This morning I set [...]]]>
This morning I set off into ‘town’ to check in. I was the first one in at 8:30am and by the time I had completed the paperwork there were quite a few others behind me. Good thing I went in early. I picked up some fresh out of the oven bread and headed back to the boat.
Back on the boat I managed to Skype with John on Windancer IV who expects to be in Bequia by the weekend. No doubt we’ll bump into each other fairly soon. In a week or so he has to go back to Canada for 2-3 weeks and has asked us to keep in touch with his family. We’ll be delighted to help out as we’ll never be far apart.
We made plans with Bees Knees to rendezvous ashore to go for a walk. Helen and I went back into to town to wander around while we waited for Jim and Anne to sort things out, come ashore and check in too. I found a shop selling fishing tackle. I bought some multi strand leader to replace the stuff that’s been coming in without lures on the end. He thought it could easily be something like a kingfish chomping through my wire leader and thought the multi-strand was a good idea. I also bought a replacement lure to make up for my last loss.
Having wandered around some more we hadn’t heard from Bees Knees. I checked my handheld VHF and found the squelch too high. I lowered the setting and tried hailing them only to discover my battery was practically flat. I borrowed the port captain’s radio and still had no luck. Figuring they were adults and would work out what to do, Helen and I headed off to the Atlantic side of the island to find the turtle sanctuary. It was about 3 miles walk about in the heat. By now we were walking in the midday sun which is not the best of ideas. Nevertheless we got there and were able to see many turtles that were being reared from eggs til the age of five and a half and being released into the wild. The sanctuary also had some red legged tortoises for variety.
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(Postnote: On our way back we passed by a party of cruisers heading out the way we came. Turned our two of these were Laurie and Dawn from Cat Tales whom we’d often heard on the morning net/VHF and got to know in May when we met them in Union Island.)
Back in town we treated ourselves to ice cream after our hot walk. We made one further trip into town to drop off our empty propane tank which we’ll pick up tomorrow. Back on the boat I have started replacing the leaders on the lures I have. In my Skype chat with John I learned all their success was on pink plastic squids and hand lines. Turns out I have some of those so I’m making one of those up too. Maybe I should get one of those things that allows you to put out two lures on one line. Hmmm.
Tonight we’re off to Bees Knees for dinner. They have bought some fresh fish and are sharing with us. Helen says we could be living of fish for weeks with all I’ve spent on the gear but that’s not the point is it?
]]>Now I’m less grumpy I can mention yesterday’s highlight. I was able to [...]]]>
Now I’m less grumpy I can mention yesterday’s highlight. I was able to meet up with John, Ziggy and family aboard Windancer IV who were flying through St Martin on their way to the Virgins. They have completed their Atlantic circuit – all kudos to them all. Blog readers may remember I crewed aboard Windancer IV earlier this year crossing the Atlantic from Bermuda to the Azores. They will be spending Xmas and January in the Virgins and will head down the islands starting Feb. With a bit of luck we’ll meet up again on some nice beach. It was great to see them all again settled into their current lifestyle.
]]>Eddie showed up after lunch and we made plans for the radar install as well as the cabling for the SSB power. He left me to pick up the parts from Budget Marine which I combined with collecting the filled propane tank.
Then it was off to Godiva for evening snacks and the usual liquids. David and Marcie were great hosts. We met them at the cruiser meets on Wednesdays. Jim and Anne from Bees Knees were there too so it made for a great evening. Both David and Jim play guitars so there was music. David dropped an all too subtle hint which resulted in him bringing out his saxaphone which he’s learning to play. David and Marci have also begun hosting on their boat. You can see their website here.
While dinghying back we were hit by a brief but intense rain shower that soaked us through. We hope Jim’s guitar survived the trip.
Back to today I will be running cables around the boat this morning ready for Eddie who should show this afternoon to install the radar.
