by chris ayres | Oct 2015 | UK to New Zealand
I spent some of the summer time in the UK. It was was nice to catch up with friends and family and also to be able to get out and ride the bike. Besides some good rides in the Peak District and elsewhere, I also rode the Devon coast to Coast route from Ifracombe to Plymouth, there and back again. Hilly in parts, laden with camping gear but a great ride.
Back in Trinidad and at the boat my first task was to make a list of jobs to be done. I quickly filled a sheet of A4, some essential maintenance like service the seacocks, other more cosmetic like repainting the red sheer line band. But it was a daunting list and I was glad I had plenty of time before the end of the hurricane season. Back in UK boat maintenance, mostly done in March was always a cold affair, bundled up in many layers to try and keep warm in a boatyard on the edge of the Straits with a cold NE wind blowing.
The novelty here was that it was hot, almost too hot, but so much easier to tackle washing the boat down clad in just shorts and a pleasure to turn the hosepipe on oneself. Painting too much easier, no worrying about minimum temperatures and such like.
First job I tackled was the red band, it had never looked smart even when I bought the boat. I decided it had to be sanded down, an exploratory attempt made me realise the magnitude of the task with no power tools and led me to enlist some help. I contracted Rawle to do the job and after agreeing a price he set too. He would turn up at 6 in the morning because he wanted to get started before the heat of the day. I’d make tea and we’d chat a bit. A few days later the band was repainted, and small GRP repair to the bow effected and the topsides cleaned down, buffed up and polished. Sea Bear was looking OK for a 29 year old lady.

Red band repainted and hull polished
Not all work no play.
I’d missed my bike so when I flew back one item of my baggage was a bike, a folding one so that it would stow more easily aboard. One morning I cycled up the road though the forest to Morne Catherine at 540m – well actually it was hard work but nice all the same passing through the forest, a multitude of different types of trees and vegetation and lots of noisy birds and insects, with plenty of butterflies. A glorious freewheel downhill for 6 miles led back to the coast.
Another day I cycled along the Tucker valley to Macqueripe Bay on the north coast. Here I swam along with plenty of pelicans who were fishing unconcernedly amongst all the bathers – quite an incredible experience.
The other day I decided to have a roti for lunch, time passed in queuing at the roti shack watching an iguana in the trees nearby and a butterfly as big as my hand with flashes of incandescent blue, flitting about the shack. Mmm the roti was good too.

Bamboo cathedral

Bathing with pelicans

bathing with pelicans

Macqueripe bay
by chris ayres | Dec 2015 | UK to New Zealand
Before I leave Trinidad some miscellanea that you might find interesting.
A nutmeg gathered from the forest.

Nutmeg
The bike came in useful – looks unwieldy but I managed to pick up two sails from the sailmakers.

Loaded Bike
The coast from the road up to the old tracking station.

N Coast from tracking station road
A trail through the forest.

Forest track
Some fruit and veg bought from a roadside stall, soursop, grapefruit, portuguals, favour peppers, pumpkin, squash, hot peppers, tomatoes, capsicum, maize, courgette, onion, garlic, bananas.

Fruit & veg
Finally managed to see some monkeys in the forest which was a nice thrill.

by chris ayres | Nov 2015 | UK to New Zealand
After all the work, all the worry, Sea Bear is back in the water. I always find it a nervous business watching the yard staff move the boat with the stacker to transfer to the hoist. Then there is always the thought of have you remember everything, will there be no leaks. Added to that this time was moving to a bow to berth in the dock in the little creek around the side of the yard. A tight space to manoeuvre into with boats either side and a pile to avoid and stop in time not to bash the hard dock!
Well I managed it OK, great relief. Had a beer at sundown to celebrate.

Being picked up
by the stacker

View of the dock

In the berth
by chris ayres | Dec 2015 | UK to New Zealand
Finally everything was done, the rigger had adjusted the rigging as the forestay was a little on the loose side. In the morning immigration and customs visited, duty free Gin and Rum purchased and provisions bought with the last of my Triny dollars. Noon and time to cast of the lines and reverse out of the dock. I’d been a long time in Trinidad. I motored out through all the moored and anchored boats in Chaguaramas Bay and then through the Boca passage to the open sea. It was a bit windier and the sea a little rougher than I would have liked for a first sail after such a long lay off but you just have to deal with what the weather gods send you.
It turned out to be a long hard passage, hard on the wind the whole way and with leeway and a very strong westerly current I had to point 30 to 40 degrees to the east to achieve a heading of north. No sleep, cooking was dismissed due to the conditions so just cold snacks. Plenty of spray came aboard but at least it wasn’t cold. 22 hours later I sailed into Prickly Bay Grenada and anchored. No rest yet though, the dinghy to inflate and ashore to visit customs and immigration then a hot walk to the bank for funds. Later Martin and Martha, a Dutch couple I had met in Trinidad came by and took me to happy hour at the bar and then it being Sat night half price pizza. So fed and watered so to speak I could retire to my bunk 36 hours after last lying down.
by chris ayres | Dec 2015 | UK to New Zealand
Anchored here in Prickly Bay.

