 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Tobago and Trinidad with crew
 |
 
 
  |
 |
Our departure from Suriname
was a bit delayed because we exchanged our old Toyota Starlet (1994)
for a new car. Well, new? Constructed in 1990, but this one is a sturdy Mitsubishi Pajero 4x4 GDI turbo injection intercooler
wagon. For a good price and although not been driven by an elderly lady,
it was the shared car of four SLM-pilots so probably well cared for. Luc
and Nelly – the French we met in Brazil and who invited us there to stay
on their catamaran for a couple of days, also came to Suriname and we
thought it be nice to wait for them.
And on top of it all we have a new boat for daysailing
on the Surinam River when we are back. And after JW did his thing with
her as a renovation project. But right now we are indeed sailing again.
With our new crew (that too!): Rita en Roberta – named after the owners
of the sailor's pub in Domburg where we found them. Or they found us.
While Rita won JW's heart, Roberta hid in P's bag. So we really couldn't back out. Although the trip to Tobago was relatively more quiet than before, we were plagued by several tropical squalls of 30 and sometimes 40 knots of wind. The cats had no problem with this; for them the short track to windward out of the estuary was much worse and the first motions of the sea made them already seasick. Fortunately they recovered quickly and now the boat is their home and they run and climb everywhere. The deck is their most important playground and especially at night they are quite active.  Reason to train them in swimming and
try-to-climb-out-on-your-own. And for the first lessons the clear waters
of Tobago were perfect. The cats didn't like it so much and neither did
we, but now we know that they can save themselves we can leave them also
outside when we are away. And the litter box can sit outside too.They meddle in everything and are fascinated by all those halyards and sheets (as one can clim into them); but the galley is top of the pops. Especially when it is their dinner time. You'll find a small summary of daily life on board in the film. 
Sailing with crew (film 15.3 Mb) |
Tobago is a marvellous
island. The bays are superb and in Store Bay (where we were) they
recently placed free moorings. But kafter five days or so we
had to leave, as we had still not yet cleared with customs and
immigration and they can be difficult about that. If you are in
in Store Bay you have to go by bus to the capital for clearance, and there
are not many buses. Also you have to check out before again
checking in on Trinidad (same country?!). And arrive during office hours
(and not at lunch time either), otherwise you pay overtime fee.
So we tried to arrive before 1600 on Trinidad, but no. The wind
direction was okay but the strength was 5 to
35 knots and generally something in the lower regions. Plus rain; the
whole day grey and dull so apart from the temperature it was like
sailing the Northsea or the Channel. Later we heard that this rain
formed some kind of national disaster on Trinidad, and that many roads
and trees were washed away resulting in a large quantity of empty PET
botttles in Chaguaramas bay. |
Together with Luc and Nelly we
rented a car for two days. Like in Srurinam, they drive left on Trinidad and
as this is now the right side for P, she was the driver. Day 1 we drove to
the northcoast. We were there before but then it rained cats and dogs; this
time
it rained only a bit so there were even people on Maracas beach. |
Previous
Next