No 5. The Meerkats – the fun and games of anchoring

While sitting in the cockpit enjoying the surroundings I can’t help but think of boaties being like meerkats. As soon as you hear the clank clank of an anchor going down, out pops the head of someone on a boat close by to see what is going on. Mel is calling me “Flower”, the meerkat. (The T.V. series about meerkats – one of the main characters was called Flower). I am like Flower, as I find it entertaining sitting in the cockpit, watching all the boats coming and going and their silly anchoring issues!!!! More later…. Back to our news and what and where we have been.

The night sky as we were leaving Trinidad

We eventually left Trinidad on Friday 2 March just after lunch time, spending a few hours at Scotland Bay, then left for Tyrrel Bay, Grenada at about 7.00pm. We were hoping to sail straight to Clifton but realised that we would only be arriving in Clifton at night time due to us considering the ‘security situation’ when leaving Trinidad. We were originally intending to leave Trinidad during the day and then arriving in Clifton the next day at lunch time but after a rethink, we thought we would take the necessary advice we had been given and knew about.  

Mel enjoying the local beer after arriving in Tyrrel Bay.

We had a good sail half way up Grenada – yes, we were ‘close haul’ but the winds were relatively light. However, when we were at the top part of Grenada, it became rather messy sailing – the current and wind went one way and the wind the other. We eventually arrived at Tyrrel Bay just after 5.00pm, spent a lovely Sunday catching up with some friends of ours that we met the last time we were sailing (Blue Moon – Linda and John Patton), then left for Clifton on Monday morning. Unfortunately, we had to motor sail to Clifton. I think we are ‘spooked’ when it comes to Clifton. We thought that if we had good anchorage and holding we would stay a night at Clifton and enjoy the town as the last time we were there, there was no space for us to anchor – all we wanted to do was

After the heavens opened in Clifton

to check out.  I stayed on board while Mel checked us out as the boat was not in a very safe situation.  

This time we found a good stop to anchor – yes, we saw that there were plenty of mooring balls, but we thought we wouldn’t require one. We both went to check in, as I was keen to see the town – it is quite colourful and vibrant. I just love the use of bright colours everywhere you go. Anyway, by the time we arrived back at the boat, there was a yacht on a mooring ball so close to us that we had to put our fenders out. We were watching the situation as we couldn’t move as the heavens opened for the rest of the afternoon and visibility was poor. It’s situations like this I find quite stressful as I still don’t have enough confidence in my own ‘sailing knowledge’ to help Mel although

A sign in Clifton.

he would say the opposite. Well, just after 5.00pm, the sun came out and it was glorious, so we thought we had enough time to move to the Windward Anchorage, Mayreau. Once again, Clifton has not fulfilled its promise of being a place to enjoy. Maybe next time?????

 We spent three nights at Mayreau (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday) – sailing at this time of year is a lot different to when we were last here  as there are SO MANY charter boats. Mainly French and I don’t mean to be ugly, but they love to be close together sometimes far too close for comfort. We were planning on going to Tobago Keys but it was jam packed so that is why we ended up in Mayreau. We found a good stop. The anchor dug in deep - it had to as the winds were at times 20 knots plus, coming from the NE/E. There was a chartered kat quite a distance from us on our starboard side – when it was time to go to bed, we did our usual check of the boat and the situation – well this kat must have dragged as it was now right in front of us. Mel shone lights on them to wake them up and their Captain eventually saw what had happened. He wasn’t too concerned as he said their anchor was holding. I wasn’t too sure but anyway we rode the night out with no incidents, checking every few hours. Thankfully they were gone by 8.00am the following morning. The rest of our stay in Mayreau was uneventful – we went on land to explore and get some Wi-Fi – no Wi-Fi as the rains had brought the system down.  It is a

A colourful house in Mayreau

lovely little town – once again the buildings and houses are so colourful.

