June 7th 2013
Position 17° 17.560’ N
62° 43.495’ W
St. Kitts (Saint Christopher).
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After a lengthy and frustrating
delay with much unplanned expense we now appear to have ‘Stonewall Jackson’
performing like his old self. Shadow, the diesel technician at Bitter End Yacht
Club, really help us and worked on his day off to enable us to set sail south
on Thursday June 6th to take advantage of the great weather window
Chris Parker (our weather forecaster) had been predicting would come. The
trades have been consistently at or above 20 knots for a month now and although
we can travel in these conditions it is rough and miserable, the idea of
passage making for us is to do it in the greatest comfort possible. There is
nothing better than to cruise in benign sea conditions and to really savour the
gentle ocean undulations and a cool light breeze. Trips like this are so
pleasant and we both agree that a trip like I have just described remind us of
why we love boating and in particular long distance passage making. A few days
ago we were very concerned that we would not be able to make our destination of
Trinidad by the required date of July 1st. Well, with a little over
two days of cruising and 300 nm further south under our belt would then put us within
striking distance of our goal. In fact with three weeks left to cover less than
200 nm we will have time to stop and find some idyllic island for us to rest
and explore. Our disappointment of having to bypass so many islands has
mellowed a little now as we are so happy that the mechanical problems which
have consumed us for the past three months seem to be behind us, for the moment
at least, dare I say!
For us to meet our insurance
companies requirement of being in Trinidad from July 1st – October 31st
for what they consider the worst of the hurricane season, is a big worry off
our minds. If we had been forced to be above 10° N there would be an addition
premium for the added risk so we are happy we can escaped that if all goes well
with this round of travel plans!
Friday 7th Oh no, no, no!
After 24 hours of uncomfortable but successful cruising, battling 12’ – 15’
seas crossing the Anegada Passage we had passed Saba Island to our port and Saint Eustatius (Statia to the locals) lay straight
ahead, ‘Stonewall Jackson’ decided to take a break...air in the fuel system
again. We are dumfounded, with 24 hours of trouble free operation in pretty
rough conditions, we are totally mystified again as to what causes this. When
the boat stops the tendency is for the hull to settle thwart ships to the waves,
she sits in the wave troughs and then she begins to roll and I mean roll. The
Kadey Krogen 42’ is built to be able to right itself from a severe roll of, I
believe 65°, we were rolling 35°! The routine in these situations is, I have to
go into the engine room to bleed the fuel system and Lavinia mans the
pilothouse readying to restart the engine and to get ‘Partners’ back on
autopilot and her course, with stabilizers running again. This whole operation
usually takes less than two to three minutes and is frantic! Invariably I end
up knocking myself or cutting some part of me as I descend into the engine room
and traverse across it to where the secondary filters are, which I have done many times,
only to wonder at what point and when I did it. The adrenalin masks all else
accept one’s mind which guides the body through the many steps to achieving the
end result of getting the boat under way again. The plan now was to proceed to
the next Island which was Saint Christopher or St. Kitts where we knew we would
find some help. I spent most of the next four hours in the engine room standing
by ready to bleed the engine as necessary. Finally into the lee of St. Kitts
the sea calmed and the tall island provided a shield to the wind. Just having
calmer conditions brought a little relaxation to the prevailing tension. The
next task as we cruised south east down the south west facing coast of St.
Kitts, was to call the town marina on our VHF to see if there was a slip
available for us and to advise them of our condition and the fact that we would
need assistance in case our engine failed at the wrong moment! The entrance to
the Marina was straight forward and was free from navigation hazards. We began
our approach, right at that point I did one more very quick bleed of the system
but no air, had the problem gone away again? By a little after 10:00 we were
safely moored up in Port Zante Marina having travelled the last 30 minutes with
no engine shut downs! Phew! The anxiety quickly dissipates as the realization
of safety returns. Dare I tell you, after securing the boat, connecting the
shore power chords and turning off all the navigation equipment, the first thing
I did was to ‘crack’ a tube, or in English, I sat on the back deck and drank a
beer! I cannot describe how one feels after being subjected to one of the most
frightening episodes an owner of a single engine trawler can experience, it is
euphoric, an ecstasy, a rapid deflation of the tension which has been your
companion for way too long. Remember boats travel slowly, our trawler cruises,
in most weather and sea conditions, at 5–6 knots so to travel, in our case, an
additional 25 nm to our selected destination, meant another 4 hours of tension,
worry and discomfort. We have been doing this for the last three months and 600
nm! Wow, you say these people must be crazy...no we are not, the dilemma with
this malady is that the only way we can know the problem is solved is to go to
sea and see if we can have a trouble free passage!
