Wow what a great day 16 knots on the beam and a perfect temperature. I fantastic sailing condition after leaving Martinique and arrived in Rodney Bay at about 1130. I decided to go into the marina to get some work done (auto helm, generator, ais, etc... I raise the marina on channel 68 and they advised me of the slip I should take G21 so I headed in. I let them know that I was single handed so if there was staff available it would be great. There were a lot of yachts on the radio requesting slips so when I arrived at my designated spot no staff was available. This problem was quickly solved when my dock neighbor cam down on the slip and helped me manage the line and I was able to get docked with out any insurance claims, yes. This marina is one of the nicest in the Caribbean with boat side laundry, garbage and propane service, no walking required. Plus they have great security. Very happy to be here. Clearing in was easy as was checking into the marina. I was also able to line up a tech to have a look at the auto helm the next day. So things are looking up.
0 Comments
Just as a side note Michele went through my cruising guide in the Saintes and made post it not with lat longs and notes about each anchorage so I used this as my bible to follow since leaving them in the Saintes. I started my generator int he morning to bring up my batteries since I didnt have enough sun in Dominica to get a good charge, after ten minutes my generator started making noise so I shut it down and will check later. I got my main motor going and was anxious to put Dominica behind me. I was out of Roseau at 0615 in pretty light air which soon filled in as I got clear of the Island. I had a nice sail across from Dominica to Martinique but was impressed about the black clouds that hung over all od Dominica as I got further away from the Island and had a beautiful sunny day of sailing. The sailing was improving with more consistent winds and less squally condition and I made great time and pull into the South end of Martinique at around 1500. The little cove was Anse Choudries and had excellent holding in 25 feet of water. Very pretty spot with just the right amount of yachts. This was my second favorite spot since the Saintes. I had a relaxing evening and slept in the cockpit since it was so mild. I was awoke at around midnight by a bit of noise and found a flying fis in the cockpit try to get out, I helped him off but a big fish took him as soon as he hit the water, not his lucky day. I departed Les Anses D Arlets the following morning at around 0730. The next time I will spend more time in Martinique it seems like a great spot.
My trip between the Saintes and Dominica was a bit windy with pretyy consistent winds between 15 and 20 knots. Sea conditions were pretty good and I never saw much rain or squalls until I got closer to Dominica. I decided to go all the way to Roseau sice the wind had gone down once i was in the lee of Dominica along with my stress level, so onward ho. Huge dark clouds hung over Dominica and every 30 minutes a system would go over me with rain and some wind. I started seeing a lot of things in the water that at 1st I thought were fishing buoys but on closer inspection i realized it was garbage. every 100 feet I passed floating garbage bags bottle etc... etc.. I guess that may have been in part due to the hurricanes and the lack of infrastructure. It seemed like the entire Island was dumping their garbage in the ocean.I arrived in Roseau at 1500 hours and was greeted by a local who helped e get secured to a mooring and collect the fee. Roseau is a rough looking spot and I was a bit concerned about being on the boat here, but whatever there were a few other sailboats close by and I kept the mood lights on all night etc.. with no worries. Roseau is the capital of Dominica and it was evident that they were in rebuild mode as a result of the devastation from the Hurricane. They had difficult working conditions with rain every 30 minutes on the dot. The town was down and out before the hurricane but is much worse now, I didn't go ashore and would have been uncomfortable leaving the boat unattended. The following morning I was ready to head for Martinique.
Rinse change repeat. After a little rest in Deshaises I was anxious to move further south on my solo adventure. I was away at around 0630 on January 10th with no issues and a good forecast for about 16knots and a beam reach so I prepared for 20knots and a beat and was not disappointed.This was a relitivelu short hop so after dealing with a few squalls I made the approaches into the Saintes at around 1330. The Saintes have a very good Mooring system with a huge iron ring that you loop your own line through to secure your boat. I was trying to figure just how to do this on my own when my VHF came to life hailing Rose Lee. Al and Michele from the DYC were there on their sailboat "Tarentela". Al had spotted a mooring and came zooming over to help me get secured, now that is great service and it was so nice seeing someone from home after being on my own for what seemed like forever.Al invited me over to catch up after I got settled so that was a great welcome. With all the wind I had since Antigua my Bimini began tearing apart so I took a walk up to the local sail makers the following day to see if he could help me out,the previous evening "Tarentela" gave me a nice walking tour of the town which is one of the nicest quaintest places I have ever been, so I knew my way around a bit. Pierre the sail maker was a ten minute walk outside of town and I passed lots of little goat farms with chickens running everywhere s. I saw one big Hen with two little chicks chasing something when I realized she was chasing two very large iguanas, cool. Pierre had a great open air sail loft in a country setting surrounded by green fields. He said no problem and would deliver the finished bimini ti the dinghy dock at 1800 hrs, now that,s great service. I spent the remainder of my day exploring and had plans to meet the Tarentelas later for Pizza. The bimini arrived on time and was followed by a nice evening with Al and Michele. My plan was to leave the next morning for Dominica but that was not to be.
