57) 3-1/2 nm West of Barbados

Saturday 12.24.05 229pm               

13° 10.452 N 59° 41.910 W

3-1/2 nm West of Barbados 

Barbados is an independent state and easternmost island of the West Indies.  It lies east of Saint Vincent and the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.  The island is 21 miles long and 14 miles wide at its widest part and has a total area of 166 sq miles.

I woke up soon after sunrise and got the scuba gear ready.  I needed to cut the line from the prop so we could get in to port.  We weren’t sure if the engine and transmission were going to work and just hoped for the best.  I was looking forward to the swim and the 88° water was fantastic!  Even though I was wearing a wetsuit for abrasion protection it still felt great.  I need the protection because in order to get leverage sometimes I have to grab the keel with my legs while holding the prop and cutting with a knife.

 

First thing I did on my dive was a quick look at the prop and then a dive to the bottom at 35’.  I looked up and took some shots, looked around at the flat lifeless bottom and then set to my task.  I cut the line that was around the blades and then unwrapped it fairly easily.  It was the large Genoa sheet and about 25’ long.  The odd thing was that there was another line of about 3/8” wrapped around the prop shaft.  That line was easy enough to remove by unwrapping after the initial cut.  It was about 20’ long.  

They say that a moving boat doesn’t collect growth.  We managed to collect a huge amount of small things attached to the hull and this was from just overnight!

The image above depicts the short trip from the anchorage to the deep-water commercial harbor.  That was an experience.  They say come on in and park over there but it’s not possible due to obstacles, wind, and sea monsters… 

 

We had to go to the deep-water commercial harbor because that is where customs is.  We had the hardest time finding a place to tie up to.  This harbor is specifically for large cruise ships and freighters.  There was no way we could tie to the dock in front of the customs office and we ended up parking behind the giant white chunk of floating luxury. 

Amor Fati is tied-up to the left, which is aft of that big white office building.  Look closely we are there.  We had a very difficult time making fast to the dock.  For one, the bollards are the size of small garbage cans, the wind blew us off the dock, our fenders were useless because the wall was so high, the attached giant freighter bumper wanted to taste small boat wood and glass.  While we were maneuvering a security guard was watching us.  After tying off and running back and forth to trim the dock lines he comes up to me and says we have to move.  I said, come on after you just watched how hard this was?  He said the cruise ships are taking extra security measures after 9/11.  We agreed to move the boat 60’.  In that move we hit the bumper and gave up the wood tax.

  

To the left is the track of the boat while we were docking behind the cruise ship.  We really did make that many approaches.  Now that we were tied up we had to make it to customs.  The walk thru the secured yard was interesting.  Where are the tires for that new car?

  

We arrived at the same time that 2 cruise ships were unloading walking cash.  At the entrance to one of the cattle mills was a steel drum band on a trailer playing X-mas tunes.  We had been out of touch for a while and this was a reality slap.  The customs/check-in shuffle was entertaining.  The people were so nice but you had to keep going between the buildings and sometimes fill out the same form.  We found out that the fuel was closed and there was no way we could approach the one and only water hose.  We are low on diesel and out of water.

The sailboat above is the Gypsy Moth IV and is one of the most famous boats in the world.  It went around the world under the command of Sir Francis Chichester and the 5 boats of that name have a long story to tell. The current story is that the boat is sponsored on a round-the-world voyage that makes appearances, etc.

Our stop in Barbados was too brief.  We saw Nancy and Danielle, Alan’s wife, just coming in the big building when we were finishing with customs upstairs.  After getting to the boat they all made a food run and I stayed onboard.  Nancy came back with a $42 single bucket of KFC and I had to show serious restraint.  It was spicy and fantastic!

We all were ready to get on to Martinique and after the food and bottled water run we were off.  We figured we had enough diesel fuel since we sailed in for the last several days and bottled water would get us by for an overnight run.  Just about when we were ready to go the security guard came over and said get out of here because a freighter is coming in.  Uh, OK. 

Nancy found the time-out chair and the rest of us settled in for the 125nm run to the northwest.  We have a reservation to tie up at the marina where the hotel is where Clive and Rhonda are staying.  It looks like we will be there for 10 days!  Hallelujah!  By the time we leave there I will be breathing water and sand from diving so much.  I really wanted to dive Barbados and that just might be in a future trip to the Caribbean.