The voyage from St Thomas (USVI) to Trinidad ? - well not quite as far …. to St Lucia

The voyage from St Thomas (USVI) to Trinidad? – well not quite as far ….  to St Lucia (24 May 2015 14 June 2015)

Josie Maria departed Crown Bay Marina in St Thomas for Cruz Bay St John’s to clear customs en-route to Antigua.  Gordon, Charlie and Vicki onboard – with John meeting the yacht in Antigua for the voyage!

Charlie and Vicki check Josie Maria and crew out of the USVI’s followed by a leisurely motor sail to Spanish town BVI’s where we set the anchor and Q flag for over night – planning on leaving early morning for the voyage across the Anegada passage – in the direction of St Martin.  We arrive in St Martin, just after the sun sets and anchor in Simpson Bay with our Q flag up to have some rest before heading to Antigua.

Charlie noted in the log “that we had a lovely run from Virgin Gorda to Simpson Bay.  Although the autopilot did take us in circles at one point and we jibed/tacked x3.  Gordon did get us back on track after 2 attempts….”

I must say that the dimmer on our autopilot has a lot to answer for!!  Our pedestal Raymarine has some faults – now on the maintenance list.  Even with the touch controls off – which stops the salt water making course changes(!!) the menu button sticks and the screen wobbles – making arriving in anchorages at night all the more challenging.  The Raymarine radar keeps going into standby mode as well – so we are using a powerful torch to find a decent spot to anchor and avoid objects in the water!!  Another thing to add to the maintenance list of our almost new yacht. In the evening Vicki makes some cup-cakes for Charlie’s 21^st!!

The motor sail to Antigua was beautiful with calm seas and winds. The wind was blowing at around 10knots, dropping to 5 knots later in the day, there was almost no swell and at times the sea was glass like.  Vicki spotted some dolphins on the port side and we saw many flying fish – also lots of Sargasso weed.  The Caribbean has so much of this weed around and it has a knack of filling our raw water filters!!  We arrive at the entrance of Jolly Harbour Marina as the sun sets at 1900, drop anchor with the Q flag and get to some serious celebrations with Champagne and cup cakes for Charlie’s 21^st Birthday!!

Charlie turns 21 !!! outside Jolly Harbour, Antigua

The next morning Josie Maria heads into Jolly Harbour Marina, after checking-in at customs, immigration and the Port authority.  We plan to stay in Antigua until John arrives on the 2^nd June.  Gordon, Charlie and Vicki spend a day driving around Antigua in a hire car,  with a surf board – looking at the sights and for surf.  We have a Sunday lunch at Cloggy’s by Antigua Yacht club – which was very nice, if not expensive….

The best surf beach is covered in Sargasso weed and is very VERY smelly!!  We also have a peek at the North South Head Marina and boatyard.  Vicki spots “Skook” a yacht that joined the ARC+ boats on the second leg from Mindello to St Lucia.  On the 2^nd June Vicki picks John up from the airport, all dressed in jeans, while Gordon and Charlie ensure we have all the provisions we need!!  John wishes he was in shorts – its hot and sunny!!

On the 3^rd June we leave for St John’s Dominica, Gordon checked us out of Antigua on the 2^nd – shortly after John’s arrival.  The wind heads around to the SSW so instead of resting overnight in an anchorage off Guadoloupe, we head straight for Dominica, arriving around 2130 – well after the sun has set.  Without the radar working effectively we have the moon (a nice full bright one!), and a bright torch to guide us in.  

John sailing from Antigua to Dominica

Passing Guadaloupe on the way to Dominica

Gordon and Charlie

Guadaloupe

We find a place to anchor and are met by Lawrence of Arabia Yachting Services who are happy to organize some island tours for us.  We organize a trip up the Indian river , where scenes of the Pirates in the Caribbean movie was filmed, with fake skeletons hanging from trees left by a Russian film maker shooting another film.  

Eric Spaghetti, our guide manages to lose an oar and hurt his hand –so John, Charlie and I have a Rum and Coconut milk cocktail at the bar at the end of the river and we buy Eric a much needed drink too!  Titus then meets us and takes us on an Eco walk – we see such a wealth of produce and have a taste of a sample of it!  

John on the Indian River, on a boat which Eric Spaghetti is driving - Dominica

Scenery on the Indian River, Dominica

 Vicki on the Indian River, where Voodo Queen Calypso sequence was filmed- Dominica

End of the Indian River, Dominica

Vicki, Charlie and John - the bar at the end of the Indian River, Dominica

Vicki, John, Charlie & Titus (yellow sun shirt) our tour guide at the end of our Eco-tour, Dominica

On the following day Charlie, John and I head on an island tour, around the northern or top half of Dominica – Gordon stays on the Josie Maria to ensure her safety.  Dominica is beautiful – it is incredibly green and we visit two fresh water swimming holes and have a delicious lunch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  On the way back from the first water-hole we visit we meet a Rastafan, who points us out two Boa constrictors in thick vegetation by the side of the road.

