I started writing this blog about our adventures in Trinidad on Saturday February 15, 2014 just after we came back from Port of Spain doing grocery shopping. I know that I will not finish this blog this weekend since on Sunday we will attend the National Panorama Semi-Finals 2014 for medium and large steel bands in Queen's Park Savannah. On Saturday the single and small bands will compete and Sunday the medium and large bands category. This is a large event in preparation of the Carnival on March 3 and 4. The other musical competitions are Soca and Calypso. Watching the news on TV or opening a newspaper the most important news is about the large parade on March 4, the route this parade will follow and the competitions. The Prime Minister and her cabinet members are daily involved in discussions about this event. Besides being a very important local event Carnival is also a large tourist attraction. It is very hard to find hotel rooms, slips in a marina and even mooring and anchoring spaces are limited. Many people with their boat on the hard are staying on board with all the limitations and inconveniences. We have also planned our haul-out directly after Carnival for the bottom painting and some adjustments to the stuffing box since it is leaking more than I like. For non-boaters a stuffing box is an assembly which is used to house a gland seal and it is used to prevent leakage of water where the shaft goes through the hull.

We left Tobago on February 2 at 6:00PM and arrived the next morning at 6:00 AM in Trinidad. The night crossing was interesting since we had three distinct different sailing conditions. We left Tobago with wind completely from behind and the current pushed us off into the ocean. The north/east swell was about 6 ft. with relative short wind waves on top and we were rolling very uncomfortably but we had a good speed of about 6 KN. Due to the current we were heading to Grenada instead of Trinidad so we had to jibe which brought the swell more from behind but the current against which made a very comfortable ride but at a lot lower speed over the ground. Then the wind dropped and the rain started. Before the rain started we had some moonlight from the first quarter moon and many light from villages along the north shore of Trinidad, but then it became completely dark with no visibility. We went down into the cabin to stay out of the rain. When we approached the Bocademonos Channel on the North/West side of Trinidad the top on the mountains became visible due to some light behind these mountains. It was not the first daylight it was still too early for that, but the lights from all the oil supporting vessels, marinas, boat yards and even the city of Port of Spain. When I angled the boat to a strait heading through the channel I just headed for a large oil platform vessel and together with my chart plotter I could sail in the dark through this relatively narrow channel into the Gulf of Paria. We put Island Girl on a mooring ball and used the dinghy to go to shore to clear customs and immigration. The customs officer was so nice to remind us that we were half an hour too early for normal business hours and if we waited we did not have to pay the overtime fee. At 10:00 AM we checked in the marina called Coral Cove. Since electricity is included in the relatively low dockage fee in this marina we turned on the air conditioner for the first time since we left Miami Beach on December 6, 2012 to get rid of the high humidity in the boat and for the time being we are living on an air-conditioned boat.

We directly started with all the needed repairs. The sail maker came to collect the main sail and we received an estimate for the repairs on our dodger and bimini. The next day we took the dodger and bimini off and dropped it off at the canvas shop. To finally get a solution for the ongoing problems of having insufficient power in our batteries, we checked with an electric contractor and after he looked at the system he agreed with me that it was a mess and in some places even dangerous. Island Girl is 23 years old and the previous owners have added many modern systems to the boat and I installed solar panels, a wind generator, refrigerator and freezer. All these additions and changes were not very well integrated and it was very confusing how to operate the system. Especially power generation that is very important on a sailboat with all the equipment that needs so much power was a problem and it happened too many times that we had to use the generator to keep the batteries at a good level. The power management systems were not properly installed and gave wrong information as well. We worked four days on the re-design and installation of the new electrical system and the results are very good. So although we are now already 2 weeks in Trinidad we have not seen too much of this beautiful island. We hope that before this week is over we have completed most of the work and can start making some trips.

