January 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW

 

Here's a quick summary of what we were up to this month.

• First off, here's wishing everyone good health, wealth and happiness in 2017!

• We attended a pot-luck New Year's party for all cruisers that were here in Trinidad. It was organised by the Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) and Ocean Cruising Club (OCC) at the Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association (TTSA). Alex and I aren't the most sociable people, we mainly keep to ourselves (I blame it on.. too much boat work!), but we appreciated the invitation and had a good time.

• Our boat projects and repairs continue. The list is never-ending. A boat is like a can of worms. You try to fix one thing and then you find out you need to fix a million other things in order to fix that one thing!

• We sanded and re-painted the freezer door, re-sealed the drainage in the cockpit, modified the battery rack to accommodate the new batteries and added straps to secure them.

• I missed celebrating Chinese New Year with my family. It's definitely hard being away from family and friends during the festive holidays. Even though it's almost always hectic and chaotic, even a little stressful at times, but at the end of the day, when I'm back on the boat (watching the sunset/working on the boat), it's the good times that I recall and can't wait to go home and do it all over again.

• Lastly, so so happy we met our dearest friends Daniela & Rolf on S/Y Yelo whom we first met in South Africa, then in French Guyana and now here in Trinidad! :)

Check out our posts this month:

Dealing with Vesco Plastic Sales

Festivities in Trinidad

 

December 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW >>

February 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW <<

 

Sanded and re-painted the freezer door

Till next month! ;)

Read More »

Festivities in Trinidad

4 months in and we're still working hard on Raptor. The list is never ending (but we're still hopeful). We celebrated Christmas, New Year and Chinese New Year's here. Just thought we'd share some photos of the festivities.

A new friend in this holiday season at West Mall

On Christmas Eve, we met a local Trinidadian from a mutual friend in Singapore via Facebook. Thanks Kwanieze for meeting up with us. It's always nice to meet a local wherever we are and always happy to make new friends.

Alex beaming from ear to ear with his Christmas gifts

Christmas Day - You must be a true sailor to smile so brightly when you get a leveler, a knife sharpener and a set of drill bits as presents. (p/s: these were gifts to himself). Unfortunately the leveler did not work as expected so we had to return it.

New Year's Day Celebration for Yachties

A pot-luck style New Year's Day event for cruisers from around the world organised by the SSCA, OCC at TTSA (I hope I got it right). For the uninitiated, the SSCA (Seven Seas Cruising Association), OCC (Ocean Cruising Club), TTSA (Trinidad and Tobago Sailing Association). A little ashamed, I had to google these acronyms too.

We almost won a prize during the lucky draw but we lost it because we did not know that the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago was the Scarlet Ibis! That'll teach us to learn more interesting facts about the country we're in.

Welcome 2017!

I just realised Alex was wearing the same T-shirt and shorts combo on Christmas Eve and New Years day! Such is a sailors life and his wardrobe. 

28th January 2017 - It's Chinese New Year! Even though there are lots of Chinese (shop owners) in Port of Spain, we didn't see any celebrations. It was business as usual. I guess the Chinese here are business first, celebrations later?

Alex & I wearing red to usher in some good luck for the New Year!

Here's wishing everyone good health, good luck, happiness, prosperity and abundance in the Rooster year!

Read More »

Dealing with Vesco Plastic Sales

Just wanted to share our experience of dealing with Vesco Plastic Sales in South Africa.

We ordered some Vesconite for our gearbox in August 2014 sent to Brazil, then 4 Vesconite bushings for our rudders in March 2015 to Trinidad. This time around, we ordered a customised bushing in Vesconite Hilube for our gearbox.

On 20th December 2016, we sent them our design requirements in a pdf format (see below). After a couple of calls and re-quotes later, we confirmed our order on 3rd January and made payment via PayPal the next day. They confirmed receipt of our payment on 5th January and the package was sent via UPS from South Africa on 12th January. Within 2 weeks of payment, we received our customised bushing at the Power Boats office on 17th January.

All in all, we've had good experiences dealing with them and they've been consistent in their service.

Custom Design Requirements

Shipment Tracker

Order Received

What's Vesconite?

Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube are low friction materials for long life bearings, designed to operate with little or no greasing. Up to 10 times the life of bronze bushes. No swell. Use where nylon unsuitable. Low wear. Outlasts acetal bearings. Under water bushes. Thrives with water as lubricant. Best material for dirty and poorly lubricated conditions. 

VESCONITE has high dimensional stability and does not swell in water, in contrast to most synthetic materials which swell in water. For example nylon absorbs up to 9% water by weight with consequent swell and softening.  

VESCONITE combines a load carrying capacity greater than white metal with self lubricating properties better than nylon. 

*copied from www.vesconite.com

It's good stuff if you ask us!

In case you're wondering where we installed it? See photo's below:

Upper Gearbox

Front

Back

Our custom made Vesconite bushing now sits between the engine and the flange of the upper gearbox - hopefully there'll be no more vibration & abrasion & constant destruction of our damper plate.

Have you used Vesconite? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Read More »

December 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW

Here's a quick summary of what we were up to this month. 

• Tis' the season where everything slows down for festivities!

• With the engine hauled out, there's no way we were going anywhere. We applied for a visa extension -- $100 TTD/person for 3 more months. New visa expiry date: 19th March 2017. 

• We had to buy a second-hand prop (18" x 16") because the blades on our main prop snapped when we sent it in to the shops to be tuned.

• We met a new friend (a local Trinidadian) on Christmas Eve through a friend from Singapore. It was a nice excuse to get off the boat and socialise.

• We had a lovely evening catching up with our friends Allan & Ursh from South Africa of S/Y Windward whom we first met in St. Helena, then in Brazil, and now here in Trinidad! Such is a cruisers life, where will we meet next?

Check out our posts this month:

Visa Extension in Trinidad (Updated)

Life in Trinidad

November 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW >>

January 2017 | MONTH IN REVIEW <<

 

Dinner at Wheel House Pub with dear friends Allan and Ursh from S/Y Windward

Fish and some sides for $100 TTD (~$14 USD excl. tax)

Thought it was funny for them to identify us as "Couple in Grey"..

Us and Kwanieze at The Falls on Christmas Eve

By mid December.. Look at all the mozzies we caught (insane!)

At the Port of Spain Market on Charlotte Street

So colourful

Pimentos aka Cherry Peppers

A little bit like Malaysia

Decided to treat ourselves! It's Christmas afterall :)

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017!

Read More »

TV | Movie Guide 2016

Here's a list of TV series we watched in 2016!

Galavant (Season 1 & 2)
True Detective
Shades of Blue
Timeless
Westworld
iZombie
Arrow
The Flash
Legends of Tomorrow
Luke Cage
Once Upon A Time
Killjoys
Dark Matter
The 100
Preacher
Stranger Things
Poldark
Stitchers

Chance
Blindspot (Season 1)

This list is purely based on memory! We should've started recording this earlier. Oh well.. :)

Check out our TV | Movie Guide 2017
 

Read More »

Life in Trinidad

Raptor at Power Boats

Trinidad & Tobago is a twin island nation; Trinidad is the southern most island in the Caribbean and the larger of the two islands. It's situated off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, just 11 km away.

It's very industrial and not touristy at all. Most boats haul out here for repairs and maintenance, and to hide away from the hurricane season.

We've been living here for a number of months now (including the few months back in 2015). We thought it would be useful to share some information about life in Trinidad.

Boatyard Address - Where We Hauled Out

Power Boats
Western Main Road
Chaguaramas
Trinidad & Tobago

Facilities: Power, Water, Toilets/Showers, Boater's Shop Chandlery, Dockside Mart, Fuel Dock, WiFi, Sails Restaurant, 24 hr Security, Laundry ($15 TTD/load), Bus Stop.

Power Boats

Visa

You can check out our visa extension post here.

Cruiser Net

Tune into VHF Channel 68 every morning at 8am for weather reports, events & activities announcements, opportunity for free or trading of "treasures", support & advice on boat stuff from the cruising community.

Propane Gas

You can drop off your empty tanks at the Power Boats security guard house on Friday before 11am and pick it up the next day. It cost $85 TTD to fill up our 17 lbs composite tank.  

