Hi all
I have been told of my bad spelling and lack of punctuation but sorry thats the way
October has come and passed so I am due to
write up my travels for that month again but I am starting where I left off in
Lencois and we headed toward French Guyana
On the way out of Lencois the wind was very
strong and we hit fishing nets but I dived up and turned the engine into
neutral and Carlos turned the steering so we drifted off of them and were ok.
Well that was the beginning of the nets sagas and during the next 768 miles of
sailing I chose to sail on the 50m line and I admit it was a really big mistake
because it was a constant watch out exercise with fishing boats all around us
all the time and twice we had to motor nearly four miles to go around nets
across our path. I couldn’t just sail over them because I have the keel then
prop and then a skeg all of which can get snagged and will give headaches for
cutting away in the high seas.
Next time I will go over the continental
shelf and do the extra miles at sea just to avoid the fishermen, who were all
the way along the Brazilian coast and seemingly disappeared when we crossed
into French waters.
We arrived at the perfect time in the penal
island group of Isle de Salute (Papilion fame) and dubbed by Napoleon as
paradise in prison. I think the people sent there had no chance of being in
Paradise and checking the stats only 900 of all the prisoners sent there ever
made it back to France so Devils Island earned its name
The group are beautiful and the history was
wonderful to see and spend time on 
Devils Island Only
way onto the island was with the kayak
When we arrived we found some of our
friends there from Taurus and they gave us advice where to anchor. We
immediately put the kayak into the water and went onshore to explore the first
of the islands which was a leper colony and found it interesting.
We spent the next day there as well and
chilled before heading into Kourou to check into the country and well as always
as soon as I arrived we went ashore and on the jetty we met one or two of the
sailors who live on their boats on the jetty and headed off to Customs
Well we had been given good advice about
the busses but got it wrong anyway and instead of a no 3 bus we got on a number
2 and the poor driver tried to speak English to me but we seemed to miss it
over and over. So at a point he (the bus driver) told me we should get off and
walk the rest of the way (we thought it would be a short walk but it turned out
to be a serious long walk in 40 Celsius and Carlos was complaining bitterly so
he decided to hitch hike and once we were nearly there we got a lift but the
guy also only spoke French so he tried to drop us off at customs but we never
found it. As we were walking I decided to ask for directions and a young lady
working on her catamaran spoke English from behind her dust mask and wow that
was welcome. Anycase her boyfriend offered to take us there and as I was
climbing into the car I saw another cat and recognized the name Entheos and
quickly knocked on the side to see if anyone was at home. Well Bertie saw me
and that was the end Teresa came down and instead of the frenchies helping us
Bertie took us around and gave us a guided tour.
Carlos and Chris
Theresa Calipso and I at the birthday party
All the others at the birthday party
It was Teresa’s birthday so we were invited
to a party under the boats that night and of course we stayed without going
back to the boat. Carlos wanted desparately to phone his wife and kids so
Teresa put him on skype and we went walking to fetch ice and braai meat and
charcoal and other stuff when we came back we set everything up and after about
two hours Carlos joined us but so did every other person living on a sailing boat
in the town and the party was great with loads of laughing and fun until 2 am
in the morning
So the next morning it was back to customs
to try again but we failed because one of the ships had come up the river with
things for the launch of a rocket I into space so everything was focused on
that as Kourou exists for the launch site. And that afternoon we went to get
supplies and I was looking at the racks and a pretty French lady was next to me
so I chirped and she responded in English and soon I was introducing her to
Carlos and well sparks flew between them and Chris took us to another
supermarket which was cheaper and had more stuff so I was happy.
That night we all had drinks together and
stayed out late drinking and having dinner at a mobile kitchen and there we met
some of Chris’s friends who worked at the space station and she eventually
dropped us off sometime in the early hours of the morning and she had to go to
work the next day.
