2 - 7 January 2007  Success with plumbing fittings!  We hitchhiked out to the lumber store and we were picked up by a young family from Wrexham of all places.  They have bought some land on the Island to develop.  The lumber store was a great find and we were able to restock on sealant, rope for fenders, hose pipe, heat shrink and all sorts of odds and ends.  We fitted the new low pressure switch to the watermaker and it worked like a dream.  We then prepared the boat to depart direct to Panama as the short-term forecast is reasonable.  However, we need the seas to die down locally before we can comfortably make the 30 miles to windward (East) to clear Long Island from George Town, before turning West for the Windward Passage and the Caribbean.  It all depends on the progress of a weakening front lying through Florida.  The front didn't materialise as forecast and the winds stayed in the 20 kt range from the East through to the 6th January.  So much for our plan.  Moreover, having spoken to "Herb" and "Chris", the two weather gurus on the HF Radio, there are gales blowing off the Columbian Coast which would make the passage in its later stages into Panama difficult and uncomfortable.  We busied ourselves catching up with the never ending list of jobs that accompany boat ownership and Hazel spent each afternoon playing beach volleyball but with the regulation volleyball players rather than all those who answer to 'Grandma'.  We also explored Stocking Island, the nature trails and the beaches on the Atlantic Coast.  The sea remained big, breaking dramatically on the reefs, confining our snorkelling to the sheltered side of the Island.  All in all, time not wasted and a myriad of jobs completed that seem to have been on the list ever since we have owned the boat.

                                               Views of the Anchorage taken from the monument on the top of Stocking Island                                     The Atlantic Shore

8 - 10 January 2007  The 8th dawned relatively quiet with the promise of a good forecast for the next 2 days.  However, as seems to be the case recently, it depends on the progress of a cold front working its way across the Southern states of the USA.  Gales are still blowing off the Columbian Coast as strong Tradewinds are reinforced by a ridge of high pressure.  We put to sea with a plan to go as far as Great Inagua, just East of the Windward Passage, to see how the front develops before committing ourselves to the 9 day passage across the Caribbean.  That afternoons forecast confirmed the progression of the front, which had intensified with the promise of 35 kt winds on Thursday 11th, just as we would hit the Windward Passage (as we write this, there are 35 kt winds blowing and we are secure alongside in Caicos!).  We changed the plan to make use of the 2 day good window of light winds, albeit still from the East, to make the Turks and Caicos Islands to see how things developed.  Having left George Town and got through the reef in relatively benign conditions compared to our recent experiences, we made about 4 hours of good progress to windward under full sail into big seas before the wind increased and made progress very slow.  It took us 12 hours to make the 30 miles to the end of Long Island.  After two tacks between Long Island and Conception Island we had sailed a further 26 miles for 4 miles in the right direction!  On went the engine, and in dieing winds and seas we motorsailed into the seas towards Caicos.  The 290 mile passage took two and a half days, and for once this trip the Atlantic was relatively smooth, as can be seen when Hazel raised the quarantine and Caicos courtesy flags.  We arrived in Caicos Island around midday and accepted the offer of a pilot boat sent out by Turtle Cove to escort us through the reef and avoid the many coral heads.  Not a pass we would want to attempt in anything but calm conditions.  In places the gaps between the coral seemed no wider than the boat and less than 3' of water under the boat.  We decided to moor alongside as the forecast for the next few days has worsened.  Last month was a frugal month, so we decided to splash out on the luxury of an alongside berth.  Arrival and immigration was painless and conducted by two smart, polite Custom Officers who came to the boat to complete formalities.  First impressions are of an affluent island in the midst of a major property boom.  Judging by the many mini-super yachts, its tax-free status is clearly evident.  The Marina is part of a major leisure development that includes bars, restaurants and dive shop.  The Island is billed as a major US holiday destination and water sport mecca.  Looking at the clarity of the water and the beautiful shades of blue, we can see why.   We may now be firmly in the Tropics, but its a cool 75^o and blowing a gale, with frequent squally showers - we're glad to be alongside!

