08/06/2012, Chaguaramas Bay, Trinidad
Luna has become a shameless beggar. Bob on s/v Spirit, the person living with feline cruisers Annie and Holly, is a well-known sneaker of treats and is teaching Luna bad marina habits. Bob and Luna have become well-acquainted and he gives her "Begging Strips" at least once a day. To his credit, he always asks for permission. But before I can respond, he adds, "How can you refuse this puppy-dog face?" while holding the package within sniffing distance of Luna's nose and looking particularly pitiful with his own puppy-dog expression. I don't stand a chance. Luna is a vegetarian out of necessity. Ed and I eat anything and everything, but Luna's digestive system dictates a different regimen for her. The good news is that apparently, bacon flavored Begging Strips are meatless. They are probably nutritionless as well. Luna hangs around Bob's boat all day long. Bob and I agreed he could give her one treat each morning after her walk. Yesterday late in the day he told me she had come over after lunch wanting to know if it was tomorrow morning yet. I am clearly outnumbered. Holly is demanding to know why her person is giving away her begging strips. Even Annie made a rare appearance today, wandering up into the cockpit between naps to see why a dog (of all things) was hogging the treat scene. That's when I saw the truth about Annie. I had never actually seen Annie in all her glory because her activity of choice is competitive napping. Let me just say this. If s/v Spirit isn't the fastest boat on the water, there is likely a reasonable explanation.
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08/04/2012, Chaguaramas Bay, Trinidad
Tropical Storm Ernesto is making its way toward Mexico's Yucatan, possibly becoming a Category 1 hurricane as it gets closer to that area. We've had a lot of rain, not much wind of any kind. Today is overcast, always a welcome relief from the intensity of the sun. Ed is finally done varnishing which is a frustrating project in the rainy season. In February he'll have to add additional coats of varnish. Ed says, "You're never done varnishing". I stay fairly busy with my chores, errands and the blog. I do admit to having the luxury of water aerobics for an hour each morning. I love the convenience of the pool being so close, the water refreshingly temperate (I hate cold water), exercising on a daily basis and of course, socializing with the gang in the pool, currently all of us female. Many women cruisers look forward to time together, away from the men. We are with the men A LOT. In VERY small spaces. There is OFTEN talk about technical issues whenever a group of two or more sailors gather, unless the men are absent. What do women cruisers talk about? Everything under the sun really. And what do the men talk about? Well, let's see...what kind of varnish to use, refrigeration thermostats, how to fix electronics, the best way to run new or fix old wiring on a boat, the best battery monitoring systems, generator maintenance issues (we don't have a generator), bottom paint, contractors, boatyards, etc. Interesting? Sure, if you like that sort of thing. One of the men I talk to at the social gatherings discusses books with me. I enjoy that. Another tells me funny cat stories. What's not to love about that? I enjoy conversation about local politics. It's great fun hearing about where cruisers come from (they come from everywhere). And of course there's always the now funny stories about mistakes made (you know, crashing into rocks, dragging anchor, losing ones way, falling out of dinghies). Both Ed and I love hearing destination stories or recommendations. But varnish? I'm yawning simply writing about it.
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08/02/2012, Chaguaramas Bay, Trinidad
There is a vibration in the air around here, a buzz that floats between vessels, is overheard in snippets of conversations between cruisers and hangs on our minds as we watch the progression of Invest99, now TD5 (Tropical Depression, 5th one of the year), soon to be named Ernesto (or does he remain TD5 under less severe conditions?). This is the first potential major storm we've been concerned about since arriving in the Caribbean last November. There was Hurricane Irene we monitored in Maine last August and Sean influenced our timing for the passage from NC to Antigua. We have heard that some of our friends in Grenada are heading down this way after it was predicted they could be impacted by the storm. In its initial stages of formation, reports on Invest99 (as it was affectionately called at the time), indicated the storm could pass over Trinidad and Tobago. That's pretty typical with storms, as we all know; lots of guesswork until it really gets organized and formed. During that period of uncertainly, we might wonder, "Here? It's coming here?" The next day, or maybe the day after that we're asking "There? Do they think it's going there?" and the day after that we are probably saying, "That's where it's going? I'm glad we're not there". We watch, wait, analyze, talk, listen, read, download, watch some more. All the while, we are, if we're prudent, developing contingency plans...just in case. Should we move the boat forward so our mast will clear our neighbor's? Put the kayak back on the deck from its temporary home on the docks? Arrange a haul out and wait things out on the hard? Sail to Venezuela and hole up in a sheltered anchorage? Stay put? And in this process, we learn something, or at least I do, and hope our personal weather guru gets it right because he's the one we put our money on when decisions need to be made.
As of this morning, we are all relaxing and hoping none of the up islands get hit with anything hard enough to do damage.
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07/31/2012, Chaguaramas Bay, Trinidad
Loki is a great cat. But Luna still wishes there were a few dogs who would like to chase her around the boatyard. You know, the kind of game where Luna bows, the other dog bows back, Luna runs. The other dog chases. And the game continues until boredom sets in or someone catches the whiff of something better. Our cat at home understood this game and was eager to play it with Luna. Loki and Holly are still trying to figure it out. I am not optimistic.
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