Hurricane Gonzalo

Well we survived my first Hurricane. Tristan had been in Antigua when Hurricanes Jose and Lenny hit, so he was more clued up on what to expect. Everyone on the boatyard was chilled out and felt perhaps we were overdoing the preparation, it was predicted to be a tropical storm.We'd studied the cloud development and Saharan dust, for several days and read the contradictions on the many internet weather sites. However, what was forming seemed greater than what everyone was being told.

Tropical storm Gonzalo was heading for Antigua and was expected to move north towards St Martin but pass to the south and wasn't expected to become a full hurricane. But not all sites agreed on this and it was definitely downplayed by the authorities.

On Sunday, the  manager of Time Out Boatyard hauled his boat, which sent a message out to everyone, something is brewing or they have a big problem with the boat. 

Cranky the crane was lowered, people on moorings put out extra anchors and chain, with a little help from their friends.

We all tied down anything that was potentially loose, removed spray hoods and tied down the stainless frames.

 Water tanks were filled and we bought extra water and  fresh food.  We had plenty of tins left over from my excessive storage for the Atlantic crossing that never happened. I always worry about my chances of survival should Tristan ever run out of food!

On Sunday evening we were all ready to face whatever was going to happen. The atmosphere was fuelled by several Presidente beers, but drunk at a much slower pace than normal. I don't think anyone had a good nights sleep, not even Tropical Storm Gonzalo. 

Nothing significant happened overnight just moderate winds.

We woke up on Monday, it seemed OK, it was raining and the wind was beginning to pick up. The supermarket over the road was still open so Tristan strolled over to Simply to get another 
pack of water.

During Monday morning, occasional strong gusts, heavy rain and black skies. The storm was a direct hit on Antigua, but we were still being told it was a tropical storm. Fuelled by the evaporation of warm tropical seawater, the tropical storm was hurricane force before it left Antigua.

Time Out was all tied down, the opposite boat yard, just lowered the crane and was still belting in strops. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute!

I spent time reading,Tristan was playing a computer game when we had electricity and annoyingly interrupting me when we didn't. The sofa had been rebuilt so there was a good space to lounge.  The spray hood was removed and stowed for insurance purposes, but it wouldn't have survived with hindsight. The companion way hatch which was normally sheltered was leaking but it needed to be varnished. That was on the 'to do ' list. Only one leak in the cabin top requiring a bowl. That was a good sign. 

The wind was howling with strong gusts but the boat felt stable and we both felt safe inside.

We cooked the  sausages while we had electricity, so we had sausage sandwiches for whenever. 

We stood in the companion way with the hatch doors open watching . The wind was hitting the boat on the port side, east, veering towards the bow, northerly. By midday it was heavy consistent rain and whiteout conditions over  Simpson Bay lagoon. 

The lagoon looked like a cauldron. You could see  a boat trying to get it's anchor down or stop it dragging, then it was gone in the heavily laden mist.

A few small fishing boats were passing into the lagoon, presumably to ditch in the mangroves.

The boat was rattling with the shifting winds. The bilge alarm kept going off. Really worrying when you are eight foot in the air on telegraph poles.

The weather continued to build with very strong gusts  and heavy rain which was relentless and torrential. Palm trees were bending , coconuts dropping and small debris flying. The channel was brown and swirling. Around 1700 the  wind eased then moved around to the port side, north west, gradually as the hurricane moved from St Barts  toward Anguilla just off Marigot Bay, St Martin. 

The worse part of the hurricane was between 1700 and 2100  hours. We were both alert and wired on adrenaline.

At this point the boat boomed, the wind reverberated through the hull. The spinnaker poles were tied down an under the granny bars but were lifting a foot in the air, crashing down onto the deck. Tristan went out on all fours and lashed them down being pelted by hot stinging rain.  

The rain was horizontal accompanied by thunder, lightning and roaring winds. 

The power went off several times but in between we were able to heat up a few tins.  Uninspiring ravioli, but it was fuel and we were running on adrenaline. 

Around 2100 the winds subsided and it was still raining heavily.....a full storm but this sounded calm compared to what we had experienced previously. Out came the pastis, I  always had a bottle of brandy in reserve.  We eventually went to bed and slept.

We were the lucky ones. We had no idea of the carnage over St Martin and how people had been fighting for their lives.

We were up very early, apprehensive about what we would find, but we were very lucky. No damage. TIme out boat yard was the only yard with no damage to the boats, a testament to the hard work and forethought of the manager and yard hands. For this we are extremely grateful. 