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| Basseterre harbour and marina. |
We are a couple who have a passion to be independent, to explore and
be our own masters. Above all we want to travel and explore the world on our
little white ship ‘Partners’, our only home. We enjoy the fact that there are
few if no rules out here, no petty infringements to avoid, no traffic lights to
obey per se, nothing controlling our every move...such as, we heard this about
our home town of Sarasota, FL. Apparently one is only able to park ones car
nose in to a parking garage space as opposed to reversing it in, what?
I have never heard of anything so ridiculous. We are in total control of our
lives and do as we please when we want to do it. Safety issues and the ‘Rules
of the Road’ while underway, we observe to the letter but that is only common
sense. When in the many foreign countries we have visited and will visit in the
future we try to be the best ambassadors, we read about the local people their culture,
customs and what they expect as regards dress code and behaviours; we are the
visitors and do not want to be view as unwelcome ones so we behave, we believe
that this is a common courtesy.
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| The Quay |
Diverting for a moment...one thing we have found out in these months
that we have now been cruising is (here we go with the Soap Box) that our Kadey
Krogen built trawler certainly possesses the capabilities to endure and enable
us to fulfil our dream, it provides the strong safe platform and design to cope
with any sea we have encountered so far and we have had some ‘doozies’ I assure
you. If only we could solve the propulsion issue we would be fine. Most
trawlers have very simple but fool proof fuel systems and our problem is rare.
For any of you ‘wannabees’ don’t worry your boat will be fine. If a Kadey
Krogen trawler is in your future call John Gear, John is the President of Kadey
Krogen Yachts 800.247.1230 and let him guide you through the process, no
pressure just kind understanding conversation...remember though, when it is 'your
time', that you will be living on your own ‘little white ship’, as we are, for
prolonged periods, so make sure the ergonomics suit you, in other words the
liveability. It really is the most important thing. Capability is a given and
there are a few other manufacturers who, in their designs, can offer that too,
but what about a back ‘porch’ a covered comfortable area from which to view the
world and a pilot house to navigate the boat which will also accommodate the ship’s
crew in comfort during those multi day passages. One spends probably one tenth
to one twentieth of one’s time passage making and the majority of the time at
anchor, simply ‘living’ on your boat. Your Kadey Krogen has all these things
including ease of movement throughout the whole boat, go and see for yourself!
Okay, I'm off the ‘Box’.
Moored in Zante marina we met the owner of a sailing boat in one of the
slips just east of us, he was there due to an engine failure, after having some
work done in St. Martin the technician forgot to secure the sump drain plug in
his engine allowing all the oil to flood into the bilge, when it was started
only a few minutes passed before the motor seized and stopped. Being a sailing
boat he was able to continue to port with his sails. David from Indigo Marine
here in St. Kitts, mentioned in Chris Doyle’s pilot book for the area, happened,
quite coincidently, to be onboard. He was installing a completely new engine in
the boat. We had intended to contact him and employ him to help us. David
worked with Camper and Nicholson as their Chief Designer for 17 years and has a quality background with much
knowledge of ship systems. After a quick interruption and introduction we
arranged to meet onboard ‘Partners’ to assess the options. It was late on
Friday so we agreed that Monday would be the first opportunity depending on how
he was doing with our neighbour’s sailing boat project.
Monday came and went, David was not able to come...we spent four hours of the day walking around
Basseterre trying to find an attachment for a pump we have so we could pump up
one of our big fenders which is gradually flattening between ‘Partners’ and the concrete
wall we are moored against due to the relentless pressure being applied as a
result of the strong easterly trade winds continuously pushing us against the
dock. We didn't find anything and ended up dragging it to a tire store and got
them to pump it up. The four hours were not totally wasted as we had a great
lunch at a little restaurant on the sea front called Elfredo's and it was
really good, local food prepared superbly and very attractively presented, a
definite recommendation.
On Sunday evening a friend’s daughter Sara who is attending the Veterinary
school here came over for dinner so one way or the other we are keeping our
minds off our frustrating fuel problem. I wrote to Crews Inn Marina, our
hurricane season home in Trinidad, today to advise them that we may be a little
late. Hopefully they will keep our reservation open; I am anticipating at this
point we could be a couple of weeks late. I also heard from our insurance company
that we will still be covered being north of 10° 50’ N after July 1st
with the exception of tropical windstorm damage. In other words as long as any
claim was not as a result of a named tropical storm we will be fully covered
which is some relief. We obviously do not want to subject the boat or ourselves
to tropical storm conditions so urgency in fixing our problem still prevails,
which will enable us to edge south once again and closer to Trinidad.