11 - 18 January 2007  The wind that was forecast that made us come to Caicos materialised shortly after we arrived.  It blew at nearly 30 kts for three days.  We were therefore very pleased to be tucked up in Turtle Cove which is the closest we've found to a US style marina since we left the East coast.  While we've enjoyed being anchored out on the more remote islands, it was nice to be able to carry the Bromptons (folding bicycles) ashore and have the freedom to explore the Island and get some well needed exercise.  Shortly after arriving, whilst doing our routine checks of the boat, we discovered a leaking exhaust manifold gasket on the engine.  Whilst the build up of salt crystals was quite spectacular, it needed fixing.  We spend a day stripping it down and having the studs, which of course broke off, removed at the shipyard.  Everyone was very helpful and the job went like a dream.  We had spare gaskets onboard and even took the opportunity to repaint the manifold and it now looks like new.  We also took the opportunity to catch up on several other jobs that have been on the list since before we left the US, including replacing the bilge pump float switch, which was done at Steve's full arm stretch.  It hasn't all been work, although we have been busy.  We couldn't pass on the opportunity to dive one of the World's most spectacular reefs.  We did two dives down to 85', which involved swimming through a cave to get to the wall.  The drop then plummeted 12 000' into the deep blue to the ocean floor.  Whilst the colours in the photographs might not be as vibrant as those in the Bahamas due to the colour loss on increase in depth, it was by far the most spectacular dive we have ever taken.  The coral was huge, the sponges were magnificent and we saw some much larger fish than we have to date.  The clarity of the water and the visibility was superb, despite several days of strong winds and rough seas.  These dives were great confidence boosts for the more challenging dives to come.  We have cycled about 50 miles around the Island on various errands and for pleasure.  The tourist industry and building to accommodate the visitors is in overdrive.  There doesn't seem to be much of a plan, but it seems to work and we can see the attraction of owning property here if we had the odd million dollars to spare.  As always, Oasis has attracted favourable comment from passers-by and we have made more friends; this is one of the nicest aspects of cruising.  We also took the opportunity to visit the commercial Conch Farm where 1.5 million conch are raised for the shellfish market each year, which equates to about 5% of the total market.  We knew they tasted good, but now we know more about their life cycle, sex life, predators and what it takes to raise them.  They are an endangered species in the wild, but you would never know by how many restaurant menus it appears on!  We have thoroughly enjoyed the Turks and Caicos Islands, but we now have a weather window to get through the Windward Passage and at least to Jamaica before heading down to Panama.  We will probably spend at least a few days in Jamaica until gale force winds off the Columbian Coast die down.

                           Hazel hanging upside down!                  Barracuda                                   Southern Stingray                                 Coral 

                                            Hazel hanging over the deep blue                      Guess who?                                     Conch Farm

19 - 21 January 2007  We moved Oasis round from our berth to the fuel dock and prepared everything for an early getaway and all went to plan.  The pilot boat arrived on time to escort us out to through the reef; this was particularly important early in the morning as the passage was directly into sun and the numerous coral heads invisible.  Local knowledge was imperative.  We slipped our lines confident that we had a good weather window to at least get to Jamaica, if not all the way to Panama; however, our hearts sank as we rounded the headland to exit the Marina and got our first glimpse of the reef.  The winds were light as forecast, but overnight a huge swell, the remnants of a storm system well to the North off Cape Hatteras was surging in through the reef.  There were large breaking waves in the 'Cut', and when they weren't breaking there was a 10' wall of water.  Not good.  We asked the pilot what he thought it would be like when we got closer to the 'Cut' and he was confident we would get through if we waited for the third wave and then "powered our way out".  Given that we were flat out at 6 kts to keep up with him 'powering out' was not an option.  Wave one would kill our speed, wave two would turn us broadside to the sea and wave 3 could turn us over.  We have had our bad experience with leaving in the wrong conditions in the Abaco's.  Just as we had made up our minds to turn back we began to feel the swell as it came through the reef and Oasis was picked up and dropped off of a wave so that she just touched bottom.  That settled it for us, and we turn around in the narrow channel between the coral heads and went back to the Marina feeling very dejected.  Hazel dived under the boat and did a quick inspection to see that we hadn't done too much damage, but had lost a 6" square of antifoul off of the keel.  I was able to put the scuba gear on later and confirm that was all we had done.

