2009 Logbook For the latest updates just click here to go to our Blog: http://steveandmariasailingaspen.blogspot.com/ S/V Aspen – June 6, 2009 – Log #9 Position: 10 degrees 41.0’ N 61 degrees 38.0 W (Chaguaramas, Trinidad) Grenada is once again green! The hurricane scars from 2004 are mended and the island is finally looking like it did before. The nutmeg trees are taking hold and the stores are again welcoming visitors. We anchored on the south coast of Grenada in Prickly Bay. This is where the cruising fleet spends time, among the beach restaurants and bars that line the bay. We met many people at the nightly happy hours and traded sailing stories with them. There was a huge fish fry in a fishing village called Gouyave on the northwest coast of Grenada one Friday night. It happened to coincide with the start of “Rock de Spice”, a 3-day music festival on the island. We rode in a mini-van with 8 new friends for over an hour and arrived in the middle of a huge field at sunset. Small tents were set up around the perimeter cooking and selling fresh seafood. We feasted on conch/lambi, shrimp, Johnny cakes, tuna, fish and chips, breadfruit French fries, red snapper and mahi-mahi. We didn’t starve! About 10 pm the musical program began. There was a drum ensemble complete with a dance troop followed by a Soco singer named Heatwave with a huge backup band. After 11 pm we loaded back into the mini-van and made our way against the flow of people back to Prickly Bay. There were masses of people just arriving for the festivities that would keep going until sunrise the next day! Our time on Grenada was running short because we were getting a good weather window to sail further south and the start of hurricane season was knocking on our doorstep. We prepared Aspen for the next leg of her adventure and plotted our course. Leaving Grenada at 5:30 pm we were in the company of our friends on Cat Tales who immediately started catching fish! They reeled in a Spanish Mackerel and a Barracuda before we were even a mile away from the Grenada coast. Another catamaran, Mirunga from England, linked up with us since they were also sailing to Trinidad so we now had a flotilla of 3 vessels heading the same direction. There were quite a few ships that we saw during the crossing, as well as a huge gas platform that was lit up like a city. Adjacent to the gas platform was an offshore drilling rig that was also adjacent to our course. We have a system onboard Aspen that is called AIS. This electronic box tells us about any vessel or platform that is within about 48 miles of us. It also tells us how close the vessel will come to us, their speed, direction, destination, length, width, etc. The AIS is pretty amazing. The admiral insisted that this unit be installed and we are both very happy we have it. The other boats traveling with us benefit from the AIS unit because we can tell them how close a vessel will come to them too. The winds were 15 knots with 4-6 foot seas at the beginning of the sail so we decided to slow down to avoid arriving at the Boca before first light. The Boca de Monos is the first of three entrances into the northwestern part of Trinidad. Of course about an hour after we tried to slow Aspen down the wind moderated and even became light before the night was over. After 12 hours of sailing the sun began rising and immediately ahead of us in the mist Trinidad towered above the ocean. The lush green jungle appeared to be a mirage to our tired eyes but there was no mistake, we were about to make landfall on the island of the spices. We arrived safely in Trinidad after a 16-hour overnight sail from Grenada. Clearing customs and immigration went smoothly and by 10 am we were safely tied to our slip at Crew's Inn Marina. Cat Tales followed about an hour later with Mirunga right after her. We had a successful crossing to Trinidad! Sail on sail on Aspen… Steve and Maria Also, we have a blog now and you can follow our activities if you would like at: http://steveandmariasailingaspen.blogspot.com/ S/V Aspen – May 26, 2009 – Log #8 Position: 12 degrees 0.0’ N 61 degrees 46.0 W (Grenada) The sail from St. Lucia to St. Vincent was pretty good. The waves were no higher than 7 feet and we only sailed through 1 squall near the volcano on St. Vincent called Soufrere. This is a 3,000-foot high active volcano that last erupted in 1979. It was quiet when we sailed by! Sailing down the west coast of St. Vincent is spectacular. The deep green lush hillsides are dotted with small houses without any roads leading to them. This is farmland with both legal and illegal crops being grown. It is wise not to visit the northern