TROPICAL TRAVELLER

January 1, 2015 I reunited with my skipper at the St. Lucian airport and made the 1 hour taxi ride to Rodney Bay where SA was docked since the crew's arrival December 17, 2014.

RODNEY BAY MARINA, ST. LUCIA

We had finally made it to the Caribbean; the skipper's voyage took 23 days of challenging conditions and I took the easy route, a 4 hour plane ride.  With several items still open on the skipper's "TO DO" list we stayed in Rodney Bay Marina another 3 weeks before checking out with customs.  We had started listening to the cruiser's net  and heard about the many safety and security issues, re "break ins" and stolen items such as locked up bicycles and chained up dinghy with motor.   No longer feeling safe, we headed to Marigot Bay, a completely sheltered, mangrove-lined bay famous as a hurricane harbour and spent the night directly tied up at Chateau Mygo restaurant. Can't go wrong with free mooring when eating  dinner in their restaurant.

CHATEAU MYGO,MARIGOT BAY, ST. LUCIA

But the resort marina next door also had its appeal; use of the hotels swimming pool, what a luxury that was.

Now it was time to meet up with friends from Rodney Bay Eckhard and Loni in Admiralty Bay, Bequia, Port Elizabeth where we took a buoy and played tourist for a few days.  Port Elizabeth is colorful with vendors selling t-shirts and handicrafts along the street...we bought 2 illustrated books for the grandchildren.   Island hopping in this area means that generally within an hour you can be in a new anchorage and the next beautiful beach.  Just when you think "oh this really is the most beautiful beach"  the next one will be more spectacular.
Salt Whistle Bay was definitely one of these places.

SALT WHISTLE BAY, MAYREAU

One evening we treated ourselves to a beach BBQ of lobster and ribs with coleslaw and potatoes.  Great lobster, tough ribs, good rum punch.
Having enjoyed the lobster so much we wanted to prepare one ourselves, so the next time an islander came around (3X daily) we bought a lobster tail and had it for dinner. Cooked in salted water for 12 minutes, added just a little melted butter and we were good to go.

Clifton on Union Island  was our next stop.  The Anchorage Yacht Club not quite what we are used to, but these are the islands and you take things as they come.  The restaurant had great food and one evening the steel band played 3 hours nonstop; at which point I came to realize that I don't like steel drum music; it all sounds the same after a short time.

We really enjoyed hanging out at the surf kiting beach.

One evening a cold front moved in with gusty winds and rain.  The skipper's concern was the anchor wasn't holding so we pulled up anchor and repositioned; next morning we did a "limited" shop because the SUPERMARKETS don't have much meat or dairy; their staple is fish and rice.

Finally we made the short jump (2 hours) over to the Tobago Cays,  a pristine coral reef consisting of 5 uninhabited islands and is classified as a national marine park.  Upon arrival a park ranger pulls up along side and collects for admission. The sheer beauty of the cays is amazing, the water colour is simply breathtaking.

TOBAGO CAYS

After a 3 day anchorage in Chatham Bay we checked out at customs and immigration at the Union Island airport terminal was quick and easy so we set our course for St. Louis Marina, Grenada.  The 7 hour sail had winds 20-25 knts, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Grenada covering approx. 135 sq. miles has lush green mountains, hidden waterfalls and golden beaches. The approx. one hundred thousand locals who call this island home live mainly in moderate homes supported on wooden poles perched on the side of the hills.  The houses mingle with shrubs and trees giving splashes of bright colour against the background of dark green.  From the water it is neat and pretty as an illustration.  There just isn't much flat land among the dense tropical rain forest.

ANNADALE WATERFALL,GRENADA

We spent a full day on an island tour.  Twelve of us set out at 9:30 from St. Louis Marina in St. George in a minibus with driver Ron and explored the island.  Firstly, thru the town of St. George, just one cruise ship was docked....quiet day.

Grenada is the world's 2nd largest nutmeg producer so a guided tour of the nutmeg factory is mandatory.  Grenada also grows excellent coffee and coco beans and has their very own organic chocolate factory.