Out came the bikes again and off we cycled in glorious sailing weather to explore the western end of the Island!  It wasn't much different from the eastern end, except that the building plots were less advanced.  We did have fun with some local children though, who were fascinated by the way the Brompton's folded up.  When we got back to the Marina it was weigh in time after a fishing contest.  The winner, a magnificent 66lb Wahoo is in the picture.  We checked the reef the following day from the beach and although conditions had improved, they were still beyond us.  The powerful sport fishing boats were working hard to get through the seas.  However, Sunday morning, the 21st January, dawned quiet and the swell had reduced so that at least the seas weren't breaking anymore.  The forecast was for another large swell to reach the Islands on Monday/Tuesday so we decided to make a run for it whilst we could.  Customs were called, the boat packed again and we slipped later that morning.

21 - 29 January 2007  The passage through the reef was, thankfully, uneventful this time.  We headed out to sea in a 4' swell under reefed main and headsail in 15 kts of wind in the lee of the land to round West Caicos.  Progress was swift and we made a good 7kts throughout the afternoon and into the early evening.  As we left the lee of the land the winds and seas increased to 20kts and a 3' chop on the 6' swell, which was not particularly comfortable, but we hung on with one reef and powered our way through the night past Little Inagua towards Great Inagua and the Windward Passage.  The sea grew as the night progressed and the wind topped 30kts in gusts, but we were happy to be creaming along despite the discomfort as we expected the wind to die rapidly as the sun came up.  It did, and by 10 o'clock we were motor sailing in a big swell; glad we left when we did as this one was also from the North and would have stopped passage through the reef.  It was well worth the discomfort to be on our way again.  As we slid between Haiti and Cuba the seas died as quickly as they had built and we settled down to a few jobs as we sailed along.  Haiti looked beautiful, mountainous, with steep high cliffs falling to the Ocean.  All of the advice we had read was to stay clear as there were no safe ports for yachts and although the Island is policed by a UN force it is a dangerous place to be.  Such a shame.  Cuba was also off limits to us as our insurance will not cover us in Cuban waters.

The Windward passage turned out to be windless, as the breeze died completely overnight and we had a job to maintain enough air in the sails to stop them slating back and forth in the remnants of the swell.  We both grabbed the opportunity to get some sleep and we made just over 300 miles in the first 48 hours of the passage.  Dawn of the third day bought the Blue Mountains of Jamaica into view and we thought that we were home and dry when bang!  We had hit something in the water and the propeller began to vibrate badly.  Fortunately, we were both in the cockpit having coffee at the time and were able to knock the engine out of gear.  After tentatively trying to increase the revs it was obvious that all was not well.  We had no wind, but the swell was too big to dive under the boat, so we made the best of what we had and rolled uncomfortably along at about 1kt!  Later that afternoon the swell died down and Steve was able to get in the water (reluctantly) to see what had happened.  He wasn't in long, as there were only two blades of a three bladed propeller left.  The engine was therefore no longer an option and we would need to sail the 40 plus miles into Port Antonio, Jamaica, the nearest port.  Easier said than done!  We took 24hrs to cover 20 miles in the very light breeze.  We at least got to try all of the sails out in every imaginable combination.  We finally settled on our large, light cruising chute (spinnaker) and no main sail.  This sail allowed us to make about 3kts out of the 6 kt breeze, when it blew!  The upside was that the Dolphins seemed to find our speed amusing, swimming alongside, slapping the water with their tales and turning the heads to look at us.  It was almost as though they were mocking us.  We had about a dozen visit in all, with a pod of 3 staying with us for about 6 hrs, which was very special.         

We finally closed with Jamaica about 1400 hrs on the 24 January, after 366 miles.  The wind held, just, for us to sail into Port Antonio under full 'Chute and on to the anchor.  The sail drop went like a dream and Oasis must have made quite a spectacle sailing in the afternoon sunshine under that huge green sail past the cruise ship that we had watched arrive the night before.  The Marine Police came out to meet us as the Sergeant was "surprised how little progress we had made since last time he looked"!  It was good of them to come out, and nice to have them nearby in case the wind dropped.  If it had dropped we had no way of anchoring until we were well within the harbour as the water drops to 6000' immediately in the entrance - it would have been insult to injury to have drifted past the harbour having worked so hard to sail there.

