Below are the highlights of Dakare's adventures for CY 2003

 January

 We spent New Years in Grenada.  Pam, on Night Owl,  had a birthday party on Hog Island in the Southern section of  Grenada.  A local, Roger, cooked the food (Chicken and fish, and a large variety of local vegetables - yams, breadfruit, plantain, calaloo, etc.)  at his sandy beach where we also played volley ball.  The interesting thing about the chicken dinners that Roger served , and as a general reflection of the state of affairs in Grenada, is that all chickens lack breasts!  Yes, it's really true.  There is not a chicken breast to be found in all of Grenada.  Due to some weird genetic engineering, all chickens in Grenada are breastless.  To get chicken breasts, one must do foreign travel.

Carnival in Trinidad
Above is a simulation of our cruising itinerary for
November 2002 through March 2003

We did a straight shot from Mt. Heartman Bay on the Southern end of Grenada North to the Tobago Keys in the Grenadines  It was about  45 Nautical Miles  and it took us about 7 hours.  We passed in the lee of Grenada and Cariacou where we sailed a mile or two offshore to get better winds.  We averaged around 25 knots of ESE winds  with gusts as high as 28 knots.  We did an average speed of about 8 knots over the ground.  Between Grenada and Cariacou we passed  (See green course line below) Kick'm Jenny, a dormant underwater volcano that is showing some signs of renewed seismic activity, including some underwater venting.  There is a general alert out to exercise precaution in this area.   Kick'm Jenny may become the newest member of the Caribbean Island chain.  As you know, Montserrat is currently very active.  




 February - March

February found us returning to Trinidad, specifically to participate in Carnival.  We arrived a month early for the "official" Carnival Monday and Tuesday, which this year, happened to be in March.  Activities for Carnival reach a crescendo in March, but the build up to the finale is constant and increasingly intensive.  For details on the types of events held as a prelude to and during Carnival, be sure to check out the section on Carnival.  There is a good deal of supporting text and short movie pics on this Carnival web page... and our favorite Trini song.  There are additional still pictures of the Kings and Queens costumes (some reaching over 20 feet high) and pictures of the Parade of Bands located on the More Carnival web page, for those who may be interested.


People to know... (our Top 10)
Members Only... Many thanks go out to Jesse James and his wife Sharon, who run the Members Only Maxi Taxi service here in Trinidad for the support they provide us and other cruisers during the Carnival season.  Not that their support is limited to the Carnival period, they can be counted on all year long.   There are  many things that they do at no charge for the cruisers here in Trinidad that made our stay not only pleasant but they graciously facilitated our day-to-day activities.   633-3486
Trinidad Rigging...  Jonas was a god send.  He is extremely knowledgeable, timely and very fair in his pricing.  We highly recommend him for any rigging / mast work you may need to have done.  634-2227
Nau T Kol... Jeff and his staff took care of our air conditioners and our AC & DC reefer systems.  In general, we liked the work they did for us but within  60 days  of replacing the brushes on our DC motor for our DC refrigeration system, the motor was ruined.  The conclusion of an inspection of the motor by a professional DC motor repair company in St. Thomas indicated that the motor armature was not prepped properly or that the brushes were not installed correctly and that led to the premature death of the motor.  The new set of brushes had been reduced to a pile of powder under the motor.  The armature had been destroyed and the motor had to be replaced.  That was a $1500 mistake.  Nau T Kol did not warranty their work and said that the unit was working fine when the motor was installed.   Duhhh...  We leave it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Soca Sails... Mark and Frank took great care of us during our stay in Trinidad.  They made our new awning.  We have received many compliments on what they did.  They also did some sail work for us and they made a new dinghy, kayak, life raft and MOM 8 covers for us.  They were attentive to our needs and were ever ready to fine tune their work (under warranty) to meet our specific needs.  634-2174
Peakes Yacht Service... We have never seen a more professionally run yard.  In addition, we had a warranty claim on their bottom painting job and they were ready and waiting for us to make good on it, doing several other small things for us as a courtesy.  634-4427
KNJ Marine Services... The entire staff of KNJ were very supportive, answering many questions and providing valuable guidance.  The work that we did contract with them to do was great.  634-1021
Future Shop...  Hayden and his staff provided us with great, and much needed services.  Hayden was generous with his time, answering many questions.  If you have computer needs, he is the man to see.  633-1891
Maxwill Inflatable Works... Kerry never ceased to amaze me.  Hard working and very fair in his pricing. If you have anything that you want down with your inflatable, he is the man to see.  He always showed up when he said he would, met his deadlines at the price he quoted and provided superior work.   755-8694
Garth Walker... We think that Garth is the best gel coat man in all of Trinidad.  This belief is shared by many in Trinidad, including Desderada, Leman and many others too long to list here.  Garth is timely, trust worthy, reliable and talented.  If you need glass work done, he is the man to employ.  622-0005
Goodwood Marine...  If you have Ray Marine equipment, you have no choice...  but you will be satisfied.  These guys not only know their stuff, but they care and are dependable.  We were extremely pleased working with them.  Daniel was outstanding.  634-2203