LUNCH STOP VIEW

After a very delicious buffet lunch we head over to the River Antoine Rum factory which still runs much as it has since the mid 1800's.

A giant water wheel crushes the sugar cane, the dry stalks are burned to heat the juices and large wooden scoops manually move the hot juice from one big cast iron bowl to the next.

Our tour concludes with a taste testing; the end product of white rum has 79% alcohol which I personally found undrinkable.

Skipper ordered new Mastervolt Easy View display from Budget Marine in Prickly Bay, so that of course was our next destination.  Very large bay with many, many boats and relatively strong winds.  We found a large cruising community here with a strong social gathering of daily activities.

WHISPER COVE MARINA RESTAURANT VIEW

Ready to move on after 4 days, we moved 3 bays east to Clarkes Court Bay Marina but found it had disappeared and was being rebuilt.  Whisper Cove is directly opposite and the Canadian couple running the Marina is very welcoming.

In a few days we will sail to Trinidad, taking our boat out of the water and getting her ready to leave for Toronto at the end of March.

We left Whisper Cove at 6 pm with a freshly baked pizza, hoping this would be our dinner, however the winds were so strong and the waves so high that we never did eat anything at all.  The 14 hour trip to Trinidad was very uncomfortable and even wet with waves coming over into the cockpit now and again.  By now you might ask why leave at 6 in the evening; even if we had left at daybreak and sailed all day we would still arrive in the dark...not a good idea when coming into a new harbour.  Exhausted, we look for the customs and immigration office.  Trinidad has very strict rules about reporting in before you do anything else.
After re-fueling, we docked at Peaks Yacht Service and took a very long nap.

The harbour in Trinidad is a commercial port with drilling platforms and several boat yards.

Next day Simple Abundance was lifted out of the water and put to rest on her pedestal.

NOVEMBER 2014 ATLANTIC CROSSING

Time of writing this post....March 2018

The Atlantic crossing season occurs every winter from late November to late December.  During this time 4-5000 sailors will cross from Europe (LasPalmas) to the Caribbean, but I had no desire to be one of them, so I left that 3000 mile adventure to the 3 Rohn men and I have no regrets about that decision.

The plan was to meet up again in St. Lucia in January after Erik and Christian had gone back to Germany.  I flew into St. Lucia the first week in January. I was picked up by a limo and driver for the hour drive into Rodney Bay Marina.

Rodney Bay Marina has quite a nice Caribbean atmosphere with great waterfront restaurants overlooking the marina with a wide selection of food choices ranging from local cuisine, pizzeria, Thai, Sushi, Indian or continental.  The marina also has a small selection of shops including a small supermarket and a large duty-free chandlery where we bought a new Dinghy.
Second day in, we were just walking up dock to enjoy free wifi and a coffee when we saw two dinghies collide in the channel.  Details are fuzzy, but people were hurt and bleeding, ambulance was called.  Third day we took a ride with our new dinghy and ran out of gas so rowing back to our boat was our only option.  It was our bad luck day, because 2 minutes into rowing one of the oars snapped out of its holder and left us stranded.  Luckily  we were rescued and towed back to our boat.  Next morning we left the marina to anchor just outside the marina entrance in order to clean the waterline and reattach sails.  This is the time we started listening to the cruisers net on the radio for safety and security issues. Between boat break ins and stolen items we no longer felt safe there and headed towards Marigo Bay the next morning.

Wolfgang had made friends with other sailors from the ARC.  One couple we hooked up with was Eckerhart and Loni.  After a brief acclimatization period we headed to Marigo Bay Marina and resort, my first real taste of the Caribbean.

Marigo Bay is a hurricane hole sheltered in the worst weather by the steep hill sides that surround its small deep harbour. It feels like a secret treasure and the charming serene ambiance draws people in to explore the different restaurants  and natural beauty.

We were fortunate enough to find an empty mooring spot available at the Chateau Mygo House of Seafood.  Their food is inspired from all over the world with a French/creole infusion and sometimes an Indian twist.  their food is unique and definitely delicious.  The overnight mooring is free if you have dinner at their restaurant.

We stayed in radio contact with Eckhart and loni and decided to meet up with them in Admiralty Bay, Bequia.

