4 October 2018 Chaguaramus, Trinidad
Our son Brett dropped us off at Gatwick very early on a misty morning. We checked in and walked onto the plane on time, but as soon as they had us seated, they announced that there were some delays because of the fog and that they would keep us informed. I hate being trapped like that. We had a frustrating two hour wait until the fog cleared enough to allow normal airport operations.
There was another one hour delay at St Lucia while some passengers disembarked and others got on and we arrived at Port of Spain in Trinidad, two hours late. There was a very long wait at Immigration while they faffed about with each person. I was expecting all sorts of trouble because we will be leaving on a yacht, but the paperwork that we’d obtained before we left worked well and we’re soon given a 3 month visa.
After picking up the bags, we were stopped at customs, who quickly spotted that we were yachties (how do they know?). The lady asked us if we were carrying any spare parts. There was no point in denying it, so we were taken to one side and had to go into an office to declare the items.
Strangely, they didn’t want to inspect our bags, nor did they want a list of the items - they only wanted to know how many bags contained spare parts. They explained that we will have to immediately go to the Customs office in Chaguaramus to have our bag or bags inspected. We told them that we only had one bag and that was duly noted on the form.
We’d arranged that Mike would pick us up from the airport, and despite the two hour delay, he was waiting for us. He said that it was no problem to stop off at customs - he said it was normal. While he went for his car, I repacked our bags, so that we had a few big impressive spare parts in one bag to show customs.
The route back to Chaguaramus goes through Port of Spain and the traffic was atrocious, so it took about an hour to get to the Customs office. A very nice lady took the form given to me at the airport and looked at the spare parts in my bag. No problem, everything was ok and duty free because it was for the boat. It’s a very strange system and obviously open to abuse.
We dumped our bags in our hotel room and were drinking a nice cold beer by 20:00. We collapsed into bed an hour later.
5 October 2018 Chaguaramus, Trinidad
We were up early and carried our heavy bags to the boat. The inside smelled a little musty, but not bad after three months - there was also no sign of the dreaded mildew. Even the deck and the topsides looked pretty clean. The bottom has been anti-fouled, but strangely, there are two shades of blue paint. Everything looks okay to go back in the water.
We’d been told that we were being launched at 14:00, but there was another boat “Larus” parked right in front of us. We chatted to Tim and Nancy who were surprised that they would have to be moved today - they were due to be launched on Monday next week. I went to the Peakes office who assured me that we would be launched at 14:00. There was a bit of discussion with Tim who was offered the chance to be launched today, but decided to go in on Monday as planned.
I asked the Yard manager about the two tone paint and he said that one of the tins of Jotun Seaforce 90 must have been from a separate batch because the colour was different. He said that he’d done his best to blend in the colours, but there was nothing else that he could have done. The hull looks a bit like a harlequin, but it’s underwater and perhaps the patchy look will deter Killer Whales from attacking the boat.
We pottered about for the rest of the morning doing jobs ready to launch. The anchor chain was still draped over a trestle on the ground, so I spent an hour re-marking it every 10 metres and then attaching the anchor, before lifting it back into the anchor locker. I rechecked the steering cables and checked the engine, re-priming the diesel lines, ready to start it for the first time in 3 months.
For lunch, we strolled across to the Roti Hut in Power Boats, but we were immensely disappointed to find out that they are closed on Fridays. Instead, we went to one of the food stalls set up outside Powerboats and bought a tasty meal of pork, beans, rice and provisions - a bargain for £4.
The afternoon turned into a farce. There was much confusion and by 14:00 there was a discussion with the yard workers to explain that “Larus” want to be launched on Monday and that “Alba” wanted to be launched today. They eventually understood and moved “Larus” to another spot. Unfortunately, another yacht, who was supposed to have been lifted in the morning, arrived 6 hours late and they had to haul him out before they could launch us - another hour’s delay. We finally got into the water at 16:15 - 15 minutes after their finishing time.
All went well after that. The engine started fine and I remembered to "burb" the stern gland this time. The gear lever was a little sticky at first but soon loosened up. We motored out of the dock and across to Coral Cove Marina. We always want to be bow-in to the prevailing wind, so that we get a breeze through the boat. This meant that we’d have to back into our berth, which is always fraught and more so after 3 months way. However, with the help of a guy on the dock we managed without any disaster.
