A Week on the Hard

A Week (on the Hard) in Trinidad

I used to pooh-pooh the idea that people get stuck, unwittingly, in places like Georgetown or Trinidad. That is to say that they stay on for months or even years beyond their planned departures, seemingly helpless to get away.

Now, come on. Everyone who’s cruising knows how to cut the umbilical and leave! You have a plan and you execute it. Take us, for example.

It's now the end of August. After a year of island hopping our way south, we’re now in Trinidad, one of the “stickiest” of places. We’re here because we need (read: John needs) to put new decks on Thaleia, paint her cabin sides and bulwarks, repair the centerboard and paint the bottom. Oh yes—and build a boom and replace some rigging. Being very clever and dedicated to getting finished and moving on, we will shrink-wrap the boat to the water line after we haul so that John can work even if (when) it rains. While John is doing the bulk of the work on Thaleia, I will strip, sand and varnish the wheel, hatches and companionway ladder, sew new sheets for our berth and make anchor awnings and sail bags, and, of course, provide food, social outings, clean clothes, and communications with the outside world. Of course, I’m also the general foreperson, seeing to schedules, finances, and the like. Yes, we have our work cut out for us, but if we both keep our shoulders to the wheel and our noses to the proverbial grindstone, we’ll be able to finish these tasks in, say, three months. Well, maybe four. But no getting stuck in Trinidad for us!

Cut to the end of November.

Three months in and things are just not getting checked off the list. Perhaps if I log our activities for just one week, it will shed some light on our seeming lack of progress.

Monday

Resolve: A new week, and this week I’ll work harder, get more done, be better organized, eat and drink less (island food and beer, that is). In fact, I should be able to make a set of sheets, get several coats of varnish on the wheel, have the center hatch ready for varnish by the end of the week and lose 5 pounds. John says he’ll have the cabin sides, forward cabin, and cockpit primed and ready for paint by Thursday, and painted by Friday or Saturday at the latest. OK, here we go!

5:20--Up and walking at the break of day: Up the side of the mountain in Chaguaramas National Park where I might see (some have seen, but I haven’t yet seen) monkeys, parrots, and other exotic wildlife.

7:00--Back to the boat: Do dinner dishes, make coffee, get John out of bed, drink coffee in cockpit and plan the day: John—sand, repair, and prime the main cabin. Me—strip and sand the wheel and sew the second set of sheets for the berth.

7:30--Make breakfast: Make grits, salt fish, onions and eggs, for John; granola and yogurt for me. Pure health!

8:00--Listen to the net: Try to raise friends on the radio to arrange get together.

8:30--Turn on computer: Update expense log, resolve to cut expenses next week, update John’s to-do list (adding unanticipated expenses and crossing off only one sub-item from last week), review my to-do list, crossing off nothing (why aren’t all the things I do on my list?). Try friends again on radio. Do breakfast dishes.

9:30--Go to marina office: buy laundry tokens, linger a bit in the air-conditioned office, make Saturday appointment for braids and make date for both of us to go to the dentist next Tuesday. Stop and talk to various cruisers in the yard about their progress and promise to lend one a Toni Morrison book.

10:15--Back to the boat: (Is it 10:00 already?) gather sand paper, heat gun and scraper to strip and sand the wheel. Get book out to loan to friend.

10:20--Rain (damn!): My workbench is not under the tent. Rethink today’s plan for work. Resolve to get the wheel started tomorrow. No harm. Get out sewing machine and cut out fitted sheet.

12:00--Lunch: Cabin’s too cluttered to do lunch here. Go to Roti Shack and stuff self with Trini food. Oops….blew the diet.

1:00--Nap: Too hot to work and too much food! We need a small break. Pick up sewing clutter and resolve to get sheet sewn tomorrow. Read a chapter in “A Year in Provence”; take a snooze.

2:30--Internet: Monday is already shot and it’s beginning to rain again, so any work on wheel is finished (actually, never begun). Don’t want to get sewing stuff out again. Arrange get together with other friends for grilled chicken tonight, and go check email and surf the net looking for neat places to go when we take some time off work. (Can ‘t work all the time!)

4:00--Dinner prep: Go to the food mart and buy ice, wine, and peanuts.

4:15--Happy hour: Have a beer and peanuts.

5:00--Shower and more beer: Rehash accomplishments of the day. John: port side of cabin sanded, cleaned some hardware (not on the list). Checked on the progress of getting the wood for decks. Didn’t accomplish as much as he had hoped. Me: got one sheet cut out. Sent email to family (not on the list).

6:00--Dinner: Guests for grilled chicken and coleslaw.

8:45--Bedtime

Tuesday

Resolve: A new day! Yesterday was a bust for me, but today I’ll get some work done. Oh, I forgot. I told Brenda and Linda that I’d go with them to buy fabric in Port of Spain. So when I get back, I can at least finish the sheet and put away the sewing stuff. Probably won’t have time for the wheel today.