After our gusty 11 hour sail we arrived in Admiralty Bay spotted Loni3 and needed to hook up to a mooring.  As a rule, through out the Caribbean, what passes for a mooring in most cases is nothing more than a chunk of chain or cement block.  The "boat boys" renting these fake moorings take advantage of the unsuspecting clueless cruiser, us included.

Bequia is the second largest island in the Grenadines, but it is a small island with only approx. 4300 locals, all trying to make a living from the cruisers.  Bequia is one of the few places in the world where limited whaling is still allowed.  Natives are allowed to catch up to four humpback whales per year using only traditional hunting methods of hand-thrown harpoons in small, open sailboats.
At the back of the bay lies Port Elizabeth, Bequia's capital with colourful wooden buildings with vendors selling T-shirts and handicrafts.  We bought 2 illustrated books for the boys.
The taxi excursion took us to the Old Hegg turtle  sanctuary where a retired fisherman nurtures baby hawkbills before releasing them.

The wonderful day ended with dinner at the Auberge restaurant which included mango mojitos, lobster salad and wine.

Moving on to Salt Whistle Bay, Mayeau Island

The pictures speak for themselves, heavenly spot with colourful locals.

We ate a delicious BBQed lobster on the beach.

Sadly we said our farewells to Loni and Eckhart sailing in different directions.
Moving on to Union Island, we tied up at the Anchorage Yacht Club, nice little place great food.  Had another lobster and ribs dinner while the steel drum band played for 3 hours and realized that I actually don't like steel drum music after a short time it all sounds the same to me.  The most exciting feature on Union Island is that it has become the new kite surfing heaven of the Caribbean very fun to watch.

A cold front had come in with gusty winds and rain.  The dockage here was rickety so we had to reposition SA during the rain storm because the anchor wasn't holding, next day we headed to the other side of Union Island, Chatham Bay.  While still on the Clifton side we hooked up with a  local couple who owned the beach restaurant in Chatham Bay.  They took us with them in the morning; we stayed all day for lunch and dinner.  We had no way of getting back on our own so we stayed until they closed.  The only thing we didnt count on was that they charged us for the ride.
Everybody is looking for a hand out.  The next day we took SA around to Chatham Bay and we anchored there 3 days before heading to Tobago Cays.

 Snorkelling within the protected area of the lagoon is interesting and easy.  This world renown Marine Park did not disappoint.  as you can image the snorkelling was spectacular.

February 17/15 we arrived in Grenada after a 7 hour sail from Petite St. Vincent.  Winds blew between 20-25 knots.  St. Louis marina is  a luxury super yacht marina directly in St. George's.
Grenada is also known as the "Spice Island" and unspoiled by mass tourism so we took a all-day tour in an air condition bus with 20 other people.  We visited the River Antoine Estate Rum Distillery.  This privately owned distillery whose processes have not changed since the 1800s, is the oldest functioning water-propelled distillery throughout the Caribbean.

                                                               Rum Distillery

We also looked in at the Gouyave Nutmeg Processing Station, the largest on the island.
My impression was that the people were friendly but without warmth, nobody goes out of their way to help and the service was slow everywhere.  People seemed almost resentful.

Skipper had ordered a new Mastervolt easy view display from Budget Marine in Prickly Bay.  Did a final shop at Foodland, best marinated chicken thighs in the Caribbean before heading to Prickly Bay.

Prickly Bay has a substantial cruising community with endless activities and excellent wifi.  Our next stop was the Whisper Cove Marina. A small family owned and operated by a Canadian couple who had sailed from Montreal to Grenada in 2009.  Cozy place with the best shower facility ever.  Excellent food and service.  Stayed at Whisper Cove for 8 days before taking the plunge of overnight sail to Trinidad.

Left Whisper Cove around 6pm with a warm, freshly made pizza, anticipating a delicious dinner, but no luck there.  Winds extremely strong, waves confused, our stomachs unsettled.  Awake all night...waves coming into cockpit, skipper seasick all night.  Finally arrived in Trinidad at 8am looking for customs and immigration.  Checked in...went for breakfast.  Found Peaks Marina where docking was a considerable challenge.
The high temperature and high humidity here was unbearable for me. Now we had to prepare SA for her 7 month stay in Trinidad.  Luckily we had booked an air conditioned room for sleeping.  Left Trinidad March 17/15 returning to Toronto until the skipper returns in October.

