St Martin- Week Three Brings New Challenges

Here we are in Marigot, St. Martin for another week. Dr, Diesel has the fuel injectors and V-drive off the engine and in his shop for rebuild. The new engine mounts are installed. The engine should go back together this week, and then we find out whether the injectors were the problem causing diesel fuel to get into the oil sump.

We had a picnic at the Gazebo in the market in Marigot last Sunday.

It was originally planned to be for boats with kids, but became a general invite, potluck event. JW and Ginny from Over Budget, Archie and Colin from Janey joined us, and brought friends from Mary Jane, and another boat (Dasy and Jan, the hairy, talented musicians in the background). We also met the crew of Day Dreamer, a family from Alaska, who have been cruising for three years. Their daughters are 14, 10, and 8. They were very nice and we hope to get the kids together again soon.


The big news this week is that our oldest dog, Ruby, hasn't been doing well at home. Her blood sugar levels keep dropping, and she seizes. She probably has cancer in the pancreas. Tricia flew home on Thursday to be there for the surgery today, and to stay with her for the first few weeks post-op to handle the bulk of the care. I'm glad we were at a point where it was fairly straightforward for Tricia to be with Ruby while she needs her. Flights were easy, and the boat is in a secure harbor where I sleep pretty well at night. (I don't worry about dragging, at least.)
Other than that, I am getting a few other projects done on the boat, and Cary and Ginny are working through the schoolwork in pretty good spirits. Tricia says it is very cold in Maryland, and she misses the Caribbean already.

Nocturnal Excitement

Why is it that so many exciting things happen after dark? Take the other night for instance. For some unknown reason, I woke up and noticed the beam of a flashlight from the rear of the cabin. At first, I thought Cary or Tricia were looking for something. I then realized it was coming from the cockpit. There was an intruder on the boat! I don't actually recall how I got from my bunk to the companionway, or what I may have said. I DO recall thinking that I left my $1,000 portable generator in the cockpit after charging batteries last night, and I didn't want them to get it. So, without much thought being given, I followed the intruder over the rail as he jumped into his dinghy. He had two other guys with him. After a little confusion, they roared away, and I tread water. By this time, Ginny and Tricia were in the cockpit. Tricia got the air horn and set off a few loud blasts. Ginny then dropped the stern ladder so I could get back aboard. We checked what had been stolen. So far, I can't seem to find anything they took. They didn't get the Honda generator, which is a good thing.

From Tricia: As I made it to the cockpit, all I could see was pitch black (no moon), and three guys in a dinghy leaving our boat. One guy was standing up with what I think was a boat hook in his hand, menacingly. I couldn't see Mat anywhere. I screamed his name, and after what seemed like an eternity, spotted him treading water, in the cesspool that is Simpson Bay Lagoon. As I had time to process what had happened, my heart rate went back to normal. but all I could think about was what if, and why the hell did Mat go after them. Thankfully, they weren't armed, but what if they had been? Protection of property is not worth what could have happened. I guess as Mat always says...better lucky than good. He has been properly chastised.

On the morning "net" on channel 10, we reported our event. Another boat, "Magic" says a dinghy approached his boat earlier in the night, but started the engine and raced away when he shined a light on them. (Later, the owner of "Sunshine" a few lengths astern of us says he was also boarded last night, but they couldn't unlock his dink and left empty handed.) Needless to say, the radio was alive with ideas from all sides on what to do to the culprits and how cruisers should defend themselves. Wasp spray, bear spray, and flare guns were mentioned. I personally like the idea of "snapdragons" or some type of tripwire alarm. Cary has a personal device that we will likely rig to go off if someone gets in our cockpit again. We can't count on me waking up next time.

I did make a report with the police and the port captain. Btw, the Polizei Municipale are the traffic cops, not the real cops. They directed me to the Gendarmerie, which was a 2 mile hike up into the hills. They took a statement, but since we didn't lose anything, and couldn't give more than a passing description of the assailants, no real action was expected. The Gendarmerie Nautique boat did stop by a day later to follow up. And rumors in town are the three robbers were caught. Seems they also broke into a house that had a surveillance camera.