part of the island without permission! As we sailed south along the cost we could see small villages with enticing bays in which to anchor. Today unfortunately, this west coast of St. Vincent is like an un-tamed frontier with high security issues to deal with. Because of these problems it is not advised to make landfall along this coast. That is disappointing since the countryside is so inviting as we knew from our past visits to this area. The movie Pirates of the Caribbean had many scenes filmed along this coast but those locales will have to wait to be visited by us until things become more pleasant here. We made a swift passage toward the capital of St. Vincent that is Kingstown. Kingstown is surrounded by high hills that made this port so defensible in the age of pirates. As Aspen neared this impressive harbor we changed course to make landfall 9 miles away at an island called Bequia. Spending time in Bequia is like stepping back in time to the Caribbean of days gone by. Bequia is where the original whalers worked (whalers as in harpoons not the musical group!). Ruins from the whaling days still exist on Bequia. Today there is even a restaurant called the Whaleboner Inn where the bar is made from one huge whalebone. Bequia is just a sleepy little outpost in the lower Caribbean. The island is very safe with a colorful local market and several small stores. Provisioning is not something you want to do here but the fresh produce is very nice. Negotiating with the Rasta merchants is always an interesting experience. These vendors tend to be fairly aggressive in the mornings but after lunch they become very calm and friendly for some strange reason. There is a barbershop called J & N’s on Bequia so the admiral decided that it was time for the captain to get trimmed. Watching the two guys cutting the locals’ hair and rapping to the music blaring from the portable stereo didn’t give Steve a comfortable feeling as he patiently waited in the heat. At least J or N, it wasn’t clear who was who, spoke a modified dialect that resembled English. When it was time to sit in the chair, Steve softly requested a number 4. This meant to use a number 4 electric clipper on his blond locks (ok, they are pretty gray now but in the captain’s mind they are still blond). Steve was amazed that the barber picked up a number 4 attachment and proceeded to trim away. After 45 minutes of clipping, trimming, using a hand-held razor blade to trim things, and getting sprayed with both an antiseptic and an olive oil mixture, the job was complete. The total cost was $3.50 US. Looking in the mirror it appeared that a number 4 attachment can become a short number 1 haircut if enough pressure is applied. So the captain now has a new dew and won’t need another haircut for another several more years. So with a fresh supply of mangos, avocados, lettuce, limes and plantains we sailed out of Admiralty Bay toward the little cays and islands that make up the rest of St. Vincent – the remarkable Grenadines. Ahhhh, the Grenadines… where the gods come to play! Canouan, Mustique, Mayreau and Union Island make up the small islands of the Grenadines. Then you have the spectacular Tobago Cays – where the only thing between little Aspen and Africa is a tiny reef to block the waves. The winds have crossed thousands of miles of open water before making landfall on our ship’s deck. It is quite a place to be! We spent nearly a week watching the Southern Cross rise against a black velvet sky. Giant squalls would race toward us from the deep ocean and heel Aspen over with their power. Blindingly white sand beaches provided a chance to stretch our legs and let Steve run sprints on them every morning. The sea came alive with movement from the tiniest minnows and glowing plankton to the 5-foot turtles that we swam with as they grazed in the shallow water next to Aspen. Here the world came alive yet we heard only the wind and waves from nature at its’ finest. Sail on sail on Aspen… Steve and Maria S/V Aspen – May 15, 2009 – Log #7 Position: 14 degrees 04.7’ N 60 degrees 57.4’ W (St. Lucia) Hi from St. Lucia! We are now sailing in the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. These high volcanic islands are the furthest east in the island chain. Our last island that we visited was Martinique, about 25 miles north of us. A few words come to mind about this Island of Flowers – pate, wine and lots of French sailors. We sailed by St. Pierre at the north end of the island. It was here that the volcano Mt. Pele exploded on May 8, 1902 and destroyed everything in its path. Ships in the harbour, were sunk as they swung from their anchors