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. 

Last day in the bay

This morning we are moving into the marina to really get started on the haul out procedure. We are being hauled out on Tuesday am. We are really hoping to get a lot the jobs done at this end leaving not as many jobs for launch. We are making arrangements to have the rigging replaced in the fall and that will entail a lot of work that Brian can do while the mast is down....new lights, a new VHF antenna,perhaps new wiring but let's hope not. Everything will get painted while down also. So a really big project for fall. 

So being our last days in the bay we have tried to get the barnacles off the bottom and really scrub the water line. The hull will be power washed but always good to get off as much before then. We had our last climb up to the top of Signal Hill on Pidgeon Island yesterday. We took a short cut straight up a rocky path and added abit more challenge. I managed to jam my thumb into a rock as I was climbing and now have a half purple and black thumb nail. It has been quite cloudy and a bit hazy lately and very hot and dry. The island has not had any significant rain in over a month. Leaves are dry and curling and vines are withered. But the views at the top are always so beautiful with the muti coloured water lines in the ocean. But a picture never does it justice. The red buildings are the Sandals Resort. 

Search and Rescue for Inspiration

Sounds like a serious title .......and our friends on the sailing vessel Inspiration think so too. We were at the restaurant the Bread Basket at noon having lunch and doing Internet when another cruiser lady came to us looking for Margie and Gary of Inspiration. Their anchor was dragging and they were going to sea. We had seen them earlier at the farmers market but that was quite some ago. She said the boat had people from the bay on board so we finished our lunch before going out to see what was happening. When we got out another Gary from Mia Tai was on board and re anchored their boat quite a distance from its original spot. They had a rope connected to chain on the anchor and it worn through and the anchor and chain were back at their original anchoring spot on the bottom of the ocean. Gary (MT) had used their second smaller anchor to secure them and was waiting for them to return to see what they wanted to do. He was anchored next to them when they broke loose and Inspiration a 36 foot PDQ Catamaran missed him by about 2 feet. He looked over when they went by and only saw Windy their chocolate lab on the boat. Can you imagine Gary and Margie's shock when they came out of the inner bay from the marina area and rounded the corner and their boat was not where they left it. Poor Margie was beside herself once they located their boat got aboard and heard the tale of the days events. Gary and Gary got in the dinghy and Brian and I met them and we snorkelled to try to find their anchor and chain on the bottom. I was swimming around along with Gary (I) as Brian was being trolled by a line behind Gary (MT) in his dinghy. After about a half hour Brian located it. What a relief! Brian and I sat in our dinghy as Inspiration relocated and re secured their anchor rode to the chain. It has been very windy here this week and we all learned a valuable lesson with no serious consequences. It certainly showed what a great group of friends that surround us in the cruising community. 

Sat Am in the Bay

We went into town this morning in a crazy wind and expected to get totally soaked in the dinghy but the careful driver spared me. The winds have been blowing like crazy this past week and the energy levels up which is a good trade off for sure. The farmers market is a usual Sat morning event and although everything is winding down as more and more cruisers take off for parts north it was still a busy spot this morning. I got jumbo mangoes,lettuce,tomatoes,cuke,pumpkin and bananas. We are trying to eat down what we have on hand but the fresh stuff still needs to be refreshed. It has not rained much at all in the last month but yesterday it rained on and off all day. So this morning we rigged up the rain catcher and of course it is working ......no rain all day. Seems to be our way! 

Tomorrow afternoon is our turn to host dominoes on board. Three couples will play at 1:00. Last Sunday I was the big winner. The ladies lunch last week only had 8 ladies and this week maybe 2 as compared with 20 plus in the peak season. Brian and I climbed the big mountain on Pidgeon Island last week and counted only 50 boats in the entire anchorage. In peak season there are 200 plus. So I guess it time for us to go too, 21 more days. 

Happy Easter to all

Happy birthday to sweet Sydney who will be one on Tuesday. 

Peace Out 

Winding down

Our days are getting short as we prepare to take the boat out of the water and get ready for summer storage. The bay is getting more empty daily as our friends return to the marina and prepare to go home. We seem to be leaving a bit later than most with May 8 th being our flight date. We have dug out our lists from last season and will try to learn from our mistakes. Our main issue was the mould due to accumulation of water in the bilge. This year we are having a thru hull drain installed in the lowest spot in the bilge to try to avoid any accumulation. We have also hired a man Simon to care for the boat in our absence. He is a very reliable man and most of our friends here use him. He will also work on a long list of projects that can be done in the off season. Adding a solar arch to support the two new solar panels we have bought is top priority. He will work on the reinforcement of the transom for the dinghy davits. Yes a whole season of working on that problem. We have an extensive list in priority order and a dollar amount to spend and the list stops when the money runs out I guess. You could keep on upgrading for ever. 

We had a great visit with our friend Serge from London for ten days. The weather was perfect and we had many sailing days as well as relaxing,touring days. He has sailed in Canada on the Ottawa River where tacking is a major sailing technique. He was shocked to sail from St Lucia to Martinique on a direct course not one tack involved. He took more than a thousand pictures that he will edit and forward to us so more to share later. 

When we were at the Pitons our boat boy Shane provided us with a small fresh tuna that he cleaned. We cooked it the evening of the day it was caught and oh my quite delicious. We had enough for asecond  night to share with two more friends. All that for 40. EC about 16 CA. What a treat! Sorry I got no pictures because Serge was taking  a lot. 

We are the one with the dark canvas on a mooring ball at the Pitons. 

More pictures while Serge is visiting

Brian and I at Ladera having lunch.

The infinity pool at Ladera ...... No we weren't allowed to use it. 

The view between the Pitons our boat is a tiny dot down there. 

The boys enjoying a soak at the hot springs 

A rest on the way up to the falls.

The drive in volcano. 

Along the road we stopped at a building site. They had constructed a  viewing platform where we could imagine the view from the house we couldn't afford to build. Maybe a tarp on the viewing platform.