Hopefully, with some better preparation and deterrents, and some perspective that only time will provide, this will be just one of the stories we tell of our adventures cruising, and will not change us adversely. I do not want to stop my general trust in mankind.

Marigot-Week 2

After our first week in Simpson Lagoon, we decided to move in to a mooring in Marina Royal. First goal was to avoid the painfully long and wet dinghy ride back and forth from school and the boulangerie. Second was to hopefully get close enough to get WiFi on the boat. We picked up a informal "chart" of the lagoon at Shrimpy's Laundry. It showed a tentative channel with depth of 2.2 M. We draw 7 feet, or about 2.2 M. The Cruising Guide mentions that the lagoon has about 1 ft of "navigable mud". As an experienced Chesapeake sailor, I am used to navigating through mud.

The first attempt didn't quick pan out. We were hard aground with 6.5 feet on the depth sounder. Of course, I would only try this on a rising tide. Despite there only being a 1 ft tide range, we soon were off and moving again. Tricia insisted the chart was saying we needed to be well left of the marked channel. After much arguing, I did what she said and we cruised right through.

The moorings use a ball fore and aft, with 4 boats abreast. As the wind is fairly steady from the east, this works out fine. The spot is nice and calm, and no worries of dragging. Even better, we picked up a strong WiFi signal from the marina next door, and are even able to stream movies.

We are close to the town, have access to bathrooms and showers, and the price is only about $190 for the month!

Cary, Ginny and I have finally started running again. We have run through town, and Ginny and I up to Fort Louis. On the logistics of cruising side, Tricia and I have made dinghy trips to the Dutch side of the lagoon to visit the big Budget Marine and the Le Grande Marche market. And of course, we have croissants and baguettes every day. The season has still been somewhat rainy, but we are getting used to it. You get wet, then the sun comes out and you dry off.

Marigot, St. Martin- Tres Bien!

From Simpson Bay Lagoon, it is an exciting, wet dinghy ride into the stiff easterly trade winds to get to Marigot. My first experience, heading in to check in with customs and immigration, left me pretty soaked. Luckily, I got there before they closed for the weekend, and got all our documentation straight. I then collected the rest of the crew and we went for a walkabout the town, primarily looking for WiFi. After touring the market at Marigot, and striking out everywhere, we ended up at the Ft Louis Marina Yacht Club (actually a restaurant). They had WiFi, so we sat down for a drink. While we were there, our waiter's wife and young family came to visit him. Imagine my surprise when I looked over and saw Mom hand the 3 year old the car keys while she fixed the 5 year olds' toy. The 3 year old promptly walked to the rail and threw the key into the harbor. When I told the Mom what happened, I got my first French "Oooh, la la!"

Ultimately, we ended up at a restaurant at Marina Port Royal called "Le Main De La Pate". The paella was excellent, as was the pizza. And the staff were very welcoming, inviting the girls to use a table and their WiFi anytime they wanted to complete their schoolwork.

Tricia and I spent the first few days visiting the different marinas and services in Marigot. Our Westerbeke diesel needs lots of help. It is "making oil", i.e. the oil level goes up. It shouldn't do that. I believe diesel fuel is getting into the oil sump, which dilutes the oil, reduces the viscosity and can ultimately destroy the engine. So I needed to find a diesel guy. And we always need to find the market, the laundry, and a cell phone provider. Tim from Tevai told us about a St Martin institution called "Shrimpy". We found his place over by the French side drawbridge. It is a laundromat/ marine consignment shop. Mike is the owner. Shrimpy is actually one of the dogs. Mike runs the cruisers net on VHF 10 every M-Sat at 0730, used to run a popular bar on the Dutch side, and knows just about everyone and everything you need to know. He put us in contact with Bob, aka Dr. Diesel. We also dropped off a load of laundry, which came back clean and fresh for a good price.

Our day's consist of trips into town for provisions (and chocolate croissants and cafe allonge). Cary and Ginny do homework at the Main. It has been a rainy season, with rain sometime between 05-0600 every morning, and 3-4 other times during the day. The good news is, the sun comes back out, and the steady breeze dries everything quickly.