and over 30,000 people perished that fateful day. We sailed by Mt. Pele exactly 107 years later and luckily the mountain was kind to us! Grand Anse D’Arlet was a quick overnight stop on our way to Marin, on the south coast of Martinique. Sailing past HMS Diamond Rock was the highlight of our sail to Marin. HMS Diamond Rock is a volcanic pinnacle that sits just offshore from the mainland and we sailed within cannon shot of it. The British Navy, who hauled cannons up the steep sides during the 1700’s, occupied this rock. They commissioned the rock HMS because they considered the rock a ship since it had cannons on top of it. The British used the cannons to fire on the French who occupied Martinique, a stone’s throw away from the rock. The French could not get the British off the rock so the British would fire away on the French as they sailed by, making the French very upset! The attached picture shows HMS Diamond Rock. In Marin we provisioned with French supplies and enjoyed the evenings with sailors from around the world. The French charter boat fleet is based out of here and the French sailors arrive from Paris on non-stop flights nearly every day. Luckily the recent strike did not affect the groceries or wine on Martinique so we were able to buy whatever we needed. The French wines were pretty reasonable at $3 a bottle! The weather forecasters said it was time for us to sail to St. Lucia so off we went. Unfortunately the forecasts were really wrong and we had some of the worst weather we have had on the sail to St. Lucia! The winds peaked at 34 knots (that is gale force) and the seas were 9-12 feet. With very little sail up were sped toward St. Lucia at 9.8 knots. That does not sound fast but considering that our boat is only supposed to go a maximum of 7.8 knots we were flying, or surfing as the case may be. We fought the winds, seas and numerous squalls for over 5 hours, took green water many times into the cockpit, and nearly shredded one of our sails before making a safe harbor on St. Lucia. Admiral Maria was not very happy during the sail but felt much better when we tied up to the dock at St. Lucia. Whew! St. Lucia is a high mountainous island with rain forests, island markets and lots of hiking possibilities. We spent 10 days on St. Lucia and really enjoyed it. We hiked a world heritage trail that led past old plantation ruins and ended up on the wild Atlantic coast at a bay frequented by the Carib Indians so long ago (See 2nd Picture). Our rental car had all the controls on the opposite side because St. Lucia is X-British so they drive on the wrong side of the road here. The twisty mountain roads made driving very interesting! Much to our surprise we found a Burger King restaurant here. It is surprising how good a whopper tastes when you are far away from home! Now it is time to sail even deeper into the Caribbean with the wonderful St. Vincent/Grenadines our next landfall. Sail on sail on Aspen… Steve and Maria S/V Aspen – May 5, 2009 – Log #6 Position: 14 degrees 26.0’ N 60 degrees 54.0’ W (Marin, Martinique) Hi from Martinique! We are moving south more quickly now that the winds are cooperating. Sailing Week in Antigua was exciting! Boats and crews from all over the world come here to race. There were parties every night and lots of activities with all the boats around. The rum flowed like water it seemed! Also, because of the high winds and seas there was lots of damage to several of the boats during the races and the crews were exhausted with some very sick at times! But all in all it was a sight to watch! The British believe that Antigua is their Mecca, we have decided. It is their home in the New World, as the call it. We enjoy the accents and different words that are used for typical items. The loo is still one that makes us wonder – how did the bathroom ever become the loo? I have also been called a bloke so I don’t know whether to be offended or not. Maria just looks like she is from the Mediterranean so they take that at face value because they are familiar with the Med and don’t have a title for her. The attached photo shows one of the boats that rowed across the Atlantic and landed in Antigua. It is pretty impressive considering where it has been. Wow! At the end of Sailing Week we sailed from Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour, Antigua, past the Pillars of Hercules heading for Guadeloupe. Montserrat, with her fresh lava flows and pillar of smoke was 12 miles away on our starboard beam. So we went fast, as fast as 6 knots feels, to avoid any ash plume or sulfur smell to keep Maria happy. We successfully avoided Montserrat and anchored in