Skunks Ron Performs

Hung out at the bar at Emerald beach so we could catch some tunes from Skunky Ron. Great 50,s 60,s 70,s 80,s etc.

There are tons of stories how skunky got his name. Some say it's got to do with smell, his that is, following a particularity potent dinner that didn't quite agree; others claim it's a style of music, still others that it's just bad b.o.  Truth is it was following a particularly stress time following a divorce and death and overnight a white stripe appeared in in his hair.  The hairs all white now , but the name stuck. 

By the way skunky got married on the beach today to a great gal that confirmed it had nothing to do with odors.

Dinner crawled right into the pot

Lobster for dinner tonight.  Yum

Only in the islands

On the safari the other day.  , which is really a glorified pick up truck with 4 rows of seats in the truck  bed and a roof for cover and were on our way to town from our anchorage, for just $1.00. The bus is full and were movin along when we pass the local cemetery. No Ones looking to get off, but we pull over anyway. Driver jumps out and runs into the cemetery, down the rows a way and stops.  With his back to us he stands for a few minutes and it's obvious to all aboard the bus that when 

ya gotta go ya gotta go.  Don't know who's flowers he was watering, but hope they appreciate the gesture.  Back in the bus and on our way like it's just another pit stop. 

I'm a slow poke this year

I know, I know, no blogs since I arrived.  Busy, busy busy, but I promise I will update our horrible, nasty, expensive, yucky and tiring start to the 2016 cruising season ASAP.   Keep watching

Happy Endings???

We've arrived alive in the BVIs, ...... Sort of.

Our journey south this year started out so well, we actually managed to get all 7 pieces of luggage crammed into Wendy's car on top of her and Elmers luggage for their 5 weeks in Florida.
The trip down was great except for a few traffic jams. We stopped at that fabulous hotel in Elkins Pittsburgh, that had the wonder Christmas displays and arrived in Florida on the third day. 

Hotel in Elkins

Once there, I got in 2 shopping trips to Bealls (my favorite Florida store) then we had a really fun New Year's Eve at the clubhouse with Mom, Marion and George, Wendy and Elmer.

New Years

Thanks for the ride to the Airport, Wendy and Elmer, we arrived with plenty of time for a cold one  and a magazine. 

So far so good, right!

Once we headed for the taxiway, a shudder made Gord and I look at each other with "deer in headlights eyes" then almost immediately the pilot informed us the brakes were seized and that we were returning to the ramp. After 2 hrs waiting for a gate to open up, by 8 pm we streamed back into the terminal. They promised us hotel and food vouchers and rebooking  on a flight tomorrow. 

I have never seen such chaos and incompetence as this fiasco by American Airlines.

After 4+ hours standing In line, they claimed there were no more hotels available anywhere in Miami, but they would give us dinner vouchers and breakfast vouchers and get us out tomorrow on  a special flight.  I should mention that our flight was only about 1/4 full and it was a 4+ hour wait for not much of anything, with slow, snarky personnel, little information and no questions answered. It turns out that there were lots of hotels available and we ended up booking our own at our own expense, with a $40.00 cab ride each way on top of it. So much for customer service and I'm even an Advantage member.  The worst service ever, I really wonder how they could ever handle a full plane load?



Miami Airport at 1 am

Back to the airport in the morning for the rescheduled flight at 10 am for which we were told to use our original boarding pass.  I should stop here and tell you that it appears as if everyone in Miami has decided they should travel today. It's nothing short of a zoo, with huge long, slow lines everywhere. But we can breeze right through as our luggage is still onboard yesterday's flight and we have our boarding passes. Wrong, true to American Airlines incompetence, we can't get thru security with a boarding pass with yesterday's date.  After being shuffled from line to line, we finally grabbed a supervisor and begged and threatened till he finally checked and passed us through.  

Here we go again, a plane 1/4 full, waiting for clearance. I did mention that all of Miami is flying today, didn't I? So, it's hurry up and wait. 

The flight crew was just the opposite of customer service and were bending over backwards to make it up to us. Drinks and big cups of nuts while we wait. 

Crunch, crunch, snap and the tooth I had just spent $400.00 repairing, gave up a large chunk. I'm really not sure where it went, same place as the nuts, I suspect.  Gord thinks I should be on the watch for it cause he says he can Crazy glue it back in, but that's never going to happen.

