Life in Trinidad

Pictures are at:

www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29703&l=5b36e&id=544472824

We have finally been able to see some of Trinidad, but work continues on maintenance on the boat – as ever! We went on a guided walk through the rainforest and saw so many tropical birds, plants and flowers we just couldn’t stop taking pictures.

A lovely lunch at the Asa Wright Nature Centre and some birdwatching. Our tour guides were testing us on our limited knowledge of wild plants, flowers and herbs. I did manage to recognise wild fresh cloves. What a smell! Nothing like the dry ones we are used to.

You can understand why Trinidad is famous for its birds, they are so beautiful. It turns out it is impossible to get pictures of hummingbirds, apart from being very small, they just move way too fast. We also went on a boat (again) through the mangrove swamps to see scarlet ibis coming in to roost. Our waterproofs are being well used as the rainy season is in full force here.

We travelled a long way one evening to a protected beach where giant leatherback turtles come to lay their eggs. They are the largest type of turtles and regularly grow to 1000lbs. That largest one ever recorded was 10 feet long, 5 feet wide and weighed 2000lbs! They don’t have a hard shell, its thick oily skin instead. They can dive deep, especially to escape predators, they have been recorded as deep as 1,200 metres before the GPS transmitter imploded from the pressure. We were very lucky as we saw one come in, excavate a hole and start laying. They are tagging all the ones they find so they can track them, as they are still endangered. Then they leave the eggs and head back up the American coast as far as the Arctic to feed in cold waters, mostly on jellyfish. One was tracked that travelled a staggering 13,000 miles in 647 days from Indonesia to the USA in search of food. It was amazing to watch her carefully and expertly dig a bulb shaped hole, lay they eggs and then carefully cover it over and head back to the sea. We also saw the baby hatchlings digging their way out of the sand and heading towards the sea for their first taste of the ocean. Clutches are as big as 120, but very few survive to be adults. We were allowed to pick them up, and then put them on a flat piece of sand near the sea and watch them make their way to the water. Very cute with incredibly strong flippers for something so tiny. On the walk back, we saw another turtle come in, looking for a suitable spot to start digging. What an experience!

On the way down to the beach to see the leatherback turtles, we were talking with our driver – the infamous Jesse James - about Trinidad food. It is a real mix of Caribbean, Indian and African. One really popular snack is chicken foot souse. I was asking about it and Jesse said would we like to try some, so we said yes. How bad could it be?? I imagined it being something like Oxtail soup, but maybe that was just wishful thinking. I have eaten a whole sheeps brain in Morocco so chicken feet should be no problem. When they were handed to us, I was truly shocked to see 10 wobbly, jelly like boiled chicken feet, toes and all staring at me. My first thought apart from shock was that at least the claws had been clipped off. This was going to be a challenge.

We did not want to be rude, so we started to nibble. ‘Eat’ would not begin to describe it as there is no meat on chicken feet, just the rubbery, scaly skin and some gristle and bones under that. The taste was ok – for the brief moment I was able to block out the visual of what I was putting in my mouth. Something akin to chicken stock or consommé with some chilli thrown in. But then I opened my eyes again, and the feet wobbling around in front of me, combined with the rubbery texture made my stomach turn. I could face no more. When we have worked up the courage, we MIGHT try the cow heel soup and gizzards that were next on the menu. But then again, maybe not.

We have also been to a couple of Texas holdem Poker nights. I ended up in a decent amount of credit at the end of the night. Very pleased as it was my first time playing and I was still struggling to remember whether a straight beats a flush. You THINK it’s lots of money, but $100 Trinidad dollars is less than £10 – but the big wad of notes just makes you think you have done really well. Next time out, Richard did well again – man he can bluff like a pro! My curiosity just kept getting the better of me and I was losing my large pot just paying to see if he really did have a hand or if it was another Neiland bluff!

We are planning to cruise round the Orinoco delta in a few weeks – our first big adventure, with no facilities, food or water. But we know the boat is set up well for being self sufficient and we are going in a support group with some other boats. So we are looking forward to some unspoilt wilderness. Just some Warao native Indians and lots of wildlife on the rivers.

I have just seen a turtle swim past Quintessence and also a ray jumped right out of the water. And now the tropical rain has just started.........

