Kalunamoo

For the first time in 22.5 months Kalunamoo was neither in Antigua or St. Lucia. We sailed from Antigua on January 17 to Deshaies, Guadeloupe in stiff easterly trades and made the jump in a little over 7 hours. That was a fast sail for us although Maureen didn’t appreciate the lumpy ride and neither did her stomach. But, as was written in the last blog, it was a shake down cruise but in this instance, it shook us down and not Kalunamoo.

We are now in Deshaies, the home of the TV show Death in Paradise. It is amazing how many people get killed here! It brings new meaning to the term “I would die for some time in such a beautiful island”. Well, it is a fictional TV detective show, but the island is beautiful, nonetheless.

This is a French island, actually a territory of France, just like St. Martin, and Martinique and so you really are on French soil. The last time we were on French soil was in pre- pandemic March 2020  in Martinique. At that time the only masks we wore were for the Carnaval. Now, masks are everywhere, and proof of vaccination is carried as restaurants and other gathering spaces are required to ask for it. We also had to have a covid test before entry and fill-out entry papers before arrival. That was all done but I had difficulty emailing it to the authorities and actually didn’t send it until after we arrived. On other islands, you appear before Customs, Immigration, Port Authority and Health Authorities when checking in. The French have a different way of operating. On entry, which you do on a computer at a tourist t-shirt shop, nothing was asked about all the requirements Somewhere in their computer system all these forms and documents gather together. I think. Maybe not, but at least we did our part.

A number of cruisers we know also made the voyage down from Antigua. Most of them from the Salty Dawg rally as it was time to start cruising. The pandemic does slow things a bit as entry to the various islands is still somewhat complicated, and somewhat expensive. In any case once they arrive it doesn’t take too much effort to get together for daytime gatherings and sundowners at night either ashore or on other boats. The great French food is always a draw. Even in small villages like Deshaies, the line for the day’s baguettes and croissants forms early in the morning. The sunsets at the waterfront cafes and restaurants may be something to die for or at least dream about.

We took the bus into Sainte Rose ($2.20 Euros) to get a Digicel sim card for our MiFi. This is used for internet connections as public WiFi’s are becoming less available. It also works great on the boat and no need to go ashore to “get connected’. This French Digicel plan works in all the Caribbean islands so hopefully when we get to St Lucia it will. While in Sainte Rose we stopped in a large vegetable store which had some interesting looking items:

I suppose all this ends up on the plate of the great French/Caribbean food that is served in restaurants.

And of course, there is always desert.

We will be spending a week or two in Guadeloupe before sailing south to the other French Island, Martinique. Most of February will be spent there. As mentioned above it has been almost 2 years since we have visited these French islands and so we have a bit of catching up to do. We need to brush up on our very limited French vocabulary also!

Be kind and gentle. That is one of the principal edicts I grew up with. It originated in the Religion classes in grammar school despite the capital punishment (slaps on the knuckle) from the religious Brothers. Well, maybe it didn’t actually mean to be that way in the real world or I misinterpreted them and expected the world would actually abide by them.

In any case “be kind and gentle” was taken to heart as I thought it was a fairly good dictum for a human being. It made sense. The dictum, however, seemed to be at odds with the “competitive spirit” that abounded in my early years. Maybe that is why organized sports seem more like gladiator theatrics than something that was intended for pleasure. Competition may bring out the best in us, but I know it can also bring out the worst.

As time went on, the dictum extended to more than human interactions. When interactions with mechanical contraptions came to occupy my time – erector sets, Lionel trains, the home built go-carts, fiddling with auto engines and buying a muscle car to drag race – all seemed tempered by the “be kind and gentle” dictum that floated in my head.

How this translated to actual conduct was similar to how the other dictum – “everything in moderation”- was handled. This other dictum was a little more difficult to abide by. Was it because it seemed to make less sense? Well, that is a discussion for another time. In any case, in terms of dealing with non-human or animal interactions, “be kind and gentle” and “everything in moderation” resulted in limiting all physical mechanisms to a level below their capability.

The rational for this was, beside the above philosophical underpinnings, was the understanding that these physical mechanisms will reward you with their extended life and reliability. By not pushing them to their design limits, they would last longer, run better, and generally make life better for everyone. This carried through for many activities. I never ran the Lionel trains at top speed to destruction, the go-carts were never overloaded to bend the axels, the drag-racing car was never pushed to explosion. Well mostly. Remember the “all things in moderation”? And how sometimes its hard to follow? Dropping a valve in a new engine tested that (among other things). Nobody’s perfect.