We’d had the presence of mind to buy 6 cold beers before we left Peakes, so we were sinking on at 17:00. It was a long tiring day.
6 October 2018 Chaguaramus, Trinidad
We had a slow day, pottering about, unpacking our bags and tidying the boat ready to start jobs tomorrow. I dropped the dinghy into the water and was amazed that the outboard started on the second pull. We wanted to hose down the decks and clean everything, but there was no water pressure from the taps on the dock. Unfortunately, it’s the weekend, so there’s no one in the office to complain to. Glenys cracked up and washed the cockpit down using water from our water tanks.
We went shopping in the afternoon and bought enough food to feed us for a couple of days. The fridges are thankfully still working, so the drinks fridge is now well stocked with beer.
I don’t know if it’s jet lag or the weather, but both of us are finding it hard to motivate ourselves to do anything. After 3 months in the UK, we’re finding the heat and humidity oppressive. There’s no wind in this part of the bay and the humidity builds up during the morning, leading to rain in the afternoon. At least the rain cools us down a little in the afternoon, but we need two t-shirts every day.
Glenys stepped up to the mark and despite the heat, cooked a lovely Goat Curry for dinner.
7 October 2018 Chaguaramus, Trinidad
There’s still no water today and the free Wi-Fi supplied by the marina is only available in the immediate vicinity of the office, which is a good 100 metres away - not very convenient. We bought a B-Mobile Sim card, which is also useless. We paid £35 for unlimited internet and telephone calls and despite trying at different times during the day and night, we’re barely able to receive emails and load Google. We’re expecting to be here in Chaguaramus for two weeks, so we’re thinking of going to another marina.
In the relative cool of the morning, I fitted a new LCD display to our auto pilot control head. The sun has baked the old display to a point where it is barely readable, so I bought a new LCD display from Dan Gerhardt in the USA. I approached the job with more than a little trepidation because it required pulling the electronic unit apart and, if I messed it up, we wouldn’t have an autopilot, which would be a major disaster.
The job turned out to be fiddly, but fairly simple, thanks to the excellent instructions provided by Dan. Unfortunately, the read-out on the display is hard to read because too much of the background is being lit up. I had a flurry of emails with Dan, who said that the problem is that my particular circuit board is providing too high a voltage to the LCD display.
The solution is to replace a resistor on the circuit board. Dan is sending a replacement resistor and instructions to us here in Trinidad. It’s a surface mounted resistor (very, very tiny) and I’m not sure that I feel confident enough to do the soldering. The autopilot is usable, so I might just leave the modification until we get to the USA - Dan says he’ll do the soldering if I send it back to him.
The teak grating in our front heads cracked when we were in Sri Lanka over a year ago and I did a bodge job, screwing a piece of plywood to it. The water doesn’t drain, so after each shower, we have to lift and turn the grating over to get the water out. In addition, the plywood has started to rot and has mildew - it’s a mess. I’ve not been able to get a new grating made along the way and the carpenters here have quoted over $500US dollars to make a new one.
My solution was to buy a teak grating kit from K J Howells, in the UK for only £160. We’ve lugged the kit out in our hold baggage and I now have to assemble it. It’s a bit like a wooden puzzle, which has to be stuck together with epoxy glue. It took me a couple of hours to complete the first phase, which I did in the saloon, which is the only flat surface big enough.
In the late afternoon, there was a trickle of water coming out of the hose pipe and we managed to top up our water tanks, although it took 1½ hours.
8 October 2018 Chaguaramas, Trinidad
We went for a walk over to Power Boats to do some errands and try to get a berth on Dock C, but there’s no room. The other docks in Power Boats are all exposed to the South, from where occasionally large, dangerous swells roll in. Last month they had a cracker and the dock in front of Power Boats’ shop and restaurant was trashed. We’re better off in Coral Cove.
Yesterday, we went to watch our life raft being opened to have it serviced by Marine Safety Equipment. When the guy carefully unfolded the raft, he found that the glue had started to fail in many places, including the seams holding the two buoyancy rings together and also where the rubber floor joins to the rings. He condemned it as unrepairable. The life raft was manufactured in 2006, so it’s 12 years old - apparently time and heat degrade the glue and poor thing has seen a lot of tropical sun.
