Jules
25/09/2010, Chaguaramas Bay

It's been a bit of an up and down sort of week for us out here in Chaguaramas. Mike's birthday last weekend was a great success, as expected. It was helped along by the fact that just before people started to arrive a shrimp boat came in to the far end of the bay. Mike was straight over in the dinghy and came back bearing huge quantities of fresh shrimp ... how can a party fail with that kind of fare??

Sunday, as you can imagine, was rather slow and very Sundayish.(read "Hair of the dog day")

The rest of the week has been spent working on the various projects that had to be done before leaving. We hired a car on Tuesday so that we could take the injector to Chaguanas, about an hour or so away, in order to get it fixed. The good news was that there appeared very little wrong with it other than it was set at 220 bar instead of the minimum 240 bar. The guy in the workshop said the difference shouldn't have caused the pre-ignition but we came back and tried it out and it seems to have cleared the problem. Mike reckons it's because it's such a slow running engine (225-425 rpm).

So, at least one problem was sorted. Then on to the steering pump: Mike and Twent went scrap-yard hunting and returned with a universal off a Toyota which was significantly smaller than the original one that was on, but more than capable of doing the job. Only then there was a whole lot of machining to be done and adjustment to the pump itself to accommodate the new shaft.

All this wasn't helped by the fact that yesterday was T&T Independence Day and everything was closed so it was imperative everything got done on Thursday if we had a hope of leaving Friday.

The good news was we got all the parts back Thursday at around 6 p.m. The bad news ... what should have been a fairly straight-forward job putting the pump back on Friday morning turned into a bit of a major; the whole pump ended up being taken apart and re-assembled. By the time that was done we'd missed our check out time and decided to call it a day.

An unforeseen up to not leaving yesterday was a visit we made last night to our friend Frankie who now lives out on Gaspar Grande (Fantasy) Island. He rents a wonderful wooden bungalow high on the hill that looks out over Five Islands and Port of Spain. Sitting on the verandah watching the world go by and drinking rum ... what could be better?????? (Almost forgot my fire ant stings for a while.)

This morning Mike and the boys have got the pump back on and we're just about to start the main engine and bleed the pipes and test it out. Still not quite sure when we'll leave, if all goes well maybe later today, if not probably tomorrow ... or Monday. Life at sea sure isn't predictable.

In amongst all the engineering issues we've also had a few crew problems that came to a head this week. We had said that Karin could sign on and come with us until her and Julian found something else. Unfortunately, during the few days we were away there'd been a bit of a clash between the Indonesians and Karin, which Twent was caught in the middle of. He had to put on his diplomacy hat ... and we all know how well that fits him; actually he did a great job and not one drop of blood was spilled. LOL

I know all too well how difficult crew relations can be, especially across cultures and genders, and how carefully they have to be handled. Luckily we've managed to sort it all out, after a rather stressful and for Karin, an emotional, few days. And we'll have a full crew complement when we sail, which is good because, for me, it is nice to have another woman on board. I've been getting swamped in testosterone lately, and it aint good.

Not sure where the next blog will be from ... maybe even still here ... we'll let you know.

Love to everyone ...

PS I've posted some new photos in the Trinidad Album, some of our wonderful honeymoon ... when was that again!!

PPS Can't remember if I've mentioned the critters lately but they're both doing good. Toby still needs de-ticking every day despite the stuff I got from the vet when I was back in the UK. Nellie actually seems to be slightly more active and sociable that usual and spends most of the day up in the saloon with us ... still mainly sleeping though.

Comments [3]

Jules
18/09/2010, Trinidad

Sorry for the delay in blog writing but we're back now ... in a few senses of the word.

I arrived back in Trinidad on the 12th September after a tiring but uneventful flight. And I'm pleased to say that Mike and Kefing were waiting for me at the airport, even though the plane landed half an hour early !!!!!!!!!!!!.

My last few weeks in the UK were hectic, as usual, but really good. It was great to be able to catch up with so many people but a wrench to leave the family. The weather was wonderful most of the time and I enjoyed all of the 1200 miles I personally drove, well except for the time I ended up going north on the M1 when I was sure I should have been going south (the truck driver behind me didn't like it either). The time spent in Cambridge and Oxford was really good; the new book contract is signed and I'm set to start producing some well over-due, and topical, academic articles from my Ph.D.

