Grenada Bluewater-Sailing Coastal Skipper & Yachtmaster Summer Courses to be held between June - September 2010 RYA sailing school offering practical and theory courses from Day and Coastal Skipper and Yachtmaster. Additional courses such as RYA SRC VHE Engine Maintenance, Radar, First Aid. RYA Yachtmaster Summer Courses to be held for Caribbean Residents at a reduced rate. Contact us for more details. Alex & Fran / www.grenadabluewatersailing.com www.bluewater-sailing.net /Tel 0044 (0)208 8168310/ Cell 001 473 4567696 / Cell 0044 7872 225176 / enquiries@bluewater-sailing.net Private crewed yachts wanted for charters Grenada-Grenadines, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe Yacht must be in good conditions with at least one cabin and separate washroom for guests Two persons crew required. Year round income. Call Daniela in Grenada (473) 443 3424 or email dg@carbservice.com CARIBBEAN &SUN www.canbbean-sun.com wew karibikreisen.com Private Jachten mit Crew fur Charter gesucht (Grenada-Grenadinen, St. Lucia, Guadeloupe Jacht muss in gutem Zustand sein mit mindestens 1 Kabine und eigener Nasszelle flr Gaste 2 Personen Crew. Ganzjahriges Einkommen, Daniela in Grenada anrufen (473) 443 2424 oder Email dg@canbservice SEN, Der deetiy Desir 5 KARIBIGs EISEN, www. canbbean-sun.com ww. kanbikreisen com Marine Insurance The insurance business has changed. No longer can brokers talk of low rates. Rather, the honest broker can only say, “I'll do my best to minimize your increase!” There is good insurance, there is cheap insurance, but there is no good cheap insurance. You never know how good our insurance is until you have a claim My claims settlement record cannot be matched. I have been connected with the marine insurance business for 47 years. I have developed a rapport with brokers and underwriters at Lloyds and am able to introduce boat owners to specialist brokers in the Lloyds market. e-mail: streetiolaire @hotmail.com www. street-iolaire.com a es 1 XO tt OZ | Dear Compass, I read Jim Hutchinson’s “What's on My Mind” piece on moorings, in your December issue, with a wry smile and a feeling of total agreement. Tit Lixi has been hit on many occasions by boats of all stripe and flag, by crews of varying levels of ability and persuasion. However, what impresses me most is not the where — docks, at anchor, as they swing from moorings (try to point out the illegality to a yacht’s skipper, or indeed to the local authorities, both tend to disappear!) — but the explanations offered. My favourites from yachties include, and these were all while we were quietly anchored: ¢ “We wanted to anchor in sand.” These people might have been sailing too long; they ended up six feet from our starboard rail. e¢ “The wind changed.” No, they anchored at 90 degrees to it. ¢ “I am an experienced professional skipper, use an anchor I am totally confident in, and didn’t know you were worried.” This chap arrived in the dark, nailed it right over my anchor and should have seen my 500,000- candlepower torch shining down into his cockpit. ¢ “Don't worry, I'll move if I am unhappy with my position.” We were busy putting out fenders as this “professional skipper” brayed out to us. ¢ “We've been coming here for five or six years.” This did floor me, but perhaps I was looking for a rational explanation. Tid Lixi has yet to actually hit another yacht — docks, posts, marker buoys, yes, but not another boat. I hope that my next letter will not have to update that statement! I never fail to be impressed by the yachties who feel, in a mostly empty bay, that the only place to anchor is within a boat-length of us. As Tixit Lixi is not a very shiny boat (a little like its owner, it might be described as rather disreputable looking), it is still a mystery why anyone would wish to be so very close. Would any yacht owner see this type of bullying as anything less than bad manners and possibly threat- ening behaviour? Andy Pell Tixi Lixi Dear Compass, In the December issue of Compass, Frank Virgintino, author of the Dominican Republic Cruising Guide (www. dominicanrepubliccruisingguide.com), complains that I did not mention the Dominican Republic in my arti- cle in October 2009's Compass about sailing from the US East Coast to the Eastern Caribbean. There is an old saying “gentlemen do not beat to windward”, t which my wife, Trich, replies, “I obviously did not marry a gentleman”. But I do try to avoid it. My fellow cruising guide author Bruce Van Sant talks of a “thornless path” but, no matter how you lucky you are with weather windows, the straight-line distance from Ft, Lauderdale to St. Thomas is 1,100 miles, and following the island-hopping “thornless” ath you will probably sail 2,000 miles — with the majority of it to windward against a one-knot current. Here’s the way I advise East Coast sailors to visit the Dominican Republic: leave from Morehead/Beaufort inlet or, if you cannot fit under the 64-foot bridge, rom Little Creek, Virginia. Head east-southeast until the butter melts, then head south and hopefully you will arrive in St. Thomas. Then work your way east- wards in short stages through the Virgins. Take off rom either Virgin Gorda or Anegada for a straight shot to Grenada, a beautiful three-day reach. Enjoy Grenada, and then head north through