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The Sailboat Cruiser
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The Sailboat Cruiser
The Sailboat Cruiser #72
March 2022
What's in This Issue:
In any other year we would have sailed through much of the Windward and Leeward islands that make up the sailing paradise that is the Eastern Caribbean.
We knew this year our cruising plans would be limited (owing to the Covid protocols) most probably to the Windward Islands: Grenada - Carriacou - Union - Mayreau - Tobago Cays - Canouan - Mustique - Bequia - St Vincent and return for haulout in Grenada.
Alas, we didn't even get to do that. We started out fine, sailing north from Grenada to Carriacou, one of our favourite islands.
Just to the north of the Tyrrel Bay anchorage in Carriacou is Sandy Island where pelicans, boobies, terns and black-headed gulls dive around your anchored boat, and eagle rays glide beneath it.
Paradise indeed, but after a while it was time to move on to Union Island in St Vincent & the Grenadines (SVG). This was where the Covid protocols interfered with our plans. It worked like this:
- SVG required
a negative PCR test carried out within the preceding 72 hours before being allowed to enter the country.
- The test would be done in Carriacou, but the samples had to be tested in Grenada. The only way to get the samples to Grenada was by the ferry, which ran on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
- There was no guarantee that the test result would be emailed to you in time for you to arrive in Union Island within the 72-hour period, which meant that you'd have to repeat the entire process.
Although we fully understood the need for this procedure, it involved a lot more hassle than we'd vote for and, at around $100 a pop for each PCR test, we decided that there were other things we'd much rather spend the cruising budget on.
Later, the PCR/72hr requirement was changed to an Antigen/24hr requirement, but it was too late for us - we had to get back to Grenada.
As a result, we probably did more hiking ashore that sailing offshore this
year.
We've generally found the people of these islands to be welcoming, honest, friendly and courteous - and particularly so in Carriacou. But as in all generalities, there is the odd exception - and boy, did I find him!
At anchor in Tyrell Bay in Carriacou, Mary and I were sitting in Alacazam's cockpit, reading our Kindles and chatting.
A 45-foot catamaran with an American couple and their two children aboard arrived in the anchorage and approached a nearby mooring ball. The mooring ball had a ring on top but no pick-up line, and was creating a few problems for the youngster on the bow who was rather optimistically waving a boathook at it. We watched their first few attempts, wondering if they would lasso it with a rope before tying up to it properly.
A local chap arrived in an open wooden boat who I thought was going to help them. But he didn't, telling them to follow him to another mooring closer inshore, which turned out to be one of his.
We'd come across this chap before, a rather gruff individual selling cheap wine and lobsters. The skipper of the cat did as requested, but wisely declined it on closer inspection and returned to his previous choice of mooring, by which time I was waiting alongside it in my dinghy.
The young crewman threw me a line which I was about to reeve through the mooring ring when the local chap showed up again - and was he ever mad, screaming foul-mouthed abuse at both me and the crew of the cat.
I tried to ignore it all and get on with the rope handling but he wouldn't let up, making life difficult and dangerous.
I took my eye off him for a second while I was handling the second line, and that was when he rammed me. I survived that, so he took to swiping at me with an oar which I also managed to avoid, but I'd dropped the mooring line and was drifting back under the cat.
The screamed abuse continued, he was going to kill me he said, and
would return in the night to cut the cat adrift. I tried to involve him in a rational discussion centred around his liberty in the community and my ability to forgive but that failed miserably.
He rightly perceived that such an ability on my part was an outright lie. It was now clear he was dangerously close to losing total control of his temper; I was becoming more than a little apprehensive of my immediate future.
A British skipper rowed across asked if I was having a spot of bother, and could he help. This got a "yes" and "yes please" from me.
At this the local chap left me skulking under the cat's trampoline and targeted the new arrival, who also received a death threat for his intervention. I got the second line aboard the cat and returned to Alacazam, where I called the Port Authority who asked that I report the issue to the Police - who suggested that I called the Coast Guard.
The belligerent local chased the other skipper back
to his boat with no let up to his foul verbal abuse, before departing the scene.
Shortly after, the Coast Guard arrived alongside Alacazam and took a statement from me and the skippers of the boats involved. I made the point that much of the foul language was aimed at the two youngsters, a boy and a girl, which was totally unacceptable. They were courteous and professional and assured me that the culprit would be caught and appropriate measures taken.