That evening she invited us to dinner at
her place and we agreed but when she came to collect us another party had begun
with all the yachties on the jetty for Adrians birthday so Carlos persuaded her
to stay and we enjoyed the evening on the pier with all the others. I had
decided we were leaving the next morning so Carlos and Chris went home and we
arranged that I would collect him on the jetty the next morning which I did and
we were off at 8.00am towards Isle da Salut again
Once there we met up with Barbera and
Christof again and spent the day exploring the islands again. While we were
walking around we felt like some coconut and Carlos tried to get us one from
the tree but failed and to my surprise Christoff just put a rope on his feet
and within seconds he was up the tree and throwing coconuts down for us like a
proper monkey. Carlos then taught us how to open them and get the milk and then
the white meat to eat.
Pics of the main island and then Christoff
in the tree and me eating the fruits of the adventure
It was great and I shared my coconut with
all the people around me and we enjoyed it a lot
The next day was Friday and I don’t leave
on a trip on Friday so we chilled much to Carlos disgust as he had checked the
wind and there would be good wind on Friday but not Saturday. However I was
adamant and we stayed and left the next morning in light wind and we sailed to
St Laurent du Maroni very slowly. Actually it worked out perfectly because at
0530 am we arrived at the river mouth and it was exactly where I wanted to be
because the tide was in our favour and we would be pushed into the river for
six hours. The 30 miles up river were great with the tide pushing us along with
the engine at 6 to 8 knotts and an hour before the tide swung we were 1 mile from
our destination. Perfect timing.
Sailing 30 miles up the Maroni river
towards St Laurent Du Maroni
We anchored and went ashore and met a whole
bunch of new yachties over happy hour drinks at 1 euro per beer and we were
informed by David the marina owner of all the procedures and we settled in
We walked around in St Laurent du Maroni
and looked at the history wth the connection to the islands and wow I am glad I
was not one of those prisoners again. The town is truly a reminder of French Colonisation
and the people are mostly of slave
decent and are friendly. The markets in all of these places I travel to are a
real treat and this was one of the better ones I have been to but the truth is
that almost all the people selling at the market come from across the border in
Albina in Surinam and trade with the French locals. Chinese control the
economies of both Albina and St Laurent because they work hard and they own the
shops and supermarkets . At the Market we were told to try the Mung soup offered
for sale so of course I did that and it was delicious so every market da after
that I went for soup. But also sometimes the Mung tribe had some small shops
and I would go and have food there as a treat
Albina is a town in Surinam and I took a
ride in a Pirogue three time over there to explore and each time was a new
experience. The place is thriving with all the French doing there shopping over
there because the prices are so much cheaper (non Euro prices) and the illegal
Brazilian miners come there for there pleasures and supplies when they come out
of the jungles so watching the goings on was funny even down to the vigilantes
guarding their space with semi automatic rifles so as to keep the Brazilian
miners identities from any photos and the price to those guys is gold
everything is paid in gold. Except for people like me who paid in Euros which
were happily accepted.
One day in the week one of the other guys came and told us all the yachties were
taking our dingies and having a picnic on the leper colony island and we should
bring our meat and food and join in so we did it was a five mile run for mrs
2hp each way but we made it and it turned out to be fun (this is the Island
shown in the movie Papilon when he was being ransferred)
Picnic on Leper Island
During the stay Carlos had invited Chris to
come and visit and she brought Bertie and Theresa with so she could have time
with Carlos and Bertie and Theresa and I could catch up while the work was
being done on their boat in Kourou. And it was during this time Carlos decided
that it was very important that he go home for his daughters graduation so we
sat down and discussed the trip to Tobago and when I was going to carry on. I
had decided I was going to spend my birthday going to see the launch of a
rocket into space at the space center and the graduation was on the 8th
of November so Carlos took a decision that he should travel home to Brazil from
French Guyana and miss the last leg of the trip to Tobago. And so when Chris
came down to visit him it was arranged that he would get a lift with her to
Cayenne and fly home from there and that is what happened. Bertie Theresa and I
had a lovely weekend together and Carlos and Chris had a good time together and
they all left together on the Tuesday. And that was the end of my crew
experience.
