Christmas an hiking in Martinique

The rains and high winds continue with Cat Tales bouncing and dripping. Most afternoons have been drier than overnight and we have been able to get off the boat for a little exercise and fun. 

Lorna and Brian arriving at Cat Tales before sundown!

After a few sundowner get togethers onboard it was time to think about Christmas. There are so many people we know here that it became obvious that getting together on someone's boat was not an option. We took a walk to a beautiful beach bar called Touloulou's at the end of the beach and booked a table for 12 for their buffet. It was 45 euros a head, but that included our drinks, so we were in!  Well, before you knew it we had found other friends who were wondering just what to do for Christmas, so we told anyone interested to go to Touloulou's and add to our table. 32 people later, and pretty much filling the place, we headed there for dinner and a nice relaxing bob in the ocean afterwards. A good time was had by all!

Lance from s/v Queen Emma giving a Christmas kiss to Arlene from s/v Tiger Lily II. Lou from s/v Suzanne having fun photo bombing in the background!

An after Christmas float in the ocean before heading back to our respective boats. 

Lorna and Brian exercising after dinner. 

Ok enough of the eating stuff. It's time to let you know that we did a major hike yesterday to help work off the Christmas fun!

Yesterday 6 of us met at the town dock at 10:00 and proceeded out of town and walked across to the east coast. Besides the usual violent ocean the east coast often provides, we walked through beautiful beaches, dense brush, low estuaries and dry volcanic clay badlands, finally arriving at the big tourist beach with economical BBQs and cold beer. It was 1:30 and ALL of us were worn right out!  The treck home was a bit mucky because of the rain, but it was only the last 15 minutes out of a 5 hour hike. 

Lorna and Brian still smiling as they approach hour 3 of the hike!

This one says it all. 

Foot washing before lunch and cold beers!

Today we're making a last run for vegetables in hopes that tomorrow we can sneak around the corner by Diamond Rock to les Anses d'Arlet for hiking and snorkelling. Let's hope the winds calm down soon or we'll just have to stay here in St Anne, which is no hardship. 

The Winds Continue!

Tuesday, December 6th., we, along with Peace & Plenty, cleared out of Rodney Bay Customs, and headed across to Ste. Anne, Martinique.  The weather window we chose was not exactly sanctioned by our weather-router, Denis, but it really was not terrible.  It would be hard to compete with the exciting sails from Grenada!   To make up for the extra north angle of the wind, we both motor-sailed hard up on the wind to attempt to arrive east of Diamond Rock, and really could not get up much speed because of the pinching to windward and because of the rather rough sea.  However, the sea calmed down within 6 miles of the Martinique coast, and, although Lorna and Brian brought their sail down and motored direct to Ste. Anne, Dawn and I tacked, turned off the motor, and had an hour of pure sailing to get the bad taste of motoring off of our palate.  Yes, we took an extra hour to get in to anchor, and yes, we missed a blessed fresh-water rain shower, but it was worth it.  We anchored just behind Peace and Plenty and just beside Silk Pajamas, at the end of the anchored boats.

Ste Anne is a sweet little touristy town tucked in from the wind along the channel to the great marine centre of Marin, where I first found Cat Tales back in 2002.  Ste. Anne has a tremendous 18 foot deep shelf of sand and grass that attracts boaters of all types, and right now there are just short of 200 monohulls, catamarans, trimarans, sloops, schooners, ketches, cruising trawlers, cruisers and charterers,  and weekend warriors at anchor; with probably twice as many at anchor and at the docks inside Marin about 2 miles away.

Lorna and Laurie cooling down during a beach day!

Brian taking a break from floating around. 

We ran into old friends Joanna and Bill from s/v Baidarka. Looks like Brian and Joanna called each other before choosing the day's clothing!

Since we arrived here, we have experienced more rain than any time we we have been in the Caribbean.  More is expected, with high winds expected tonight and lasting until after Christmas.  We were planning a magnificent hike along the south coast, but the wet trails are apparently close to impassible.  High winds will keep us and many friends right here until after Christmas; but that is just fine!

When a cruise ship comes into the bay, tourism and security comes out in full force!

