Chaguaramus, Trinidad .... Haul Out

Well, we have been a bit slack with blogging lately, perhaps we have converted to Caribbean time.  Speaking of which, the tradesmen working on our boat are definitely on Caribbean time.  They start work at 9, 10, or 11am and finish early, and the catch cry is "I'll be there tomorrow".  

We came here for a haul out primarily to anti foul and to sort out a gearbox issue with the clutch cones.  Now, we are replacing both our sail drives (as we got a deal on two used ones - just hope we don't replicate the problem that bought us here), replacing the bearings in our wind generator, putting in some new electronics (including AIS, which sends out our position and allows us to track ships in busy shipping lanes such as Panama), sail repairs, and numerous other jobs - the last big splurge on the boat before heading into the Pacific.

The upside has been that we have had friends on other yachts and the kids have been swimming daily at the yacht club pool (you can swim in the sea in Chaguaramus - it's a cesspit).  We visited the military museum and discovered that this area was the largest US military base outside of the US during the war!  In fact, on one night during the war, German U-Boats sunk 42 merchant ships in the harbour and surrounds.  It's a huge naturally protected body of water with amazing history dating back to the pirates and buccaneers who based themselves in these waters and searched for gold and booty.

It was a surprise to discover that Freya Hoffmeister was paddling her kayak via Chaguaramus as when we arrived.  We last met Freya when she paddled around Australia in 2009 and had a meal with us in  Busselton, and if Australia wasn't enough she decided to paddle around South America!  So, she was on Day 534 when she arrived 18 months into her 24 month expedition.  She said the previous 3 days approaching Trinidad along the Venezuelan coast were the most frightening days of her trip so far as she dodged potential pirates, kidnappers and drug runners.  This part of Venezuela is notorious for such activity and we are also conscious of sailing well clear.

This week is hopefully our last week here as we are keen to get back to Hog Island, Grenada, once the refit has been completed.  We enjoyed exploring a nearby island on the weekend and plan to do a trip to the capital Port of Spain before we leave.  It would be nice to see the monkeys and exotic birds at the nearby National Park but the priority is getting the boat ready.