Exchange Rate

* Rate based on USD cash exchanged in POS.
Jan 2015-May 2015 - $1 USD = $6 TTD
Sep 2015-Mar 2017 - $1 USD = $7 TTD

We've changed money at one of the many Chinese supermarkets, a tailor shop as well as a clothing store (in the corner) next to Park & Shop Supermarket. Basically, if you've got USD, you need not worry about finding a money changer.

Transportation

Bus Terminal in Port of Spain

1 - Between Chaguaramas & Port of Spain
Maxi Taxi - $5 TTD (increased to $ 6 TTD effective 6th February 2017)
Public Bus - $2 TTD (Bus No. 135 stops right in front of Power Boats)

Note: Maxi Taxi's are the mini vans with stripes, take the yellow striped ones that run between POS and Chaguaramas (be careful not to take the ones that go to Diego Martin, unless that's where you want to go).

2 - Between Port of Spain & Piarco Airport
Public Bus - $4 TTD

Bus No. 135 to Chaguaramas

We were able to take the public bus from Piarco Airport back to Chaguaramas on 2 occasions with all our luggages at $6 TTD in total per person (that's less than $1 USD/person!). A taxi would've cost us at least $300 TTD one way. Needless to say, we were quite pleased with our savings. 

On another occasion, we hired a car from Econo Car Rentals from the airport -- $125 TTD/day with a minimum 2 day hire. It's not the best quality of cars, but it's good enough to take you from point A to point B.   

Note: You can purchase the bus tickets at the newsstand in Piarco Airport or at Port of Spain Bus Terminal. The buses do not follow the schedule posted, so just be prepared to wait. 

Also, the buses from Port of Spain to Piarco Airport do not run on weekends. We had to take the Arima bus from Port of Spain Bus Terminal to Arouca Junction and then a private taxi ($4 TTD/person) at the taxi stand next to KFC to the Airport. 

Even though, Trinidad & Tobago is ranked as one of the Top 10 countries with the highest crimes/murder rates in the world, people on the public transportation are all very polite. They often greet everyone when they get onboard, and thank the driver when they alight. 

One time, the bus driver asked the passengers if he could make a detour to fill up on petrol after being stuck in traffic for almost 2 hours. Instead of complaining and making a big fuss, the passengers agreed and waited patiently.

Another time, we had free live impromptu entertainment onboard when a guy started to sing, and another joined in with his guitar. This is life in Trinidad :)

FREE Wi-Fi

Available at Power Boats, Massy Store (West Mall), The Falls (West Mall), PTSC Bus Terminal, Piarco Airport.

Fruits & Veggies on Charlotte Street Market

Groceries

Every once a week or fortnight, we head into Port of Spain for fruit & veggies. There's a pretty decent street market on Charlotte Street every Thursday to Saturday. They sell fruits, veggies, clothes, plants, DVDs, etc {very lively}. Along this street there are also many mini supermarkets (mostly run/owned by Chinese, of course). Note: prices in TTD.

Apple - 4 or 5pcs for $10
Avocado - 1pc for $10-$25
Banana - 1lb for $5
Bok Choy - 1 bunch for $5
Carrot - 1lb for $5-$6
Capsicum - 1lb for $6-$8
Corn - 1 bag for $15
Cucumber - 1lb for $1-$5
Egg - 15 eggs for $23
Eggplant - 1lb for $3-$9 (sometimes as low as $1/lb)
Garlic - 1lb for $7-$8
Ginger - 1lb for $6
Lettuce - 1pc for $5-$7
Mandarin - 8-10pcs for $10
Onion (Red) - 1lb for $5-$7
Onion (White) - 2lbs for $5
Pineapple - 3pcs for $25
Plum - 4pcs for $10
Pumpkin - 1lb for $2
Tomato - 1lb for $6-$14 (sometimes as low as $3/lb)

UHT Milk - $8.50 (on offer) and Cheese - $22/kg at Park & Shop Supermarket (35 Queen Street, Port of Spain)

There are also lots of other fruit & veggies available e.g. potato, broccoli, cauliflower, spring onion, cabbage, grapes, etc. I would say the variety of veggies are decent here compared to some of the other countries we've been to. Sadly, we haven't seen any coriander. 