Thursday morning, we sailed most of the way to Canounan – a lovely anchorage as far as the depth and holding but may goodness the winds and the way we swing around. To make matters even more interesting, another cat with a French flag flying high and proud, anchored right over our anchor! There was so much space to anchor but no, they had to anchor there. It defies belief and logic sometimes. Thankfully they left about an hour before we took up our anchor the following day, Friday.

 Friday – we sailed to Bequia in 18 – 23 knot winds, close haul (on the nose). I was rather proud of myself as I only complained once! I let Mel sail the way he wanted to sail, which he did, and Passages was going at 7.8 knots at times. Mel was chuffed and a very happy sailor! I was okay but relieved when we eventually arrived in Bequia just after 1.00pm. We dropped anchor but when Mel dived the anchor, he was not happy with the holding as it was in coral and we knew that over the coming weekend, the winds would be blowing 18 – 20 knots. We couldn’t take any chances, so we moved closer to the beach where the anchor is now buried, deep in sand. Mel has dived the anchor every morning and afternoon since arriving.

 Bequia is vibrant.... it is as if a huge injection of cash has been given to the place as everything looks renovated, freshly painted, orderly and so neat. Along with this vibrancy though, the prices of things have gone up as well.

Bequia

 Once again, there are anchoring issues with the day/holiday charters and the full-time cruisers. They are mainly French – come charging into the anchorage at one almighty speed, coming so close to the anchored boats, not considering the wind and the scope of a boat, drop anchor as close to the next boat as possible, dinghy goes down without checking or waiting to check the anchor, off they go to town to explore. A few international incidents have occurred, and boats have dragged. Oh, the life of a cruiser!!!

On the following website, there are “The Unwritten ‘Rules of the Rode’!” – if you are interested in knowing more about the ‘rules’

http://cruising.coastalboating.net/Seamanship/Anchoring/Etiquette.html

 We are now in Marin, Martinique, having left Bequia on Friday morning. We sailed as far as Rodney Bay, spent the night there, then sailed here to Marin, Saturday 17 March. It’s busy compared to when we were here in the off season in 2014 but still enjoyable. The sail to Rodney Bay was certainly eventful – What do the Scouts say – “Always be prepared” My goodness what a sail! Until next time though.

It’s time for me to be Flower, as I can hear the clank, clank of an anchor chain going down and it sounds a bit too close to Passages.

Bye for now. Keep well and safe.

Mel and Caryn

Sv- Passages

If you want to see where we are – go to:

www.marinetraffic.com

top right corner – search for Passages with the Australian flag – that’s us!

In Clifton

Over looking the anchorage in Mayreau - Tobago Keys.

Our dinghy with it's new chaps and Passages on the right - Mayreau.

No 4.Taste of Trini.

How many different foods can a person taste in 10 hours?

Well, we tasted 68 different dishes, foods and drinks, while touring around the island with Jesse James (Members Only Maxi-Taxi Service and SSCA Cruising Station Host).

Jesse is passionate about his home, Trinidad, and is keen to put all the negative talk about the security situation in Trinidad to rest. He gave a humorous, running commentary throughout the trip.

Like most major cities in the world today, no place is 100% safe from various forms of crime and theft. Much of the crime in Trinidad is gang and domestic violence related, with certain areas classified as no-go places for tourists. One wouldn’t want to visit those areas anyway!

Here is a table with some photos of the foods and drinks while we were on the Tour of Trini. It was so much fun! We didn’t feel like eating much the following day!