During the first week, we also visited Pat and Francis at their condo at Divi Little Bay.

Bitter End to St Martin

From Nanny Cay, we sailed to North Sound, Virgin Gorda to retrieve some boat parts that a fellow cruiser (Bob on Minoxi - thanks!) had brought down for us from the States. We were still looking at the weather and hoping for a window to make the jump from the BVI to St Martin. Winds for the last week had been 20-25 kts from the east pretty steady. Chris Parker was saying we might see 12-24 hours of 15-20 kts on Friday into Saturday, but then more of the same for the following week and beyond. We beat our way up Sir Francis Drake Channel to Virgin Gorda. The going was slow, with a double reefed main and staysail, but the boat was comfortable in the gusts and waves. This helped build our confidence for the trip to Saint Martin. We arrived late in the afternoon and anchored off the beach at Prickly Pear. In the morning, we picked up a mooring at BEYC. Ginny and Cary headed to the Pub for WiFi and school, and Tricia and I headed to the market for perishables.

After taking care of some last minute preps, we got underway from the Bitter End Yacht Club mid-afternoon. Although we never seemed to be heading towards our goal, the distance remaining slowly diminished through the night. Cary stood a 4 hour watch with Tricia, and Ginny stood watch with me. They both did very well steering at night fairly strong winds and not too small seas. Yes, we were hand steering again, as Maria, our Auto Pilot was on vacation again.

The wind dropped off in the morning just as the weatherman said (surprise), and we soon had a full genoa to go with the double reefed main. Despite our best efforts, we didn't make it to the waypoint off the Dutch side entrance to Simpson Lagoon until after dark. Not wanting to anchor in an unfamiliar harbor after dark, we rolled up the jib and sailed back and forth for the rest of the night with just the mainsail. Sometime during the night while Tricia and Cary were on watch, Tricia spotted an unlit power boat zooming toward us. Before she could yell for all hands, or raise the idiot on the radio, the center cockpit 25' boat with lunatics on board spun around the stern of Music shining a wicked bright spot light in Tricia's eyes. What night vision? Just as soon as they went from one side of the boat to the other, they were gone again. They were spotted tying up to a mega yacht further out in the harbor. Harbor Police? Harbor Master? Drug Dealer? We'll never know!

In the morning, we lined up behind 6-7 super yachts and waited for the bridge to open. I was shocked to find that they paid $1,000 for a private opening at 0830. I waited for the free trip at 0930, thank you. As we entered Simpson Lagoon, we were surprised to find a new bridge barring our path to the French side. Seems the causeway had been added last year. After some mild confusion, we followed some friends on Tevai through the swing bridge. We had a little excitement as we passed through. Our dinghy, trailing astern, was caught by a gust of wind and flipped. It was doing a remarkable submarine impression as I tried to steer through the bridge. Surmising that there was nothing beneficial I could do at the time, I dragged it half-submerged through the bridge before slowing and righting it. As we righted the dinghy, we watched in horror as a monohull, about our size, made a last minute pass from the French to the Dutch side as the swing bridge was closing. The Captain made it that time, and earned a round of applause from onlookers. Glad it wasn't us.

Simpson Lagoon is large and shallow. We anchored in about 11 feet of water just west of a little point called Witch's Tit and in from of an island with a sizable ship washed up on the shore. The wind was whipping in the harbor, but the anchor seemed to hold well. Overall, it took us about 36 hours to travel 80 miles. But we did it safely and without major incident.

The Return of the Chartplotter

According to DHL, our Raymarine Chartplotter arrived in Tortola before Christmas, after a brief, unexplained detour to South Korea. On Dec 30th, we left JVD and headed to Nanny Cay marina on Tortola to pick it up. We stopped for lunch in Francis Bay and called the marina to confirm it was there. Unfortunately, it wasn't. Evidently, the driver got hung up clearing another package through customs and didn't make it the 8 miles to deliver my plotter in 3 days. With no reason to go to the marina, we sat in Francis Bay for the night.