Port Antonio is beautiful, lush and green, just as you imagine a tropical island to be.  The arrival process, including visits from the Health Inspector, Immigration, Customs and the Police was painless and all the officials were courteous and very helpful.  We anchored off of The Errol Flynn Marina, (details and pictures at the link) who have made us feel very welcome.  We have since dived on the boat and managed to remove the damaged propeller, fit the spare and order the parts we need from England to effect a repair.  Working under water was an interesting experience, but we did the job with the loss of no tools; however, we did drop the key for the prop' shaft.  After a short search we even managed to find a strip of scrap bronze and make a new one of those.  A satisfying experience, despite the delay in progress south.  We will need to wait about 10 days for spares so we are taking advantage of the glorious weather to re-varnish the coach roof surround.  Work never stops!!  That said, we are planning to raft down the Rio Grande River later in the week and have eaten some great Jerk Chicken.

 

 

 

 

Police Escort             Sailing to Anchor under the 'Chute

30 - 31 January 2007  On a cloudy morning, we headed out for a days rafting on the Rio Grande River, hoping that it wouldn't rain too hard on us.  Rafting in this manner was started here in the 1940's by Errol Flynn, the actor.  After being ship wrecked here, Errol fell in love with Port Antonio and built himself a couple of homes and bought a plantation; his widow still lives at the plantation.  Errol often watched his workers transporting the bananas from the plantation down to the sea on small bamboo rafts.  He thought that it would be fun to sail down the Rio Grande in the same manner and designed a seat for two people that could be fitted to a raft; the design is still used today.  Errol enjoyed travelling down the river in this way and thought that it would make a good tourist attraction for the future.  How right he was.  Our Raft Captain was Howard, who had been a Captain for 13 years.  He skilfully manoeuvred the raft through the rapids, dodging large boulders on the way.  The Captains guide the rafts down the eight miles to the sea and an apprentice has to walk/punt the raft back up to the start.  Most of the apprentices weren't particularly young and you could tell by the way they strained and their muscles flexed that it wasn't an easy task.  Several of the apprentices we saw were pulling two rafts up the river at the same time.  You have to spend a year as an apprentice before getting your Captain's Certificate.  The ride down the river was quite calm and very relaxing.  It enabled us to see places that you wouldn't by road.  The Rio Grande is obviously well stocked with fish as at every turn their were Blue and Black Herons and Egrets.  We were met on the river by people on rafts selling drinks and gifts.  Part way down the river, we stopped on a beach where we could smell the fire from a small kitchen, Belinda's Kitchen.  Belinda was a very cheerful, friendly lady who cooked up a gastronomic feast on three small wood fires.  She has been doing this for the last 8 years, taking over from her Mother who did it for many years previous.  As it had rained earlier, Belinda was a little late in preparing the food, so we were able to watch her create everything from scratch and we found out a lot about how she lived.  Not only is she a cook, she is a mother of three boys and a pig farmer; a very busy lady.  Belinda's cooking is all local Jamaican faire; on today's menu was Salt Fish and Aki, Jerk Chicken (in a rich sauce), Dumplings, Breadfruit, Bok Choy and Rice 'n' Peas.  It all looked so appetising that we couldn't decide what to have, so had a bit  of everything.  It tasted as good as it looked.  Before lunch, we went for a dip in the river which was quite refreshing!  Back on the raft, we continued down the last few miles, looking at the wildlife and vegetation.  We were surprised when we reached the sea at St Margaret's Bay and Howard had to work quite hard to keep the raft straight when the swell of the sea pushed up the mouth of the river.  Although we got a little damp at times, it was a very pleasant and relaxing way to spend the day and we are thoroughly glad we did this one tourist stat! 

From the architecture, Port Antonio has at one time been quite an affluent place, the remains of which can be seen on most of the streets.  The town is a very busy place but a lot of the buildings and roads are in need of much repair.  Woody, our taxi driver, said that many of Jamaica's rich and famous people (including a former Premiere) live in and around Port Antonio and that they didn't want the roads repairing as that would make it too easy for more people and tourists to get here and spoil there privacy!  Whilst on the boat, we have been visited by several young men on their rafts, selling fresh fruit, vegetables and hand-made jewellery; most of the time we have bought something from them as we would rather help those who are at least trying to make a living than those who just beg for money in the street.   

          With our Raft Captain, Howard               Belinda's Kitchen                   Riding the Rapids                     An Apprentice           Old Buildings in Port Antonio