That is not to say we are staying boat-bound and growing mushrooms!  We have enjoyed a big party in our cockpit, had some sundowners In a few other cockpits, enjoyed some truly fantastic French restaurants, bistros and cafes, had some asphalt hikes and bus rides, and even a beach day.  We also took Cat Tales to town: running into Marin for shopping with four boat crews represented in our cockpit and trailing dingies.  Although it was fun, with an excellent lunch, the most amazing part of the trip is that Cat Tales needed no parts from the Chandleries!  (That just means we have a full stock of spares on board)   

We should tell you that, as in past years, Internet in the French islands is a pain for cruisers - with the companies only good at getting the money, not in the delivery of service.  Oh well, a break is good.

Along a walk, we ran across this statue, Freed Negro. 

Hikers with hats!

This is a standard pose for Laurie as he examines the menu and provides us with information, although he almost always orders the poisson!

Love this 

bar in the restaurant!  It is actually the bow of a "yole", a local racing sailer.  The tree in the background is pretty special too!

TECHNICAL

I had some "fun" with the repair of an oil pressure senser/sender for the starboard engine.  Because of a faulty jumper wire I used for troubleshooting, I ended up studying wiring diagrams, pulling apart the boat and wires, and testing wiring harnesses for a full day before back-tracking and determining that the sensor was faulty after all.  I took it out, cleaned it, tapped it gently with a hammer (John Fallon's idea) and then it fell apart in my hands. Half of it was ceramic and must have been cracked.  The good news is that such sensors are rather generic and economical, so I had a new one in my hand in an hour.

Dawn, while swimming under the boat at bathtime, noticed that the fairing boots that we had worked so hard to attach around the saildrives last May, are completely loose.  They have been removed and we will spend the season without them.  Obviously, regardless of technique, the correct adhesive must be employed!

Wishing everyone a fabulous holiday season and all the best for 2017!!

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Early Arrival at Rodney Bay

We have amazed ourselves by getting to Rodney Bay before the first of December.  It was our plan to head north from Grenada early, to stay out of the strong "Christmas Winds", but we certainly got wind.  Here is how it shaped up:

We were launched on the 23rd of November, and spent until the 26th just putting the boat together and fixing small problems.  Except for a couple of trips to little restaurants near the university with Lorna and Brian, we kept pretty low key and busy.  Indeed, instead of running with the Grenada Hash House Harriers, we maintained our exercise regiment hauling heavy groceries back from various locations.  Finally, with L and B, we made the short trip to the shelf outside St. Georges, and I did one last chandlery run.  Both Cat Tales and Peace & Plenty left for Carriacou on Sunday morning, with an anomalous wind from the south-east.  The sailing was beautiful, and Tyrell Bay was made without an extra tack or motoring.

Heading into Tyrell Bay, Carriacou

That does not mean without drama, however.  Peace and Plenty had a seawater impeller problem, meaning no cooling water to their heat exchanger and no water in their exhaust.  We tried harnessing the boat to the side of Cat Tales twice - the first time, we were still in some small waves, with poor alignment, and the heaving was too much for us; indeed the bow line broke.  Brian sailed under jib to calmer water, we reconnected and got them in far enough to anchor.  Before poor Brian had his first "anchor beer", he had to put in an hour as a mechanic, but he got the impeller replaced.

Brian and Laurie connecting our boats together to tow Lorna and Brian into Tyrell Bay.  They are still working on getting the life line repaired after the damage done that day.

Monday morning, we both cleared customs and headed north.  The wind had further clocked around so that we were on a lovely broad reach.  Most of the afternoon we were traveling over 7 knots.  Cat Tales handled beautifully, but Brian spent a lot of time at the helm of Peace & Plenty as she wallowed back and forth with a following sea.  We anchored in Bequia with the intention of leaving at 0300 hours, but we all had second thoughts as the sky darkened, lightning flashed from all directions all night, and we got communication about a dangerous squall line that swept through Martinique and St. Lucia at 2100 hours.  At 0300 hours, we made the decision to pull the plug, and went back to bed.  Dawn and I were awakened at daylight with breaking waves under our boat and our stern terribly close to a rocky beach.  After re-anchoring, we all spent the day in the rain and wind reading and trying to put together a picture of what had happened in Rodney Bay during the storm. 