So, what has all this to do with Kalunamoo? We flew back to our boat in Antigua after the New Year. Our Christmas Holliday was great, saw most of the family, but otherwise mostly hid from the virus for most of the time. We were successful because if we weren’t it would have been very difficult to return to Antigua. Snow storms, cancelled flights, closed borders, or positive covid tests, could easily derail travel plans. While we were up in New York for three weeks, Kalunamoo was well secured in a slip in Jolly Harbor Marina. We turned off everything on the boat except the battery charger and that means the refrigeration was off. Whatever food we had, frozen or otherwise, was given to friends who kept it in their refrigerators until we returned. Upon return we turn on everything and start the refrigeration.

A three-hour flight delay was the only hiccup in our travel plans. We climbed aboard Kalunamoo, 13 hours after driving to the airport in New York. Once aboard, we turned the refrigeration on. About two minutes after that we smelled something burning. It was the cooling water pump for the refrigerator throwing smoke and sparks like it was New Year’s Eve. Well, welcome to 2022 and the start of a new year fixing boats in exotic places.

The pump is not an uncommon one, although not readily available here, but a work-around was found. The forward air conditioner uses the same type of pump so I switched out the burned out one for that. No air-conditioning until we get a new pump. Not a big deal as we very rarely use it, and only when in a marina.

“But it was working fine when we left 3 weeks ago!”  Which brings up the third dictum, “Use It or lose It”. We have experienced this too many times. Most cruises have. Things don’t keep well when not in use. Batteries go dead, rust runs rampart, mold grows wild. Sometimes it just feels like the item is acting childish, getting back at us for showing benign neglect of non-use.

The assumption is that if something is not used, the time of none use is added to the overall life expectancy of the item. This is not true. If the life expectancy is 2 years, it will die in 2 years whether you use it or not. Cruisers know to do a “shake down” cruise after an extended boat layup. The reason is simple. All those boat parts continue their inevitable path to Davy Jones’ Locker while you are off vacationing. The “shake down” cruise is the boats way of shaking you down for the neglect you have shown it by not using it.

This last dictate, learned late in life, seems to trump the first two. “Be kind and gentle” and “Everything in Moderation” seem to crash head on into “Use It or Lose It” if longevity was expected. Maybe it is a paradox of life but it is a certainly on boats. Diesel engines, I am told, need to be pushed to their limits. No kind and gentle treatment is needed. They will die when they want to, whether you push them or not.

Well, it still is a shock when non-use of an article results in its failure. This certainly applies to the mechanical contraptions we deal with. Oddly, this is even built into the electronics we use every day. Imagine someone who saved an IBM AT personal computer from 1985 and turned it on today. How would it ever connect to the internet?

So, yes, be kind and gentle, exercise moderation but always Use It or Lose It.

Final word (and a political warning). Democracy only works when it is used. Use it or lose it.

The last month of the year reminds me of musical chairs. The music starts on Thanksgiving and everyone starts moving around. Who’s hosting sundowners tonight! Who’s sailing up to Barbuda when the window opens! We’ll circle back and meet for dinner aboard! Get those Christmas Lights up! The Christmas Winds are creeping in! Where will you be when the music stops? Watch for those Northern Swells! Christmas dinner for 18, make reservations now! Got a good view for the New Year’s Fireworks?

We took a week break and ducked out to Deep Bay. It’s not as secluded as it once was. The big resort takes a chunk out of the southern shore-line but that is not too bad. Their loud poolside DJ doesn’t perform every day and when he does, sport-casting the pool activities at the resort, doesn’t last too long. Deep Bay unfortunately has attracted swarms of biting jet skiers. These decibel breaking speedsters can be as annoying as those tiny noisy mosquitos that fly into your ear at night. They popup around noon and blast through the bay to experience the noisy, jolting, twisting, turning ride with as much straight line breakneck speed that these one and two man floating engines of annoyance can muster. Safety is the last thing they seem to regard, not to mention the drone of their high-powered water pump missiles.

Despite this, most of the time, we did enjoy the quiet (other than the whistling winds in the rigging). A couple of Salty Dawg boats did stop by and so we did have some sundowners with Peter and Beth of WAYWARD WIND.

We anchored right next to Dozy Girl. This local sloop was firmly secured and we had no worries that she would drag in the moderate winds of the bay. That is always a concern as one never knows how well the captain of that upwind boat set his anchor. The last thing you want to awaken to at two in the morning is the sound of boats bumping in the night. And you know they don’t want Grey Poupon. You’re lucky if they greet you with cloths on. I should mention that this never happened to us. I usually keep a pair of shorts handy.

We did go bump in the night recently in Freemans Bay, English Harbor. Oddly enough it was not due to strong winds or rain squalls. Actually, there was no wind at all. And that was the problem. The current there swirls and if there is no wind each anchored boat does it’s own thing. We anchored near (a respectable distance given the circumstances) our friends boat (ROXY). Well, at four in the morning Maureen hears a “bump in the night” and sure enough we were stern to stern with ROXY. Davits just touched. No damage. Mark and Lynn never even woke up. We fended off, pulled some chain up so we wouldn’t collide again and went back to bed. Yes, the shorts came in handy.

