Details and photos later.
Hire car trip around island to view rail forests, bays, cliffs, and villages.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Kind of intermediate update thingy
Just to keep youse all in the picture.
Still living on boat here in Rodney Bay. I've now become one of those sad inmates you see skulking around marinas looking for scraps in skips and making awnings out of used bin bags. My hair is long and weedy and I sport rasta beads at both neck and wrist. I'm at knuckle-touching (='respect man'!) levels of familiarity with every other hairy shyster that geezers his way around this port, and there's quite a few of them I can tell you.
There's a totally naked and very black man who sits outside the local hardware shop gazing blankly into the future. He dribbles and mutters noiselessly shaking his head. He was quite a good plasterer and then 'something happened' they say. I can tell you he's now my best mate. Thats how long I've been here.
I do jobs on t'boat like splicing stuff and sorting ropes, and ferreting in the bilges for things that don't work. Today I counted all the ropes out and then counted them all back in again. The dinghy has to be pumped out every 5 minutes AND I have to talk and be nice to passing Germans......and even worse, passing Canadians, I ask you, of whom there are many.
Also I have to make lists of jobs, Lots and lots of lists. And then I have to prioritise the jobs, or at least the lists anyway.
There's a man that comes past every morning in a gaily painted sort of rafty dugouty type of thing covered in dirty flags of all nations. He shouts, bellows even, and uses a WW2 air hooter to announce his presence. His job is to flog you FROOT. He has a pile of last weeks supermarket cast off mungos or wangos or whatever kind of flipperty jibbet green mouldy roundy shapes that tourists are meant to haggle for. I still don't know the difference between a mango and a pineapple, well not his ones anyway because his stuff all looks the same.
On Saturday, a Rasta man with green and red shoes (that is one of each), a frequent enjoyer of ganga inhalation, and with many dreads, persuaded me to part with many Obama dollars in return for smearing my boat lavishly with car polish. I suppose the boat now looks more interesting so I paid him anyway. I noted in passing that he had a curious singing voice, somewhat higher than those of the well known Gibbs brothers.
Yesterday being Sunday I took a day off and proceeded by rubber dubby to the nearby settlement where there is a little sailing club. A good lunch and several beers later saw me, rather uncharacteristically on the beach, in company with other persons who may or may not have been inebriated. One elderly skinny lady, probably american, stood in the sea holding a cocktail shaker full of rum high above the waves and talking gibberish non-stop all afternoon. The only break she took was when seeing that I and my nearest neighbour, lying peacefully in the sand, were in danger of roasting under the sun she rushed to our aid, and before we had time to react, had covered our heads and faces liberally from a tub of what may well have been Duckhams waterproof seacock grease.
A check in the washroom mirror confirmed that we now looked like Zombie extras from a Michael Jackson movie. The stuff was impossible to remove so we proceeded into town anyway for some more cocktails...in a Nepalese Bar....... with some Germans.
This morning I had a headache, so work on the lists was very slow indeed.
Tomorrow a lady is coming to do my insides for me. She asked me to buy some 'Old English Oil' for her. I can't wait.
Off in a hired 4X4 on Wednesday to find some walking trails in the rain forest and look at parrots bottoms. Not much other wildlife here apart from rats at the water edge and geezers in the marina. Also mozzies. Have to sleep with one Citronella Candle at night. Nice girl. Local.
MB
On a more serious note, the Felicity J crew and owners have asked me to skipper again, this time from Panama to Australia, but sadly I think I'm about to decline because it would be very difficult to go away for so long while leaving RAPAREE in the Caribbean. Its a great sadness to miss such opportunities, but there would also be the problem of getting back to Raparee and sailing her away from the area before the Hurricane season which starts in the summer. I would also have to consider how to get her back to UK.
Finally, I have now managed to edit photos for the past few months and will try and get some onto this site asap, although broadband speed here is very slow.
Still living on boat here in Rodney Bay. I've now become one of those sad inmates you see skulking around marinas looking for scraps in skips and making awnings out of used bin bags. My hair is long and weedy and I sport rasta beads at both neck and wrist. I'm at knuckle-touching (='respect man'!) levels of familiarity with every other hairy shyster that geezers his way around this port, and there's quite a few of them I can tell you.
There's a totally naked and very black man who sits outside the local hardware shop gazing blankly into the future. He dribbles and mutters noiselessly shaking his head. He was quite a good plasterer and then 'something happened' they say. I can tell you he's now my best mate. Thats how long I've been here.