Rainy day in Bequia waiting to sail north

Apparently, many boats we knew were very much involved.  John Fallon's boat Stopp Knot was blown into the shallows near Sandals, and pounded on her keel for a long time before Sandals dive boats worked together in the dark to get her back into deep water.  He's in the boatyard now, getting some keel cracks patched up.  Robin Unwin's boat had her bowsprit and a shroud ripped when a charterboat blew past, and his wooden mast is now in two pieces.  Steve McMullan and Jenny's boat  Tanglewood was stopped at the last minute when the anchor found a giant hunk of coral, but it apparently loosened the windlass (repairable).  We understand that some boats cut loose their ground tackle and headed to sea to avoid disaster.  At least no lives lost.  I have been snorkeling for John's lost sail cover, with no luck so far.

On the 30th, we finally carried on to Rodney Bay, but the wind and rain were the main event, along with a few freighters coming out of the mist.  These were monsters traveling at 12-13 knots, with bow waves bigger than houses, but they first showed only on our AIS devices (devices that use a combination of VHF frequencies and global positioning systems to provide a radar-like picture of impending doom), and only later appeared much closer.  However, in two cases, in spite of the visual information we had that insisted that death was imminent, the electronic devices determined that they were passing our track at least a half mile away.  ...and they did.  Both ships approached from the west, and the signals indicated that both, one a tanker and the other a container ship, were headed to Singapore.

A single Piton of St. Lucia in the mist.  Where did the other one go??

Both boats had some amazing sailing with broad reaching.  Cat Tales was often doing 10 knots with the smallest amount of sail and only 3 feet of jib, while Brian used only his jib and found his boat wallowed much less and had a great performance.

Since arriving, we have had a party on the marina boardwalk, and a lovely meal of curried conch with Lorna and Brian last night on Cat Tales.  We'll lay low and recover tonight.  I spent the afternoon swimming around where John had his mishap - apparently, he had a new mainsail cover folded up in his cockpit when the wind hit, and it went over the side.  No luck finding it so far.  Maybe Dawn will help tomorrow.

I should mention that we have been enjoying callaloo, christophene, plantain, green fig, conch, and a little tuna we caught on the west side of Grenada, aboard our boats since we were launched - in a hurry to pick up our culinary skills where we parked them last year.

Brian using our stern shower hose to add water to his Demerera Rum!  How handy is that?

Technical

After losing yet another bilge pump, I am rewiring the systems with quick connect plugs to make them easier to test and replace.  I am more than a little disappointed in the short lives these Rule 500gph pumps seem to have, with never an indication as to why they stop working.  I took the pump apart, and it was totally dry and shiny inside - no indication of the cause of the failure, and no way to reassemble.

Cat Tales had a failure to shoot seawater from the starboard exhaust upon being launched, and even after being primed with water, the output was a little light.  Yesterday, I dismantled both the front and back of the heat exchanger, and found a partial blockage in the black section:  apparently a piece of fibrous waxed paper that had been able to pass through some of the exchanger before opening up and covering some of the tubes.

Laurie cleaning the fuel filter

Reading the manual...looking for clews about the oil pressure sensor!

Tearing the boat apart again!!

I had some luck with the cleaning out of a Racor 500 filter assembly, today.  I turned off the fuel, drained the unit into a little pail (cut up vinegar jug), and then used a construction syringe to spray the drained fuel back through the housing with the filter removed.  I was able to dislodge all materials on the vanes and on the bottom of the acrylic bowl without having to dismantle the unit with only six syringe-fulls.  The filter had not been replaced since 2012, and still did not look dirty, but the housing was no longer allowing visibility.  We checked the primary filter at the engine, and it was pristine.  Dawn and I jerry-jug our fuel aboard, apply algae killer, allow the fuel to settle, and then pour the supernatant into our tank.  As well, both the primary and secondary filters are 2 microns.  The system seems to work for us, and contrary to some older texts on the subject, the filters do not seem to be breaking down with extended use.

Presently, I am working on a faulty oil pressure sensor/sender.  I'll post about it next time.

What A Difference A Day Makes

Thursday morning finds us out in Prickly Bay, Grenada, just offshore from Spice Island Boatyard where Cat Tales was hibernating for six months.  It is a beautiful, albeit really warm day, with the sun shining and a gentle breeze keeping the boat straight and giving us some relief from the heat.

Yesterday, we rushed through our last chores before the travel-lift picked us up at 1100 hours and dropped us in the water.  The new through-hull fitting and the new saildrive membranes kept the sea out and both engines ran.  Trouble is, the starboard engine was not spitting water.  The lift and men left us there while we tore apart the raw water pump and traced the lines, and otherwise troubleshot the issue.  Finding nothing wrong but not getting satisfaction, I ran the engine while funnelling water into the pump, until water filled the whole system.  I then put the pipe back together, restarted the engine, and for some reason it worked.  We headed to the bay, got an anchor down, and calmed down.  

