Another tick on the Bucket List

Few people may know that Katie, as a child, was deprived of every child’s right – to ride a bike.  Yes Katie’s parents did not even let Katie have a free bike from the neighbours.  They deprived Katie of the joys that come with being a child free to ride around wherever their mind takes them.  They also deprived themselves of hours of bonding time as they nurse a wailing child after they scrape their knee/foot/hand after hitting the tree/pavement/kerb, or just falling off, or removing the plaster after it has stuck to the wound. I was fortunate enough to give my parents many bonding moments over my years of bike riding escapades.

Anyway, about a year ago I took it upon myself to teach Katie to ride a bike.  It was a very stealth mission as we could only advise Katie’s parents post tuition, in case there were any accidents.  To keep this part short, it was a success and Kate was able to ride in a straight line, change gear, and even ride along the long driveway without trainer wheels or being held, although circles were still a challenge.  Well done, Katie.

Kate has decided now that she as a proficient bike rider she is ready for the next challenge – a motorcycle...

Hayden (aka Boo) arrived on his motorcycle a few days ago to help us with some boat maintenance. Ever since, Kate has been lusting over the bike and was desperate for a ride, insisting that it has secretly been on her Bucket List.  This morning I took matters into my own hands and asked Boo to take her out. 

With a massive smile on her face and a few jumps for joy, Kate got her ride on a motorcycle.

I’m hoping that Kate’s new found fondness for motorbikes will mean she will finally allow me to get one when we get back to our land life.  Fingers crossed.

 (Gary)

Goodbye Pickle

Yesterday we said goodbye to our crew mate Pickle the cat.  She returned to her boat Rodeo, set to travel further south to Brazil. 

Pickle has been great entertainment for us.  Not a night went by where she didn’t wake me up by tapping my nose with her paw, licking my back, or bitting my toes.  We taught her how to fist pump like the locals, drink out of a glass, and pretend to use the toilet (classic!).  We tormented her with numerous unwanted cuddles and received many scratches in return.  She chirped at birds and jumped through hatches unexpectedly. She sat in her litter box when we sailed anywhere and gave us a look of utter humiliation.  She sat on or in every bag or box she could find.  We only lost her once, which just so happened to be seconds before her owners arrived to pick her up!  Luckily we found her squeezed into a cubby-hole amongst books and computer cables.

We will miss you Pickle!

Pickle fist bumping

On the hard in Trinidad

We hauled Toodles at Powerboats Boatyard in Trinidad on Monday morning, bright and early.  By the end of the day we had removed the mast (including dismantling the running rigging and removing the boom), removed the broken conduit, had the hull cleaned, got two quotes for antifoul work, picked one and had them start that afternoon and done 4 loads of laundry!

That evening we stumbled into the local eatery, gobbled down our dinner in 10 minutes flat, then achieved the greatest feat - not falling asleep on our plates.

Being on the hard has already been a source of new experiences.  We have real neighbours who come and say hello and are great when you need to borrow a tool or two.  We can’t use our toilets, sinks or air conditioning.  This means that when you need to “go” in the middle of the night, it requires contending with the ladder and weaving your way around the boatyard to the bathrooms. Cooking is also kept to a minimum, requiring frequent trips to the Roti Hut (for you non-Carribeans, a Roti is a curry wrapped in a naan/roti bread – YUM). 

One very productive day down, 6 more to go!

1500 NM

On our way back to Trinidad, we passed a milestone – 1500 nautical miles sailed on Toodles.  No, it isn’t in a straight line, it includes our tos and fros, but our boat “odometer” (the chart plotter we put in the first week we bought the boat) has clicked over the 1500 nautical mile mark.

There are about 1.85 kilometres to a nautical mile.  So we have sailed the equivalent of about 1 ½ lengths of New Zealand.  But to put it in perspective, the longest distance we will have to sail between landfalls while crossing the pacific (Galapagos to Marquises) is over 3,000 nautical miles.  Hopefully those 3,000 miles won’t take as long as the 10 months it has taken to clock up 1500 miles!

We are now safely back in Trinidad and have caught up with a few friends.  This stage of our adventure is quite exciting.  We are making final adjustments and additions to the boat, buying those last few toys, and doing a massive provision, stocking the boat with a few months worth of food.  Our discussions are now focussed on the voyage ahead, the pacific crossing now become a reality in our minds.  Where once I was apprehensive about the journey, I am now pumped and ready to go.  My tummy is doing excited summersaults at the thought!

Visit from the Parents

Gary’s Parents came all the way from New Zealand to visit us for two and a half weeks, arriving just in time for Gary’s birthday.  We picked them up in Grenada, then quickly headed up to the clearer waters of the Grenadines. 

It was wonderful to be able to see all the way down to the sea floor again, as well as much more sea life.  We swam with turtles and snorkeled the reefs all over again.  Saltwhistle Bay was just as mesmerising the second time around as it was the first (see the blog “Paradise Found”).  


Gary took his parents up to a Church on Mayreau to look at the view over to the Tabago Cays.

All too soon we were heading back to Grenada where Gary’s parents wanted to do some more exploring.  We jumped on an island tour with Cutty, who thrilled us with his knowledge of spices and other flora and fauna.  Every few minutes we stopped for Cutty to jump out, pull leaves or fruit from a tree and explain what it was and how it was used.  He even pointed out the difference between goats and sheep (yes, even a kiwi needed this pointed out as the sheep look identical to the goats here – no woolly coat): a goat has a short tail up, and a sheep has a long tail down. 

He took us to an old hotel that was destroyed by hurricane Ivan a few years back but still boasted the best views of the St George township.

Our next stop was a spice plantation.

Coffee Bean

Cocoa Bean

Cutty showing us the end product

Then on to play with a few monkeys.

A stop by a nutmeg tree...

Before the cocoa processing plant.

Final stop the rum distillery.  You won't have heard of the brand.  They only sell locally for two reasons, the local demand is so high they can't make enough to meet the demand, and the alcohol content (75%) is so high it is classified as flammable and therefore cannot be transported by air.  Everything is done the same way it has been since the 1700's, powered by the water wheel and burning of the chaff for the distilling.

We will soon be heading to Trinidad to begin preparations for the next stage of our adventure.

Trinidad – the catch up

So we have been terrible and haven’t been keeping you all up to date in a while.  We spent 6 weeks in Trinidad...and basically saw not much as we were working on the boat! 

So a quick run down...

Did I mention it was HOT there??  I have never been that hot in my life.  The closest was when I did bikram yoga - the studio is heated to 40 degrees and 45% humidity.  In Trinidad it was 40 degrees and 90% humidity!! 

We booked ourselves into the Taste of Trini Tour, where you go all around the island sightseeing and sampling local cuisine BUT I managed to fall down the companionway stairs and hit my head quite badly the night before, so we had to cancel.  The take away from that experience (other than don’t be such an idiot and fall down the stairs) was that there is no point calling ambulances in Trinidad.  We waited 3 hours and still none had arrived.  By pure fluke we got a medic from the local oil rig onboard who looked me over and gave me the OK.

Gary managed to add another item to the “Lost Overboard” list.

• A padlock
• A bucket
• A sponge
• A towel
• Two fillets of fish
• The Grenada flag
• A set of allen keys
• A cup

And now...

• A rental car key!

He managed to recover it, in the dark, with the help of flippers and a good torch.

The main purpose of the trip to Trini was to get a new dodger, bimini and stackpack.  We needed new metal work and canvas so it was quite a big job.  But boy was it worth it - she couldn’t look better!

Now that we are back from the abyss, we promise to post much more often and do our best to keep you entertained.