View of the Atlantic from the north west of Dominica

Charlie on the way to Emerald Pool,  Dominica,

John and Vicki on the same walk

We leave Dominica for St Lucia on the 6^th June – arriving at 1830.  We left Martinique astern at 1130 and saw Dolphins just after midday.  A small craft had gone missing the previous day between Martinque and St Lucia with 4 persons onboard – so we kept a sharp look-out for any sign of them.  We saw nothing, except a submerged blue cushion – which could have flown off any boat!!  The sea state was 1 to 2 m and the trip was very bouncy and rolly.  We anchor out in Rodney Bay and as we are doing so it becomes clear that there is something amiss with our bow-thruster.  In the morning Charlie dives over the side and shows us all the pictures he has taken – Josie Maria has lost all the propellers on the Port-side of our bowthruster – it is believed that it ingested a coconut….(another thing to put on that list!!).

On the 7^th June we head into Rodney Bay Marina and tie up to a sturdy concrete dock.  We then start waiting for a good weather window to head to Trinidad…. It is the 13^th June today and we are still waiting!!

The tropical waves – these bands of low pressure and clouds that cross the Atlantic from Africa, build and then dissipate (which is good!) – but until they do dissipate they could turn into a tropical depression which basically means it could turn into a hurricane. The issue with this is that if we go, and it turns nasty, we can't outrun it. So we continue to wait...

Hurricane Carlos and a new low in the Caribbean basin - glad we are not there !

The blue dot is Saint Lucia, and the two bands of infrared activity are the tropical waves which start in Africa.

St Lucia is a good place to be held up in, with lots of shops, cinema’s and significant historical and geological sites.  John and Vicki do a day trip to Martinique (Charlie and Gordon require Schengen Visa’s), we all do an island tour where we visit the walk-in Volcano at Soufriere, see the Botanical Gardens and have lunch in a local restaurant right outside that concrete jetty Josie Maria hit in 2013 when refueling!! 

Traffic in Martinique. Not all islands look like paradise.

The Castries, Saint Lucia

In Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Vicki, John, Charlie, Gordon at Soufriere, Saint Lucia - the walk-in volcano and it smelled horrible

Bubbling hot pools of mud - Soufriere's Volcano, Saint Lucia

View of the Pitons from the restaurant in Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Charlie and Gordon at lunch in a local restaurant, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Vicki by the infamous concrete dock in Soufriere, Saint Lucia - the one we hit last year.

Carlie at the Botanical Gardens, Soufriere, Saint Lucia

Red Birds of Paradise

We use the rest of our time in St Lucia to re provision, eat out, go to the cinema and Vicki and John find the time to catch up on Josie Maria’s Blog!! One of our fav old time movies if you want to see what life could be like :) is the comedy movie "Captain Ron" with Kurt Russell and Martin Short 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOPl21EVhaU

In Saint Lucia, ready to depart for Trinidad

Preparing Josie Maria for the trip back to Australia

Preparing Josie Maria for the trip back to Australia: Waiting for parts and weather windows (February 2015 –May 2015)

In December-January we started looking for crew - our work commitments and desire not to be bound to ports for weeks to do boat maintenance and fixes meant that we were looking for a Skipper and Crew that we could live with (like family!!) and leave Josie Maria in their hands if/when we had critical maintenance/repairs and were stuck waiting for parts or repairs to be done.

We were very fortunate to find Gordon Monsen, who had been working for Caribbean Yacht Management, so knew Josie Maria, had the right personality and a lifetime of experience, as our Skipper.  He was given the responsibility to hire additional crew who would report to him - Charles Beukes, for the trip back to Australia.  Both Gordon and Charlie are from South Africa, so we are now a southern hemisphere yacht!!

Gordon and Charlie started preparing Josie Maria for the voyage in earnest in February 2015.  Josie Maria had been out of the water for 7 months and maintained so the preparation were extensive: her bottom was painted, the engine and generator serviced and all systems checked for the voyage.  Our ice-maker was fixed and the corroded LPG solenoid replaced.  There were some critical problems once we arrived…. the anchor light had blown and needed replacing…etc..

Repairs on the rudder from grounding in Walliliabou Bay

On the 16^th March, John and I finally manage to leave for Tortola (via Dallas, for a bit of work!) and what we had expected to be the start of our voyage back to Australia – the final leg!!

In Nanny Cay with a freshly painted bottom

We stayed onboard Josie Maria at Nanny Cay, waiting for the anchor light – essential before we departed for far off anchorages (!!) as well as organizing provisions, spares and packing for the voyage.  Josie Maria left for Admirals Marina in West End, Tortola – just a short motor away –on the 23^rd of March.  This was necessary because our berth at Nanny Cay was required for yachts competing in a local sailing regatta.  Josie Maria spent over a month there….

