Scotland Bay - It's a jungle out there !!

Each day on anchor in Scotland Bay's fiord like jungle setting we feel as if we are in the middle of the sound stage for the Jurassic Park movie. Our guide book tells us we will awaken to the sound of monkeys and parrots. It says nothing about the roar being so loud we will feel for certain there are dinosaurs in the surrounding jungle.
The condition of the water in Scotland Bay allows us an occasional dip which is not possible in Chaguaramas Bay due to the "oil slicked" surface there.
Scotland Bay offers us an escape from the heat and commotion of Chaguaramas. Though we enjoy the use of the services Chaguaramas offers we are grateful to spend quiet time in search of sea turtles, birds and monkeys, as we view the ever shifting mist on the lush green jungle hills that surround Scotland Bay.

Located in the midst of Chaguaramas National Park is Chaguaramas Bay, home to numerous marinas, boat yards, a large, busy fishing fleet and huge commercial operations (freighters, oil rigs etc).
Our investigation of 8 of the marinas showed the vast array of services available:
Travel lifts for haul-out can handle from 15 - 200 tons. The marinas are equipped for super yachts, mono and multi-hulls. They offer safe, secure storage (storage space is available for 1,000 boats on the hard). There is easy access to marine parts, skilled labour and services as well as all forms of communication and provisioning.
Most yachts use Chaguaramas as their base for yacht services. The area offers many chandleries, sail makers, rigging and technical yacht services (everything from carpentry to refrigeration). Every service imaginable is available, even a tour operator. Since cruisers, who are transient by nature, find themselves positioned in Trinidad for a few months time waiting out the hurricane season, the opportunity is over-whelming to undertake some of these every present projects. If all goes well we hope to leave Trinidad with some new canvas work, sail repairs, a new VHF radio and an item or two from our wish list.
We are dividing our time, during this rainy season in Trinidad, between the mooring field in the busy, working harbour in Chaguaramas Bay and the quiet tranquility of the anchorage in Scotland Bay.

International Yachting Community

As the yachting community amass in Grenada and Trinidad to wait out the hurricane season we are offered an interesting over-view of the group as a whole.
Several features have become obvious:
1) We've shrunk! Our 35 foot sloop that seemed adequate when we left the Great Lakes has now become one of (if not) the smallest boats in the bay. Most yachts we encounter are on average 45-50 feet; mega-yachts are in abundance, many 65 plus feet. Approximately a third of the yachts are catamarans.
2) The Americans are not here or are at least keeping a very low profile. We note a disproportionate number of foreign flagged vessels in relationship to Americans, in fact it is a rarity to see the stars and stripes flying.
3) South African vessels abound. We have witnessed and been informed that one of the only methods possible to get funds out of South Africa or Zimbabwe is to put one's money in to the construction of a yacht and sail it away.
4) The European community and Britain is very well represented. Some of the flags we've seen so far are from - France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the European community flag, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Australia, Bimini (the Marshall Islands), Bikini (the Marshall Islands), Hawaii and the United States, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Newfoundland and Canada, the Fleur de lei, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom.
We are truly in an international community!

Trinidad

July 30th, 2007 was a great day for us.
We succeeded in tracking down the very special package that our daughter Susan mailed to us in Grenada before we set sail in perfect conditions at 1400 hours for Trinidad. With the full moon guiding us over-head we travelled in the company of our "Brit" friend Neal on Dream Chaser. The sun rise greeted us as we made landfall.
On route we passed the very well illuminated "Hibiscus" gas rig and on our approach to Trinidad we could not mistake the smell of oil.
Our decision to travel south of Grenada was solely grounded in the fact that Trinidad lay out of the Atlantic hurricane belt. We gave great consideration to this decision and undertook the implementation of additional safety and security measures, as was advised by fellow cruisers.

A Lesson in Tropical Weather

A Tropical Wave is a shallow tropical low-pressure system (trough) that normally moves east to west (imbedded in the trade wind flow). Ahead of the wave, the wind is generally northeast and behind the wave it becomes southeast. On average, the waves occur every 3 to 5 days during the tropical hurricane season (June to November). Rain squalls and gusty winds to 45 knots occur as the wave passes.

A Tropical Disturbance has a slight rotary circulation with no closed isobars. There are no strong winds associated with a tropical disturbance.

A Tropical Depression has rotary circulation at the surface with several closed isobars. Winds range up to 34 knots (39 mph).

