HIGHLIGHTS OF FOUR MONTHS IN THE CARIBBEAN

Back at work

We arrived back in Antigua having had a pretty miserable three weeks in the UK whilst Andrew had an operation on his nose. Poor chap had a rotten time of it and we were both pretty much stuck in the house avoiding the horrid flu bug that seemed to have taken over England. So getting back to the boat and some sunshine was a huge improvement all round. We spent the first few days in Jolly Harbour as it was very windy and caught up on lots of chores and several oil changes, good to get that all out of the way.

Once again we found ourselves in town with RORC and the 600 race and as always Sue and Eddie included us in the celebrations. My birthday fell in the middle and we celebrated at Catherine’s which as always was a treat. It also meant there were lots of friends to see and we had a very jolly week catching up and remembering how to socialise. Just a shame the skipper overdid it on the dance floor on the last night and ended up with a cracked rib to add to his ailments!

Eddie swan out to say goodbye

My fine vessel

We took ourselves off to Guadeloupe for a couple of weeks reacquainting ourselves with the delights of The Saintes. Unable to join me in swimming, due to his exuberant dance moves, we set  out on a couple of motorised excursions, the first being in a very fine electric buggy around the  island of Terre de Haut. We visited the Fort with its French museum, that  seemed to gloss over the large British Victory in the Battle of the Saintes  and then drove around the Island. I seemed to cause much frustration amongst the locals at my lack of speed in my fine vessel and got shouted at. This gentleman mistook me for someone who cared, after all I am the proud winner of the booby prize at a hen night for slowest driver ever in a Go cart. The embarrassed skipper and I decided to  climb the tallest mountain in the midday sun climbing some two thousand meters in the spirit of mad dogs. We were however very pleased with ourselves on reaching the summit and the views were spectacular and well worth the effort.

We made it to the top

And the view made it all worthwhile!

Our next excursion several days later took place in a very sedate hire car in Guadeloupe . After I had navigated us by foot to the hire shop through the red light district of Pointe-a-Pitre Andrew very firmly took control of the driving and the navigation for the day, resulting in a much faster traveling experience. We visited the rain forest which was spectacular, learning that the two Islands of Guadeloupe were in fact formed twenty five million years apart. A fine and memorable lunch on the coast, the obligatory Carrefour experience and it was time to head back to Antigua.

We had decided as a late call to join the rally organised by the New York Yacht Club in celebration of their 175th anniversary and to which the Squadron had been invited to join. We had met on our return in February Poul and Sophia and asked them to join us for the five day trip which they bravely agreed to do. It was a huge success and they have become firm friends. With Sophia’s excellent cooking and provisioning and Poul’s Olympian helming of Hullabaloo, on one occasion for eight hours non stop, we had a fantastic trip. And that was on top of the very fine events we attended being a drinks party in St. Barts, then one in the Super Yacht harbour in St. Kitts, the most fabulous lunch at a Cotton Plantation in Nevis, Dinner in the Admirals Inn in Antigua and all finished off by a farewell Drinks in a private home in Mill Reef and dinner in the club house, the latter at the invitation of our shipmates.  All fantastically organised we finished the trip feeling totally spoilt and with many new friendships made.

A day in the office

Sophia making us lunch at sea

The beautiful garden at the Cotton club

On our way back to Antigua from St. Kitts Andrew commented that we were nearly home, making us realise it was time to leave before we started putting down roots which was not the idea of our adventure! We spent a last night in Deep Bay as Mary and Jeremy were in residence and  a delightful afternoon racing lasers with the Thorpe family as always a joy to see them. Setting sail early the next morning we were excited to be moving again and back on our travels, knowing we would be seeing our new home and old friends again  soon for race week.

