Tobago (still)...

During Jonos 12 days with us we Snorkelled and Scuba Dived, Swam and we Limed.  

One morning when we came back from a little jaunt in the dinghy, we were waved over to a boat by a guy named "Porridge" - he runs Castara Retreats (www.castararetreats.com)

He had two guests with him, who were snorkelling, so when they were finished, we invited them aboard for a drink.  Brad and Annie were on their Honeymoon

We sailed the length of Tobago with Jono, 

seeing a pod of dolphins that stayed with us for well over an hour,

finally ending up back at Buccoo Reef, where we took him to Sunday School.

No, this is not the religious type - it starts at 9.30pm on a Sunday night.  

They have the local "Pan Band" the Bucconeers play, then the music goes to DJ from about 11pm, which continues all night - lots of dancing and rum punches!

This beautiful sunset reminded us very much of our sunsets at The Bay of Islands, 

with the island off our bay

By the way, our place is still for sale and we are very motivated to sell.

www.thebayforsale.com

Look who's here...

We were travelling with Ian and Wendy (Outsider) heading to Guyana, when our main halyard broke.  When we radioed to let them know we would be diverting to Tobago, we found that they were having trouble with their auto pilot, so they diverted to Tobago also.

Ian and Wendy were great support and help with the main halyard issue, 

with Richard spending some hours up the mast.

The four of us rented a car and "tiki-toured" around Tobago.  

We went for a gorgeous walk, ending up at these beautiful waterfalls (the photo does not show that there are 2 levels of falls)

This disused waterwheel was a tourist attraction not so long ago, however the greenery is taking it back into its fold

Technology today is amazing - we have been avidly watching the Americas Cup,

(and of course the All Blacks) even in very remote bays

We were so excited when Jono called and let us know he was coming to see us.

He arrived last Thursday - it is so awesome sharing with him our new life and our beautiful new home.

Plans Made To Change...

We cleared out of Grenada - next destination Guyana.  We headed up to Union Island, which would then give us a better wind angle.  We got up at 6am and headed off.  At 11pm our Main came down in a huge rush.  The Main Halyard had broken (AGAIN!).  So, we veered off and are now at Tobago.

Richard spent a couple of hours up the mast getting the main halyard back up and also trying to work out why the halyard is getting compromised.  We have emailed the "mast" company and will now email the boat builder to try to get a resolution to this.  Our main halyard breaking twice in less than 6000 nm, when we have not been using the main often is not good!

This weekend it is Trinidad/Tobago Independence day Celebrations - 51 years of independence.  The day started with a parade of all the Forces and Clubs

 With the day finishing with a Fireworks Display