What followed after the move to West End, was a series of gear failures….

After a final rigging check …..Gordon had mentioned that the foot of the main was loose ….. it was discovered that the shackle on the tack of the mainsail had rusted and broken - it needed to be replaced.  This part was not simple to replace! To have the part sent from the UK, it was going to delay us longer than if we had it machined in Tortola, so we went for the speedier option.  Just this small gear failure required turning Josie Maria head to wind, removing the mainsail, removing the part, then when the part was made re hoisting the mainsail  - all done in the marina over 5 days!!

The broken shackle at the tack of the mainsail

Topping lift halyard that needs replacing.

Josie Maria from atop of the mast in Admiral Marine, West End, BVI

In the same rigging check it was noted that there was corrosion on the spreaders  - this was likely to be caused by a poor paint job (covered under warranty), but also could have meant there was current in the mast, accelerating the corrosion – not sensible if this was happening to leave on a long voyage.  We needed to have this possibility of this accelerated corrosion ruled out before leaving ….

The corrosion on the stays !

and more corrosion...

As soon as the tack was fixed, it was discovered that the water heater element was tripping the power on the boat, the upshot being that the boiler was faulty and needed to be replaced.  Unfortunately this did mean that we had to wait for the parts to be sent from the UK and a delay of at least two weeks….

After having all the plans we made in the previous years jettisoned we decided to approach this leg of our voyage with a very flexible attitude.  This meant that when all this was happening, John and I, were figuring out what adventures we could have while waiting for the necessary parts.  We had already been waiting for parts for 2 weeks at this stage – so John and I left Josie Maria in West End, Tortola, with Charlie and Gordon and spent 2 weeks travelling the islands we didn’t see last year - that we had wanted to see – this time by air rather than boat!!  

Dancing Barman in Anguilla

Anguilla

We went to St Martin, Anguilla, St Barts, St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and had a wonderful time seeing these beautiful islands.  Anguilla has the most amazing white beaches, fantastic resorts – with dancing barmen (in Caribbean style!!), St Martin has some great restaurants and shops, likewise St Barts.  In St Kitts we went to Shitten Bay (not a great name!!) and snorkeled with Turtles! We also loved Antigua, being there the week before the Antigua race week and while England and the West Indies were playing cricket – the island was very busy!

John and Vicki slumming it in St.Barts while the boat is getting repaired

In St. Martin on route to a restaurant by the beach 

More slumming in Anguilla while doing a tour of the resorts and white beaches

St.Kitts

When we got back to Tortola and Josie Maria it was apparent that a weather window to sail to Panama was unlikely for another 2 weeks – we were also waiting on the water heater and navigation lights, which had been subsequently found to be corroded.  The Caribbean basin had quite a disturbed sea – 4-5 meters and the Hurricane Season, set to start on 1 June looked as though it was going to start early.  At this point we went back to Australia for 2 weeks (via Miami) , the weather still not improving – Gordon and Charlie had moved Josie Maria to St Thomas, awaiting a weather window for the trip to Panama.  

In Miami, stopover on the way back to Australia

When it was clear that a weather window for the trip to Panama this would not happen for an additional 2 weeks, and tropical storm Ana appeared in the Caribbean basin– John and Vicki decided to extend their time in Australia for another 2 weeks.  Vicki decided at this time that she would leave for St Thomas, departing (and arriving) on the 22 May to make the final call as to when/if Josie Maria would make the trip back this year.  Everyone was concerned that we were leaving too late (we were not sure what they meant by this) and Vicki had had unsettling dreams that seemed to warn off leaving this year.  Maybe there was a reason that we were being so frustrated with serial gear failure!!  On the 23^rd May it was clear that the first tropical storm of the season in the Eastern Pacific was forming – this was not a good sign.  We could get to Panama, with a little discomfort – but the trip through the pacific was not looking peaceful.  The El Nino event in Australia and the slightly higher sea temperature meant that the weather in the Pacific was not looking positive for a safe cruise home.  So when Vicki joined Gordon and Charlie in St Thomas – the USVI’s – hoping to head to Panama, it was decided to head for Trinidad and start the trip back in January 2016.  Gordon was happy to stay onboard and to ensure that Josie Maria, was ready for the trip in January and Charlie seemed happy to rejoin.

In hindsight this decision proved correct – there have been 3 hurricanes (Andres, Bianca and Carlos) in the Eastern Pacific, and a current Low pressure system that looks like it will develop into a hurricane and a hurricane  (Ana) in the Caribbean basin as well stormy weather in the south Pacific to date (13 June 2015)!!

In St. Thomas Crown Bay Marina, just before leaving for St. Marteen