Not such a fine catch

We sailed to St. Barts trying once again to catch some fish and only managing to hook the Sargassum weed which literally carpets the sea. Then onwards to St. Martin on a mission for a shiny new anchor.  We bought the boat with a CQR which is challenging in certain situations so after much deliberation we decided on and purchased a new Rocna.  Whilst sweating and cursing as we removed the original and replaced it, we caught the attention of a large Iguana who put his feet up on the deck and had a little nose to see if this would be a nice new home, if only I had had the courage to step over him to get the camera! We are very pleased with our new anchor, every time a gold star!! The first time we used it it almost took the winch off the bow as it took up, what joy! 

We didn’t stay long in St. Martin, it was sad to see all the broken boats in the harbour after the hurricane. We did catch up with our new friends Ann & Johnathan on Sophia and then we headed North to the BVI’s and more sorry sights of devastation. However it was good to see that there were quite a few charter boats about and that things were starting to get back to normal and we were reassured that our boat card was still where we left in in the roof at Foxy’s!

St. Thomas

The US Virgin Islands were in a much better state of repair.  Going ashore in St. Thomas we  were amazed to find an entire street packed with jewellery stores, money no object! The Spanish Virgin Islands were still without power and living on generators but still smiling. After checking in at Culebra, we headed for Vieques but could find no shelter in the swell and spent the night at the Western end of the island. I had wondered why we could only find one very inferior pilot book for the area and now I know there are very few cruisers after the US Virgin Islands until you get past the Dominican Republic.

The mangroves

The South coast of Puerto Rico beckoned. Our first night was spent in the mangroves in Baya Jobos, the water was now very green and no longer tempting to swim in, not least as there are supposed to be manatees around.  The next night we visited the port of Salines were sixty one sunken boats had been removed by the coast guard, so far. We spent a jolly evening ashore with some locals and heard their stories, how they were cut off from the outside world for months, their only form of communication through the satellite phones of the yachtsmen. Many of the boats have been abandoned by their owners, up for sale from the local authorities for one dollar there are now local owners who never dreamed that they could afford such vessels. There is a feeling that the US could have helped more, they certainly seemed to have helped the residents of the more affluent US VI’s quite a bit more. Our last night was spent anchored of Gilligans Island. It was a Sunday and we joined the  hundred of locals who had caught the ferry and bought their entire families and most of their garden furniture to wallow in the warm waters. Swimming through the mangroves against the tide was hard work, floating on our backs back down was memorable, far superior to the man made theme park equivalents.

Leaving early the next morning we had a horrible overnight crossing to the Dominican Republic, known for nasty conditions traversing the Mona passage we were faced with lumpy seas, pouring rain and not enough wind to sail so we had to motor all the way.  We were meeting our old friends Andy and Lucie who had booked us into the marina in Samana which was an absolute delight with an infinity swimming  pool overlooking the National Park on the other side of the bay. The local army man and his sidekick the drug officer, who looked more likely to be selling them than confiscating them, came on board to clear customs. They were actually terribly charming and very friendly as everyone we met on the island turned out to be. We were struck by how lush and green the island was having had no hurricane damage and water was obviously not an issue judging by the amount the boat boys let run into the harbour on a continual basis. 

A fine marina

Our shipmates Andy & Lucie

Andy and Lucie arrived bringing with them a car and we set out to visit the surrounding area. In search of some rock formation that our skipper was keen to see we had to divert for lunch as it transpired that they were actually located in Australia and that seemed a little far to go, needless to say this caused much hilarity amongst the females!  An amazing Paella in an Eco restaurant on the cliff side with a blow hole to explore after lunch was not a bad alternative.  We spent a night anchored off the National Park, having had to obtain special consent from our new friend in the services and were thrilled to see the vast array of birds swooping above the trees amongst them many vultures, a particular favourite of Andrew’s.

The Flintstone hotel

Returning to the good ship Hullabaloo in the marina we set off for a couple of nights to stay in another Eco hotel that Lucie had booked for us in the National Park. We caught the local ferry which was an interesting experience to say the least. Packed to the gunnels with people and then loaded up with a few motor bikes, the remaining passengers climbed onto, and not doubt needed to cling onto, the roof as we rocked our way across the bay for an hour. The driver could not see through the patched windscreen and was helped by the young ticket collector who hung out the side of the boat and I doubt there was a life jacket onboard! 

