Missing in Action in the reality triangle!

Those of you following our blog probably think we sailed or flew into the proverbial Bermuda Triangle! Well the Bermuda Triangle it was not, it was a South African Reality Triangle. 

Horror of horrors!! Especially for us wandering cruisers, at least the Bermuda Triangle has an explorer type romanticized hint of the unknown! The Reality Triangle has no such charm or intrigue! Away from our home on the sea we felt more adrift than we ever have at sea!

How did we find ourselves voluntary inmates of reality? It started like this:

Hurricane season arrived in June 2012, Rat Catcher was hauled out and on the hard (standing on the land) at Bobby's Megayard in Sint Maarten! The run up to settling her in for the season had not been totally uneventful! Cruisers beware! 

We had decided we would like to haul out in Sint Maarten, as it is in the Hurricane no-go zone, we contacted our insurers, "Mutual and Federal" in South Africa and asked if it would be possible? We explained we would be willing to pay an additional premium and take any precautions they might require. If it was not allowed we would run back to Trinidad, BUT we had to know in time so we could plan to sail down waiting for weather windows etc. In the right weather it would take about four days sailing to get there.

We were delighted, we got a prompt response back by email saying that we were welcome to haul out in Sint Maarten, there would be no extra premiums or precautions. We asked them to send it to us in writing on an official addendum to our policy. They assured us they would. So time went by and we kept asking for the confirmation. Two weeks before we were due to fly out we received an addendum assuring us we were NOT covered at all if we stayed in Sint Maarten! DISASTER!!!

We had already cancelled our spot in Trinidad and boatyards are full at this time of year! Not only that but the weather windows were now few and far between. We were stuck! Running around we found Nagico, a local insurer who took over the cover!

This should have been some sort of indication that the hurricane season was not to be a smooth one and would bring in some hurricane styled changes for us in the year.

So with Rat Catcher well tied down and ready for a short 5 month stay on the hard we set off for St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada for our annual sojourn of work and earn. 

The plan was in Andre's off time we were going to 'pop home' to South Africa to say hello to the family and sort out the few things that needed our personal attention, then we would both head back to Canada before returning to Rat Catcher!

While there we decided that Andre would head back and I would stay and finalize everything while he did his next 3 week stint in Canada!

We decided with almost 9 weeks available I would send out my CV and see if I could get a temporary position to be able to become current again and then register to be able to nurse in Canada!     

Well to cut a long story short this is what we managed in the 18 months away from Rat Catcher:

We sold Trawlers, our Seafood restaurant, much to the relief of my folks who had gamely taken care of it the last two years. Thanks Des and Pam!

I went back to nursing after 22 years out of the industry and learned to 'scrub'. Also known as assist the Doctors during an operation. I confess I loved it and confided to Andre we might have to stay longer than 1 year, but the reality of the staff in control got to me and nothing is worth the total misery of working in those conditions, no matter how much you love what you doing. The average miserable stay in that department is between 3 and 6 months. I saw 10 excellent staff members leave in my 12 months; none because they didn't like the job, all because of the management of the department. I can't say I wasn't warned, three doctor friends told me I was heading into hell and boy were they right! But I achieved my goal of becoming current after 22 years away! 

We hopefully settled the parents, both sets, where they are safe and happy despite missing their brats! 

We found a dream home for our beloved 'Billy Boy' aka Kabila the African Grey! Who we also found out is actually a girl. No wonder she was confused. She now has a new brother called Comic, he is a huge Cockatoo and makes her look like the dainty girl she is.

And one of the biggest decisions was to take Lulu our precious princess and make a bush cat into a princess pirate! 

We rented out our house and put all our goods in storage!

So 18 moths after leaving the boat for four months we returned. Well in all honesty Andre returned first as he had to ready the boat for Lulu to move aboard. Meaning the boat had to be on the water for minimum escape opportunities and minimum stress. We need not have worried. Check out her blog page for her adventures!

Rat Catcher splashed on the 13th December and I swear I could hear her sizzle with pleasure all the way to South Africa!

Much of her did not enjoy the 18 months on land especially the electronics. So since we arrived it's been fixing fixing repairing and replacing, we can't wait for it to all be done so we can sail off and cruise instead of sitting at anchor!