Our marina Coral Cove is in Chaguaramas Bay that was a major base for the Americans during World War II and over 30,000 troops were stationed here. Chaguaramas Bay is in a hilly country and from the anchorage you have a beautiful view of several islands and the hills. Chaguaramas has now 13 large boat yards, marinas and maintenance facilities for both the commercial, recreational, fishery and oil industries. On every ship yard you will find the facilities of all the private contractors and marine stores. If you do not find what you need for your boat here in Chaguaramas it does not exist. At the same time Chaguaramas is a national park. The park includes the entire Chaguaramas Peninsula including outer islands. The park has beautiful trails with the longest from the very isolated Scotland Bay to Macqueripe Bay. In the Crewsinn Marina is a Dutch decommisioned Minesweeper “Van Straelen”. As part of a NATO agreement the Dutch Navy commissioned the “Van Straelen Class” minesweepers in the beginning of the 1960’s and built 16 of them. The ships were decommisioned in 1984 and 2 of them are still in use by private citizens. The current owners invited us to come to see the ship next week after some repairs are done.

On the first Saturday in Trinidad we took to bus to Port of Spain which is about 10 miles away from Chaguaramas. In the time I worked and lived in the Caribbean I visited Trinidad many times and Trinidad was actually the first place I landed in 1968 on my way to Suriname. I was amazed how few of the places in Port of Spain I remembered. Even the old city has changed so much that it took me some time to recognize the beautiful old buildings and parks. The Red House is the seat of Parliament in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The architectural design of the Red House is of Greek revival style. The original building was destroyed in the 1903 water riots and was rebuilt in the year 1907. The Red House is located centrally within the capital city Port of Spain. It is currently used as a meeting place for parliament and elections and for political uses. The building is currently undergoing major restoration and to be able to fix the roof the majority of the building is covered with a temporary metal cover. The old city is still the best place to walk around. The historic buildings are surrounded by new developments with a lot of small stores and street vendors. Streets are connected with small malls where you enter the mall on one street and exit on the next. Outside Port of Spain Trinidad has large American size malls like the new West Mall with the most modern shops and a huge selection of articles. Since both Dorothy and I are not really crazy about shopping we just walked through the mall on our way to the grocery store. We really liked what is called Independent Square which is actually a long road with a very wide median for pedestrians with benches and of course food stands. The other nice historical parks in downtown Port of Spain are Woodford and Victoria Squares. In preparation of Carnival there is a free daily concert of famous Soca singers and dancers during lunch hour in Woodford Square.

On Sunday February 16, 2014 we attended the National Panorama Semi-Finals 2014 for medium and large steel bands in Queen's Park Savannah. The program started at noon with 14 medium size bands and continued with 15 large size bands. For me the big question was what is medium and what is large. We counted over 40 musicians in the medium bands and 100 in the large bands. The sound is overwhelming and is not supported by loudspeakers. We were sitting in the Grand Stand just behind the jury box and it was like we were surrounded by the music. These players are not only playing the pans but are dancing sometimes even on top of the pans. It was one of the most amazing music performances we have ever attended. Unfortunately one was not allowed to take pictures so I only have some pictures using my small camera. Since we were part of a group we left the concert at 10 PM while 3 bands still needed to perform. Although most of the bands are sponsored by large organizations, it is still a community’s effort and it is amazing how a band with an allotted playing time of 8 minutes can set up all the instruments, play and leave the podium within 20 minutes without any leader giving instructions. When we came back in the boat we watched the last band on television and the concert ended at 11:00 PM. It is absolutely amazing to have 29 performances in 11 hours.

Like I mentioned before, B-Mobile sponsors every day during lunch hour from 12:00 to 1:00PM a Soca concert. This “Soca in B-Square” concert is broadcasted live on TV with a rerun in the evening. This morning we took the maxi bus to Port of Spain to attend a Soca Lunch concert. We had a place just in front of the stage and we were able to get some free goodies. We are not really Soca music fans, but to be part of this concert is something different. The atmosphere is unbelievable and the energy of these performers is quite contagious. Most people attending are really office workers using their lunch break to enjoy the free concert.

We are looking forward to the Calypso Monarch Finals on Sunday March 2, 2014 and we will share our experience with you in our next blog.