Back in the water
Author: Shirlz
Chaguaramas
Sunday, 10 March 2013
The boat is floating again and rocks me gently to sleep at night. A blissful feeling. After relaunching I immediately motored round to the anchorage at Scotland Bay to detox for a few days and finish off some more jobs that could easily be done on the water.
Sinbad not entirely happy
Sinbad was less enthusiastic about leaving the boatyard and his nightly prowls with the local cats but handled it bravely, well aware of where the next bowl of tuna was coming from.
I sat back and relaxed for a bit surrounded by the forest greenery and clear water. A pair of turtles swam around near the boat chasing small silvery fish. A kingfisher watched the water closely from a vantage point on a mangrove root. Frigate birds circled and made mad fluttering swoops down to the surface of the water while big black corbeaux hopped and scuttled around on the small beach clearing up after the weekend picknickers. At night the water sparkled with phosphorescence and stars shone brilliantly – a beautiful contrast to the security fences and floodlighting of the boatyard.
I sat in the cockpit hand-stitching a new window in my spray dodger. The old one had become cloudy and brittle with cracks. Impossible to see through. I also neatened off the new rigging after checking that I hadn’t forgotten anything.
Thursday, 14 March 2013
On Monday I sailed back to Chaguaramas and found a good spot to anchor in the bay. It was a gentle downwind sail and a chance to see that all my bits of string were as they should be. I couldn’t see any problems although it would have been nice if I had been able to afford to replace all the blocks. The old ones don’t seem to run all that freely anymore and in light air I have to push the boom out by hand.
Apart from a final appointment with the dentist my main reason for returning to town was to look for a new sewing machine, something which I consider to be an essential piece of equipment on my boat. Apart from using it for sewing and repairing sails, awnings, dodgers, lee cloths, flags, cushion covers, shopping bags, etc, I also use it to make most of my clothes. The old one had finally tested my patience to breaking point. It had never been intended for the sort of abuse I had inflicted on it. The last straw came when a fine spring flew out of the tension wheel while I was taking it apart in a vain attempt to correct the wildly looping stitches that were being produced, and as these things normally happen, disappeared through a crack in the floorboards and into the bilge – never to be seen again.
Fabric shop in Port of Spain
The search for a new machine was on. A good strong vintage hand-operated machine was my ideal and trawling through Trinidad’s yellow pages produced a couple of addresses in San Juan, a short distance from Port of Spain. I set off on my quest, starting from St James after that last bit of dentistry. The informal public transport system is wonderfully convenient and cheap. I shared a ‘taxi’ with 4 others and the helpful driver dropped me off at the bottom of Charlotte St where I was able to slip straight into the back seat of the next taxi with 4 other women heading out to San Juan. They knew where the sewing machine shops were and told the driver where to let me off. Unfortunately, the sad collection of second-hand machines were rusted up and missing essential bits. The only heavy-duty machines were of the seriously industrial sort with price tags well in excess of US$1000. Oh well, it was worth a try. Back in Henry St I found a brand new lightweight machine in my price range. No fancy stitches – just straight and zigzag. It runs nicely off my inverter and I’m sure I’ll be able to attach a flywheel and handle if the inverter dies one day.
Freshly painted and ready to launch
If the weather behaves as predicted, I’ll be off to Grenada before the end of the week, very happy with all that I’ve been able to get done here in Trinidad: Rudder fixed, mast repainted, battens repaired, new rigging, new antifouling, topsides painted, anti-siphon arrangement for the engine, dinghy refurbished, new spray dodger window. As usual the interior was a bit neglected so my plans for complete rewiring and new upholstery will have to wait for next time.
Tags: sewing machines
March 18th, 2013 at 20:26
Glad to see you back in the water and Speedwell looks stunning! Lot of hard work me thinks. Dunno if you know these machines or whether the price ($349) is out of budget but its a Sailrite at half the price. We have a 100 year old Singer – single stich only and no walking foot but a lovely machine. Are you making your way north?
https://sites.google.com/site/morseint/portableindustrial