Trinidad (8th October to 14th November 2002)
The
sail
from
Tobago
to
Trinidad
started
out
very
pleasant.
We
left
early
in
the
morning
to
make
sure
we
could
make
the
55
miles
during
daylight
even
in
light
winds.
But
we
had
a
fresh
wind
from
the
start,
and
we
were
broad
reaching
at
7
knots.
Close
to
our
destination
a
squall
overtook
us
with
driving
rain
and
45
knot
gusts
of
wind.
We
had
reduced
sail
just
in
time.
We
anchored
for
the
night
in
Scotland
Bay,
a
very
nice
quiet
bay
surrounded
by
high
mountains
covered
in
dense
tropical
vegetation.
Vultures
were
circling
overhead,
and
you
could
hear
and
see
parrots
flying in pairs. This was going to be our last quiet anchorage for a while.
The
next
morning
we
motored
to
the
town
Chaguaramas
in
driving
rain.
The
visibility
was
less
than
a
100
meters
at
times,
and
the
radar
wasn’t
much
use
either.
We
progressed
slowly
and
carefully.
By
the
time
we
arrived
in
the
anchorage
there
was
only
some
drizzle,
and
we
quickly
identified
our
friends
Vojka
and
Samo
on
board
Panta
Rei,
whom
we
last
saw
in
Grenada.
The
anchorage
at
Chaguaramas
is
not
very
pleasant.
The
water
is
dirty,
drilling
rigs,
tugs
and
barges
are
anchored
close
by,
and
twice
daily
all
boats
turn
through
180
degrees
at
the
change
of
tide.
On
such
occasions
yachts
sometimes
collide
and
all
too
frequently
one
of
the
yachts
breaks
free
of
its
anchor.
If
that
happens
when
there
is
nobody
on
board,
the
other
yachties
have
to
go
and
rescue
it.
Samo
was
doing
just that when we arrived.
We
chose
to
stay
in
one
of
the
marinas
instead.
This
would
be
more
expensive,
and
also
a
lot
hotter,
because
there
is
no
breeze
in
the
marinas.
But
at
least
we
could
leave
the
boat
without
worrying
about
it.
Yachties
come
to
Chaguaramas
to
work
on
their
boats.
Apart
from
Puerto
Rico,
Trinidad
is
the
most
industrialised
country
of
the
Caribbean
Islands.
There
are
several
good
chandleries,
and
whatever
isn’t
available
locally
can
be
mail-ordered.
Customs
clearance
for
these
packages
is
quick
and
free
of
duty.
All
major
services
are
available
including
sail
makers,
riggers,
welders,
woodworking
shops,
haul
out
facilities
etc.
We
too
had a list of things to do on board Alegría.
Besides
work
on
the
boat,
we
needed
to
find
a
doctor
for
Tania’s
knee.
In
Tobago
Tania
developed
a
problem
with
her
left
knee.
We
weren’t
sure
what
triggered
it.
We
e-mailed
some
of
our
doctor
friends
in
Holland,
and
they
all
agreed
that
it
was
probably
a
torn
meniscus.
In
Trinidad
we
quickly
found
a
very
competent
orthopaedic,
a
Trinidadian
who
had
been
trained
in
Scotland.
He
arranged
for
an
MRI
scan
to
be
made,
which
showed
that
the
knee
was
indeed
inflamed,
but
the
meniscus
appeared
intact.
After
several
other
tests
he
could
not
pinpoint
the
cause
of
the
inflammation.
The
only
treatment
he
could
offer
was
an
arthroscopy
to
see
what
was
wrong.
After
consultation
with
our
doctor
friends
in
Holland
we
decided
against
this
option.
We
are
now
hoping
that
the problem will resolve in time. Meanwhile Tania has to take it easy with her knee.
So,
what
work
did
we
need
to
do
on
our
boat?
Surely,
there
can’t
be
too
much
work
on
a
new
boat?
Well,
it
was
a
combination
of
maintenance
and
some
small
improvement
projects.
On
the
maintenance
side,
we
arranged
for
our
life
raft
to
be
serviced,
we
cleaned the interior upholstery, and I did a 200 hour service on our diesel engine. We also cleaned the deck and the dinghy.
On
the
project
side,
we
made
a
big
effort
to
make
our
AirX
wind
generator
quieter.
I
filled
the
pole
and
the
stays
with
polyurethane
foam.
I
put
more
rubber
between
the
pole
and
the
deck,
and
between
the
stays
and
the
deck,
and
I
sanded
the
blades
with
fine
sandpaper.
All
this
did
indeed
reduce
the
noise,
but
not
sufficiently.
We
still
switch
it
off
at
night,
and
this
means
that
we
still
need
to
run
the
engine
every
day
to
charge
the
batteries.
We
have
now
placed
an
order
for
a
Kiss
wind
generator.
This
one
is
much
quieter.
We
will
install
it
in
Curaçao,
and
try
to
sell
the
AirX
to
some
other
sailor.
For
unknown
reasons
they
are
still quite popular.
Also
on
the
subject
of
charging
the
batteries,
I
installed
a
larger
pulley
on
the
engine.
Now
the
alternator
rotates
faster
and
therefore
generates
more
power
at
low
engine
speed,
so
that
we
can
charge
the
batteries
quicker
when
we
run
the
engine
at
anchor.
Another
project
was
to
modify
the
bimini.
