While in at Nelsons Dockyard Marina, we had
North Sails come and take the main sail and the sail bag away for repairs. The
Leech cord on the Main had broken and there was also some chaffing damage on
the Battern Holders from the Atlantic crossing to attend to. The sail bag was
also starting to look a bit shabby so thought it was a good time to get that fixed
up as well. I got them to modify the reefing Line exits as they were never
properly in line with the points on the sail. I was a bit worried about the
cost of these repairs, especially being on a small Island and the lack of
options here in getting sails repaired, but I needn’t of. They were very
professional and friendly and they came and helped take the sail and bag away,
did the repairs and helped put it back on for $700, which we thought was pretty
reasonable, considering they had gone over the whole sail and checked/repaired
everything. We have done nearly 8000 Nautical miles by now, so like me it was
starting to show a bit of age!
In at Nelsons Dock with the sad sail bag
We met a couple of Kiwis here as well. One
guy who called himself ‘Stretch’ was a Volunteer Crewman on a tall ship named
‘Lord Nelson’ The ship travels around the world taking
underprivileged/handicapped kids and people on its journeys.
I take my hat of to the whole set up and
the dedication people like ‘Stretch’ put into this activity. The only trouble I
had was keeping up with him in the Beer drinking, the guy drank like a fish!
The other guy we met whilst at anchor out
on the entrance to the Harbour. We heard someone yell out ‘KiaOra!’ at the top
of his voice and after inviting him over, we were introduced to Bob who was
actually an ex pat Brit but had lived in NZ for a lot of his life. He sailed
his 60 ft ketch ‘Vero’ on his own, which must have been no easy task. When in
the wheelhouse you couldn’t see either the Stern or the Bow, God knows how he
got it into a Marina. Whilst small in stature, he was larger than life and his
exploits made what were doing pale in comparison.
We were at anchor one day and were both
down below reading, sheltering from the odd rain squall that was coming
through. ‘Little Falshator’ our tender was tethered to the stern. The rain
stopped and I came up to have a swim. I noticed the tender had a different look
to it, more streamline on top. On closer inspection, I realized it was upside
down with the outboard under water! A wind gust had come along and lifted her
out of the water and flipped her over.
We lost both oars as well, (never leave
your oars sitting loose in the tender John)
found one floating, but the other was gone.
After various attempts to breathe life back into the outboard, I gave up and we
had to go back to the marina to get hold of the local Outboard mechanic. He
took it away and had it back running in no time, even pulling the whole power
head off and freeing up the gearshift that had always been a bit stiff since we
bought it. So over all we were happy
with the local service guys at English Harbour and the work they did there.
Veiw from the boat of the Old Port Buildings
A sober reminder of the consequences when things go wrong
We spent a couple of days in at Jolly
Harbour, which is a great harbour for shelter and must be a favourite to hide
in around here in the Hurricane season, even with the care that has to be taken
on the approaches to the harbor which are pretty shallow in parts. And the good
thing about it, is they had a proper Supermarket-even a deli!
We left Antigua and headed for Guadeloupe
with the Gennaker up, but with light
winds(4-5 knts), it took all day to cover the 45 miles.
We went through the immigration process at
Deshaies, which was a pleasant surprise. Unlike some of the over the top
authorities we have dealt with in the past, you simply walk into a craft shop
and enter your details into a Computer, print off the form and sign it. Job
done.
It has been good to get back to a place
with European Influence and the price of things on Guadeloupe are a lot cheaper
than some of the other Islands of the Caribbean we have been to where things
like Fuel, food and drinks had been pretty expensive.
In the main Harbour in Guadeloupe, we were
anchored in front of another Yacht and as you do frequently, ended up meeting
the owners who just happened to be passing by in their tender. Barbara and
Stuart Hart were from Maine in the States and after selling every thing up, had
been out on their boat for quite a few years. Along with Ken and Lyn, who were
from Canada, we caught a bus into the town of Basse Terre one day and spent the
day wandering around there taking in the local atmosphere. We ended up having Barbara
and Stuart on board two nights in a row and they were great company.
We are at present in at Les Saints, which
is on a little island off the bottom end of the main Island of Guadeloupe. Les
Saints is a beautiful spot and with clear water, plenty of snorkeling areas,
(we are right now on a buoy with a sunken boat behind us about 4 meters away!)
The weathers hot and we are spending a fair bit of time in the water here
trying to keep the body temps in check.
Les Saints and its quaint streets
Our local Internet cafe, you have to purchase Beer here to get the Wifi, bugger!
Fishing boats on the shore, looking out to the Mooring Buoys
We actually saw a tender that was smaller than ours! (Little Falsahtor is in front) note the one oar :)
Banished to the smokers deck
We intend to spend a bit of time here
before we depart for the ABC Islands off the coast of Venezuela around the 5th
February, on route to Panama. Looking forward to Bonaire especially, as its
rated one of the top three Dive Spots in the world, hopefully get this old body
into the wet suit again and experience some great dives there!
