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The wind was blowing over 20 knots in the anchorage at Peter Island on the morning of January 27. The steep slopes around the anchorage caused the wind gusts to veer nearly 180 degrees. La Boatique had moved close to the rocks near shore on the starboard side of the boat. We either needed to tighten up on our anchor chain or leave. We decided to leave the anchorage.
There were two difficult jobs to be done before we could get going. One person needed to be at the helm to keep La Boatique out of danger while the other person needed to remove the stern line from the rocks.
The sternman would have to row the dinghy ashore. Then he would have to pull the dinghy far enough up onto the jagged rocks so the dinghy would not drift out into the anchorage. Then he would have to climb the rocks. Once the helmsman got La Boatique as far as possible from the rocks jutting out near our starboard side, then the sternman would pull hard on the stern line and slip the line off the rocks.
Now the really tricky part begins. Once the tension is off the stern line, La Boatique will start drifting toward rocks jutting out from shore. But putting the engine in gear may suck the stern line into the propeller.
The sternman would have to hold on to the line as the dinghy is pushed back into the choppy water. Then the sternman would need to pull the line into the dinghy as hard and as fast as possible. Once the line is tight, the helmsman could put the propeller in motion to get us out of danger. As the sternman would pull the line into the dinghy, the dinghy would be brought closer to La Boatique. Then the helmsman would need to get the line aboard La Boatique and get back to the helm as soon as possible. Finally, the sternman would secure the dinghy and climb aboard.
So what job did I choose? I chose to be the sternman.
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When rain arrived on February 1, Pete put on his bathing suit and I put on my rain suit. We then washed the sticky salt off La Boatique.
I had not been able to call home in over two weeks. When I did get through to home in early February, my parents were full of frustration over our income tax documents. When I suggested that I fly home, they thought that was a great idea. So did I, until I got caught up in the American Airlines pilot strike.
My flight out of St. Martin on February 9 was cancelled because the pilots did not show up. I was to fly out on February 10 instead. On February 10, I found out the flight was cancelled again. American had no idea when they would have a flight available. I had to wait in line for over 2 hours at the airport. I was becoming annoyed. I suggested that they transfer me to another carrier and put me up for a night in a hotel. So American put me on a TWA flight on the afternoon of February 11. They paid for a night at the Maho Bay Beach Resort Hotel near the airport and provided me with $90 worth of meal vouchers.
I had more than a day to wait for the TWA flight so I went back to the boat and got Pete. The two of us had a great time at the resort hotel. I played in the surf on the beach while Pete watched the planes land overhead. I enjoyed long showers. Pete enjoyed soaking in a hot bath. What a change from the boat!
On February 11, the TWA flight was late and I missed the connection in New York. American Airlines then put me up for a night in New York. I finally arrived in Cleveland around noon on February 12. The American Airlines staff bent over backwards to please me as best they could during a difficult situation.
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On March 15 we sailed for seven hours, but not aboard La Boatique. While La Boatique sat moored to the dock, we sailed around St. Martin with Jay Wright on Nokandolah. Jay's wife, Sandy, had flown home to Connecticut because of an illness in her family. Jay asked us to accompany him as he circumnavigated the island.
During the evening before our departure the soft gentle wind turned strong. During the night the wind howled. The mooring lines groaned against the push of the wind on La Boatique's hull. What kind of wind would we have at dawn? Would the waves be huge?
When I opened my eyes to the light of dawn, the wind was down. I showered and put on my bathing suit and shorts. Pete poured cereal in our bowls while I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. At 9 a.m. the lift bridge rose. The three of us on Nokandulah motored out of the narrow channel under the bridge. The quiet lagoon waters gave way to the ocean swell. Jay raised the main and jib. Nokandolah pitched 15 degrees as the 18-knot wind filled the sails. We soon sailed past three cruise ships at anchor in Philipsburg. The first leg of the trip involved beating into the wind. My stomach did not like the ride over the swells and waves. I gave my breakfast to the fish. I took the helm and began to feel better. Ahead of us was the mile long island of Tintamarre.
Jay suggested we anchor near a few other boats on the west side of the island. Jay tried to start the engine, but it would not start. Salt water had flowed through the exhaust pipe into the engine. Jay hit the decompression switch while Pete pushed the starter button and I steered the boat. The starter motor was getting very hot. Maybe we would not stop after all. Finally, the motor started. I turned into the wind while Jay and Pete dropped the sails. After Jay and I swam to the beach and back, we all enjoyed our lunch.
Thank goodness we were done with beating into the wind. We raised the sails and soon rounded the northern tip of St. Martin. There wasn't anything here except for the burning dump on shore. The wind became very light as we sailed along the western coast past the French towns of Anse Marcel, Grand Case, and Marigot.
When we were near the western tip of the island, we were sailing close to the shore. Big rollers crashed against cliff walls sending spray high in the air. Jay saw the bright blue water ahead turn yellowish. Was there shallow water ahead? Jay steered us out farther from shore. The smell of sewage was in the air. The yellowish water must have been sewage. I could see what looked like a sewage treatment plant near shore. We sailed on and were across from St. Maarten, the Dutch side of the island. Soon we were at anchor and our day's adventure was over.
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Pete's Cruising Recommendations
Pete writes:
My first topic is ocean currents. We only had strong currents coming down from the BVI. They seem to be no problem if you use your GPS. Most currents are set to the west in the Caribbean. I figure for every knot of current, figure one degree course change for every 10 miles.
My second topic is fixes and repairs. You must carry spare engine parts, injectors, impellers, zincs, hose, filters and wire. Carry as much oil as you can carry because oil here is expensive. If you have a unique item on the boat, be sure to carry spare parts because you probably won't be able to get the parts here. The hardware is priced better than West Marine, but not all items that West Marine carries are available.
