Tis the Season

I have added a new link to the blog. It is a website from a retired US Coast Guard Chief who is a weather forecaster in South Florida. I find his opinion of the movement of storms and hurricane development very enlightening. Granted, my boat is hopefully safe in Trinidad but, I still am checking storm development in the Atlantic 2-3 times a day. It appears the next week will be very active in the Carribean and the next wave coming off Africa will have the right conditions to become a major cane and very likely hit the CONUS(continental US).
So if you have an interest in storm development StormW's blog has compiled pertinent NOAA charts and graphs.In addition the tropival weather discussion on Crown Weather is excellent as well. I have found Crown Weather to be quite accurate this year as well as last year.

North Cascades

Flew into Portland , Oregon on the 12th and have been hanging out with family and friends. Visited Dave Ford in Mazama, Washington and drove highway 20 on Larry Johnson's Harley. Fantastic trip as weather was perfect and those of you who have traveled the route know the scenery is magnificent!

Chagauramas, Trinidad

I sailed for about nine hours from Prickly Bay towards Trinidad then the wind went completely flat so motored the last seven hours to Chagauramas. What a suprise! Cannot remember the last time I saw so much plastic, trees and garbage in the water. At one point I retreived the boat pole and pushed a large island of floating crap away from the hulls. It had rained 4 inches the previous night so there was a lot washed off the shore but it was excessive.

Chagauramas is a very busy port. Not only is the yachting industry going full blast but it is a support base for Trinidads oil and gas works. Needless to say the harbor is full of oil rig support craft and refit services. I have never seen a place with so many sail boats on the hard.There are six different places to haul and store sail boats. Peake has a 150 ton travel lift and Crews Inn sports a 200 ton lift!

My plan is to leave the boat on the hard at Peakes  for a month and when I return polish,wax and do the bottom.

Grenada

Been hangin out in Grenada until I find the window for a passage to Trinidad where I will leave the boat for a month or so.

Prickly bay

I do like Grenada! A modern country with a British flavor and many of the areas with French names. The people are friendly and ask often how the Grenada experience is. Cannot say enough, only wish it was cricket season as they have a very big oval here.

More Union Island

Clifton, Union Island, The Grenadines

Clifton on Union is a quaint town with a good and reasonably priced fruit and veg market. The selection is first rate as well. I purchased passion fruit, paw paw, mangoes, tomatoes, potatoes and sour sop.Looking at the picture you can see Petite St Vincent in the background. The harbor is surrounded by a reef so makes for a vary comfortable anchorage. The fact that the Tabago Cays are about an hour away is attractive as well

.If you click the photo it will enlarge and a small building is visible out on the reef. A number of years a go a Union Island Man took a lot of used conch shells and built a foundation on the reef for a bar. Sandpipers Tom and Amy mentioned this when they passed thru a couple of years ago.The owner has finished off the foundation with concrete overlay and the bar is quite up market for the area. An ingenious use of conch shells that seem to be everywhere.

Tobago Cays

This part of the Grenadines is superb cruising. Union Island, Mayreaux and Tobago Cays are all within about 2 hours of each other on a light wind day. Can't say I have seen too many of those this season! Tobago Cays is the closest thing I have seen to the South Pacific in the Caribbean.Azure and turquoise waters and sandy beaches and the ubiquitous palm tree. It is a Marine Park so everything is protected.The turtles seem to know this and you can actually swim quite close(1-2 meters) from them. I actually saw a youngin swim up slowly and touch a very large turtle.

Bequia, Grenadines

I am currently in Prickly Bay Grenada, thought another shot of Bequia would be OK. I took this while on a run to the top of Mt Pleasant.