Safety II: STAY.ON.THE.BOAT.

Hand hold above the dodger

This is the other post that I meant to write long, long ago. Owing to some degree of distractibility by beautiful sunrises and sunsets, I never got around to it.

Safety On Deck:

Again, I repeat, I am no expert on sailing. These are my thoughts and observations from living onboard for 4 ½ years. Take them for what they’re worth. 

A bar for bracing our feet against when we heel. It is
part of the center cockpit table.

There are many ways one might be injured on deck aboard a sailboat. One could be hit by an unsecured boom (done that--check) with disastrous consequences. (Luckily for me, not disastrous). Stubbing one’s toes on snatch blocks. (Done that, many times--check) Getting one’s fingers caught in a loaded winch (in other words, the winch is under load from a sail powered by the wind. A finger under the line wrapped around the winch spells, “one less finger.”) Docking can be dangerous. As in, leaving one’s foot between the boot and the pier. With a 16,000 pound vessel, who do you think will win? The boat or your scrawny foot?

EPIRB-an emergency GPS
beacon. "Deploy only in grave
and emergency situations." This
post does not address EPIRB.
Research EPIRB use elsewhere.

A deployed EPIRB will broadcast
boat location and need for emer-
gency assistance to NOAA.
Natl Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administation 

However, I am not going to attempt to address all of those potential hazards.  I will address only one--the most dangerous thing for you on a sailboat is when you do not remain onboard where you belong. Now, it is true that there are a number of safety tools to assist a sailor in retrieving a person out of the water.  We have all of them. 

Man Overboard. MOB.

We have a MOB, Man Overboard which is attached to the aft pushpit. If someone were to fall overboard, whomever sees the unfortunate soul go overboard is supposed to deploy the MOB. Additionally, there is a throw version with a 100’ long floating neon yellow poly line. Theoretically, the person in the water grabs the line and can pull themselves in. We also have a buoyant horseshoe, which is also attached to the boat by a 100’ line. Again, theoretically, the person in the water can put the horseshoe around their torso and be pulled in to the boat.  

Horseshoe flotation attached to boat.

I am saying theoretically because while you are busy falling in, gulping water and flailing around, the sailboat is continuing to move away from you. If it’s moving under engine power, then one cuts the engine to turn around for you, making a tidy “8” in the water in order to pluck you out of the water. If the boat is under sail, however, it’s a bit more complicated. First of all, there needs to be a third person onboard. Someone to steer the boat and someone else to drop the mains’l and handle the foresail in order to get the boat turned around and get back to where you and the boat parted ways. 

Simple throw device. Floating poly
line with loop.

This post is not about how to do that.  It is a worthy topic, but not one that I feel qualified to address.  I will never forget the cautionary comment made to me before a long ocean voyage when I suggested that perhaps we ought to practice doing a man-overboard drill before setting off. *The wise sailor, with many more years of sailing experience than I will ever have, said this to me, “Well, we could. But the reality is that if you fall off, it’s likely going to happen at night and/or in rough seas. The chances of us finding you are not great.” Hmmmm.……..again, hmmmmm. Well, that made me think twice, even thrice.

CO2 cartridge automatically inflates
life jacket when submerged in water.

Clearly, the most important advice for a sailor is to-- Stay. On. The. Boat. So, that’s what we have always put the greatest amount of effort into doing. So far, so good.  Knock on wood (of which we have none on deck.)

So, here is how we stay on the boat.

Quick-release attaches to harness, which
is built into this life jacket

First a word or two about life jackets--a life jacket in and of itself is not going to keep one onboard the boat. But, when the life jacket also has a harness built into it that can be attached to the boat, then you’re in business. Of course, we wear the latest version of life jacket. It automatically inflates without the wearer doing anything, when it becomes immersed in water. That is nice because if you hit your head on the way in, it does not wait for you to pull the cord. It keeps your head above the water because that is its’ only function at that point. Well, that and, there is a whistle attached and a small beacon to help those folks who have the good fortune to still be on the boat, to find you in the waves. I would hope that they can do that for you.

Heavy duty carabiner-type clip to attach to boat.