Charlotte St the day before Christmas Eve

For other things that we can't get at the street market, we go to the Massy Store next to The Falls at West Mall (this is probably the biggest of the other 2 we've been to). You can get there by bus or Maxi Taxi.

Massy Store is a supermarket chain, all around the island. The other two that we've been to are in Chaguaramas (very small, limited selection) and in Carenage (medium sized, decent selection). Here are some of the items we get from Massy:

Anchor Cheese - 1kg $82.99
Bean Sprout - 1 packet $12
Broccoli - $38.99/kg
Chicken - 1 packet $11.99-$12.99
Lime Juice - 750ml $17.99
Mushroom - $75.99/kg
Pork Ribs - $43.99/kg
Radish  - 1 packet $7.99-12.99
Snow Peas - $79/kg
Spinach - 1 packet $27.99-$29.99
Yogurt - 1kg $32.99
Zucchini - $29.99/kg

Note: Prices for fruits & veggies fluctuate.

Massy Store at West Mall

Businesses

Below is a list of businesses that might be useful to know: -

Amba Bargain Centre (ABC) - All sewing stuff, thread, needles, ribbons, etc

57 Queen St, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 623 4566

Boater's Shop - Small Chandlery, 5% off with Power Boats card

Power Boats, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago

Budget Marine - Chandlery, 5% off with membership card

Western Main Road, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 634 2006

Busy Bee Equipment Rentals Ltd (Nuts & Boats) - Nuts & Bolts

Western Main Road, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 774 0150/469 6620
Email: christopher@busybeett.com

Calypso Fabric Architecture - Awnings

Peake Yacht Services, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 868 634 2684/680 2929
Email: riad@cfa-caribbean.com

Cocoa Pod - Chocolate

23 Gordon Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 868 326 1952/624 4280 (Wayne)
Email: cocoapodchocolate@gmail.com

Far Fan Ltd - Perma White Paint

3-5 Ibis Avenue, Ibis Acres, San Juan, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 674 7896/7
Email: info@ftfarfan.com

Eastern Fasteners Sales & Support Ltd - Bolts, Washers, Nuts

17 Duke Street West, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 868 627 9822/734 8796
Email: efsslt@gmail.com

Gittens Engine Sales & Services Co. Ltd. - Services Yanmar Engines

110 Western Main Road, Tardieu Marine, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 634 2304
Email: adian_ges@hotmail.com

Hydraulic Supplies Ltd (HSL)

Western Main Road, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 634 3402
Email: sales@hsltt.com

Jimmy Aboud - Textiles, a lot more around the area

Jimmy Aboud Building, Cor. Queen & Henry St, POS, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 625 2904
Email: office@jimmyaboud.com

Majestic Coating & Supplies

Coral Cove Marina Hotel, Western Main Road, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Email: mel@majesticcoatings.com

Marc One Marine Supplies Ltd - Plywood, Fiberglass sheets, PVC boards

Mariner's Haven, 1st Avenue South, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago

Peake Trading - Chandlery

Lot 5, Western Main Road, Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 634 4006 

Quality Yacht Maintenance - Spray painting, Gel peeling, Osmosis repairs, Fiberglass restoration, Airport transport

Contractor: Selwyn Joseph
Tel: +1 (868) 733 1326/375 9603

Radica Trading - Upholstery, Vinyl, Sunbrella

68-70 Henry Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

Southern Supplies Ltd (SSL)

1st Avenue South, Western Main Road, Granwood,
Chaguaramas, Trinidad & Tobago
Tel: +1 (868) 657 5194
Email: info@ssltt.com

We don't eat out much, but if you're looking for a place to eat in Chaguaramas, we'd recommend the Wheelhouse Pub, located along the Western Main Road 106, Tropical Marine Ltd, Chaguaramas, Trinidad - $45 TTD for a set lunch and $100 TTD for a set dinner (a main & two side dishes). You can also try Cafe Feel Oh. They have all an night beers for $10 TTD promotion on Fridays.