I do jobs on t'boat like splicing stuff and sorting ropes, and ferreting in the bilges for things that don't work. Today I counted all the ropes out and then counted them all back in again. The dinghy has to be pumped out every 5 minutes AND I have to talk and be nice to passing Germans......and even worse, passing Canadians, I ask you, of whom there are many.
Also I have to make lists of jobs, Lots and lots of lists. And then I have to prioritise the jobs, or at least the lists anyway.
There's a man that comes past every morning in a gaily painted sort of rafty dugouty type of thing covered in dirty flags of all nations. He shouts, bellows even, and uses a WW2 air hooter to announce his presence. His job is to flog you FROOT. He has a pile of last weeks supermarket cast off mungos or wangos or whatever kind of flipperty jibbet green mouldy roundy shapes that tourists are meant to haggle for. I still don't know the difference between a mango and a pineapple, well not his ones anyway because his stuff all looks the same.
On Saturday, a Rasta man with green and red shoes (that is one of each), a frequent enjoyer of ganga inhalation, and with many dreads, persuaded me to part with many Obama dollars in return for smearing my boat lavishly with car polish. I suppose the boat now looks more interesting so I paid him anyway. I noted in passing that he had a curious singing voice, somewhat higher than those of the well known Gibbs brothers.
Yesterday being Sunday I took a day off and proceeded by rubber dubby to the nearby settlement where there is a little sailing club. A good lunch and several beers later saw me, rather uncharacteristically on the beach, in company with other persons who may or may not have been inebriated. One elderly skinny lady, probably american, stood in the sea holding a cocktail shaker full of rum high above the waves and talking gibberish non-stop all afternoon. The only break she took was when seeing that I and my nearest neighbour, lying peacefully in the sand, were in danger of roasting under the sun she rushed to our aid, and before we had time to react, had covered our heads and faces liberally from a tub of what may well have been Duckhams waterproof seacock grease.
A check in the washroom mirror confirmed that we now looked like Zombie extras from a Michael Jackson movie. The stuff was impossible to remove so we proceeded into town anyway for some more cocktails...in a Nepalese Bar....... with some Germans.
This morning I had a headache, so work on the lists was very slow indeed.
Tomorrow a lady is coming to do my insides for me. She asked me to buy some 'Old English Oil' for her. I can't wait.
Off in a hired 4X4 on Wednesday to find some walking trails in the rain forest and look at parrots bottoms. Not much other wildlife here apart from rats at the water edge and geezers in the marina. Also mozzies. Have to sleep with one Citronella Candle at night. Nice girl. Local.
MB
On a more serious note, the Felicity J crew and owners have asked me to skipper again, this time from Panama to Australia, but sadly I think I'm about to decline because it would be very difficult to go away for so long while leaving RAPAREE in the Caribbean. Its a great sadness to miss such opportunities, but there would also be the problem of getting back to Raparee and sailing her away from the area before the Hurricane season which starts in the summer. I would also have to consider how to get her back to UK.
Finally, I have now managed to edit photos for the past few months and will try and get some onto this site asap, although broadband speed here is very slow.
Friday, 3 February 2012
Fil-in bit 29 Jan - 2 Feb
OK folks: quick update. When I get a minute I will do a diary blog on my time with Felicity J at Shelter Bay Marina at Panama. Also the great treat of doing a full Panama Canal transit to the Pacific as Bow line handler on one of the WorldArc yachts, MATILDA. After a flight back via Miami (where I had 36 hours to gape in awe at the wonders and excesses of the super rich) I'm now back in St Lucia and ready to prep Raparee for some more inter-island sailing.
26th – 27th Jan: The last Felicity J Night.