So, back to the harness built into the life jacket. The harness is designed to be used with a tether. A tether is what connects you to the boat. Tethers are designed, as far as I have observed, with a quick-release that attaches to the harness. The other end of the tether has a different kind of attachment that will fit over stainless attachments and jacklines. 

Pair of stainless eye hooks beside companionway

We have a few different kinds of tethers. I don’t pretend to know which are the best. Read the reviews for that. But I do know that if I’m not physically strong enough to open the attachment or to release myself from the tether, it’s not going to be the right one for me.  Tethers often have two lines, a shorter one and a longer one, both elasticized. Hopefully, you will understand why in a bit.

Pair of stainless eye hooks each side of helm.

Anytime we are in rough seas, we are tethered to the boat. Also, at night, or anytime that one of us is asleep, the other one must be tethered in. One would hate to awaken and discover oneself all alone on a sailboat in the ocean. We put our life jackets on down below.  We attempt to keep the life jackets as dry as we can when they’re not in use.  Would hate to have one automatically inflate unnecessarily. The tether, we attach as we come up on deck. We first attach the harness end to us and then the other end of either the long or the short tether to the boat. 

Elasticized tether with a short and a long line.

There are a set of matching stainless eye attachments right by the companionway so that we can be hooked on even before we step out on deck. There is another matching set of eye attachments on either side of the helm, so if you’re sitting at the helm you can be hanked on close by. 

Clipping onto jackline before stepping out
 of cockpit

What if you have to go up on deck for some reason? First of all, we try to avoid having to go up on deck when we’re under sail, but sometimes it’s essential. That’s when we use what are called jacklines. There is a pair of them, one running from either side of the cockpit, inside the standing rigging all the way to the bow. 

Heavy-duty stainless frame built around each dorade. Frame protects the dorade
and makes for sturdy hand holds.

The jacklines are made of tough braiding designed for that purpose. We would not think of going offshore without having jacklines  in place first. So, when we need to go on deck, we first hank on to the jackline before stepping out of the cockpit.  As I walk forward, the tether moves along the deck with me. Depending upon the design of the boat, a person may have to squeeze to get through a narrow place where the standing rigging is attached to the deck. It is during this process that the usefulness of having two tether lines, one shorter and one longer may become most apparent. 

Squeezing between standing rigging
and structure surrounding dorade.

Obviously walking on deck is best done on the high side of the boat, the windward side. If you fall, you would certainly prefer to fall onto the top of the deck rather than into the water, which would certainly happen on the low side of the sailboat. You’d be attached but a little worse for wear  being dragged through the water.

Stainless hand holds on deck. Note that
tether drags along with wearer across
the deck. Jackline to be set up inside
the standing rigging.

Again, walking on deck is best done in a crouch. Keep the center of balance low. Hang onto something every minute. “One hand for you and one for the boat” is the old saying. On our boat, we have lots of hand holds on deck.  That was one of the things we were especially impressed with when we bought the Saga 43. Sturdy hand holds built onto the dodger, large hand holds built around each dorade fore and aft and long hand holds between the pairs of dorades. 

A shiny dorade. Ventilation to cabin below.

Dorades are the large curved “tubes” that are mounted on top of the cabin roof. They can be turned to face in different directions with the intent to capture breeze and send it below for ventilation, even when it’s raining or there’s wave washing over the deck. And of course, there are lifelines along the perimeter of the entire sailboat. 

"There goes my hat."

Just as an aside, while we were taking the photos for this post, I lost my favorite pink baseball cap with the extra long visor to the wind. Bummer. I knew better. If I had been on the ball, I would have attached a hat clip to the back of the cap and to my shirt before going on deck. Duh. Hat clips are little tethers for your cap.

Should have been wearing this hat clip.

*The wise sailor who helped us sail from Norfolk, Virginia to Antigua in the Eastern Caribbean was Harry Corbett, from Oriental, North Carolina. A great sailor and a good friend. Not to leave anybody out, we were also aided in our 14 day crossing by a 19 year old long time sailor by the name of Luke Johnson, from Hampton, Virginia, who would have gladly gone up the mast or taken on any other task deemed precarious before even being asked to do so. The fact that he was crossing the ocean with three old guys was not lost on him.

