It ain't all Rum Punches - PART DEUX!

SNAP!

I am convinced Megan jinxed us.

Posting about our prior issues betrayed the sacred trust we've developed with "Bones" - she must not have been pleased that we embarrassed her by telling about all her pimples and warts!

Why do I think this?  Well ... because we had a very very traumatic experience only a few days after our last post!

We were anchored in Charleston Bay, Canouan, on 10 January.  It was a fairly windy night, with gusts up in the 30knot range.  Charleston Bay is known as a gusty anchorage, but we had out ample chain at 10:1 scope and had dove on our anchor (as we always do) to ensure it was well bedded in.

As with many of the anchorages in the Grenadines, multiple boats on moorings were around us, but we felt like we had enough space and went to sleep.  These winds were not something that we should have had to be worried about ... but ...

I (Mike) was awoken a few times during the night by the howling winds, and then again around 4am by a sharp "jerk".  For whatever reason, my subconscious detected that jerk & the changed motion of the boat and I was up on deck before I was even really awake.

And once on deck, I was fully awake instantly!  We were about 10 feet upwind of the boat that had been moored behind us - bearing down fast.

I shouted for Megan while running to the helm station and starting our engines.  I was just able to get them started in time to spin the bow away from the catamaran (we were drifting side on by this point) - narrowly missing being t-boned by the other catamarans bow!  We were fortunate that neither prop caught on a line, as the mooring ball for that boat was already under our starboard hull!

Once we were clear of the other boat, Megan went up to the bow to start hauling in the anchor.  We thought we had just started dragging very badly - but the shock Megan experience when only chain came up on deck - without any anchor attached - was tremendous!



Thankfully, the "Moorings" charter service had a large fleet of moorings in Charleston Bay, and we were able to motor up to one of them and tie on for the rest of the night.  Naked and freezing (it was raining as well as windy), we both had a cup of coffee & rugged up while trying to get our bearings about us. Needless to say, we didn't get back to sleep.

Anchor dragging is something I am constantly on watch for - but for our anchor chain to have snapped really shocked me.

Once it was light enough, we took the dinghy back over to where we had anchored and I snorkelled around looking for the chain & anchor.  We had been in around 5m of water, and with all the wind it was quite murky from stirred up sediment, but after about 15 minutes I located the anchor & chain.

Once we had tied it off to a fender, I dove to the "broken" end of the chain (opposite from the anchor) and found the culprit:  a "quick-link" type chain connecter!

I managed to recover about half of it (the other half fell away as I rose to the surface).  After that, we pulled up the anchor & remaining chain (there was still 30m attached to the anchor).

We then inspected all of the chain - each and every link - to see the condition.  There were no other connectors like the one that had snapped, but we have decided to either re-galvanize the existing chain or buy new chain when we arrive in Grenada in a week or so.

In the meantime - we spliced the chain back together using allen key shackles.

In hindsight - we got away from this 'scare' about as lucky as we could have.  This could have happened any time we left the boat to go ashore for the day, or it could have happened in a location where we had a lee shore or difficult anchorage to navigate.  So ... we are glad that we got away from what could have been a catastrophic accident without any serious damage to the boat or ourselves.

At least no physical damage to ourselves.  We are both fairly psychologically affected from what seems to be another in a string of mis-haps lately.  Since that night, I have had a lot of trouble sleeping: every time I wake due to a larger than normal wave slapping the hull, or some other noise, I'm on guard and keep finding myself getting up and checking the boat throughout the night.

Even worse is that I have to take responsibility for not making the right call.  I had noticed that the link which snapped was corroded (and in hindsight that it was slightly smaller than the rest of the chain), but had decided that it would hold until we got to Grenada where we were planning on doing a bunch of boat work.

That lapse in judgement is now making me second guess lots of other decisions I've been making - and every little problem on the boat (of which there are always a few things to work on) I'm now going over again to make sure that things that are on the "to fix" list shouldn't be on the "to fix before we do anything else" list.

It's been almost a week since that night as I write this, and we have had some marvellous times in the Grenadines which we will post about soon ... so there are definitely rum punches and good times ... but this adventure is also very very real!

Friends & family, please don't worry too much reading this - we are sharing since it's part of our adventure - but for those thinking that cruising is just one paradise after another, just remember that it is not all rum punches!