Number	Place/Restaurant/Food outlet	Food
1	Chaguaramas	Roti bake coconut fry bake
2		Cheese paste
3		Sword fish
4		Smoked herring
5	Carenage – Alicia’s Bakery	Fry bake bread
6		Bitter melon
7	Francis	Roti – Dali – a type of breakfast -Sada – a type of flat bread
8		Tomato Chuka
9		Bok Choy
10		Green Bean/Bodi
11	Port of Spain – Woodbrook – Restaurant was called ‘Cow Heal’	Cow heal soup
12		Dumplings
13		Green fig/Duslin
14		Potatoes/Carrots
15	Downtown in Port of Spain – Pastry Pies	Marconi cheese pastry pie
16		Spinach pie
17		Meat pies
18	Peppers – Another restaurant in Downtown Port of Spain	Roti - Spicy
19		Calou - Spinach
20		Chicken curry
21	Restaurant called – Portugal – O’Meara	Kitcheori Sahina – eggplant – this was yummy!!!
22	Valencia	BBQ pigtail
23		Macaroni pie
24	Young’s Fast Food	Dumpling fish stew
25		Chicken peleau
26	Sandre Grande – Kenny’s Local Food	Dashin
27		Cassava
28		Green fig (Banana)
29		Curry goat
30		Maubi drink – rather sweet
31	Manzanilla Beach – East coast	Curry Mango
32		Curry potatoes and chickpeas
33		Curry pumpkin
34		Curry chicken
35		Curry chicken gizzards
36		Stew beef
37		Paratha roti (Buss shutup)
38		Dhal
39		Sorrel (drink)
40		Passionfruit and orange (drink)
41	Mayayo	Fruits – silk figs (very small bananas)
42		Chicketo (even smaller bananas)
43		Balata
44		Cimate
45	Rio Grande	Coconut drops
46		Bread pudding
47		Cassava cake
48		Coconut turnover
49		Coconut rolls
50		Coconut fingers
51	Harry’s Water Park	Peanut punch (SO sweet)
52		Rock cake
53	Tabiquite	Fried chicken and sauces – Trini style (far better than KFC any day!)
54		Pork cutters (roasted)
55	Brasso	Sapodilla (fruit)
56	Grand Curva	Cocoa pod
57		Grapefruit
58		Celentra
59	El Pecas - Aribeta	Stewed lentils
60		Jerk chicken
61		Stewed lamb
62		Grilled fish
63		Jerk pork
64		Macaroni salad
65		Pepper salad
66		Coco – paleta
67		Cinnamon spiced fried plantains
68		Cinnamon spiced boiled plantains

Here is the group enjoying some of the many foods found in Trinidad.

Until next time - keep well and safe.

Mel and Caryn

Sv- Passages

If you want to see where we are – go to:

www.marinetraffic.com

top right corner – search for Passages with the Australian flag – that’s us!

Alicia's Bakery

Cow heel soup

Our lunch  No: 31 - 40

Fry bake bread and Bitter melon

No 3.Terrific Trinidad – Carnival time.

Carnival time in Trinidad takes place over a two-week period with a variety of activities and competitions, culminating in J’ouvert and the street processions with the final judging on the last day of Carnival.

I arrived in Trinidad on Saturday 3 February 2018. As previously mentioned, Mel had been in Trinidad since early December 2017. We had no intentions of being in Trinidad for Carnival as we thought we would already be making our way up north, along the Windward islands. However, like I stated in our previous update, nothing goes according to your time schedule in Trinidad, particularly over Christmas, New Year AND Carnival.

We thought that since we were in Trinidad, we may as well make the most of the opportunity and enjoy what Carnival has to offer.

On Monday evening – 5 February, we went on an outing to see the steel drum bands rehearsing for the big competition on the last Saturday of Carnival. The outing was organised by Jessie James, a very well known and highly thought-of Trinidadian in the sailing community. He is also the SSCA station host.

Firstly, we visited quite a few businesses that make the costumes, accessories and head gear for Carnival. The work involved is quite incredible, along with the cost. It is a year’s long organisation and production line. The creativity and thought behind each piece or garment is also something quite incredible along with the many hours of sewing and using a glue gun.

Some costumes are more elaborate than others, with some just consisting of the EXTREMELY basic “pieces”, for want of a better word, barely covering the private parts of one’s anatomy.

After visiting the various companies, we went to listen to a few different steel drum bands, watching the variety of ways they organised and practised for this extremely prestigious event. We spent most of our time with the Renegades, who were the eventual winners of the big band competition. Their band leader was quite a charismatic character along with his ability to get so many people (100+) working together to create an amazing sound.