LANZAROTE TO LAS PALMAS, CANARY ISLANDS

LANZAROTE

LANZAROTE

Lanzarote, a Spanish Island, is the most eastern of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean about 125 km off the coast of Morroco, Africa  has a volcanic origin and a desert-like climate.
For those of you who are Doctor Who fans 2 episodes were filmed here, (1984) Planet of Fire and (2014) Kill the Moon.
We arrived in Lanzarote Halloween, October 31,2014. in the new and stylish, modern, very trendy marina with upscale shops, many restaurants from Chinese and Indian, to Sushi and Italian.
To our great delight we met up with Martha and Bob once more and spent several very pleasant evenings enjoying the food and bars.
The only way to see the island is in a car, so set off to see the island's main attraction Timanfaya National Park which consists entirely of volcanic soil.  Public access to the park is strictly regulated to protect the delicate flora and fauna.  We were able to take a 45 min. bus tour thru the park. Although the landscape looks dry and brown I was fascinated by the sheer beauty.

The following day we visited the Jardin de Cactus in the village of Guatize the most spectacular garden I've ever seen with 1400  types of cacti and over 1000 different species from America, Madagascar ant the Canary Islands.  I was awe struck from the very first moment we entered this magical place.

JARDIN DE CACTUS

I took 50 pictures of just cacti and I love every one of them, so hopefully these five will give you some idea of how beautiful this garden is.
A few days later we arrived in Las Palmas, green and lush with vegetation.



















Las Palms is the capital of Gran Canaria and the "home port" or starting point for the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).  An annual event every November since 1986, it is the deparature point for boats crossing the Atlantic from Europe to the Caribbean.

The start of the ARC is something very special because more than 200 boats of all sizes set off across the Atlantic.  Start day begins with the local brass band marching around the marina, serenading the boats as they make final preparations and say goodbye.

While Wolfgang made his final preparations for the 3 week crossing and waited for his crew (brother, Erik and nephew, Christian) to arrive, I made flight  arrangements for Toronto.

BEFORE CROSSING

DURING CROSSING

AFTER CROSSING

The Captain had installed special equipment in order to send and receive emails, so we kept in touch almost daily.  I was also able to follow their progress via an ARC app that detailed all boat's positions and distance covered.

My time in Canada is best described in pictures.........

VALENCIA TO CANARY ISLANDS

CALPE////MOON RISING

We arrived back in Valencia Sept. 1st to find D.W. Crow docked beside us.  It sure was nice to see a familiar face from Licata.  Bob and Martha are fellow Canaks from Niagara, also heading west to the Canary Islands.  We got together for cocktails a few evenings and decided Saturday Sept.6th would be the day to leave.  Unfortunately we didn’t do any sightseeing, the heat prevented me from doing anything.  We were all very glad to be out on the water where the sea breeze brings some relief from the sweltering heat.  

We headed to Denia and even managed to sail a few hours as the wind was in our favor.  Bob had mentioned to turn right after the Denia harbour entrance Marina El Portet.  Lively place, good facilities and 27 Euro is very reasonable price {the sangria wasn’t bad either}.  Again, the heat prevented us from going to dinner until 9:30 and even that was pushing it.  Now I finally understanding why most Spaniards don’t eat until 10 pm.  Al Furno must be the most popular place in town.  All tables were taken outside and there was a lineup to get in.  Inside was slightly air conditioned so our choice was easy.  We ordered 5 different tapas and even took one home. 

The morning took us to the anchorage just outside of Denia harbour so we could put on our snorkeling gear and check out the water intake that cools the engine.  Just as the skipper had suspected, the covering was closed with barnacle growth and the propeller didn’t look great either. Since the salt water makes a person very buoyant we strapped an extra fifty pounds of weights around my waist. I managed to scrape off most of the little crusties and clear the intake, but the propeller would be a different issue.  We decided to stay the day and night in the anchorage, this would allow us to pull out all our diving equipment, incl. air tank to see if everything works the way it’s meant to work.  