I woke on January 12th to lively conditions and the wind whistling through the rig so after about ten minutes of thought I decided to do another day in this great place. The weather was getting a bit better in the future. My day was pretty free with no boat work and I pent the day just relaxing, I even made myself breakfast which is unusual. I went back to the wterfront pub I had been at the day before and did a bit of computer work and had a visit With Mike from Montreal who I had met at the DYC and again in Bermuda last year, small world. I finished my day with Al and Michele and Al offered to give me a hand the following morning getting underway. January 13th was still a bit breezy and Al gave me a hand getting the dinghy up on deck and the out board mounted, he aslo brought me a nice fresh baguette from the bakery so before I knew it I was on my way fro Dominica. I had a choice between St. Pierre close about 27 miles or Roseau which was another 18 miles. Well I arrived back in Antigua on my own and spent av few days arranging for the new anchor etc... I was getting ready to move a bit further south with an eventual destination of Bequia where I wanted to meet up with my friends Brad and Louise who were there vacationing.
After checking the forecasts one last time I departed early in the morning on January 8th for Deshaies Guadalupe about 50 miles south. My alternator immediately failed followed shortly by my auto helm both of which had been repaired in Antigua??? The weather didn't match the forecast so I was in lots of wind 20 - 25 with squalls hitting over 30. Have I told how much fun it is reducing sail on your own with no auto helm:(. I made my approach about v9 hours later and was really beat. The guide book said it was sometimes windy here, what an understatement. It was a sustained 30+ knots in the very crowded anchorage. I dropped the hook in what I thought would be a good spot which turned bad very quickly and almost resulted in a collision, luckily a fellow sailor was able to get on board and lend a hand. Tom and I were able to recover the anchor and reset it in a better spot. I couldn't get off the boat with the wind so I had a very long night in the cockpit on anchor watch after a very long day. The next day i was able to get off and explore this charming little french town. The town is quite French but with the right attitude and some hand gestures communicating is no problem but I did want to get further along so I made a plan to leave on January 10th. Well I just don't do well without Joyce so before she had made her 1st connection I had purchased a ticket to join her on Dec 11th. The next week went by pretty slow but was made a lot better by my friends in Jolly who took care of me. Katrine kept me company on the beach and Petal, Stacy and George were always around for me at the west point so it wasnt all bad. Katrine and I rented a car for a day a saw a bit more of the island. I wanted to check out North Sound Marina which is a great place to have work done or store your boat. The owner had just purchased 20 hurricane boats from St Martin what a sad looking bunch of boats. Some had been flipped and submerged or wrecked it was quite an eye opener seeing what mother nature is capable of. We also decide to check out the zip line which were quite a blast zooming through Antigua's rain forest, can't wait for Joyce and I to try it we will do the advance one:). Over the next few day's I spent some more time getting the boat squared away and installed the rebuilt motor for the pilot and did a test run. I also moved from the Marina out to the area where you can anchor for free. It blew really hard for the 1st few days and the boat never moved, on the third day I was on the beach and thought to my self if I see a boat come around the point it will be Rose Lee. Thankfully I never saw her. When I returned to the marina I decided to take a run out and check on things as it was quite windy. Rose Lee had went walk about and had dragged her Anchor about 500 feet before it reset. She managed to drag between two very nice yachts in the million dollar range. I let out anoth 50 feet of change and set it in really hard with no sign of dragging. So with this done I headed back to the bar. The next day I chatted with Joyce regarding the Anchor dragging and we decided to upgrade to a heavier anchor and a different style. I chose A Mantus 65lb which will replace my 30kg Bruce. Here is a story I would rather not share but if someone reads it and it helps slow them down a bit well its worth it. One evening after drinking way to much liquid courage I was heading back out in my dinghy to Rose Lee. I had my dead man on which kills the motor if I leave the boat. I did have my navigation lights on in the dinghy but I was speeding along wide open at about 20 knots and looking for a channel marker . I rembemer hitting something and then being in the water about six feet from the dinghy. Everything happened so fast I didnt have any time to react, I lost my sandals and new hat but I managed to escape any serious harm, luckily. Definatley one of my stupidest moves in a long time. I do learn however and now am well behaved when I am on an anchor you just never know what could happen.Joyce wasnt impressed to say the least.Well its d day so I spent the morning getting the boat into the marina, dinghy and motor stowed etc... etc... etc.... and then I was on a plane and home to see my girl and i was a happy man. I had a surprise when I got off the plane in the middle of the night Joyce and my best friend Jim were there to greet me how sweet is that? Over the next three weeks I was able to catch up with my kids, grand kids and friends what a great visit. I always thought that paradise had palm trees but have jnow realized that paradise is made up of smiles from loved ones.
