Well
it was time for Maryse and I to get going on vacation time – all the big
repairs are behind us, the anchor tested out perfectly, the wind generator is
running on 2 of 3 phases – kind of like its owner on some days!
One
of our last meals in Antigua was to enjoy a beef roti from the Roti King. We
have eaten here before and a number of times and always enjoyed the experience
… well this time it was an EXPERIENCE. Food poisoning!!!! We this effectively
committed us to quarters for a number of days …. But as they say “this too
shall pass” and so it did!
Back
running on most cylinders we left Antigua for a quick overnight in Deshaies and
then on to Les Saints with a plan to get to Martinique in time for Carnival
February 10 to 12. Distance wise this is not an issue – that is until the
weather gods get involved.
As I
mentioned in our last blog, we had an event! We arrived in Les Saintes after a
salty and bumpy sail from Deshaies on the northwest corned of Guadeloupe. There was not a mooring ball to be had
upon arrival.
Last night was an
anchoring night from hell or it is our “Salute to the start of the Winter
Olympic Games” – we Canada versus the Swiss at the Anchoring Event ….
At le Cabrits, we dropped
the anchor in 70’ of water along with all 250 feet of chain. For us this is
very deep anchoring and not one that makes you feel really comfortable for the
night. The overnight weather called for wind gusts to 35knots so just to be
sure I spent the night in the cockpit - check anchor alarm on the chart plotter
(this will tell us if we are dragging outside a defined circle), check behind,
check in front, check wind … repeat. At 2AM a boat that was anchored a long way
away was drifting very close to us, out came the high powered spot light –
nothing - even on strobe the crew on board were dead to the world. Finally it
took out the air horn to awaken the almost dead. By now they are within 10 feet
of Ambition and I have had to start the engine so that we could motor out of
their way.
A rather heated
conversation as they tried to convince me that all is fine and not to worry! I
am now backed almost to the stern of the boats in the mooring field! They are
adamant that whey will not pick up their hook and leave …. when the Swiss are
right the Swiss are right! So up comes Ambition’s anchor and we head out into
the bay to collect ourselves in the middle of a torrential cloud burst raining
horizontally - winds in the bay are a steady 33+knots gusts to almost 40 with
zero visibility! After an hour I had at least calmed down enough that I wasn’t
going to climb on board their boat and beat them to death with a winch
handle!
Re-anchored Ambition in a less than desirable spot and then spent the rest of
the night awake on anchor watch.
This was clearly not a
strong win for Ambition Canada versus the Swiss in the 2AM stare down. But not
wanting our boat damaged, the best choice was to retreat. Well during the rest
of the night the Swiss boat continued to drag as it started heading for Mexico!
By sunrise all three crew were on the forward deck and were unable to lift
their anchor. After about 4 or 5 hours they finally did succeed but by then I
felt that Ambition beat the Swiss on a technical win.
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| Arch Rival Swiss @##$&^% |
A mooring ball became
available by 7AM and we hopped onto it and I headed to bed for a few hours –
after a LONG night.
At 10AM the Club Med 2
cruise ship arrived and it was interesting that it even took them 3 attempts to
get their anchor to hold in the blustery conditions.
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| Club Med 2 trying to get their anchor to hold |
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| Club Med 2 |
We ended up spending 3
nights waiting for the winds to calm down and then we headed to Portsmouth
Dominica. Clearly our plan to be in Martinique for Carnival went up in smoke!
We had a super sail in
20 to 25 knots of wind and 8 to 10 foot seas. Ambition hustled along nicely and
we arrived early afternoon.
Hurricane Maria –
Dominica
This island sustained a
direct hit of a category 5 hurricane in late September 2017. As were arrived on
the western side of the island we were astounded to see the devastation on what
would have been the “protected” side. There are thousands of trees that have
had all branches and leaves stripped from the, they stand like sticks on the hillside.
Mudslides have washed away wide swaths of forest also.
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| Mudslides from hurricane Maria |
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So many trees striped of branches
|
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| Staring to grow back |
After a walk through
town to clear into customs and immigration the commercial dock is a hub of
activity as they distribute lumber and building supplies that just arrived by
barge.
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| It will be years to fully recover |
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| Palm trees sprouting new leaves |
Dominica was one of the
regions most important provider of vegetables and fruits. Most of that has
completely disappeared – some vegetables were available in the market but not
in the usual quantity we saw last winter, and no fruit at all – the trees will take
years to recover I am sure.
The weather has again
turned very nasty and we will remain in Portsmouth for at least 5 days. So it
is time to start to knock off a few maintenance items off the to do list. We
have a number of stainless steel hardware items on deck that are showing signs
of saltwater getting under the fittings. Since these fitting carry a certain
load they are bolted through the cabin top on the boat. To access the bolts
requires that we remove all the ceiling panels in the forward head, the forward
cabin and part of the salon! What a task! All the small wood trim is numbered
as we remove it and pile all the pieces up so we can get them back together in
a few days.
Once the parts were
unbolted, cleaned and the old caulking removed, we started the process of
applying masking tape (caulking compound has a tendency to cover EVERYTHING and
get EVERYWHERE) and then apply new caulk and reattach the parts. You want to
tighten them just enough and then wait 24 hours for it to cure before completing
the bolt tightening. In the meantime the boat is upside down with parts
scattered everywhere. The end result was excellent – Maryse and I are super
happy with the outcome after many hours of boat maintenance fun!
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| Forward cabin before repairs |
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| Salon ceiling disassembly |
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| salon work zone! |
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| Salon before the repairs |
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| Caulking added |
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| Looking good! |
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| The after photo...perfect |
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| Forward cabin all back together |
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| Forward head ...all parts back in and looking good |
The weather is really
windy … the forecast from our weather guru stated something I have never seen
before “north and southbound travel should be "due to emergency only” – steady
winds of 30 knots and gusts of 40 and seas are 10 to 15 feet on a 9 second
period UGH!
Here in the bay for the
4th day winds continue to gust at 30+ knots.
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| Bumpy anchorage in Portsmouth |
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| Portsmouth Dominica |
As we await calmer
conditions, we joined a group of folks for an island tour that took us from
Portsmouth south along the coast to Canefield Airport near Roseau then up the
hills inland. Past Emerald Pools that we visited last year. We stopped to hike
a short distance through the forest and to see Spanny Falls and pools. WOW
beautiful.
Next stop was lunch in
Castle Bruce where we ate last year – what a difference – they have only
partially recovered from the hurricane – half the building remains and that
appears put back together from scavenged lumber and galvanized metal. The food
was delicious as we recall but the surrounding hillsides here on the east coats
are far more battered than what we saw on the west side of the island.
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| East side of the island is worse than the west side.... |
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| the trees look like Q Tips from a distance |
Yesterday and today were
Carnival in Dominica and every little community were drove through, we were in
the middle of there little celebration – loud music, folks dancing, costumes
worn by some and a few adult beverages! All is good.
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| Happy Valentines Day from Dominica! |
We are off to Martinique
….. it will be so good to get sailing again – Happy St Valentines Day!
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| Another sunset! |
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| another pirate ship Cedrick |
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| A pirate ship for Cedrick |
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| Sunsets are always special |
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| Yup ... life is all good |