Our flowers, birds and turtles pictures are at:
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29703&l=5b36e&id=544472824

Lots of love
Sarah and Richard
xxx

Martinique to Grenada
To see the pictures, you can visit:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27964&l=b5ef4&id=544472824

We anchored up at Martinique, right next to the main town Fort de France. Right under the Fort walls – where the Navy set a big bonfire and covered our boat in black ash! A nice spot considering it’s so close to town. We spent a couple of days shopping as the town had most things and we had a shopping list of stuff we needed for the boat. Richard finally got his hair cut too and we explored the town. Despite being a French island with nice food, the first place we ate at was McDonalds!! Although we have been enjoying the island food, it had been too long between big macs. We made up for it the next day by going to a great French restaurant and having some classic French food and wine. We explored the market, and bought fresh fruit and veg. At the fish market, Richard did a deal on about 30 small crabs. He managed to avoid being nipped and we cooked them up. They tasted delicious, but separating the (very sparse) meat from the inedible bits was just too much hard work and I gave up on my second crab. But Richard and Ryan plodded on for a good 45 mins before giving up too and ditching the rest over the side of the boat.

We then headed off for Rodney Bay, St Lucia. We anchored outside for one night. We took the dinghy ashore and relaxed with some Pina Colada’s in the breeze overlooking the bay. We had a very rolly sleepless night at anchor. Then we were off to Les Pitons, still in St Lucia. Very stunning location, they are twin volcanic peaks that rise like teeth vertically out of the sea. We picked up a mooring bouy about 30’ from the vertical cliff, which ensured I kept my concentration up so we did not hit any coral or rocks! The snorkelling on the reef right under our boat was amazing. So many colourful fish, including shoals of Sergeant Majors, Hogfish, Parrot fish and Stoplight fish. We also saw a big moray eel and a sea snake which we instinctively knew to keep a safe distance from.

The fishing over the next few days got very exciting. We hooked our first big swordfish (big for us that is, not the species). After fighting the sod for about 45 minutes, we got him very close to the boat and were ready with the gaff hook. Everybody was anticipating swordfish steaks for dinner and plenty for the freezer. But alas, it was not to be. Just as we were getting him alongside, the line snapped and he was gone. Undaunted, we put the lines out the following day and this time, we hooked a real monster. We put the clutch on the reel up to the maximum and he was still screaming off with the line. He jumped a couple of times and we saw just how big he was (somewhere in the league of that famous quote from JAWS where Roy Scheider gets a look at the shark for the first time and says “.......we’re gonna need a bigger boat.....”). He was taking the line off so quickly that the reel actually started to smoke. I kid you not! People talk about this happening but I always assumed it was just a euphemism. Apparently not. Anyway, after running out nearly all the line, it eventually stopped and thinking we still had him on, we started to retrieve the line, only to find that he had spat the lure out.

SWORDFISH 2, QUINTESSENCE 0

Not long after leaving the Pitons towards Wallilabou Bay in St Vincent, Richard and Ryan saw a Pilot whale broaching near the boat. We were also joined by some dolphins playing on our bow wave as they love to do. They turn on their sides while getting a free tow to look up at you and check you out. Wallilabou Bay is the famous location where Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed. Much of the set is still there - here is Quintessence tied up to the end of it.

More great snorkelling despite Richard and Ryan getting stung by little purple jellyfish – not dangerous ones, but they looked like they had brushed against some stinging nettles when they got out. I managed to avoid them but got tiny stings from what we found out later are called sea ants. Not painful, but very annoying under water!

After a couple of days we were off to Bequia (pron. Beck-wee) A nice town, with a fruit and veg market. Unfortunately I let Richard go on his own, and he bought enough fruit to last a lifetime (he claims he was forced into it), we would never eat it all! Also, they ripped him off and he probably paid at least double what it was worth. He also excelled himself in the variety of what he bought. Fruit I have never heard of before, so it was fun to try them out. Some were delicious, but some – like the giant green knobbly ‘soursop’ never ripened and ended up in the bin. We found inventive ways to put some of the lime mountain to use in cocktails and the like. The rest is still festering in various cabins round the boat..... About this time, we started to see little black bugs on the boat in the area of the galley. We didn’t know where they were coming from, and as there were not too many of them, we didn’t worry too much.

Then we were off to the Tobago Cays, but we HAD to stop in at Mustique at the famous Basil’s Bar for lunch. Mick Jagger owns it, but sadly he was not there. I think we would have recognised his ugly mug if he was in attendance. The island is privately owned and those with very deep pockets holiday here. We didn’t have to pay a penny – except for the extortionate burger of course. After the fantastic burger and some photos we weighed anchor for the quintessential small sandy islands and coral lagoons of the Tobago Cays. Wow. Such a stunning place. Not a bad view from the boat?

When Ryan headed up the mast, he took some pictures of the lagoon as well as us looking like ants on the deck below him....

