24 hours after their arrival, they still exhibited good sportsmanship and in spite of lousy internet connections they made do and were able to plug Dmitry's head into the financial reports from NYC. The man is a workaholic!
Sunday morning, bright and early, we made a spectacular exit from Chaguaramas Bay. We headed out to the clearer and cleaner Caribbean, only to have both engines sputter, cough and quit in swells about 3 feet, hitting us on the beam and rolling us from side to side. Never mind the 48 cans of beer which escaped from the the fly bridge refrigerator to roll all over the deck making a fearful racket. The guys were down in the engine room doing the filter change and priming thing, in wretchedly hot conditions, pitching to and fro, while we were slowly but surely drifting toward a dramatic rocky coastline with crashing waves, and the mountain soaring straight up. They didn't complain, but I think the Babayev's may have been losing a little confidence in the Captain, Crew, and Kingdom.
However, there is nothing that My Captain can't fix, and eventually we were underway again, to an overnight anchorage in Abercrombie Bay, located on the north shore of Trinidad. Of course, we had the torrential Murphy's rain squall to anchor in, but when the rain stopped it was a really picturesque little bay, with a nice beach, and tons of Trini-daddies and Trini-mommies with all the Trini-kiddies playing and swimming and jamming to the loudest music we had ever heard, just 100 yards from our spot. Oh well, if you can't lick 'em join 'em, so we spent the afternoon floating in the water, drinking Carib (the local brew), doing a bit with the snorkel and fins. Paige and Dmitry kept jumping off the fly bridge deck, trying to out-cannonball each other. Murphy had his way with Dmitry this time; he managed to plug up his ear on one very deep submerge, and he lived with the painful results for the remainder of the journey. However, Russians apparently suffer in silence, unlike us Italians!
High Diver Paige
Sunset at Abercrombie Bay
The jaunt across to Tobago was an easy one, and we arrived in Scarborough early to send Walt off to handle the customs and immigrations chores, while we once again jumped in for a swim and some liquid refreshment. He returned with a bruise to his composure, having been rebuffed by customs for not having brought the proper clearance forms from Trinidad ashore with him (Murphy strikes again!). This necessitated an immediate return via dingy to the hot, dusty, long walk on the streets of Scarborough to sort it out with them again. We decided to venture ashore for dinner, and according to our guide book, would find a great restaurant (The Donkey Cart Restaurant) within a 15 minute walk through the "old" part of town, just up the hill. Remember, it's 80 degrees, with 80% humidity, and at dusk the mosquitoes are hungry. It was a 40 minute walk, and we all had so many bites it's a wonder we didn't get Murphy's Dengue Fever.
If it can go wrong, it will go wrong, so of course after we all turned in for the night, the seas picked up and tossed and rolled us more than the little cradle swing we had promised our dear guests. Come morning, and still a bit too unsteady to fix a proper breakfast, we made ready for a fast get away. Mt. Irvine Bay was just a short hop, and is a picturesque setting with a great beach and a funky little shore restaurant. So we headed over; hot, thirsty and hungry. We thought we should avoid the swimming area, so decided to drop the dingy anchor off the stern and tie the bow to a palm tree on shore; usually a great way to secure a dingy when the water is shallow and you just hop off and walk ashore. Murphy somehow managed to untie the line to the anchor, so unattached, irretrievable there is sat on the bottom, in the middle of a garden of sea urchins. So we left the dingy bow-in at the beach, tied to the palm tree. After lunch, we came back to a completely swamped and very heavy Zodiac. Every wave had splashed over the stern, and filled it up to the brim with sand and sea water. My Captain was not happy! It took all our strengths to maneuver it back to deeper water, re-float it and get it pumped out...We went back to Kingdom, and drowned our sorrows in more Carib, and rested our aching arms.
Oh, what an evening we had, poker fans! Dmitry is such a good "Texas Hold-Em" teacher, that Rookie Walt won the pot! A few rain squalls, and a change in wind direction gave us another "swell" night, and our guests in the VIP stateroom began sleeping in separate beds to finally catch some zzz's.
Poker Tournament in progress
Our next stop; Man O War Bay, sounds much more ominous than it really is, in fact it was so peaceful and calm, all the restaurants in town were closed! Our only visit to the village was a quick beer at the cab shack, and rain squall for the dingy ride back to Kingdom.
We found this mermaid on our foredeck - didn't know they wore "shades"
Paige and Dmitry smooching at "The Donkey Cart" restaurant in Scarborough, Tobago
We finally experienced the "ahhh" we were looking for when we arrived in Anse Bateau the following morning. The water is crystal clear, the little bay surrounding the quaint resort is protected, the little town has adequate services and amenities while maintaining the local flavor.
Paige snorkeling along the reefs at Anse Bateau
We had lunch at the "Tree House" restaurant, which is actually perched in huge trees, cantilevered over the beach. Our lunch of fresh lobster and seafood creole style was out of this world. When it came time for dinner we were all still too stuffed from lunch to enjoy the hospitality and fine dining at the resort, which we had been looking forward to for a week!
Luncheon at the "Tree House"
Our suntanned guests - P&D
View of KINGDOM at anchor in Anse Bateau Bay, from the cliffs overlooking the reefs.
From Anse Bateau, we motored back down the Eastern side of Tobago to Scarborough, to clear out with customs and immigration. After taking care of the official tasks, we, then ran around the southern tip of the island to spend the night in Store Bay, prior to making the passage back to Trinidad the following day.
Trinidad and Tobago hold "The Great Race" every year, a run of "pirogues" open high powered brightly painted wooden or fiberglass local style fishing boats. They run full out from Chaguaramas, Trinidad the long way around, and end in Store Bay, Tobago. We arrived in Store Bay the evening before the race began. The bay was packed with spectator boats, and the beach, resorts and streets were packed with revelers, various styles of music blasted from flatbed trucks, at deafening volumes, most of it CRAP (Caribbean RAP). It was too intimidating for 4 tired old salts to bother with, so Paige tuned in Nora Jones, Frank Sinatra, and Harry Connick and we "limed" our evening away playing scrabble, and drinking champagne. We were disappointed not to see hordes of pirogues blasting past us in the opposite direction during our return to Trinidad the following morning, but we were blessed with more dolphins, and calm seas as we headed back to tie up at our marina (in another rain squall) and prepare for Paige and Dmitry's departure in the morning.
Murphy ruled the voyage; if it could go wrong it did go wrong! I'm begining to believe Murphy lets no good deed go unpunished too! Yet, something tells me Paige and Dmitry had a wonderful time anyway. I know we did, and we hope they'll give us another chance to show them how good it can be. We miss them! and they are welcome anytime!
In spite of our threats to hide their passports, cancel the taxi driver, and forget to set the alarm, they managed to sneak off and make their flight back to the states at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m. Go figure???
Since this posting has been in the making for almost a month now, we will update you all on the latest developements in our next blog. Stay tuned for news on the international fuel crisis which has now resolved in less than satisfactory ways, and our current stay at Peakes Boatyard and Marina where we currently have the boat "on the hard" for its annual bottom painting, general maintenance, and some refitting.
Love to you all,
Walt and Susan
