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Starblazer - 02/04/2016 - Staying on plan!



We spent two nights on Carriacou. John had offered me dinner ashore however I suggested lunch instead. At the current stage in the moon's cycle it doesn't get up until after midnight and the anchorage was very dark. It was also quite crowded so we had fears of driving the dinghy in circles looking for Starblazer. The village in Tyrrel Bay is very small, with numerous cafe/bars, a few vegetable stalls and a few tiny 'supermarkets' which certainly do not live up to their name! Next time we'll visit Hillsborough, the capital, either anchor off or go by taxi.

Our trip to Union Island didn't quite go as planned. We pulled up the anchor, motored out of the bay then sailed just about all the way to Union Island. Clifton, the capital where we needed to clear in, is at the eastern end of the island which was more or less where the wind was coming from. We started the engine and rolled the Genoa away to motor the last 3 miles, then the engine alarm went off as we were overheating. A quick check showed that we had no seawater cooling. John primed the system and we tried again, no water came out of the exhaust though some appeared to be leaking from the side of the pump. I had read that it is possible to anchor in Chatham Bay, at the extreme western side of the island, and get a taxi to Clifton to clear in so we did that. We could sail all the way to Chatham Bay so long as the wind didn't get completely blocked by the headland we had to go round. It's a large bay with sand in the northern section, we couldn't quite reach there but anchored fairly close to Aretha in the centre of the bay. The anchor went down in about 7 metres and the gusting winds blew us back to set it. John snorkelled over it then dived down to check it, we were hooked into what appeared to be a dead coral pavement.

After a quick lunch we dinghied ashore, Tim from Bollhead (a bar/restaurant) ordered a taxi for us and we scrambled up a track to reach the road which runs along the ridge and goes to Clifton. I say 'scrambled' because only goats could use some of the track elegantly! Keith, the taxi driver, took us to the airport and waited while we cleared in. We asked to stop at The Anchorage Yacht Club for a drink and bought him a Sprite then went back to Chatham Bay. We followed a vehicle track back down, much easier but longer. That evening John got his wish, BBQ lobster, and I had a mixed platter which I shared: grilled chicken, ribs, fish and Lambie (conch) in a tasty sauce. This was all served with rice, baked potatoes and veg. We finished the evening with drinks on board Aretha with Stefan and Anna from Ayama.

The next day, Wednesday, I did the washing while John investigated the water pump. He found the fault and was pleasantly surprised that the new seal and impeller hadn't been damaged. The Doyle Guide to the Windward Islands does mention the winds which shriek down the hillsides surrounding the bay, he tells the truth! We invited the crews of Aretha and Ayama on board for sundowners, sadly no green flash because of the clouds, and experienced the wind suddenly rising from 8 knots to 25 knots in the blink of an eye. We were all watching the wind instruments. After a second disturbed night caused by shrieking winds, anchor chain grinding on the seabed and anchor alarm going off when it lost a GPS signal, I had had enough.

John wanted to snorkel around the point where there is a drop off but the weather had other ideas. Thursday started cloudy with showers, visibility was too poor to consider heading towards the Tobago Cays. During lunch the skies cleared so we quickly pulled up the anchor and motored towards Mayreau. There are a couple of anchorages there that we could divert to if the visibility decreased however it stayed bright and we picked our way in, carefully scrutinising the plotter and spotting the reefs on either side of us! In 2011 we came in here twice on Fair Encounter with no plotter, just paper charts, though the first time we had two extra pairs of eyes spotting as well. I think we provided some entertainment trying to pick up the mooring. Normally we manage first time however I made a mess of it. My arms just aren't long enough to reach the boat hook under the water to pick up the dangling loop. I snagged it once but couldn't get the line through it. We were just lining up for another go when two chaps from the Polish boat alongside dinghied to the buoy and picked up the loop as another young man dinghied up to ask if we needed help. I'd like to think they saw a 'damsel in distress' rather than an old lady who couldn't manage! John snorkelled over the mooring, dived down to check the attachments and was very pleased with what he found. We slept well last night.

Joyce




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