|
Home Port Our Logs The Crew Calendar Favorite Links The Boat Photo Album Route and Charts Miscellaneous Stuff |
Larry's LogThe next day we went for a hike to see the old Leprosarium on this side of the island in the morning with Jan. Dan ferried us to the old dock and then went back to the boat. We walked through some very interesting old ruins and found medical records, scattered on the floor in the administrative building, rusting bed frames, and old bottles. I even found a medicine dropper. We saw the infirmary, nurses' dormitories, the hospital laundry and dispensary along with many smaller buildings that were probably just residences for either workers or residents. The church they built was really nice but had been stripped of the marble altar, and although the building was in sad shape anyway, we all felt bad about it. Jan and Dan had actually been here and saw the slab being manhandled down the hillside and onto a boat. We saw remnants of it that had broken off littering the floor. The hike itself wasn't too bad but it was pretty overgrown in places and sometimes the footing was rough. We found a bit of a shortcut down though and we called Dan to come pick us up and we went back to the boat for lunch. After lunch we got in the water and cleaned the boat's waterline. I did the port side from the last oil spill in the dinghy while Diane cleaned the starboard side from the normal growth. Once I finished getting the oil off, or at least as much as possible, Diane did the growth on that side while I got in the water also and cleaned the prop and through-hulls. I checked the anchor and it wasn't really dug in; it just had collected a mass of rock, dead coral and sand in the flukes, but it seemed to be holding OK. I then snorkeled over to shore a bit just to look around and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be; I saw 2 large French Angels and lots of smaller fish. It was New Year's Eve morning, and we decided to stay at Chacachacare rather than go to TTSA or Chaguaramas (to be able to go to the SSCA Gam on New Year's Day). So Jan and Diane discussed a little get together and we went there at around 5:30. The day itself was very overcast and it rained heavily just before lunch. It also got very rolly after lunch and then calmed down again only to start again at about 3. Diane was talking about leaving if it stayed that bad but hopefully it will get better. Since it was so dreary, we didn't go on our hike up to the lighthouse. Hopefully, we can go tomorrow, although the locals will probably start to come in around noon. All I did was try to get the Turk's Head knot to work, without much luck. I did have to run the engine again, the third day in a row, since there was no sun and no wind today. There had been a little breeze last night but not enough to sustain the electrical needs for 24 hours. We spent the evening with Jan and Dan and just made it to midnight. We saw the fireworks' lights a bit coming from Chaguaramas and saw some rockets over the hill, probably from Grand Fond Bay on Monos Island. In general though, it was a very quiet night. Happy New Year! We got up pretty late since we went to sleep late and found Sojourner had already left. We were now alone in our spot although since this is a holiday, the locals will probably be here later. It was also overcast again but very calm, so I don't know if we'll climb to the lighthouse or not. If it clears, then definitely. The large steel charter boat, Shaolin, came back and anchored next to us where Aryil had been, but closer. It stayed dreary all day and rained a bit so we didn't walk up to the lighthouse. Diane didn't feel so well in the morning and I changed the prefilter on the watermaker and tried to fresh water flush it. For some reason, the flush water wasn't getting to the prefilter so I disconnected the fresh water filter and used a hose to go directly to the high pressure pump. I flushed the membrane for about 5 minutes with fresh water. I couldn't check what was wrong with the flush system because the air conditioner was in the way and since we would be in the marina soon, I could check it more easily then. In the afternoon, Diane rested and I did some Turk's Heads knots on the binnacle guard that came out very nice. We then went to the ferry dock so we could walk to see the beach on the other side where you can see Venezuela. The dock was very high but we managed since it was high tide and it was a short walk to the beach. It wasn't much but we were glad to have seen it anyway. Maybe next time we could walk up to the lighthouse. There were squall clouds coming so we went back to the boat and closed the hatches and then went back to stop by Pamela. We saw them anchored in the cove with the ferry dock. We didn't stay long since it started to rain and so we just went back to Destiny and got some things ready to leave in the morning. Diane made some escargot again and the last of our lomito for dinner, excellent as usual. We watched a video and had a nice bottle of Spanish champagne after. Not a bad way to spend the first day of 2003. We had decided to go into CrewsInn on the 2nd so we got up early, finished getting the boat ready and motored in. We towed the dinghy the 2 miles and left the awning up and had no problems although it was a little rough in spots. We actually saw a minor oil slick on the water before we left Chacachacare but it didn't seem to leave any residue, or very little anyway. We got into Crews Inn and got our old slip, A7, although they were going to give us A4. Diane reminded them that there was a shallow spot there that we might have a problem with, so after some delay they said we could have A7. When we got there, Carl, the dockhand helped us and we got in with no problem. Mo was there to help also. After tying up, I started washing the boat while Diane went to do some of the HUGE amount of laundry that we had accumulated. She had come back for a bit and Suzi and David stopped by to say hello. They hadn't left for Grenada yet because they needed some welding done and the weather was bad. They didn't stay long though; they had to get back to Scotland Bay, and so I continued washing and Diane did the laundry. I almost finished the entire boat when Diane came back from finishing. By that time, it was getting late and we wanted to get the air conditioner setup. So we struggled to get the unit on deck and I put a 'housing' over it of just some large plastic bags. It worked fine and the boat became cool in a short time. After relaxing a bit from the heat, we just went to take showers (wow, unlimited water again) and just enjoyed the 'cool' again (we even watched cable TV). The next day we got up a bit late and missed the morning