They apologised for the behaviour of their fellow countryman, particularly as this was the first visit of the American family to Carriacou. I spoke afterwards with the Americans explaining that what they had seen was the very opposite of what they could expect from the people of Cariccou and hoped it would not dissuade them from returning.
Apparently, the miscreant was one of two local brothers renowned for their unfriendly behaviour towards cruisers.
We've removed them both from our
Christmas card list. That'll teach'em!
Chatting to a fellow cruiser recently, the subject of anchor swivels came up. I'd ditched mine years ago as I thought it was, quite literally, the weak link in the chain.
He'd ditched his quite recently as it didn't do what he thought it would - stop twists developing in the anchor chain.
He still has this problem. The twists are accumulative, eventually reaching the point where the chain becomes a twisted serpent in the locker which jams in the hawse pipe and is the very devil to sort out.
At this point I confess to feeling a tad smug having experienced the problem and KNOWING THE SOLUTION!
Here's how it happens...
The anchor chain twists as the anchor is raised and the twists pass over the bow roller and under load, the odd one passes over the gypsy as well and into the anchor locker. When the anchor is dropped, there's little load on the chain so the twists don't pass back over the gypsy but remain in the chain that's left in the
locker.
After a period of time, ALL the chain left in the locker becomes twisted - and there's your problem.
And here's how to stop it happening...
Get a bow roller fabricated in bronze with a groove machined in the centre of it, just wide enough to ensure that alternative chain links are aligned vertically as they pass over it, leaving the intermediate links lying flat.
In the pic above, I've pulled the chain over to port to reveal the machined groove in the bow roller. This groove aligns the chain as it passes over the roller, preventing twists from developing between the bow roller and the gypsy and hence none ends up in the locker.
It forces any twists to sort themselves out between the bow roller and the anchor and - most importantly - ensures that the anchor arrives at the bow roller correctly orientated to stow properly every time.
Similarly machined Delrin bow rollers soon wear and their chain aligning ability is lost, which is what had happened to my Canadian friend's.
So, if you have an anchor swivel - why?
Now back at anchor in Prickly Bay, Grenada, where we're getting Alacazam ready for haulout.
First task was to get the three sails down (Yankee, Staysail and Mainsail) and bagged. Our timing was perfect; it's been blowing a hoolie ever since!
Before hauling we'll change the engine oil and filter, accepted wisdom being it's a good thing to leave the boat with clean oil in the system when storing ashore for a long period.
We're now following our extensive check list of haulout tasks, scheduled under 'afloat tasks' and 'ashore' tasks - but a lot more about that in the next issue.
But here's a tip - If you're thinking of looking at a secondhand sailboat, or just want to be aware of what to look for - and when to walk away no matter what - then you really ought to take a look at
The Boat Buyer's Bundle...
Just one person was able to identify last month's Mystery Boat. Jonathon Truwit discovered that 'Seraphim' was up for sale:
'Seraphim', a Mason 43 for sale
Indisputable proof, so well done Jonathon and thank you.
But let's see how you all get on with this one...
She was on a mooring ball in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou, but there was no name on her that I could see or any other clue to her make or model.
Any thoughts anyone?
If so, please let me know
by clicking here...
And remember, the first person to convince me of the correct identification of the boat, gets a free eBook of their choice!
We provide a free platform for owners (but not brokers) to advertise their sailboats for sale on our website. These are the latest submissions:
The full list of monohulls and multihulls currently for sale can be seen at
cruising-sailboats-for-sale.
It's always worth taking a look at what visitors to sailboat-cruising.com are getting rid of. Remember that one man's junk is another man's gold!
Among other items this month, we have:
- Lewmar 700 Anchor Windlass;
- Origo 3000 Gimballed Alcohol Stove;
- ATN Mast Climber & Bosuns Chair;
- KISS-SSB Simple Ground Plane Counterpoise;
- Vintage Sailor Radios;
- Catalina 36 MKII Interior Cushions;
- Lewmar 60mm Synchro Deck Organizers;
- Guy Cotton Foul Weather Gear;
- Carbon Fiber Spinnaker Pole & Two UK Sails;
- Beneteau 423 Interior Cushion Set;
- 2-Burner Pressurized Kerosene Gimballed Stove/Oven.
Take a look at these and all the other stuff at
used cruising gear for sale...
And finally...
If you know anyone who might be interested in the contents of this newsletter, please forward it to them. It's not secret!
And this newsletter can be a two-way thing. If you've read anything you'd like to comment on, or perhaps there's an event you'd like to see announced in a future newsletter, then please let me know.
See you next month!
Dick McClary
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