26th – 27th Jan
Fairly quiet night at sea (25th) watchkeeping through the night under genoa only. Much shipping. Being clear of the heavy weather ‘squeeze’ area around N Columbia and Venezuala, we shape a course closer to the Panamanian coastline, now just visible, and head for Panama Canal entrance bay. Thurs 26th morning is busy dodging shipping and picking out rocks and buoys. Exciting entry through about 100 ships anchored in and around the bay awaiting orders. Shelter Bay marina is at the right of the entrance inside the breakwater and is part of the old US Fort Sherwin. Very narrow entrance between mangroves. Buzzards and Pelicans galore. MB on radio to request berth, followed by a tight entrance to pontoon. Decide to do a swift backwards alongside in close quarters despite the crosswind and nearly screw it up. Thank God for quick reactions of marina staff on pontoon. Sighs of relief all round. Made it here at an average of about 6kts for the 1300 miles. Suddenly we are surrounded by welcoming antipodean types .........by coincidence, we’ve arived on Australia Day. Felicity J being an Aussie boat, its time to dress overall before attacking a ‘Panama’ beer or 6 at the friendy restaurant bar’s Aust Day BBQ.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Weds 25 Jan – at sea off N.W Columbia
Last night, before the early morning clouds rolled in, the stars were good enough to make out individual reds and blues and to see the full majestic sweep of the Milky Way. Today, having again spent the night rolling about under genoa only, its the 2nd last day at sea and a party atmosphere has already started. The spanish phrase books are out. Mike did baked plantain on tortilla for breakfast, so that will stop us all eating for the next few days, or may start us doing something else. Tom is back keeping his watch. Close encounters with 800 ft long tankers are becoming more common as we are now only 150 miles out from Panama. Felicity J has active AIS which we have found excellent for being seen and getting out of the way. By the way, the main port city at the left bank is Colon, a bit of a dodhgy place we hear, and we are thinking of having t-shirts printed saying ‘Welcome to Colon – great place for passing through’ or some such. Apart from tiny flying fish, absolutely no wildlife for 2 days, but we are looking forward to monkeys, sloths, parrots, alligators, and turtles in Panama. Perhaps other darker forms of wildlife as well. Heard today that WorldARC rally is also passing through the only entrance marina at the same time as us so there may not be a spare berth. Could mean anchoring out in the bay which certainly would be a pain in the colon all right.
MB looks like a hairy scarecrow, sporting Rasta beads and armlet and no haircut for 4 months. Standards are falling fast. Exciting days ahead, particularly if we get the chance of doing a Panama Canal transit before we have to fly back to our various places. Tootle Pip folks.
MB looks like a hairy scarecrow, sporting Rasta beads and armlet and no haircut for 4 months. Standards are falling fast. Exciting days ahead, particularly if we get the chance of doing a Panama Canal transit before we have to fly back to our various places. Tootle Pip folks.
Mike B of Raparee (Doing Panama delivery on Felicity J)
_____
Monday, 23 January 2012
22-23 Jan. Felicity J mid-ocean
Well, what can I say? Still rolling along on a heaving sea. Wind a more or less steady 20 knots but the swell is confused giving us that familiar washing machine feeling. Nothing stays in place. We are living in a fiendishly unpredictable anti-gravity machine.
Some unfriendly dolphins today. Privately educated I should imagine as they saw the cut of our jib and shied away. Tried playing Celine Dion but they certainly didn’t like that. One friendly young gannet entertained us with his flying fish catching.
We’ve just crossed the 75 degree line so time for clocks back one hour. Also 600 miles down and half way (to Panama) today, so Sunday roast and a beer each planned for this evening. Merry has been feeding us well....too well. I’m now 35 stone and have to use the dinghy davits to get out of bed.
Young Tom has been ill for a couple of days with very bad tonsilitis and after sat-phoning a doctor we have him confined to bed with a course of penicyllin (or something else with a similar spelling).
Had major heads episode last night. Total blockage of the brown variety. As the only holder of a diploma in sh*t management on board I spent 2 hours sweltering in a sea of stuff someone else had eaten. Finally fixed it in darkness while on our ear.Good job I have a strong stomach.
We are staying far out from the coast so as to avoid the big winds that hang around the top corner of S America. These are the result of a big mountain (5800m) squeezing the trade winds into a narrow belt along the top of Columbia.
Today, Monday, we carried out our main gybe inwards towards Panama. Now shifting along on a bouncy broad reach, well reefed down, but taking wet stuff on board in 3 metre swell. This Caribbean sea is NOT a quiet place. Our ETA off Panama still looks about late Thursday or early Friday. Got our stained and crumpled linen suits and dodgy moustaches ready. Anyway must go as we are down one and looking forward to another long night of 2 hour watches.
Miguel de los Buogies
Some unfriendly dolphins today. Privately educated I should imagine as they saw the cut of our jib and shied away. Tried playing Celine Dion but they certainly didn’t like that. One friendly young gannet entertained us with his flying fish catching.
We’ve just crossed the 75 degree line so time for clocks back one hour. Also 600 miles down and half way (to Panama) today, so Sunday roast and a beer each planned for this evening. Merry has been feeding us well....too well. I’m now 35 stone and have to use the dinghy davits to get out of bed.