When
the
bimini
was
up,
we
could
not
turn
the
winch
handles
on
the
genoa
sheet
winches.
This
meant
that
we
had
to
take
the
bimini
down
and
sit
in
the
sun
when
sailing.
Unfortunately,
we
did
not
notice
this
at
the time of delivery in Sweden. We modified the stainless steel bimini frame. Then I hired a sail maker to modify the canvas.
There were several other maintenance jobs and improvement projects. I won’t mention them all. You get the gist of it.
In
between
the
work
on
the
boat,
and
the
doctors
visits
we
also
took
the
opportunity
to
socialise
with
other
cruisers,
and
to
go
on
a
number
of
trips
to
see
the
country.
Chaguaramas
has
a
nice
social
scene,
with
happy
hours,
barbeques
etc.
We
made
some
new
friends.
Rob
and
Jacqueline
on
board
Mary-Eliza,
Bert
and
Alda
on
C’est
la
Vie,
Robert
and
Jeanette
on
Nassau,
Nick
and
Huigje on Sterling and John and Tricia on Trompeta. We met Rob and Jacqueline very briefly before in Tenerife (Canary Islands).
Whilst
the
men
are
tinkering
with
their
boats,
the
ladies
get
together
to
pursue
other
interests.
Tania
joined
a
writers
group.
A
few
English
and
American
ladies
get
together
once
a
week
to
improve
their
writing
skills.
Tania
was
the
only
Dutch
member.
She
wrote
a
story
about
Divali,
an
Indian
religious
festival
that
we
attended.
The
other
ladies
were
so
enthusiastic
about
her
story
that
they
encouraged
her
to
publish
it
in
a
monthly
newspaper
for
cruisers.
She
was
thrilled
when
the
publisher
of
the
Boca
accepted
her
story,
and
even
paid
her
for
it!
Tania
also
formed
a
painting
group.
Maybe
the
group
is
still
meeting
once
a
week,
now
that
we
have left.
Unlike
most
other
Caribbean
islands,
Trinidad
has
large
American
style
shopping
malls
and
supermarkets.
This
was
an
opportunity
not
to
be
missed,
and
we
made
several
trips,
coming
back
to
the
boat
with
as
many
bags
as
we
could
carry.
However,
we
did
not
buy
too
much
in
the
supermarkets,
because
we
heard
the
supermarkets
in
Margarita,
Venezuela
are
also
very
good,
and
a
lot
cheaper.
Margarita would be our next stop.
Trinidad
is
a
mixed
society
with
people
from
many
different
ethnic
backgrounds.
The
two
largest
groups
originate
from
Africa
and
India.
Divali
is
an
Indian
religious
festival,
celebrating
the
light.
On
the
evening
of
the
festival
we
went
to
an
Indian
village
to
see
it
all.
First
we
went
to
a
Hindu
temple,
to
learn
some
of
the
background
behind
it.
In
the
village
all
houses
were
decorated
with
Christmas
lights,
and
people
were
burning
hundreds
of
candles
(actually
oil
lamps
in
clay
pots)
in
their
front
yard.
Ladies
in
beautiful
Indian
dresses
offered
us
traditional
homemade
sweets
as
we
passed
by
their
homes.
We
had
a
nice
vegetarian
meal,
served on a kind of banana leaf.
With
all
the
work
on
the
boat,
you
could
almost
forget
that
Trinidad
has
a
lot
to
offer
those
who
love
nature.
We
went
to
see
the
Scarlet
Ibis,
in
the
Caroni
swamp.
The
Scarlet
Ibis
is
about
the
size
of
a
heron,
but
bright
red
all
over.
In
the
evening
they
all
come
together
to
roost
in
the
same
tree.
From
a
distance
the
tree
looks
like
it
is
blooming
with
bright
red
flowers.
We
also
went
to
the
Asa
Wright
bird
sanctuary,
where
we
spent
one
night
away
from
the
boat.
We
saw
many
very
colourful
species
of
birds
in
the
wild,
including
some
we
had not seen in Tobago, and a Tucan!
Carnival
in
Trinidad
is
amongst
the
best
in
the
world.
Preparations
take
the
whole
year,
and
the
costumes
are
truly
amazing.
The
music
is
dominated
by
the
steel
pan,
which
originates
from
Trinidad.
Unfortunately
for
the
yachties,
the
Trinidad
carnival
is
in
February.
Most
yachties
come
to
Trinidad
during
hurricane
season,
and
leave
at
the
beginning
of
December.
For
this
reason,
a
"pre-taste
of
carnival"
was
organised
especially
for
the
cruising
community.
The
event
was
a
bit
tame,
but
we
did
get
to
see
some
amazing
costumes, and got a taste of soca music.
In
the
evening
of
the
14th
of
November
we
left
Trinidad
for
an
overnight
passage
to
Los
Testigos,
Venezuela.
We
did
not
like
the
hot
and
humid
climate
in
Trinidad,
which
caused
some
of
our
clothes
to
go
mouldy
in
the
cupboards.
We
did
not
like
the
frequent
rains
and
we
did
not
like
living
in
a
"parking
lot
for
boats"
for
several
weeks.
But
we
could
look
back
on
having
completed
many
successful
jobs
on
the
boat,
and
on
a
very
enjoyable
social
scene.
We
made
many new friends and had seen some of the natural beauty of Trinidad.