The End of the Season...Already?

While our Minnesota friends have had their hopes for spring dashed time and again. we on Northern Star are working our way south in order to put our boat up on the hard for the next few months, May through at least August 1st.

Dinghy dock on Iles des Saintes

If the boat is north of 10 1/2 N latitude when a named storm hits, she will not be covered by our insurance. That will put us south of Grenada.  South of Grenada lie the islands of Trinidad and Tobago as well as the country of Venezuela.  Trinidad is our destination. We have been looking for another cruising boat to traverse the waters approaching Venezuela with us without success as of this date. Venezuela was once a safe country for cruisers but reports of piracy now come out of that area. We will be avoiding pirates by sailing at night and staying well away from oil rigs and the Venezuelan coast.

Harbor on Beqia

Kite-surfing north of Mayreau

We have just left Bequia (BEK-way), the northernmost of the Grenadine Islands that are part of the country of St Vincent and the Grenadines; SVG for short. What was once a British colony now has its’ own flag and its’ own economy.  If you were to tell me that you had never before heard of the Grenadines, or St. Vincent or Bequia, I would not judge you harshly.  Prior to leaving with the Salty Dawg Rally from Hampton, Virginia last fall, I could not have told you what or where they were.  This I admit only to emphasize that the Caribbean is a very large area with hundreds of islands; the largest of course, being Cuba and then the Dominican Republic (not to be confused with Dominica (dom-in-EE-ka).

 

Bequia. Locals call it "Paradise." Nobody disagrees.

Bequia just may be the jewel of all the Grenadines.  When our friends on S/V Lulu cleared into Customs on Bequia, the Customs agent stamped their passports, looked them squarely in the eyes and said, “Welcome to paradise. You have arrived.” 

View of Bequia harbor from the Tantie (Auntie) Pearl restaurant

Every morning at 8:00, Lafayette, a woman who happens to own the popular restaurant, The Fig Tree on the waterfront, comes over VHF radio Channel 68 to draw us together under the spell of her calm, joyful voice.  She loves the cruisers and she is not afraid to tell us so.  She greets new arrivals warmly and gives a sad but understanding farewell to those who must leave. She inquires about things lost, stolen or found overnight.  She allows time for cruisers to offer their “treasures of the bilge” over the air. She invites other businesses to advertise their cruiser services, such as water, ice, gas, and laundry services.  

One of the double-enders on Bequia

Each morning Lafayette talks a bit about how she loves her very special island, and hopes that we (cruisers) will too.  She encourages us to be thankful for each day in paradise, and to be the best that we can be.  She ends each broadcast with, ‘As my mother always says, “One Love.”’ You might think that this broadcast is cheesy or self-serving (as a restaurant owner) but you would be wrong if you question whether her words are genuine. 

After some lovely snorkeling, we said farewell to our friends in Bequia and then made the short hop to the Tobago Cays (not to be confused with the island of Tobago). If you ARE confused by now, I understand completely.

The island of Canouan, looking north.  At anchor in Tobago Cays.

The Tobago Cays is a national park and an area ringed by reefs on the northeast through the southeast sides.  The reefs contribute to a diminished swell from the ocean, but certainly do not remove it altogether.  Behind the reefs are a few very small islands and lots and lots of turtles. We anchored in what was a rolling wave area between two islands and went to explore the Horseshoe Reef due east by dinghy. The Cays are picturesque beyond my well-oiled imagination.  Beautiful aquamarine water punctuated by darker water indicating turtle grass below. We could see islands nearly all around us, several of them many miles away.  

Just dropped anchor between two islands, Tobago Cays

This morning we snorkeled with the turtles.  In my case, it was only one turtle really, but he was very accommodating and allowed me to shadow him for a long time as he munched, came up for air, and returned to his repast.  Carl actually spent time with several turtles closer to our dinghy and out of the cordoned-off “turtle” area.  I was sad to have strayed so far from the dinghy.