About 11 am on the 31st, Brenda at the Marina called to say the driver was there with my package and wanted $23 for customs. I talked Brenda into paying him and promised to be there before she had to close out her cash drawer at the end of the day. This ended up being a real challenge. It was dead upwind, and with our unreliable engine, we tacked for hours, getting there at the last minute. However, we collected the box, thanked Brenda profusely, and installed it. It was nice to have charts, radar and AIS functioning again!

While at Nanny Cay, we caught up with Mary on Windward, and had a great chat with Teresa and Tony on Southern Cross. They were one of the Catalina's that lost steering on the way south. They had only just arrived in Tortola, almost a month after the rest of the rally. It seems they got towed into Bermuda (cost $8k) after sailing in circles for 24hrs in heavy seas. They replaced their rudder and then ran into more weather and problems trying to get down island. Again, we were grateful for our successful passage.

Since we arrived so late in the day, and it was New Year's Eve, we decided to stay at the marina for the night. Yeah! We enjoyed awesome showers - the best we've come across at a marina, and ice cream cones, then played cards and listened to some noise makers elsewhere in the marina as the clock struck 12. Welcome 2014! Wonder how that party at Foxy's went - it pretty much rained all night! Can you say wet t-shirt contest?

Mom and Dad Visit Jost Van Dyke for Xmas

After a peaceful few days in St John and a brief stay in the marina at Red Hook to reprovision and do laundry, we headed to Jost Van Dyke for Christmas. My parents, Barbara and Dick Learned, were flying down to meet us on Christmas Eve for a quick vacation. We didn't get to see them in Florida after we decided to join the Salty Dawg Rally and sail direct from VA to BVI, so we were looking forward to the visit.

They were staying at Ali Baba's, a small hotel on the beach in Great Harbor. We got there a few days early to ensure we could get a mooring ball. Good thing we did. It turns out JVD, and in particular Great Harbor, is the third largest New Year's Eve gathering in the world. (Party at Foxy's!) This sleepy little village goes from 200 people to 10,000 for one weekend a year. Yikes!

I am glad we chose to stay on a mooring. Although the harbor is sheltered, when the wind dies, the swell coming around the point sets up a swirling current in the basin. Boats drift every which way. Music is particularly bad at sailing around at anchor, and we were glad to be on a short mooring pennant instead of a long scope of chain. As it was, we didn't sleep well worrying about where those charter boats that did anchor in the mooring field were going to be in the night. But at least I knew any collisions weren't going to be my fault.

We had a nice visit with my parents. We had a day at White Bay laying on the beach, and having lunch. Soggy Dollar was better than Coco Loco's. My Mom even came out on the boat. We enjoyed a brisk sail across Anegada Passage to Soper's Hole, across to Diamond Cay, and back down to Great Harbor, followed by Tricia's delicious eggplant parmesan for dinner. We had a fun Christmas dinner at Foxy's complete with flashing Christmas hats, followed a few days later by Foxy's famous and very filling Bar-B-Que. My Dad hit it off with Vinnie, owner of Corsairs, who gave him a ride in his vintage Army truck on its 63rd birthday. The best meal was the conch stew and lime-garlic shrimp at Ali Baba's.

Overall, my parents enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and friendly people in JVD. Cary and Ginny got to spend some time with their grandparents, and Tricia and I appreciated their company. A good visit!

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger!

After relaxing a few days in Francis Bay, we shot over to Red Hook for a night at the marina. We needed to stock up the larder for the week+ coming up at Jost Van Dyke, and to get some laundry done.

On the way back to Francis Bay, we rolled out the genny for the quick trip across. As we crossed the channel, a squall hit us with winds to 30+kts. Deciding to furl and motor the rest of the way, we were surprised when the engine revved and nothing happened. A quick check below revealed that, once again, the shaft coupling had come undone. We had no engine! Tricia, Cary and Ginny did a good job following my yelled instructions as we unfurled the jib part way and completed the trip under sail. We even sailed to the mooring, picking it up on second try. Thankfully, MoltoBene was moored next door, and he came racing out in his dinghy to save us, should we have needed saving. Gotta love Cruisers!

