Footloose update
Posted by Mike Proctor on September 20, 1999 at 11:15:00:
From: Mike Proctor, Footloose PDQ36, hull # 34
email svfootloose@bigfoot.com
To: Kevin Smith s/v Phenix, PDQ32, hull #7
Kevin;
Thanks for the email. You ask about problems well we have had many. The latest
is we are having excessive corrosion with the Whitlock aluminum steering
quadrant. I need the plate that is bolted just in from of my quadrant. This is
the plate that the steering cables attach to. This plate has a pulley on one end
that the steer cable goes around before going to the quadrant. I have a hard
time with the description the block. The best I can say, it's purpose is turning
block. If you have on June 99 Cruising World the block is similar to the one on
page 77, just before the quadrant lower right hand corner. This block is
original equipment and has deteriorated because of exposure to salt water
The follow is part of our travels in the last month or so
Tobago West Indies 17 Aug - 9 Sept. 1999
We left Secret Harbour, Grenada at 3 P.M. on the 17th of Aug. Heading on a
course of about 145 degrees towards Tobago. The trip is about 85 miles long. The
wind was light so we were motor sailing into an ESE wind of less 10 knots. About
6 or 8 hours out the wind shifted to 150 degrees. Right on our nose. Then we
began to see a current from the same direction of about 2 knots. Using only one
engine we were making only 1.5 knots against the wind and current. We turned on
the other engine that boosted us up to 3.5 to 4 knots. We finally arrived in
Scarborough, the largest town about 11 am on 18 August. Cleared customs with no
problems. (Customs wanted to know the serial numbers of our engine, VHF radio,
and SSB radio. They also wanted to know how many flares we had on board and the
serial number of our flare gun.) After clearing we sailed about 9 miles to Store
Bay. Store Bay was only slightly rolly, excellent access to good food stands on
the public beach. There was a good grocery store about a mile away and good meat
market as well. We spent 4 days in Store Bay before we move off to Plymouth at
Great Courtland Bay. It is about 7 miles up the north west coast. Here there is
a beautiful beach about mile and half long. The beach is noted for nesting sites
for giant sea turtles. We didn't see any as they normal don't come ashore until
late at night. After we had been there a few days the fishermen ask us to move
our boat so they could lay out a net that went from one side of the bay to the
other. I would say it was a least a mile long. Nancy and I help pull the net in
along with about 20 other people from the village. It took over an hour to pull
in the fish net. I expected to see lots of fish. Well there were lot of fish but
they were mostly what you would use for bait, only about 3 inches long. There
were also 20 or so larger fish mostly common jacks and couple snapper and one
barracuda. It was a lot of work for so few fish. Nancy did find some nice sea
glass on the beach here. One piece is bright blue and quite pretty. We left the
next morning and head up the north west coast to beautiful tropical Englishman's
Bay. We had to anchor with a stern anchor out because it was a little rolly
there. It has an exquisite beach and no community. The beach is what you picture
the Caribbean to be. Lined with coconut trees and almond trees. Behind the beach
is forest of giant bamboo trees. The bamboo grows to heights of 80 to 90 feet
and was 6 or 7 inches in diameter. It was like being in a jungle. We follow a
wonderful cool fresh water brook about mile in the forest and came to a 12 foot
waterfall. In the brook were fish, crabs and crawfish. On the banks of the brook
there were hundreds of tropical plants and flowers. In the tops of the trees
there were tropical birds singing and flying. We saw hundred of parrots in the
area. They are very noisy birds. I guess we knew that. We snorkeled along coral
heads, it was pretty, but not any fish to catch. The second day we were there it
rained so hard that the brook became a river dumping mud and debris into the
bay. We had been able to see the bottom in twenty two feet of water but after
the rain you could not have seen the bottom in two feet of water. Logs and tree
trunks flowed out of the creek. Some bounce of the sides of the boat, but no
damage done. Other than muddy out pour from the rain, I would say that
Englishman's Bay is one of the ten best sites in the Caribbean. Not sure what
the other nine are. After a few days there were continued our trip on the north
west coast about 8 miles. The next place we stopped at was Charlottesville in
Man of War Bay. It was a nice anchorage but in deep water. We anchored in 40
feet of water. You are not allow to anchor near the beach as this is where the
fishermen bring in there nets everyday. Nancy and I help the fishermen pull in