Prickly Bay
Took some buses up into the mountains. Visited the Grand Etang lake and walked a bit in the forest, cool up here and a bit of a rainy day but some nice views.

Grand Etang Lake

Grand Etang forest

Vendome view
Ged arrived and we went to a dinghy concert, a band on a tug us on a big float bobbing about in Phare Blue Bay- lovely.


Later we visited St Georges and the the Grand Anse, a very lovely beach, swam and had barbecued jerk chicken.

Grand Anse
by chris ayres | Jan 2016 | UK to New Zealand
Pulling up the anchor to leave Prickly Bay we were amazed at how much weed had grown on the chain after such a short stay. We left the chain on deck rather than stow it in the anchor locker so we could clean it..We made a short hop up to Dragon Bay on the west coast of Grenada and had time here for a spot of snorkelling before our sundowners.
First light next day we were underway, up the coast then across past Kick ‘em Jenny and Diamond rock to Tyrrel Bay Carriacou. Ashore later we had a very nice fish dinner in the Slipway, fresh Tuna for me and Mahi Mahi for Ged. A visit to the mangrove lagoon then a walk to and along Paradise beach finishing with drinking rum with the locals at Banana Joe’s, a very laid back character.

Sandy Island
Moving on we moored off Sandy island, just a strip of coral and sand with a few palm trees. It was very windy so the snorkelling not so good as it could have been. On to Hillsborough, a bus over to Windward to look at the boat building and a walk towards the North of the island.
Next stop was Petite Martinique a more laid back island would I think be hard to find in the Caribbean. No other yachts here, no tourists, no whities.

Petite Martinique
On to Union island, here we bought fresh tuna steaks from a fisherman delicious they were and walked up Fort hill for the views towards our next objective the uninhabited Tobago Cays. Careful navigation is needed to visit these surrounded as they are by reefs but they are a fabulous place to visit. We swam, saw iguanas ashore and treated ourselves to barbecued lobster.

Tobago Cays from Union
Still strong winds for our passage to Bequia, 25 to 30 knots with a lively sea. Leeway, wind, waves, current all pushing us westward so it was hard work to gain the easting we needed.
We discovered the hard way that the holding in Admiralty bay was not great, the bottom being sand & rubble when we were awoken at 3.30 by the anchor alarm that we were dragging. Not much fun that time in the morning re-anchoring. Later for peace of mind we took a mooring buoy.
Christmas day was spent here, lunch on the terrace of a restaurant overlooking the bay followed by a walk along the beach, swimming and rounded of with rum punch at a Rasta spot.

Christmas lunch view
Another rough but thankfully short passage took us to St Vincent. In the lee of the island all much calmer and we arrived at Cumberland Bay to anchor with Joseph the rastaman taking a stern line ashore tied to a tree on the beach.
A walk ashore confirmed the friendliness of the locals with greetings and chats . One love man.

inland Cumberland Bay
We both wanted to stay longer here in St Vincent but Ged’s plane from Martinique would not wait.
Cleared out from Chateaubelair further up the coast, a desperately poor place this but the locals super friendly and helpful.
By the time we arrived in St Lucia we were very salty from spray and motoring the last miles into Soufriere was a race against the dark. Sometimes you can be thankful that there are boat boys and they helped us to a vacant mooring buoy, anchoring is not allowed here as it is a Marine park. One good thing about this passage was the catching of a small tuna by our trolled line, it provided a tasty eve meal.
A pleasant sail on flat water took us to Rodney Bay. Its the sort of place I normally avoid, big marina with condominiums, holiday resorts etc. but located on the North of the island an ideal jumping of spot for crossing to Martinique.
Martinique is north from St Lucia so at least we did not have to fight to make easting. Calmer seas and a beam wind we flew along surprising both of us by our speed and the ease of it. So we arrived by midday to anchor in Grande Anse d’Arlet. Jean Mitchell who I had first meet in Northern Spain over a year ago was here and spotting Sea Bear rowed over to invite us for t punch later. There are lots of turtles here so Ged eventually got to swim with a turtle when snorkelling.
We went to a Creole restaurant on the beach before the short hop to Fort de France. Ashore a lot going on, music, bands, loads of people. We had to keep checking we were not a day out and it wasn’t New Years eve already. Back on the boat there seemed more boats at anchor and lots of motorboats arriving in the dark, it was a bit chaotic but a boat patrolling in front of us stopped boats passing beyond us. The reason was a grand firework display from the fort and on our boat we had front row seats as it were. Told Ged it was arranged specially for a grand send off for him.
In morning it was time for Ged to catch the bus to the airport to fly home
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