
Powerboats Yard
We left Trinidad after all our boat projects we completed and we had a wx window. Neil on Early Out casually informed us of a disturbance that Chris Parker said would strengthen in the next day or so; however, our trip would be overnight and if we couldn’t sail, we could drive (motor 🙁 ).
After a nice lunch at the Crews Inn Restaurant with Lee and Sharon on Allegro we paid our bill and cast off the lines. The boat was in the best shape she’s been in since leaving New Port Richey, FL ; at least that is what we had thought. We cast off and motored out the cut and out of the only harbor we’ve been in in Trinidad.

Chagaramus Commercial Port

Wendy Driving
There we headed N around the bend and looked for the magic 12 nm mark that our friends on Coho told us about. Gordon said that Trinidad effects the Trade Winds for about 12 nm. After a couple of hours of motoring and close to the 12 nm magical line we felt that there might be enough wind to sail. There wasn’t a lot of wind, but we had left a little early anticipating a light breeze (as per the GRIB files).
Shutting down the engine to sail is always a joy. One of the true high points of the sailing life. Engines are a necessary evil. When you need them they are so valuable. When you don’t, they are just so obnoxious. With the engine off and the sails pulling, the boat takes on a life of it’s own. It breathes the air, it moves to the sea as a dancer moves to the music. We are not on the boat, we are not in the boat, we are one with the boat.
There are a couple of things to miss between Trinidad and Grenada, Oil wells, ships, and Pirates. Fortunately there haven’t been any pirate attacks here in almost a year. To aid the small boats crossings between Grenada and Trinidad the Trinidad Coast Guard has an email address that boaters are encouraged to use to inform them of their float plan and they are said to keep watch on your trip. We never saw them. That doesn’t mean they weren’t around. Our friends on Lison Life were boarded by them when they made the trip, another cruiser we knew of was met by them approx 10 nm from Trinidad and escorted in. It’s nice to know they’re there, and it was nice to make the passage without any interference by either the CG or Pirates.
Oil wells are another matter. Texas has so many and there are some unlit wells. Wells are always to have lights but some unused wells have automatic lights and most things automatic eventually fail. However, the wells here are occupied and have full crews so they’re well lit. We could see them for 15 to 20 miles at night. Easy to avoid them.
Ships are however different from wells. They move, they are many different light configurations, such as towing, being towed, fishing, anchored and simply going like a bat outta hell somewhere. Not to worry. Before we left the US last year we installed AIS (Automatic Information System) that reads boat positions (on ships), speed, course and destination. It is sweet. So I went to fire that system up and connect it to the computer; viola, NOTHING!
What? Nothing! Oh No! W/ loves that system. Oh! Oh! I fiddle with it for a good 15 minutes before I give up. One system we worked on in Trinidad was the VHF. Before I purchased a new radio I had done diagnostics on the old one and that most likely meant I disconnected the AIS from the VHF system and never remembered to connect it back up. Put that fix on the list to complete in Grenada. Fortunately this is not a high traffic route like Panama, Yucatan Straits, or the Gulf Stream off of Florida. Tonight we won’t have AIS and fortunately we only saw two ships out there.
Anyway; we were sailing, the Sun had set so I went below to get a shot at the first off watch. I tossed and turned and W/ said I slept some. Ok; maybe I did. I arose about midnight and we figured we needed to run the generator to recharge the refrigeration. So on the generator went. Check the water flow; Good. Wait for the generator to warm up and then start the refrigeration compressor. The Generator warms up; I get ready to turn on the refrigeration compressor and the “Hi Temp” light comes on. W/ quickly checks the water flow and none. Shut the generator down. I look bewildered. We wait 10 minutes and try again. Engine comes on, all goes well, the engine warms up and then alternator kicks in; the “Hi Temp” light comes on again and the raw water flow stops! Damn! Damn! I can’t believe it. Fortunately we’ll be in and anchored by the am and I can solve the issue then. That’s two major systems not working! Damn!
W/ goes down for some R n R. Generally we do 2 hours on and 2 hours off but in short passages where we’ve an over night it is more as we feel. She gave me close to 3 hours and I figure to do much of the same. But as one hour goes by and the wind has shifted a bit we’ve gone off course. We have a rule that neither of us leaves the cockpit without the other on deck. Yeah we have Jack Lines that we tie into them offshore and always at night – but still we want another person up on deck. She and I can sleep easier knowing that the other isn’t taking any unnecessary risk. So I rouse her for a couple of minutes and I go to adjust the wind vane for the course we want. All’s adjusted she now falls back to sleep and I settle in for a gorgeous evening sail.
Two hours later I wake her and we switch. I get an hour or so before we’re close enough to land that we both need to be on deck. Remember; for boats, land is the dangerous stuff. We’re close enough, and it’s too dark to actually enter the harbor. We reduce sail area and thus our speed drops so we hope to arrive at Sun rise. We pull in the Jib and sail on the Main only. This drops our speed from 5-6 kts to 2-3 kts. We slowly approach land. As the Sun rises we’re able to see the harbor and markers for the entrance.
Markers in any of the islands are always suspect. We follow them some and use them for guidance; but, mostly we use the charts and in this case our old tracks in and out. We had been in and out of this harbor twice so I still have our GPS tracks in and out of the harbor. We follow the track in that led us out and we thankfully enter Mt. Hartman Bay, Grenada. Once we’re clear of the reefs I scramble down below and dig out our Q flag signaling that the boat is under a Quarantine until I can go ashore and meet with Health, Immigration, and Customs officials.
Once anchored we use a halyard to remove the dinghy off the back of the boat. I row ashore and walk across the hill to Customs in Prickly Bay. Therein I complete the formalities and return to the boat. In Mt. Hartman Bay there is some boat movement as there are many who believe that the storm Neil told me about was strengthening and some were adding more ground tackle while others were moving to the dock. We simply left our awnings stowed and added more chain. We’re good…. we hope. 🙂
Go Slow
Sail Far
Stay Long