'Island Time' is the Caribbean equivalent to African Time and so we wait for things to get done. It seems each time we are able to tick a job off the list another appears. We were about to put the genoa back up today only to discover the stitching is all rotten and coming apart so first it all has to be re stitched. First job for our new walking foot machine. 

We will keep up to date as to where the next stop it as soon as we have decided! 

Happy New year to one and all. May 2014 be full of health, opportunity and dreams made true!

Loved the inference of the comment on the mat I found!

We named him Fat Boy! He sits and watches al the dinghy's go by!

Sint Maarten Dutch Bridge to the Lagoon.

Christmas Eve dinner at Lagoonies. Great fun was had!

Life on anchor! 

Sint Maarten / St Martin – Dutch and French

28^th April 2012 – 27^th May 2012

The sail from Antigua to Sint Maarten was a typical Caribbean bump and bash. We got to the West end of St. Barthelemy (St. Barts) and decided to stop for the night in Anse de Colombier. This secluded bay lies at the bottom of steep craggy rocks. There is no access by road, only by boat or by trekking over the hills on foot. Perfect for a quiet night!  We swam and snorkelled had sun downers on deck and retired to the sound of the waves lapping on the beach. The next morning we sailed over to Sint Maarten.

Sint Maarten is a small island barely 7 miles across in each direction. There are a multitude of beaches backed by rolling hills. The whole island is duty free and it is one of the top holiday destinations in the Leeward. The island is divided across the middle. The northern part is French; the southern Dutch. The story; completely unsupported by historical fact; is that the Dutch and French were too civilized to fight over the island. So they armed a Frenchman with a bottle of wine and a Dutchman with a flask of gin. They were to walk towards each other and where they met would become the boundary.  The French ended up with a bit more because the gin was stronger than the wine.

In the early days the island was important to the Dutch because of the salt ponds in the southern half which is why they settled for that half. St. Martin used to be a successful producer of tobacco and sugar; when the sugar market declined they tried to stop the downward trend by making the island completely duty-free. It worked! St. Martin became the Caribbean’s number one shopping mall. Today it hosts about one million visitors annually!

We motored into Simpson Bay, Sint Maarten the next morning to find our friends on Southern Blue moored there. It was their last few days before they moved on to the B.V.I. It was lovely to see them and we all went ashore to Buccaneers Bar for sun downers.

Our timing was great; we discovered it was a long weekend in St. Maarten and the carnival was on. Tuesday we caught a bus into Philipsburg, the capital of the Dutch side. The seafront side has a long boardwalk of cobbled stones, fancy lampposts and potted palms. It has two main streets Front Street and Back Street! Both lined with endless clothing, electrical and jewellery stores all duty free, as well as souvenir shops and craft markets.

We had been told the carnival parade started at mid-day. In true Caribbean fashion the first sign of anything happening was nearer to four in the afternoon. The street was cordoned off and the parade began. What was great; that we didn't see in Brazil, was the actual floats and costumes. If you recall in Brazil, that is reserved for the rich and famous and costs mega bucks. We just partied with the locals in “blocco’s”. Here in St. Maarten there were about 10 floats with music and costumes. There didn't seem to be an overall theme like in Martinique but they looked great and had obviously worked hard to make it special.

 

 

  One thing we both enjoy about cruising is meeting different people. We have met the most amazing people from all over the world. We spent a great evening with Paul, Marguerite and their friends at Jimbo’s, a local Spanish theme restaurant. Their yacht is a Leopard 45 called AFTICA. We couldn’t figure out the “strange” spelling of Africa until we discovered it is an acronym for “Another Flipping Thing I Can’t Afford”.

Another couple we met who swam into our lives is Bonnie and Patrick Lyons. They were celebrating their 30^th wedding anniversary and staying at the Royal Hotel on the beach we were anchored off of. Patrick swam by, saw our Cape Town sign on the boat and began chatting. Being the Water polo coach for the USA Olympic team, treading water is a natural past time for him. We didn’t, however leave them in the water and managed to convince them to join us for a quick snorkel off of the nearby reef. It was fun but not much to see and they accepted an invitation to sail with us to Cupecoy Beach, about an hour’s sail from our anchorage. What a fantastic day, we snorkelled, walked on the beach and swam. Then lunch aboard followed by a few Rum Punches, after that we all spread out on the trampoline in the sun and slept the rum punch off before sailing back to Simpson Bay. We so enjoyed meeting them and were sorry to see them go at the end of the day. We hope to see them again!

