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 16th 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 23rd
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
|
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 23rd 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 |
No comments:
Post a Comment