5:30 Up and walking: Beautiful day! No rain in sight. The walk is invigorating!

7:00 Back to the boat: Do dinner dishes, make coffee, get John out of bed, drink coffee in cockpit and plan the day: John—finish sanding the main cabin and the cockpit. Judy—go to Port of Spain in the morning, then in the afternoon, sheets.

7:30 Breakfast and net: Do breakfast dishes, update expense log, get ready to go to town.

9:00 To Port of Spain: Shop at all fabric shops for spandex for bathing suits, rayon prints for shorts and dresses, and cotton for some shirts for John.

11:30 Lunch: Town Centre Mall for big, inexpensive Trini-style lunch (1 meat, 4 starches). Ate too much.

12:15 Shop: Continue shopping for blouses and nothing in particular. Take dress fabric to the seamstress to have dress made. Stop on way back at pharmacy in West Mall and buy John a sachertorte at the bakery for dinner (also one for me—already blew the diet today).

4:15 Back on boat: Too late to sew. Read another chapter of “Provence”.

4:30 Happy hour: Drink beer, show John the fabric and rehash the day’s accomplishments. Cabin is ready for primer, wood for boom should be delivered tomorrow.

5:00 Shower and more beer: Make plans for tomorrow: either primer on the cabin sides or sand cockpit, and at last, the wheel. John notes that the wheel has been on the bench for weeks now—we need to make some progress there. Yes, of course. Tomorrow.

6:30 Dinner at Joe’s Pizza: Blow off cooking tonight (a friend came by and suggested pizza).

9:30 Eat sachertorte

10:00 Bedtime

Wednesday

Resolve: Got to get that damn wheel started! The book swap is at 10:00, so I can get started really early and work until 9:30 on the wheel, then finish it up when I get back.

5:30 Blow off walking: Too tired, and gotta’ get work done early. Besides, I’ll walk to book swap and internet.

6:30 Up and at ‘em: Make coffee, get John up, have leisurely coffee (it’s earlier than usual).

7:00 Make breakfast: Today, I’m really hungry so John gets a big breakfast—bacon, hash-browned potatoes with onions, garlic and green pepper, two eggs poached in potato nest all smothered with cheese. For me, yogurt, granola and fruit.

8:00 Listen to the net: Plan the day, do breakfast dishes.

8:15 Get to work: We both need the power cord—John has priority. Can’t strip the wheel now—maybe after I get back from book swap. Get out charts and rethink options for cruising when we leave here (whenever that might be)—maybe we should just go to Europe this year.

9:15 Get books together for swap: walk to Crews Inn. Downpour on the way, no umbrella with me!

10:00 Book swap: Score 5 new books, meet new people and chat for a while waiting for rain to stop.

11:15 Back to boat: No point in starting something now—almost lunch time.

12:15 Fix lunch: Eat, do dishes, change clothes. John taped cabin ports before rain came—now I can do wheel.

12:45 Rain: Take a nap and never really get back to work. Start reading new books.

3:15 Internet: check email, surf net. John walks down the road to check on boom and wood—wood man isn’t there.

4:45 Happy hour: Drink beer, and rehash the day’s accomplishments. John—the cabin is taped and ready for primer (still) and maybe the cockpit should wait. Me—I hope to get the wheel started tomorrow.

5:00 Shower and relax with beer: New acquaintances come by and invite us for a drink.

7:30 Back to boat: Stayed too long and ate too many chips. Nice people. The diet has really gone to hell. No dinner tonight.

8:15 Bedtime

Thursday

Resolve: The week is almost over and I still haven’t gotten the wheel, sheets, or anything else done. John has made some progress, but is still a long way from where he expected to be. Today, we’re going to have lunch with friends who will share their Med experiences with us, so it doesn’t leave a lot of time for work. Oh well, you have to have a life while working on the boat!

5:30 Up and walking: Walk up the mountain with friends. Beautiful day—not a cloud in the sky. Great varnish/paint day!

7:00 Back to the boat: Make coffee, get John out of bed, drink coffee in cockpit and plan the day: John—check on wood for boom and for decks again—not really enough time to start anything else. Today may be wheel day. The sky looks clear and John won’t be using the extension cord this morning!

7:30 Make breakfast: eat light today, blow off breakfast dishes.

8:00 Listen to the net: I forgot! The bathing suit lady is here today. Must take the spandex for suits to her. I can stop at the Hi-Lo on my way back for a nice pineapple to take for lunch. Oh well, I probably wouldn’t have gotten much done on the wheel anyway!

9:30 Bathing suit lady: Chat with other women, get bathing suits ordered, stop at grocery on way home.

