Jules
25/01/2012, Woburn, Grenada

Just a brief update as we're just so busy and about to leave the boat for a few days.

Over the last couple of weeks we've finished painting the outside from the waterline to the rub-rail, and the crane, and the wheelhouse and saloon roofs. We've had various generator and fuel pump issues, some of which are resolved and some of which aren't quite.

The weekend before last we had an emergency call from Tanya whose battery bank melted and she couldn't start her main engine. It was decided, as James is more than capable of looking after the boat, that instead of taking the Buzzard we'd go on the 8 am Sunday fast-cat ferry up to Carriacou and spend the day working for her and come back late that afternoon.

We got there fine, well except for the weather being a bit rough and the vomit comet living up to its name. Mike spent six hours re-wiring and sorting our the problem but wasn't quite finished by the time the ferry left so we stayed over with the intention of getting the 6.30 am ferry Monday. We were up and organised by 6 and just about to go to the dock when the ferry left. So ... another day working on Tanya's boat, for which she sure wasn't complaining.

We eventually got back Monday around 7 pm, tired and dragged out, definitely a busman's holiday that one.

Last weekend we spent a night at Pat's house which was really good. And Mike gave her a massage to try and alleviate some of her mobility problems which have been bugging her since she had surgery a couple of years ago. He's getting quite a reputation for his 'magic fingers'; even Jeff's been over for a session to get his back sorted out.

I've been working away on the new blog site but got a bit side-tracked when I inadvertently opened a spam email which then went through our address book and then locked us out of our hotmail account for a few days. (Many apologies for anyone reading this who got caught with that one ... the moral is NEVER, EVER click on a link, from anyone, that says 'Click here to see ...".)

We've been waiting for some fuel for the last few weeks and more than twice have been all set to leave before the plans changed, yet again. In fact we were supposed to be leaving yesterday but aren't.

Instead we've going to take our friends Mike and Audrey up on their offer of a trip up to Bequia in their 60ft sailboat to go to the Blues Festival. We're really looking forward to it, and to seeing friends we haven't seen for quite some time. It'll be strange being there without the Buzzard though ... a real mini holiday, can't wait!

Love to all ...

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Jules
12/01/2012, Woburn, Grenada

New Year's Eve we spent the afternoon finishing off the re-construction of the stage and ended up staying on Hog Island making a bonfire on the beach out of all the old timber we'd taken down. There was about a dozen of us and it was fairly low-key but we managed to have fun. Jeff fell over the bench and crunched his shins, and I managed to fall off a picnic table and bang my nose, which bled quite profusely for a while.

Then there was the New Year's Day party on Hog, with live band on the new stage, then the Monday Holiday party. And then it was back to work.

James came back from Union and the boys have finished prep work on the inside of the gunwales, and have been chipping and grinding the hull between the rub-rail and the waterline getting it ready for painting. We've managed to do some spot painting, usually at seven in the morning before the wind picks up, and as soon as the weather calms down enough we'll be giving the whole hull a once over.

Devon came in the other morning with two tattoos. One all the way down his right fore-arm saying Spangla (which is apparently his nick-name), and on his left arm a gothic D and a spider ... nothing we can say about that.

The mega-yachts were around for the new year and one night we came back from Hog to see what looked like a small town moored not more than 500 yards away. It turned out to be Fountainhead which is a 287ft monstrosity (ranked 45 out of the top 100 mega-yachts), which was only launched in May last year. The next day Huntress came in too but at only 180ft it was hidden from view. Needless to say the jet-skis have been roaring round the bay, and around us. We get the occasional wave and thumbs-up but so far no-one's invited us over for cocktails - not sure why.

I've spent quite a while, with the help our friend Sylvie, setting up a new blog-site. It's fairly slow going but I'm getting there and hopefully it will be up and running before this one runs out in a month or so.

We've also had to make three trips up to Gouyave to get various starter motor problems fixed. Mike came with me once, and we managed to stop in the only bar in Gouyave (probably the whole of Grenada) that didn't have any beer. I've since made two trips on my own and am about to go again today, hopefully for the last time.

It's a beautiful ride up there along the west coast of Grenada. The not so good thing is the maxi-taxi that won't leave until it's full, which can take anywhere between ten minutes and almost an hour, while you're crammed, and really do mean crammed in a sweltering bus station; some of the mamas are pretty wide and if you get between two of them then you really don't have much room to move. Each time I've gone I've been the only white face on the bus, in fact the only white face in Gouyave, and when there isn't a cruise ship docked, quite often the only white face in St. George's.

On Tuesday when I went the bus back to Woburn was full of school kids finishing their first day back at school. It always amazes me how wonderfully well dressed and smart the kids are, and also how polite and confident they are, even the small ones. They take schooling seriously out here, probably because for most it's their way off the island and into a 'better' life abroad, and it's the ones who do best at school that make it out and can then send money home. It's a shame though that so much talent is taken away; I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, but there is a notable disparity between the educated youth who leave the island and the one's that stay behind, and unfortunately it's not good for the future of Grenada.

We still haven't seen anything of our fridge guy but luckily it is sort of working, even without the thermostat. We have had an electronics expert over who is fixing problems with the fire alarm system and various inverters, and we're actually getting close to having the generator on the side of the engine up and running again.