Decked out in full diving gear the skipper cleaned the propeller, but was happy to be finished.

The evening brought a lightening storm and wind gusts up to 27 knots.

Stopped in Calpe, Torrevieja, and Cartagena with high heat and humidity.  Can’t really do much before sun goes down.  Now we are moving on to the area called Costa Blanca due to the white coastline of hotel resorts.  A new stop for us was the town of Garrucha, the “Mecca” of fish and a 1.5 km white marble balustrade lined with restaurants overlooking the wide beach.  Docking in 17 knot winds was made even more difficult because the marinero was inexperienced, let’s just leave it at that.

September 14th we arrived in Almerimar.  Everything seemed familiar, even docked almost in the very same slip as on our previous visit April, 2011.  

Stayed 6 days in Almerimar at which time we changed the V-berth mattresses and had new sheets made; had extra piece welded on to solar panel carrier..

EL TONEL////1st EVENING IN ALMERIMAR

TONI AND ANNI ////60th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Unfortunately our very dear friend Anni past away Sept. 14/2014 from lung cancer, but fortunately we had a last visit with her in August.  She is still often in out thoughts and we will remember her always.

Passerelle in Gibraltar, we had to deboard at the bow

Squeezed between a Scot and a Brit directly in front of the washrooms and marina office we spent 12 days in expensive Gibraltar before heading across to the other side of the airport runway to La Lenia.

Thanksgiving weekend we got together with Bob and Martha (Canadian couple from Licata)  who were now at Marina Bay on the Gibraltar side.  They walked across the border into Spain and we had a great night eating tapas and drinking great spanish wine known as the best tapas bar in La Lenia, Chimenea.  Didn't get home until 12:30.

Our Moroccan destination was Rabat, 2 days and one night of travel.  Unfortunately the harbour was closed due to the extra large swell directly facing the entrance, so our only choice was to continue on to Mohammendia, 40 nm south.  We encountered many fishing boats and a lot of heavy fog as a result of the colder water from the Canary Current. 

While docking the skipper noticed that the boat wasn't steering as it should so the next day it was time to put on a snorkel and mask to check out the propeller.  Look what was wrapped around the blades in the propeller.  The stench in this port was starting to become a problem so we headed a little farther down the coast to another large resort town, Agadir.  
The check-in procedure is somewhat lengthy but easy.  Police, customs and immigration officers come on board and leave with your passport and ship's papers to be returned upon departure.

In Agadir you can soak up some sun on the wide,clean beaches or cool off at one of the many the beachfront bars and cafes that line the palm lined boulevards.  If a little action is called for you can ride a camel, rent a beach buggy or check out the local market.

Wanting to experience the local cuisine we headed towards the fish market.  On our way we met a man who's English was clearly better than our French who led us thru several fish stall to a friend of his restaurant stall #20.  We made our fish selection from the choices behind the glass partition and asked to please take our seat at the table.
Moroccans are famous for their hospitality, and it is moroccan etiquette to offer tea to any visitors.  The tea is prepared with a generous amount of spearmint leaves and a very large piece of cubed sugar and ceremoniously prepared in front of guests.  The leaves and sugar are placed into the tea pot with the boiling water and then poured into small glasses, holding the pot about 30cm above the glasses. Then it is put back into the pot and poured again.  Mint tea is Morocco's nation beverage and favourite pastime. GREAT EXPERIENCE!!!!

Our seafood platter of prawns, sardines, sea beam, squid and mackerel arrived quickly.  Although eating utensils were on the table, the locals were not making use of them; so we threw our inhibitions to the wind and enjoyed our meal.

With Morocco being the only north African country without oil they must take advantage of other resources.  The ocean off Morocco's Atlantic coast is one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

After a week in Agadir the wind forecast seemed favourable so we decided to make the jump across to Lanzarote, one of the 7 Canary Islands.  We had our sails up 80% of the time during the 2 days and 2 nights.