Hand feeding the fish!

See the fish among us?

Patrick on watch

Patrick and Bonnie Lyons. 

Thanks to the Lyons for the champers. Note the name!

People we meet say we are brave to have undertaken the journey across the Atlantic; but this is what we think is “brave”.

Steve and Mags White on their Fountaine Pajot, 40 foot Lavezzi; she is named “Madeleine” after their beautiful Grand-daughter.  We anchored in front of them in Simpson Bay and Steve called out a “Goeie More”! They are South Africans now settled in Canada. According to Mags, they would sit in the holiday home in Bahamas each year and Steve would “go on” about the yachts anchored in the bay. Finally they decided to sell the holiday home and buy a floating one. This is after very little, if any sailing experience. In fact Steve had done a 5 day skippers course about 6 years before and had never again sailed until they took ownership of and boarded Madeleine. If I recall correctly Mags had never sailed. Now they spend their winter aboard in the warm Caribbean. That is Brave!

We planned to explore the island after returning from Cupecoy and caught a bus to Orient Beach; the 2 mile long, white powdered sand beach is protected from the Atlantic waves by a reef. Orient Beach is the most developed, the most popular and the busiest beach on the island, probably the most famous beach in the entire Caribbean. The beach is reputed as much for its natural beauty and setting as it is for being the island´s foremost swimsuit optional beach. Most of the beach is the normal French topless option and the southern part is the nudist beach edged by “Club Orient” a ‘au natural’ resort. I was just talking about ‘brave’, brave is the HUGE (pardon the pun) range of figures that stroll confidently along the beach or wallow in the water. I admire their self-confidence to expose all, totally unconcerned. They even use the restaurant naked but there is a request on the wall to ‘please sit on a towel’ J

The next beach we visited by bus, Maho is the home of the famous Sunset Beach Bar. The beach is situated at the end of the Princess Juliana International Airport. The attractions are watching the aircraft come in low over the sea touching down a short distance from the bar and the biggest thrill is watching them take off. Well for us it was watching the people “riding the jet stream” as the aircraft rev their engines for take-off. Some of the guys stand right against the fence, holding on and as the jet stream hits them they lift their legs and stream sideways hanging onto the fence.  Those that choose to stand behind the aircraft on the beach are blasted with sand and often tumbled along into the water. 

 

 We had been a little wary of sailing to the French side after the last 4 South African yachts being thrown out for lack of a visa. Steve and Mags inspired us to take out chances and go visit. We lifted anchor and sailed around to Grand Case Beach, in French called "Baie" or "Plage de Grand Case", is a sweeping curve of a very pretty, one mile long, white sandy beach with quite calm waters. The beach is awesome for swimming and has some nice snorkelling spots towards either end of the beach, or around the reef at "Créole Rock". We met Steve and Mags there and joined them for a Rib dinner ashore. 

Of course snorkelling was on the agenda and we took the dinghy over to Creole Rock. We were privileged to see huge spotted Manta Ray gliding by. I caused a bit of an underwater ‘traffic’ incident as I swam down alongside him. I hadn’t seen a poor old turtle chewing thoughtfully on some coral and as I swam by watching the ray, he nearly jumped out of his shell. He shot out past my left shoulder, not having noticed the ray on my right and just about collided with the ray. They both got a huge fright and ducked off at speed in different directions. I nearly drowned laughing.

I cannot get enough of being underwater. For me it is a totally enchanting world full of the most incredible colours and creatures.

We returned to Simpson Bay for our flight to Tortola to fetch Southern Blue and say goodbye to Tallies and Jeanne.

We had more than ten days before hauling rat catcher out of the water and decided we were not going to spend it in St. Maarten. Our brief overnight stop in St. Barts had tempted us and we decided to go there. See my blog on our visit.

There was so much to do on the boat, unlike Trinidad; we needed to remove everything that can be blown about from the deck, which included sails. What a job, the most difficult part was trying to lay the sail on deck to fold it up. Then there were some upgrades we needed one being the davits that we use to lift the dinghy out of the water every night. It was sitting too high and having an effect on the bimini so a move was required. We found an excellent craftsman in Ral from FKG. He has done a beautiful job and we would recommend him to anyone.

We were supposed to be lifted out of the water on the Monday before we left, however when our time came there was a boat in the sling who couldn’t get his rudder odd and they couldn’t set it down until the rudder was off. We finally got our chance on the Wednesday which gave us only two days before we flew out to Canada. What a rush!