No mechanical issues on this flight and we land and head for the ferry.  Our bags get checked, loaded onto  the ferry and we grabbed a spot on the bench for more waiting.

I'll stop here and let you know that this travel thing must be contagious as everyone in St. Thomas seems to be wanting to travel today and they're all at the ferry terminal and it's packed.  There are 4- to 5 ferries all going about the same time as ours at 4 pm  and the staff there seem to think that we're all born with the knowledge of which ferry is ours and from what spot on the dock it will depart. That would be pretty clairvoyant of us considering they never do it the same way twice.  

You guessed it! Our luggage went to Virgin Gorda and we did not!  

The ferries don't say and the clerks do not announce boarding, so it's a guess and our ferry decided, because it was so crowed with people getting on the fast ferry to Road Town, Tortola at the loading platform,  that they would just bypass it and leave from way down past the chained off restricted area.  Without us!

Now what?

Phone the hotel, as they'll  close after the ferry departs. Call the car rental, let them know we'll be late and beg them to get our luggage from customs and lock it into our waiting rental car. (you can do that here,) they pass you through customs, then you go get your luggage from the parking lot where they pile it in big heaps once it comes off the ferry.  But, what if there is no one coming through customs to claim it? Will it stay stacked in the middle of the parking lot in the rain? If so, for how long? That task accomplished.



Gord at the Ferry Dock beside the No entry chain where our ferry left us. He's trying to convince the car rental on Virgin Gorda to pick up our luggage from customs for us.

Now the thought turns to how we will get there!

The next ferry is to Road Town and leaves at 5pm and if we get very very lucky there is one last ferry from Road Town to Virgin Gorda at 6:45 pm that we Might be able to connect with.

The ferry driver tried very hard to get us, and the 3 others that also missed the ferry,  there on time, we were plowing up a wake up the side of the boat that was going over the bow as we sped along in the pitch dark. We made it! it's only 6:25 as we turn into the harbour.

On no, we jumped for joy too soon, remember that late, jam packed fast ferry to Road Town, that took our boarding space? Well at least half of that crowd is still lined up waiting for immigration and customs all the way out the building. We'll never make it now. Plus our ferry can not open the doors until all the luggage piled In heaps all over the boat is unloaded.   We wait, the clock is ticking and the line is not moving. 

Finally at 6:40 they released us off the boat, but the line is still out the building.  Gord immediately grabs a supervisor that is almost twice  his size and pleads for a way to get us on that 6:45 ferry that is still on the other dock in time. What a nice guy!  He  directs the customs agent to escort us and our other three  new buddies to the front of the line and low and  behold there is Gord's buddy, from immigration at Sopers Hole also named Gordon.  He stamps our passports, issues us a 30 day visa and sends us onto customs. She is right ready and just takes our declaration card and say's run!!

We round the building at a full run dragging our carry ons and there is our ferry pulling away from the dock. Now my small voice would never have made it but Gord yelled, hollered, jumped up and down, waved his arms and got their attention. Plus a few more minutes for our new buddies, Richard Miller and friends.   We truly had made it against all the odds. 

30 minutes later we stepped ashore on Virgin Gorda, the customs area was closed and deserted and there was no luggage hanging around the parking lot. Oh No,   But, there was Arrabella with our Rental car and keys and our luggage loaded.  By 9:30 we  had eaten at the Bath 'n Turtle Restaurant and were having a drink on the deck overlooking the ocean. The end of the journey, or maybe just the beginning?   Either way, we arrived and all our luggage also arrived.

I just love happy endings!



1st happy our in the Caribbean with Mike and Betts

Preparing for a season afloat

I've been trying to cut down on the amount of paper going back and forth and the number of sailing magazines stored on the boat,  they just don't survive well in a damp moist climate.  this year I got busy on the scanner and scanned hundreds of articles to a memory stick, that way I have them in the appropriate folders and voila! No paper.If you've sailed the Caribbean, you'll understand that finding the things you want down there is a challenge, so if you want to be sure, then you'd better bring it with you.
Hence the reason we travel with 3 duffles full of boat and life essentials, 2 carry ons with all the various necessary electronics such as iPads, computers, cell boosters, mp3 players, movie camera, compact camera, underwater camera, and go pro,  media player & hard drives full of movies, portable  aircraft radios and memory sticks which contain our lives and finally 2 totes with immediate essentials like sunscreen and deodorant.