But I digress. Dozy Girl would definitely not drag. She couldn’t. She lay 15’ underwater with her mast sticking up like a flagpole in the middle of the bay. It is an interesting snorkel attraction in addition to the wreck of the Andes close by. Some even thought it fun to try a mast walk. From what I heard when one of the tour boats (booze cruise catamarans) that passed by was that the boat broke loose in a squall, lost its rudder and sank. Other details I couldn’t hear. The Andes, by the way, caught fire and the captain tried to bring it to the beach before it sank. He didn’t make it, but it makes a good snorkel dive, a lot of fish now call it home. Luckily there have been no swells recently so the water clarity is good. Considering that this area of Antigua usually has very murky (sandy) water close into shore, both Dozy Girl and Andes provided good snorkeling.

So our week break in Deep Bay will end tomorrow as we will head back to Jolly Harbor. We’ll actually go into the marina on Sunday and prepare for our flight back to Brooklyn on Tuesday. The latest CDC procedures require us to have a covid test on Monday. Our up-state daughter will be down before Christmas for a few days after we arrive and we will celebrate her birthday. We will then spend the Christmas Holiday in New York with family and friends. New Year’s eve will be with my 100 year old dad, then celebrate our other daughter’s birthday on the 3^{rd of January} and fly back to Antigua on the 4^th.  By then the music will stop and we will run to the open chairs and have a seat. But we will be back on board and a New Year beckons. Hopefully, island hopping will be easier although that could be the start of another round of musical chairs.

About 50 sailboats descended on Antigua since we arrived here three weeks ago. They were all part of the Salty Dawg Rally that left the U.S., mostly from Hampton VA, around November 1. The rally, which we participated in a number of times, brings the first wave of cruisers into Antigua and starts the winter cruising season in the islands. Our good friend Bob on PANDORA is the rally director and did a great job of organizing the rally. Along with another good friend, Lynn on ROXY, they organized daily social events for the last two weeks which culminated in a Thanksgiving Regatta (due to no wind, it was a kayak race) and a Thanksgiving Dinner at the Antigua Yacht Club. In short, it was a very busy social scene since we arrived, quite a change from the socially quite summer in St. Lucia.

Happy hours, dinners, tours, jam sessions, sun downers, beach gatherings and just plain gatherings were part of our social calendar.

Living on a sailboat and cruising around sounds like a lonely adventure with few opportunities for social interactions. This may be the case if you are constantly sailing, as many do, around the world and spend a very limited time in port. Mostly, however, cruises spend 95% of the time in port. At those times, cruisers gather socially, intermingle with the “locals”, compare adventures, help repair or exchange repair tips, and form friendships that last from weeks to years. It also develops, excuse the pun, very fluid arrangements among cruisers. You may not meet again for months or years but somehow just pick up the friendship where they were left off.

Two trends we have noticed over the last ten years is the popularity of rallies and the size of boats. Rallies have encouraged, and enabled people that would not ordinarily go from day sailing on the weekend to long distance, ocean going, sailing. This is good as it introduces many to this type of sailing. The downside is that long distance sailing is not the same as day sailing, in the same way that because you have a driver’s license means you can drive in the Daytona 500. Rallies do support and can assist in the transition but it still requires more than a few hours of instruction to appreciate the challenges that are faced. The fact that you may be hundreds, if not a thousand miles, from any help should give one pause before starting an off-shore cruise. But rallies also provide the structured framework of social gatherings. Social events in strange lands organized and attended by people you have come to know is a big selling point. The lonely sailor gives way to weeks of social events and is a major draw of rallies.

The other trend is toward bigger boats. Both longer and wider is the name of the game. It is not unusual to see boats and catamarans well over 50 feet sailing with a crew of two. Sometimes these are the first boats the owners have owned. Having owned sailboats for 40 years, starting with a 22’ Catalina, it amazes me how they do it. These bigger boats enable longer voyages and arguably a “safer” passage. But mostly they are more populated with family, friends and crew because they have the capacity to do so. It too, adds to the social experience of cruising or living aboard. The space offered on a large catamaran is like an apartment on the water. And not necessarily a small one. They do make great venues for sundowners and jam sessions!

Fewer pandemic restrictions are in place but island hopping is still not as easy as it was. Fully vaccinated sailors can go to other islands but PCR or quick tests are required and some additional paperwork is involved. This requires a bit of planning and restricts the unplanned and ad-hoc aspect of sailing. Once on island, masks, social distancing, curfews, and some beach restrictions may be in place, although none are really draconian. There has been some recent unrest, protests and strikes in the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique regarding the pandemic but nothing that really affected cruisers. News of a new variant is concerning but at the end of the day, we will have to live with whatever precautions should be taken while living our normal life.

