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Larry's LogI checked over the engine very carefully and found a hose that was chafing against the engine block. I corrected that after much swearing and some bleeding. I also cleaned off the chain from the accumulation of growth of 3 weeks in Mt. Hartman Bay. Meanwhile, Diane got in the water and cleaned the prop, engine intake and the waterline. She couldn't do much of the hull itself since the water was murky and we didn't have the time. At about 2, Steve and Mike came over to return a video and some CDs they borrowed. We talked for a while and then at around 3pm, we went to shore, cleared out and took a shower. Then back to Destiny to hoist the outboard and dinghy for the passage. By the time the dinghy was lashed down, it was 4:30. We listened to the weather report on the Caribbean "Cocktail" Net and it still sounded good. There were several boats leaving that evening, Drfitwood with Eric and Carole, Amphitrite with Frank and Paulette, and several others from different bays. We formed a very loose convoy headed toward Trinidad. As we raised the anchor and motored out, Kristali and Akila blew their airhorns signaling goodbye and bon voyage. Goodbye guys, we'll miss you. Hopefully we'll see them again in Trinidad or Venezuela. After clearing the reefs south of the bay, I got the full main up and motored for a while to charge the batteries. It was a nice breeze from the East-Southeast and only about 10 knots. After a while, I unfurled the jib and turned off the engine at 6:30. It was a great sail and the trip was very uneventful. There were a total of 7 boats going down and the only excitement that night was seeing a boat going north towards Grenada. It was my watch (from about 6 to midnight) and I saw his lights although it was obvious that some people going south didn't see him since I heard him yell out on the VHF that he was coming through. From the change of red to green and back of his tricolor, he had to make some evasive maneuvers. He also had his big spotlight on for an instant to get someone's attention. It was a very bright 3/4 moon and I saw him pass about 50 yards away from us. The Equatorial Current can run to about two knots to the West or Northwest between Grenada and Trinidad so I wanted to be slightly East of the rhum line. We did find some current but not as much as I thought and we wound up much further east (about 2 miles) than I intended by the time we got close to the north coast of Trinidad. Then we found a very strong counter current pushing us further east so we had to motor against it for about an hour to get to the Boca de Monos, the entrance to the Gulf of Paria where Chaguaramas is located. We finally got through the Boca and turned into the bay. Diane got on the VHF to call the marina, CrewsInn, where we had a reservation. After getting through, Stephanie from Mima got on the radio. She just happened to be in the CrewsInn office when we called. She said we would help us with our lines. Thanks again Steph. We thought we would go to the customs dock first and then into our slip but the customs dock was full and the people at CrewsInn said it would be OK if we went into our slip and then went to customs, so that's what we did. Stephanie was there to get our lines and help us tie up. It was great seeing her again. Tom was still on Mima right across the water at the Coral Cove Marina and I saw him waving as we went past the customs dock. Its really nice to see someone you know and like greeting you when you arrive at a new port. After tying up, and giving Steph a hug, we saw Ken and Vesta, from Great White Wonder, in their dinghy coming in. We waved to them and they called back. They hadn't seen us come in but just happened to be going in to the CrewsInn dinghy dock. We said come aboard and they did and we had a nice reunion. We last saw them in Bequia. Ken had to see someone at the CrewsInn office and so Vesta stayed on the boat with Diane and Steph and Ken went with me to customs. Stephanie had lent us some local currency so we could pay the entrance fee easily. We went to customs, which was just up some stairs and waited a bit to fill in some forms. Customs said though that I had to go to Immigration first. OK, we went to the Immigration office that was about 100 yards away. I filled in some more forms and had to get Diane so the officials could see the other crew. Strange, most immigration and customs wanted only the captain to land and clear in and usually you went to customs before immigration. Anyway, we completed all the paperwork, paid our fee and we were officially in Trinidad. Glad to finally be here (everyone kept asking, so when are you going to Trinidad?) |