If you've sailed the Caribbean, you'll understand that finding the things you want down there is a challenge, so if you want to be sure, then you'd better bring it with you.
Hence the reason we travel with 3 duffles full of boat and life essentials, 2 carry ons with all the various necessary electronics such as iPads, computers, cell boosters, mp3 players, movie camera, compact camera, underwater camera, and go pro,  media player & hard drives full of movies, portable  aircraft radios and memory sticks which contain our lives and finally 2 totes with immediate essentials like sunscreen and deodorant.

And the packing begins  months ahead of departure ( curiously about the time we returned from the boat show loaded with motivating goodies,  odd isn't it?)

Our tried and true method is to pile it all on the bed in the spare room and my challenge is to make it fit in the bags and not be over the weight allowed by the airlines.

Boat show fever

The boat show in Annapolis is the best, with free parties and rum punches  interspersed with boat shopping, shopping for your boat and more shopping.
It always amazes me all the great stuff that must have been invented since last years show and I really don,t understand how we managed to live without it to this point.
Mind you, none

of it is a bargain, but it's definitely on the must have list.
This year the priority was a new windlass for the one that took a holiday down in St Kitts last season.
We're in a bit of a conundrum as the windlass that is recommended as the right size for our boat , will  not take the chain ( 300 ft of stainless steel) that we already have on board. The specs when we bought the boat said it was 3/8 stainless, but taking a sample to the show, indicates we were misled and it's only 5/16th and any new windlass of the right size and power needs 3/8th.
So do we buy an undersized windlass and keep the stainless chain or buy the proper windlass and have to replace the chain as well?  Agony !

A new season begins

The new sailing season always seems to start for us with the Whitby Rendezvous and the Annapolis boat show in October. Why should this year be different? As we head south and see the sailboats sitting at anchor, we get totally antse.  The rendezvous is always  fabulous, such a great sharing of information without benefit of pinterest. They are a happy, fun group and always ready to help each other, a trait that boaters seem to have in common.

view from the west river sailing club

The Boat at first glance

Once our airline and ferry fiasco was behind us and we had arrived in the BVI's we just had to get a peek at the boat, even if it was pitch dark.  After 8 months away, the concern is always, "is it still where we left it "( not that we think someone could put a 20 ton boat in their pocket and walk off with it) it's just that its a big worry sitting in a hurricane zone. Is the mast still standing, is the anchor there, has the dinghy deflated or blown away or stolen or has anything run into us and punched a hole.

So, we took a walk , even in the dark, and there she was waiting for us, mast still up, dinghy lashed down  and anchor on the roller.  RELIEF !

Now we can get some sleep.

In the morning she still looked neatly put away and all intact.

She looks dry and well battened down

Dominica

The anchor is a bit of a pain, but doable and we get it up ourselves.. Destination Dominica and we are on our own.

Awesome sail, best yet. We had the usual mizzen and jib up at about 75-90 degrees off the wind and we flew over the waves at 8.5 knots.  We head for Roseau harbour, the furthest southern harbour. 

However, Not quite what we expected, the beach is rocky and way too deep for anchoring, as we we're cruising in we're watching the depth sounder and while we feel we are right off the shore, the depth sounder is saying we are in 400 ft of water and the buildings we excitedly read about in our cruising guide are way beyond run down.
What have we gotten into?


   

View from our anchorage

Roseau

This does not look like a third world country, it looks like 4th world!

corner store

We call on the VHF radio and Pancho, a  boat boy comes right out to guide us right to a ball, where he handed us up the tether. ($10 per night). The service was definitely 1st world.  Within  4 hours we were sipping cocktails on the deck and not a worry at all about the anchor.



Next morning, as our boat rocks gently on its mooring, we hang out some laundry, but we're just not sure how it can possibly dry, our bay sits right beneath the peaks of the rain forest and the misty rain just does not seem to end, even when the sun comes out. It's like a never ending clear fog interspersed by rainbows.