From my on board weather reporter of the hurricane's passage,  we must have caught the edge of the wall of the hurricane, the eye being just off the other side of the island. As the hurricane was passing over St Martin and between St Martin and Anguilla, any boats in Marigot bay didn't really stand a chance.

Even though the  bridge had opened several extra times during the previous day to allow boats into the lagoon when a tropical storm was forecast and there were many catamarans and boats shallow enough to get in, but they chose to remain at anchor. 

This goes back to the main problem that what was felt on the ground was not what was predicted and the severity of the storm, which hit St Martin as a hurricane was unreal. On the flip side people have to take responsibility for their own lives and precaution is better than ' Don't worry!'.

Boats at anchor in the lagoon struggled during the fierce blows and several had to reset their anchors several times. I felt really sorry for them, out on the fore deck in pelting rain. Many people lost their boats and it was not always their fault.



 Other boats  blasted into them, taking boats  with the wind. Pairs of boats were de-masted  on the bridge separating St Martin from Sint Maarten. Boats were washed into the mangroves or up onto the sandy ground surrounding the lagoon. Stories from the other marinas were not so good.

 Boats smashed against concrete pontoons, boats lying on top of other boats and cleats were pulled out of the pontoons. Interestingly, cleats on the boats fared better than those on the pontoon which will be one for the insurance companies!

Mooring lines broke and some  people had not doubled up or set additional anchors, mainly because the storm was down played. 

The debate on the severity of the hurricane goes on...it was a category 1 but could have been a category 2 depending on the sustained wind speeds recorded. Again the reasoning for the lack of agreement appears to be due to the insurance wording, French Authorities and  subsequent claims, but who knows, street talk.

As to the wildlife, there are reports dead iguanas, but there was a small green iguana up a fallen coconut tree. 

 The birds population seem fine. Plenty of bananaquits and grackles around, but there may be one less if I get hold of the bird that deposited all over my wet varnish!

The lagoon is strewn with debris and it is murky from a huge sediment loading. Mostly coconuts, branches, bits of wood and of course plastic. Considering the number of boats that were destroyed, I would have expected more debris. The tide must have surged below the boat at some point during the hurricane as there is a distinct tide line of debris. 

We haven't been out and around St Martin  as we don't have transport and we needed to do essential jobs on Meriva. 

St Martin/ Sint Maarten are French and Dutch respectively. The services are excellent, supermarkets of European standard so I suspect they have an advantage over many of the Caribbean Islands.  We had electricity most of the time and water. The supermarket was open the next day with fresh French baguettes. The Authorites are on the ball with testing water quality, and there is a Public Health advisory against swimming in the sea all around St Martin. When you consider the volume of rainfall and the severity of the hurricane, this is a good thing. 

Looting is a major issue for the boats that have gone aground. Arrests have been made on the Dutch side but it appears to be less enforced on the French side.  It's sad that people who have lost their homes, taken the bare essentials and their passports, leaving the boat to stay alive, then have to face people stealing whats left of their belongings. 

Plenty of people have visited the boatyard who have lost their boats and are lucky to be alive. It's a sobering event that puts life into perspective. You can manage without stuff. Friends are important and the support of communities. People pull together in a crisis and focus on what is important. That's the good side of human nature.

Tristan on the dolly and Sue on spanners.

Its hard to believe that I have been back over six weeks. We haven't stopped working nor visited the beaches since the first day I arrived back.  The lagoon is not very inviting for a swim as there is a sewage works not far and it's full of algal mat, not to mention what gets discharged into it.

The varnish was shot so I have scraped and sanded and it's just beginning to look acceptable again. The cover boards and cabin top are done, just the rest to go....then it's time to start again and apply more coats. At least you can get Epiphanes here, and I've now discovered Epiphanes easy flow as an additive as in this heat the varnish is more like treacle.

It's been interesting applying varnish in 37degrees and  high humidity. Some days you just can't do it and if you manage to get a coat of varnish on it works better to leave it an extra day to go off. At least I can build up the layers during the hurricane season , which is quiet.

Tristan has had the hardest job building the mast step and additional floors to replace the bronze floors, makes my tasks seem like a leisurely afternoons entertainment.

It took me back to the days in the yard at Mylor. We had to rivet the frames where the old strap floors were. Tristan played all day holding the Dolly, cursing my attempts to peen the washer onto the  bronze rivet. Unrepeatable thoughts passed through my mind with each swing of the hammer.....enough said. 

We finally attached everything together in stages. 

 Day one was the four floors  with the assistance of Bonzo Dog Doodah Band  accompanied by Sue on size 13  spanners, until I was shouted at, I then used wooden dowel!

