On Wednesday we were able to collect the alternators in St Johns and replace them on the engine. It turned out that they did need a refit and was the cause of the earlier problem that started the whole chain of events.
Yesterday an electrician came and checked the system. All was well except for the starting solenoid which was replaced. We expect to be leaving the marina today.
Tuesday 26th February
We are safely tied up at the Falmouth Harbour Marina in Antigua. We arrived here on Sunday after quite a week in Ilses de Saintes, which is part of Guadeloupe. Our week there started off well with a good sail there from Dominica. Then the battery charging system started to act out of order, with little or no charging voltage. We were also having problems with the starting circuit. So it was decided to put on the spare alternator. This proved to be not the problem, including various other changes, such as a new voltage regulator. There is a separate solenoid in the starting circuit which would start the engine when the key circuit failed. The final time it was used it must have stuck in the on position and the engine starter would not shut down with the engine still running.
A tennis ball in the engine air intake finally shut down the engine but not the starter which caught fire. A dramatic moment with lots of smoke, and, fortunately it must have finally shorted itself out and the acrid smoke finally cleared. We did have a spare starter motor which I spent most of the next day installing. However this left us without our normal means of generating power except for the wind generator. The good news was there was lots of wind that if we were careful we could do most things except run the refrigeration only occasionally, the bad news was that the wind was too much to sail.
Finally on Saturday we were able to leave for Deshais in Northern Guadeloupe. However, starting the engine to get in and out of the anchorage involved bypassing the starting circuit by using a piece of heavy guage wire to manually connect the power to the staring solenoid to activate the starter and consequently the engine. This is a precarious operation with lots of sparks. Practice made it less so.
By Sunday the window was really good with 15 knot easterlies, so we had a great sail to Antigua. The marina is used mainly by very large yachts and involve a stern to mooring system. Piquet does not back up well and it was quite a dramatic time finally getting in without colliding with one of these multi million palaces.
Monday we were able to contact a possible company to repair the system. The alternators were taken off to get checked out and delivered to St Johns, the capital of Antigua, by means of a rental car. Harry and Claire arrive this afternoon so we will at least be able to tour. The marina is able to supply us with power and water, but they have no showers so we are looking at cold ones on board as the engine is used to heat the water.
Peter also managed to spill a boiling cup of tea on his foot causing a nice blister. Not a good week. At least we are now in a place to get help.
Monday February 18th
We made the crossing from Dominica to Ilse de Saintes this morning. Had a good sail but the ocean was a little like the proverbial washing machine.
Sunday February 17th
We are anchored off the Castaways Hotel on the West coast of Dominica after anther 10 of a sail from Martinique. The Admiral disagrees as the seas were too rough. She described them as 3 stories in a phone conversation whereas in truth they were no more than 12 feet - one story.. We averaged 7 knots and made the 56 miles in 8 hours.
In the anchorage yesterday at Fort de France was the sail training vessel Ocean Star. This vessel was built by Howdy Baile at Marine Metals as was Piquet. In the 17 years we have been sailing Piquet this was the first time we had ever anchored with another Marine Metals boat. We had a very pleasant VHF conversation with Simon the Captain this morning who gave us an open invitation to visit. Maybe we will share a spot again.
Saturday 16th February
We arrived in Fort de France, Martinique, today after a great sail across the 25 mile stretch between it and St Lucia. The wind was at 60 apparent and we were hitting 8 knots most of the way with occasional 9's. It felt good.
We tried to check in but being the "le weekend" there were no officials in sight. So with the aid of a taxi we went to the very large Carte Four store and bought supplies, which included cans of Duck le conft - only in France.
We are now back on the boat and will head for Dominica and the Saintes on Monday.
Thursday 14th February
Last week we made our way the short distance from Marigot Bay to Rodney Bay on St Lucia. We anchored out for a day, inspected the propeller and found nothing wrong. We have a good contact here, Egbert Charles. He is a very skilled mechanical and electrical technician, and he knows who to call if he cannot fix a problem. He now represents Volvo and Northern lights generators here. He brought in the Yanmar engine person Alwin Augustin to analyze our smoking engine problem. We first took the boat back out to the anchorage and had the bottom and propeller cleaned.
Then on Saturday Egbert used his machine to clean out our "cheap" Trinidad fuel. Alwin could not come until Tuesday when he tested the cooling, adjusted valves, etcetera. The engine sounded good. We were hoping to do a sea trial that day but the winds came up and we had to wait until Wednesday when the result was better but still overheating and smoking at higher RPM's. We have contacted the propeller people in the UK as we now believe that we are over propped. The boat has not had to engine into 25 knot winds since being installed. In the meantime it is blowing like stink - 25/30 knots with 15 foot seas, so we are having to stay put until about Saturday for things to calm down a little.
We will then move on to Martinique with a schedule to be in Antigua by the 25th to meet Harry and Clare. In the meantime we have been enjoying St Lucia - very nice.
February 4th St Lucia
We arrived today in St Lucia traveling from Beqia and are presently moored in Marigot Bay. The trip was not too bad. We left Bequia at 06.30 when we had reasonable light. The first part of the sail is across a 10 mile stretch to St Vincent. It was a good one even though we were hard on the wind. The next part is a motor trip up the lee side of the island which is quite beautiful. The third part is the hard one. The Northern end of St Vincent is dominated by a very large volcano that reaches about 3600 feet. The winds become unpredictable with big gusts. Then, as you reach the open sea to head across the 30 mile stretch to St Lucia you get a taste of what the day has to offer. For us it was 25 knots of wind hard on the nose so that we had to sail off from our direct route. It all ended well and the wind went down to about 15/20 as we approached the southern end of St Lucia with the dramatic Pitons rising out of the ocean. We arrived in Marigot Bay at 17.30, too late to check in, but with still one hour of daylight.
Last Monday we went from Cariacou, Grenada, to Clifton on Union Island, St. Vincent, a distance of only 6 miles. However, by the time you go through the procedure of immigration and customs in one country and likewise on entry into the other, a whole day is shot. On Tuesday we had light winds and motored to Bequia, one of our favorite islands. Bequia was where we finished our circumnavigating in 2/06. Our first night ashore was a sea food pizza at Mac's. The next day we explored and had lunch on the veranda of the Frangiapani Hotel. On Thursday we walked across the island to Spring, a good cardio exercise. Friday we realized one of Karen's desires and sailed to Mustique with a good reaching wind. Mustique is a private island with very exclusive residences that cost mega bucks occupied by the rich and famous. They stay very hidden. The anchorage had a big roll and we were glad to leave and go back to Bequia for a night and check out on Sunday.
One note about the weather. This is normally the dry season. However there has hardly been a night when we have not had to get up and close hatches. Karen does this as she is a much more sensitive sleeper than Peter. The good part of all this rain is that every island is still very green. That was our week. We are really getting into the cruising mode. We expect to be in Martinique next week after a stay in St Lucia.
Having completed their circumnavigation Peter and Karen are now sailing in the Caribbean. Details of part of their circumnavigation are available HERE
