What's new?

By the time we sailed into Trinidad at the end of July we were greatly in need of many repairs. Fortunately, for us, we were in the perfect place for them and under-took several during the 3 months we spent there.
While still in Grenada we had to purchase a new dinghy. We also got our first cell phone (ever) there.
We sailed, almost without a single light, through the night to Trinidad. Once there we under-took repairs to the anchor and mast-head light as well as the steaming light.
We re-wrapped the spreaders and re-wired the VHF radio.
We had extensive canvas work done. Since it was raining every night we had hatch covers made. Our sail cover was rotted right through in spots, so a new one was ordered (ocean blue instead of white). As well, we replaced the UV protection on the genoa, also with blue instead of white.
We purchased 2 Mobri radar reflectors and a DSC VHF radio.
We installed side hand rails on the deck side of the dodger, both starboard and port.
We contacted Datamarine in the U.S. and they mailed us a replacement LCD module to repair our malfunctioning depth sounder.
We commissioned teak slats for our boarding ladder and a teak fender board to tie our jerry cans in position on the deck as they regularly wash overboard when the sea comes over the rail.
We freed up room in the cock-pit by strapping the life raft on to the stern rail and we purchased anti-fouling to be applied in December (after 18 months continually afloat), when we haul out in St. Martin to fly home.
Due to all the improvements and repairs we will leave Trinidad considerably poorer but much more "ship shape" and seaworthy than when we arrived.

The Bathing Suit Lady

When I left home 16 months ago I had 5 bathing suits on board. Due to the heat since February when we entered the Bahamas they have been the mainstay of my wardrobe while on board.
By the time we reached Puerto Rico I started an earnest search for replacement suits.
While still searching unsuccessfully in Grenada another "yachtie" told me of a seamstress in Trinidad who specialized in swim wear, at bargain prices yet. She embellished with details of how one could select and purchase one's own spandex for the suits, at discounted prices, from the huge selection in the many fabric shops in Trinidad. My heart was a flutter - could there be hope?
When we arrived in Trinidad we heard by way of the cruiser's net that the "sewing ladies" actually visited the marina there on a weekly basis - no searching for them -could it be that easy? When they arrived that week I was there to meet them and have happily enjoyed a wonderful relationship with them since.
The bathing suit lady's name is Debbie Otway and the stories I had been told about her were indeed true. She specializes in custom swim wear. She miraculously made a pattern from my 2 remaining, dry-rotted suits and made for me a one piece suit, 3 tankini tops and 6 bottoms. I will enjoy her brillant handi-work for months and miles to come.
Other garments are left to Debbie's friend, Bernice. She kindly custom made for me a sun-dress, 2 pairs of shorts and 5 t-shirts.
I feel like I have a new lease on life thanks to these talented women and will happily be singing their praises right up the island chain.

What's in a name?

As we travel along and meet other cruisers we enjoy asking about their boat's name.
Many different categories can be used for the names.
Some names are a combination of the names of those on board e.g. Lorraine and Graham on "Lorrigray".
Some names evoke greatness and are very noble or majestic - "Victory", "Perseverance".
Some names are mythical - "Nausicaa", "Rhiannon", "Veleda", "Frejya", while others are more perception - "Bliss", "Dream Chaser", "Sandcastle", and "Monet".
Some names pertain to actual sailing and cruising - "Slow Dancing", "Meander", "Sojourn", "Windswept", "Molasses", "Vagabond" and "Voyageur".
Some names are just fun such as "Puddle Jumper" or Bob's boat which is named "Good Time Charlie" while others are just too much - "Kindness to the World".
Some names are taken from nature such as "Southern Cross", "Jet Stream" and "Sea Star", of course.
Some names give hints to the Captain's former profession, such as "Psyche", "Remedy", while others hint at the owner's land of origin - "Ngoma" (drum beat that travels across long distances - Zimbabwe),or "Beothuck" (native people of Newfoundland). The best boat name, showing place of origin, we've seen is "Famous Potatoes". Can you guess where this American boat is from?
But, hands down, the gay couples seem to be the most imaginative with their boat names. We met the two men sailing "Grace". They professed to us to being a couple of Queens and they were from England. Definitely a perfect name.
We didn't see the other gay couple's boat but did hear that they were both former American Airlines employees - both had been let go. Their boat featured the American Airlines logo of the 2 "A"s in circles, with a slash through each one. The boat name is "Double Shafted". They are gay men.

Adding International Flavour to our Thanksgiving Feast

We never like to think that we're missing out on a turkey feast so we undertook hosting a traditional Canadian Thanksgiving dinner on board Sea Star.
We found a Butterball turkey, albeit halal (we believe meant for Muslims to enjoy), and even ingredients to make apple pies.
We enjoyed an excellent feast served in our cock-pit with 5 of our friends who added a true international flavour to the occasion: Robin & Sondra (Ngoma) Zimbabwe; Bob & Dawn (Kudana) South Africa; and our English gentleman friend, Neal (Dream Chaser).
We exchanged stories of traditions associated with celebrations in our different countries.
Gifts of a personal and hand-made nature were exchanged and we found we were not only thankful for the feast, but also for each other's company.

F1 Fans Being avid fans of Grand Prix Formula One racing, we make every effort to view each race and follow the sport on-line. Sadly, we had no way of knowing that a whole year of failed attempts lay between viewings for us. Sunday, September 30, 2007 was a momentous day as we watched (and I use that term loosely) the Japanese Grand Prix race. The last race we saw before this was in a bar in Annapolis, Maryland, one year prior. Many difficulties prevent us from viewing the races. Often we are not in an area with a satellite t.v. bar, or internet access, but sadly when we are the aggravation becomes even worse, for even though we are in a situation to see the race, the coverage is usually blocked as the viewing rights have not been purchased. Because of this we have now "learned the trick" of trying to catch a rerun, and that's exactly what worked for us in the case of the Japanese race. At 3 p.m. on September 30th the race came on to the projection screen in the bar at Peak's marina (Chaguaramas, Trinidad). Unfortunately the projector was not functioning properly and the colours were off - way off. The scarlet red ferraris were green (very green), the blue cars were black and so on. And, of course, there was no commentary as we were in a bar (lots of tunes to enjoy though). However, it was still a momentous moment for us. It far outranked our previous practice of watching the text unfold off of the BBC radio web-site, and we enjoyed it to the fullest.