Activities in Trinidad
In addition to Carnival activities, we got very involved in many other functions.  It is a wonder that we had any time at all given our schedule.  We did have a chance to go to two very nice (and pricey) restaurants:  Solimar (French, American and Trini cuisine) and Apsara (Indian food.)  We went out to several other restaurants also, probably the one we visited most often was Joe's Pizza, reasonably good Italian food at great prices.  We also had a chance to go to the Movies.  We saw to flicks, Lord of the Rings and Chicago.  What was most interesting was the new movie theater we attended.  It was only a few months old and represented the best of movie theater architecture.   It was quite a treat and inexpensive too.  Tickets were about $3.50 each.  Compare that with prime films showing in most US theaters.  ...And then there were the normal day-to-day activities like swimming, hiking, Dominoes, and cookouts.  We also took time out to get hair cuts, teeth cleanings, and major provisioning of food and chandlery "stuff" for the boat.

During the last week of our stay in Trinidad, we decided to take a road tour of the island and see the other parts of Trinidad that we had missed before.  That took us one day to the rugged North and North East coasts of Trinidad, places like Sans Souci (one of the featured towns in Trini to D Bones), Toco and Frande Rivere.  Grand Revere is one of the places where the turtles come to nest.  Since this was only a day trip and we had to get back, we missed the egg laying, which we understand, had just started.  The next day we did a tour of the Southwest side of the island.  This brought us to San Fernando, Brea, The Tar Lake, Cedras, and Penal.  It was a lot of driving but now we have a better appreciation for the remainder of the island that we had never visited before.

Boat Projects
With all that we did, it is hard to believe that we had time for boat projects, but indeed, we did manage to squeeze in quite a few "tasks."  Below is a list of some of the projects accomplished during this period (For a comparison, see Boat Things during our last stay here in Trinidad just a few months ago.


Some pics of our new arch, before and after

Our stern "Before"...  No arch, no electronics, no wind generator, no
life raft, no MOM 8, no dinghy and no awning.  As bare as it can be.  

Dakare's New arch with recut awning attached.
 Note: Electronics and Wind Generator attached to arch.