Christmas in Dominica!

We had heard so many wonderful things about Dominica (pron: Dom-inn-EE-kah) that we decided to make it our base over the Christmas holidays. After a great sail from Barbuda to Antigua, we continued south and sailed overnight to accomplish the100nm in 16 hours.

Dominica is a volcanic island with approximately 70,000 inhabitants. It's one of the least developed and visited islands in the chain as there are very few sandy beaches, no flashy resorts and no direct international flights. 

After allowing 2 days of recovery from the sleepless sail, we hired Andrew from Sea Bird Tours to take us into the shady, mangrove-lined Indian River where scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean were filmed. The dense forest and tranquility were the perfect way to start exploring the island.

Buttressed BWA Mang Trees - their roots stretch out laterally along the riverbank.

Beautiful wild flowers

These little guys are everywhere

Mike - in his usual friendly and outgoing manner, introduced himself to a young American couple who are also living on their boat, Marques and Teal. They have been working in the Virgin US Islands for several years and are taking the next 6 months off to travel the Leeward and Windward Islands. They are both really into hiking and the outdoors so we decided to share the cost of a hire car for two days and explore the island together.

First stop was in the north - a 45 minute walk through an old plantation (now jungle) led us to a fantastic fresh water swimming hole called Chaudiere Pool, which we had to ourselves for the morning. That's Mike the daredevil jumping from the rocks.

Spectacular waterfalls abound on this island!

Christmas lunch in Calibishie, a small fishing village on the north coast. There wasn't much open except for this little roadside snackette. They didn't have any food or a menu, but the proprietress was nice enough to whip up some chicken with sauce, rice, salad and taro. At $4 a head, it hit the spot! 

Debating our location...

Dominica is a fresh fruit paradise. Mangoes, pineapples, coconuts, bananas and oranges are so plentiful, they are literally falling off trees by the side of the road. We met Remi, a local farmer who gave us a tour of his land and sold us 100 oranges for $8.00 - deal of the century!

Megan and Marques counting the never ending basket of oranges

Sampling the produce

Our citrus juicer got a great workout! These oranges produce the best freshly squeezed OJ I've EVER had. Add some spiced rum and you've got yourself a nice little aperitif. Thanks Remi!

Christmas Eve at the local beach BBQ. The boat boys in Portsmouth make a living selling their services to passing yachts, including selling fruit, taking garbage or laundry ashore and organising tours. Crime levels against boaters peaked here in 2010 with some night boardings and robberies. In order to protect their livelihood, the boat boys started a night patrol service in the harbour and continually fund it through a Sunday night beach BBQ. For $20pp it's a buffet of chicken, fish, rice, salad and all the rum punch one can muster. It's a great opportunity to meet other cruisers as well as locals. Good times!

Teal - taking on the challenge. You have to pick up the rum punch with only your mouth...

A little too much rum punch for this lady... (the sand on the face is from a botched cartwheel!)

Dominica is home to two endemic (and endangered) parrots. We tried our luck at spotting them on a hike through the Syndicate Parrot Reserve. Unfortunately we didn't see any up close but we did see and hear some very high up in the sky.

It's so green and lush everywhere! 

In typical fashion - we got a flat tyre from the lemon the car rental agency gave us (no horn was also a problem on the narrow, windy roads with many blind corners). We rode the donut all the way home dodging pot holes.  Nice work Marques!

More beautiful wild flowers

My Christmas table centre piece - collected from around the island

Hiking into the Titou Gorge and waterfall

The gorge which we're about to jump into!

This swimming hole is at the foot of a narrow gorge, which ends in a pumping waterfall. It was a bit of a spooky experience - it was dark with vine-clad lava walls on either side of us. 

Small hot mineral spring

Trafalgar Falls - 200ft of sheeting hot water, originating from a boiling lake 

Soaking in the hot springs after all the hiking was bliss. This felt like the garden of eden, so romantic!

The water temperature was about 40 degrees and perfect!

Dominica was a great change from all the beach action we've had in the past few weeks. The inland activities and stunning scenery were well worth the effort. This country should be on everyone's 'must see' list! Up next - a 90nm sail to St. Lucia for NYE!