The reality of life, like sailing rallies, is that social events play a major part in our existence. No one is an island, as the poem said, and even on an island, or a boat, you are never far from a gathering. Or a new rum drink.   

What draws us to say we must go down to the sea again? What is it in that lonely sea and sky? Why is that restless body of water so alluring? Is it the amniotic fluid that we yearn to return to? When life was just beginning, when we were cushioned against the harsh realities that would define the rest of our lives; the warmth we became accustomed to; is it the desire to return? We breathed this sea before the cold winds announced our presence and we gave out a scream, maybe with cause.

In the early years of the 20^th century, the idea of eugenics took hold and tried to explain why we are what we are. Genes were seen as the key to life, or how life manifests itself in individuals. It also provided a pathway that human-kind could follow to improve, by exercising discretion in procreation, the desired traits for the populace. Fortunately, it proved to be a false hope. In the meantime, Thalassophilla was assigned the meaning of “lover of the sea”. Excessively so. And it could be “cured”.

My own belief, if Thalassophila really exists, could be cured by experiencing a few storms at sea. If that doesn’t hit you in the head like a 2×4 nothing will. But there are other ways to the cure. It could be called the Chinese Water Torture route. It involves the mystical timing and evolution of breakdowns and boat failures that plague boat ownership. It seems failures and breakdowns occur in some predetermined time frame that only allows the next breakdown to occur after the previous one was rectified. Multiple failures happen but not as frequently as the constant drip, drip drip of failure, fix, failure, fix etc.

All this to explain our passage from St. Lucia to Antigua. After 5 months in St. Lucia for the hurricane season, we sailed north to Antigua. Note: only 2 named storms, including one hurricane, passed through the Lesser Antilles this season. Only one, Elsa, passing over St. Vincent, gave us a day of squalls with winds of 45 knots. The pandemic has really “clipped our wings (fins?)” as far as island hopping. We will remain in Antigua until January and see where we can go from here.

So, after 5 months, with M&R in St. Lucia, including the purchase of our new “car” – the ubiquitous dinghy – we took Kalunamoo for a planned 32-hour sail. We did go to Marigot Bay before this so it was not like the boat didn’t move for 5 months. It also was hauled for new bottom paint. We installed a new reefer compressor. We installed a new generator water pump. We had the stern teak damage repaired. All these were done sequentially as explained above in a “water torture” scenario.

The sail from St. Lucia was a sailor’s dream. Relatively strong 20-25 knot easterly winds gave Kalunamoo the energy to sail at 7 to 8 knots. Apparent wind was 60 degrees on the starboard bow and the seas were long enough for us to ride over them. No squalls, a clear dark night, and little traffic to worry about gave us a good ocean passage ride.

That was until we emerged from the wind shadow of Guadeloupe and the last leg up to Antigua. The course is now due north while the wind slacked a little. This gave us a relative wind of 45 degrees with more of the seas head on. In short, it was a motor sail for the last 6 hours of the voyage. Halfway up, Maureen and I noticed an exhaust smell inside the cabin. Sure enough, there was an exhaust leak somewhere but I could not determine from where. Not a tremendous problem, just another little drip, drip, drip of needed repair.

We dropped the hook in Freedman’s Bay, English Harbor at 10:30AM, 28 hours after leaving Rodney Bay. That was a fast run for us. We waited hours for Port Health to grant us “free pratique”. This age-old procedure prevents the spread of sicknesses from sailors arriving from foreign lands and causing a pandemic. Well, too late for that, the pandemic arrived at the airports a year ago. In any case, with negative PCR test results in hands, our CDC Vaccine card, and a completed Maritime Health Declaration, and temperature checks, we and Kalunamoo were granted “pratique” and allowed to proceed to Immigration, Customs and the Port Authority to complete the entrance procedures. We were done by 3PM. By 5PM I was ready for some sleep.

The exhaust turned out to be from a leaking injector seal. At least that is what I believe it is. A mechanic has been called and so another repair is in order. We will have enough time here in Antigua for this to be done. Cruising friends with the Salty Dawg Rally will arrive later this week and I am sure there will be many mentions of the drip, drip, drips on their boats.

Has this cured our Thalassophillia? Really, has anyone really been “cured” of anything or just accepted the fact that somethings just can’t be explained. In the meantime, we continue to sail on in anticipation of the inevitable next drip and hope it doesn’t cure our chosen lifestyle, as incurable as it may be.

St. Lucia is a beautiful island. The iconic Pitons, both Gross and Petit, are deservedly world famous and never fail to be included in tropical photographs of the Caribbean. The geography of the island has these pinnacle like mountains throughout, covered by lush vegetation. Driving on the roads, there are no “highways”, is challenging as the steep topography and hairpin turns are not for the faint of heart. We did the car tour the last time we were on the island. This year we decided to do little of that but remained, for most part, in Rodney Bay and/or the marina. Blame the pandemic for our reluctance to travel around.