Next stop, Clifton in Union Island, just to clear customs. Then off to Hillsborough in Carriacou for the night. A nice non touristy town.
The Caribbean fruit mountain was by now down to about half its original size and the odd little black bug was still appearing in the galley... We caught a small tuna during the day – but more than enough for a lovely fresh dinner for the three of us. Unfortunately we also caught a bird – a booby! It dived on our fishing lure and got hooked. I was very worried about the poor thing, but the guys managed to reel it in and unhook it and let it go with just a small wound on its neck. They were sure it was going to be OK. The ships log has a note saying “caught a booby but forgot the endangered species cook book”. Hmmm. We put the fishing rods away after that.

Next stop St Georges in Grenada. On the way along the Grenada coast, a squall from the island went over us and our already damaged genoa got ripped even more as we had to let it flog (fly free) as the strong wind passed us. Another job for the long list of repairs. No rest for the wicked!
To read about our previous passages since Florida, just click the archive on the right...

Love from Richard and Sarah

xxx

Guadaloupe and Dominica...

You can see all the pics from this leg by visiting:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=26402&l=ccc55&id=544472824
But here is a taster...

Finally having got our rudder fixed and the boat back in the water, we headed out of Antigua, headed for Guadaloupe – a French island. Sailing up to the island was beautiful. Very rugged, sharp mountains (volcanic) and all the steep slopes covered in tropical rainforest. We anchored up outside the capital Basse Terre outside the marina. We anchor up wherever possible as it does not cost anything versus staying in a marina. As we have a good generator, two watermakers and a big flat screen TV in the saloon we are pretty self sufficient. Marinas cost a lot here, so we spend the money on car hire to tour the islands and meals out instead! So we headed ashore to a restaurant called Le Barracuda. Very appropriate as Ryan had caught two of them on our way in, but not big enough to be worth keeping. I had moules mariniere my favourite French dish and Richard and Ryan had lobster. Very nice. We were so tired from the sail that we headed back to the boat for some well earned rest.

Next day, I hired a car and tried and failed to check us in to customs (closed) while the boys fixed the windlass and a winch. Then we headed into the rainforest up in the mountains for some exploring. Driving the little car up the windy mountain roads was fun. We walked round a tropical ‘preserve’ which showed you all the native plants and animals. The raccoons were very cute! Some of the parasitic plants and flowers were incredible. We watched a long line of huge ants carrying giant pieces of food and leaves to their Queen. Then we got harnesses on and walked through the canopy on Indiana Jones style rope bridges. Great fun. After that we headed to a waterfall with a pool below it and went for a swim as it was so hot. It was a stunning spot, just like the Herbal Essences advert. The water was so clear, clean and cool. Then we headed for the hypermarket to provision for the next few weeks. We especially stocked up on French wine, cheese and pate. It has been a good chance to practice our French and for Ryan to learn some too. Unfortunately when he went to ask a guy in a bar if he could use the toilet, he unfortunately said to him “You are a toilet” in French! After I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I had to quickly teach him the French for ‘I’m very sorry’ and he went back and the guy didn’t punch him thank goodness. Sadly for Ryan he didn’t have a toilet either.

Gaudaloupe really has the most beautiful rainforests.

Next day the boys headed back up the volcanic mountain into the rainforest and walked all the way to the top to see the vent. It was steaming and the sulphur smell was strong. They took pictures of what they thought was a snake in a tree but turned out to be just a wiggly branch! They looked like drowned rats when they got back as the top is shrouded in thick mist and rain stops and starts all the time. Then we got back to the boat and decided to head off to the next island as our anchorage is very rolly, the swell keeps you awake at night.

After a good sail, we arrived just after sunset to Portsmouth in Dominica. Straight to bed after an exhausting day. In the morning one of the many ‘boat boys’ came alongside, offering fruit for sale. We went for mangoes and grapefruit. Both were fantastic, sweet and fresh. Even better than M&S ;-) The guys selling stuff paddle out on surfboards and if they can build up a bit of cash they eventually get a boat and build up regular customers and make a decent living I guess. So we were happy to pay them a bit over the odds for fruit etc. Local boat mechanic Igna - who was clearly as capable with his one arm as most people are with two – helped Richard fix the broken windlass. Luckily it did not involve horrendous amounts of money or parts as rare as hens teeth! He regaled us with stories of his days shipping goods between the islands on old style island gaff rigged boats. Right up until the eighties they were delivering cargo under sail only, no engines.

