Last days in Trinidad ( October 2014)

We've been in the water for 5 weeks now after a total exterior repaint and are heading to Grenada tomorrow.

We had the good fortune to be introduced to a lovely NZ family who had bought a yacht in Trinidad.

Over the weeks preceding their arrival we communicated by email giving them some info about Trinidad, the boating scene in Chaguaramas and a first hand overview of their boat.( Fondly known as “The purple pirate ship” Now registered as “Ula”) We were able to get things prepared onboard to make their arrival from a cold NZ winter to a hot, steamy and humid Trinidad wet season more comfortable.

Since they arrived we have thoroughly enjoyed helping out with their boat work and have had a lot of fun sharing outings together.

Scotland Bay is a lovely area to “chill out” known as “liming” in The West Indies. We enjoyed sharing 2 of the 3 boys birthdays there all aboard “Erica”

Birthday celebrations

Baiting the hooks

Out of the sea, into the pan and on the plate....Yummmmmmm

Enjoying Scotland Bay

On the way home

Eric and I spent a weekend there also to get away from a particularly rolly period in the harbour.

We saw monkeys and Turkey buzzards from the upper deck as we ate breakfast and could hear the haunting sounds of the howler monkeys at daybreak.

Turkey buzzards rule the air during the day making use of the thermals, then roost here for the night

During the day many “party boats” came for several hrs. The Trinidad and Tobago music is very appealing but awfully loud! These also come through the Chaguaramas anchorage over the weekends and holidays at 2-3 in the morning!

It has been interesting watching the ships coming in to the port. There are oil rigs close by and the survey and service boats are many.

This ship is Triangular shaped..A very wide stern for laying out cables

Eric, the keen fisherman has had some interesting catches. He has caught lots of eels and stingray which he has had to cut off and loose his line The picture on the lower left is a wolf herring. Good eating but lots of very fine bones. The one on the right is a long tom 

 wolf herring                                                                                   Long Tom

He has put some delicious catches on the plate as well

During our time on the hardstand we enjoyed a day out on the water to watch some power boat racing on a friends launch, seeing also the islands close by

Another break from the painting was a hike to Macquaripe, where we enjoyed the coolness of the bamboo forest and views from the top of the ridge.

Bamboo cathedral

During our stay here we have done a lot of maintenance and improvements aboard. Our cockpit now sports a new set of side curtains and sail cover thanks to the exceptional work of “Alpha canvas and Upholstery”

Eric transporting the men ashore

Today we went ashore to watch our friends yacht “Ula” being moved in the IMS yard. An exciting time for the family as they get nearer to launching her.

We have been waiting for a dive compressor from Australia which arrived this afternoon so we can clear Immigration and Customs tomorrow. We are excited to be moving on to new sights and to catch up with friends ahead of us.

In the cruising world we don't say goodbye just see you again somewhere.