks Serge for the ride to Toronto. 

We had a great trip, no problems at all, even with customs. We upgraded our tickets to "Plus" seats with WestJet at the last minute for just $100.00 and enjoyed priority boarding, more leg room, with food and beverages included. (10:20AM isn't too early for a Bloody Ceasar is it?)

The weather here is as can be expected, sunny with big fluffy white clouds warm and a bit humid. Just like the best day in summer in Canada! Trevor was waiting for us with a couple of cold ones and off we went to his place. We took a back road tour to avoid rush hour traffic at Castries and once again We were wondering how they build their roads. Never mind the houses! True engineering marvels! These Lucian's must have great cardiovascular systems from walking up and down the hills! Pictures wouldn't even begin to tell the story but we'll try to include some later.

We found the boat in very good condition no mould to speak of at all. Simon, an ex pat Brit who has done very good work on several friends boats agreed to do work for us and although nothing was complete everything was in good order. He had the davits reinforced .... Yet to see if enough until we pull up the dinghy. The solar arch is made and ready to install. The swim ladder fittings were installed. But our new challenge was the rudder. Brian had drilled holes in the bottom to drain the expected water over the summer and as they tapped away at it Brian and Simon agreed to drill an exploratory hole to check for moisture. There was way more than either of them wanted to see so a new project was taken on. The pictures will show what a job it is. But with the fiberglass going on today we should be ready to paint tomorrow. 

We will launch on Thursday am at 8:00 and are having the mast removed to replace the rigging. It's rod rigging and probably original and since we have one frozen turnbuckle we decided to replace it all for our peace of mind. The process could take up to five weeks! While the mast is down we will refurbish it with new lights and perhaps a bit of paint. Meanwhile we have other projects on the go such as new solar panels a new wind generator and reupholsetering the salon cushions.  No time to be bored!

The barrel has arrived and will be delivered to the dock on Thurs or Friday. The fun will be trying to find a home for the stuff I thought we needed to bring. 

We are going to help friends, John ans Sue of Salt Scar III, from Toronto sail their boat to Martinique on Sun. Sue has had a shoulder injury and they need an extra hand. We will spend a couple of days with them then take the ferry  back to St Lucia. They have company from England flying in a week Thurs.  Our boat will sit in the marina for a few days unattended. Then we'll "motor" out into the bay for the duration.  

All for now we'll try to keep up on the posts. 

Wrapped up and ready to go

We had our Customs inspection today and all paperwork is in order and we are free to go. We are back at Trevor's BB and packed up to leave around 11:00 am for the airport. We sat last evening reflecting on the great season we had. Although some things gave us some trouble ...davits, instruments,dinghy etc....all were or will be resolved and we worked around them. We had a great time with Dawn and Laurie on Cat Tales and they helped us get along when our instruments failed. The dighy got resolved rather quickly. S/V Chill helped us with a raft up in Bequia when we needed power to fix the fridge. So many people we met along the way were a source of friendship and knowledge. When people ask what island do you like and what was a high light we always answer .... the people we have met. From the ladies lunch .....a great group of women who offer support for each other to the kind people at Island Water World. Ian who loaned us a propane tank for the whole season when our brand new one got recalled and the replacement didn't fit our locker. Until he found us a new one he loaned us one from his home. Then there is Denis who provides the weather every morning on the SSB radio. The boats who hear check in each day on their travels and then they show up where you are. You stop off at their boat introduce yourself as FOD ( friends of Denis) member and you now know more new people. I know this all sounds kind of sappy but what a great group of people that call themselves cruisers.  

Christmas 2013 in Bequia 

 A group that hired a taxi to go to the Pink Planation.

A Sunday walk

This is called SecretBeach and not a soul around on a Sunday afternoon. 

We took Sat and Sun off from boat work and relaxed at our B&B up in the hills above Rodney Bay. After spending Sat doing not much of anything we forced ourselves to go for a walk. We walked for 2& 1/2 hours in the noon sun. When we left Trevor's it was straight up a hill to get to the main road and then started walking through what was to be a golf course. It had been started in about 2007 and after spending millions to carve it out of the landscape it has been left. The land quickly reclaims itself but his particular location it is very dry and the road ways(cart paths) are still good. We never saw another person walking,swimming,picnicking. It appears it a trail used for horseback riding and Trevor tells us the dune buggies they rent in Rodney Bay also use it for touring. It was very dry with many varieties of cactus growing wildly. You can only imagine what size of a desalination system that would be required to keep such a place green in such a dry area of the island. Here are many pictures and I'll try to put a video on a separate blog ...never know how much space. 

The reddish roof in the center below the two story White House is Trevor's. 

This is the beach at Cas En Bas usually busy with kite boarders.

Our B&B accommodations

Huge kitchen 

Living room 

We came out the water on Tuesday on time and smoothly. Trevor our host at Sunset Haven picked us up at 4:00 and took us to his place. We have a large bedroom with ensuite,king size comfy bed, a sofa and huge hanging closets. We have air conditioning and a large mosquito net over the bed. We have full use of the house to cook, do laundry and relax. The pool is right beside our bedroom and although quite small more than enough for a cool down. I moved all the food off the boat and we are cooking here. It is not near any restaurants but he has a large well equipped kitchen. We have our own small bar fridge but overflowed into his. His wife is back in the UK  covering a maternity leave. So I think he enjoys the company. Last night I cooked for three of us and he supplied the wine. Tomorrow he is making fish pie for us so we'll provide the wine. He feels bad that we really don't want a  big breakfast everyday and so far a bowl of our own leftover cereal is fine. He has about 20 fruit trees on the property and squeezes his own limes and makes ice cubes from the juice. I'm enjoying one right now. Here are some pics of the place that don't really do it justice. 

Our bedroom is the open window.it was too messy totake a picture. 

Boat polishing

Last year we a Rasta guy Vision to do the hull and deck washing and apply a coat of wax to stay on for the off season. When you are starting out there is so much to do and you think you can't do things. But dollars and experience tell you differently as you go along. So this year I decided I could clean and apply wax. The top sides where easy and kind of fun playing in water on a hot day. But the hull was harder but not so bad with the help of friends kayak. Getting out after sitting for so long wasn't fun but I didn't fall in and that's all that matters in the swampy water of the marina. Now in Nov we will see how good  a job I did when we (I , Lorna) polish it off. But the charge is 160US now and again in Nov.