Tobago Cay turtle

Alas, the anchorage continued to be uncomfortable with choppy waves and since we did not plan to snorkel there again, we made the short 3 mile jump to the island of Mayreau ((MAY-roo) where we again connected up with a familiar group of cruisers. 

Mexican train dominoes

Now in a much calmer anchorage, we discovered that our cruising friends, in our absence, had taken up Mexican Train dominoes on the beach in late afternoon.

We are now only three days from our 24 hour passage to Trinidad.  We check out of the Grenadines on Union Island, then sail on to Carriacou (KARE-EE-a-coo) which is part of the country of Grenada.  We check in and out of Grenada and then sail to our final destination for this season, Trinidad.  

Whether buddy boating or not, we shall be sailing the most dangerous waters during the night as we approach Trinidad.  Pirates coming out from Venezuela tend to have small boats (without navigation aids) and thus are more likely to be out on the ocean during daylight hours. We have every intention of avoiding them altogether. I feel a little like we are going to be starring in a James Bond movie. 

With background music that is somber and building in intensity, the trailer goes something like this…”There she goes, under full sail, the sailing vessel Northern Star quietly slicing through the waters on the high seas, thwarting the region’s piracy by slipping past under cover of darkness while they sleep. 

Captain Carl.....Carl Richards

The boat captain’s name you ask? It’s Bond…NO, no, it’s  Richards…Carl Richards.”

Did you say "Carl?"

I thought I heard his name....Carl.  Carl Richards.

Guadeloupe, My Love

The little town of Bourg des Saintes, on Iles des Saintes.  Lots of cruise
ship tourists pass through.

L'Eglise Notre Dame de l' Assomption, named for the
famous victory of the French against the British, 1666.

Up until a few months ago, I’m not sure I’d even heard of Guadeloupe.  If I had, I certainly had no idea where it was. From now on, I will likely be singing her praises.  We have been here less than a week, and have found so much beauty, and have so much more to explore.  And the people!  Wonderful, friendly, helpful and often very attractive people.  A few of them speak English and with the others, we limp along using the few French words that we have learned. 

These little girls were so beautiful and happy, I
just had to photograph them playing in the square.

Google Translate, I just have to say, is a wonderful invention  If you have used it already, you know what I am talking about.  I can enter text in English and it will be magically translated into French (or any other language I choose) and I can also  hear it spoken, repeatedly, if I want.  And I usually do want.  Furthermore, and this is really cool, if I don’t dare speak the translation myself,(which I am rarely too shy to doI can just turn my iPhone horizontally and the written translation will be magnified 10 fold on a blue background so that I can just hold it up to the person with whom I am trying to communicate. Voile’.  

Apparently happy about the menu translation with Google Translate

Plus, get this….. I can hold the phone with Google Translate over a menu and the menu will miraculously be in English!  How cool is that?  

Top-French Courtesy flag for Guadeloupe

We spent a few days anchored in the harbor off Deshaies (Day-yay) where Carl cleared us into Customs and where I made a French flag.  Silly me—before we left the States I’d ordered a flag for every Caribbean country that I thought we would probably visit at some point but I did not find any flag for Guadeloupe.  Duh—Guadeloupe belongs to France, thus the French flag is flown.  Well, I came armed with flag fabrics and made a rather large French flag.  

These little lorikeets fought over Carl, or more likely,
the coconut juice in the small cup.

A bit of flag etiquette here—the flag of one’s own country is flown usually off the back of the boat, and is supposed to be proportionately larger than the other flags that might be flown and of a size that is commensurate with the size of the boat.  Ahem….not so in our case.  Our U.S. flag is very small because it too easily gets wrapped around our AIS antennae.  Ignoring common etiquette, I made a huge French flag, as a sign of respect. It is flown on a flag halyard alongside the mast.

Delicate flower high up in tree

We chose two day-long activities to enjoy while in Deshaies.  There will be several more days spent in Guadeloupe a little later on in our travels.  

Wish I could remember the name of this huge, unusual tree.  

Atop one of the smaller mountains overlooking Deshaies is a Botanical Garden the likes of which I had never seen!  And I have seen some incredible botanical gardens in my time.  

