Dominica

I spent the morning cleaning and organizing the Raindancer she was kind of a bachelor mess I suppose.  I took a walk downtown to see the sites and get a few things. One item which is really handy is a six foot extension USB cable, now I can tie my antenna high in the rigging and hijack service much better.  The open markets are wonderful and veggies are cheap, a huge pod of bananas was 80 cents US.  I got new neighbors today as you can see in the picture, so far I have not seen anyone or even a tender go ashore, maybe I should go say hi and see if they need a ride in. I went to the Drop Anchor bar and made new German friends and we all shared some coldy’s, well maybe a lot of coldy’s. I am going diving with one of them in the morning I can’t remember his name Yans’ maybe,  and then Friday for my birthday I am going to the falls up in the rain forest to see Moses the Rasta and eat at his Rastarant to celebrate.  

Roseau Dominica

Making the passage to Dominica was fast!  I put up a double reefed main and let out all of the 130 genoa and Raindancer took off.  Mason’s love a good beam reach and she was in her element, making high 7’s and sometimes hitting 8.  Of course there was a little current helping me out.  About 10 miles out I looked back to see my fishing had finally hit pay dirt.  The problem was I was getting big seas hitting the starboard beam spinning the stern around so the auto pilot just wouldn’t hold for long, so I was steering with my feet and pulling in the fish.  I was disappointed to see it was a dang ole barracuda, I had my whiskey bottle handy to put him down if need be but was able to get him unhooked with some needle nose and back in the water.  In case you were wondering I always kill them with a shot of alcohol to the gills, it just seems kinder to die of alcohol poisoning than being clubbed to death and a shot for the fisherman is not bad in celebration ether.   My new boat boy is Poncho and his side kick Dwight, he’s seems a good sort and is listed in the guide book.  He and his wife arrange island tours, provide internet, whale watching excursions, moorings and just about anything you can think of.  I cleared in and partook of some local brew and enjoyed the people and sites.  People here are very friendly and the harbor safe as they have a security boat making rounds all the time, no worries mon!

 

 7.9!

St Pierre

One thing that I will say is boat boys say they can get you anything, a woman, ice, do your laundry whatever but I wonder, hmmmm………..I was buying veggies at the market and she wanted to sell me more but I told her it was only me to which she said you are a nice looking sailor man if you need some female company just let me know, so far the best offer I’ve had..ha ha.  Anyhow this single handing thing is nice, the captain never argues with the crew and the cook never has a problem with complaints. I do miss my partner Miss Dee back in Oklahoma.  As some of you know she had an accident and broke her wrist in three places and is now in PT after surgery and not feeling very well.  She’s a great mate and sailor and is sorely missed.  Maybe she will get to come later in March I hope.   I made great time from Rodney Bay to St Pierre Martinique 41 miles, I tried two different fishing lures that I have been dragging over a 100 miles but no bites, I don’t get it.

Average speed to St Pierre
 

Mount Pelee on the way in.

Around 1902 before eruption

I had the anchor down in 16ft of water by 2 PM, launched the dinghy and went ashore.  Single handing requires a slow thought out process to every task you do such as anchoring and winching up the dinghy to put it over board.  It taxes one brain and sometimes requires talking to one’s self.  The view coming in was amazing to see Mt Pelee rising up into the clouds.  I tried to clear in but they were closed I went around the side just to make sure and only found a toothless woman urinating telling me they were closed, damn Frenchy’s  .  Considering this entire place was blown to bits 110 years ago by the very volcano that’s still right here I don’t think the French are all that smart.  On that note I have been without almost any exception the only US flagged vessel in any port I have been in. French mostly but some Germans and Swiss, and they say the Euro market is down big time….hmmm.  May 8^th 1902 was the day Mt Pelee erupted and killed 30,000 people; even 12 ships at anchor were blown to pieces.  I am anchored just feet from one of the wrecks now. Only two survivors were found one a Cobbler and the other a convicted murder,  Cyparis who was saved by the thick walls of his cell, however he was horribly  burned.  Later Barnum and Bailey circus in the US hired him to exhibit his horrific scars in the circus, (see pic).   I have no idea what the nasty French do with this head artifact but I can only imagine, there were lots of them in the museum. Not many speak English here and only by asking the ticket lady at the museum in French if she understood English was I able to get any info. The museum was OK but most everything was in French and it was not well put together or very large for that matter. Most buildings share a wall or some part with the original buildings before the eruption.  I went to a sea side bar for a beer and Internet.  After placing my order I asked the password for the Internet and she threw down a note book with a password scrawled in bad French cursive with some letters and numbers but try as I might it was totally un legible and requesting help only resulted in her throwing up her hands and walking away……oh well….drank my 4.75 cent Euro beer and enjoyed the view and people watching.   ( sorry about no captions on some pics and some rotated google has a mind of it's own) On to Dominica in the morning!

