Journal:

Tue, 22 Jan 2008

SVMOP:Sail: Keeping busy 01/22/2008 07:41

Ah, life on a boat, even in the Caribbean, is a lot of work when you have to do it all and pay for it all.

I have a worklist, some fifteen or more items long. Some of the items are not critical, such as: install the remote microphone for the VHF radio. Others are very critical; for example, stop the leak from the main engine sea water pump so that it doesn't fill the bilge to alarming levels every time I run the engine for more than an hour. Or, how about, the fact that the dinghy is coming apart at the seams, or the forestay (for the jib and a major structural elment of the mast is untwisted at mast top threatening to part.

As Kristen, my stepdaughter, is so good at reminding me: take a deep breath. Put order and priorities to what can be done when and what it immediately necessary (water in bilge). And.. don't wince when you have to pay the bills in boat units. One boat unit is $1000 USD.

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SVMOP:Sail: St. Lucia to Trellis Bay, Tortola, BVI 01/22/2008 07:39

Thanks to the hard work of my crew, Kristen and Pete,

we were able to launch Mother of Perl in St. Lucia in less than a week. Two days later, we had our sails on, provisioned and under way for 350 nm passage to Tortola.</p>

The first day was great. Seventeen knots of wind on the beam. We able to get our hoped for 7 knots velocity made good. If we could keep this up, we would reach the Virgin Islands in 48 hours, 9 AM on Frisday. But that wasn't to be. The wind dropped to five knots in the middle of the night. We began motor-sailing slowly, assuming that we arrive in

three days instead of two.

It qas nor meant to be. On the second afteroon, some 80 miles from the narrow reef bordered passage into the BVI's, the wind completely died and cross seas built. The seas were expected at the northern most Windwards, but the trade winds should have been 15 or 20, with sails preventing rolling.

We have a chartplotter and decent radar. I knew where we were going (Round Rock Passage) and could do visuals using the lights of the islands beyond to be sure we had Round Rock on our right. Rather than wallow in rough seas (and incure both the fatigue and stress on the rigging), we pushed the throttle up to 80% and drove on to island. We approached Round Rock at 1AM (0100hrs). Time drop all the sails. But no, the roller reefing jib was jammed. As we were fast approaching the passage, Pete braved it on the bowsprit in the dark, and unfouled the roller sheet.

Since we had to check in the BVIs the next morning we headed for mooring field outside Spanish Town. After making quite a din motoring around and shouting out to a late night dinghy rider, we discovered there were no moorings available. So on to Trellis Bay, about an hour away. No problem now that we were inside the protected waters of the BVIs. In fact, there were several free moorings. It was a familiar place. Bruce and Carole bought a mooring here for Mother of Perl. It was not to be trusted without daylight inspection, but we took an empty Moor Secure mooring right next to it. Next morning, the private mooring was brought back into service and we had moved to our old spot. Halleuia!

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