a northern bay off Guadeloupe called Deshais. Guadeloupe is a French Territory so by anchoring here we are officially in France. Oh boy! There is a small town at the anchorage but it was fairly deserted because of the recent uprising on Guadeloupe. The grocery store could not open because there was little in the way of food. We stopped in a small French restaurant to see what we could buy without using Euros, the local currency (no banks were open to exchange our money!). The manager said he would take US currency so we sat down to order. Well, we had a delicious creole fish, complete with fins and head of course. This was the only thing on the menu that they were able to serve, again because of the revolution here. But we enjoyed our meal! We decided to take advantage of our better winds and seas and leave Guadeloupe, heading direct for Dominica, the nature island. It is said that if Columbus were to sail these islands today, Dominica would be the only one that he would recognize. It is an unspoiled natural gem, with the poorest people in the western hemisphere outside of Haiti. There are over 365 waterfalls and rivers on Dominica, one for each day of the year. The movie, Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed in and around Dominica. The mysterious river in the movie, where the pirate crew rowed up to the voodoo lady’s hut, was right next to where we anchored. Steve did a really stupid thing on Dominica. He needed to run when we arrived and went ashore pretty close to dusk. He wanted to run in the Cabrits, home to an historic fort, called Fort Shirley, at the north end of Dominica. There are many trails within this long forgotten area and each footstep was full of discovery. He had run here before but this was different. The light was fading fast as darkness comes quickly in the tropics. But up and around the trails Steve flew. Suddenly he happened upon a site with crumbling walls and huge rusty cannons, something that he had not seen before and something way off the beaten path. The sight was spectacular but very eerie because of the twilight. The ghosts of long forgotten soldiers seemed to be lurking about as the jungle came alive with the sounds of night. Whoa, time to get out of here, is what Steve thought. It wasn’t so much the memories of ghosts around that concerned him as it was of the snake that inhabits Dominica – the Boa! Boa constrictors feed at night and we have seen them on Dominica, usually lying on the road quite dead from car tires. But this was different. This was their backyard and Steve was in the midst of it all at night! So with speed, agility, and poor visibility that the jungle provides, Steve took off down the trail, hoping to get out without being squeezed to death. The trail was rocky and slippery with moss and decaying leaves littering the path. It is hard to describe the deafening sounds that come from the jungle at night. The jungle really does come alive! Steve’s heart rate monitor seemed to be screaming back at the jungle as it also said for him to slow down – not a chance though as he careened off debris from the old structures. With sweat streaming into his eyes the ghosts and ruins were left for another day. In what seemed like an eternity, the trailhead appeared at his feet, with complete darkness engulfing him. No Boa meal of Steve tonght! Now it is time to sail deeper into the Caribbean with Martinique our next landfall. Sail on sail on Aspen… Steve and Maria S/V Aspen – April 6, 2009 – Log #5 Position: 170 2.0’ N 610 47.0’ W (Falmouth Harbour, Antigua) Antigua, land of high mountains, sandy beaches and the pirate home of the realm of the British Empire. Lord Nelson would be proud of the cannons firing at all hours throughout the harbour these days. We were headed for Nevis from Sint Maarten, but because of the weather we changed our plans and headed for a safe harbour and sailed for 17 hours, beating hard into the wind, to wind up in Antigua. The plans of sailors don’t last more than a few minutes it seems. Arrrrr. This also happens to be sailing week (actually 2 weeks) here in Antigua. The biggest sailboats, best sailors and most expensive boats in the world have gathered here. It is pretty amazing watching a 180 foot sailboat under full sail screaming past us as we were trying to come into the harbour. We had full sail and the engine on at full speed and were able to miss her. Whew, our insurance would not have liked that damage! So here we sit, unable to leave for a little while because of strong winds and big seas. We will have afternoon tea with the Brits and listen to them pay homage to the past greats of the empire in