The yard we are in is new and with the wind blowing the sparkling clean boat we had scrubbed the past few days was very quickly covered in dust. As it is so hot we couldn’t even close hatches so we were traipsing dust and dirt into the boat as well as it blowing in and covering everything. We will have quite a job getting it clean again when we get back after months in the dusty environment. We don’t really want to wish for much rain as with it come storms and winds.

Luckily Andre had booked us into a room at Lagoonies. Simple but clean…ish; at least less dusty than the boat and an en suite loo. The shower was downstairs but always a welcome relief after a day in the dust and heat of the boat.

Some interesting cruising figures:

Diesel:-           From when we last fuelled up in Trinidad on 11 December 2011 we used 320L of diesel. We ran the engines for a total of 290hrs. That makes a consumption of about 1.1L per hour. That was for motoring as well as charging for electricity. So you can see we are sailors not motorers. J

Our budget:-   Including everything except large upgrades on the yacht works out to about 100US$ per day for this last season.

Distance          We covered about 1000nm this season after departing Trinidad in December.

8300 nm has passed under Ratcatcher’s keels since we left Cape Town (15 371km for you landlubbers in the metric world)

Beer                XXXXXXX (censored)

We hope you are enjoying our travels.

More to come after the hurricane season in Canada; with a mid trip turn in South Africa. We are looking forward to seeing our friends and families on our visit to South Africa which is our first visit since we left in Jan 2011.

Tortola – British Virgin Islands - Southern Blue

27^th May 2012 – 3^rd June 2012

Southern Blue delivery

The trip from St. Maarten to Tortola, BVI’s was one of the smoothest passages we have had since we entered the Caribbean, mostly because we flew over on Liat airways. Tallies and Jeanne from Southern Blue were there to meet us but had almost given up hope we had arrived we took so long to get through customs. The reason was one of the officials had either got up on the wrong side of the bed or was new but he was checking every “i” was dotted and T crossed and sending every passenger to be searched. Luckily by the time we got to the front of the queue the second official was free and she assisted us with smiles and laughs and no hassles at all.  I breathed a sigh of relief; my captain is not the best at hiding his irritation at incompetence and/or bloody mindedness, while I try gamely to kiss ass to just get us through with the least amount of headache.

Tallies and Jeanne

It was great to see our friends again and a short walk brought us to Trellis Bay where Southern Blue was anchored. They had been anchored in the Bay for two weeks having repairs done after being struck by lightning which blew just about every electrical component on the boat. Finally they had everything fixed and had just had an offer on the boat (she is for sale) which they had accepted. We had agreed to sail with them for two days before taking Southern Blue back to St Maarten to be sold. At this stage it seemed we would be flying back again, what a pleasure.

Tallies and Jeanne are on their way back to South Africa after a 6 month sabbatical sailing the Caribbean.

That afternoon we took the local ferry to Scrub Island. A private resort has been built here with no expenses spared. What is fantastic is they make visitors welcome and we were free to walk around the island exploring. We met the manager at their “One Shoe Beach Bar” who is also a South African. All over the Caribbean we find one of a pair of shoes on the beach and in the water, “One Shoe Bar” has taken a few and nailed them to the bar posts.

We waited for the seller and Tallies to sign off on the contract then we set sail for Joost Van Dyke Island. On the way we stopped to fill up with Diesel and water. The gas station on a floating dock has an old fashioned red phone box which is in working order. We couldn't resist taking pics!

The island is supposedly named after the Dutch privateer, Joost van Dyke. It is also known as the birthplace of Dr. John Lettsom who was born into a Quaker community then went to England to study medicine. There he founded the London Medical Society and was the founding member of the Royal Humane Society. A philanthropist, abolitionist and humourist he wrote the following ditty:

                                I, John Lettsom

                                Blisters, bleeds and sweats ém

                                If, after that, they please to die,

                                I, John, lets ém

Foxys Bar

We anchored in Great Bay, the home of Foxy’s Bay. It has been around for over 40 years and hosts an annual wooden boat race in May. Sadly we missed the race.

We discovered Corsairs Bar and Restaurant and loved the atmosphere so stopped for a sun downer. There we sampled their “Dark and Stormy” a Rum and Ginger Beer mix. There we stayed for the rest of the evening, smoking cigars and feasted on their delicious chicken wings in barbeque sauce. A fitting hello and goodbye party with our friends from Southern Blue; with whom we have had so much fun.

