|
Home Port Our Logs The Crew Calendar Favorite Links The Boat Photo Album Route and Charts Miscellaneous Stuff |
Larry's LogAfter we got the anchor set, we straightened the boat a bit and got ready for our company. We had called Footloose and Legacy to come over at around 5. We hadn't seen Ruth and Joe on Legacy for about a week and it was good to see them again. Of course, we had come down with Mike and Nancy to Mt. Hartman Bay. We all got together and enjoyed the evening and, of course, I showed everyone my fish. He wasn't as impressive without his head, but he looked really good to me. The next day we weren't planning much but wound up a little busy anyway. In the morning, Ann and Mark stopped by for a little chat as Mike stopped by for a bit to pick up the glasses he had left on the boat the night before. He also showed me where the internet place was in St. George's, where we planned to go tomorrow. It was time to fillet my fish. Since I had never done it before, we called John on Gabrielle for his advice. I also looked in a fishing book I had brought along. Finally I was ready and assembled my tools - a very sharp filleting knife (brand new, used only once before when Brad caught a smaller tuna just outside of Bermuda), a bucket of salt water to wash away the blood and guts, and a plastic container to put the fillets in. After almost losing the entire fish overboard when the table I was using suddenly tilted, all went pretty well. It took about an hour but the fillets were nice and looked good. I gave them to Diane to marinate and I cleaned up. Hopefully it would taste good after all that effort! Then Ruth from Legacy came by and came aboard to talk to Diane. They decided to go to the Hog Island anchorage (the next bay to the East) to see how it was. We also wanted to know because it had been hot on the boat during the night because there was very little wind that got past the hills and also because there seemed to be a lot of flies that entered the boat. Actually, Footloose moved to Hog Island because of the flies (they had anchored very close to the mangroves and the problem was worse there. Since Joe might need a dinghy to get to shore in case a part arrived that he needed, I had to launch our dinghy and mount the engine. Well, we were going to do that anyway. So Diane and Ruth went over there through a small pass through the reef separating the bays. When they came back, they both said how nice it was. Diane said we should probably move over there in a day or so. There was a small beach and a village there where you could catch the bus to St. George's. In Mt. Hartman Bay, there was a van that went every morning, but he would only wait for 3 hours. Past that, we would have to take an expensive taxi back. Diane and Ruth then suggested that we go in to shore to explore the marina and resort. Ruth (and others) said that cruisers could use the pool as long as we didn't make a big production (like take coolers and stay for the day). So I changed into a bathing suit and we went in. The resort was Secret Harbour owned by the Moorings charter company and was very pretty and well maintained. The views of the bay were also spectacular. We found the pool and went in. What a delight - swimming in cool fresh water on a hot day! After about 30 minutes, Diane decided to see if we could walk to Prickly Bay, which is the bay just to the West of Mt. Hartman. Ruth hadn't brought shoes so she couldn't go and she called Joe to come pick her up. Diane got directions and we started walking. The area must be pretty wealthy since we passed many very beautiful houses and several new ones being built. We found the right road, thanks to some workers we passed and found the access to the bay easily. We walked around the boatyard there and then walked back to Secret Harbour jumped in the pool again briefly, and then went back to the boat. The moment of truth arrived. I fired up the barbeque - and it started to rain. The shower didn't last long and I got the fish on the grill. They looked good, smelled good and sure enough, they tasted good too. And we had enough left for at least another 2 meals. Maybe I would start fishing some more. Next morning, we got up early to hear the 6:30 Caribbean Weather Net by Eric. He said there was a Tropical Wave with some strong rain that would come into the island chain in 2 days. Well, we were pretty well protected so I wasn't worried. We wanted to go into town (St. George's) this morning and so we got in the dinghy and met the van at 9am. This wasn't the bus but it was cheaper than a taxi. The van owner, Darius, sends his van every morning to pick up cruisers (or anyone) at 9 from Mt. Hartman Bay and Prickly Bay and drive them into St. Georges and then drives them back at noon. Today he had enough people to send vans at noon and 1pm, so we said we would meet him at 1pm. The first thing we did was go to an Internet place and check email and upload the updates to this site. That took about 2 hours and Diane went to the bank while I worked on the 'Net. We then walked to a Cable and Wireless office to send a fax to the marina we were staying in while in Trinidad. Our reservation was for August 1. After that, we went back to eat lunch at the Nutmeg Restaurant in town. It was also where the van was going to pick us up. Diane did a little more shopping and then the van brought us back to Secret Harbour, where we got in our dinghy and went back to Destiny. It was still early and so we decided to go back to the pool. We called Legacy to see if they wanted to go in also and they said they would meet us there. Diane first prepared a artichoke dip we were going to serve as a snack when Anne and Mark, from Cameron, came over later. I must admit, that pool was really nice. After being hot, sweaty and dusty from the walk in town, it was really great to take a swim in the water. We didn't stay too long though since we had company coming over. Anne and Mark came over and we enjoyed seeing them again. We had last seen them in Martinique, as they sailed south from Anse Mitan, where they rescued the boat after it dragged. They were anchored in Clarke's Court Bay, behind Hog Island, which is the next bay to the east. There was a dinghy pass through the reef but it would be hard to see in the dark so, unfortunately, they didn't stay long. But they did invite us over for dinner later in the week. Sounds good. |