Windancer IV, the boat I crewed across the Atlantic, is in the lagoon today. Somehow I hope we can meet up. We both have busy schedules but we should work something out. I wasn’t able to pick up filters for the watermaker yesterday so given the shop and Windancer are both that end of the bay, it should be possible to squeeze in a visit.
]]>Incidentally – GPS & radar arrived yesterday. The chartplotter has tested ok. Next steps will be to test the GPS receiver and the radar. Probably this weekend.
[...]]]>[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C59-KWHo9wk[/youtube]
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]]>The two plane tripes were uneventful. The train ride from Boston to Newark left on time but arrived 3 hours late due to a combination of diesel engine failure and trees on the line. I slept through much of [...]]]>
The two plane tripes were uneventful. The train ride from Boston to Newark left on time but arrived 3 hours late due to a combination of diesel engine failure and trees on the line. I slept through much of it albeit awkwardly. Helen picked me up at Newark – it was great to see her after last seeing her 3 weeks ago in Bermuda.
Since then it’s been down to getting busy – both clearing out home and making decisions on gear for the boat. We’ve agreed on a July 25 sale date. We have realized that we need to acquire all the gear that we intend to ship or take down to the islands well before this date.
We have already ordered our washing machine – a Bosch. We had to get a smaller sized unit to fit the available space. Bosch are a little more expensive than others but their reliability is very good. This is important when you’re off the beaten track. A minor item I’ve also bought is a wifi detector. Lugging a laptop around to find a decent signal turned out to be a pain. So I bought a canary.
I’ve been deciding between Brownie or Airline for a Hookah. Although there are aspects of the Airline I prefer, the Brownie appears to be a larger company and has a longer track record. If I was land based I wouldn’t mind but again, being stuck in odd places, I prefer the backing of a more established company.
Today I’ll be ordering the Hookah as well as chartplotter / radar. I am pretty much set on the Garmin touch screen – the 12″ version. I will only get one for the helm and leave the decision for one inside until a later date. This keeps the initial setup fairly simple.
Other projects on the list are the solar panels / wind generator, getting some folding bikes and researching the best way to sell our two cars.
Yesterday I spent a lot of time looking at internet based backup / synchronizing solutions. The episode of water in the laptop (the one at home) while we were in Bermuda only served to remind us how important backups are. Aboard a boat, backing up to CD/DVD has it’s drawbacks so I am attracted to solutions that automatically save files elsewhere via the internet on the occasions one is connected. Right now I am using syncplicity, a beta product. It not only synchronizes to the files on the internet, it also allows those files to be synced back another computer elsewhere. It also integrates photo sharing with facebook and also integrates with googles document service. These appeal to the geek in me and I look forward to exploring these options. As this is in beta, I get a chance to interact with the developers which is good.
]]>We arrived in Angra, Triceira a couple of days ago around 4pm. We learned that in a nearby town there would be bull racing in the streets. A few of the early boats decided this would be the thing to do so we bundled off in three taxis to watch the excitement.
Turned out there were four bulls. In turn, each one was tied to a long rope and let out of a tight box which must have aggravated it somewhat. Hanging onto the rope were two groups of five men who had the job of controlling where the bull went and how far it got although they did spend a good deal of time jumping over walls. The road where the bulls were run were mostly fronted by houses with high walls behind which the spectators made themselves secure. Gates were boarded where walls ran out. Some folks would be in the streets daring themselves closer to the bulls and either running or leaping over walls when the bull charged.
The first bull looked a little tired but menacing enough. When the second bull came out John and I dared a venture into the street. I figured that as long as someone else was between me and the bull I would be relatively safe. When that guy turned tail and passed me I was very motivated to turn tail and run hard. John had a similar experience as I passed him and left him in the rear. Together we ran down the hill with an building crowd of runners as the bull gave chase seemingly with a lot of slack on the rope. After this adrenalin rush we retired back behind the wall feeling awash with bravery.
