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| Internet, the Caribbean way! |
We have been sitting here near St. Georges since Tuesday,
six days ago. We've been rather consumed
with chores since: laundry, cleaning and
waxing, cleaning and boraxing (inhibits mould), and working through any chores
that need not be done on the hard.
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| Hey kids, put your devices away and talk to each other!! The gentleman on the right, Chris Doyle, is the author of the guide books we all use here in the Caribbean. He updates his guides on a regular basis and is always working! He's a bit of a celebrity here as he sails his catamaran, Ti Knot! (Petit Canoe) up and down the island chain. |
Shortly after writing a weblog from Tyrell Bay, we began a friendship
with Al and Brenda of s/v Haven, who we got used to hearing on the FOD weather
net and felt we ought to say hello. They
had sailed into Tyrell specifically to be hauled out for a repair - their
welding, inside of the rudder, had parted; and their rudder was slipping around
on their rudder-post pretty badly. Well,
they had been chumming around with our new friends Gil and Diana of s/v Sarenata,
with whom we had explored parts of Dominica.
Days later, Saronata arrived with another boat, s/v Harmonium Cays with
Phil and Krista. Suddenly, we're part of
a bigger group again, with eating, drinking, and long hikes. Oh, we also maintained a previously-made
relationship with two interesting Brits aboard s/v Inga. Our quiet time in Tyrell went by much too
quickly, and not at all quietly.
One thing we got done in Carriacou was the acquisition of
some conch (called lambi in these regions) and an attempt at cooking it. What we finally decided to do was: 1.
Rinse and clean conch in lime juice;
2. Beat the conch to make it less
chewy; 3. Cook it in a pressure cooker with garlic and
a little lime and water for 20 minutes;
4. Dice and apportion it to use
it in different recipes. We have stewed
it with coconut milk and curry, and have had it on a pizza. It has been great, but next time we will beat
it less and cook it for a shorter time - it was actually not chewy enough. We now will not pass Carriacou without
purchasing 3 pounds of conch!
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| Not too pretty at this stage. We had to ask a marine park ranger if there was anything we should cut off these nasty looking critters! The guy told us that all parts were to be left on, so we did! |
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| After beating it with the end of a wine bottle for a bit, we pressure cooked it with lots of garlic. |
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| Once cooked, the conch was cut into tidbits to use in any recipe we desire. |
Last night, we stopped work and went on a Hash with Phil and
Krista. Great fun as usual: strenuous hiking, good socializing, and
excellent Grenada scenery.
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| Last week on another hike along the coast of Carriacou, part of the Grenada Grenadines |
Tomorrow, we hope to find light winds to allow us to get
around the corner and into Prickly Bay.
We will then tidy up our last chores and await our haulout, scheduled
for May 4th. However, tonight, it is
conch pizza with guests, Phil and Krista, who are anchored just behind us.
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| After Brenda blew out a sandal, MacGyver (aka Laurie) was on the job with a bit of line, carried in our knapsacks for just this purpose! |
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| Ta da!! |
TECHNICAL
Just before we left Tyrell Bay, the windlass came apart
(which was the idea. I have been trying
to get it apart for a decade). Although
the solvent was expected to deal with the ceasing in a week, I worked at it for
six weeks: banging and spraying at least
once per day. Finally the spool came
off, and I began working on the gypsy. I
actually took the gypsy off one half at a time; the second half even required a
couple hours of digging between the parts with a drywall knife. Ultimately it all came off, to reveal how it
is supposed to work. The shaft holds a
flange, and a rough disk fits between the flange and the gypsy. When the spool is tightened onto the shaft,
it drives the gypsy and the rough disk hard against the flange, allowing the
motor to spin the gypsy. When loosened,
the gypsy spins free to allow a manual working of the assembly. All the time we have owned it, the gypsy has
been frozen to the rough disk and the disk frozen to the flange. Finally it is free, and we can take the gypsy
off when we want and see if it needs to be replaced. There is a suspicion that it has worn, and
that we have to replace the chain prematurely to allow it to work without
problems.
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| The windlass (device used to bring up the chain and anchor) was causing us troubles. We think the gypsie is worn making the chain slip. Consequently, the chain bounces all over the place while hauling up the anchor making it a dangerous situation! We have been buying new chain every 3 years at 1,000.00 US a pop! |
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| The windlass half-way taken apart. |