We have been in St. Kitts now for a week and
still have not been able to start the work on our air in the fuel problem.
David who finished the engine installation on the boat just down the dock from
us stopped by to confirm that Friday morning the 14th would be ‘D’
day. Well Friday came and Daren, one of David’s employees stopped by the boat
to do a minor job separate from the fuel problem job, but also brought us bad
news…poor David had hit his head while doing the final check on his engine
installation just down the dock and required a trip to the hospital…no starty
work today! We are jinxed!
At three we had arranged with Sara to go to
the ‘strip’ at Frigate Bay and watch her play volleyball. The ‘strip’ is a line
of bars and restaurants that stretch a good quarter of a mile of more down the
beach and all cater to the college students that attend the veterinary school
as well as the locals, cheap booze, food and free music (loud).
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| The 'Strip' |
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| Having fun with Sara |
We had so much
fun and by 19:30 had had enough! Three buckets of beer later and a burger each we
were sated. (6 beers to a bucket, and there were three of us!). A bucket of
beer by the way was $9.25 US. We had to go home but Sara was going to the
airport to pick up a friend flying in for a weekend visit…then the plan was, they
would go home to shower, change and go back out for more fun, dancing and more
of what young college kids do, oh to be young! We really had a super afternoon
and evening and only wish we had the stamina to continue on into the night.
St. Kitts at this time of year still has two
cruise ships visiting per week which is a huge boost for the local economy. Between
the two ships the town of Basseterre is flooded with a total of 6,000 extra
people every week all spending a little here and there. The country realizes
the value of tourism and is very friendly towards tourists and cruisers like
us. We have received nothing but warm hellos and helpful answers to our
questions as we have toured around. The majority of the population are descendants
from the slaves brought here by the British although now there is an
established Asian and Indian population, all integrated quite happily. There
does not appear to be poverty the population is well dressed and ‘busy’ I don’t
know the employment details but most people seem to have a purpose to their step
as they move around. There is industry here; the grocery shops, three very
close to the marina, are all well stocked and, in fact, have most of what one
would find in the USA plus in addition some things from Europe and England. This was the first
island we had stopped at where I found Heinz salad cream, a product synonymous with
the famed tea time cucumber sandwiches, yum, we bought some!
Although we wish we were further south at
this time we are making the best of our stay here and feel lucky that we have
found qualified help in a country so welcoming to foreigners; visit St. Kitts
you will remember the experience. From the point of view of the cruiser the
marina is very reasonably priced at .75c US per foot per day and reliable 110v electricity
is .30c per kilowatt, water is a $15 onetime payment for an unlimited quantity.
It is easy in and out and right in the town of Basseterre the capital. St. Kitts has both English and French achitecture and is a thriving vital town...
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| The National Museum |
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| The Clock - modeled after Piccadilly Circus, London |
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| The 'Clock' |
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| Wild Green Monkey |
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| Across the bay at night |
There will be more to come from St. Kitts next
week…
The purpose of my blog, number one is for me to document the adventure
Lavinia and I have embarked upon and secondly to keep in touch with family and
friends who want, from time to time, to know where we are! The other by-product
of these ramblings is to promote cruising and the life style both under power
and sail. 
One thing here in the Caribbean,
a cultural difference, is the lack of importance associated with time and
promptness. Island time, Mon! We love it and go along with it, we participate
when things are going well but when they are not one is faced with the choice
of putting up with the mentality or causing a fuss which in turn causes a
dislike between oneself and the individual which simply perpetuates the
problem. Soooo, here we are frustrated, waiting for the help to come, and in
the meantime we are running up a huge marina bill spending more money going out
to the town and missing our reservation in Trinidad for hurricane season,
insurance problems, all not good...life suddenly is no longer idyllic and you
start thinking that this cruising life is the pits, being shipwrecked on a
beautiful tropical island is no longer romantic or fun. Wait a minute...is life
ashore free from frustrations? No of course it is not, everyone has them every
day, a flat tire, a flat battery, a traffic jam on the way to work, day to day
living anywhere is fraught with obstacles. This is where a reality check and
choices come in; which set of problems would you choose? This is the thought
process we have to go through as cruisers to keep ourselves in the game. This
week HT and I sat down and reminded ourselves that this problem will be behind
us soon and our lives will return to the ‘going according to plan’ status. We
remind ourselves of the alternatives and any of the land alternatives don’t
appeal. They will, of course, eventually but for now, we will continue to cruise
until we physically cannot do it anymore. Then, and only then, perhaps the log
cabin in the woods, a comfy chair and roaring fire...what, am I really saying
this, yes it will be a reality one day. Take note folks, do the adventuring and
fun things while you still can, tempus fugit! 