Well the crew flew out yesterday leaving Joyce and I to continue our adventure. For the next few days we contiued to nsort and clean up the boat interspersed by quality time in paradise. Cap came down from the signal locker and got my chart plotter functioning and also took my autopilot motor to have it rebuilt, nice. Joyce and I decided to rent a car and try the left hand side of the road, which was pretty cool. We spent the day exploring the island staring with Devil,s bridge followed by lunch at Boom in English Harbour. Devil,s Bridge is a naturally formed rock bridge along the coast where the wave come crashing in like thunder and explode up through the bridge. The bridge has a sad history as it is remembered as a place where slaves escaped and through themselves into the ocean rather than live as a slave. It was pretty interesting trying to find our way around with very few signs it reminded me of PEI Canada. Everyone was very helpful and we manged to find our way. After the bridge we headed over to English Harbour where we had reservations at "Boom" which was formerly the powered house for the British Navy located across the water just in case hence the name. What a nice place to hang out You go through the Admirals in at Nelsons dockyard and grab a water taxi over to Boom which is a 3 minute ride. The restaurant and bar over look Nelsons Dockyard and has a large infinity pool right beside it with loungers and all kinds of great hammocks. After lunch we hung around the pool and were served drinks as needed:) We felt very pampered and will allow more time on our next visit for this place. We drove back along the coast and stopped at Jackie O,s for a night cap while watching the sunset. A great ending to a great day. Time really started to speed up as we approached Joyce,s Dec 4th departure date but we took advantage of every minute really getting connected after the big trip. I really like that girl. With a heavy heart I went to see Joyce off at the airport on Dec 4th. Home is where my Joyce is and paradise was a lot less appealing as i watched her plane fly over the beach.
I decided to tell you about Antigua in three segments. (1) with the whole crew (2) Joyce and I. (3) Me flying solo. So without further delay here is a brief catch on the first bit of our visit in Antigua. I decided to leave Rose lee on the marina to ease the four of us getting on and off and to perform the various repairs I have planned. My morning typically started off very genially with a coffee in the cockpit followed by a beer or two just to clear the mind and focus the senses. After broffee this morning I surprised the crew by renting a golf cart for the duration of their stay. Some of us are a little less mobile in the morning however by the end of the day we all need a little assistance and the golf cart is the perfect answer. Jolly harbour is a small resort town with primarily private roads used mainly by golf cars 90:10 to cars, so quite safe to drive around or walk. There is virtually no crime here so it is very comfortable to be out even late in the evening. It didn’t take us too long to meet up with some friends from Bermuda”Rhapsody in Blue” a Hunter 45 sailed by Bill (the owner and skipper) and crew Micheal and Steve. And as mentioned earlier we meant up with Katrina our German friend from February so the the three groups met up randomly during the day, jolly is not that big. We had a great time on the 22nd racing all over jolly checking out the various bars and sight seeing with our buggy, we were able to get down on the beach with the buggy by cutting through a restaurant which seemed like a good idea being able to parallel park next to our favourite beach bar “Sandra’s” where we spent most of the day. They actually ran out of the ingredients for our drink of choice “Pain Killer’s” but the challenge was quickly resolved when I lent my buggy to Shaq one of the staff who used it to run up to the store, problem solved😁. After sundown on the beach we made our way back to the “West Point” and finished off our day with gourmet pizza at “El Porto’s”.
