on our way

We had a successful launching on Monday afternoon and motored over to Cruise Inn marine. We ended up at one berth and then had to move to another which was a bit of a pain having had Kilkea tied up and plugged in already. We managed to get the main sail up that evening when the winds calmed and then early the next morning we put up the genoa and the mizzen sails. Lots of small jobs for the rest to the morning. At 1630 we had checked out with customs and immigration and left the dock headed for Grenada along with s/v Imagine. We were only five miles or so from the dock when Imagine called us to say they were having trouble with their cooling system on their engine and would have to go back to Trinidad. As it was just about to get dark we both anchored in a small bay and we agreed to wait there until they returned. They left early Wednesday morning to start the repair procedure. We expected it would take them at least two days to get the work done and if fact to took three. Now normally we have just traveled alone on most of our passages but right now in this area there has been two piracy events in December and coast guard is advising all yachts to travel in groups and travel at night and not to advertise your departure plans. Scotland bay is where we were and we made good time of our days there fixing the generator (impeller), fresh water system torn apart as well as a new toilet base in the aft head. We did manage time for a swim or two and otherwise just relax.

On Friday evening we left with Imagine around 1700. The weather was not great with winds that were in the 25-30k range and we were close hauled which means the winds were just off our bow. This means we were crashing through waves and taking lots of water on the boat. This together with the treat of piracy and having not sailed on Kilkea II for the last nine months and this all at night made for a no fun passage. We arrived at dawn in Grenada and were very happy to drop the anchor and have some sleep. The customs and immigration clearance was done in the afternoon and we ended up stopping by to have some pizza and salads at Secret bay and then some sleep. Now we can start to enjoy our  holidays here in the Caribbean. Today in the national holiday of Grenada and we are off to enjoy the celebrations.

The joy of owning a boat

We have been back in Trinidad and stayed at the motel for the first two nights then moved onto Kilkea II. We have been working ever since, mind you five hours a day is more than enough with the heat. Our life is living about ten feet above the ground in a dusty boatyard, having to climb up an extension ladder to get onboard. Lot of exercise every time you need to use the toilet or have a shower. At least the facilities are good here at Peake's so no complaints. This is the price you have to pay to have those idyllic days at anchor watching a beautiful sunset. Soon we hope to be able to do just that. 

We have been back here for twelve days and tomorrow (Monday) we will be back in the water.. We will go to Cruise Inn and spend some time putting up sails and making sure all the other systems on Kilkea II are in working order. It will be a busy few days. In Trinidad it is Caravel and most businesses are running at half speed. There are lots of parties every night from steel bands to contests to decide who can make to most elaborate costume. We went, with some other cruisers, to the king and queen competition. The outfits were amazing with some being thirty feet tall and the same wide! Very colourful and all being judged by a group of maybe twenty or so judges. We arrived at the stadium, which is built just for this, at seven and left a midnight and they were still more competitors left but we had had enough fun for a night.

We have had some very good new in the last couple of days with our good friend in Gig Harbour, EG who had a heart attack in December along with a cracked skull, which he suffered at the time, has had bypass surgery and has just arrived back at home. The other good news was from Doug who has received a clean bill of health. I think we are all getting a little bit older??

Well we are excited about getting back in the water and the boat is nice and shiny and looks good. We still have no idea on our future plans but will share them with you as soon as we know ourselves. Sailing to Europe/south pacific, just staying in the Caribbean, selling?

Back on Kilkea II

We arrived in Trinidad on Wednesday late afternoon. Rather than try to go onboard Kilkea we booked into the marina motel which is very basic but after ten hours and a all night flight it was the best idea. We did not even go onboard but did do a walk around and rather that being rather dirty she seemed to be just as we left her eight and a half months ago. Wow that is the longest we have been separated for the last ten years.
After a quick dinner and a good sleep we got a ladder put up to the stern and climbed up. The decks were dirty but the interior was in perfect shape and the air conditioner was still purring away so nice and cool inside. We spent the rest of the day washing the decks and now have a sort of clean boat. We have run into friends already who have their yachts in Trinidad and are getting them ready to go sailing. We will do some waxing and have the bottom painted next week and hope to be in the water by the end of the week. This is the not so fun part of owning a boat but we will have some warm water and white beaches to look forward to in the next few months.

A Very Merry Christmas to all...

We would like to wish all of our many friends a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Our house renovation is complete but as in all things it took much longer than we anticipated. We are very happy with the outcome and are enjoying the new kitchen. The big news for us is the addition, on December 6th, of a new granddaughter Emma in Calgary. All is fine there and we are expecting to have her and her brothers and dad and mum over in Vancouver for a week over Christmas.

We are counting the days before we head back to Trinidad to relaunch Kilkea II and and head out for some sailing through the Caribbean for the rest of the winter. It will sure be nice to be back to warm water and sunny days. We still have not decided on our future cruising plans but as long as we are having fun we might as well keep doing it. Once we get back to the boat I hope to start blogging more on our adventures.

Fall on the west coast

Fall has arrived on the west coast and the leaves are starting to turn colour. Our renovation is still ongoing but we have hopes of having it completed by mid Oct.

We still have not made any decisions on our cruising plans for the future? I had thought that by being home for awhile that an obvious answer would pop to mind on what dreams we want to fulfill but they have not. We will see how we feel when the bad weather starts to roll in and the temperature drops. Will the lure of warm days with sunny skies and warm water of the Caribbean beckon our return and kindle our sense of adventure for distant shores? We will sail from January until May and maybe by then will have an answer to our questions? Maybe not! We always talked about how wonderful it would be to visit Sweden and Denmark?

up the west coast

Well we are still alive and I see we have not put out any information for a couple of months. The house has taken up most of our time along with dealing with some family issues and we did not get away until the end of July. Our power boat Kilkea started up right away and all the systems checked out and we set off for a three week holiday up the west coast to an area called the Broughton archipelago which is about 150 to 200 miles from Vancouver. No roads up here or towns just beautiful fiords and mountains. The fishing has been good and we have met up with some old cruising friends in this part of the world. We will be back at the house towards the end of the month and hope to have all the restorations finished by the end of September. We hope!!! Otherwise we are well and looking forward to getting back on Kilkea II in Trinidad and heading out somewhere? This is just a short note so everyone will know we are still out here and doing well.

Life is easier on the water than land.

A couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday we found we had a hot water leak in our crawl space under the house. It had steamed up the whole underside of the house and we had to have the restoration people in to start the fix up. We left on Thursday for Calgary and had a fun week with the grand kids and parents over there and hoped that when we returned the house would be fixed up. No such luck as we arrived back to most all the flooring being pulled up in the kitchen and hall ways on the main level and all sorts of noisy dehumidifiers, heaters and fans running. Now it is a complete rebuild of the kitchen and seeing we are at that we might as well do all the bathrooms. Now the irony is not lost on us that we felt the boat was a lot of work to maintain but compared to this it is a piece of cake. This will keep us busy for most of the summer but will not stop us from getting out on the water here for a month or so, that is if I can get some time to get it up and running. Oh well it is fun to have projects on the go.