Having just done a long sail, of course we decided next day to go on a boat trip! But on a small rowing boat down the Indian River. The forest canopy covers over the river and you quietly go past all the beautiful scenery. Herons, crabs, iguanas, bloodwood trees with crazy convoluted roots, like mangroves you will have seen but they grow like waves. We stopped off and hiked a short way, looking at all the parasitic plants and tropical flowers. After a refreshing tamarind juice it was back down the river, a swim off Quintessence and a rest. We were playing cards when we had a visit from the local Customs and Immigration. Like all customs officials I have met so far, they are efficient, polite and have no sense of humour whatsoever. After some standard questions and checking of our ships papers, they headed off as were clearly not suspicious enough to warrant a search of the boat. We were not sure where to have dinner, so we putted along the shore in our dinghy in the evening and were drawn to Big Pappa’s Bar and Restaurant as we could hear a saxophone playing across the water. An old guy was singing rhythm and blues and it was very relaxing. Caribbean curried chicken and plantain was very nice, washed down with a cocktail. We were all so tired, we went straight off to bed.

Next day, we did a tour of the island in a minivan, with 3 guys from Colorado. Ryan felt right at home as he’s from Boulder. Our guide Gregory really knows the island, especially all the exotic plants and flowers; wild orchids, epiphytes, bird of paradise, banyan trees etc. En route he would find fruit growing near the road and would even scamper up trees to pick something fresh. So we had bananas, papaya, grapefruit and grafted orange. All straight off the tree, sweet and delicious! We had so many “Kodak moments” during the day we filled the camera up. Hiking and then climbing to some waterfalls in the jungle was a highlight. A swim in the pool below was heaven – cool and crystal clear. Dominica is definitely a place I we would like to come back to.

We are now in Martinique about to go exploring....watch this space...and some more pics soon!

xxx

Still in Antigua!

By now we were hoping to have been round the anchorages here in Antigua and be off to St Kitts or Nevis via Montserrat. But unfortunately Quintessence had other ideas....

Our steering had suddenly got very very stiff and after inspection the likely cause is seized bearings in the rudder. The only solution is to have her hauled out with a boat lift and the rudder taken off and worked on. So we were harbour bound until we coud arrange for the boat to be lifted which happened today. We had a long hard day sorting out the boat and getting her hauled. Trying to get the boat into the concrete slipway for the lift was not much fun. We had to reverse into the slip and had a very strong cross wind, combined with the fact that the boat "walks" to port in reverse. Much shouting and red faces later we managed to get in intact. We have checked into a hotel and work starts on her tomorrow.

Despite the frustration (and cost) we are reminding ourselves that there are far worse places to be stuck in :-)

The hotel has a pool, lovely beach and small dinghies for us to go racing in. Right now we are recovering from the hard day in the sun!

Hopefully we will be sailing off into the sunset in less than a week....

Sarah and Richard

xxx

Working hard to bring a nurse shark in - I let her go!











We are still having fun in Antigua. Weather good. Antigua Racing Week is in full flow and abot 200 boats will be descending on our harbour this afternoon. Here are a few more pics....

Nelsons Dockyard, Antigua

Florida to Antigua

Hi everyone

To see our first post, just click on "Blog Archive" "April" on the right and scroll down...

We left from Marathon in the Florida Keys with our two crew Barry and Ryan. Punching through the rough Gulf Stream north towards the Bahamas was hard work, but Quintessence did great. Plenty of traffic to see going through the Providence Channels south of Grand Abaco; cruise ships, tankers, boats being towed. We headed East out in to the Atlantic until we reached 65 degrees longitude and then headed South towards Antigua. On the way we caught 3 good size mahi-mahi (also called Dorado) with our fishing rods trolling off the back of the boat. So plenty of lovely fresh fish to keep us going. We tuned in to a frequency on our SSB radio every day where a great guy gives weather and routing information for small boats in the Atlantic. So that was a great help and gave us advance warning of frontal systems coming in and wind changes.

We sailed past Barbuda in the moonlight - at least we hoped it was Barbuda if our navigation after 1600 miles could still be relied upon. Daylight was just breaking as we rounded the southern end of Antigua, heading for Falmouth Harbour. Very exciting to see land up close after 12 days at sea. As we came in to the harbour, the beautiful scent of jasmine wafted over us. Fantastic. We found a spot and anchored up. We were worried that finding a spot might be dificult as it is Antigua Classic race week. But we had no problem. So we watched all the beautiful old wooden racing yachts go out with their huge crews, working the boats ready to start the races.