Cat Tales ready for the slings!

Laurie was hoisted up the mast by Brian to check all the lights and navigation gear.  Everything passed with flying colours!

I then attempted to get the outboard working, and failed.  It just would not start.  As we had experienced this on past launches, we simply pulled the cord 20 times, waited 20 minutes and repeated, hoping the new gas would soften the varnish-like substance that the old gas had left.  We finally had it working at 17:00 hours, too late to go to Customs for our cruising permit, but just in time to attend an invitation for supper aboard Peace and Plenty, floating 100 m away.

We had arrived in Grenada on November 14th, and had spent 8 nights in a tiny, air-conditioned apartment with "Tiny House" appeal, called Cool Running, just across from the boatyard.  We had worked full days getting things running, and were dead tired most nights.  We had arrived while Dawn was suffering from a pulled ligament in her shoulder, and we were envisioning a difficult time getting many of the "two-person" jobs done.  However, Lorna and Brian actually met us at our room when we arrived (they had talked their way in and had enjoyed showers before we arrived), and with a little effort over the next two days, Brian helped me get the sails on, the dinghy off, the outboard out, and the bimini up while Lorna assisted Dawn in running for basic provisions.  Dawn's arm began to heal and became totally useful by the weekend, so we were able to finish all chores.

We're going to a cooking class this afternoon with Esther and Omega at Blue Bay and well, here I pause, and here is the report!

They provided every detail and a couple of cheats for cooking a greenfig/vegetable salad and a fantastic chicken dish using local spices.  We sat, got entertained (with Lorna and Brian), fed, and beered. A fun afternoon, and quite a change from yesterday! 

TECHNICAL

I took on a fibreglass job as part of the recommissioning work this year.  The Fountaine Pajots are assembled from a series of manufactured mouldings, which are primarily held together with fibreglass  patches on the inside of the boat, thick enough to provide the required strength.  The cracks are filled with epoxy from the outside, and are either gel coated over or hidden under rub rails or other fittings.  When the decks were installed on the hulls, the rub rails covered some of the cold joint and gelcoat covered what extended to the rest of the hull.  In previous years, I had ground out cracks at the sterns and layered in fibreglass, and this year I did the same with the port bow.  It was not an easy job for a number of reasons:  1.  I have a mini-belt sander with belts, but the unused belts had dried out, and would break after just a few revolutions; 2.  I have a small oscillating palm sander that had also been affected by the heat.  When the pad sped up, the deteriorated disk disintegrated, throwing a black, tar like substance all over the deck and hull; requiring a 3-part cleanup process;  3.  My colour-matched gelcoat had been baked by the heat over the last few years, and would neither spread easily nor cure easily.  Regardless, I got the work done but for the sanding down of the gelcoat.  The high heat of the tropics really can make a mess of plans, tools, and materials.

We have installed a flexible 120 Watt solar panel on our Bimini to compliment the two12-year old 240 Watts on our stern, and now have an increase in amperage through our Bluesky regulator.  We should now have better luck equalizing the battery bank.

Here is a picture of our home at Grand Lake, NB, taken by Hugh with his drone!!

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation 2016

For the purposes of continuity, and before we get back on the plane to Grenada, I think it is appropriate to include one weblog entry on how Dawn and I kept busy (or not) during summer, 2016.

We've been home since early May, and are just about ready to leave for the sunny south in mid-November.  The cottage was pretty much as we left it, thanks in great measure to the watchful eye of Hugh Whalen.  Besides the regular home maintenance chores that most people have, I stayed out of major projects.  Even neighbourly assistance was just routine this year.

I enjoyed a great canoeing adventure when I joined my brother, Ken, and two of his friends, for a 5-day trip down the Nepisiguit River, in early June.  As the trip also entailed two nights in Scott Kennah's fishing camp, enjoying Scott's hospitality, it was even more special.  The trip included trailer trauma, excitement, dangerous rapids, outrageous portages, amazing food both inside the camp and on the river banks, snowy riverbanks, cold and rainy weather, and a total lack of edible-sized trout.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat - on a kinder river.

A group photo after all survived the Nepisiguit Narrows Gorge, no small thing!

