At 6:25 a.m. on November 6, we watched the sun rise over the Chesapeake Bay from the window of our flight to Trinidad.
We landed in Trinidad at 3:30 in the afternoon, but after Customs & Immigration and a shuttle running late to get us, we didn’t arrive at the marina until 7:00 p.m. Thankfully, the marina has a building with several hotel rooms…and double thankfully, I had the foresight to book one for our first few nights.
The next morning we enjoyed our coffee on the deck in front of our room. We sat there for quite some time entertained by the boats being launched. There were two reasons we were not in any hurry to make our way to Right Hand. First, it was hot…I mean HOT! Even sitting in the shade with a breeze blowing off the water was hot, so we knew the boat yard would be terrible. Our second reason for lollygagging was the dread of what we might find. I have read many stories of people leaving their boat in storage only to return to mold, mildew, insect and rodent infestations…ugh!
I am super happy to report that once we did get up the nerve to go to the boat, we were pleasantly surprised by the interior condition! We saw none of the horrors I imagined. Aside from a little dust, and a few very small cobwebs she was in the same condition as when we left. Ahhh…what a relief! Since many people who receive this blog are boat friends, I will take a minute to tell you the prep steps that seemed to make a difference.
Clearly, the most important part of our prep was dehumidifiers. We placed two large units in the boat, and set the humidity level for 55. The unit in the main living space sat on the galley counter, and the drain went directly into the sink drain.
All furniture was covered with sheets, and all exterior cushions were stored inside.
All windows were covered, from the outside, to keep the harsh sunlight out.
The dehumidifier in the lower part of the boat (for bedrooms and bathrooms) drained directly out an open thru hull. Additionally, bronze wool was placed inside the hoses, and all exterior hull openings to ensure bees could not enter the unit/boat.
I was absolutely amazed that all of my ‘space bags’ still held the vacuum seal😳. All of the pillows, blankets, and bedspreads were still clean and fresh👍
I mentioned in my last blog the steps we took to remove all food items. The dry goods, left in the Yeti, survived the four months perfectly. Any canned or jarred food kept onboard was stored in a plastic Rubbermaid container in case something decided to leak, but all items were still in excellent condition. It was wonderful to come back to so much food, as groceries are crazy expensive here. To give you a comparison, ground beef is $15 per pound!
After several days of cleaning and organizing, we decided it was time for a little fun so we rented a car to visit a hummingbird sanctuary, Yerette. It actually turned out to be the garden of a lovely couple, but it was a spectacular experience. Keith and I were the only visitors on this day so we had the whole place to ourselves.
This is Theo, he and his wife own and run this property. Theo is a hummingbird expert, and he spent about 90 minutes teaching us about hummingbirds. There are 15 species that visit Yerette.
Hummingbirds are only in the western hemisphere, only in the Americas?
They are the #1 pollinators of the Amazon
There are a total of 366 species
The smallest weighs only 1.8 grams and is only found in Cuba
Their resting heart rate is 500 bpm, flying heart rate is 1500 bpm
They are the only birds that can fly backwards, upside down, vertical, and can hover without wind
If my count is accurate, we saw 8 different species during our visit.
After our personal lessons, Theo’s wife Gloria served us a delightful lunch with incredible views!
In Trinidad they have an easy term that is used to describe hanging out or relaxing with friends and/or family. That term is to Lime.
There were beautiful trees behind the boat that provided hours of entertainment.
November 18 was launch day👏👏👏
As soon as we got launched and anchored a mist descended down the mountain and created the most awesome low rainbow…icing on the cake!
Up to this point, I haven’t mentioned the elephant in the room, but now it is impossible to ignore. When we left Trinidad in July, it was impossible to predict how much could change in four months. During our time away, a huge destabilizing shift has come to the southern Caribbean. I was following the news in Trinidad and Grenada, and was a little apprehensive about what exactly we would find upon our return. We asked several Trinis about American sentiments, in light of the situation, and they assured us that we would be safe.
The headlines communicate the uncertainty and fear.
On our second day in the water we noticed a lot of military activity. We heard 8 or 9 loud explosions that morning, and had several military aircraft fly over us during the day. It was reported that U.S. and Trinidad forces were conducting practice bombing runs.
The strangest realization was that there were 8 Venezuelan fishing boats anchored near us at that time. While our boat was only 13 miles from Venezuela, I did not expect Venezuelan fishing boats to be here. The other strange thing was these Venezuelan fishermen were very friendly. They seemed intrigued by our boat and the workings of our systems. They sat of the bow watching intently as we used our crane to lower the dinghy, and gave us a thumbs up after we launched Alma🤣
This is how most boats in the Venezuelan fishing fleet look.
They are all flying a Venezuela flag.
The feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time was real! Luckily, the weather would allow us to leave Trinidad and travel to Tobago on November 21, so we visited the Immigration office for our dispatcho, and left Chaguaramas.
We moved only 4.5 miles away to Scotland Bay to stage for an early morning exit.
I think these guys liked our boat, because they flew over several times😳
We are currently anchored in Charlotteville, Tobago…96 miles from Venezuela. The orange dot is where Chaguaramas is located😬
Here’s your sign…just as we saw the island of Tobago this beautiful rainbow arch welcomed us.
Tobago has dolphins!! It has been a long time since we have seen 🐬 dolphins
As we passed the last rock face, before entering the harbor, we noticed strange mist rising. Upon closer inspection there were several blow holes in the rock.
This is Charlotteville, Tobago♥️
And this young man was our welcoming committee. He really wanted to tie our dinghy to the dock🤣
I have a good feeling about this island!
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