On Thursday I began focusing on boat jobs and tore down the auto pilot, only to find out that I had an issue with the motor unit. I also installed the new chart plotter only to find out that it was doing exactly the same thing😭. This really bummed me out since I had spent a bundle on buying it and getting it shipped, that’s boat life. I then decided to hire an electrician who arrived later that day. George at “Startek” is the go-to guy in Jolly harbour. George is a Newfie and his wife is from Waverly Nova Scotia, small world. George help me with part of the problem which was low voltage caused by a poor connection. After correcting the voltage issue the plotter down stairs worked fine and the one up stairs stopped flashing but still couldn’t get a fix. We proved it wasn’t the antenna and he referred me to Cap who owned the “signal locker” in English Harbour. I got in touch with Cap and we made arrangements to get together the following week. While working on my electrical issues the pressure water decided to stop working, here we go again. Okay enough work for today it’s time to party again and we were off to the beach. Amazingly each day seemed a little more fun as we got into the island groove. The crew was able to keep entertained in jolly whole I got some of the boat jobs complete. Joyce and I soon had Rose Lee converted from ocean voyager back into cruising mode with in dinghy the water, decks scrubbed, bicycles unpacked, fenders all inflated and in their new holders. It’s starting t feel like home now. It took a few more days to sort out the water issue but after Jim thinking it was the pump it turned out to be the pump, go figure, Jim is not just another pretty face👍. On Sunday we hired a car to get a tour around the island and later that evening we hit the Jump Up at Shirley Heights (A Major weekly party with reggae and an awesome bbq overlooking English Harbour). What a great day, the yachts in English Harbour are a sight to behold, and the party is not to be missed. We had a great drive back to Jolly with Chris and Larry who dropped us a the West Point where we finished our day in Grand style. On Monday Jim made up a drink at the west pint and it has been named in his honour the “Jim Dandy” 2oz vodka, 2oz grapefruit juice, 1oz cranberry and 1oz of club soda. A delightfully refreshing drink. We were a critical part of product testing the Jim Dandy so we required the golf cart to get to the beach. Wednesday was fly time for Jim and Grant (they were able to save $400 each by flying Wednesday vs Tuesday how crazy is that). The motley crew was now down to two. This was a good transmission for us now we were here and starting our life in the Caribbean after so many years of planning. Bring it on. Wow its great to be back in Antigua, i was here in February visiting Grant and i am surprised at how many people still remeber me by name😀. We are having a great time hitting the beatiful beach and our favorite bar "The West Point" located right on the dock in Jolly Harbour marina. All the people at the West Point are so good to us Thanks George, Stacy. Wally and Petal you guys are awesome and make us feel like family😍. Joyce is loving the beach and does a morning walk run there with a swim just because. I will do some work tomorrow maybe.
It’s 0000 hrs and Joyce and Grant are on watch with a beautiful star filled sky and a SE wind of 12-14 knots. What a great night. At 0600 its nice and clear and we can see Antigua 12 miles ahead. There was a little bit of boat traffic, cruise ships and pleasure boats but nothing to heavy. We arrived at the customs dock at around 1000 hrs. Clearing in was very user friendly as was the staff. I called ahead to the marina and decided to get a slip for few days while I did some repairs. By 1100 we were all secure and enjoying our 1st day in Jolly Harbour Antigua. Jolly Harbour is a nice little town with lots of villas to rent and a good selection of restaurants, bars and beaches. I decided to rent a golf cart to help us get around to the various hot spots and do a little touring. Wow what a crazy coincidence on our 1st trip that evening down to the beach bar I offered a girl a ride and it turned out this was Katrin a nice German girl Grant and I meant in February, crazy aye. Well let the good times begin, I am putting work on hold for at least a few days so we can all unwind. I have nominated the top crew member and even though it was a close competition Joyce got the award, I would go to sea any day with that girl. I am really glad she is already my wife😁.
|
Follow Rose Lee live with the link below
https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/RoseLee
|