The Yacht Piquet

This morning with some help we were able to move the boat from the anchorage and into the lagoon. There, with the help of the travel lift crew and several lines passed ashore, we were able to maneuver Piquet stern first into the travel lift slip. The haul out went smoothly. Customs have put us in "storage bond".

We now are putting Piquet to bed for at least 6 months. Incidentally, there was still line around the shaft and prop that defied unwinding by hand.

Wednesday we will be back in Ann Arbor contemplating what was a season with many frustrating instances. Next year can only be better.

Rodney Bay, St Lucia. Well, we made it finally to St. Lucia without any further dramas. We left the anchorage in St Kitts last Monday after satisfying ourselves that there was enough jammed around the engine shaft coupling and the shaft itself that it would not turn when we had to charge the batteries under sail. Leaving the gear in forward is enough to accomplish this using the idle engine as the brake. When we turned the corner at Nevis, after just 10 miles, we were faced with 25/30 knots of wind on the nose. Better than bash into that we turned around and went back to the anchorage off Charlestown Nevis. It was Thursday before the forecast was showing reasonable winds.

In the meantime we were able to take a tour with Watusi Wade David, a Rasta taxi driver, singer, and a very enjoyable person, who we did a tour with on our first visit to Nevis in '93. The name Watusi is an obvious label as he is about 6'9" and very thin. He has done very well in the interim including being off island when we visited a month ago to do a singing gig in St Croix.

Nevis has not changed a great deal in the 15 years. The 4 Seasons hotel at Pinneys Beach has expanded to include multi million dollar homes, but the biggest difference is the new road around the island. They have straightened and widened the old route. A day tour is now only half a day. It is still one of our favorite places.

We were able to up anchor early Thursday morning, 17th April. The winds were still a little South of East but reasonable in strength. However by late evening they had increased to 20/25 knots and Karen was not feeling so good. A long night for the captain. Then when we were in the lee of Guadeloupe the wind died to less than 5 so our speed dropped to less than one knot. A good time to charge the batteries. Then by morning we were in the lee of Dominica and the same effect. This was despite being 30 miles offshore. The islands have very high mountains that shield the winds. So it was with apprehension that we approached Martinique, the next island with a high interior. However it was better and we were able to do 4/5 knots.

We reached the Southern end of Martinique at 05.30, first light. The course was now further East which meant a lot of tacking, and, of course, the wind died and it took us 10 hours to do the last 25 miles. But we were finally able to fetch Rodney Bay, and, on the second attempt safely enter the anchorage at 14.30. Slowly reaching a safe spot with zero wind showing on the anemometer. The safety seal on the shaft held and we had shipped no more water. When all was safely stowed the Captain had a welcome G&T then crashed for a few hours. We were grateful for a safe trip but wished it had been a little faster than 55 hours to go 210 miles. We generally are able to go about 50% faster, which we would have with an engine going when we passed the islands.

An interesting experience to sail without an engine. We, as sailors, curse them and their noise. They do add a great safety factor however.

Sunday is always a rest day in the islands. Tomorrow we will get with our friend Egbert Charles and decide when to haul out and what is needed to refit. Stay tuned.

We are finally anchored in Rodney Bay St. Lucia. Our last 12 hours were spoiled with winds in 5/10 range and from all angles. This was a very frustrating trip - 55 hours to go 210 miles. Sailing in the lee of those islands is not easy with no engine.

Guess who started the engine in gear when we arrived! Fortunately everything held in place.

The rest of Rick and Irene's week continued with high winds. We were able to have some good anchorages and had a good time. The ferries still were not running so they had to take the puddle jumper back to San Juan. We returned to the settled anchorage behind the reef at Dakity after seeing them off. Monday we were back in Dewey again where we had access to wi fi.

It has not been a good week. When we accessed our financial accounts we discovered that 2 of our credit cards had been compromised. There had been reports on the cruising radio net concerning other boats with similar situations. It appears that any body who used the ATM at Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua, in late February had there credit card information recorded. We were able stop the bleeding on one card but not before $2500 had been removed using ATM's in Brooklyn New York. The other card was used in Odessa Russia and $1500 was removed at an ATM. The scam must have caught a large number of people. We know of at at least 10 cruisers. The disturbing thing is that the con must have involved some person at the bank and that they were able to duplicate our cards so that money could be removed at an ATM machine elsewhere. Being able to use ATM cards has made our lives much less complicated at obtaining local currencies. Since '96 we have used the cards exclusively at ATM's obtaining cash to avoid using cards in stores or restaurants. Maybe we have to go back to using Travelers Checks. Fortunately we still had one card that was not compromised so we were at least able to order air tickets to travel back to the USA.

Wednesday we left for the US Virgin Islands. It was not one of our better trips as the wind still was in the high teens and on the nose. It took us 8 hours to go 30 miles. We probably did 45 with all the tacking we had to do in order to make distance up wind. Not fun. We went back to Caneel Bay on St John's to stock up on a few groceries and get exit papers.