A cave with a view

An old carving

Our hotel was lovely if not a little unusual in construction, it looked like it had once been part of the film set for the Flintstones, but the food was okay and the staff friendly and attentive. The next morning our guide came to collect us for our first outing of the day delivering us to a motor boat that took us out to see some caves, mangroves and all those lovely birds and this time we had an informed guide to tell us all about them. 

Loving the look...

After lunch at the hotel we then set of on foot into the rain forest for another informative tour. Returning the next morning on the ferry was equally perilous, the poor woman breast feeding her baby ended up on the floor when her seat came apart, but nobody seemed at all concerned as she rolled around infant firmly attached!

The next day, spoilt brats that we are, Andrew and I left Andy & Lucie to explore and  took a plane back to Antigua for Race week with Mary and Jeremy, their son Peter and friends Nicky and Mike. Staying in their lovely villa and commuting each day on the Wally to race on a GP42 we had the most fantastic ten days. FANG was a joy to sail, sailing down wine at 22 knots completely under control was just amazing, particularly when we got our Swiss crew mate to yodel at the top of his voice. It was hard work and I ended up covered in bruises but we both loved the experience. In addition we saw lots of friends from home and just had a great time as we always do with Mr & Mrs Thorpe.

Mary & Nicky enroute to the racing

Andrew and Jeremy ready to go

We returned to the boat which had been moved further North to Ocean Marina in Luperon by our crew mates. Not such a nice marina but the staff couldn’t help us enough and we managed the usual laundry and visit to the supermarket. It was a shame that on our early morning departure two days later that the three officials who came to check us out demanded additional payment on top of the extra fees we had already paid. In general though we found the people very friendly and although they would try quite hard to sell their services they didn’t push when you said no. We will go back.

We sailed overnight to the Bahamas stopping for a night in Crocked Island where we had encountered bad hurricane damage two years previously and where pleased to see the progress made. Swimming ashore there was seemed to be  a large black shark like shape that passed between us, I was grateful on our return to the dingy when Andrew offered to swim out and collect me from the beach!!! Our next stop was Exuma Island where checking in we were charged US$320 which we thought a little steep! We decided to stay put in the Sound for the rest of our friends stay and spent a very pleasant few days enjoying the lovely beaches and swimming in the largest natural swimming pool I have ever seen, nice clear water and no dark shapes

Swimming with the family as my husband so rudely suggested!

Hullabaloo in the National park

The Skipper with an ancestor

Happy Days for the crew of Hullabaloo!

Once Andy and Lucie had left us we headed to Staniel cay anchoring a couple of miles out limited as always in the Bahamas by our draft. We swam with the Pigs, large and hairy and very keen to eat our carrots it was certainly a different experience. We explored the Thunderball  grotto, had drinks ashore and then headed to the Grotto National Park for a few days. A truly glorious anchorage which we just managed to squeeze into. Taking the trails we paid homage to Boo-Boo Hill where sailors leave a memento to the lost souls of a shipwreck and to appease King Neptune. 

Another overnighter to the pretty Abaco Islands for a final couple of days before setting off to the USA , what a lovely and varied time we have had in the Carabean. As always the lands we visit our memorable and then we go to sea and remember just why we are doing this, we just love the sense of adventure and the tranquility of being in the Ocean.  Time to head North ahead of those hurricanes....

CHRISTMAS IN THE SUN

Santa has been

I hadn’t mentioned in my last post that one reason for our delay was poor Andrew had been very unwell with what turned out to be chronic sinus and nasal issues. A visit to the specialist recommended an operation in the New Year and in the meantime an immediate escape form the West and all the nasty pollution. Fingers tightly crossed we arrived back in Grenada and hoped his recommendation of cleaner air and lots of swimming in salt water would do the trick.

