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'

Surfing the Atlantic

The anticipation of crossing the Atlantic had been building for over a year, so by the time we were ready to go we were fully wired......as was everyone else waiting for a break in the weather. I don't think any of us could have fitted more water, food and and the very last minute rather a lot of avocados!

We left on Saturday 14th December 2013 (Ruby's 1st birthday) and arrived in Grenada 20 days later a distance of just shy of 3,000miles.

Did I enjoy it?    Mostly........we had an amazing journey. Just after we left the winds increased, the seas increased and  'Dexter'  our serial self steering gear 'just couldn't cope' and  ejected his blade into the Atlantic, then the blocks broke, the connecting mechanism to the wheel  and the stainless stem fractured.

 We spent the first two days two hour on two hours off steering through the mountainous seas. Tristan's suggestion of make sure you look behind you was not a good idea. If I looked at a mountainous sea wall heading towards me I would have been traumatised for life. I 'got the feel' of the waves arguing that I would need to do that at night anyway.  

The seas calmed down eventually, well marginally, and Tristan was able to work through solving the mechanical issues that had manifested themselves in protest to the roly atlantic swells. The steering vein was one that was relatively easy to fix, with a little help from insulating tape!

 The genoa had jammed the furler so we were down to storm sails and a staysail.......we still averaged 6 knots for the trip. 

We took several breaking waves  mainly over whoever was helming at the time and some water through the companionway, which managed to drip onto the regulator to one of the alternators. That put it out of action so Tristan had to do some creative wiring so we could use the engine to top up the batteries. 

The winds eventually settled down and although the seas were high, it was very pleasant for most of the trip. You get into a routine......remove the flying fish off the deck in the morning....

Catch fish! Now this has been a bone of contention since we left Falmouth in 2012.  We have decided that Meriva is such a witch and her movement is rather brutal (we both have bruises to prove it), she sails fast and  we suspect that the fish wonder 'WTF ?'.

Well....we must have gone slow enough one morning  because Tristan caught breakfast, dinner and tea for several days in the form of a tuna!

I was really surprised with how long the fresh food lasted......even though we had a fridge, I was still told off as two pork chops and a sandwich steak  were used  to chum for sharks!     We never saw any! Christophines were brilliant and we had fresh vegetables most days, although the ripening of 3 kgs of avaocados at the same time resitricted our cuisine for a few days......they were delicious!

We had  a pod of minke whales visit us one particularly rough day.......it made being flung about the boat  all worth while, although seeing several tons of whale surfing in bigs seas behind you does sharpen your senses. 

Christmas day was an interesting one......I was in trouble insisting of cooking roast chicken, roast potatoes and cabbage with cranberry sauce, followed by fried christmas pudding and brandy sauce.

It was a bit too much of a challenge when the cooker swung 45 degrees backwards and forwards.

We ended up eating out of a mixing bowl as it was the only pot which would hold food without it slopping out!

Psychologically I found this a challenge. You can't just get off when the going gets tough, and we had constant bashing and being flung from one side to the other.  Also  it was the first time that we had been so far from land and out of communication with everyone. For most of the trip there were no ships on AIS and we got quite excited when one appeared.

The smell of approaching land was fantastic......fragrant flowers and cut grass. It was bliss after the smell of the ocean for so long. We arrived in Grenada  early morning on the 3rd January 2014. We had trouble slowing the boat down to arrive in daylight and had been doing 6 knows virtually under bare poles.  As we arrived in Prickly Bay we had torrential rain (liquid sunshine) .....just at a time when we had put on clean clothes and unable to take a well needed shower.

A hop skip and a boat ride away

We have just returned to our boat after a few weeks in the UK visiting family.  Although everyone is being polite I know my girls and Mum are deeply anxious about the next few weeks.

DON'T THINK YOU WILL GET OFF THAT EASILY, I WILL BE BACK!

We are just checking systems and carrying out the routine repairs before we go on the next leg of our adventure. Tristan has serviced the bilge pump, again, and I am applying yet more coats of varnish, again.....the usual! Tristan fitted the AIS after a lot of cursing and two aerials later, but we can now find out which boats are on a collision course with us!

We have started provisioning the boat (yet again) for the crossing and had planned to sail down to La Gomera to pick up Kela, Tristan's sister.  The usual happened, winds went contrary and it looked like we were going to have southerlies for  the next week.

Kela stayed on the ferry and has joined us on La Palma for the week.

Today, just as we'd started to walk up the cliff face in Puerto Tazacorte to Mirador del Time, the winds started gusting from the south liberating their Sahara dust. It was challenging enough going up (well for me, not tigger Radleigh-Smith), and was also difficult to breathe but then walked down again!

The one thing I should mention about my wonderful sister-in-law, is that she eats anything growing wild. The trees in the park have been shook, and the black berries eaten. The prickly pears....well what can I say.


'Now when you pick a pawpaw
Or a prickly pear
And you prick a raw paw
Next time beware
Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw
When you pick a pear
Try to use the claw
But you don't need to use the claw
When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw'

I am not sure what we will be eating later on this week but if the blog ends here, you know we shouldn't have been!

'Have I given you a clue ?'