Chaguaramas Trinidad - The Mecca of Boat Maintenance and Renovation

We are anchored amongst an oil spill and debris.  Our evening entertainment is naming the flotsam that bobs past us - gasoline container, whole tree, plastic bottle, lantern, bush, styrofoam lunch container...five points for a dead rat!  At night we watch the twinkling lights of a nearby oil rig, light up like a Christmas tree.  By day, the pretty purple, yellow, pink and blue colours of the oil slick swirl in mesmerizing patterns that I gaze at while washing my hair at the stern.

While this may not be your idea of paradise - Chaguaramas is the most amazing place for boat repairs and maintenance.  We are but 100 metres from Power Boats, one of the largest boat yards here.  There are countless contractors here, riggers, painters, metal fabricators, canvas and sail makers just to name a few.  There is also a boat supplies shop, a grocery, a roti stand, a restaurant, laundry and bathrooms complete with showers - in other words, luxury.  But Power Boats is not the only boat yard here.  There are about 10 boat yards lined up one after the other.  Coral Cove, the yard next to Power Boats, boasts similar attractions, but has the added draw of its own swimming pool.  The Crews Inn marina is another hub with very fancy restaurant, cafe, grocery, dive shop, wine shop as well as a swimming pool.  Here in Chaguramas, there isn't a job on a boat that cannot be done - there are experts for every nautical whim.  Anything from replacing a hatch seal to repainting your 400ft container ship.  But to top it all off, it is CHEAP.  I take that back.  I was reprimanded by one of the contractors for using the word cheap (it is a serious offense here).  The word I am told to use is "inexpensive".  The word "cheap" suggests bad workmanship and cut corners - which by no means represents the type of work done here.  The work we have seen (in all boat yards I must add), has been exceptional.  The best materials are used, the best methods are employed, and the quality checking is rigorous, with all yards guaranteeing their contractors workmanship.

For these reasons, Chaguramas draws hundreds of cruisers despite the flotsam and oil spills.  So the cruiser community is just as vibrant as other hurricane refuges such as Grenada.  There are cruiser trips to the markets, hikes and domino games here too.  The domino tournament played on a Sunday is of particular note.  The tournament draws so many cruisers that three games are played at once, with the highest and lowest ranking players moving tables every few rounds.  The ultimate winner of the tournament is presented with a flag that must be flown from their mast that week, and returned the following week to be competed for again.  As a pure fluke, I won the tournament the very first week we arrived, and flew the flag with huge pride.  Unfortunately, I had a massive fall from grace the following week, going from first to near last place!  We also joined in on the hike through the rainforest one Saturday.  They promised monkeys, so despite the heat the opportunity was too good to pass up.  After lacing up our hiking shoes (the first time either of us have worn shoes in the last nearly 8 months I must add), we stepped off the bus and into a monsoon rain storm.  But that didn't stop us!  We hiked up a hill into the wilderness of palm trees and bamboo.  We hiked over fallen trees, under low hanging branches and through rushing rivers.  As we listened to strange bird calls and slapped at mosquitos, we kept a keen eye out for monkeys, but none were found.  They hid in the shelter of the bamboo, hidden under the canopy (quite sensibly), while we were soaked to the skin after leaving the shelter of our boats (not quite so sensibly).

Trip to Trinidad

We woke at 2am to the blaring alarm clock, donned our sailing gear - shorts, T-shirt and harness, and headed out of the protection of Grenada towards Trinidad.  Gary had first watch, although we sat together for a long time gazing up at the stars and attempting to name them.  This idyllic scene was interrupted by Pickle who refused to stay in her Pickle spot, making numerous escape attempts up the companion way.  We ended up closing the hatches and locking her in, ignoring the feeble little meows coming from down below.

I napped on deck wrapped in a light blanket for a few hours, occasionally waking to the sound of the waves drumming against the hull, opening my sleepy eyes to a sky full of stars and phosphorescence in our wake.  I was once woken by the sound of Gary giggling as a flying fish missed his face by mere millimeters, leaving behind a fishy smell where it hit the underside of our bimini.

My watch started just as the sun began to creep under the blanket of night.  Gary headed below, and I had the sunrise all to myself.  I saw the water spout of a passing whale, but unfortunately not the whale itself.  We sailed through oil fields and spotted a few oil rigs.  As we passed the oil rigs we noticed the black colour of the water - not oil we are told, but the outflow of one of South America's largest rivers.

Throughout our voyage we had fellow yacht Mahala at our tails, keeping us company with the occasional radio call.  We entered the passage into Trinidad side by side.

We dropped our anchor just before 2pm the following day, making the journey a round 12 hours, and headed for customs.