Side view of arch with Dinghy raised  on arch


Boat Projects (Feb - March)
Remove stern instrument pole and electronics; RADAR, Imarsat-C, NorthStar GPS, Ray Marine GPS, Ocens APT System, Weather FAX, Navtex, Running Lights,  & stern spot light
Remove Wind Generator, Pole and struts
Remove dinghy davits
Build replacement arch for the three above items
Install aft anchor chain deck plate
Empty contents of aft lazarette and remove dive tanks and dive compressor
Rewire dive compressor exhaust vent switch into 12 V DC outlet system and add on/off switch
Install SS deck plate for new dive compressor exhaust hose
Run dive compressor exhaust (venting) hose
Remove all contents of starboard and port lazarettes, inventory and reorganize
Install new chafe gear on sea anchor rode and control line
Shorten spare (aft) anchor chain to fit into storage container located in port lazarette & position under new deck plate
Refresh Cetol coatings on cockpit grates
Clean teak steps into cockpit and aft lazarette
Remove LCD cockpit monitor and return for repair of faulty seal
Fix gelcoat dings and deck screw holes from removed poles & davits (instrument and wind gen)
Fix laptop - replace CD drive, send back a second time and replace with new disk drive and reinstall of software
Liferaft Inspection
Fabricate new cover for life raft
Fabricate new cover for MOM 8 man overboard system
Fabricate cover for kayak
Make removable covers for folding seats and cockpit cushions
Fix Desktop - Replace 2 hard drives and add external cage for USB disk drive; Reinstall hardware and software
Install stern arch and new dinghy lift integrated into Arch
Fabricate new flag pole for Arch
Rerun all wiring for equipment on stern arch; RADAR, Imarsat-C, NorthStar GPS, Ray Marine GPS, Ocens APT System, Weather FAX, Navtex, Running Lights,  & stern spot light and wind generator
Fabricate 3 teak bases for dome lights on Arch
Include extra wiring for 3 dome lights and forward spot light
Retest RADAR, Imarsat-C, NorthStar GPS, Ray Marine GPS, Ocens APT System, Weather FAX, Navtex, Running Lights,  & stern and forward spot light and wind generator
Service Genset (800 hours): replace fresh water pump under warranty, change oil and oil filter, change 2 fuel filters, change, flush and replace antifreeze, replace 2 fan belts and impeller, replace air filters and engine zinc and clean exhaust and intake anti-syphon vents
Service Main Engine (850 hours):  change transmission oil, primary fuel filter,  clean turbo charger and clean exhaust and intake anti-syphon vents
Replace aft state room air conditioner compressor, clean vents and check vacuum pressures, bring to proper gas pressure
Fabricate replacement brace under aft berth to reattach support struts that were severed to remove compressor above
Check forward air conditioning system, check pressures (OK), clean filters
Defrost refrigerators and freezer
DC Refrigeration System:  Change out gas from 404A  to R-12, service DC motor - replace brushes and clean armature; test
AC Refrigeration system:  Check gas pressure (OK), replace thermostat
Refill propane tanks
Replace 40 lb gas lifts with 60 lb lifts for aft (stern) lazarette
Replace broken wind generator blade
Fabricate stern water hose holder
Fix tears in Awning (forward and aft)
Reverse forward awning zipper and add cinch straps to make installation easier
Add 4 tensioning straps to forward and aft awning
Recut aft section of aft awning to fit arch properly
Fabricate 2 new rip stop nylon storage bags with cinch straps for awnings
Install running block retainers,
Cut out fiberglass deck  and infringing balsa core where running back retainers go through deck  and reinforce with glass, redrill holes for running back retainers
Re-gel coat deck at running back retainers
Fabricate from SS 2 larger backing plates for running back retainers
Fabricate small tak flag pole holder for arch
Install LCD cockpit monitor
Reorganize and inventory spare parts in forward state room
Haul boat and repaint bottom (under warranty); replace zincs
Remove snubber, rebed and replace
Fabricate 2 bushings for snubber retaining pin
Add 2 Dyna Plates for SSB radio and wire plates into ground system
Clean Corrosion Controller probe
Test zincs and electrolysis (ambient voltage: 895 millivolts; boat voltage 995 millivolts; differential ~ 100 mv)
Test all external lights:  Cockpit, transom, Fwd & Aft pole light, running, boom, strobe, compass, steaming, tri-color, 3 dome lights, 3 deck lights, auto-anchor light and anchor light - all OK
Recut dinghy cover for better fit
Add cut in dinghy cover to allow space to security line holder
Add additional eyes to dinghy to secure recut cover
Remove and replace straps for dinghy cover
Clean dinghy bottom (it was getting pretty bad!)
Purchase new blocks and cordage to fabricate dinghy lift for new arch (7:1 purchase with 3/8 inch line)
Add turning blocks to route dinghy lift line properly on arch
Remove old dinghy engine lift and replace with one fabricated to integrate with arch
Remove port horse shoe buoy retainer
Add security chain and secure it to dinghy
Redo forward hold strap on dinghy
Get DLL to fix Kernel (Windows) problem on Ray Marine Wx program
Get directions for telnet services on Winlink
Get direction for POP3 connection on SailMail
Get Firewall update for computer
Get Pest Control software for detection and removal of worms and viruses
Clear up issues with registration of Nobeltec and Global Scape software products
Clean bilge
Purge and clean holding tanks
Reinstall noise cover for genset
Reinstall aft lazarette steps (From compressor work and gas lifts mentioned earlier)
Clean awnings, bimini and dodger and aft sun shade
Reorganize sail locker
Clean and protect 2 wheel folding cart
Dry clean carpets
Update Web Site
Make hard copy of Web Site (first time -> over 2 inches thick)
Reset Prop Pitch (Right 19)
Repair dings in deck
Polish Stainless Steel
Wax Deck
Reset /attach bungy cord for Running Backs
Replace Ac light in Calabash light fixture with DC lamp and hook up cockpit wiring


 April through December - a big change of pace...

We left Trinidad to head up to the Grenadines, primarily to take in the Bequia Regatta for Easter.  We did our general stops in the Tobago Keys, dove Mayreau Gardens and generally enjoyed ourselves.  After the Regatta our plans were originally were to head over to Panama.  Somehow, things changed.  While literally lifting the anchor in Bequia, we decided to head over to the Mediterranean.  So we did.

Bequia Flash Photos Tobago Keys Flash Pictures

We headed up to the USVI to prep for the trip in St. Thomas.  While there we got mixed in with the Charter Boat show.  That was a show for people who are interested in chartering their boats through brokers.  It was interesting to meet and talk to the people who were in that business.  It gave us many insights into the demands and costs of chartering your boat, and...   the amount of labor.  Phew!!!  We were glad that we were heading over to the Med instead of chartering our boat. Our hat is off to the people who choose to do it.

Cruising