Thank - You sail

Curtis Helming on the way out.

As promised to those who came along, here are my meager efforts with snaps.

Al posing

 After hoisting a full suit of sails 'Piano' really showed her heels. even though she has just had her 18th birthday!  In flat water she made a fair 8 knots.  This to the amazement of first time sailor Joel.

Graham taking it all in his stride while Joel looks on.

We all had a brilliant time, as did 'Piano', who almost made it to Venezuela!

Meanwhile here is Ian from 'Winchworks'  who also has a special relationship with 'Piano' so deserves a mention.
Let me know if I have missed anyone out and I'll update this blog.

Another week has flown by with Grahams team aboard to sort out minor items which the Captain is not happy with.  Falco found a minor problem, he disconnected a pipe which was feeding seawater into the exhaust elbow, discussed his reasoning with Graham who then took his advice and fitted a long pipe to vent the seawater from the exhaust and potentially the engine.
The main winches had made a ‘funny noise’ on the shakedown sail so were taken by Ian the winchman to be sorted out.  Curtis and Al came by to re-seat the Smart pilot processor.  Jimmy stopped by to screw a few more screws into place,  run a line of sealant around the kitchen sink and some cosmetic work in the cockpit. Dennis from ‘Goodwood Marine’ fitted a new battery to the B & G instruments processor.  Jim from ‘Shore Power’ meanwhile is procuring another switch for the generator so that we can run it without holding the stop toggle down.

Now for a sea-trial with Team Dynamite. We slipped at around 11 o’clock after a coffee and welcome aboard. Then motored out to set sails and fly down to Chacachacare then as the helm was enjoying it so much decided to continue around the island and before we knew it we were very close to Venezuela! Lunch on the hoof a simple meal of Coronation Chicken, rice and guacamole tortillas with a sour cream and spring onion dip. Everyone had a go at helming and for some (their first day aboard a sailing boat did extremely well!) Back to Crews Inn for tea and cheerio to a fantastic Team.

We managed to stay a few more days at Crews Inn until the Managers Christmas Party, in the square.  Live entertainment meant a karaoke session in which Malcolm sang, a short quiz of theme tunes from TV programmes, and of course disco music to dance to.  The food was international with a Caribbean twist and truly delicious. Rather a shame that the picture were naff.

   Wednesday no more excuses, we signed out at C & I, collected our papers and picked up the duty free allowance and slipped for Scotland Bay.  Here we prepared for an early morning cruise to Grenada.

  Up at 04.30 we motored through the Bocca and set sails.  Along the coast at first to make a good course for St Georges.  It was a fast sail, whether due to the rigg tuning by Jonas of the clean hull , whatever the sea was flat and ‘Piano’ showed her heels yet again.  A whole hour of over 7 knots put us at anchor off Grand Anse by 20.00,  Dinner and bed.

We had at least a week here shopping and meeting up with Dave and Jan S/Y Mistral, who suggested a jam session on the beach before they sailed on Christmas Day.  This was at a beach bar and lunch was available from the BBQ The guys on guitars were very professional and a great time was had by all.  Next day we sailed around to Whispher Cove and found many more of our old friends there.

Christmas eve we celebrated at Taffies Bar and watched the start of a Christmas storm.  The sky bloomed with natures light show, thunder lightning rain and wind.  This continued overnight and into Christmas Day.  Snug aboard ‘Piano’ we roasted a small Duck with Christmas trimmings and raised a glass to absent family and friends. 

Friday we went for Curry at Taffies and booked a place at the New Year Celebrations too.  Saturday we were invited aboard S/ Y Blackthorne Lady for a late lunch of Christmas left-overs.  Jacqui did us proud the food was sumptuous they company dazzling! 

New Years Eve saw us shopping with Patrick the maxi driver together with a dozen other needy yachties. All the major shops were covered, IGA supermarket, Island World and Budget Marine Chandleries, and a cash & Carry.  Once again stocked up we were able to enjoy our New Year Celebrations without too much to worry about.

  Having just updated this issue we sail for Carriacou tomorrow, winds have dropped so if the sea is quiet we should do it in a day.  

More emails as to the weather in the UK, keep the stories coming!