Well barely! HA! We had a fabulous overnight sail – started out at about 5:30 pm, navigated the reef before dark, and headed south. Michael was on first watch, and the wind was in the upper teens, so we had the full main and a reefed jib and screamed along at 7.5k+. Roberta’s 11pm-3am watch included navigating through the oil fields and derricks lit up like Christmas trees, and ships coming and going. Felt like a target in a video game! On Michael’s early morning watch, the wind slowed a little so all three sails were out full. Still a great sail. We could see the masthead lights of six other sailboats and knew there were more of us out there. Many were our friends. We wanted to go with people who had been through the Boca before and with other sailors for security. And, it just feels good to have a voice in the night to talk to on the radio and to have company out there! The moon was spectacular, and in all, it was one of our best nights of sailing.

Until we got close to the Boca in the morning light…where the tide was running against us at 4k and the entrance was a bit like a washing machine. But everyone headed in and we followed – making about 2k. Then we heard a thunk and the engine slowed to .8k!!! We were between two cliffs in a narrow channel, with a very burdened engine. Michael jumped below to check the engine, oil filters, bilge… the engine was spewing black smoke. And we were barely moving forward. When he put the engine in neutral and pushed the throttle, we could get RPMs, but could not move forward – conclusion, something had wrapped the prop and/or shaft. We needed to get if off.

Two of our companion boats insisted on staying with us to make sure we made it. We finally limped in to beautiful and calm Scotland Bay, very worried that the engine would seize and stop (the wind had also stopped by this time so the sails would not have helped us!) We anchored in 10 feet of clear water, and Michael dove with his fins and snorkel to find more than a square yard of someone’s fabric mosquito netting cockpit cover complete with big zipper around the prop. He cut it all off, and we were underway again, full power.

Chaguaramas Bay is a VERY busy harbor, with many big ships, lots of yachts anchored and moored, and a strong current, so we opted for a marina that everyone calls “assisted living” because it is so nice: pool, very clean restrooms, showers, laundry… YES!!! First marina we have been in since Puerto Rico. We deserve a treat! There is a great bakery very close (dangerous!) and we have enjoyed their quiche and cinnamon rolls. We are feeling in the lap of luxury! HA!

So now we are enjoying being in Trinidad with friends, (again, very social – something going on nearly every evening! We went with a group to see the new Superman movie and last night was a fun jam session with a cruiser’s group called The Frapping Halyards, a group of Scandinavians who love to sing, and a local man with a guitar, good voice, and fun Louis Armstrong imitation. We hope to get on a Turtle-watch trip, and a Taste of Trinidad trip - check out the May “Island” magazine article by our cruising friend Ann Vanderhoof…

We are very busy getting the boat ready for being hauled and stored “on the hard” for hurricane season and so we can fly to Baltimore then Oregon to visit family and friends. We scrubbed the Grenada goo off the anchor chain, cleaned the deck of the rust from that chain-scrubbing (those two chores took three days!), took down all the sails and rigging, scrubbed inside the boat with vinegar water to discourage mildew, cleaned rugs (soap and scrub brush!), still need to polish and wax stainless, empty and clean freezer and fridge, make sewing repairs on the sail cover, inventory supplies to see what needs restocking while in the States, etc. etc. etc. There is a lot involved in “decommissioning a sailboat!

It is hotter here than it was in Grenada, so we have an air conditioner over a hatch and it is very weird to be in the boat with it all closed up. We are so used to living in fresh air. But mostly we have been outside working on the boat and then relaxing, exhausted, in the marina pool at about 4 pm – then off to some social event, and in bed by 9!

One tropical wave has passed through, so for a couple of days it drizzled steadily, and another is coming in now… so it will be hotter and muggier for a few wet days. But overall, the weather has been fabulous – 90+ breezy days, wonderful, warm, moonlit nights with a balmy breeze. The sun is intense, so we are getting some tarps to drape over the boom and make an awning to protect the boat from “the death ray” as one young friend calls it!

Next post will probably be from Oregon! YAY!!! (We miss our friends and family!)