Day two was the mast step to the Pogues which was definitely less relaxing. I had to keep quiet as Tristan and  Shane McGowan were cursing enough between them.

It's time now to gradually rebuild the interior and sometime in the not to distant future  we will have somewhere to sit. 

A lick of danbolin and varnish and we suddenly begin to look normal again.

We hope to go back on the water as soon as the hurricane season is over, it will be much cooler and not so many mossies.

The wildlife on St. Martin is spartan compared to many of the Caribbean Islands we have visited as the island is well developed and there is a lot of traffic everywhere. The verges were full of wild flowers but they disappeared when the grass was cut short to reduce mossies. That was deifinitely a difficult call for me, but being mossie bait, I settled for enjoying the flowers while I could. 

The boatyard has a resident population of Green iguanas which casually walk past our work space, but actually live in the grounds of the sewage works near the lifting bridge to the lagoon.

The green iguanas were introduced to the island during 1995 when they were flown into St. Martin in crates for either food or the pet trade. These were never picked up and an airport worker opened the crates. There is a brilliant book on the wildlife of these islands by Mark Yokoyama. 

The boat yard  provides a refuge for many species of birds. Bananaquit, Carib  grackles and herons are common. The grackles sit on the stainless in the morning and provide a wake up call. 

With high humidity and temperatures, the sound of birds and tree frogs, in the distance the Sunday morning singing  from the chapel, reggae music blasting out of  open windows, the scuttle of lizards, there is no mistaking summer in the tropics.  Topped off with balmy evenings at the picnic tables drinking Presedente beer and Pastis.

When we left the UK I said to Tristan we wouldn't need wiring for fans....how wrong was I? Sleeping is only possible with fans blowing all night and we have a fan on constantly during the day. There would be no way we could work in the saloon without it.

Time Out

After three difficult months, my Mum died but I was pleased to be able to spend time with her. It was also good to be able to spend quality time with all of my girls. I have missed them all. 

Our travels were on put hold, but that was fine as Tristan had plenty of jobs to do on Meriva. 

I flew back to St. Martin towards the end of August......as soon as it turned cooler and the summer was over in the UK.....pure coincidence! 

Walking out of the aeroplane at Barbados for my connecting plane to St Martin was like stepping into a sauna. I love that feeling but not the sweltering wait for a delayed Liat connection. Tristan met me at the deserted airport in St Martin, with a car and we checked into a hotel for two nights. We had been apart for three and a half months and both been leading polar opposite lives.

It was fantastic to be back together and we spent two days being tourists.  Being able to walk I to the warm tropical sea is my idea of heaven. Some of the beaches were very busy but if you  go to the gated communities you are allowed pass through to gain access to the beaches, so we went to Anse Marcel and Baie aux Prunes where we had the beach virtually to ourselves. You kind of have to visit a bay named after prunes....you expect to see crinkled sunburnt people who have overdone the sun worshipping. 

En route we looked at two beaches which from a distance the sea was brown. As we looked closer....they were covered by Sargassum which had obviously drifted  with ocean currents and been deposited on the beaches, which is unusual in the Caribbean. The seaweed floats around as huge rafts and provides a refuge for marine species including a nursery habitat for turtles,sharks, rays, eels and fish. These rafts of seaweed are typically in the Sargasso Sea off Bermuda. I'm looking forward to seeing them next year but to go through the centre of the ocean gyre is under discussion!

I was apprehensive about going back to the boat yard and the change to living in a small space with no loo, but it didn't last for long. As soon as I stepped onto Meriva, I was home.  

Tristan berated me for cleaning after he had spent serveral days cleaning, but it was making my mark and I had to return things to their proper place!  Everyone was really friendly in the boatyard, it reminds me of the AWF in Tenerife, and I am enjoying returning to my life as a sea gypsy. 

Tristan had been busy with  constructing frames for the boat......but still found time to make two beautiful tables. One to extend the work space in the galley, and one for the cockpit. They are beautiful works of art!

It's easy living here. St Martin has everything you need for the boat, tax free and the supermarkets are typically French so it's brilliant, but the work must go on, it's not a holiday!

Tristan is busy designing the mast step and was leaping around the boat when he cracked the problem.... Tomorrow  he starts the manual work!

I am slowly getting back into revarnishing the whole boat which has suffered from the UV.  It looked horrendous when I first saw the cracking and peeling but I think the mistake was made when I had to use International Varnish in the Canaries. I was unable to get Epiphanes until I got to the Caribbean and that seems to fair better in the high UV. 