We swear nothing happened!

Jeanne being corrupted!

 The next morning took us to Sea Cow Bay where we anchored and took the dinghy across to Nanny Cay. We had to meet Brian the yacht broker there and sign off some final arrangements for Southern Blue to be hauled out for inspection by a surveyor to finalise the sale. Of course being a little boat crazy we also took the opportunity to look at some of the boats available, let’s just say Rat Catcher rules.

The following morning Tallies and Jeanne were taking the ferry to St. Thomas where they would catch a flight to USA, Florida and then to Cuba. Jeanne promised to smoke a Cuban cigar for Andre. They were leaving from Sopers Hole so we moved there for the night. It was a sad goodbye, for them they were leaving their boat for the last time and we were sad to see them go.

We decided we would go and explore Road Town and motored to the harbour. It was so full we couldn’t find any space to anchor safely so eventually gave up. Nearby Brandywine Bay had a nice sound so dropped anchor there. We were the only boat anchored in a pretty bay with townhouses on one side overhanging the sea the entire bay edged in white beach. I was getting water withdrawal so went for a snorkel. The sea grass bottom is home to the Conch and there were lots of them all over, as well as a huge hermit crab who had made his home in an abandoned Conch shell.

Sun downers on deck and a simple dinner and we slept like babies.

The next day was D-Day for the boat; she was to be hauled out of the water at Nanny Cay to be inspected by a marine surveyor. Sadly it didn’t get that far, he found one or two known problems that Leopards suffer from and the sale fell through. So a change of plans instead of flying back we were once again sailing her back to St. Maarten.

The weather wouldn’t be right for a few days so we took her over to Norman Island and into the Bight. Norman Island is one of the Islands together with Salt, Peter, Cooper and Ginger that form the perimeter of Sir Frances Drake Channel. It is often referred to by locals as “Treasure Island” and is rife with stories of buried Pirate treasure. A letter dated 1750 stated, “Recovery of the treasure from Nuestra Senora buried at Norman Island, comprised 450 000 dollars, plate, cochineal, indigo and tobacco, much dug up by local Tortolians”. Sadly we didn’t stumble across any of the buried treasure.

The Caves you can swim deep into.

We took the dinghy to Treasure Point, an amazing dive site, the water was beautifully clear and the highlight is swimming into huge caves carved deep into the rocks by the sea action. Unfortunately we didn’t have a dive torch with us but we swam in until we couldn’t see our hand in front of our face then turned and swam back to the light of the entrance. We will definitely be back next year to explore deeper into the caves. Would love to see what sea creatures live in the dark! Just maybe we find some treasure there.

Our next stop for the night was Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island. We tried to anchor but were having problems with the windlass and the wind was pushing us all over, so we ended up taking a buoy. A walk ashore at the resort, explored their Boutique; without buying; in Euro’s for us Rand people it’s too expensive.

We decided we would leave the next afternoon so that we got to Simpson Bay in time for the 11h30 bridge opening to do so we would have to leave at about 3PM so we had one more day to explore. 

We lifted anchor early from Cooper Island and made our way to Virgin Gorda and “The Baths”. They are located on the southwest tip of the Island and are an incredible formation of huge granite boulders. The sea washes in between the rocks making rock pools where shafts of light play on the water, its spectacular. The boulders balancing against one another have created tunnels and overhangs that are beautiful to swim through under the water. We spent age’s snorkelling through the rocks and exploring the pools. Ashore they have created a trail that meanders along over, under and between the rocks and ends at Devils Bay. A perfect white beach edged with clear turquoise water. It is incredibly beautiful and we will definitely be back next year to spend some more time here.

Sadly it was time to head back and we made our way to Spanish Town, previously the capital of the B.V.I. It is still a major town and is thought to have been named for the Spanish settlers who came to mine the copper ore in the early 16^th century. As we knew we would be motoring against the wind all the way back we wanted to fill up with diesel and needed a few groceries. We treated ourselves to a great lunch, checked out with customs and we were on our way!

An uneventful trip back to Sint Maarten we arrived just after 11h00 the next morning in time for the bridge opening. We rafted Southern Blue up to Rat Catcher and started cleaning and packing her up to be handed over to the dockyard for haul out the next morning.