Young Tom has been ill for a couple of days with very bad tonsilitis and after sat-phoning a doctor we have him confined to bed with a course of penicyllin (or something else with a similar spelling).
Had major heads episode last night. Total blockage of the brown variety. As the only holder of a diploma in sh*t management on board I spent 2 hours sweltering in a sea of stuff someone else had eaten. Finally fixed it in darkness while on our ear.Good job I have a strong stomach.
We are staying far out from the coast so as to avoid the big winds that hang around the top corner of S America. These are the result of a big mountain (5800m) squeezing the trade winds into a narrow belt along the top of Columbia.
Today, Monday, we carried out our main gybe inwards towards Panama. Now shifting along on a bouncy broad reach, well reefed down, but taking wet stuff on board in 3 metre swell. This Caribbean sea is NOT a quiet place. Our ETA off Panama still looks about late Thursday or early Friday. Got our stained and crumpled linen suits and dodgy moustaches ready. Anyway must go as we are down one and looking forward to another long night of 2 hour watches.
Miguel de los Buogies
_____
Sent by satellite phone from onboard 'Felicity J'
Saturday, 21 January 2012
18-20 Jan Panama bound on Felicity J
After a frantic few days of making lists Raparee has been switched off for the first time in 4 months and left quietly to herself alongside at Rodney Bay. Our wayward travels have been switched to Australian yacht Felicity J, a Dufour 385, which needs to get to the Panama Canal in time to meet the weather windows for her Pacific passage to Australia.
After waiting for a front to pass through and the swell to drop, we departed Rodney Bay at 1600 on Wednesday 18th. I am acting skipper for the owners wife, Merry Houghton from Sydney, and her two crew, Tom Ellyatt from Devon, and Ian Smith from New Zealand. Our trip to Panama will take about 10 days but once there we may need to wait several days before a transit slot becomes available.
Passage so far has been pretty good trade-wind sailing. Boomed out and preventered rolling along at 6 knots in a 17 knot breeze. We are constantly on the lookout for squall clouds on the horizon as these can send the wind up to 30 knots very quickly. Spinnaker up sometimes if not too rolly. Yesterday got a twist upon lowering and took until after dark to unsnarl. Broke spinnaker pole end in the process. Poled out again today with jury rigged pole. Visited by playful dolphins this morning, first for a long time, while a large slick of seaweed had Merry shouting ‘Whales!’ this afternoon.
This Caribbean sea is a huge place. We are now 275 miles west of St Lucia and there is nothing within 100’s of miles around us. No islands, ships, rocks, planes, fish. Even the sea bed is 5000 metres below.
Australian sailing food is very good and Merry has us well looked after, so diets required when we get in.
Still trying for fish. We had a big bite today, big enough for the line to burn Tom’s fingers, but the bugger got away with the trace.
Thats it for the mo. Nothing more exciting. Back later. Cap’n Miguel O’Buggins.
After waiting for a front to pass through and the swell to drop, we departed Rodney Bay at 1600 on Wednesday 18th. I am acting skipper for the owners wife, Merry Houghton from Sydney, and her two crew, Tom Ellyatt from Devon, and Ian Smith from New Zealand. Our trip to Panama will take about 10 days but once there we may need to wait several days before a transit slot becomes available.
Passage so far has been pretty good trade-wind sailing. Boomed out and preventered rolling along at 6 knots in a 17 knot breeze. We are constantly on the lookout for squall clouds on the horizon as these can send the wind up to 30 knots very quickly. Spinnaker up sometimes if not too rolly. Yesterday got a twist upon lowering and took until after dark to unsnarl. Broke spinnaker pole end in the process. Poled out again today with jury rigged pole. Visited by playful dolphins this morning, first for a long time, while a large slick of seaweed had Merry shouting ‘Whales!’ this afternoon.
This Caribbean sea is a huge place. We are now 275 miles west of St Lucia and there is nothing within 100’s of miles around us. No islands, ships, rocks, planes, fish. Even the sea bed is 5000 metres below.
Australian sailing food is very good and Merry has us well looked after, so diets required when we get in.
Still trying for fish. We had a big bite today, big enough for the line to burn Tom’s fingers, but the bugger got away with the trace.
Thats it for the mo. Nothing more exciting. Back later. Cap’n Miguel O’Buggins.
_____
Sent by satellite phone from onboard 'Felicity J'
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