It's an experience spending the summer in the Caribbean. Very very hot and humid and I certainly appreciate the electric fans which are on all day and night. They also help, along with mosquito coils to keep the biting things at bay. 

Everyone keeps an eye out for the tropical storm development over the Cape Verdes and for the location of Saharan dust, which is something I'd not followed before. We are well tied down and 

' hurricane prepared'  so fingers crossed.

Up the snakes and down the ladders

I don't think either of us had expected  that we would be living different lives on the opposite side of the Atlantic for such an extended period.

I am still in the UK  caring for Mum and trying to find a solution to the bureaucracy of social care for the elderly. 

    

                       

 It has not been an easy time and  I feel sorry for Mum who is loosing her independence whilst being sharp as a nail. I am proud of the way she thinks through problems and it has been good to spend so much time together but I am more than ready to return to my life with Tristan and our beautiful boat. 

My daughters and granddaughters have been a joy. It was a first for us all to be together and we had a fantastic time at Elvaston Castle, a place where I spent  many hours during my childhood.

    

                                       

 

Amy's bushcraft skills caused some anxiety!

Meanwhile on the otherside of the Atlantic in St Martin, Tristan  has been carrying out essential maintenance on Meriva.

 Tristan has made floors to replace the stressed bronze straps using purple heart. The glue cost more than the wood! It's probably one of the prettiest sites he's worked in carrying out repairs.

Joggled into position over two lunking great keel bolts, Tristan fitted the packers, and is searching  for a log to replace the mast step and tie the new frames together for and aft.

If I'm in the UK much longer I may even get my cockpit  table!

It's been unfortunate that we were unable to cross the Atlantic this year, but the planned work has gone ahead, the difference being is Tristan is working in 30 degrees heat and high humidity with the risk of a hurricane over the next few months!   It's all good experience and it could be worse!

A Sandy Perch

Our plans for this summer have changed rather a lot, as my Mum has been very ill and I had to return to the UK.

Tristan sailed to St Martin and decided to use the time carrying further improvements to the boat......the ultimate  aim being to ensure a dry bilge. These were repairs we had intended to do back in the UK.

                                        

Meriva has  more supports and cross members to be added over the next few weeks and of course being hurricane season, straps across the deck. These will be anchored to the ground.  As far as hurricanes goes.......it's all fingers crossed!

When we rebuilt the boat, we knew that the strap floors could have been an issue, but we didn't know the extent of the problem. Although in La Palma we partially addressed the problem, as soon as we sailed hard upwind, we knew there was more to do.   Again, Tristan has taken advice and knows what to do......St Martin is a good place to do the work. There is access to good wood which hasn't been transported half way around the world, and being closer to the States than Europe, access to bronze bolts! That's always good news for me as it's less to carry in my suitcase when I return.

     

                                                          Before

                                                                 After

Tristan has scraped back the bilge pain to expose good wood, and is planning to replace the strap floors which have weakened with age, with solid hardwood floors. This was similar to what he did in the heads, and they look like they've always been there.  The mast support is also being replaced, along with new bronze bolts. 

                                      

So for now we  are on opposite sides of the Atlantic......

                                 

                                      

Tristan tied me in a dingy onto a mooring buoy, early one morning so we could get a photograph of Meriva under sail for the application to Antigua Classics, then proceeded to sail at me on his return to the  mooring.i

Over the last two years our beautiful wooden boat has been exposed to a gale in Biscay, rough seas off Portugal, a trip up the polluted River to Sale and Rabat, acceleration zones off the Canaries, earthquakes whilst on the hard in El Hierro, tropical storms in the Canaries, an Atlantic crossing, Antigua Classics, sailed from Grenada to the BVI's................she's not the only one that needs TLC  but at least she can have a rebuild!  

It's been fun and we still have  Cuba to visit to complete Tristan's cigar tour!

At the back of the pack

It's been rather  a long time since I wrote a blog........mainly as it has been a problem getting internet and getting our rather antiquated laptops on line.

We have visited many stunning islands since leaving  the   Grenadines.......Dominica, Guadeloupe, Isle de Saintes,  Antiqua,  St Marteen, and at the present  Meriva is still in the British Virgin Islands. We took part in Antiqua Classics, repaired the boat for the next Atlantic Crossing and that's as far as we have got. My Mum has been very ill so I returned to the UK and left Tristan anchored off Tortola, in temperatures above 30 degrees !   Although the hurricane season officially starts tomorrow, our plan is still to return across the Atlantic this season , we are just a little bit behind everyone else.
Watch this space!