It took me a few hours, but I was able to repair the coupling with the spares on board. But it seems clear that the engine needs some TLC. New engine mounts, new seals on the V-drive, and a proper alignment. Also, the oil level appears to going up? Didn't find any water in oil. Must be fuel. Need to explore this.

St Croix-NOT!

On Monday, December 16th, we set out for St. Croix. The forecast was for 20-25, with gusts to 30 on a close reach. We've sailed across OCEANS! 50 miles in a strong breeze? No problem. We got about 5 miles offshore and decided pounding into heavy seas, in rain squalls, didn't seem like much fun. Especially since we only had 3 days to go to St Croix and get back to the BVI. So we tacked around Buck Island and headed for St John. Much closer, and more sheltered.

I have to admit. I felt like I had wimped out. Had all the sunny days in paradise made me soft? A question for another day, perhaps.

What a Drag!

Jarad and Crystal on Catherine invited us to come over to Water Island. We've been trying to get together with them and their kids for over a month and haven't been able to make it work. Water Island is just out the back side of the harbor from Charlotte Amalie, so we headed over. When we arrived, there was only one, spot left near the mooring field to anchor. Everything else was in >40 ft of water and out past the point in the swell.

After we set the hook and made plans to meet the crew of Catherine on the beach, a nice fellow from the boat behind us stopped by to inform me that I would drag anchor tonight if I stayed where I was. I may have seemed a little skeptical, so he challenged me to dive on the anchor and check for myself. Donning the scuba tank, I quickly confirmed that the anchor was not really "set", it was sitting in a pile of rocks, waiting to move when I wasn't watching. This would not work. We went around the corner to the next harbor, but the holding there wasn't any better, confirmed by yet another dive.

So we ended up leaving Water Island and missing dinner with our friends again. We got back to CA at dusk and dropped anchor where we had set for 3 days earlier. Since we were off to St Croix in the morning, we turned in early.

SURPRISE! When I came on deck in the morning, I was only 100 yards off the lee shore on Hassel Island. We had dragged 1,000 yards in the night. After upping anchor, we motored by the boat we had been anchored next to the night before. They told us they had honked their horn and shined a spotlight in our windows, but couldn't wake us.

I guess any story where you dragged anchor and didn't end up on the beach or tangled with the neighbors is a good one, so I will just be thankful it turned out OK.

Go Navy! Beat Army!

It is that time of year again. The leaves are off the trees. The leftovers from Thanksgiving Dinner are finally all gone. The Christmas tree is sparkling in the living room. And Navy meets Army for the last regular (non-bowl/ non-playoff) college football game of the year. Of course, some things change. This year the palm trees have all their leaves, we had potluck turkey dinner at the beach in Virgin Gorda, and the closest thing we have to Christmas decorations are a string of parrot shaped lights. Some things stay the same. Navy beat Army for the 12th straight time. After searching all over Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas for a good local sports bar, we ended up at, would you believe it, a Hooters! They turned the sound up for our viewing pleasure, and the wings were good, as usual. Navy played great, and we had a good time texting our friends Dave and Milissa who were freezing in Philly at the game.

While in Charlotte Amalie, Ginny, Cary and I went for a great run along the waterfront. The dinghy dock is down behind the Yacht Haven Grande megayacht marina. Wow! There is definitely an income gap in the world, based on the plethora of HUGE, SHINY YACHTS! Rising Sun, at over 400 feet, had to be the biggest. The whole scene was reminiscent of an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach saying,  "Here we have Rising Sun, the most spectacular of yachts co-owned by Larry Ellison. Let's go in and take a look, shall we?". Well, unfortunately, we weren't invited on board, but there was much discussion about the carbon footprint of a megayacht, and the supposition of what one could do with all that money. Instead, the run took us through the swanky marina, and along the waterfront past the market, fort and down to the ferry dock. It was great to get out and stretch our legs.

The anchorage was a little rolly, and loud on Friday and Saturday nights. The music from the bars on the strip played 'til after midnight each night, but the Christmas Boat Parade was entertaining, with fellow Rally member, MoltoBene, sporting a fantastic full mast/boom/forestay red and green Christmas tree. In our opinion, the most tasteful of the displays.