The third bull was even more menacing and we stayed behind the wall. Bob ventured out this time and followed the bull up the street coming back with reports of more activity further up. So out we went behind the fourth bull. Fresh from my earlier experience with bull #2 I was emboldened to frequently stay closer to the bull than the locals. I am sure the local crowd who were leaning over the walls and doing everything they could to annoy the bulls were hoping one of the gringos would get caught by the bull. Bob almost obliged them. He was sticking to the leaping over walls tactic and was thwarted by a 70 year lady who would not give her ground. He ended up inches from the bull and was rewarded by being slobbered on. I think Bob owes a lot to the team of bull tenders who managed to stop it just short of him. I stuck to the strategy of running for my life when the bull charged. It sure was a lot of fun.
I started yesterday off by taking a walk on my own. I was out for over two hours and while not initially aiming to do so, I managed to reach the top of a nearby hill where the views were awesome. In the afternoon we took a walking tour of Angra organised for the cruisers. This started off interesting but turned out to be a bit slow. One by one we peeled of and headed back to the boats. The evening ended up with everyone down at the marina bar and restaurant. This was very much a goodbye for many as quite a few of the boats heading to the Uk had decided to head north rather than complete the leg to Ponta Delgada. It was goodbye for me too as this was my last night on the boat and the last I would see of many of these folks. Yet again I have been reaffirmed that a good part of cruising is the people one meets along the way. The ARC crowd were a diverse and interesting lot. I hope I can meet some in the future. Who knows.
For now it’s the long slog home which I am looking forward to putting behind me. This marks the end of my Windancer voyage. I’m thankful to John and his family for letting me crew this leg. Chances are we’ll meet again in December when our paths cross in the Caribbean as they inevitably will. I also hope to cross paths with Jim and Bob, both of whom I’ve got to know well and count as friends.
]]>The decision to leave early turned out right as the wind has been on our nose. Also, if we hadn’t left when we did we would not have run into a pod of seven beluga whales which we did.
Jim often says “Life is good.”
It is.
]]>John’s wife (Ziggy) and children (Jenny and Connor) arrived yesterday. They’re a nice family and very much looking forward to their trip. They’re relaxing today after their travels in Germany. Sometime early tomorrow morning we set off for Terceira, another island in the Azores. It’s a 90nm leg so will take us most of the day. Next Tuesday I’ll be leaving the boat, flying to Sao Miguel where I will fly back to the US eventually getting home on Wednesday.
For me, I have very much enjoyed talking to other cruisers here. Many are near the end of their trips – including one British couple heading home after 7 years cruising. Everyone, without exception, has informed me we won’t regret our decision to go cruising. Many are ruing the necessity to return to land as time/money was limited.
For me, returning to land will be interesting. It’ll be back to closing this chapter in our lives in preparation for the next. I’m looking forward to surviving the next few months and eventually finding ourselves aboard Dignity in October.
]]>A number of other items were struck off the list or at least progressed. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll make further progress and put the major items behind us.
Today (Wednesday) was another off day. We took the ferry over to Pico and hired a car and toured the island. Climbing to the top of the volcano would have required a 6 hour hike which didn’t get the vote of the crew. I’ll have to save this to do with Helen at a later date. Therefore we spent more time on the road putting in nearly 200km around the island. We got to see a lot of lava formations, some interesting erosion near the coast, a whaling museum, plenty of small towns, a winery plus a drive two thirds of the way up the volcano itself. At the time it was overcast and at the place we parked we could see neither up nor down. Nevertheless we set off for a brief walk. We didn’t go too far and some of our party peeled off early. We got to seem some folks returning from the top and they confirmed it was a six hour round trip. We enjoyed some breaks in the cloud and got some pics of what we thought was the top but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.
At this point I’m beginning to pine a little for home – or at least family cos home is being abandoned for our greater trip. I hadn’t expected to be in the Azores for as long as we are doing so and I’m accustomed to sharing my experiences with my wife Helen. I’ve been able to Skype in the evenings to stay in touch but its not the same as being together. One week left till I’m back in NJ. From that point I don’t think there will be much breathing room as we get from here to October and we can begin our own travels.
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