We did however, after hauling the boat for a few days to get the bottom painted, sail down the coast to Marigot Bay. It’s just a little past Castries. As mentioned above the geography of St. Lucia with its old volcanoes and cones is very steep. This applies to the coastline also. Just off the coastline, the depth drops to hundreds of feet deep and you can do little to safely anchor. It’s just too deep. Rodney Bay is an exception. The other exception to the general rule is the small indents along the shoreline, almost like small fjords or bays with steep sides. Such is the case of Marigot Bay.

Half of the inner bay is home to the Marigot Bay Resort and Marina. A relatively high end resort, although St. Lucia is home to many. It is one that you can dock at. There are also moorings to be had but we were advised not to use them. The management of the resort recently changed hands and the moorings have not been “serviced” and could break loose. The resort itself is impressive, blending in well with the surrounding hills. You could do little to improve the location. The other half of the bay is lined with mangroves. All very lush, especially during the summer “rainy” season.

We took a berth at the “fuel dock”. Troy, the marina manager took our lines as we came alongside. It was one of only few slips that was available for “alongside” dockage. For the 5 days we were there, it was fine.

Since this is still the off season, the resort was not very busy. In fact, the marina complex of boutiques were mostly closed and the restaurants (pricey) were opened on a rotation basis. The pools were open and the general atmosphere was very laid back. It was a place to do little other than relax. Cruiser friends, Jim and Meryl on Kokomo and Lisa and Pierre on BioTrek were there so we did have company.

Besides the marina resort, there are other local restaurants, bars, shops and trails for those who like to climb hills. 

Across the bay, Doolittles, offered a free water shuttle to their beach front restaurant. The name comes from the 1967 film Dr. Dolittle where it was partly filmed. Nothing other than the name of the film is noted.

Reading the history of the film (thanks Wikipedia) confirmed that the Island scenes were filmed here. Working on the way over budget film (considering the restaurant prices, I don’t doubt it) it apparently was not like working in paradise. The following is from Wikipedia:

In October 1966, scenes were later shot in Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia; this location was equally problematic, and problems with insects and frequent tropical storms delayed filming and left eight crew members bedridden due to vomiting, diarrhea, and high fever. The final scene with a giant snail was complicated not only by the poor design of the large prop, but because the island’s children had recently been struck by a gastrointestinal epidemic caused by freshwater snails, and mobs of angry locals threw rocks at it. Around this time, Jacobs was hospitalized after having a heart attack. Within a month, filming had fallen 39 days behind schedule in which the production crew had to decamp back to California for reshoots.

Well paradise always looks better on film. Our stay did not involve any tropical storm but we were glad we had enough netting to keep away the “no-seeums”. Did I mention half the bay (and along the marina docks) is lined with mangroves? The snails seem to be under control and the locals were nothing but very friendly. The film lost almost 11 million dollars. It did however win 5 awards including 2 Oscars and a Golden Globe award. Who knew?

We will soon leave St. Lucia and head to Antigua as the hurricane season is just about over. Our stay in Marigot was a pleasant diversion to do little and we could see visiting again, especially if their moorings are up to snuff. In Antigua we may do more than the little we did here. Hey, that sounds like a movie title – Domore!

The hurricane season is not over but it looks like there are no major threats form here on out. Famous last words. Major hurricane Lenny on November 19, 1999, Hurricane Debbie October 22, 2000, and Hurricane Thomas on October 30, 2010 proves that hurricanes could affect the Eastern Caribbean late in the season. But not usually. In any case we are preparing to commence voyage #12 as soon as we depart Rodney Bay Marina in a few days.

At the beginning of October, we left the marina and anchored out until we hauled Kalunamoo for its annual bottom cleaning and painting. Rickey and crew do a good job of hauling us out and put us right next to Meander. Meander is our friend Wayne’s cruising boat that has been on the hard for over a year and a half. Maybe we’ll see him next year! During the 3 days on the hard, Maureen wanted to be a little more comfortable than living aboard. We have lived aboard on the hard in the past and it is not the most comfortable way to live. In Trinidad, on the hard, we have air conditioning, stairs to get on and off the boat and good showers and restrooms are available. We don’t have those creature comforts here. So, we were off to Bay Gardens Marina Haven Hotel!

OK, it wasn’t a “resort” but it was a short walk from the boatyard, had a pool, small restaurant and air conditioning. Actually, it was just fine for the time we would be there. I only used the pool once as a “tropical wave” came through with showers and squalls for a day and I had to spend time on the boat doing “boat yard” work. Of course, the rooms had air-conditioning. Why they have air-conditioning AND a refrigerator in the room is beyond me. Whatever you want cold, just leave it next to the wide screen TV. I’m sure you could even make ice cubes there too. After setting the thermostat up to 24 C (75 F) it was more bearable but turning it off for a few hours also helped. The blankets provided for the bed were not enough but, all in all, we did enjoy the change. The staff was very friendly, and even took our temperature daily! Maybe some of their previous guests froze to death.

