Trinidad

We left Grenada at 1:30 am on a Thursday morning in the pitch dark and sailed the 80 nm to Trinidad. The family sailing on Saiorse left about half an hour after us and we tracked them throughout the trip.

We were worried about the oil fields that you encounter in the middle of the sea, but instead of the three we were expecting, we only saw one. If you look closely in the picture below you will see an oil platform in the distance.

Oil platform

We encountered a couple of fishing boats, none of which have AIS so it is difficult to see what they are. We had one come past us and then change course and head straight to Saiorse, who then radioed us in case there was a problem. Thank goodness it just went past them. Later we had another one that was on a collision course with us. He seemed to be playing chicken, as he turned at the last minute and went quite close behind us. 

As we arrived, two huge dolphins came to our boat and swam with us for a bit, which is always a nice welcome to a new place. We decided to spend the night in Scotland Bay, which is a lovely secluded bay around the corner from Chaguaramas. The bird life was amazing and the howler monkeys could be heard screeching from the tall trees. 

The following morning we trailed after Saiorse, heading for Chaguaramas, hoping to snag a very scarce mooring ball. Karen on Saiorse sent us a message to say there was one left. We open up the engines and high tailed it across the water.

Denver and Colbyn, Karen's son and son-in-law, helped us get our lines onto the ball. We radioed the office to tell them that we had arrived. Andrew had filled out a whole lot of forms before we left, but Yvanna at the PEAKES marina office had to fill in some more and do our health clearance before we could check in. 

Eventually, at about 2:30 Yvanna radioed us to say we could come and fetch the forms. We needed to get to customs before 4pm otherwise the nil payment would become R1000 overtime fee.

We had been told that we needed to be smartly dressed to visit customs and immigration. Mmmm, what is smart for a sailor who has been living in a bathing costume for the past year and a bit? We dug out our best shorts and shirts - Andrew wore a collared T-Shirt, good shorts and of course we all wore our slip slops, and off we went to check in. 

The check in process was quick and easy after the gazzilion forms had been filled in. At last, we were free to go ashore and explore.

Getting the motor down

There is a gas braai at PEAKES with a couple of picnic tables for cruisers to use. It is a great place to meet other people and to catch up with old friends.

We had a lovely Friday evening braai on the shore with some other cruisers. A couple we had met in Grenada, Bev and Dean, were on the hard and are heading back to SA the following week. Mark Rogers, who Andrew had met in SA, had just arrived back to Trinidad. His boat is also on the hard for the season. We met another couple, Phillipa from New Zealand and her hubby, Nathan, from Australia and Bruce from New Zealand. All these people are on the hard for hurricane season. Some are leaving and heading to wherever home is for a bit, others are staying here and living on their boats.

The boating community is amazing. Everybody tends to help out whenever necessary. Andrew hopped in the dinghy to help this chap with his mooring lines. He ended up having a drink with him and hearing about his solo sail around the world. Vladimir was born in Croatia but grew up in Germany. He just has to get to Guadeloupe to finish his circumnavigation.

Vladimir

Chaugaramas is a busy bay with big ships docking close by and speed boats racing past. Music from the party boats can be heard at all hours of the night as they return from their evening charter.

We spent the first two weeks sorting out some things on the boat and dodging the rain. We had been told that it rains a lot here, but wow! We didn't expect it to be quite so much.

Rain again

We had been struggling with a gas leak from our stove for a while. Andrew had taken the stove apart a few times and replaced the hose but we still could smell gas when it was on. The biggest problem was that we had filled the gas tank before we left Grenada and it was empty within a few days. So we knew we had a big problem. Andrew took the top off the stove and we found that the pipe going to the grill in the oven was leaking. He was unable to find the required part so he just clamped it closed. No more gas leak!!

Top of the stove

We wanted to celebrate Laura's birthday by having lunch at a nearby restaurant but it was a public holiday and the place was closed. So we went the following day. 

Happy Birthday!

After staying on the mooring ball for a couple of weeks we decided to move to the dock. This made a few boat jobs a whole lot easier. I was dreading taking the main sail and Genoa off the boat but is wasn't a problem on the dock. Apart from having to take all the canvas off the boat, we also had to remove the sails which, after 8000nm, (14, 800km) were in need of repairs. We managed to take them off and fold them up before the rain came.

It was very, very hot, above 30 degrees C at 8am with the humidity in the 90s.

HOT!

We set about doing as many boat jobs as we could before hauling out.

Clean dinghy

View of the dock

Removing the main sail

No sails

Main sail

Epoxy work on the anchor locker lid

Top of dinghy motor sanded

Finally the day arrived to get hauled out. It is always nerve wracking to see ones home hanging in the air. 

The boat yard

How on earth did we move?

Power wash and scrape

Calypso was then balanced on a block of wood and held up with struts. Once she was out the water we decided that it would be best for Laura not to climb up and down the ladder. We rented a room at the marina where she and I slept. Andrew had to sleep on the boat as the room was only made for 2 people. Laura enjoyed the air conditioned room and free access to a television.

Patio outside the marina "hotel"

Calypso on the hard

Andrew's sunrise view

More rain

Squashed in like sardines

Serviced the through hulls

This is the top of the ladder with my shoes at the bottom. I don't like heights so at first I was very cautious and nervous, but I did manage to get better as the week wore on. I had to do it as there was still so much to do on board.

Vertigo?

Hull sanding

Braai time

The gas at the communal braai ran out and they only do a refill once a week, so we had to braai on the boat and then take the food to the room to eat with Laura.

There are no supermarkets close to PEAKES, so we had to take the PEAKES bus to the shop. The driver was only allowed to transport 7 people and only one person per boat to allow space for other cruisers, so Andrew generally took one for the team and went shopping. We found some vegetables and a variety of meat, but wine was prohibitively expensive over R300 for a bottle of plonk. Andrew stuck to beer and I had to resort to those disgustingly sweet cider type drinks.

Cruisers get together for all sorts of social events and gatherings. Braai's or Barbecues are a firm favourite where you meet people while sharing a salad or two and burning your meat on the grill. Games are also often a weekly occurance.

I finally plucked up the courage to join the Sunday Mexican train gang. It is a really fun game and I managed not to be the one to "have the most fun" with the highest score. Middle of the pack for me. I will definitely be playing again.

Mexican train

Once the canvas had been removed and sent off to Kay's Canvas to be fixed we put a tarp over the boom for some protection from the sun and rain.

We inherited a plant, Basil, which we had to give to Mark to look after when we went home.

Basil

After a week on the hard it was time to pack our winter clothes and head for the airport. We arrived in Cape Town after two long flights via Amsterdam and Johannesburg, the day before Matt's birthday. We were very excited to see Matt, Kay and the rest of the family.