The Cosmos Adventure - News

George Hotz Report - Caribbean2

Cosmos

3/17/03:

Soufriere and the Pitons of  St. Lucia remind Captain Joe and me of  Cook Bay, at Moorea, in the Society Islands. It is very attractive here. We were able to pick up a mooring on the North side of the harbor. This is a national park now and we have to be careful not to damage the coral with our anchor, hence the available moorings. We have been snorkeling right off the side of Cosmos.

Emily Dorr is leaving, tomorrow morning, and Captain Grandpa Joe, Bill, and I are sailing up to Rodney Bay for a couple of days of boat chores.

3/20/03:

We got here, in Rodney Bay, in time for a late lunch on the 18th. This is a boater's place; like Cape Town, or Annapolis. Everything we need is here. We have done some rigging repairs; changed both engine's oil, oil filters, and fuel filters; washed down Cosmos with fresh water; done laundry; filled the empty propane tank; repaired the saloon table hinge; adjusted hatch hinges.

I visited the Rodney Bay Medical Center this afternoon to get my left ear looked at. I haven't been able to hear out of it for the last four days. The doctor flushed it out and it is as good as new. Having been submerged in waters all around the world; walked, hiked, and climbed through towns, forests, and mountain trails; and having listened to many different languages during our circumnavigation of over two years; one would expect to accumulate a measurable amount of debris in ones ears. She asked me if there was anything else that she could do for me so I told her to flush out the other ear. Whether it needed it or not, at least I got to stay in her office a little longer.

3/21/03:

We left Rodney Bay, this morning, and motor-sailed to Martinique. On the way, this afternoon, I suggested that we "troll for sharks". This is where we jump off the boat, underway, swim to a line that we trail behind Cosmos, and pull ourselves back aboard. This is very refreshing on a hot day, and its good exercise because the boat keeps moving.  We had to explain the process to Bill because he had never done this before. Captain Grandpa Joe and I jumped in first to demonstrate for Bill, and then Bill jumped in. Well, poor Bill missed the line. As Cosmos raced along at about six knots, Bill sure looked lonely back there; further and further, behind us. We decided that this qualified as a Man OverBoard situation so we went into action and implemented the Cosmos M.O.B. procedure. We had him back aboard in short order. We were right, though, Bill said that he sure felt lonely back there.

We anchored in the harbor of Fort De France at happy hour. With no cruise ship in the harbor, the town was nearly shut down. We took a walk around town, near the harbor, to find a decent place to eat dinner. It was trash pick-up night, and everyone had their trash sitting out on the sidewalk. I didn't see one trash bag that had not been broken into by someone looking for something to eat. I saw several people in the act. I was left with the impression of a large, desolate, dirty, city.

3/22/03:

1115 hrs:  We awoke to face a bright, sunny, morning; Saturday. Saturdays are always special for me because I call my wife, Kathy, at home, at about 0700 her time, and we share all of our latest news. Captain Grandpa Joe went in to Fort De France  to check in with Customs and Immigration and the offices were closed. We left the harbor and sailed up the coast to Case Pilote and did a little snorkeling. We are now on our way to St. Pierre.

1920 hrs; We got to St. Pierre in time to check in with Customs and Immigration at 1330, but, the offices were not open. We even waited a little while and we took a picture of Captain Grandpa Joe waiting there. We, then, walked to the other end of town, had lunch, weighed anchor, and left Martinique. We hear a little, and wonder a lot, about how many people don't bother to check in and out with Customs and Immigration. I am not surprised; it can be rather expensive for cruisers, and it certainly is a nuisance. All to often the offices are at an inconvenient location and /or the attitude of the officials needs adjustment.

Cosmos is now headed for a group of islands called Les Saintes. We will pass Dominica tonight, on the way, and should reach Les Saintes tomorrow morning.