In reflection it was good for me having
Carlos as crew because he was willing to learn and I was willing to so him what
it was like to sail in rough and sort out problems underway as well as sail
really slowly with less than five knots of wind (that is when most other
sailors switch on engines but living slowly allows you to go slowly as well). I
enjoyed having the boat back for myself for a while and when Bertie and Theresa
came again for another visit a few weeks later Chris stayed with other friends.
I think also it will be a long time before I think of new crew unless I know
them as I have found I am difficult to adjust to.
After Carlos had left there were a couple
who were Americans at the marina and they suggested a Halloween party and there
was not even a squeak before it was arranged and the theme was orange and black
using things we had on the boat. Well it turned out a great evening with all of
us doing something and the cobb society came out with four Cobbs and we braaied
and I took music and we partied until late with Sameul and his friends joining
us and adding a local flavor for all of us
Barbera and Christoff showed us ballroom
dancing as well to add to the fun
Haloween party in St Laurent
Chris had told us about a cultural festival
and we all went together to see it even though David had warned us not to go to
that part of town. It turned out to be an interesting occasion meeting many new
people and two of them was Oceana and Camille a pair of gorgeous young ladies
having a blast. Chatting to them they didn’t know where they were staying after
and because Bertie and Theresa were sleeping outside the front cabin was free
and they were invited to lay there heads there. Bertie took the phone numbers as
I must say I never expected to see or hear from them again but at 4 am bertie’s
phone screamed into life waking us all and it was Oceana asking to take up the
offer for a place to stay, so I had to get up get into the dingy and go and
fetch the two girls and get them back to the boat. It was a big palava because
I had to give direction on how to get to the jetty and I didn’t really know
much about the town however between Oceana and I we made it and two giggling
ladies looked at the dingy and weren’t sure at first but got in and we were on
the way to the boat.
Oceana first had something to eat and then
the two climbed into the cabin giggled a bit more and passed out until about
9.30 am. When they woke I made breakfast for all of us and stretched the bacon
and eggs to small portions but with coffee it worked out. We chatted and I
found out that Oceana was the journalist for the Space center and Camille was
doing a thesis on local environment issues but both were very interesting and
confident ladies. After a short while I took them back to shore and walked them
to their car and they left to go back to Kourou. Bertie, Theresa and I spent
the rest of the day on the boat chatting and later Chris came to collect them
to go back to Kourou as well.
On the 10th I went to the launch
which entailed catching a bus to Kourou for two hours and going to a site 5 km
from the Launchpad and watching from there. Because the launch was after dark I
didn’t get many pictures but it was impressive even though I had seen one in USA
before. The wait for the bus after the launch was dragged out because we had to
wait for all the speeches to finish (two or three hours before they left and I
got back at 11.00 pm
The next morning I lifted my anchor at the
change of the tide and I was off initially I had decided to spend the night at
the entrance to the river but when I got there the current was in my favour so
I just carried on sailing to Tobago.
I too a decision I was going to sail slowly
to Tobago so I put three reefs in the main and a sliver of a genoa out ad was
going to leave it like that irrespective of how much wind I had and sail. Well
except for two incidences it was a fantastic sail, I had a fishing boat chase
me for miles and miles and I thought of Venezuela pirates but I started the
engines and with motor and sail ant 16 knots I outran then and eventually they
gave up and disappeared. Once out of sight I was over the continental shelf and
the wind picked up to 20 knots from behind and stayed like that all the way to
Charlottesville Tobago where I am at the moment
I
have applied for a visa for USA and have an appointment on the 3rd
December and once I get my documents back from them I will sail to Grenada for
Christmas and New Year but the exploring here and the sail there will be for
the next journey
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