We were thrilled to find the boat in fantastic condition, all the wiping down with bleach had done the trick and the only real casualties of mould were the very expensive blinds, my fault I should have known better! Spice Island had come up trumps and the new varnished floors gleamed, the topsides shone and she was ready to go, apart from one small problem we had a lot of very flat batteries!

At the airport we had got a cab ride from a lovely local lady Carlene and she became our woman in Grenada whilst we plugged in. Picking me up from the yard we had a very entertaining day touring the island, picking up new batteries for the generator, petrol, provisioning, meeting our every need I meet her daughters and half the island. A lot cheaper than hiring a car, and then Sally as my divorce lawyer, after the marital’s that would have ensued trying to navigate all the tiny streets.

Leaving the yard our first stop was Hog Island  to meet up with the lovely Stuart who had agreed to help us sort out our refrigeration issues. We had met him in a Pizza restaurant in Carriacou in the summer and armed with the necessary equipment brought in from the UK, it is impossible to source these things in the Carabean, we picked up a buoy and settled in for a few days, time to get Mr D into that salt water. This bay is a haven for long term live aboard’s most of whom work in the boating industry and there is quite a community, bin collections on Sunday morning, a shopping bus to the supermarket every Friday, Pies apparently available for 10 EC from one boat and the best party on a Sunday afternoon on the beautiful beach at Rogers  ad hoc bar, every drink 5 EC and three amazing musicians from amongst the boats to rock your socks off.  I received an interesting proposition from a local, less said the better.

We have a new dingy , the old one developed a split in the hull and was replaced under warranty, yes sometimes there is a god! We spent an afternoon carefully painting  the numbers on the bow only to then watch large parts of them being washed of in a torrential downpour.
Refrigeration mostly sorted it was time to leave, eager to stretch our legs and go sailing we set of encountering the usual frustrations in Union Island with checking into St. Vincent. With only a couple of weeks to get to Antigua to meet the girls for Christmas  we had to chose our favourite

Waiting for a catch

spots and the Tobago Keys was a must. Two nights turned into three, due to bad weather, but a fully cooked lobster delivered to our boat on one evening proved to be the best take out ever!

Checking out in Bequia we headed to St. Lucia, keen to catch a fish and now the proud owners of two rods we caste our lines, to date all we seem to catch are barracuda and they are not edible or friendly. 

Near Miss

Approaching St. Lucia we literally almost sailed over two logging whales and judging by the brown water emitted by one as he dived I think they were more surprised than us. Always an awesome sight to see these creatures so close up. Arriving in Marigot Bay we were met by Sonny the boat boy and he proved to be quite useful, or his mother was as she did our washing for us. A night on the town and it was time to move on.
Next stop Martinique and some serious provisioning for Christmas. Wine, french food and a Christmas tree, the latter complete with decorations for 6 Euros wha a result!

Leaving very early in the morning for The Saints, we sailed past Dominica which was a very sad sight. After the Hurricane there was much devastation and from the sea the hills with their 
stripped tree trunks looked like they had all had a punk haircut. Arriving in the Saints there was also some damage but it is amazing that only forty miles away and there was in comparison so little damage, it gives one hope that it would be possible to escape a hurricane at sea if forewarned of its trajectory.

Then Antigua to meet our girls. We arrived a few days before them giving ourselves plenty of time to get ready. Excited faces coming across the water in Freeman’s bay having been picked up by Andrew, no one more excited than me! Georgina had brought with her a very large lilo, don’t ask she thought it will afford her protection from the many sharks around the Island lying in wait to eat her. We christened her Tipple and her owner’s love of her is so great I think a subscription to practical boat owner is a must for her next birthday. 

We had the best Christmas Eve ever at Shirley Heights followed by the traditional reading of The Night Before Christmas by a slightly tipsy father, but he must know it by heart after all these years. Stockings with two over excited toddlers, a swim, nibbles with champagne and presents followed by a late lunch at Catherines. Foie Gras and Lobster Thermidor a very acceptable change from Turkey, rum ice cream more than made up for the lack of brandy butter. A few cocktails and there ensued a somewhat quiet Boxing Day!!