We had a rather late night but an enjoyable one as we were in the company of a group of boaties who knew each other as they all had the same type of motor boat – a Kadey Krogen. There was John and Paulette, Ken and Sylianne (it was their boat we were heading for when our engine died as we were moving to the Stainless-steel company’s dock), Ken and Carol – they were visiting Ken and Sylianne in Trinidad and Marty and Suzanne.

On Tuesday, 6 February, we joined up with the same group of people from the night before to watch the semi-finals of the Kings and Queens. The event started at 5.30pm and only finished at 1.00am! The Kings and Queens are individual contestants who try to out-do the competition with their elaborate costumes, which are loosely linked to a theme. Many of the themes seem to concentrate on “dark” subjects.

There were over 40 contestants in each of the men’s and women’s categories. I fell asleep a few times blaming it on jet lag, as each contestant would come on stage then do a little dance or performance across the stage to show off their elaborate costume in front of the judges.

Some contestants costumes were so elaborate that they required a support system consisting of a frame with wheels to enable them to show off their costumes. Some where HUGE while others were not as elaborate and required only their arms to show off their costume. It was an extremely colourful but long night.

During the rest of the week there were other Carnival events and different stages of the various competitions which Mel and I did not attend as we thought we would part take in J’ouvert.

J’ouvert was on Monday 12 February, starting at 4.00am and finishing at about 11.00am. We were collected from outside the Peake Boat yard at 2.00 am, went around to collect the same group we were with at the Kings and Queens from their marina. (Sylivianne, Ken, Paulette and John etc.) The whole event was very organised as you belong to a group – we were with the Trevor Wallace Carnival group – TW. You paid a certain amount, received a T-shirt, cap and then you could drink as much as you wanted from the bar truck that meandered the streets of Port of Spain. For security reasons, you were advised to stay with the trucks – there was the drinks/bar truck, food truck, toilet truck and two music trucks which bleated the pounding music that made your whole body vibrate. It was quite uncomfortable at times, so we tried hard not to be too close to these trucks.

There was also the paint truck. The whole aim is to get completely covered in paint, plus to drink as much as you can and dance as the procession moved forward. There was a considerable amount of “whining” (sp) by the locals, which is rather provocative and suggestive… but hey, when in Rome do as the Romans do, etc., while dancing through the streets of Port of Spain. At times it seemed like organised chaos, as the different groups would be coming in opposite directions down the same narrow street, requiring the procession of people and trucks to pass each other. How they manage to avoid injuries, I don’t know, but everyone seems to have a great time and enjoy themselves. It was a relief though when we eventually found our bus

driver and we could sit down in the cool comfort of the minivan on our way back  to the boat yard. It was even better after a lovely long shower to wash all the paint off your body which wasn’t an easy feat.

Mel, for a few weeks after J’ouvert, kept away from rum punch as the drinks at J’ouvert were certainly loaded with alcohol and the tots were NOT your regulation tots. Quite a few of our group became quite inebriated, which was not a difficult thing to do considering everything was so readily available. It was definitely a unique way to see the different suburbs of Port of Spain.

The following day – Tuesday 13 February, we joined up with the same group of people and headed down town to watch the street processions of the many floats and groups of people. The processions started at 6.00am, although Mel and I decided that we would only catch the later bus down town (9.00am) and catch the earlier bus home (3.00pm) as we knew we would have had enough of seeing the colourful and creative costumes PLUS the music was SO loud! These processions only finished after 5.00pm – another very long day to mark the end of Carnival.

That was Carnival 2018 for us! An experience that we enjoyed and glad to have had the opportunity to have been involved in.

Until our next updated – the Taste of Trini….. keep well and safe.

Best Wishes

Mel and Caryn

sv Passages

If you want to see where we are – go to:

www.marinetraffic.com

top right corner – search for Passages with the Australian flag – that’s us!