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Larry's LogAgain the next morning, I got up early to practice Morse code and a bit later, Diane went over to Jesse's office to pay for the rest of the events we wanted to see. Later in the morning, Bob, from Bon Accord, came over to test his pactor modem since he was still having problems with it. We tested his modem and cable and it became obvious that there was a problem with the modem. The cable was OK since my modem worked with it but his modem wouldn't work with my cable. After Bob left, I continued with the second primary winch while Diane walked over to get the tickets for some more of the Carnival events. I finished the winch, had lunch and then dug out an old propane solenoid for Tom and Steph. They were going to buy one but it only came with a fancy panel and was very expensive. I wasn't sure if it would still work but it did when I replaced it. I then practiced the code some more. (I know, its getting tiresome) After being net control again the next morning, I took the boom end cap off to fix the ongoing problem with shearing the bolts holding the boom vertical. The difficult part was getting the large bolt out that holds the boom to the gooseneck fitting. Once that was done, the cap came off easily since I had been careful to lubricate the screws going into the aluminum. Diane was doing laundry and then went to the gym. I cleaned the pieces and thought about how to make the assembly stronger. I went over to Chaguaramas Metal Works to get them to do some modifications to the end cap but I decided to talk to Tom on Mima first and ask his opinion. And we talked about it quite a bit and I disagreed about his recommendation to use rivets but we worked out a good solution to prevent the torsional forces from shearing the ¼ bolts that held the gooseneck pin to the end cap. We had some drinks and then went up to see Lincoln, but he said he was very busy and asked if I could bring it back early next week. I said I would and bring a template for the new stainless plate, so I went back to the boat to get ready for the evening's tour. We went with Jesse on the mas (masquerade) camp and panyard tour that evening and it was great. We saw a 'king' mas camp and 2 others that made 'band' costumes (not a band in the 'traditional' sense). The "king" costume was really spectacular and we learned a great deal about how these creations are put together. We then went to see 3 panyards, the Renegades, the Silver Stars and Phase II, who weren't playing since their leader had left temporarily. Mima was supposed to come to but they had to cancel at the last minute Too bad - the music we did hear was excellent and it was a chance to see the pannists up close. Wednesday was hectic. In the morning, I worked on the stainless steel bar for the dinghy transom but found it harder to polish than I thought it would be. I used the Dremel tool at first but it wasn't large enough to really make a difference so I got out a sanding disk and the electric drill. The bar was better but still needs a fine sanding with an emory cloth. After lunch, I worked on the Morse code again and I think I'm starting to really get there. I still miss characters but I'm getting better. Ron, from Jacobite, stopped by and dropped of his PC for me to put a Morse code program on it and then Steph also stopped by briefly but then I had to get ready to leave for the 3rd Taste of Carnival. The third event was excellent. There were more traditional characters, more calypso and a steel band, although the Silver Stars were supposed to be there, they cancelled at the last moment. The characters were really great, with Blue and Red Devils (fire eaters) and Moko Jumbies (on stilts). Thursday was also busy and I think it will be this way through the Carnival period. During the day, Diane did some miscellaneous things and took an afternoon nap while I fixed the galley faucet. It had gotten loose so I had to try to reach up behind the sink from underneath to tighten it. While I had everything out from under the sink, I also changed the water filter cartridge and cleaned up the shelf. After that, I worked on Ron's PC and got the morse code program on it with no problem and then copied some pages from their knot book on making rope mats. I wanted to make some as a fender for the dinghy. Ron came over around 11 and I showed him how the program worked and we talked for a while. He was just about to leave when Diane and Steph came back. Steph was going to let us borrow her camera since it had a better zoom. She showed me how it worked, basically the same as mine but with some significant differences like the viewfinder, which was not optical but a small LCD screen. I didn't particularly like that 'feature' but we used it that night and it worked well. I showed her some pictures I had taken of the Pan semi-finals and the last Taste of Carnival we had been to the night before. After Steph left and Diane started her nap, I went to the gym; Kendall, the instructor, was there and he reiterated that the offer to take us to J'Ouvert was sincere. He had mentioned to Diane that he would "watch out for us" and we could stay with his family that night. We could stay at his house after Dimanche Gras and then he would take us and be with us the entire time. It was a very kind offer but I don't think we'll do it. J'Ouvert is an 'event' in which people just dance and party in the streets, drink and do whatever. It starts at 2am and continues through the early morning until just before the Parade of Bands on Carnival Monday. You drink, party and get covered with colored mud, paint, and such (a real bacchanal) and then get hosed off before returning wherever you're going. Too much for us I think since nobody sleeps that day at all. Kendall also offered to teach me how to 'wine', what Trinis call dancing with movement below the waist only. After her nap, Diane had made some baked eggplant with cheese on top as a side dish and went to the potluck just to grill the hamburgers. It was pretty good. We left for the Kings and Queens Preliminary Mas competition at 7 and got back around 1am. The event was in the Grandstand at the Savannah, where the Pan Semis had been and the event was simply fantastic. One costume was simply better than the next. Unfortunately, it had been raining and they were delayed since the stage had to be mopped and the masqueraders hadn't been able to get ready. Once it started, it was great. Of course, some wee fancier than others and it depended on the creativity and the amount of money the competitor wanted to spend (some costumes cost up to 250,000 TT). We had bought box season tickets but there was some minor confusion caused by the fact that they hadn't printed that type of ticket yet (Jesse cleared it up once we got there) and we had a great time. I was nervous about using Steph's camera but afterward, it seemed to be fine. The event