Australia Day 26 Jan 2010
Photos of some places we've been lately and by request from many of you a picture of Marks pony tail!
We woke up at around 7.30am as usual but there was no leisurely newspaper read or lazy breakfast.
We had been into the Grenadines sail makers the day before and Ravi had said he could do the repairs we needed to our main sail. On the way over the Atlantic we had put lagging around the rigging but we still had a lot of chaffing on the sail around the batten pockets and one of the battens had actually broken when the sail got trapped behind one of the stays.
Our crew had been gung ho in the early stages of the crossing and we had been flying along doing 8 – 10 knots and covered 190 miles on one day. However, once we noticed the wear on the sails we reefed in the main and reduced speed to around 6 – 8 knots with an average of 145 miles per day. But the damage had been done, so today we had to get the main off the boat and into the sail maker for repairs. Sounds easy. Not with just the two of us and the wind blowing up to 25kts on occasion. Once we’d managed to wrestle the sail off the mast and boom, we then had to fold it on the deck before bagging it and getting it in the dingy to take ashore. You need to bear in mind that our main sail is 5m x 17m (or 15ft x 50ft in old money) of old heavy duty fabric. There were times I thought I was going to be thrown in the water when the wind caught the sail.
We were also taking a deck cushion in to see if it could be cut down to fit our cockpit. We had asked at a couple of charter companies over Christmas, if they had any old cushions they were getting rid of as our bums were getting pretty sore sitting on teak with only Ikea cushions for padding. A chap called John West was in the process of changing cushions on a catamaran and said we could help ourselves if any of the old ones were any good. We staggered away with armfuls. When he realized we were walking back to the dingy dock he insisted on driving us back. Top bloke. We later went back for more cushions with a small gesture of beers and mince pies as a thank you but he had left for the day. Fortunately we caught up with him later at the local yacht club where we managed to buy him a whisky or two but also discovered his team was furious with him for giving away the cushions. Despite the beers and mince pies they had wanted to sell them. They are great cushions and hopefully Chris who is doing the alterations will do a good job getting them to fit our boat.
As well as the sail maker and cushion lady, we did the usual run round – baker, couple of local supermarkets (glorified corner stores), fruit and veg stall in someone’s front garden, plus a gauntlet run through the local fruit and veggie market run by the Rasta crowd, a stint in the internet café and the purchase of some tickets for the Bequia music festival this weekend. In fact the music festival is the reason we are in Bequia for so long. It had better be good - although all the omens are not propitious. Over New Year we made a reservation at a small French restaurant advertising live music from a special guest – the guest never showed. Last week we were in Mustique and spent an extra night on the island just to be there for the Jump Up at Basil’s Bar. We reserved a table and got all dressed up, paid a fortune for a BBQ buffet only to discover that the Jump Up band had missed the plane and there was some kid trying to do a disco instead. More of a lie down than a Jump Up.
So after a pretty full morning, we had a leisurely lunch back on board and a kip. Mark then went off fishing for the afternoon while I had a swim off the back of the boat. In the evening we had the obligatory BBQ of home-made hamburgers complete with beetroot. Washed down with the cask wine we brought over from Portugal and a large OP Bundy rum and coke. Although Mark had hoisted his huge Aussie flag earlier in the day it had not flushed out any other Australians. There was a boat in the bay with an Australian flag but there didn’t seem to be anyone on board.
All a long way from Australia Day last year spent walking around Sydney Harbour with throngs of Australian families decked out from head to toe literally - I saw one complete family with shoes in the Aussie flag material. All the boats on the harbor seemed to be competing for some prize or other for who represented the best dressed vessel. The media were out in force waiting for a fly past or parachute jump over the harbor – we never found out what it was. Unlike most of the people there, we hadn’t brought a picnic so we eventually headed to Queen Street for our own BBQ at home.
Photos of some places we've been lately and by request from many of you a picture of Marks pony tail!
We woke up at around 7.30am as usual but there was no leisurely newspaper read or lazy breakfast.
We had been into the Grenadines sail makers the day before and Ravi had said he could do the repairs we needed to our main sail. On the way over the Atlantic we had put lagging around the rigging but we still had a lot of chaffing on the sail around the batten pockets and one of the battens had actually broken when the sail got trapped behind one of the stays.
Our crew had been gung ho in the early stages of the crossing and we had been flying along doing 8 – 10 knots and covered 190 miles on one day. However, once we noticed the wear on the sails we reefed in the main and reduced speed to around 6 – 8 knots with an average of 145 miles per day. But the damage had been done, so today we had to get the main off the boat and into the sail maker for repairs. Sounds easy. Not with just the two of us and the wind blowing up to 25kts on occasion. Once we’d managed to wrestle the sail off the mast and boom, we then had to fold it on the deck before bagging it and getting it in the dingy to take ashore. You need to bear in mind that our main sail is 5m x 17m (or 15ft x 50ft in old money) of old heavy duty fabric. There were times I thought I was going to be thrown in the water when the wind caught the sail.
We were also taking a deck cushion in to see if it could be cut down to fit our cockpit. We had asked at a couple of charter companies over Christmas, if they had any old cushions they were getting rid of as our bums were getting pretty sore sitting on teak with only Ikea cushions for padding. A chap called John West was in the process of changing cushions on a catamaran and said we could help ourselves if any of the old ones were any good. We staggered away with armfuls. When he realized we were walking back to the dingy dock he insisted on driving us back. Top bloke. We later went back for more cushions with a small gesture of beers and mince pies as a thank you but he had left for the day. Fortunately we caught up with him later at the local yacht club where we managed to buy him a whisky or two but also discovered his team was furious with him for giving away the cushions. Despite the beers and mince pies they had wanted to sell them. They are great cushions and hopefully Chris who is doing the alterations will do a good job getting them to fit our boat.
As well as the sail maker and cushion lady, we did the usual run round – baker, couple of local supermarkets (glorified corner stores), fruit and veg stall in someone’s front garden, plus a gauntlet run through the local fruit and veggie market run by the Rasta crowd, a stint in the internet café and the purchase of some tickets for the Bequia music festival this weekend. In fact the music festival is the reason we are in Bequia for so long. It had better be good - although all the omens are not propitious. Over New Year we made a reservation at a small French restaurant advertising live music from a special guest – the guest never showed. Last week we were in Mustique and spent an extra night on the island just to be there for the Jump Up at Basil’s Bar. We reserved a table and got all dressed up, paid a fortune for a BBQ buffet only to discover that the Jump Up band had missed the plane and there was some kid trying to do a disco instead. More of a lie down than a Jump Up.
So after a pretty full morning, we had a leisurely lunch back on board and a kip. Mark then went off fishing for the afternoon while I had a swim off the back of the boat. In the evening we had the obligatory BBQ of home-made hamburgers complete with beetroot. Washed down with the cask wine we brought over from Portugal and a large OP Bundy rum and coke. Although Mark had hoisted his huge Aussie flag earlier in the day it had not flushed out any other Australians. There was a boat in the bay with an Australian flag but there didn’t seem to be anyone on board.
All a long way from Australia Day last year spent walking around Sydney Harbour with throngs of Australian families decked out from head to toe literally - I saw one complete family with shoes in the Aussie flag material. All the boats on the harbor seemed to be competing for some prize or other for who represented the best dressed vessel. The media were out in force waiting for a fly past or parachute jump over the harbor – we never found out what it was. Unlike most of the people there, we hadn’t brought a picnic so we eventually headed to Queen Street for our own BBQ at home.
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