After a shower (heaven!) and short nap, we headed to the beautiful Crews Inn for a yummy dinner overlooking the marina and twinkling of anchor lights in the distance.

Carnival - Spice Mas at Grenada

Carnival is a big part of the culture of most of the Caribbean Islands.  Here in Grenada, for four days (Saturday to Tuesday) everything on the island closes so that every Grenadian can participate in Carnival and party!

For months leading up to Carnival, locals are busy making costumes and practicing their steel drum skills in preparation for Carnival.  Cruisers are encouraged to join in too - just buy one of the many costumes up for sale and join in.

There are many different events over the four days.  There are soca and calypso music competitions, beauty pageants and a few different kinds of parades.  There is J'Ouvert (also known as Devil Mas or Jab Jab) which starts at 4am, where participants cover themselves in brightly coloured paint and throw different colours on each other and unsuspecting bystanders.  There is Pageant Mas (also known as the Pretty Parade or Fancy Mas), where beautiful women get into teams and dress up in the most elaborate costumes.  Then there is Monday Night Mas where the paraders' costumes consist of different coloured flashing lights.

We decided Pageant Mas was our thing, not too early, not too late, with lots of colour (although no risk of it being thrown on us!), and lots of pretty girls.  We stood by the stage where the masqueraders shook their booty for the judges to music so loud that even your bones vibrated with the beat.

To Carriacou and back!

Leaving to Carriacou was bitter sweet.  While excited about the Regatta, we were also very sad to leave our Caribbean mum Linda from Kool Kat.  Linda is heading back home to the US on Monday, not to return until December, after we have left Grenada.  We had a wonderful Southern breakfast on Kool Kat the morning before we left and felt very loved and cared for (and perhaps a bit spoilt).  I made it back to Toodles before the waterworks started, and I had a good cry again that night before going to bed.

Very early the next morning, after waving a final goodbye in Kool Kat’s direction, we left Prickly Bay.  We had a calm and pleasant sail until we reached the tip of Grenada where we met wind against tide.  No, it wasn’t dramatic, the waves weren’t 10feet high, but it was enough to send poor Pickle in to a spaz.  Running up the companion way with ears back and screaming her cute little head off, Pickle announced that she was not enjoying the passage.  My heart leaped into my throat as she attempted to make it on deck, catching her before she could get a paw onto the cockpit sole, and got her downstairs holding her in a baby-with-a-full-diaper position (arms outstretched to avoid inevitable scratches).  I hurriedly threw items out of a cubby hole in the back cabin and attempted to put her in there, but she was stuck solid to the cabin’s mattress by her claws.  Gary attempted next, more successfully after a hilarious stereotypical defence put up by Pickle – spread eagle, all four limbs in all directions hanging on to sides as she is pushed into the cubby hole.  But there she stayed safe and sound until we reached Carriacou.  I, however, had managed to make myself sea sick from my time down below and failed to recover for the remainder of the voyage.  Upon entering Carriacou I was seriously questioning my ability to cross the Pacific Ocean – but more to be said on this in a later blog.

One thing I failed to mention was that there was a storm brewing.  When we left Grenada, the reports were still vague and didn’t worry us too much.  However, once we had reached Carriacou the reports were that it was likely to turn into a tropical storm (then perhaps hurricane) and was heading in our direction.  We were planning to do the regatta on Susie’s boat (you will remember her from earlier blogs such as “Out and About with Susie in Dominica”).  Susie was alone on her very large boat that cannot be single handed.  She made the decision to head south while she still had the help of a fellow cruiser to help get her boat to safety – very wise!  While disappointed that we no longer had a ride for the regatta, we were very quickly cheered up by the thought that we could head back to Grenada to be able to see Linda off on Monday. 

Our trip back to Grenada from Carriacou the very next day was much less eventful.  After seeking advice from Pickle’s Mum, we put Pickle in a wonderful cubby hole under the chart table before we left, and heard no complaints.  I had a great voyage back, no seasickness at all, my faith in my ability to cross the Pacific somewhat restored. 

So here we are once again in Prickly Bay, awaiting the storm.  It has not reached hurricane strengths, and is very unlikely to before it reaches the windward Caribbean Islands.  It’s path looks to be north of us, and we should only get some rain and a bit of wind.  Gary is happy about the rain hoping nature’s water maker will fill our empty tanks, and another Aussie cruiser is unmoved by the predicted wind strength calling it “a good sailing day”.  To this, our US friends said “if it is a good sailing day for an Aussie, then it must just be a light breeze for you Kiwis?”. “Yes” we replied “just a gentle breeze”.  Joking aside, our fate is with Hughie (the weather god) and we hope he will be kind.

If you are interested in our storm have a look at this weather site - www.nhc.noaa.gov/