But the work in the boat yard was done, and Pirate did another great job scrapping, preparing and painting the bottom. I should mention something about the boat workers names.

These independent contractors have real names but they go by their “corporate persona”. “Pirate”, with one large gold earring, does bottom painting. Does a great job at a fair price. We used “Prudent” to install our reefer compressor. “Pride” was our carpenter who did the teak repair on the stern. Aldi and Josiane (I think that was their real names) did out toe rail varnishing. “Elvis” was asked to provide a quote on some port-glass replacements but never came back. I really don’t think I stepped on his Blue Swade Shoes, but who knows.

We are now back in the Marina for a few days to finalize boat preparations for voyage 12. When we leave the marina, we will be at anchor or sail down to Marigot Resort for a few days. Maureen has some dental work to complete here in Rodney Bay before we can leave St. Lucia in the first week of November. The jump to Antigua will take about 32 hours where we plan to meet-up with cruisers we know coming down from the States on the Salty Dawg Rally. After that we hope the restrictions and requirements of traveling between islands become less cumbersome or expensive and a more mobile season develops. It will be good to be able to sail around more.

As I wrote in the last blog, at time it feels like we are sitting in the bleacher seats watching life’s games. Yes, being retired, maybe that is all that is expected, especially while a pandemic encircles the world.

The cruisers, we have shared this summer season with are making plans, as we are, to move on. We will probably cross paths with some of them again, others are off to destinations far and wide. In that way, it was much like the cruisers we meet in Trinidad. Political discussions with cruisers here or via electronic means on many subjects occupied some of our time (we are never far from 24/7 news). But this blog will refrain from overt political discussions, other than opinions germane to our venue (or air conditioning) and save those for the Essay pages of this web site. In any event, a new cast of players await.

As the change of seasons start to take hold for the folks up north, Labor Day and the unofficial end of summer have little meaning for us. Since we are retired, the first Monday in September is not much different than the first Monday of any month. In fact, any Monday has little significance other than the start of another week. Since the weather really doesn’t change, seasons have little impact. Although this is not strictly true as the “hurricane” season, now at its height, does affect our movements. However, the pandemic has had more influence on us then the weather.

We continue to lead a quiet life here in St. Lucia. At times it feels like we are sitting in the bleacher seats of life, watching the game of life being played on a world-wide field. It’s been a year with little boat movement, the barnacles on the bottom can attest to that. During the year we did fly back to the States twice, saw family, grandkids and friends and have spent half a year in Antigua but we do miss the island hopping. The issue of our refrigeration still has not been completed as we are awaiting the new compressor. It has arrived in St. Lucia and is awaiting custom clearance. In the meantime, it has kept us at the dock although we did go out to anchor overnight to scrape the barnacles off the hull. We would have stayed out longer but the other issue was our Magic Box.

Our Magic Box, which I understand, is not unique to our boat, is a magician’s dream gimmick. Anything that ends up in this invisible box disappears forever. Or until it shows up quite unexpectedly years later. Most times I think it is not so much of a box but a gateway to another dimension. It’s a worm hole to another universe. In that case, there must be a universe that is populated by all the stuff that falls into this magic-wormhole-box and pops out in a landscape full of missing nuts, bolts, tools, single orphaned sox, sunglasses, keys and all the lost missing treasures of the universe.

In our case it was one of our cell phones, the phone we used for data only which provided fast hot spot connectivity. It was our wormhole to the internet universe with good data speed. Yes, we are not cut off entirely. The marina has relatively good Wifi and our other cellphone has data capability at limited speed. But, boy do you get hooked on good data speed for zoom and video calls!

But our Galaxy 8 fell into the Magic Box a few nights ago. While watching Netflix the marina’s power went out (not that unusual). This disrupted their Wifi and for a few minutes and I am pretty sure I tried to use the Galaxy 8 to reconnect with Netflix. I didn’t need to complete the connection, as the power came back on and all was well. The next day we moved the boat out to anchor. From there, we would use the Galaxy 8 to stay “connected” but after anchoring we couldn’t find the Galaxy 8.

The boat is not that big and so searching doesn’t take too long. It had to be inside the boat as it was never taken off the boat. The last time I definitely had the phone was the day before, ashore having breakfast (but never took it out of my pocket), and pretty certain it was on the boat after that and on board when the power went out.

We looked everywhere multiple times. We did go back to where we had breakfast and asked around but no luck. I even did a dumpster dive to pull out our bag of garbage that the marina picked up that day – no cellphone in the garbage.

My theory is that during the brief power outage the night we were watching Netflix, a power serge opened the Magic Box and the Galaxy 8 fell into it and was transported to another universe. It left no trace and no, we didn’t have “find me” app for it. My bad. But I don’t think it works in the Magic Box. We ended up getting a MiFi unit from Digicel for $60 which includes 50 Gig of data for 30 days so we are “back up to speed”.