Dawn had her trips as well:  to Grand Manan, and upriver for a cross-border shopping trip; both in the company of friends.

Neighbours Liz and Judy standing with former neighbour Pam on a foggy Grand Manan beach.

Sailing the Hobie 21 was all in light winds, and barely eclipsed the time to commission and decommission the boat, but still enjoyable.

Hugh and Debbi, two neighbours, join our catamaran by powerboat on the water for a snack.

A notable event was the transition of Dawn's mother, Jean, from her condominium to a retirement home,  It was a lot of work, especially for Dawn, but resulted in a lot of enjoyment with Jean, and Dawn' sisters Kathy and Lorna (and husbands).   The work included significant paring down of clothing, furniture and household items, finding and refinishing furniture, moving itself, and accommodation for the workers (Lorna and Brian visited at our cottage for a fun time).

Dawn searches the stores for the perfect chair for her mother Jean's new home.

We hosted other guests from time to time, and were also involved in weekly parties among our neighbours - so it was a major social season.

The Brothers Corbett and Wives got together on the occasion of Paul and Lida's visit from Calgary

In September, we traveled to Prince Edward Island to attend Emma Cabel's wedding to Ryan Seymour, a truly enjoyable experience that included many old friends.  While over there, we stayed 3 extra nights and enjoyed bicycling for three days, just the two of us.  The seafood meals everywhere over there were amazing.

Bill Cabel, "giving away" daughter Emma

So, now it is over, you are caught up, and we'll attempt to write as soon as we can from Grenada.  We'll try to blog from the boatyard, before launch.  We'll be staying on dry land, recommissioning the boat for at least a week.

Cat Tales on Hard, Crew in Canada

Well, it was a whirlwind after St. Georges, mostly involving the work of decommissioning the boat and putting it away.

We managed a few meals with friends, a second HASH (walk/run), and a cooking demonstration, though.  Interestingly, the cooking demonstration at True Blue resort turned out to be about cooking conch, so we have finely tuned our cooking conch protocol, and are ready for next year.  We'll save you from the rest, however.

Haulout on May 4th went well at Spice Island Marine in Grenada. The work on the water and in the boatyard was difficult for us; and we put in very long days.  It was not too bad with evenings in air conditioned comfort at our little room at Cool Running Apts. 

Laurie's birthday was celebrated at Timbers with friends for a lovely meal out after a hot and sweaty workday on the boat!  Timbers is the restaurant in the boatyard, only a 5 minute walk from our rented apartment.

The flight home on May 9th was also comfortable and without significant event, although customs and security lineups in Toronto were outrageous, and we had to stay over one night in Toronto unexpectedly  due to a flight change. 

All was found to be well at the cottage, with no failures or problems with any systems or the structure.  As well, as a result of a rather mild winter, we found all our friends to be in good spirits.  A special thanks to Hugh and Liz who checked on our place and picked up our mail for 6 months!  Laurie has been thrown into the chores at the cottage and within the neighbourhood, and Dawn is setting up to assist Jean, her mother, in a major move from condo to retirement home.

TECHNICAL

Poor Laurie in over 40 degree temperatures on his birthday!

 The big story with the boat was the changing out of the old diaphragms in the saildrives.  The diaphragms keep the sea out of the boat while allowing the engine and drive leg to vibrate and move.  The primary one is a very heavy piece of reinforced rubber in a disc with a hole for the leg, held in place against the hull by the bolts of a retaining ring, and against the saildrive by being sandwiched between the upper and lower assembly of the leg and related transmission.  The secondary one is a thinner rubber membrane held onto the upper portion of the retaining ring and the upper portion of the transmission by special steel rings not unlike giant hose clamps.  Between these is a screwed in sensor that tells if one or the other has allowed water into the interstitial space.

Removing these suckers was hard work, involving the unbolting of the engine from the saildrive and moving it forward (onto bits of lumber scrounged in the boatyard), the complete removal of the saildrive, and the dismantling of the saildrive on a scrounged table under the boat.  It was heavy, hot, dirty, hard work; and I am proud that we were able to do it.

Now here is the bad part.  There is no difference in the new and old diaphragms.  I could wipe off the old ones and sell them as new, even though they are 20 years old.  The manufacturer said they should have been replaced 15 years ago, but in fact there seems to be little known history of failure from fatigue.  So there we are, a job done well that maybe shouldn't have been done at all.