Check in at customs is next, but finding a dinghy dock that is not too dilapidated is a challenge. The town is a busy place with shops crowded along the narrow streets and not much in the way of directions. 


  Building centre             

building centre ad




Maybe I should consider a change of Venue

We run into other cruisers doing the same check in. Pam , John and their son Denzel, are on a 54 Amel anchored closed by. So we all head out together to find the customs office for check in. It is behind an unmarked red door next to the fishing boats in the waterfront. Right across from the building that has a sign saying "No loitering or Urinating".

 

court

 

 

 Apparently Dominica is the youngest island in the volcanic chain and although they have the highest concentration of live volcanos in the Caribbean,  they have never had a major eruption. Good to know as we'd like to hang out here and explore.

We wander  the fresh market, walk the side streets and even find  a bank to change our American dollars to EC's (Eastern Caribbean dollars).  The order of business is to find a lunch spot with a real washroom. Someone has to P**.
The Fort Young Hotel seems clean, modern and has free wifi...... truly a cruisers dream, so lunch by the waterfall overlooking the bay is our choice, and it was  perfect.
Now to arrange a car or tour so we can head the into the hills tomorrow.
As we head back toward our anchorage via the Botanical gardens 


   Botanical Gardens     

free bananas

we see the actual destruction caused by hurricane David when a gigantic tree landed on a parked school bus,

crushed school bus

and some pretty impressive trees and bamboo gazebos. 

Bamboo gazebo

Pushing on we decide to check out the Marine centre that is written up so glowingly in the cruising guide. Budget Marine and the Yanmar engine dealer are definitely not as expected, 

Budget Marine

but Hubert in the Yanmar dealership is absolutely the most friendly, helpful person we have encountered as we island hopped. He's full of local info, arranges a car for us and sends over a guy to assess our water maker issues. We are impressed!

A happy hour aboard  "Kaimen" hearing about John, Pam and Denzel's adventures rounded out that day.

The water maker fix is a no-go, he's as baffled as we are, but what the heck, we have 200 gallons of water, so the hair will not be suffering too much.

We're off in our rental car. Up to Trafalgar Falls. We wind through the hills, have lunch at Papillon  and just cannot believe the road they want us to take up to Trafalgar Falls. It is more than narrow, but they say it's 2 way, no problem, just back up if you meet a bus coming down. It's about a 45 degree angle straight up and winds in S turns. We're here for adventure, so here we go. 

Highway

Trafalgar Falls is magnificent, falling straight down from the mountains and tumbling into clear fresh pools.

rainforest splendor

I feel like I am in the midst of a meditation that takes you to a serene, tranquil, untouched paradise.  We splash around, with the falls behind us then head for the natural hot spas to relax amongst the ferns, tropical forests and jagged rocks.

Hot springs

It is like a giant hot tub, made of rocks, circular, and about 102 degrees, just like the tub back home, but incredibly beautiful and quiet, other than the native birds chirping. We soothe away the problems and give thanks for being blessed to see this.

 






 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Gord at Trafalgar falls

Then we are off to Ti Tou Gorge where they filmed segments of the Pirates of the Caribbean.  The gorge was deep, cold and kind of dark and eerie. As Sue swam into the gorge, she disappeared between the rocky outcrops 20-30 feet below, where the sound of the water falling off the mountain into the gorge got louder and louder as she went deeper and darker into the gorge.  OK enough, and she popped back out so we could be on our way.

The trip along the coast road to Portsmouth on the north end of the island was picturesque and very scary.
 

Hillside crops

We ventured off the main road into the town of St. Joseph to explore.  Holy crap! this is not a road, but a winding, single lane descent into who knows what,  and worse, how do we get out of here? On a tight S turn on a more than 45 degrees down slope we meet a huge truck head on. Gord's driving was awesome, as we backed up the S turn and wiggled our way to a wider spot to let the truck pass. As we continued on our way down, the locals are looking at us like we are crazy tourists.
Aren't they totally correct?

Black sand beach in St Joseph

Finally to the bottom we are in front of the largest most magnificent Catholic church we have encountered so far, bordered by fully laden ripe Mango trees.
Paradise with no way out!

However, the locals are wise and friendly so directions to the crazy tourists come from everyone within walking distance. With their help, getting out was easier than getting in and we are on our way.