We also had Spanny the welder here for a day to finish off the last (we hope) of the holes and to weld the exhaust which had started to crack. Sometimes it seems like the problems/jobs are never-ending ... actually they are never-ending!

On Tuesday we went to a Hog Island Full Moon Party, which was a day after the full-moon but hey, this is the Caribbean. Ralph, the fat local and his buddies cooked up an amazing pot of oil-down (using 15 breadfruit, 20 coconuts, 20 lambi, chicken, pigtails, callaloo and dumplings) for all who wanted to partake, and Ray and Matt played guitar.

Last night we were invited to Rudi's for supper which was really nice as we tend to do a lot more entertaining than being entertained; something to do with having the bigger boat. It turned out to be a veritable feast with chinese pickles, Thai Tom Yum soup, Belgian stew with fries and home-made mayonnaise, and crème brulee to finish, oh and two of the thickest pina coladas to start. We didn't drink much, couldn't fit it in, and I'm not quite sure how we got off the boat we were so full. It's a good job we work so hard otherwise we might have to be thinking about a diet.

Love to all ...

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Jules
31/12/2011, Woburn, Grenada

So that was Christmas. And I actually got my Christmas wish: on the 23rd James decided to go back to Union to visit his family after all so we've been home alone for a week now. The first time for several years and wonderful!

Christmas Eve was spent tidying up the Buzzard, and de-moulding our main fridge because the compressor had decided to pack up, just when it was over-flowing with food for the festive season. Luckily we have an old back up fridge/freezer, which sort of works even though the freezer door falls off every time you open it, but at least it meant we didn't lose everything; and we did manage to get the beer fridge working so that was ok.

There were seven people for Christmas lunch, Mike and Audrey and three guys who are on their own (Jeff, Chris and Rudi). Jeff spends most of his time with us anyway so he was alright but the others were definitely suffering from the Single Sailor Syndrome ... which we've come across quite a lot and means that once they actually get among people they have a tendency to make up for all the not talking they do on their own.

Anyway, it was a good day and no-one over did it, well apart from the food. We cooked a big ham and had our last Venezuelan lomito which was still great even though it had been in the freezer for over two years. We all ate too much, but then who doesn't on Christmas Day.

Boxing Day was ... interesting. The morning was spent cleaning out the cupboard under the sinks in the galley after discovering a cockroach infestation; that was real fun. We've done really well on the cockroach front over the years but apparently they've caught up with us. I should have known they were making inroads when I tipped Toby's dog food up a few weeks ago and suddenly the 'kibbles' were running in all directions (as was I!).

In the afternoon we had a Boxing Day Boat-crawl which was an idea we'd got from our friends Stan and Cora who are now up in Bequia. There were nine boats involved and 13 people. You start on the smallest boat and everyone gets one drink on each boat, then end on the biggest (ours) where you get food and even more drink. We had a variety of rum punches and cocktails and everyone was merry by the time we got back to the Buzzard. There was also some card game involved but I can't quite remember how that worked out and I have no idea who won.

Even though Mike organised it we didn't know all the people taking part but it all worked out well and everyone had a great time and were firm friends by the end. The smallest boat was 27ft and with 13 people on board it's hard not to become acquainted. It was also good to have a look at different boats and their set-ups, just in case we ever decide to down-size.

The last few days have been fairly quiet. Apart from getting the refrigeration people in, going to buy a new compressor, picking up our pump seals, getting the drawings for the generator on the side of the engine, having a few drinks in the yacht club, oh and spending time on our own. The Christmas winds died down for a few days at the beginning of the week but they're picking up again now ready for the new year. And the hills around Woburn have suddenly sprung a whole host of yellow trees (which I'll try to find the name of) and look really pretty.

Thursday we were hoping our fridge would be up and running again. The guy came out at 8.30 am to fit the new compressor and was still here at 12, plus the thermostat apparently isn't working right so he has to come back. We had planned to take a maxi-taxi up to Gouyave to try and get the solenoid fixed on the Onan starter motor but that had to wait another day as the quick job fixing the tilt on the outboard has turned into something of an ordeal and we ran out of time.

Friday morning the fridge man was supposed to be coming back to fit the new thermostat but, after several phone calls and promises, he still didn't turn up. Mike went over to Hog Island, with a whole heap of 2 x 4s we had in the hold, to help Roger and a few others reconstruct the stage so he can start having bands again. The last one was deemed unsafe, which is hardly surprising as at high tide the musicians were standing up to their knees in sea water and electric shocks were not uncommon.

Saturday morning still no fridge-man so it looks like we'll be struggling until after the new year now, aaarrgghh!!!! It's raining and blowing but still warm enough to sit around in next to nothing clothes wise, so we're just hanging out reading and drinking coffee. Guess we won't be finishing the stage just yet, but the band isn't due until Sunday afternoon so I'm sure it'll be done by then.

We've had several phone calls from Totong in Indonesia who is enjoying being back with his family. Apparently our friends Julie and Twent are going to Indonesia to visit with him and maybe also Johan and Anton (ex crew, who returned there some time ago). I hope they have fun, it will be quite the experience either way.

We don't, as yet, have plans for tonight although I'm hoping we get to see some fireworks somewhere ... wherever you all are, we wish you a Happy New Year (or Old Year's End depending on your point of view) and hope that 2012 is good year for us all!

Lots of love ...

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