Nelson’s Dockyard with the ghosts of long remembered sailors and pirates. At least we have some internet (and rum)! Sail on sail on Aspen… S/V Aspen – April 6, 2009 – Log #4 Position: 180 19.0’ N 640 57.0’ W (Crown Bay Marina, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands) Spring has arrived in the Caribbean! The big storms that make their way down south US are finally dying out. That means the strong trade winds (called the Christmas Winds) are becoming normal once again and the big seas are also getting back to a reasonable size. The Virgin Islands of the US and British are a spectacular sailing area. Here we have great anchoring places where the pirates once roamed. Pirates with the names of Blackbeard, Bonny, Calico Jack, Sir Francis Drake, and Rodney are among the more famous ones that sailed these waters in the 1700’s. Many of the islands here carry pirate names including the most infamous: Dead Chest and Norman Island. Who has not heard the song, Fifteen Men on the Dead Man’s Chest, Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum? Arrrrr, that place be right here in the British Virgin Islands! Norman Island, where Robert Lewis Stevenson claimed there was a fortune in gold buried by pirates, is one of our favorites anchorages. The water is crystal clear now and the running on the island gives us a place to stretch our legs. Besides the Willy-T floating bar they even have decent WIFI! We sailed with two friends from Colorado, Tim and Deb, around these islands exploring the trails, beaches and searching for rum of course. No one was washed overboard during the lively sails so that always makes for a good trip! With the changing of the seasons Aspen is heading south. Our next stop will be St. Martin/Sint Maarten; the only island claimed by two countries, both the French and the Dutch. The best beaches and restaurants in the Caribbean are also here! Sail on sail on Aspen… Steve and Maria S/V Aspen - March 23, 2009 Position: 170 30.0’ -640 22.0’ (Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands) Aspen is resting among the palm trees in the British Virgin Islands, along with us of course. She arrived in St. Thomas clean and ready for the continuing voyage south. Our first anchorage was on St. John, USVI at a place called Big Lamshur Bay, on the south coast of St. John. Big Lamshur Bay was where the USA tested living beneath the sea during the late 1960’s. The first experiment was called Tektite I Underwater Habitat where four U.S. scientists established a new world’s record for saturated diving and living underwater. In our case, we hope to live on top of the water and just visit the underwater habitat! We spent 5 serene days in this bay, it was that nice. Some people ask if it doesn’t get boring just sitting in one place all the time and enjoying the sun, sea and sand? Well, here is a description of what we did on one of our days in this idyllic place: I took the day off from my computer and we went ashore. Maria and I then hiked 4 miles uphill on a rocky trail in the heat, past sugar plantation ruins and Taino petroglyphs in order to arrive at a road. Once on the road we got a ride 5 miles into the town of Cruz Bay to use the internet, our cell phones and buy groceries. We then got an open-air bus ride back to the trailhead. Now with Steve carrying all the groceries in his backpack, we hiked 4 miles back to the boat. This expedition took us over 8 hours! Geeze, how time flies in the tropics!!! Actually we enjoyed the hike. The trail, called the Reef Bay Trail, is one of the best in the Caribbean. The sugar plantation ruins date from the 1700’s and are right next to the trail. Further up the trail is a stream that leads to something very special - the petroglyphs. The petroglyphs are a magical place. They are carved into a rock face next to a small waterfall that sits about .3 of a mile from the main trail. There is an air of mystery and reverence when you crest the trail and see these ancient figures staring back at you. It is believed that the Taino Indians made the carvings about 1,000 years ago when they inhabited St. John. The trade winds are still strong as they sweep across the Caribbean waters so we will stay here for a while longer. We also have some good friends from Colorado visiting us for a week so we will take them sailing with us. After that we will point Aspen’s bow south and let the southern cross guide our way! Fair winds, Steve and Maria http://steveandmariasailingaspen.blogspot.com/http://steveandmariasailingaspen.blogspot.com/shapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1
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