Thursday we started going East through the British Virgin Islands so that we would have a reasonable angle on the wind to get by the Saba Bank as we make our way back South. The plan was to pick up a mooring - anchoring is almost impossible as the anchorages are full of moorings to satisfy the charter boats - you know that you are in their territory when you hear somebody calling for dinner reservations on Channel 16 radio!

When we reached our intended destination they were all taken. A quick crew meeting was held and it was decided to keep going and we went through the pass between Ginger Island and Round Rock. Unfortunately just before we reached Saba, when we were motor sailing to charge the batteries, the engine stopped dead. At first light we saw to our dismay that we had picked up a line that was anout 1.25" in diameter with 2 white floats trailing about 50 yards behind us. It was obviously wound around the propeller. The seas were too high to get in the water and dive on it so we carried on. The wind was good and we were making good time despite towing this huge drogue.

We were approaching St Kitts and running the engine again to charge batteries with the transmission in neutral. I inadvertently fell against the gear shift and it went into reverse. To our joy the rode spun off. This was short lived as the bilge alarm went off. The seal around the propeller shaft was damaged and water was pouring in . A hole in the boat is a sailor's nightmare. Fortunately the type of shaft seal that was placed on Piquet has an emergency clamp that seals the unit and theoretically stops the inflow of water. It was very difficult to access and only by physically holding the seal in place could we stop the inflow.

In the meantime the pumps were taking care of the water in the boat. Trying to hold the seal in place and at the same time turn the emergency clamp screw at the same time proved to be almost impossible. The adrenalin was really pumping. Karen had been sick in the night so I had done most of the night watch. We were both very tired. At 1400 it was decided to call the St Kitts coast guard to request a vessel to stand by, which they agreed to do. In the midst of all this two tugs towing a huge oil drilling platform were bearing down on us. From our previous experience with this situation when we were crossing the Atlantic we knew that they did not have to much control over direction. A radio call to the tugs warned them of our situation and they were able to take avoiding action.

In the meantime by clearing a few hoses in the way of easy access we were able to get enough force on the clamp to minimize the flow and eventually with persistence finally stop the flow. We then called the coastguard to cancel the emergency. Evidently there was a boat on the way. By this time it was 1600 hours and we had no transmission. The only option was to sail and find an anchorage to asses the situation. The best appeared to be about 20 miles sailing away.

St Kitts has a very high dormant volcano that blocks the wind. But by doing a lot of tacking we arrived at the intended point, South Friars Bay, at 2130 (17.16.29N 62.41.023W). What else could happen?? Sure enough, the anchor chain was jammed in the locker and we could not lower our main anchor. We very quickly activated an emergency rope rode with a Fortress anchor and it held us very well. It turned out that with all the bashing to windward the chain had rearranged itself further down in the locker and with about 5 minutes of banging with a mallet it came loose. By the time we had put the boat to bed, showered to wash off the salt and sweat, it was 2300 hours. We were exhausted. So it was a well deserved rum, some cheese and crackers, and bed to sleep the sleep of the dead. It was probably the most serious crisis since we were dis masted in '98.

Saturday was a rest day and asses our next moves. Around noon we received a visit from the coast guard . They needed to make a report concerning the emergency. They then had to do a safety check. These folks are trained by the US Coast Guard down to identical uniform. One taking the notes while the other stood guard with a drawn revolver. We had not noticed this until it started raining and we had to move under cover. He at least tried to be inconspicuous by hiding it under his coat. All turned out well and we made a small donation to their "Fund".

Today, Sunday, we are still resting after making sure the propeller shaft will not turn while we are sailing and charging the batteries. We have not decided whether to sail on to Montserrat or just go for it and head for St Lucia, 200 miles away, where we have decided to lay up for the summer and probably have a refit. The boat has to be hauled in order to fix the shaft seal problem. Stay tuned.

It has been a disappointing week of high winds for our guests Rick and Irene Scott. The Bermuda high came down South and since Tuesday we have had 20/25 knots of wind gusting to 35. But Culebra is a fine harbor and there are several very pleasant anchorages.

Sunday we went to Bahia Almodovar(18.17.88 65.15.20). This anchorage is to the North of the harbor entrance and is behind a reef. The waters inside are flat calm as the reef stops the waves but you still get the breeze, very typical of South Pacific anchorages.

Monday, for a different scene, we moved to an island on the South side of Culebra, Caya de Luis Pena. This island is a bird sanctuary where boobies nest. We also found evidence of a turtle nest on the beach.

Tuesday morning we awoke to a sudden change in the weather and made a short trip o the harbor on the South side where the ferries dock, Bahia de Sardinas(18.18.65 65.20), the wind being too strong for us to comfortably make the harbor entrance. We were able to go ashore and explore the town.

Wednesday we slowly made it back into the harbor to another reef anchorage, Ensenada Dakity(18.17.51 65.16.83) where we are still comfortably anchored in calm waters with the wind still blowing hard. This is a beautiful spot and a fine place to hole up for a few days. In the meantime, the ferries have stopped running and we are waiting to see how Rick and Irene are going to get back to San Juan for their flight on Sunday. They arrived by air in a puddle jumper so it may have to be the same way out.

Welcome