 

In St Lucia at Soufiere and the Pitons.  They are amazing and beautiful.  Right now I am sitting on a mooring I got from Peanut the boat boy, it's his uncles and it's right off town.  I have my wifi antenna taped to an oar so I can hack this signal. To tired to post much but it was rough going, being in a Kenmore washer on heavy duty load would have been a relief.  Made 35 miles in 12 hours for an average speed of 2.9 and sometimes that was zero as the current and huge waves that were meeting  north swell so it really didn't matter what heading you were on you were in the washer going every which way, some waves were straight up 12 feet . Some lockers came open and dumped their contents all over the boat and doors flew open and were slamming, all I could do was hang on. All is well now and I am going to a much needed shower and bed....

One would think after my last update in Soufriere that was It,  but alas was not to be.  First of all peanut met me in the “bang” between the pitons first as this was the closest place for me to moor and being tired thought it was a good idea.  There were no moorings in the bang so Peanut said go to Soufriere he had one there for me.  On the way in peanut was nowhere to be found so two other boat boys offered a park mooring but peanut came racing over and said that he had a better one, so I went with peanut as I said earlier.   The problem with this is the other boys said I owed them to which I replied you didn’t do anything except offer so no get lost while they were hanging on the Raindancer and not leaving. I finally got an oar and threatened to whack them if they did not get off.  This where things got crazy as they were pissed so they tied Peanut’s dinghy to their boat and tried to drag him away while we were conducting business, words I could not understand were exchanged and they left after casting off Peanut.  Well after my shower and reading for a few minutes I checked things only find out I was on a collision course with a site seeing vessel! I had ask Peanut if it was to close,  his response of “no mon it’s all good” just didn’t have much meaning as I fended off the props from spearing the Raindancer.  So here I was tired and dark and forced to leave my 30 dollar US mooring %%$#$.  So I left and started looking for another mooring as there is no anchoring in this harbor.  And here comes out of the dark  “Princess George”  with an offer of a “local Mooring” so I followed him to his local mooring which is marked by a bottle on fishing line three feet below the surface.  After brief negotiations we came to yet another 30 US for his in the dark service, all the while I was wondering how you can drive a boat find and underwater mooring all while smoking a big fatty but somehow he did.  That should be the end of it but no, when I dropped the mooring and headed out another boat approached me going fast it was “Ja Dah” demanding I pay for the mooring I just left, needless to say we exchanged words, I told him Peanut had screwed me and I given “Princess George” 30 US the night before and I was not paying him freaking  anything.  Things got heated and I said lets call SMMA and the police and let them sort it out and maybe I could get my money back from Peanut. Ja Dah made a call on his cell and then took off with nothing said but sorry mon.  Glad to see Soufriere in my wake this morning.  Seas were flat and I motored up the coast 16 miles to Rodney bay were I am now anchored in 24ft with the Sandals Resort right off the bow.  Honeymooners are sailing little hobbie cats right by and waving, much safer than that last night.  I slept with my flare gun 12 gauge pistol ready and loaded.  In hind sight I should have stayed with it a bit longer last night and anchored in Anse La Raye where you can go even in the dark, it was only 4 miles more.  My standard answer to all the boat people selling crap is I am the delivery skipper all I got is a back pack and no family I don’t need anything thank you. The other thing I tell all boat boys when asked if I’m alone, I say no my mate is seasick down below and make a show of hollering down for him to hand me money which I keep stashed inside the companionway.  Taking off for Martinique in the early AM but if sailing is good and I’m making good speed will maybe go all the way 91 miles to Dominica…..

I  sailed up to Walliabou St Vincent which is where the first Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed, quite a place as most of the old set remains.  Off the coast of St Vincent I encountered two young boys waving their arms wanting help so I sailed close and could see they were able to row just fine even though they were about a mile off shore.  They wanted me to take them in tow to Walliabou which I told them I could not tow them.  They had no water and begged for water so I threw them my cockpit gallon and they seemed happy. Amazing that they would go off shore with no supplies whatsoever but have come to depend on the generosity of yachtsmen for whatever they need.  I came into Walliabou and was met about a mile out by a man rowing named Elan who is a boat boy offering to help with mooring.  I figured he was pretty industrious so why not.  I picked the last mooring in the bay and he took a tied together line out to a piling for the Stearn.  He gave me a ride to the shore and I took a walk and ran into Rosco and Richardo at a plywood bar on the beach, even the walls reeked of ganja.....Richardo said he was in the movie with Jack Sparrow with blown away red eyes. He asked if I owned a boat out in the harbor to which I replied no just the paid captain working for da man......he said I could have a beer with him in that case. Elan told me he was working for the film crew on the movie making 5EC an hour cleaning the beach that's less than 2 US dollars per hour, SOB's..... I took lots of pictures around so enjoy.  I met all the boat boys Begga, Speedy, Smiley and Bob, Bob asked if I had anything to eat so I gave him a tin of sardines which he shared with his 12 year old daughter, they were in a row boat in which he had made oars out of tree limbs and oar locks from rope, his daughter was bailing all the time as it leaked badly.  Sailing to Humming bird or Marrigot Bay St Lucia in the AM early.......More pics to come but the upload just stopped sorry I am in da islands mon.....