We have made a nice kitty repairing things for people. I have worked on BMW engines and Yanmars. I have rewired some boats and repaired winches. The help down here is so, so. If they show up to work, they are not cheap. If you dive you can make money cleaning bottoms, and props. I think the biggest things I see are bad maintenance habits from the people themselves. I see engine rooms a mess, wiring a nightmare, and major fuel problems, even on the big boats. Everyone who looks at my engine room says you can eat off it. But looking at an engine room tells a lot about the boat and the owner.
The things we have put on the boat have all paid off. The engine rebuild, Airsep system, and the fuel purification system have helped us keep our engine running great.
I think you have to make a "what to check" list that includes time intervals. So when you hit that time, you know what has to be checked or changed. Be sure to change the oil and filters regularly. Also check the bolts and clamps. Check your zincs every 6 months. If the zincs disappear then any metal parts on the boat will be next to go. Do not forget to clean your strainers often. You don't want your water intakes to become clogged.
Have a good windlass that works and a cover for it. If you are at a dock or at anchor run it every other day. Keep it greased.
I believe that watermakers are a must. We have had great success with ours. The PUR 80 runs about 7-8 amps. It makes about 4 gallons an hour of good water. We add Clorox bleach to our water tanks. We add a capful for 30 gallons to keep the tanks clean. While at the dock we have put the watermaker to sleep because the marina water is very dirty. But we will wake it up soon. We depend very much on it. We like our showers and hot water for dishes. We have had no breakdowns with the watermaker. But you must grease the pump shaft. We grease ours when we clean the pre-filter. Try to install the unit below the water line and close to the through-haul fitting so that it will run more efficiently.
Make sure you have screens for your hatches and ports. There are biting bugs here also.
Have a good dingy and motor. I have found that here in St. Marrten dinghies and outboards are much less expensive than in the United States.
For overnight passages you should have a marine single side band radio in good working order. We have ours working pretty good. Install big ground plates. The ones we added in Baltimore have helped greatly.
Now for my thoughts about propellers, our Prowell Sailprop feathering propeller may not justify the extra cost. We like our feathering prop for sailing, but we lose some performance when motoring. We motored better with our fixed prop. But the reverse performance is better when we use the feathering prop. It's a 50/50 deal.
Our refrigeration works super. The time we spent redoing it was well worth every penny we put into it. Insulate as much as possible. Our vacuum lid is great. I have found that stainless liners look great but don't hold the cold and sweat a lot. Also, I believe that water-cooling is a must down here. Our refrigeration system draws about 5.5 amps. It runs about 15 minutes per hour if the door is kept closed.
Our solar panels work fantastic. I believe that we are getting about 60 amp hours a day from the panels. We have two 80-watt Kyocera panels.
I think that one of the most important things you can do is to keep salt water out of the boat. We found that keeping salt water out of the boat is much easier said than done. Your things will stay cleaner and last longer if you can keep them out of salt water. I like to use WD 40 for wiping down parts.
We are always going through lockers, moving around things and getting rid of things. You really don't need a lot. However, I found that tools are a must. I use pullers and special tools. You will need to push, pry and bang at times. I suggest having a vise with at least a 3-inch opening.
As far as steering is concerned, we see windvanes. We found that most cruisers who have windvanes never use them and they look ugly on the back of the boat. Windvanes are also a maintenance headache. Windvane parts are hard to find. Most cruisers have good autopilots or even two autopilots. You will use the autopilot a lot. Get the biggest you can use and it will pay for itself.
Our Yeoman electronic chart plotter has been a great help, fast easy and accurate. Often, we use it up in the cockpit instead of the navigation station.
So the main things I have loved: good fuel causing less problems, good anchor windlass, heavy anchor, clean engine, good cold drinks with ice, lots of tools and my great helper, my wife. We learn everyday.
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The Valley of Desolation and the Boiling Lake
On May 4 I reached the limit of my endurance when I climbed and hiked the strenuous trip to the Valley of Desolation and then on to the Boiling Lake.
This journey is for experienced hikers and requires a guide. My group included Larry and Angie from the boat Tao 8 and Jim and Mona from a nearby hotel. All of us were in our forties. None of us were overweight. I am not an experienced hiker but I try to stay fit and walk when I can. We were charged $160 U.S. dollars for our group. We had two guides, Tom and David. We also spent about four hours in a van getting to and from the trailhead.
The narrow trail starts in a dense rain forest. Soon the trail became rugged and we were either climbing up or down steep rough wooden steps. As we got close to a streambed the steps were rocks. When we stopped for a break, mosquitoes attacked us. We climbed to the top of a high ridge to the level of the clouds only to plunge down deep to a roaring rocky stream that we forded. There were no bridges on this tough trail. Then we climbed back up even higher and steeper. About a dozen times the trail was so steep that we were rock climbing using our arms along with our legs.
Wafts of smelly volcanic sulfur filled our hard working lungs. We tried to keep out of the mud and keep our feet dry but at the Valley of Desolation, the rain started. Gone was the dense rain forest. The ground near our feet was bubbling hot but the pouring rain cooled us. The earth here was very unstable and delicate. A landslide that occurred only a few months prior to our visit had changed the whole look of the valley. It seemed the ground was percolating hot water and steam all around us. The colors of the earth were amazing. They changed from mustard yellow to black to orange to silver to bright green from the moss.
Then up another rock climb and back we were into another rain forest. On we climbed in the rain to the boiling lake.
When we finally arrived at the boiling lake all I saw at first was a waterfall pouring into steam. The rain stopped. The steam cleared away. Down in the 50-yard wide volcanic crater 200 feet below us was the gray turbulent boiling water.
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