Looking from the Botanical Gardens to the Caribbean Sea

We were awestruck! Here is this tiny little fishing village and only a steep drive uphill takes one to extensive gardens covering several acres over the top of the mountain. 

This little guy is only about 3" long from nose to tail.

Twiggy the Flamingo

Basically, I just want to share some of my photos here since words do not begin to do the place justice.  Oh, and when I phoned the Jardin Botanique, they sent a driver down the mountain to pick us up and they brought us back down the mountain again, too.

A Bus stop.  Sugar cane, the primary crop,
is used to make rhum in Guadeloupe.

The next day we boarded a bus bound for Pointe-a-Pitre, (Pwant a Peetr) a large city toward the center of Guadeloupe.  It lies on a river that bisects the two island halves of Guadeloupe.  

"So I says, Vera, honey, let's go to the beach.  Well, I'm 
here. But no Vera. Guess I'll just chew my cud....again."

We were on the bus for the opportunity to see the countryside as much as for a visit to the city of Pointe Pitre (Pointing Clown).  My personal opinion is that the city’s name lacks the sort of pomp that lends itself to being taken seriously, but the city has survived this long in spite of it, so…..what do I know?

Historic area of Pointe-a-Pitre.

We managed to find our way by bus through the city to the old downtown, along the waterfront of course.  We seem to have a nose for finding historic districts.  The old downtown reminds me of the French Quarter in New Orleans but without the care taken to preserve the old buildings that is seen in the Quarter.  Regardless, it is a charming old district, with narrow little streets, broadly porched buildings with several pairs of 8’ tall painted doors leading to each interior. 

Cemeteries on Guadeloupe.

There are boulangeries (bakeries) here and there of which we are big fans.  Huge! And the ancient trees remain in the historic district, as a testament to the longevity of the old city.  We found what I would call the Creole district with shops of brightly colored cloths made into garb reminiscent of African garments complete with matching turbans.  

Flower vendors in the square.  The old Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul is off to the right.

There are hawkers on the streets, selling all sorts of wares, and a large marche’ (market) just along the water with beautiful vegetables and fruits and  hats and jewelry.  Surrounding all of this is a large modern city, clean and orderly.  The bus back to Deshaies was packed whereas we had the entire bus to ourselves on the way to the city.  

School boys

We rode with shoppers with their groceries, workers going home at the end of the day and high school-age students wearing the colors of their school uniforms.  As more and more people poured onto the bus, the thought came to me….'We are SO white.’  Because it was approaching dusk, we could see some families gathered on some of those huge porches around a lighted table where there would be dinner, no doubt.

Panorama of Iles des Saintes nearing sunset. The very round knob on the far left is
called Le Pain de Sucre (sweet bread)

We have now sailed further south on to another set of small islands which are actually also part of France.  These are the Iles des Saintes (Eel d’ San) and I would be hard-pressed to name another set of islands (yet anyhow) that are more picturesque.  We are moored off a little town called Bourg des Saintes (Borg d’ San) and are surrounded by a cluster of small islands.  

Towns and cities line the western coast of Guadeloupe.

We can see the lights of the much larger island of Guadeloupe about 8 miles to the north.  More immediately surrounding us are the ruins of three old forts atop the smaller mountains of Iles des Saintes. Hiking paths will take us to see them, as well as the goats that clamber around the rocky islands.  

Main streets in Bourg des Saintes.  Lots of restaurants and shops for the tourists.

And the iguanas!  We saw one today while eating the most delicious glace’ (ice cream) that I can recall. It was I that was eating the glace’, not the iguana but I would have gladly shared if he’d have come down off the roof. Not as large as those National Geographic iguanas, but still very impressive, and very, very green.

I will call him "Vert" which of course means "green."

From here, we go on to the island of Dominica, so horrendously ravaged by Hurricane Maria. It is only another 20 miles farther south but we are prepared for it to be a world away from the serenity and beauty that we are enjoying here in Iles des Saintes.  With us we are carrying a few relief supplies and will join with another group of sailboats already there in Portsmouth. After a time in Dominica, my next post will surely be of a more somber nature.   Wish us well as we attempt to help out in whatever ways we can.