Chillin'

We seemed to have spent an awful long time in Prickly Bay, Grenada, but we had repairs to do on the boat before we could sail anywhere.  The simple jamming furler, turned into to a major furler rebuild,  which escalated into a replacement masthead fitting which required the mast being craned off and then on again.

I felt sorry for the rigger, because until he was at the top of the mast we had no idea anything was wrong. He descended in record time though. It could have been worse......we could have been mid Atlantic!

We took time out to sail in Grenada Classics on our friends boat, Desiderata which was brilliant fun.

We also caught up with friends Pat and  Pat, who we met in La Palma, and our paths have continued to cross for the last few weeks.  Its been great to have friends to share the experiences of these beautiful islands.

One thing we had to do before leaving Grenada was visit the  Belmont chocolate factory, so we went on a tour of the island.  Pat and myself enjoyed the wait for the driver  and fitted perfectly into the role of  tourist! 

 We were only waiting in the foyer when a group arrived for their 'welcome'  rum punch. We must have looked longingly!





Grenada is so beautiful  with the Grand Etang tropical rain forest, nutmeg trees and cocoa trees and the elusive mona monkey ( introduced by slaves from West Africa).

 Nutmeg and mace.

Everywhere we went .... all you would hear was 'wow',  apart from 'How's that!' which being English in an island obsessed by cricket, had to be done. It brought back childhood memories of Grandad  Waldron sat in a chair, often with a knotted hanky on his head, from morning to night watching the West Indies cricket matches.

We finally left Grenada and sailed for Carriacou....only a day sail away but past  kick 'em Jenny and kick em 'Jack, two underwater volcanoes, one with an exclusion zone around it.  Whilst we were on Grenada someone mentioned a tsunami warning, which was dismissed....but checking on the websites, there was a M6.5  off Barbados on 18th February. Although this wasn't felt in Grenada, it was felt by islanders in Bequia.

Carriacou is the home of wooden boat building, and Tristan has been admiring the Carriacou sloops and meeting the builders.
The island is beautiful and we walked from Hillsborough (the capital) to Tyrrel Bay where we were at anchor, enjoying Paradise Beach, eel grass reefs and the fact that there was no one around. I have never seen so many conch shells.

We sailed to Petite Martinique, as we had heard wooden boats were being built there. After a trek through prickly scrub, we found a fishing motor trawler being built but  it seem promises have been made for orders of sailing sloops that have not come to fruition. Its a shame. the island needs trade as skills will be lost if the islanders are not given the opportunity to pass them on to future generations.

We checked out of Carriacou and sailed to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Check in was at Union Island......but we didn't stay  long as the anchorage was crowded and it was impossible to swim from the boat unless you didn't mind being run over by kite surfers.

These are amazing islands. Some busy with charter boats resembling a scene from American Pie, but it is possible to find beautiful  quiet anchorages. definitely not Salt Whistle Bay, Mayreau or even Tobago Cays

We met up with our friends Pat and Pat and spent many days snorkelling in crystal clear waters over coral reefs....some better than others, but you never know what you may find especially the rare frog fish.
Tristan was very well behaved, and although he has been deprived of meat and fish for a while.....he left unharmed the flounder, octopus, squid and eels.... and the goats feeding on the beach.

A stop over at Canouan, Charlestown Bay was  a must. We left for Tobago Cays but they were heaving and we wanted   peace and quiet. We  nearly stopped at Mustique but avoided squalls and headed for Bequia, where we have been chillin' for the last week. It has been really relaxing even though the first anchorage in Friendship Bay was rolly!

Bequia held an attraction for me because of its history of subsistence whaling.   February to April is the whaling season but some years they catch nothing. The whales are bought ashore in Sempler's Cove and shared amongst the islanders.

The island has an agreement with the IWC to take two humpback whales a year. Every bit is used by the islanders, but they are not always able to take the whales. The whaling was carried out by open whaling boats with harpoons but faster open boats are now used.

We are currently anchored off Lower Bay and Princess Margaret's Bay where we can literally jump off and snorkel in beautiful  clear waters over a small but diverse reef.  Providing you swim quick to get to the shore......the biggest danger is people opening the throttle on their tenders!

The island is dependent on tourism and is making a huge effort to protect what they have. We visited the turtle sanctuary where work is being done to protect the hawksbill turtle and educate the young not to kill turtles.

Tomorrow we are sailing off to Martinique and plan to stay a few days to raid the French supermarkets before heading off to Montserrat.....more volcanoes for St Patricks Day.

Chillin'