November 6th, 2014
St. Vincent & The Grenadines courtesy flag flying with the HYC burgee
(it's been months since we've changed our courtesy flag!)
(it's been months since we've changed our courtesy flag!)
We finally cleared out of Grenada (which includes the island
of Carriacou) and sailed over to Clifton, Union Island where we cleared in to
St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
That same day we sailed from Union Island over to the private island of
Petite St. Vincent, and called it a day.
The following morning we dinghied over to Petite St.
Martinique, as wine and beer are sold at very reasonable prices there, and we
were restocking J.
Once back at the boat, we went about the business of refilling our wine cellar
(aka: the bilge), and discovered, to our dismay, that the water level was
unusually high L.
Oh oh, we had a leak?!
It didn’t take Gil long to find it …. it was coming from one of the thru
hulls. Not good. It was the only thru hull that has current to it (for the
macerator pump), and so Gil suspected a deteriorating issue with electrolysis.
Though we weren’t in any imminent danger (of sinking), it was something we needed
to deal with sooner rather than later; and it involved taking the boat out of
the water to replace the compromised thru hull.
Fortunately, there is a boatyard with haul out facilities in
Tyrell Bay on the island of Carriacou, a short sail back from whence we had
come. So up came the anchor and after a stop for fuel and water (on Petite Martinique)
we hightailed it there.
back in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou
Mother nature must have felt for us, as she brought her tears
down upon us. We were so focused
on our activities in the cockpit -
Gil navigating and handling the sails – and myself bringing in the dock lines
and fenders and zipping in the cockpit enclosure – that we overlooked a couple
of open windows down below….
#@*&%^ We
weren’t having a good day. The
rain kept up all the way back to Tyrell Bay. When it finally stopped, the
anchor was laid and Serenada and her crew were looking like drowned rats.
The sun did come out, however, and with it the pleasure of seeing Slow Waltz, Serenade, and
Nightwatch all anchored in Tyrell Bay! We were in great company….. and it turns
out we were all dealing with issues! Slow Waltz had issues with their
navigational electronics, which showed them on the coast of Africa in shallow
waters; Nightwatch had issues with their mizzen mast furling system, which was
unfurling; and Serenade had their dinghy out of the water for repairs. If misery
loves company, we were all in the right place. Of the ‘Group of Seven’ boats
that met in Samana, Dominican Republic …. four of us were here with issues, and
the other three were sitting on the hard in Grenada (all with plans to resume cruising
later). Isn’t life interesting?
work on Nightwatch's mizzen mast
Anyway, we headed to shore to the Tyrell Bay Yacht Haul Out
facility. Our eyes caught the Customs and Immigration offices which share the
same property. Customs and Immigration?!
Oh Oh ….. we were back in the country of Grenada, which meant that we
had to clear in again. Oh Oh …. you must be cleared out of the previously visited country before you can clear
in. We hadn’t thought to do that,
given our circumstances. Would we be denied entrance? Would we be told to go
back to Clifton on Union Island to clear out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines? Would they make an exception given our
‘emergency?’ Should we just stick
our heads in the sand or fly the Quarantine flag? How do we best approach this issue? The officials were,
fortunately, understanding and did allow us clearance in. Whew.
A replacement thru hull was ordered, and a booking made to
haul out (Monday, Nov. 10th) for its’ replacement. Stay tuned…..
No comments:
Post a Comment