3/23/03:

We arrived at Les Saintes in time for breakfast. Cosmos is anchored at Bourg Des Saintes, of the island Terre-de-Haut, which is the largest of the eight island group, 10 kilometers from Guadeloupe. It is very nice here in this clear water harbor, in bright sunshine, with the colorful shoreline of the town, and the striking volcanic hills throughout the background of the island.

3/26/03:

We have just been enjoying the harbor and the town for the last three days. We've been diving, snorkeling, walking around town eating ice cream, avoiding motor scooters, eating local cuisine, and enjoying the boat traffic in the harbor. It is not uncommon to see a family of four piled unto a speeding motor scooter. We even encountered a couple from the Chesapeake Bay town of St. Michael's, Maryland, and thoroughly enjoyed talking to someone from home. We entertained a British couple aboard Cosmos one evening; they brought crepes with them, and, they have a son in the 'new' war.  Captain Grandpa Joe and Bill Whiteford rented a Hobie Cat this morning and had a ball. I flushed the watermaker because it has been inactive for four days. It will get quite foul if I wait longer before flushing it with fresh water. I also replaced the filter elements. Then, I took pictures of Captain Joe and Bill as they 'buzzed' by Cosmos on the Hobie Cat. After that I had the most fu!n of all. I disassembled the winch that we salvaged from the deserted beach at the island of Mayreau on the 13th of March, and flushed all of the sand and grease from it in a bucket of gasoline,  and reassembled it. It is a fine Barbarosa #42, two speed, self tailing winch, now in excellent condition.

3/27/03:

I just stepped out to the cockpit to mount the flag, as we do, patriotically, every morning, and was startled by the sight of the largest imaginable five masted schooner as it filled the entrance to the harbor. There may be more people aboard this vessel than there are on this whole island. Terre-de-Haut is about to be overwhelmed. The schooner's name is Wind Surf.

3/30/03:

The evening of the 29th, a large, three masted, square rigged, "tall ship" entered the harbor at Bourg Des Saintes. The name of this vessel is Sea Cloud II. This morning, before we left, a four masted, square rigged, "tall ship" entered the harbor, and this was Sea Cloud. I think these vessels are associated with Windjammer Cruises. There is a lot of activity in this harbor for such a small town. We left Terre-de-haut yesterday morning and motored-sailed to Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadaloupe. We had lunch there, checked in, and out, with Customs and Immigration, and left. We had hoped to transit the Salee River that bisects Guadaloupe, but we found out that the draw bridges don't open on Sundays. We, then, motored along the coast to the town of St. Anne, and anchored for the night. This left us with only 15 miles before rounding the East end of Guadaloupe, and gave us a great sail up to the island of Antiqua. We got here at 2230 and had a hard time finding room to ancho!r. We had to use the stern anchor as well as the bow anchor to hold Cosmos in a tight nitch. We may have to move her tomorrow.

3/31/03:

This is the end of March; gosh; our circumnavigation is about to end. Then, whatever will I do??? I bet the "Honey Do" and "Daddy Do" lists at home will be killers. We are enjoying English Harbor, as I am sure everyone does that comes here. We removed the cockpit dodger ( canvas cover ) this morning and took it to the sail loft for a zipper repair. Putting it back on will be no small feat because the solar panels are incorporated into it and we will have to re-adjust the stainless steel bows to prevent future zipper damage. We are checking out the yacht chandlers, here, for fittings and rigging hardware, needed to make other repairs. We have to tend to both spinnaker halyards, starboard transmission cable adjustment, cockpit table mounting bolts, port engine starter power cable connections.

Captain Grandpa Joe has two more guests ( crew ) arriving tomorrow evening; his sister Chris and her husband, Dave Lang. We will be five, again. We just anchored Cosmos for the fifth, or sixth time, and used the stern anchor as well, to hold her from swinging. It is pretty crowded here, and the holding ground is rocky. Anyway, we are having fun. Ooo; I'm getting a haircut tomorrow; this one should see me all the way home.

George