Barbados- 24 & 25 January 2024
24 January
I have 4 crew flying out in the 25th and with Mark and Peter leaving today I needed to sort out a number of things. Whilst I had done the washing and a lot of provisioning has been done, there are still quite a few things to get so I needed to get on with it. Yachting is not just about drinking and enjoying sundowners as the sun goes down but there is often maintenance, provisioning etc to do.
I had not refuelled and we could see the fuel dock where we were anchored so after breakfast we headed over and just as we were about to get to the dock a local fisherman jumped in front of us. There was another one a bit back so we had to go to that one, although the attendant was surly and would not takes our lines (mooring ropes). I have 2 tanks for diesel and everything is taken from the starboard tank. I have a fuel transfer pump which transfers fuel from the port to the starboard tank and I had done this so the starboard tank was full. Each tank holds 805 lts. The port tank was showing empty so I expected to fill it with 800 lts or so. It took 693 lts so at empty it looks like I have about 100 lts spare (worth knowing for future reference).
We returned to anchor and Mark and Peter stayed to pack and Ian and I headed off to shore. I had run Stephen the taxi driver from the day before and he agreed to help. Although I had got the new gas cylinder etc – I could not get the right fitting onto the new pipe for the boat. I also brought the cylinder they could not fill with its regulator as I thought they may be able to fill it. We therefore headed back to the gas companies. They could not fill the cylinder with the regulator and could not do the pipe. We were therefore sent to 3 or 4 different places and at the last one I came up with the idea to join the 2 pipes and they thank goodness had a fitting to do this. Success at last. We then filled up the outboard tanks and headed back to the butcher for the chicken we had ordered. On arrival it was not ready and in about 20 minutes this young lad cut offf 10kg of chicken breasts and so we headed back to the boat. We packed all away and then we took Mark and Peter ashore with their luggage and went to De Office again for lunch where they had their last meal and a good rum punch!! We deposited them into a taxi and headed for the Cheapside vegetable market where we bought a whole load of fruit and veg and headed back to the dinghy. After all our hard work we thought we deserved another rum punch.
We returned to a quieter Stormbird. We cleared Mark and Peter’s cabins and prepared them for the next crew. We enjoyed the evening in the cockpit before heading for bed.
25 January 2024
It was a rolly night and there was more rain. I woke quite early and did some admin etc. We had breakfast and finalised our preparation for the new crew and we were missing our departed crew. Ian’s friend Lee Barker had kindly suggested that he would take us out for the day. We met him at 10.00am and we drove up to the St Nicholas Abbey, an old and still working distillery for rum. It was bult in 1658 and it is one of the Island’s oldest surviving plantations and has about 400 acres of sugar cane and mahogany forests. The house is a Jacobean mansion and is one of three remaining Jacobean mansions in the western hemisphere. We started our tour with a steam train ride around the estate and then explored the old mansion. We then sampled some rum with the owner explaining about it. It has a 5-, 8- or 12-year-old rum at 40% and the same for 60%. Ian bought a bottle which he kindly gave me and bottle was engraved with Stormbird Goes Global. We then looked around the distillery which was very interesting and they still have some old machinery they use including a tractor which was 150 years old and is still working!! Perhaps it runs on rum!!.
After the tour we headed off to the west coast and Lee showed us a number of areas which were quite up market with nice villas and apartments with a lovely coast and I feel I have now got a reasonable sense of the Island. We stopped off at a shack Lee knew on the beach and had a nice lunch right beside the pounding surf on the beautiful sand..
We returned to Bridgetown having had a relaxed and enjoyable day. Lee had been coming here for about 30 years and loves it here and you can understand why. We managed to buy some melon and other bits and pieces and returned to Stormbird. David Mark’s plane had landed and he was on his way. I set off to collect him just as the rain came down so I got a bit wet. It was great to see David (his luggage looked like he had come for 6 months). He is always upbeat and jolly and he uses his favourite phrase a lot namely “fabulous”.
David was soon sorting himself out and we were waiting for the others. Stig (Stephen), Cari and Simon arrived at about 6.45pm and by torchlight we whizzed them out to the boat. Within a few minutes they were in tee-shirts and shorts and all were greeted by a cold beer. Ian kindly cooked a vegetable bake and we enjoyed supper on board washed down with a glass of red wine. We sat and chatted as the sea gently rolled us with excited new crew members up for a new venture. I did an initial briefing about certain things and how we live ion board. All change then on Stormbird.
The blog will continue as we explore Barbados and beyond.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com I can only upload one picture a day.