It’s a bit worrying that the life raft would have fallen to pieces if we’d have had to use it in anger. You can just imagine having to abandon ship in a storm; inflating the life raft; throwing in our carefully prepared survival grab bags; stepping into the life raft as Alba sinks below the waves, only to find the floor peeling loose and the buoyancy rings separating. We’d end up hanging onto one of the buoyancy rings having lost everything and, after a few hours in the water, hypothermia would set in and we’d slide down into the abyssal depths.
A new Sea-Sava life raft is going to cost us 17,000TT (£1,920), which is a bit of a shock to the system, but even worse is that it will take two weeks to be shipped into the country, so it looks like we’re stuck in Trinidad a bit longer than we’d like. I’m kicking myself for not having the life raft inspected before we left for the UK, which would have given us more time to buy a life raft at a better price, but hey, there are worse places to have to spend a few weeks.
I spent a couple of hours trying the chandlers and ringing a life raft company in Port of Spain, but the best deal seems to be the Sea-Sava life raft that we’ve been quoted - it’s also the fastest delivery.
In the afternoon, I popped over to Cruise Inn and I went to the B-Mobile shop. I was loaded for bear, ready to demand my money back because we’ve not had any internet for three days. The nice lady in the store took my phone and told me that my settings were all wrong. Two minutes of clicking and we were on-line - I’m so embarrassed.
I popped into Ullman Sails and was told that the work on our Genoa and Staysail has been completed. I owe them 5,000TT (£500), but unfortunately, they still don’t have a credit card machine, so we have to go and get cash. This is a pain in the neck because there are no ATMs in Chaguaramas and we’ll have to catch a bus out to one of the malls.
I was incredibly hot in the afternoon, so we packed up early. In the evening, we invited Ian & Manuella from “Mr X” for a few beers.
9 October 2018 Chaguaramas, Trinidad
My first job was to work on the teak grating. The instructions say something like, “Glue and insert the flat infills into the castellation cross pieces” - yeah right… Either the tolerances on the wooden parts were too tight or probably, the teak has swollen in the heat and humidity. It took me an hour to individually sand and fit each infill. It then took another hour to glue it all together. It’s a mission working in this heat because the epoxy is going off in about five minutes, so I’ve gone through four mixings and brushes. However, mustn’t complain - all I have to do now is sand it and cut it to size.
Glenys went into Port of Spain to get cash and a few things. Around midday, we had huge thunderstorm and she got caught out in it - she came back like a drowned rat. Meanwhile, I’d forgotten to pull the drain plug out of the dinghy, so it was filling up rapidly. I donned my swimming shorts and, in the torrential rain, I strained to pull the dinghy upright to drain it. I later found out that I’ve pulled a muscle in my back.
Marine Safety Equipment has told us that they have a Sea-Sava life raft on their shelves, which they have already sold to Tim on “Windward Lady”. They have talked to Tim and he has kindly agreed that we can have his life raft and he’ll wait for a new one to arrive in the next couple of weeks. I wandered over to Power Boats to thank him and I’ve agreed that we’ll buy that one.
In the afternoon, I replaced the plastic engine control panel, which has been slowly falling to bits over the past few years. It was a fiddly job removing the 4 gauges and the various switches and lights. There are hundreds of wires and I was extremely careful to make sure that I didn’t accidentally disconnect any wires and disable the engine…
10 October 2018 Chaguaramas, Trinidad
I could hardly move this morning because my back had seized up, but a few, big Ibuprofen tablets soon eased that. Marine Safety Equipment came to pick me up and I paid for the new life raft, which is now sitting on our deck.
I’ve discovered that our old RFD life raft has a 12 year warranty. It was manufactured in Aug 2006 and we dropped it off at Marine Safety Equipment in June 2018 (11 years and 10 months). Marine Safety Equipment recommended that we wait until we were just about to leave Trinidad to get it serviced because we would then have an extra three months until the next service. In My Humble Opinion, I have a justifiable warranty claim on the basis that I delivered it for a service at one of their recommended service centres within the warranty period. I blasted off an email to Survitec, the manufacturer of the old life raft, invoking a warranty claim.
After lunch, I picked up some paint for the engine that I’ve had mixed and then had a go at sanding the teak grating. Unfortunately, the only sander that I have is a small, ¼ sheet palm sander, which isn’t good enough, so after an hour I gave up. I need a more powerful unit. At 14:00, the heavens opened with another mighty thunderstorm, so we gave up and read a book.
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