11:30 Lunch: Spend afternoon with friends, talk about cruising in Europe. Great afternoon! Let’s hurry and get finished so we can go to Europe this year!

3:30 Back to boat: Too late to do any work today. Besides, it's too hot--no rain today. Finish “A Year in Provence”. Do dishes.

5:00 Shower and happy hour: relax with a beer and talk about plans for first winter in Europe.

6:15 Dinner: Grill tuna.

7:00 Concert: Pan at the pub tonight—go down and lime with friends.

10:30 Bedtime

Friday

Resolve: The end of another week, and not much accomplished. Maybe we can squeeze out some more work on the weekend, even though I do think we need to take time off from this grueling work schedule. We’ll see how much we get done today.

5:30 Up and walking: Slow start this morning. Walk up the mountain with friends. Exhausting!

7:00 Back to the boat: Do dishes, make coffee, get John out of bed, drink coffee in cockpit and plan the day: John—primer on the cabin sides. Needs the fan—no power cord again. Oh well.

7:30 Make breakfast: Listen to the net: Plan the day, do breakfast dishes, respond to a call for volunteers to work at a local school on Thursdays.

9:20 Leave to run errands: Run into several friends at Coral Cove and make date for beer and hot wings tonight. Go to grocery, bank, and Members Only to pay for swamp trip next week.

11:30 Lunch

12:45 Go to seamstress: Closed for lunch—gotta’ kill some time: stop by to see John and Susan. Take shirt fabric to Lorrie to make John’s shirts.

1:00 Internet: Too late to start wheel today; besides, rain is coming. Stay at Internet café surfing net until rain stops.

3:15 Back to boat: Plan the evening and the weekend.

3:45 Early happy hour: It’s Friday!

5:30 Shower and happy hour: Rehash accomplishments—boom is delivered—John diverts attention to boom getting set up to finish it.

6:00 Dinner: To Voyager's for free chicken wings and beer. On to Joe's Pizza for pasta and liming with friends.

9:30 Bedtime

Saturday

Resolve: Weekend is here, and all rules of work are suspended. John will get some work done, but I’ll use this time to do some house-wifely chores and to “have a life” while we’re here—after all, one can’t work all day every day!

6:00 Up and at ‘em: Make coffee and relax in cockpit.

7:00 To the fresh market: Buy groceries for the week—fish, veggies, fruits, chickens, herbs, and more. John goes too and gets to help carry the heavy stuff.

9:00 Breakfast at the market: A fresh “veggie bake”—fried bread stuffed with curried veggies. Mmmm.

10:00 Back to boat: Put away food. John’s day off—read paper, rest, and plan the next week.

10:15 Laundry: Read Lonely Planet Guide to Bolivia. Start planning the trip.

12:00 Lunch: I’m not hungry, so John fixes his lunch.

1:00 Hair dresser: go to hair dresser to get hair braided.

4:30 Happy hour: Rehash week’s accomplishments, promise to get wheel done next week (I don’t like to work hard on Sunday).

6:30 Dinner: Fresh shrimp and pineapple from the market.

7:30 Take aspirin for tight braids, read, sleep.

Sunday

Resolve: Maybe I can get the wheel started today, and tomorrow I’ll start my diet and exercise plan again. Meanwhile, today is Divali, the Hindu festival of lights celebration and we have plans to go with Jesse to a Hindu temple and to a village for dinner and a look at the town decorations and festivities.

6::00 Up and walking: John goes on Sundays too. We walk 8k instead of my usual 6k. Whew!

8:00 Back to the boat: Have leisurely breakfast at Tropical--eggs benedict and bloody marys. Read the paper, discuss cruising options from here. Isn't life great?

10:45 Blow off work: Read. After all, it’s Sunday.

3:30 Happy hour: relax with a glass of wine.

4:30 Duvali celebration: Go to East Indian village to see decorations, eat dinner, and walk the streets.

10:30 Bedtime

OK, so it’s one week later and the wheel hasn’t yet seen its first scratch of sandpaper and I’ve long since forgotten about the sheet. John got a lot of work done considering the rain and other distractions. The cabin is primed and the boom is now started though it wasn’t on the list for this week. The forward cabin and cockpit prep and primer still lie ahead and paint over all probably won’t get done next week either. But then, the wood probably won't be ready for a few weeks anyway.

So, we fell a bit short of our goals, but if we keep at it, we can catch up. Well, actually, we’ve got the dentist on Tuesday morning, and I have to pick up the dress in Port of Spain on Wednesday and John wants to go this time to look for some shoes because we’re going on a trip the following week. Also, we have the volunteer program at the school Thursday morning and the swamp trip on Tuesday afternoon and the bathing suits will be ready to pick up on Saturday. Plus, we owe our friends an invitation to our boat for lunch, and they’ll be leaving soon. So maybe Friday?

I think I get it…