Farewell My Dear Hairdryer!

Well we finally arrived in a very hot and humid Trinidad. The last time that I was here was just after 9/11 and to be honest in the past 8 years nothing has changed. We were hoping to have left for The ABC Islands (Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire) by now but we are having problems with the engine.

Anyhow – our home for the next few months is a yacht called H***** of Dartmouth, she is a 40 ft Scanmar and is Captained by *********** (Commodore *** as he likes to be called). Hopefully we will be sailing all the way back to New Zealand with him aboard Honalee.. We are presently tied up in Coral Cove marina in Chagauramas in the North of Trinidad just across from the Venezuelan coast. Across from us is the fishing dock so we have something to watch all day long, the pelicans keep us company as they beg for off cuts from the fishermen. I’d rather be here than over at the Crews Inn where I was previously, it’s full of ubber rich Americans all comparing the size of their rudders! I can’t complain - we have a plunge pool here, toilet blocks and also I have the added luxury of a hairdryer onboard at the moment! In a couple of days time I will bid it a fond farewell as I pack it away at the back of the cupboard until we get to another marina with shore power - and I don’t know when that is likely to be. A short haircut is looking good!

Today Ted and Nigel have been working hard on the wind vane steering – another thing that has been in pieces on the deck. After lots of swearing they finally got it back together – now we have to figure out how to use it! It will be a bonus when we are in the Pacific trying to conserve our power. Autohlem is great but is uses up power which we can ill afford to use if fuel is getting low.

I’m getting used to life onboard, we haven’t looked at a watch since we have been here, we eat when we are hungry and we know it is time to go to bed when the moon rises over the rain forest. Clothes washing is done in a bucket every morning and hung out to dry, when the wind comes up my big knickers come down - the boat moves side way! We have a laundry here but it is too hot to walk the 200 yards with a big bag! 92 degrees today!

Once we have got the engine fixed we are sailing North to Grenada and from there across to Curacao. We are hoping that this will take us out of the main pirate areas, of all the trip this is the part I am not looking forward to. We are not too sure yet where we will be spending Christmas, if we get held up more with the engine (I have ‘Fa*co’ on the floor beside me as I write - fixing the engine) then I think we will be in Curacao. If not we hope that it will be Cartagena or the San Blas Islands waiting for our passage date through the Panama Canal. I’m really forward to the San Blas – look them up on google - they’re amazing islands and the people are supposed to be very friendly. So Christmas day may be spent on the beach with a tin of Spam and tinned fruit! I have brought my Christmas stocking so I hope that Santa will find me! Think of me when you all sit down to turkey and Crimbo pud – I no doubt will be thinking of you all – especially about last year at Dee and Norman’s – No Harrods pud this year hey Norman? I wonder where it could possibly be?

Well I will love you and leave you for now – I’d like to say I’m going to sit on the poop deck and sun myself but I’d fry! So I will go ashore and sit under the pergola with the marina dog and cat – they know the coolest places – hey I only hang out with the best of folk!