We have work to do on our boat after the long passage, maintenance never stops it seems. We are enjoying Antigua. The weather of course is wonderful, even the occasional tropical rainstorm. The people great, food and rum cocktails very good. Antigua Race Week proper starts soon, so more partying and hard sailing on the island. We will be sitting in our cockpit with a beer watching them all hard at work. We have not started exploring yet, mostly recovering from the trip and fixing the boat. But when Richards family come over in a few days time, we will do some exploring and short sails to anchorages around the island.

Lots of love to everyone. Will post more pics soon!
xxx
We celebrated St Paddy's day in style in the Dry Tortugas!

Hi Everyone

*** We had to start again with a new blogsite - technical issues! ***

Thanks for all your comments so far. please do keep them coming, it's great to read them when we get to dry land.
Watch this space for updates and pictures when we get to land and free wifi!!

The Dry Tortugas were beautiful. The big fort from the 19thc was fascinating, the swimming and snorkelling great. At one point we had 4 GIANT groupers resting under our boat. Bigger than me and twice as ugly. Ryan discovered them when he jumped off the boat, took one look at them and climbed straight back on the boat again SO fast. We assumed they were harmless, but a fisherman told us today they will go for you as they will eat anything – including students from Colorado. So it was a good job he got out. A fishing boat anchored up next to us one evening and we hoped they might ask us if we had some beer to swop for some of their fish, which we had been told was the norm. We ended up sending the dinghy out to them and asking. They were really nice and gave us some fresh grouper and a deep water fish called tahoe. I cooked them up in breadcrumbs and lemon. The rest has gone in the freezer.

So we arrived in Marathon, 50 miles along the Florida Keys from Key West. Key West was fun, lots of partying and good food. We had a perfect 20 knots of wind for the day trip to Marathon, unfortunately it was right on our bow. We tried tacking but were getting nowhere fast so we had to stick the engine on to get there before nightfall. We arrived at the anchorage and dropped the hook. Once we had showered we head off in the dinghy into Marathon harbour to find somewhere for dinner. Unfortunately the route we picked to go in was a whole lot shallower than we expected and we ran aground, even though we only draw about 2’! So Richard and Ryan (who were the only ones in shorts) had to get out and drag us through the sand and mud to find the channel. They only sank down to their waists a few times. The channel it turned out was very narrow and not lit! Our torch was not powerful enough and we spent ages trying to find some deeper water. Eventually we made it out and could see the funny side of it. We got some funny looks from a passing fisherman, but we just waved and smiled and pretended we meant to be there.
Soon after arrival the heads overflowed and the smell and mess were not pretty. So the cruising lifestyle is not all glamour that’s for sure!
Some friends we made in Florida on the boat next to us arrived in Marathon to settle into their boat with 2 cats and a parrot. Lobster season ends this week so all six of us (including Barry and Ryan our crew) went out bug huntin’ as they call it here. Snorkelling off our dinghies was fun and eventually we found some lobster holes. But they were too small and so not legal for us to take. Believe it or not, you use a tickling stick underneath their bellies to guide them out of their holes and into your net. The next day we went to a hog roast overlooking Boot Key Harbour and all the lovely boats and houses. We are busy working on the boat and provisioning for the long trip down to the Virgin Islands – the Caribbean proper!

We have also been to a beautiful beach here, and have been out on a fishermans boat this week to learn how to fish off the back of the boat while she is sailing along, called “trolling”. Randy very kindly took us out in some rough water and we caught 10 dolphin between us (not dolphin as we know it, they are also known as mahi-mahi). We are are hopefully going to catch ourselves some dinners on route. Afterwards we relaxed in the pool at Randy's beautiful home and looked out over the water drinkiing cocktails. We had some mahi-mahi for dinner and fished off his dock. I managed to hook and bring in a nurse shark! Of course we let her go. Richard turned out to be the snapper king, and caught 5 of them. We had them for dinner last night - DE-LICIOUS.

We have had a couple of losses to the sea – and one successful retrieval! One of our crew lost an oar off the dinghy when they ran out of gas and it took a LONG time against the tide for them to row back to the boat with one oar. Richard dropped the key to the dinghy padlock into the marina next to our friends boat and luckily he had a huge magnet on a rope which I used to fish for the key. It only took about 30 seconds to find as I luckily saw exactly where it dropped in.
This morning I tied off our new hammock to the mast and the pulpit – very comfortable. I think we will all be fighting to relax in it.

This is our last chance to access the internet for maybe 10 days to 2 weeks, as we are heading out to the Atlantic and South to the Virgin islands or Antigua - we haven't quite decided yet!
Lots of love to all
Sarah and Richard

Some pictures from our time in Florida getting the boat ready...