As mentioned above the virus is still around and vaccines are here, although half the locals have the same vaccine hesitancy as everywhere. Curfews and restrictions come and go depending on the level of spread which seems like a never-ending cycle. News of new variants, like the mu variant, sounds like the start of another cycle.

Our bleacher seats have a good view of the field and the game is interesting. Some of the players are really talented while others seem to stumble at every play. Clowns dominate the spectacle, as players in left and right field never coordinate their moves. The interesting thing is that it is hard to discern the rules of the game but I suspect that most players are playing different games. Teams are outfitted with different equipment and strive for different goals while referees seem to leave the field but never stop commenting on the action. Don Mclean sung about players trying for a forward pass when the marching band refused to leave the field, must have had a vision of this.

Cruiser friend Tim, recently arrived from his around the world sail, broke out his sextant and it was interesting to reacquaint myself to the lost art of celestial navigation. Tim and our other friend Jim took some “noon” sights out in the bay.

His cruising companion Ashley from South Africa, waiting for a visa to enter the U.S., and another round the world cruiser and his Thailand companion also waiting for a visa, an Australian ex-pat marooned here, an American couple waiting to sell their trawler and return to the U.S. are some of the others sitting on the bleaches with us. It usually makes for interesting conversations.

We will disperse in a few months as the fall ushers in a new crop of cruisers from the north. We will find ourselves among different cruisers and hopefully be more mobile while the games continue.    

Well it’s almost Ferrogosto again. I remember writing about this date last year. We are in the same place and I realize that not much has changed. What I failed to mention was that at the latitude of St Lucia the sun is directly overhead at this time of the year. It is heading south after traveling to 23 North. We are at 14 North, and from here on out it will transit south of us until next spring. This means we shift our cockpit sunshades to the starboard side, since we are always facing east.

I thought we would be finished with most of the M&R for Kalunamoo by this time but our 26-year-old refrigeration system decided it had worked long enough. The compressor went into permanent retirement two weeks after a minor fix failed to persuade it to continue to work. I guess when your time is up, its time to go. I can understand that. I think twenty-six refrigerator years is like 80 human years. All that food that passed thru its doors, what a story it could tell! What ultimately failed was the heart of the system, the hermetic sealed compressor refused to pump. Unlike a home refrigerator, the boat’s “reefer” comes in bits and pieces spread around and is a built-in system with separate reefer and freezer compartments. Of course, the compressor section is no longer made. A replacement section was manufactured to replace it, but it is also not made anymore. The original manufacturer, Grunert, was bought by Dometic. Dometic is an older offspring of the Electrolux company. I guess it’s a family tree thing. Maybe it’s like trying to replace your grandfather who may have been disinherited. In any case, they don’t make them like that anymore. But in today’s world, anything made last month is probably out of date. Ironically, food may be the only thing that can outlive its users. Provided, of course, if it is refrigerated.

For big money, a replacement system can be had. It comes in a shiny stainless steel case to hide its pumping heart. For even bigger money the whole system can be replaced with “up to date technology” powered by solar and wind, all very environmentally friendly (Refrigeration is the largest user of energy on a sailboat). In a way, it’s like replacing grandpa with a newborn. The cost is about the same. The new technology would enable us to know the temperature inside the box to a tenth of a degree. Refrigeration like this extends food shelf life proportionally longer than the life of any of us.

Would eliminating refrigeration altogether be the ultimate environmental solution? Is there non-refrigeration alternatives? Maybe, but what about ice in that rhum punch?  Well Frederic Tudor solved that problem back in 1806. He was the first to ship ice from New England to Martinique. He had ice houses built in New England especially for this and eventually expanded his business to Cuba and to the southern U.S. His clientele, the European elite, could bear the cost (probably from the wealth of the sugar plantations they owned in the Caribbean). The ice, of course, was harvested from the frozen rivers and lakes and shipped south. Profits were tremendous, before they melted away with the advent of machine made ice. I will leave it to others to see the irony and linkage among natural ice, machine ice, and climate change.    

I decided that a pump transplant was the way to go. Among other reasons, our other systems on Kalunamoo may be insulted if a whole new reefer system appeared. Who knows what jealousies might arise. Would the generator feel neglected, since it would not be needed to electrify us as much? Would the aging air conditioner, despite being used infrequently, demand the new “up to date” technology also. I shudder at what the navigation crowd would think. I haven’t dared mention the word “network” around them. They still believe their main competition is celestial navigation. The 33 year old Volvo doesn’t give a hint of any major resentments, but who really knows what the Swedes think.

So, the new compressor pump was ordered and will be on-island eventually. In the meantime, we are on a one-bag-of-ice-a-day habit plus the use of a small electric Dometic cooler to keep things cool.