the island chain. You'll have minimal beating to windward if you work the tides correctly and cross the passages on a weather-going tide (see instructions on the back of all mray lolaire charts), End up back in the Virgin slands, and then continue downwind via the Spanish Virgins and the south coast of Puerto Rico. At Boqueron, a decision must be made. If heading to the northeast coast of the States, it is on to Bermuda and the States; if heading to the southern part of the States, continue west to the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and on to the States via the Old Bahama Channel. Very little of this entire route will involve beating to windward! There was a letter from Emmanuel on the yacht Soca Girl in the same December 2009 issue of Compass, in which he reports being the victim of an armed robbery aboard, while anchored at Chateaubelair, St. Vincent. I have been writing guides to the Caribbean since 1964. I have made my reputation for providing good inter-island sailing and harbor piloting directions, plus I have always called a spade a spade. At times this has made me very unpopular with certain groups, such as some Vincentians and some bareboat manag- ers. Ever since | first visited the west coast of St. Vincent in the early 1960s I have considered it a trouble spot. The St. Vincent police department is either incapable of, or not interested in, keeping con- trol of the area. For the last 30 years I have avoided the west coast of St. Vincent by sailing to windward of St. Vincent. From Bequia, leave at the first of the weather-going tide and short-tack up the coast of Bequia to stay in relatively smooth water. As you reach the northeast corner of Bequia, stand across Bequia Channel with tide lifting you. Continue on up the windward side of St. Vincent to Vieux Fort, St. Lucia. Alternately, continue eastwards to uninhabited Balliceaux, and anchor for the night. Figure the tides carefully and leave Balliceaux to pick up the first of the fair tide as you pass the northeast point of Bequia. This means you will have four hours of fair tide carrying you across Bequia Channel and up the windward coast of St. Vincent. Since the course from Balliceaux to Vieux Fort is approximately 020° it should be cracked sheets — a tight reach or, if the wind is south of east, a beam reach. Heading south from St. Lucia, from the Pitons it is a short beat to Laborie, taking long port tacks and short starboard tacks to stay inshore and out of seas and current. From Laborie it is a short beat again to Vieux Fort. From there it is a fast run or reach (course about 200° magnetic) to Bequia. In the light of the above, why stop on the west coast of St. Vincent? Finally, regarding the warning in the January issue from Marilyn Cook about running aground when entering Christiansted Harbor, St. Croix: there is no excuse for running aground there. My Yachtsman's Guide to the Virgin Islands, circa 1964, had explicit directions to enter Christiansted Harbor: basically, head for Fort Louise Augusta, pass it close aboard to port, and follow the schooner channel. Do not enter at night, as the lights are confusing. These directions were repeated in more detail in my 1966 Cruising Guide to the Lesser Antilles, now in three updated vol- umes, all available via Island Water World and iUni- verse.com. Also see the back of Imray Iolaire charts A 30, the general chart for the USVI and BVI, and A 234, the detailed St. Croix chart. Entering Christiansted at night is known to be risky, but apparently two boats recently ran aground there in broad daylight! One crew was rumored to be watching their chart plotter, not the water (which in Christiansted is crystal clear). This is just incom- petent seamanship. By the way, we are about to redraw chart A 234, If there are any changes to be made, please notify me at streetiolaire@hotmail.com. Don Street Iolaire Dear Compass Readers, As reported in the February 2010 issue of Compass, on December 21st, 2009, the sailing yacht Triton, sail- ing on the rhumb line halfway between Trinidad and Grenada, was attacked by a pirogue with seven or eight Spanish-speaking men, some with guns, who fired a shot in the vicinity of Triton’s skipper. He stopped his boat and allowed the pirates to board. The pirates put covers over the crews heads and ran- sacked the boat, taking everything that could be moved. We have a description of the pirogue and our Coast Guards are on the lookout for that boat, as well as others. The following points would be of interest for yachts traveling between Trinidad and Grenada: ¢ Try to sail in groups. e Do the crossing at night and sail above the rhumb line. ¢ This is risky, but it might be advisable to sail with- out lights. The Coast Guards understandably do not agree, so it’s up to you. ¢ Keep your VHF radio on and properly tuned. ¢ Ifyou are attacked, get the co-ordinates and call on VHF to one or other of the two offshore drilling rigs. The western rig is British Gas, Hibiscus, and the east- ern one is British Gas, Poinsettia. Use VHF channel 16, or their working channel 8, and ask them to contact the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard by their satellite phone. If time permits, a description of the pirates and boat would greatly assist. —Continued on next page