Mike and the Buzzard arrived back in Trinidad four days before me after a rather stressed ten days sorting out the shaft in Bequia. Apparently a chunk had shorn off the intermediate shaft and it had to be taken out, the piece welded back in and filed down, and then a new key-way machined. Luckily (!) all went well with the help of Robin the Fixman and there were no problems on their trip back to Trini. (Photos will hopefully follow.)

Twent and the rest of crew were wonderful ... and I gather they did manage a bit of partying in between all the hard work they were doing.

Tuesday Mike and I went off for a belated honeymoon. We hired a car, drove to Valencia and then headed for Manzanilla on the east coast. There's hardly anything there but white sand and 17 miles of coconut palms. We lucked into a wonderful little resort, D'Coconut Cove, and spent two days doing very little of anything ... well apart from drinking champagne in the pool while the Atlantic crashed on to the rocks behind us. The whole setting couldn't have been better or more idyllic.

Thursday we drove on down and across to San Fernando on the west coast. This is the more industrial area which deals with the oil rigs and platforms. We went from there down to the Pitch Lake, arriving at sunset, and had a great little tour with a couple of the locals. It's actually quite an amazing place.

Finding accommodation that night proved something of a problem though as it isn't a tourist area. There was one hotel in Point Fortin, but they wanted 780TT a night, so that wasn't really an option. We talked to some of the locals in the Chinese we went to for supper (the third one we tried) and was eventually given directions to a little 'guest house' down a back street. I have to say I was a little perturbed by the sign offering 'private lime facilities' and the rather large lady in the string vest behind the bar, and it definitely didn't help when the owner asked how many hours we wanted the room for, but it actually wasn't too bad. I guess it's just part of sampling the "local delights".

The trip was cut short by the car rental company who had said we could have the car until Saturday but then changed their mind, but all in all it was a great few days. Mike actually managed to get some much needed sleep, and a few visits to various sawmills along the way. The people were really friendly, more East Indian and Chinese than Trini/African (read black), and we didn't see ANY other white faces all the time we were away ... well apart from one large American from Louisiana who was having lunch in a ranch bar in Mayaro. The only disconcerting thing was the bad breath/moth ball aroma that seemed to follow us around; not sure whether it was some kind of foliage thing or the people. Oh and the roads which were, unbelievable though we found it, even more pot-holed than those in Port of Spain, and especially those right next to the pitch lake ... go figure.

So ... we arrived back, via Port of Spain and various tool shops looking for flogging wrenches and other much sought after parts, yesterday afternoon.

Today it's Mike's 57th birthday. Can't see it being quite the celebration we had last year but I'm sure something will be happening later.

Next week we have to get one of our injectors taken out and fixed, and apparently there's a problem with the steering pump that needs looking at. After that we're not 100% sure. We need to pick up some parts that Mike ordered in Tortola so I think maybe we'll be heading that way, depending on the weather and stuff.

We'll try and keep you informed, internet permitting. We've just spent $300US on a new super-duper aerial which is supposed to guarantee wi-fi connection ... so far it's worked for about half an hour ... aarrgghhh!! Part and parcel of the "MODERN WORLD"

Love to everyone ...

Comments [4]

Jules
24/08/2010, Cambridge, UK

Just a quick update on the whereabouts of the Buzzard and her missing crew.

I'm in England and had totally forgotten what a beautiful country it is. I arrived at Gatwick early in the morning and my sister picked me up and drove across to Birmingham. The sun was shining (but not too hot), the birds were singing, the traffic wasn't too bad (like everyone stayed at the right side of the road) and it was wonderful.

Since then I've been up to Maryport, just in time for the annual Trawler Race, back across the Penines to Hull and then down to Cambridge. Later today it's Oxford, and then London tomorrow. At the end of the week it's Birmingham, Hull, Maryport ... although I do keep losing track of where I'm supposed to be, and when!

It was a bit strange when I first picked up the car from Twent's mum and dad's and couldn't remember how to drive, but I seem to have got the hang of it again now. In fact having the freedom to get in and go is great after being boat bound for so long.

It's been so good to see friends and family, and especially Al after all this time, and my little nephew Robin. All quite emotional; just wish Mike was here to share it.

Talking of which ... the Buzzard, apparently, went up to the BVIs the Saturday after I left. A slightly different direction to the intended Suriname, but hey, needs must I guess.

They had a good trip up but unfortunately had intermediate shaft problems on the way back down and ended up having to pull into Dominica. As far as I know (and unfortunately contact has been somewhat sporadic) everything is now fixed and they're heading back down to St. Vincent.

Will update again when I know more.

Love to all ....

Comments [3]