there nets here also, hoping for a free fish. All they caught were common jacks,
which I don't care for. The beach was very pleasant. It had a small creek that
came down from the hills with fresh water in it. Someone had taken a piece of
six inch PVC pipe and place in the creek diverting the water into pipe making a
constant flow of water around 12 gallon per minute. I was a excellent place to
take a fresh water bath or to wash your clothes. The town of Charlottesville had
a fish cooperative where the fishermen sold there fish they caught in nets. We
got 5 snapper about 6 or 7 inches long there for dinner. The cost was about
$3.50 US. The fish we purchased, I would not have speared in the Bahamas because
they would have been considered to small. Also find a place to get diesel fuel
in jugs for a little less than a dollar per gallon. Had excellent fish and chips
lunch at a place called Sharon and Phebe's over at the edge of town. Lunch cost
$12.00 US for both of us, this included two beers and coke. Nancy found a lady
who allowed us to use her home phone to call the states and then have the person
we called call back saving us some money. Calling the states is very expenses
here. The next stop we made was about 7 miles around the north tip of the island
of Tobago.. We had to fight a strong current to get there. It was Anse Bateau
near Speyside this was are furthermost eastern port we have been. We anchored
off the Blue Waters Inn in about 15 feet of water in sand. But there were many
small coral heads around. You must be careful there. I dove the anchor to make
sure. The water in front of the Blue Water Inn was anything but blue. It was
much more like a pea green. The water was very difficult to see in yet in the
village of Speyside there were dive shops everywhere. Someone told me that water
was that color because of the Orinaco River in Venezuela, which flows 1,600
miles from Mt. Délgado Chalbaud, in the Guiana Highlands, to a very large,
marshy delta in the northeast. The volume of flow varies markedly with the
seasons. This muddy water gets into the southwesterly equatorial current which
hits the south side of Tobago and divides. Also the reason we had a 2.5 knot
current against us as we rounded the northern tip of Tobago. While in Speyside
we had lunch at Jemma's. It was OK but not great. While we were there Nancy and
I walked down a dirt road about six in the morning and saw some beautiful
tropical birds and parrots. The next port we had planned to go to was called
King's Bay. King's Bay is on the south east coast of Tobago and is only port
other than Scarborough on the south east coast. We had already been to
Scarborough and saw that wasn't very nice so we elected not go any further
Instead we left Anse Bateau and sailed back to Englishman's Bay for another 4
days. The last day were we there a swell developed and surf was crashing on the
beach so big we could not get our dinghy ashore. The weather said it was because
of hurricane Cindy, well to the North, that the swell was so great. From
Englishmen's Bay we returned to Store Bay. We got to Store Bay Saturday, seems
like the surf is up here also. The main beach has quite a surf on it but we have
been able to get a shore a smaller beach over a reef. Soon as we got here we
when shopping for groceries and rum. Good thing they have ATM machines here
Monday we took the bus to Scarborough to clear out. Then on Tuesday we sailed
off to Trinidad with the wind at our back and current with us, stopping for one
more night on the north coast at La Vache Bay before going into Chaguaramas. At
La Vache Bay we found some interesting caves, ledges and cliffs. It had been
raining before we got there and a waterfall was falling from a cliff into the
sea. We were able to drive our dinghy under the waterfall. It was quite
exciting. The next morning we when to Chaguaramas. This is where we hope to have
some work done on the boat and the bottom painted. Will be there for six or more
weeks. While in Tobago we had no problems with security, it was the first place
that we saw policemen carrying automatic weapons. We keep our water tanks filled
because it will rain nearly everyday. There was limited provisions, hard to get
veggies and supplies, we even ran out of rum for two days. There we no laundry
anywhere. Nancy had plenty of rain water and kept our clothes wash and rinsed
using a scrub board. Over all Tobago is clean, unspoiled, and beautiful, and the
people delightfully friendly
Last week we pulled into Coral Cove Marina in Trinidad. The first time we have
been at marina in over a year. We will be here for the next 30 days. Coral Cove
Marina has a computer web site you can see where are. Website:[/i]
http://www.coralcovemarina.com
PS We will not make to the PDQ Owners Association meeting this year as we will
still be in the Caribbean.
Mike and Nancy