Map of the Caribbean

Is there a business in Trinidad that you would like us to include? Feel free to drop us a comment and we'll update the list.

Read More »

Visa Extension in Trinidad (Updated)

2 weeks before our visa was up on the 27th December 2016, we informed Power Boats (the boatyard in which we are hauled out) of our intention to request for a visa extension. They gave us a form to fill up (mainly requiring information like our boat name, when we hauled out, date of entry, visa expiry date, length of extension and reason for extension request, etc). Based on the information we provided, Power Boats (PB) prepared a letter for us.

Next, we visited the Immigration office in Chaguaramas with our passports and the letter (from PB) to make an appointment at the office in Port of Spain. Once upon a time, visa extensions were issued at the Chaguaramas office, but not anymore. Our appointment in Port of Spain was set at 10am on 20th December.

Power Boats very kindly arranged transport to take us there. The process took approximately 2.5 hours. Most of it waiting time.. but we can't complain. Very glad we didn't have to spend an entire day (or two) to get it done (like in South Africa).

New visa expiry date: 19 March 2017!

Extension Fee: $100 TTD for 3 months per person. 

Take note that the new extension period starts from the day you apply i.e. even though our visa expires on 27th December; because we applied on 20th December, our new visa expires on 19th March (3 months from 20th December, not from 27th December). Also, make sure you have enough cash with you because they do not accept debit/credit cards. Cash only.

2nd Visa Extension

By the end of February, we knew we would not be able to complete our jobs in time before our visa expires. The process for requesting for a 2nd extension was the same as the first. We obtained the letter from Power Boats requesting for an extension with a list of outstanding work to be done on the boat. 

On 10th March, we went to the Immigration office in Chaguaramas to make an appointment with the Immigration office at Port of Spain. Our appointment this time was at 8am on 14th March.

We were worried that we would not get the extension as we have heard from several cruisers it's usually very difficult to get an extension the 2nd time around. I had already started to search for the cheapest flights out of Port of Spain (POS) in case we had to do a visa run. Let me say this, there aren't any cheap flights from POS.

On the day of our appointment, the Immigration officer attending to us was in a good mood. She read our letter from Power Boats aloud, told us she'd need to check this with her supervisor. In less than 5 minutes, she was back to inform us that our request had been approved. "You can stay another 3 months", she said.

"At the end of this visa, you'd have 9 months here. You better complete all your boat work by then because we cannot give you another extension", she continues.

We laughed a little and agreed. Trust us, we do not want to stay any longer. We were very glad and grateful for the extension though. The process this time took less than 2 hours.

New visa expiry: 13th June 2017.

Extension Fee: $100 TTD for 3 months per person.

Queue outside the Immigration office in Port of Spain - That's why it's good to make an appointment

Now, it's back to work! 😅

Read More »

November 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW

Here's a quick summary of what we were up to this month. 

• We decided to re-paint the interior {by we.. it was really me} as the paint onboard is 20 years old, parts of it were moldy and bubbling up.

• Since I suggested to re-paint the interior, I was tasked to remove the old paint. Not a fun job -- when the old paint peels off and the exposed fiberglass falls onto your {my} skin, it itches for days!

• Alex turned on the engine for the first time in 20 months (not since we hauled out in March 2015). We had a runaway engine! A scary experience, with the engine revving loudly, uncontrollably and smoking (black smoke/soot and all!).

• We hauled out the engine to be serviced, cleaned and re-painted.

• We serviced the hydraulics for the sail drive leg and winches in the cockpit.

• We also installed our new AIS Transceiver. Read our 'From AIS Receiver to Transceiver' post.

• At this point, with the engine hauled out, it's highly unlikely that we will be able to complete our boat projects in time before our visa expires on 27th December. But hey, positive thinking never hurt anyone! {or did it?}

October 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW >>

December 2016 | MONTH IN REVIEW <<

Removing the old paint

Hauling out the engine

My attempt at making Banana bread cupcakes ;)

16th November 2016

Lovely skies - could stare at it forever

After a hard's day of work, it's nice to enjoy the sunset

Minus the mozzies of course!

Till next month!

Read More »