In other news…The National Hurricane Center just upped their forecast of tropical storms for the season. By 1. The tropics have been quiet most of July after a fast start although things are heating up. Tropical waves are starting to become more intense as the peak season is now thru September…Road work in St. Lucia seemed to come to a halt just after the national elections. I mention road work as that is usually the indication that elections are imminent. The sound trucks blasting out soca and promises before elections are ubiquitous, much like tree frogs at sunset. Unlike the U.S. which has a two-year orgasmic foreplay leadup to elections, national elections here are more like hurricanes. They pop up and a week later there is a new Prime Minister. As far as road repair, either potholes are filled just before elections, or work is stopped just after. In either case life goes on. The former Prime Minister says he is proud to lead the opposition.

The Ladies Luncheon on Thursdays, Sunday Dominoes and bay swimming continues. We may even get out to do some day sailing and land touring. Otherwise, it’s mid-summer and the living is easy.      

This is the age of the 28 million dollar price to ride on a used rocket that only goes 62 miles up and last 11 minutes. Spin rates decreased as Spider Tack loses its grip of MLB and more players got to first base. Half the population refused to get vaccinated and in response the virus mutates, celebrates, and goes on a country wide infection binge. Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream will not be sold in Israeli occupied territory. The Olympics start today although the smart money is on covid 19 taking home the gold.

But we are in St. Lucia in our “off season”, far from the headline news. Since returning on board after our NYC visit, we have been busy with Kalunamoo’s M&R. Although we admit, it is not all work all the time. We note that many of our cruising friends up north are enjoying the summer sailing season. Others are sailing the Med or sailing the Pacific. For many, the pandemic slowed but not stopped cruising. We are somewhat jealous but this is the time we need to keep Kalunamoo in good shape so we don’t have worry about it in the winter cruising season. Some of the M&R was not done last summer as we anticipated that it would be done in Trinidad. That didn’t happen and it will not this year either. Although Trinidad did open its borders to fully vaccinated non-nationals a few days ago, things are so fluid, we decided to do the M&R here. So, we have to do some catchup work in addition to the annual work.

Workers came aboard to strip and refinish the teak cap and hand rail. Albi and Josiane did a good job as it’s been a few years since it was last stripped. I ended up putting on an extra coat of gloss after they finished because that is the easy part.

A few days after we came back on board our refrigeration kept tripping the electric breaker. This was the first serious issue with the unit since we bought the boat. I envisioned a new compressor in our future (and dealing with no refrigeration for the weeks it would take to get one) and was happily surprised that all that was needed was a new start relay. Prudent, the electrician, did a great job and we were up and running in a few hours. Unfortunately, two days ago the same problem arose. We are waiting for Prudent to return to find out what the problem is. We can go a few days before the holding plates get too warm and we lose all refrigeration. Fortunately, we are in the marina and we can get ice! Is a new compressor in our future?  

A major cosmetic job that we wanted to get done in Trinidad was the repair of the teak trim and name board on the stern. It was damaged last year in Dominica by an unknown boat while we were ashore. The carpentry of Pride Edwin did the fine carpentry teak trim work while I got the name board back in place with rope braces, bolts and epoxy. All it needs now is a refinishing.

The anchor chain we bought in Guadeloupe last year was inexpensive. Yes, it was cheap. And guess what. You get what you pay for! It didn’t take long for the galvanizing to wear off and become a rusted mess. It just not the rust but the wear that results. The previous chain we had lasted 9 years. This chain, although not as bad as the previous one when we replaced it does show considerable wear. Compare a rusted part with new part and notice how it “stretches” due to wear of the links (this was the old chain). This “stretch” makes the chain jump out of the windlass chain wheel when raising the anchor. The total lenght of chain is 200 feet but we use only about the first 100 to anchor. We can end for end this chain and get another year or two of use, but we will be more careful the next time we replace it.

The list of other minor repairs and maintenance jobs kept us busy but we will have time for some “day sails” around St. Lucia once they are completed. In September or October the boat will be hauled for the annual bottom paint job.

So as billionaires blast off into space, ballplayers lose their grip, the virus dodges a quick defeat, ice cream makers make geopolitical decisions, and the Olympics lack live spectators, we carry on. We are, after all, “in retirement”. Our big adventure may be sailing 62 miles to the next port. That would take close to 10 hours. As long as the auto pilot doesn’t lose grip of the rudder, and we don’t have to make major geopolitics decision, our Olympic goal is to swim a few hundred feet and maybe see a turtle on the way. We don’t miss the spectators, although there are enough cruisers here for Sunday Dominoes and lunches. Everyone has their challenges and adventures in their own way. So maybe we should take pleasure in the fact that every time we bought from Amazon we were part of the great space exploration of the universe; or what the new meaning of sticky fingers mean; or how ice cream can change the world.