Yesterday was a busy one, cleaning the boat and checking all the mechanical systems.  I transferred about 30 gallons of diesel from the starboard tank to the port tank using my Filter Boss fuel cleaning and polishing system http://www.ktisystems.com/. I am so glad to have it as any sailor knows dirty fuel can ruin your whole day. Down here you can get Venezuela fuel but its been in all kinds of tanks and who knows how good it was to start with so cleaning it is essential. I called up Daffodil Marine on the VHF and arranged to have them bring me 20 gallons of diesel and 60 gallons of water. As you can see in the picture they have a nice setup and come out to your boat making it really easy for a singlehander.

I went ashore to check on my sail repairs and my new sailing friends Diana & Marc met me at the dock and invited me for a coldy at the Whaleboner so not being in a hurry a few hours later I was on my way.  Alick from Alick sails had my mizzen all done and had really improved it by adding additional sunbrella protection to the head where there was always sun damage.  Alick told me how he apprenticed for 8 years and made 60EC per month while he was learning his craft, that's about 22 US. He hand stitched part of it because his machine cannot go through the thick parts and affording one is out of the question. He is a very friendly guy and is happy in his work and is an excellent craftsman. He is also running a school to try and interest young people in his line of work but it's difficult when a kid can hang out at the docks and make more from tourist for watching dinghy's and such.


















After my visit with Aleck I decided it was time for a hair cut as wearing hats all the time makes my head hot so a visit to Clive and his number two razor and the deed was done. Its really cool and very easy to take care of not mention water savings......Just call me Way Cool Captain from now on....

                                                                                                                                                                                            I had invited Diana & Marc to the Raindancer for dinner so I went to the market and bought fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and peas.  You can see old and young snapping peas at all the open markets. I cooked up some rice an peas along with grilled chicken and sliced tomatoes.  Diana an Marc arrived with a nice bottle of Spanish wine that he had sailed over with from Spain. Dinner was great an new friends were made, Diana is a photographer and lives in London and has gone many places including South Africa to travel and work. Check out her photos on her website http://dianajq.com/exhibitions. Marc was a sailing instructor from Barcelona and is now sailing for himself and has a dream of bringing his small boat building skills to other countries. We parted company and they sailed south in the morning. In the picture Marc is holding a piece of driftwood that I am carving into what I call "Drift Snakes" a hobby I have had for a few years. This morning I went for a scuba dive trip with Dive Bequia www.dive-bequia.com in which we went to a place called "the boulders" it was and easy dive at 60-70ft. I was the only diver so Miranda my dive master was my dive buddy. I saw nurse sharks, octopus, lobster, lion fish and so many others I can't list them all.  On the way back we came upon some young boys bailing their boat and trying to start the engine, so we took them under tow back to the port.

After the dive I went on a sight seeing walk to the other end of the bay.

 

 

I came to the Bequia model boat building shop run by Lawson Sargent. The work they do is amazing, all done carving by hand and skills passed down from elders.

 

I may be unable to post for a few days as I am planning to depart this slice of paradise in the morning heading north making my way to Dominica and the cool rain forest.........

Turtle Sanctuary

Yesterday I took a visit to the turtle sanctuary here on Bequia. I shared a taxi (see picture of Fat Man taxi) with a family from London England and their eight year old daughter. They were Franko, Alice, and little Isabella, she said she would pretend I was her long lost uncle Kevin from America in her best English accent. I met local islander Mr King who started the shelter and has raised and nursed injured Hawksbill turtles for eighteen years. He has released back to the ocean over 900 turtles so far. He took a great deal of time to educate me about Hawksbills. They get their name from the bird like beak they have and grow to over 200 pounds and 200 years old! Females have to be 25 years old to lay eggs and are about eighty five pounds at that age. In the pictures and videos the smallest ones are six years old. They eat sea grass from the ocean floor and can stay under water for many minutes before having to surface to take a breath. Mr King speaks to children at schools and churches to educate them about protecting the turtles so younger generations will get to see them. Some of the old islanders still hunt them and kill them to eat along with their eggs and will never change their ways, that's why its so important he educates the children so as the older generation dies off perhaps his work will make a difference. Only one baby in three thousand will survive in the wild so Mr. King is trying to make a difference here, the government of most Caribbean island will not pass laws to protect turtles. He said to never buy Tortoise Shell anything as this is another reason they are hunted since the Hawksbill has a very thick shell. Plastic look alike Tortoise Shell is the way to go he says. Looks like I will be here in Bequia a few more days making repairs and waiting on Alec the local sail maker to make repairs to my Mizzen sail. Unfortunately there is no one here that can repair my Harkin furling unit so I dissembled it and stowed it below and will just manage my sail plan without the Mizzen. I had my laundry done by a local women named Naomi, people here are begging for work and she washed them all by hand and hung to dry and folded them perfect for twenty five EC (less than ten US) and ask if I could bring her more. It's not that bad here as they have cold brew a local one called Hairoun at the Whaleboner http://cnnislands.com/news/story.php?id=81 bar for only two dollars US........