itself consisted of the masqueraders parading across and from side to side on the massive stage in their costumes to some music (always very loud) and showing off their costume. They used smoke and colored lights for effects but I think they tended to overdo it since at points you couldn't see the costume for the smoke and darkness. There were many cruisers who brought cameras, naturally, and we eventually got close to the stage. Being that close you could see the costumes really well and also see the person. There were though, 2 mishaps - one costume just collapsed backward and the 'queen' needed help getting off the stage and another 'queeen' fell forward with a very large costume (they were up to 25 feet high and that wide, with some of the king's costumes even bigger) and she needed 2 men to help her get up again. In general though, it went smoothly and we loved it. We also got to see the king whose costume we had seen being finished 2 days before. It was really magnificent and we were certain he would be in the finals. We loved it. Friday morning I went to the dentist. I met Tom at the mall with the camera and he showed me how to use some of the features. He was also going to the dentist, with an appointment just after mine. We saw Dr. Bartholomew coming in to work while we were sitting there. After my appointment, I bought some earplugs (Trinis like LOUD music) and then some heavy cream at a specialty store in the mall (for my coffee since the diet doesn't allow milk).. I went back to the boat, had lunch and then walked over to see Mima and pick up the pieces of teak I had made for the boarding ladder mounts. Walking back to the boat with the pieces, I hoped it would work as I hoped. I did a test fit over the tubes and they fit although I might have to sand the inside of the holes a bit. After that, I just relaxed, something I hadn't done in a while. Next day, as was becoming usual, I got up a little early to practice the code and then after breakfast, Diane and I tried the teak pieces on the ladder to see if they would work as the part of the mounting brackets. They seemed fine for the purpose although I might have a little taken off one side, toward the toerail since I planned to put a piece of steel on that side. We then got ready to go to the Red Cross Children's Carnival and got there at about noon. The first 'competitors' were "Babes in Arms", children under 3 years old and it was really very cute. The parents, naturally, accompanied the child (sometimes carrying them) and the some costumes were really elaborate. The event continued to girls and boys, competing separately in various age categories and there were also bands that competed. These bands were not musical, although there was music playing, but rather children in costume, broken up into groups based on a theme. One clever one was called "I once wrote a Story", and the masqueraders had costumes named things like "Jack and the Beanstalk", with costumes to represent the beanstalk, Jack or the Giant. The bands were from 30 to over 100 members, competing in different size categories. Some of the individual costumes were really very elaborate and although not as large as the adult Kings and Queens we saw, they were every bit as innovative and flashy. We thought it was just as good as any other event we had seen. The next morning, it was up a little early again to practice and then just relaxed until it was time to go to the next Carnival event called Viey La Cou, featuring masqueraders in the traditional costumes. We saw many of the traditional characters during the Taste of Carnival events and also during the mas competitions we had seen already, the Kings and Queens Preliminaries and the Kiddie Carnival yesterday. Different types of sailors were traditional, due to Trinidad's history with the sea and seafarers coming to its shores, as were various kinds of devils, demons and imps, many based on traditional African myths. The event started 1 ½ hours late but it was very good. Although we saw many characters we had already seen, there were many we hadn't, like Jab Jabs (cracking whips) as well as Stick fighters. There was also a 'voice band', made up of well trained 13 to 16 year olds from Tobago, a wedding precession from Tobago and a Spanish barequitta, as well as Petite Grenades (doing 'spelling' Trinidad style) and a Prince Grenade (doing 'oration' Trini style). Although the event was in the open, we had some shade and had brought seats with us. They were going to start a 'kaiso' (calypso) tent after the masqueraders finished but we were tired by then and left at 5pm. Interestingly, the stick fighters had drums and men singing as background and the announcer said that this was one of the precursors to modern calypso. Diane said she would have skipped it afterward but I thought it was well worth it. Monday was the now usual routine of getting up around 7 and doing some Technician class HAM tests. I was doing well on those by them. After breakfast, Diane went over to see Jesse about the remaining tickets since the National Carnival Commission had decided to cancel the 'season' tickets, which of course many cruisers (including us) had already bought. We got our money back for the season ticket but we had to pay separately now for the events and it cost much more although transport was the same. I was busy doing some work on the PC. Later in the day, I walked over to Tardieu Marine and spoke to Lincoln about welding a small 3/16 plate to the large pin on the boom cap. I hoped this would prevent the cap screws (bolts) from bending or shearing again. He said he would give me a price tomorrow. I also stopped at Lennox Woodworking and paid him for the pieces I picked up Friday. I then stopped at Mima; Tom and I talked a bit and I reviewed some articles he had written for the Compass. I walked back and just worked on my code and license questions the rest of the day. Tuesday I did the net again and it was particularly busy with some security concerns addressed and many announcements about the upcoming Carnival events. After the net, I worked on Joe's web site and then walked over to Tardieu again. I got on the Internet, signed up for online investment information, checked email, and did some other miscellaneous things. We got an email from our friends Dawn and Mike on Just Dessert - they had finally gotten into the Pacific. They were thrilled to have finally made it. They were going to Las Perlas with our other friends on Amadon Light and Dazzler. Congratulations!! While at Tardieu, I stopped at Chag Metal Works again and Lincoln gave a reasonable price and I said to go ahead with it. I also talked with his wife, Winnette, about Carnival and also Canrival in Toronto, where they had a lot of family. She showed me some pictures of the event there and it was quite impressive, with large fancy costumes and such. Of course, theirs takes place in August, not March. |