The wind was up so we headed round to Jolly Harbour and then of to Deep Water Bay. On our 

first morning there the girls decided a pre breakfast expedition was in order, they nearly ruined mine watching then climbing sheer rocks in flip flops and bikinis! There destination almost achieved the skipper retrieved them. They had bought Andrew and I Fitbits for Christmas so some walking of mother along the beach ensued to achieve the required daily ten thousand steps, future  competition to come between the skipper and I.

December 29th dawned  and with it Emma’s 25th birthday, this was the first time we had spent it with her in four years, how lovely! Princess for a day we took it in turns to entertain her, Tipple played her part & Georgina was happy to have a nap whilst the wrinkly’s took the birthday girl for  a late afternoon swim. Dinner at Sheer rocks completed another lovely day in paradise.

New Years Eve dawned and time to party. After a late night flit the night before from Freeman’s Bay we decided to take a berth in Falmouth, we probably wont do that again as you need a mortgage.  I almost cried when I realised that I had been charged 10EC to pick up my garbage from the quayside which I forgot to put out when leaving due to being incapable to even speak, but I digress. We enjoyed a late lunch, played a few games of pool where I managed to lose by potting the black, nothing new there, and then of to the party at English Harbour. Music, rum and fireworks and quite a setting to bring in the new year. Tickets had been already bought for Rum Barbour, how did Mama find herself there I was asked by the lovely shopkeeper in Falmouth the next day, I didn’t like to admit that mama has a nasty  habit of finding herself in such places..
Emma and I left ahead of  the other two, burgers murdered on the way home, we all got to bed around 5.30 - you can see why the rubbish didn’t get put out on our departure.

We headed out into a lumpy sea on New Year’s Day our destination Green Island. Poor George 

felt  rather sea sick but as I helpfully pointed out she would have been feeling rotten anyway. A quiet last few days enjoying the sun, swimming and walking around the island. Andrew was quite surprised when after one walk George and I came running out the bushes yelping hell bent on getting into the sea. We had mistaken a Centurion plant for an Aloa Vera and rubbed it all over our sunburn resulting in very sore and itchy skin, he unhelpfully pointed out that it was a strange thing to do to cut open an strange plant and rub it all over the most sensitive parts of one’s body...

We spent the last night with the girls back in Freeman’s Bay and took them out for a last meal which in turn resulted in a last dance. When Andrew took them of on the dingy the next morning I wanted to shout out,”don’t go come back lets do it all again!” I consoled myself with the fact that  I would be seeing them in the UK soon, oh and the fact I had won the family games cup AGAIN!

We had just over a week left and we set about some much needed chores, the most frustrating being trying to fit new window seals in our port lights, a hopeless task with much swearing! We tied the boat up in Jolly and put the boat to bed in readiness for our return home for Andrew’s 
Op. On the way to the airport my Fitbit heralded the successful completion of ten thousand steps, twenty minutes into the car journey....

Tipple goes to sea

THE END OF WINTER 2017

London Girls

We did indeed have a fabulous time with the London Girls and their hubbies, notably Amanda, James, Susanne and Peter.

From the moment we met them in Jolly Harbour, excitedly spilling out of a taxi, to the moment we put them back in one in English Harbour we had a ball.

Happy Days

James and Amanda gallantly took the Pullman; I only once heard a comment about the well-known sport of cat swinging! Peter and Susanne stoically put up with the odd bout of seasickness, as the weather was not kind to us. It basically blow a Hooley and escaping to Green Island mid week for some flat water resulted in an anxious night for the crew. Escaping the next day was exciting, the skipper did a marvelous job of putting everyone’s mind at rest but we were nevertheless pleased

to get back into English harbour, where we spent the last two nights of their holiday tied up to the dock. We restricted our boating

trips to using the dingy to ferry everyone to Freemans beach. We had a fabulous last night in Abracadabra dancing our socks off, my only regret being that we decided not to all pile into the cage on the podium which seemed like such a great idea at the time….

