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Starblazer - 27/03/2016 - to or Towards?



If you look in any sailing logbook the top line reads 'From', OK we know our starting point, then it reads 'Towards', not because we don't know where we want to go but rather we don't know where we will finish! Today was a good case in point. We left somewhat later than hoped because the oil change took a lot longer than anticipated then, shortly after pulling the anchor up, we discovered we had no saltwater running through the heat exchanger on the engine. This caused us to cut the engine, pull out the Genoa, sail back into the anchorage and drop the anchor again! The system was quickly primed and we were ready to pull up the anchor again, thank heavens for an electric anchor windlass.

Our intended destination today was Carriacou, about 37 nM away. When you think about the adverse currents we were likely to meet around Point Salines, the wind which would steadily become more 'on the nose' as we followed the coast around and our belated departure, we had to come up with a different destination! The pilot book listed several, north of St George's, which would be possible. We chose to aim for Dragon Bay in the Marine National Park between Beausejour Bay and Grand Mal Bay, named after Cholera not Epilepsy! To our surprise we sailed right up to within a quarter of a mile of the entrance to the bay on genoa alone in quite a good time. The music was, and still is at 2052, booming across the bay from shore. We hope they intend to go to bed before midnight. We picked up a Marine Park mooring, were visited by the authorities and handed over EC$26.75, the equivalent of US$10, cheap for a night.

The Marine Park is home to an underwater sculpture park just off Moliniere Point, just around the corner from our mooring. We dinghied around, picked up a mooring then snorkelled over the sculptures. Unfortunately the sun was sinking and the visibility became more difficult, in fact most of our photos of the statues are rather poor. It was an interesting experience and we will return, probably nest year. The idea of the sculptures is to see how they evolve with corals and other marine growths using them as a base. Some were very clear, others were obscured by the things clinging to them.

Tomorrow we head towards Carriacou. Between here and our destination there is an underwater volcano which usually has a recommended 1.5nM exclusion zone. John looked on the Internet and the current status is Amber (or yellow) which means that there is evidence of current activity and the 5nM exclusion zone should be considered. Even if it is not erupting it can discharge a lot of gas; enough gas to lower the density of the water such that boats can float lower or even sink! I think we'll give it a lot of respect and keep well away, even if it means motoring into the wind!

Hopefully we'll reach Carriacou tomorrow, ready to clear out on Tuesday to head towards Union Island (to clear in to St Vincent and the Grenadines) and on to the Tobago Cays for a relaxed few days.

Joyce.


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