A Tropical Storm has distinct circulation with many closed isobars. Constant winds range from 34 to 63 knots (39-73 mph).

A Hurricane (Tropical Revolving Storm) has a pronounced rotary circulation with sustained winds exceeding 64 knots (74 mph). A "typical" hurricane starts in the doldrums around 10 degrees north and 30 degrees north to 50 degrees west. It moves in a west-north-west direction, and then veers more northwest gradually curving to north and northeast as it reaches 30 degrees north. Spawning areas for hurricanes include the western Caribbean especially for early (June) and late (October and November) season hurricanes. Midseason hurricanes usually begin in the southern North Atlantic, west of the Cape Verde Islands.
Hurricanes are rated into five categories based upon the strength of the sustained winds as described below:
Hurricane Category 1 Wind Speed in MPH 74-95 Storm Surge 4-5 feet
Hurricane Category 2 Wind Speed in MPH 96-ll0 Storm Surge 6-8 feet
Hurricane Category 3 Wind Speed in MPH 110-130 Storm Surge 9-12 feet
Hurricane Category 4 Wind Speed in MPH 130-155 Storm Surge 13-l8 feet
Hurricane Category 5 Wind Speed in MPH l55 plus Storm Surge 18 plus feet

Tropical Waves

The first time we heard mention of a tropical wave was while listening to Chris Parker's weather forecast on May 24th, 2007 as we lay on anchor off the U.S. Virgin Island of St. Thomas.
Unfortunately, we have now become accustomed to monitoring the progress of the numerous waves that constantly "pop-up" off Africa's coast.
Our weather resources, on the single side band radio, continue to be Chris Parker and N.O.A.A. (National Oceanagraphic & Aeronautical Administration). As well, each morning, we also listen to Eric, who is based here in Trinidad. We collect weather information from the cruiser's net on our VHF radio (Trinidad & Grenada) and follow on-line (when possible) Dr. Jeff Masters Wunderblog on the Weather Underground web-site (www.weatherunderground.com).
During our 6 weeks in Grenada the increased frequency and severity of the waves, as well as Eric's warning each morning that we were over-due for severe weather, had us reconsider our decision to spend the hurricane season there. The message was loud and clear at the hurricane preparedness seminar we attended. The option of "leaving and avoiding" was unquestionably the best choice.
On July 30th we made our way to Trinidad which lies primarily outside the Atlantic hurricane belt.

Grenada - Southcoast anchorages

We spent 6 weeks enjoying the safe, comfortable and convenient anchorages on Grenada's south coast. The majority of our time we were in Prickly Bay where we enjoyed swimming off the beach that fronted the beautiful Calabash hotel, as well as "sun-downers" at their beach bar.
A nightly "happy hour" offered at the Prickly Bay tiki-bar made it an excellent place for locals and cruisers of all ages to gather for dinner or drinks. As an added treat, on Friday nights, a band entertained for the evening. We continue to enjoy the company of many new friends we met there.
The southcoast area offered the convenience of many nearby chandleries, marinas, haul-out and repair facilities, as well as access to very inexpensive and amazingly excellent bus service to the markets (fish, meat, fruit/vegetables, spice), malls, grocery stores and the rest of the island.
We enjoyed the ease of availability to Grenada's wealth of resources, the cruiser's net that operates daily and the locals welcoming friendliness.
Grenada's commitment to the tourist industry is evident by the surge in commercial growth the island is experiencing.

Anchor to Anchor
One Our Year Anniversary on board SeaStareh
July 4, 2006 to July 4, 2007

On July 4th, 2006 we pushed off from the dock in Penetanguishene, Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada. One year later we lay on anchor in St. George's, Grenada, West Indies.
During that year we travelled in our boat a total of 4500 nautical miles.
We travelled through 9 states in the United States (New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida); the Bahamas (Bimini, New Providence Island - Nassau, Paradise Island, Eleuthra, 6 of the Exuma Islands - Allen Cay, Norman Cay, Shroud Cay, Cambridge Cay, Staniel Cay as well as Great Exuma Island); the Turks and Caicos Islands; the Dominican Republic; Puerto Rico; the Spanish, U.S. and British Virgin Islands; St. Martin; Nevis; Martinique; St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada.
We sailed in temperatures that ranged from 30 degrees Farenheit to 95 degrees Farenheit.
We travelled through the waters of the Great Lakes (Huron & Erie), the Erie Canal, the Hudson River, the Atlantic Ocean, Delaware Bay, the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, Chesapeake Bay, the Intercoastal Waterway, the Gulf Stream, the Great Bahama Bank, the Caicos Bank, the Mona Passage and the Caribbean Sea.
We posted on-line l59 blog segments, containing 468 pictures. We took a total of l905 pictures.
We have had the most amazing journey and we thank you for following along and sharing it with us.

