Saturday, September 25, 2010

Back in Chagauramas

 Even in the yard nature abounds. One of the many butterflies that dry their wings in the morning.
 Underside of Le Chat Beaute
The boat almost ready for launch. Just waiting for the transporter.

Flew back to Trinidad a week or so ago and have been working long hours to get the boat ready to go back in the water. Those of you that have spent tie on the hard know how dusty, dirty and noisy it can be as well as unhealthy.

My plans this year are to paint the hull with anti-fouling, wax topsides and replace the Volvo type stuffing boxes.I employed a cruisers 15 year old son to help with the sanding and waxing. Justin of  Rio Luna was a great help as I was able to reduce the time living on the hard to eight days with his help.

The boat is currently Med moored to the dock at Peakes. The situation is calm at nights but every afternoon the rain squalls move in and it can get wild. I have so many lines out it looks like a spider web.

Been wondering if I would come back to Trinidad again to do work on the boat. I think probably not. I suppose once the prices here were quite competitive but anymore there equal to what you would pay in the States.Chagauramas is a filthy harbor full of debris. About once a day I have had to remove a piece of timber that was scratching my new anti fouling.Next time will probably go back to the States or Grenada.I think either place woulld be less cost with as good or better services.

Friday, September 10, 2010

The Light Speed

My good friends and fellow cruisers, Dave and Kathy Kane were in Astoria re-powering their Chris White Atlantic 42 catamaran.Kathy was off for a job interview and a window developed to move Light Speed from Astoria , Oregon to the Seattle vicinity.Dave was looking for crew and I made myself available.

It was like old homecoming as Todd Cordill, a cruiser I knew from the South Pacific was along as well.In addition Collin a Puget Sound sailor was along for the ride. The trip from the mouth of the Columbia to the Straits of Juan De Fuca is usually a challenging sail. As it turned out we were only able to sail about 6 hours with a storm spinnaker. The rest was a fast (9-10 knots) under power. Lightspeeds new 30 hp yanmars pushed us along on the the flat but very foggy seas. We made it to Port Angeles in 20 hours! About an 8+ knot pace. We refueled then set off for Port Townsend and tied up in the Port Hudson Marina. Unlike most passages this one I did with three others so standing 3 hour watches meant there was 9 hours between watches. Very Luxurious!!! The following day we set off at 0700 headed for Seattle but decided Edmonds would be the final stop for the crew. Dave had a friend who lived in Edmonds and was loaning him a vehicle to drive back to Oregon

.Light Speed is a fast cat and the pilot house configuration sure worked well on this trip as it was foggy and cold all but the last 3 hours. I was impressed with the speed under power and the comfort of the pilot house in the Pacific Northwest cannot be overstated.

Next week will be the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend and there was some early arrivals during our stay. Took this picture of three wooden boats/ship outside the marina. Double click to get a bigger and better picture.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

More Salmon Fishing

While visiting Portland I had a chance to hook up with a lifelong friend.  Bugsy (Gene) Carlson and I used to spend the Spring, salmon fishing on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. Bugsy is an avid fisherman and usually gets the limit. As the up river brights were running we set out at 0530 for the hunt for the elusive finned creature of the deep. The morning was glorious as we watched the sun rise over Mt. Hood and the Columbia River.


We spent 7 hours fishing and saw only one fish landed. We were giving it another 15 minutes when I decided to check my rig. I picked up the rod and started to reel in when I felt that tell tale bite . I set the hook and the battle was on! I played the 25 pound beauty for about 20 minutes. The fish ran 6 times and vaulted out of the water once.