Our next venture off the main road is a small beach bar called Romance Cafe at Mero Bay, 

    

Romance Café - Mero Beach



Romance Café

Romance Café

where some local artist had painted each and every cafe table with different  original artwork.  In order to get out of this town, we backtracked the wrong way on a one way road, hoping that we would meet no one on the way in.


As we entered Portsmouth, we found an ultra modern IGA store, you would not have known that you were anywhere but your neighbourhood grocery store it was so modern and well stocked.
 


shopping!

  

Totally modern IGA

We loaded up on supplies and then continued into Portsmouth, which again was reminiscent of 4th world.
 

Local laundromat

We checked out the PAYS pavilion (the association of boat Boys), and arranged for Charlie Love

Charlie

to save us a mooring ball and meet us on our arrival tomorrow. We grabbed lunch at the Purple Turtle, then headed for Fort Shirley, overlooking the Bay.



Ruins of Commandants House
Our jaunt then took us across the top of the island toward the Atlantic coast. we had no GPS so punched up the Garmin Blue Charts on the i-pad and followed the little sailing ship as she cruised inland over the mountains. 

navigating the island

At least we were able to determine we were heading in the right direction. 

           

Ride through the rainforest

Up into the rainforest 
we travelled through the misty heights when we happen upon an older local with about 50 lbs of coconuts in a sack on his head and a Very Large Machette dangling at his side. It was a definite photo op and he was so accommodating that we offered him a ride to his destination. Raymond blessed us and hopped in. He had little to say but we did find out he makes this 5-7 mile trek up and over the mountains every day, cuts coconuts and then treks back, with a "hurting leg". And we think we work hard???

The Atlantic side of the island is rugged and spectacular and we visit 2 bays where they also filmed Pirates of the Caribbean  and passed the airport; in the middle of nowhere. We figured it was getting late, we did not want to be in the mountains in the dark, so decided to take the highway through the centre of the island and back to Roseau. Now, in Dominica the highway still means its narrow, with a vertical 2 ft drop on either side, for funneling torrential rains, (do not let your wheels stray) no shoulders  and windy hairpin turns that double back a full 180 degrees while on a 45 degree down or upslope.  They only reason they call it the highway is because there is a nice neat line painted down the middle. The turns are so treacherous and the drop on each side is so severe that the cars come equipped with a special little side mirror to keep you from dropping that wheel off the road.  Piece of cake! ?

Its a good thing that Steve and Imelda waved us down for a ride in torrential rain. But, they had no idea how brave they were being, getting into a car with a couple of tourists, driving on the opposite side of the road, on narrow mountainous roads for the first time. They saved our butt from a wrong turn on a round-about and rode all the way into Roseau with us, and they too make this long trip into the mountains each day and back, often riding in the back of pickup trucks in downpours.
 
After a quick drink at the Anchorage hotel we parked the car in the dark with a huge sigh of relief, to be back unscathed and unscratched.


A misty morning arrives and we are off the mooring ball in Roseau, heading up the coast and into Portsmouth where over 30 knots of wind are blowing, but true to his word, there is Charlie waiting at the ball, tether in hand, ready to assist. 

Charlie Love

 

 





Dinghy Dock in Portsmouth

Portsmouth beach

Much to our surprise, there is "Turning Points" at anchor ahead of us.

The Indian River tour is not to be missed and Charlie is our guide also. 


   

Indian river

It's an experience like out of a movie, no motors allowed, rowing only and we even passed Calypso's house from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. 

Calypsos Home

Buried deep up the river is a forest tavern, the end of our upriver journey.

Incredible trees on Indian River

Once back in town the Saturday fresh market stalls are everywhere 



Markets

Checking out the melons

and the tomatoes and veggies are truly fresh and the lobster ($10) we took home for dinner was fresh out of the fishing boat at the dock.


            

Catch of the day

     

fishermen

        

Dinner

Exploring the town looking for souvenirs for the grandkids proved fruitless, the bare necessities only are available, certainly no touristy trinkets.
The PAYS BBQ, held on the beach by the boat boys for all the cruisers in the harbour was a blast.


BBQ and rum punch included, lots of great music and dancing and many, many other cruisers to meet from all over the world. It was the best way to finish off our last day in Dominica.