Grenada - Lush and Bountiful

On our island tour we visited the Grand Etang National Park, located in the rain forest. Here we had the thrill of feeding bananas to the wild monkeys.
We also visited a cocoa processing plant, a nutmeg station, a rum distillery, Fort Frederick and the Annandale falls.
We saw many types of nuts growing (cashew, almond and brazil) as well as cinnamon, avocados, mangos, sugar cane, oranges, coffee, bananas, plantain, bread fruit, passion fruit, star fruit and even loofah sponges.
Sadly, as we travelled the island we saw the catastrophic damage hurricane Ivan caused in 2004, when the eye at catagory 3 status made a direct pass. It had been 50 years since the last hurricane crossed Grenada. The island is rebuilding but the imnpact will be felt in agriculture for 20 years.
On another "cruiser's net" tour we had the incredible opportunity to witness 2 leather-back turtles as they layed their eggs on the beach at the north end of the island. The turtles we saw weighed between 5 and 6 hundred pounds, though they can get as large as 900 pounds. The organization "Ocean Spirit" has members on site to protect, document and monitor the nesting of these endangered turtles. So far this year 960 turtles have layed eggs, compared to a total of 600 for all of last year.

Grenada - First Impressions

One of our first land excursions in Grenada was an island tour, arranged by the cruiser's net that broadcasts daily.
Our hopes were to meet fellow cruisers as well as explore the island.
We were surprised to find that most of the cruisers are still in transit, the preferred destination being Trinidad. The benefits being: location (re:hurricanes), the value of their dollar, availability of yacht services; the detriment: crime - not as safe as Grenada, however many of those heading there have reservations for marinas that are gated with pools, excellent services and other amenities. We haven't found many that plan to stay on anchor.
The nationalities of the cruisers we've met so far are: Brits, South Africans, Americans, Germans, Swiss and Austrians. We know there are some Canadians out there, however our paths haven't crossed just yet.
Our intentions are to use Grenada as our home base for the next 5 months. We will explore Grenada's vast, extensive natural beauty on land as well as the water. When the weather allows we will make trips north to "play" in the Grenadines and south to visit friends in Trinidad.

Grenada - Happy Father's Day

Before heading off on Father's Day to Grenada we spent a night in Hillsborough Bay in Carriacou.
Grenada will be our final destination until we can take delivery of a new dinghy. As well, we will work on a multitude of repairs on board and order a new sail cover, ours being thread-bare.
Our sail from Carriacou to St. George's, Grenada (32 miles) was the best sail we had in our whole year long journey. The wind was 15-20 knots (20-25 later) on the beam, the waves were low (2-4') and following as was the l.5 knot current. We enjoyed a "dream" sail to our destination of St. George's, Grenada at l7:l5 hours on Sunday, June l7th, 2007.
Truly a Happy Father's Day!

Sea "CUC"umber - our beloved dinghy

Unfortunately our enjoyment of the Tobago Cays area was cut short by the loss of our dinghy "Cuc".
During our anchorage there she deflated overnight and took herself and our Johnson 6hp outboard to the bottom, allowing her floor boards and paddles to be lost as they floated away freely.
Recovery efforts in the morning saw her hoisted on deck along with the outboard to ride "belly-up" for the rest of the journey.
A sad loss but with all due respect, one would have to say, a job well done.
"Cuc" was a l984 Bombard B1. She was in such bad condition when we got her 2 years ago they threw her in free when we bought the used Johnson 6hp outboard (l99l vintage) for $400.00 Canadian.
Barry saw an article in a magazine for a product called "Tough Coat" which is a liquid hypalon ($l50.) He arranged to have some shipped in to him from B.C. and proceeded to split and glue down her blisters and paint "Cuc" in the back yard.
Unfortunately our elm trees were "shedding" some-what at the time and "Cuc" ended up with a speckled finish.
Since then we have towed "Cuc" behind us for over a year, and over 4500 nautical miles.
Definitely, a job well done!