Chaguaramas

The Customs and Immigration offices are conveniently located near Crews Inn, the hotel and marina complex in one corner of the bay. This is easily identified by the lighthouse style structure above its restaurant. For the dingy dock, turn right just before the lighthouse. Checking in is best done in office hours or you have to pay an overtime penalty. You just arrived.....RIGHT!

Buoys are around US$ 8 per night and they come to you for payment.

After a week or so of settling in, finding supermarket, ATM, pricing boat parts etc, we went to inquire about getting Artemis hauled out at Power Boats and Peakes. We chose Peakes as the yard was smarter, great chandlery, new beautiful toilets/showers, a small beach and staff that couldn't be more helpful. 

Artemis being hauled out...note the keel, was white!!!

In the trailer after a power wash...a bit better!

Our time in the yard was extended by 1 week to 3 as Alison was full of cold and promptly handed in her sick note, tut! Never mind but after the 3rd week we were glad to get back in the water.

Work carried out was as follows:-

Waterline raised and new bottom paint applied...after sanding

Max Prop serviced

Boom re-riveted 

Jib and main sail repaired

Steering serviced with new parts (parts made at the machine shopping site)

New toilet fitted

Spray hood re-stitched

Topside polished

More anchor chain and shackles purchased....chain marked for depth

Engine fully serviced

Lil' Arty repaired (dinghy)

Fitted new solar regulator

Modified Bimini for catching rainwater

Two second hand gas bottles acquired

Numerous smaller jobs......

The first 4 jobs were done by the yard...we did the rest....phew!!!!

Artemis after all the work....lovely!

Going back in the water....yippee!!!

After our busy time in the yard we motored to Scotland Bay for 10 days peace and quiet, whilst the Carnival was in town. Not exactly as planned...the world and his wife turned up. Local people arrived in every conceivable boat, getting dropped off and making encampments in the trees, on the shore, bringing everything they needed for an extended stay....tents, food, drink, gas bbqs, fishing equipment, music (with powerful speakers), generators etc. Power boats were zooming in & out, Jet Skis round & round and twice a day the party boats appeared for an hour or two with their DJs blasting out the latest beats.

Scotland Bay...before the crowds!

One night we were awoken by the Customs launch and interrogated at torch point (1:30am). Apparently we should have informed the Customs Office that Artemis was out of the water, back in the water and our visit to Scotland Bay.....yes sure!

Anyway, back to Chaguaramas we marveled at the oil platform ships coming in and out and the oil/ petrol slick that was mucking up my hull...lovely! Actually the ships were good!

Lots of ships

We listened to the Cruisers net every morning on ch68, socialized at Bbqs, jam sessions and informal sundowners outside Power Boats restaurant/bar. We caught the bus to the Port of Spain finding some interesting shops, especially fabrics and sewing machine parts, and Price Smart...wholesale shop where we stocked up with provisioning.

St Valentines dinner...thanks Miles xx

New Year...New Destination

After New Year it was time to head for Trinidad, to get Artemis lifted for new bottom paint and other repairs necessary.

We weighed anchor 11/1/17 and motored back down the Paramaribo River...wind on the nose! We could see from the river all the parts of the city that we had visited on land...very nice! We anchored at the same place (before the mouth of the river) as we did on the way up and after a relaxing afternoon and a good nights sleep, we left Suriname for Trinidad.

The first day sailing was good but on the night the wind increased dramatically, so we reefed to keep control, however it was uncomfortable with the waves slapping on the side. The next day was a bit slow to start with but the breeze picked up and by the afternoon we were doing a nice 6 knots which continued through the evening and night. On day 3 we hit 3 squalls, sea 2 meters, 61/2 knots....reefed down. On the evening of day 4 we had to do something drastic to get back on course as the current and wind had conspired to push us westerly. It seemed that all roads led to Venezuela, which we definately didn't want to go anywhere near due to the instability and reported pirate attacks. There was only one thing for it......motoring north into the wind and swell for 15 hours. We hit a city of squalls! They were all around us but we could see which ones would hit and which would miss. 

Whilst in Suriname, we had bought some waterproof outdoor material and fashioned a hood extension/Bimini with the help of a pole across our backstays. This worked remarkably well for a first attempt and protected us from the sun and rain. An added bonus was that we couldn't stand up under the boom because of it, so no chance of knocking our heads.

Artemis was behaving like a hobbyhorse, dunking her nose then tail into the sea, ocean cascading down the decks....great fun...not!

Once sufficiently northward, we were able to alter course and start sailing again. Close hauled but the sea a lot calmer. We both felt exhausted! We enjoyed good sailing, however being close hauled all the time makes you ache as the boat is heeled to one side, so you are continually bracing yourself.

By day 6 we were able to change course to a beam reach, with 55 miles to go to our waypoint (just after Galera Point, Trinidad).

Day 7 Turning between the Islands..Tobago on one side (in the distance) and the north of Trinidad to our port, we motored as the wind was yet again against us. The wind, current and tides here combine to give the strangest sea we have yet seen. Short and spikey, surging this way then that, similar to a boiling cauldron. Deepest cobalt blue, the colour turning to green as we turned to navigate the narrow pass between mainland Trinidad and Monos Island (on the chart as one of the Dragons mouths). The seas power is very strong here and increased our revs to keep a steady course avoiding Chapeau Rock (wrongly marked on Navionics charts as underwater.....Not the case!!!). We passed Scotland Bay, a popular anchorage but not permitted if you haven't checked in at Customs/Immigration first. A little further to Chaguaramas. We motored around the corner, very wary as there seems a lot of places...boatyards, marinas, industrial docks and ships that service the oil platforms to the north and west....such a small area!

Trinidad 

The passage to Chaguaramas  

View from Artemis, the 2 boatyards, Peakes to the left and Power Boats to the right

We found one of the two remaining anchor buoys and finally relaxed midday. We chose not to anchor as Internet reports and cruisers we had met said that the anchorage bottom is very foul with ropes, nets, chains, sunken vessels etc...