net. We decided to finish up the washing from yesterday so Diane did the laundry and I did the rest of the cockpit and port coaming box. I also put away some of the stuff from the day before. Later in the day, I figured out a way to catch the runoff from the air conditioner and made that little gadget and then we hoisted the dinghy on deck to clean it. First, of course, we took off the engine and then hoisted it to clean the oil from the bottom, again, and then applied the 303 to the tubes and wax to the fiberglass. We also took off the dinghy cover to clean and treat that. The rest of the day was recovering from the heat, although below was actually very cool with the a/c going now for 24 hours. We heard over the net in the morning that there was another oil spill and sure enough, there was a slick all over Chaguaramas Bay, including near us. We were very glad to have hoisted the dinghy out of the water the day before. Diane continued doing the laundry and I started to fix the oil leak that was coming from somewhere around the oil sender. Getting the original oil sender off was not too bad but getting the 't' fitting off was tough because I couldn't get the other oil sensor, from the engine warning system, removed. Eventually I got that off and took off the t fitting. The fitting looked ok as did the 45-degree elbow it attached to on the engine block. The only thing that looked suspect was the original oil pressure sender. As it was Saturday and almost noon, I didn't have time to go over to LP Marine near Coral Cove so I walked over to Dockside at CrewsInn. They had senders but none that matched mine exactly and the technicians were out until Monday, so it would have to wait until then. Since I couldn't continue that, I put the spare jerry jugs of diesel into the tank. I like to keep the tank topped up as much as possible so that water doesn't condense inside. I've never found any water in my fuel filter water separator bowl, and I like it that way. The next day, Sunday, was quiet. I worked on the web site a bit and we went to play dominoes in the afternoon. On the Monday morning net I heard that a HAM exam was going to be given on March 6. Since I've wanted to do that, I called Jim on Lady J, who made the announcement, and said I was interested. I went over later in the afternoon to talk about it and Jim gave me some study materials. In the morning though, I walked over to some stores across the channel to find some things I needed for boat projects. (I walked since the dinghy was on deck, and fortunately too, since there was more oil in the water that day.) Unfortunately, the one thing I really needed I couldn't get right away, the oil pressure gauge sender. It seems that the senders must match the gauge and I didn't know (then) what brand of gauge I had. I did get some other things and did some stuff on the Internet though. I saw David and Suzi who were planning to leave the next day and they were trying to get some last minute shopping and errands done, as well as clear out. After I got back from my errands, Diane reminded me that we were supposed to have dinner with Mo and Joe from Motu that evening. They wanted to go to Joe's Pizza and even though I had lunch there, that was fine. I went over to see Jim and as I left, saw a side-boarding ladder on their deck, and just mentioned that I had been looking for one. Jim said he had tried to sell that one since it was stainless steel and interfered with the anodes on his aluminum hull. It was expensive but exactly the type we were looking for. We talked about it and agreed that I could measure it and see if it fit on Destiny. A bit later we went over to Motu, had a drink and then took their dinghy across to Joe's. We had a very good dinner and enjoyed their company. I was cleaning the deck from the dirt that collected under the diesel jugs the next morning and as I was stepping to the deck from the cockpit, I felt my back go into a spasm, such that I had to sit on the cockpit winch for 5 minutes just to allow the pain to subside. After that, even though the pain subsided, I still couldn't move around very well and I wasn't much good for anything the rest of the day. Diane did some waxing on the deck though. When I took a hot shower later, it started to feel better. On the net the next morning, I announced that we were selling our Avon dinghy. I got one person on the radio that said they wanted to look at it and then another couple came by. It was more money than the couple wanted to spend but the other guy came over and after inflating it and having Diane negotiate, we agreed on a price. He gave me a deposit and said he would come back later. Diane then went shopping at PriceSmart and I got the information about the oil sender. I examined the gauge first, managed to figure out the maker and went over to thje local chandlery. They didn't have one in stock but said they could order one for the price plus shipping. They were very helpful and looked up the right part in cross-referencing several catalogs. I said to wait until the afternoon to order it, since I thought I might be able to get it from one of the other places across the channel, but I had to wait until Diane got back to go over. On the way back to the boat, I helped Mo and Joe leave the dock- they were going out to Chacachacare for 2 weeks, then to TTYC and then hauling at Powerboats. After Diane came back from shopping, I walked over and the other stores couldn't help with the part so I went to Budget Marine, exchanged a circuit breaker, and stopped by Sojourner, at Hummingbird Marina, to say hello. They were having their refrigeration fixed and after the technician left, we talked a bit and then they took their dinghy and me, back to CrewsInn. I went to Dockside, the local CrewsInn chandlery, to order the oil sender and then came back to the boat. I worked on Joe's web site and then worked on our web site. The next morning my back was still hurting so I didn't do much but I did go and check that the oil sender was on order (it was) and stopped by Lady J to see if I could help with Jim's floppy disk problem (a little). We brought his boarding ladder to Destiny to see if it would fit (it did). I walked over to Tardieu Marina to do some internet work and give Alpha Canvas a deposit on some work we wanted done, to replace the settee foam we just had replaced in PLC that was of poor quality. After I got back, I straightened out the boat a bit and then relaxed until the potluck that evening. The potluck at CrewsInn was very nice and pretty crowded, but it was nice for me since I met a cruising family, on a large catamaran named Enjoy, who had seen and liked my web site, they said it was one of their favorites. Cool!! |