Simon's Caribbean Blog ... 1-15/2/18.

Simon's Caribbean Blog  ...   1-15/2/18.

As mentioned previously, it's our tradition to have visitors write a blog reflecting on their experiences aboard. Simon just sent us this summary .... maybe he was prompted into action by Stew and Paige's timely contribution ... we are still hoping that our darling daughter Tasha might take note and recall that she still owes us one!

22/2/18 

It is now a week since I left Mike and Gloria on Cotinga and returned to a somewhat grey and cold England. A week spent at work and catching up with friends and family; anything, in fact, to avoid writing this blog. Mike and Gloria had wanted me to write about my overall impressions of my trip prior to leaving but I was able to avoid this by taking a long hike up to the old and dilapidated lighthouse above Vieux Fort. I guess that I’m hesitant as I’m no Shakespeare and I don’t know the audience to whom I am addressing myself; making me cautious abut the content and (attempted) humor of what I would like to write. Back in England the relationship between Mike and his (ex climbing) friends, including myself, is often one of wicked teasing and torment which is not always appreciated in other cultures. Anyway, I am now sat on my own with Tom Waits playing in the background, a whisky at hand, a stove burning and no sea swell to deal with; so no excuses.

When I think about my trip I have a strong impression of approaching Cotinga for the first and the last time. On both occasions she was anchored in the same position,  just outside the wall or the small dinghy and fishing harbour at Vieux Fort in St Lucia. When you land in the Caribbean the heat, light and incredible colors of the Archipelago immediately assail you. 

I most strongly felt my adventures were about to start as I approached the yacht for the first time. Equally I felt they had ended as I sat in the Dumb Dog (Dog for short), as Mike and Gloria call their dinghy, on the way to dry land for the last time. I remember feeling sad to be leaving and thinking to myself that things had gone full circle. With a little reflection I prefer to view the journey as a spiral, full of new experiences and opportunities with a huge learning curve.

The biggest lessons involved coping with a very small and intimate living space while sailing in the huge expanse of the open sea; perhaps one of the closest experience to space travel that is available to us on Earth. Cotinga is beautifully formed and a well crafted boat of 46 feet. Mike explained that she was a “Rolls Royce” of the sea for a boat of this size and I was impressed by the number of, apparently, experienced sailors who seemed to confirm this in conversation.  6 berths and two toilets make it better appointed than my home and the imaginative use of space is very impressive; requiring a whole manual to remind M and G where to find things!

However space is tight in the cabin and cockpit , requiring a lot of consideration and patience  towards each other; this being especially true at cooking and meal times. Also being aware of other peoples locations was essential when occupying the cockpit in high seas; not always my forte given that I was not used to the movement of the boat and I am sure that Gloria felt anxious with a gangly and uncoordinated man aboard when things got rough.

Space restrictions limited the cooking facilities but superb and varied food was served with the exception of Mike’s Korean Noodles (which he blamed on faulty instructions J). (note from MHB: I suspect if I had read the instructions it might have helped! They were disgusting - we still have two bags in the fridge but can't pluck up the courage to try again!) Washing up and showering (with a hand pumped water spray also took some getting used to as we strove to manage our limited water supply. Fortunately our daily routine of suffering was eased at the end of the day by beers and cocktails on deck under the stars.

Undoubtedly the biggest learning experience was being at sea on a small yacht. There is no point in me repeating the details of individual passages as Mike and Gloria have already covered this in his blog articles. The daily act of sailing was a complex business upon which our safety depended. Initially I paid little attention to the process as Mike and Gloria are experienced in working together and my focus was on nausea avoidance. Once I realized that I could cope with sailing over reasonable distances and in increasingly challenging conditions I was able to focus more on the tasks at hand. These would normally start with Mike checking weather forecasts and routes; comparing guidebooks with navigation charts. This generally being followed by a discussion about suitable medication required for the predicted conditions! Getting the cabin cleared away and everything stowed preceded the task of lashing the Dog onto the fore deck; this required the removal of the outboard engine which was then hoisted onto the deck using a pulley system; sometimes a challenge with strong wind and Cotinga rolling in the swell.

On with the life jackets (modern and very compact, allowing maximum mobility), short reminders about emergency procedures and radio use, lifting the anchor, setting the main sail and motoring out of the anchorage/ mooring; eventually finding wind and waves beyond the immediate shelter of land.

I enjoyed cruising smoothly down the coast of Saint Vincent on a smooth beam reach which was smooth enough to encourage my to agreement to extending that days sailing to 55 miles; by far the greatest sea crossing I have done outside of an aircraft. I surprise my self even now by admitting my favourite days sailing was the toughest; involving the crossing from St Vincent to Soufriere in St Lucia. This was 40 mile trip in winds that gusted up to 30 knots, strong currents and big swells that created waves up to 10 feet high; all topped off by the occasional squall of heavy rainfall. Cotinga regularly cutting through the water at close to top speed; circa 8 knots. The sea certainly felt “mountainous” to me and Mike described this as some of he biggest sea that he had encountered during his sailing career; requiring the use of safety harnesses to attach us to the secure line/ points in the cockpit.  Watching a wave build in front of the boat so that it hid the horizon ahead was exhilarating. Cotinga seemed to climb to the top of these peaks with ease and more often than not could be steered/ surfed down the other side of the wave without too much impact as we hit the next trough. On the occasions that we drove more directly into the next wave a salty spray would wash over the boat casting rainbows to either side of us, while books and sundry items could be heard bouncing around inside the cabin.

There is something very satisfying in watching the trough stretch out behind the boat; especially when the sea was more organized and the troughs would look long and wide.

Countless flying fish and a barracuda that we caught on a trailing line, and later ate, provided occasional distraction. More significantly we experienced an engine failure 9 mile out to sea. This was not an immediate risk given that we could continue to sail but could have affected the choice and ease of finding a mooring/ anchorage. Mike remained very calm and was able to resolve things by changing the “water separator” and the fuel filter but this did leave me feeling incredibly dependent upon his skills and knowledge. I slightly uncomfortable sensation which struck me as a contrast to other adventurous activities (climbing and mountaineering) that I have undertaken with him, where risk tended to be managed between us.

I was fortunate in that Mike recognized my desire to be more involved in the sailing and had the confidence to allow me to try my hand at steering (sic) the boat and, later, driving the Dog. It was generous of him to let me try my hand during strong conditions when a number of yachts were also traveling along the same passage so came close to us despite the “open seas”.

Regular tasks were required to keep the boat sailing smoothly; Mike and Gloria working well together as a team to cover chores and maintenance.

Being relatively good at snorkeling I was happy to offer my services in trying to scrape barnacles off Cotinga’s hull in the expectation that it would improve our top speed!

Perhaps I need to bring this blog to a close as there are so many other subjects that I could write about that I will never reach a conclusion and I am a risk of boring myself; the turtles, fish and birds, the people, rap and reggae, poverty and wealth, showering in a warm waterfall, BBQ lobster in a beach side shack with no toilet. So many images and so many great memories.

To finish I must, once again thank Mike and Gloria for the opportunity to join them. The conversation and humor in the face of challenges was superb and the ongoing commitment to our friendship will be the most important gift that I have brought home with me. I’m looking forward to future adventures.

Lots of love to you both and best wishes on your continued sailing adventures.