Freemans Bay

James, with the help of his photographic assistant Susanne, made a fabulous film of our week so we can relive it all in years to come.

We lingered a few more days in Antigua making a few repairs and then set sail for Dominica. Our designated boat boy duly met us at the entrance, took us to customs and then arranged to pick us up early the next morning for a tour down the Indian River. Up at the crack of dawn we were duly picked up by Providence, infact not our original man, but he turned out to be an excellent and well-informed guide.

The Indian River

Rowing down the river through the shady green waters it felt like we were deep in the jungle. We learnt much about the local vegetation and animals and were sad to leave the peace and quiet, so we consoled ourselves with a simple lunch on the beach.

Eupraxia arrived in the bay later that day and as luck would have it there was room for them and their shipmates to join us on our tour of the island the next day. We charged around the island with our driver who proudly called himself The Love Doctor. He certainly seemed more interested in waving at all the local girls then talking to us but nevertheless we got a good view of Island life. With only seventy thousand inhabitants and very little employment Dominica is a very poor island but definelty the most beautiful one we have seen so far

 

We visited a chocolate factory, which was fascinating, and I was surprised we managed to get Andrew back into the taxi. A very poor lunch on the road, denoting the lack of provisions on the island, several stops to buy local crafts made by the indigenous Carib Indians, and then a trip to Green Emerald Pools in the middle of the jungle. The water was freezing but invigorating and on our walk through the jungle we spotted a huge green parrot with red markings flying across the valley, it was a truly spectacular sight!

Moving on it was time to head to Grenada to meet the Ewart Smith family. We stopped briefly in St Lucia, whilst swimming in Rodney bay we were rudely interrupted and escorted back to our vessel by the Customs boat who felt we were a danger to ourselves and local shipping, they probably had a point! We overnighted to Grenada and then set about exploring our new island.

Compensation

Catherine, Michael, Tom & Polly arrived within a few days and we decided to take a tour around the island. Another taxi ride, but this time with a fifth day Adventist so we learnt much more about the island, Catherine might have preferred the Love Doctor. Although Grenada is much more wealthy than Dominica the island is very similar in appearance, very green and lush with lots of rivers. This time the waterfall we visited had an added attraction in the form of two young local lads performing diving tricks down the fall, I think they more than made up for our taxi driver…

We had fabulous ten days visiting various islands in the

Grenadines, swimming with turtles in the Tobago Keys, which is beautiful. We were disappointed to find that the famous Basel’s bar on Mystique was being rebuilt so Catherine and I gamely set of for an early drink in the Cotton club instead. We were stopped by a security guard and had to be picked up by the hotel taxi as Yachties are not allowed lose on the island due to the number of celebrities in residence. Two very strong rum punches later we were taken back to Basel’s pop up bar to meet the others, the Ginger thought she could keep up with me and had a third… What happens on Hullabaloo stays on Hullabaloo…

All to soon it was time to say goodbye and we sailed back to Petit St. Vincent, put down anchor and started on some long overdue chores.  We had a couple of weeks before our girls were due to visit us. Very sadly I woke one morning to lots of messages on my phone, my lovely mummy had passed away unexpectedly in the night. It was such a shock and the next few days were a blur as we made our way back to Grenada to head home.

After a very sad time in England we returned with Emma and Georgina in tow for their two-week holiday. It was the best tonic in the world to have our two lovely daughters with us.  We were all obviously in a funny place but we still

managed some special times, we celebrated George’s birthday in the Tobago Keys, Emma caught her first fish and we toasted the B on her birthday during a lovely lunch on Petit St Vincent. We played lots of cards and for the first time since I was about twelve I won the family cup!!

After they left us we had two weeks to put the boat to bed for the summer. We polished the decks, washed down the entire interior in vinegar, vacuum packed all the bedding and clothes and generally got very hot and bothered as the temperature soared. I was almost glad to get on a plane.

We have spent the summer sorting out a multitude of things and are now preparing to go back to the good ship Hullabaloo tomorrow, no doubt to wash it all over again! But I am so ready…