Adventures on our Trintella 57a…
The Cocoa Processing Plant; it’s stacked so the seeds dry in their own heat, then sun dried on racks, washed and polished. A factory has now been built to grind the beans and it opens in about a month’s time (taken a few years for some vertical integration). It was all very dark and very basic within the cocoa barn.
More plants, seeds and spices along with a few local houses that we passed along the way together with the purchase of the famous ‘spice necklasses’;
The Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist – many times over! Holder of an OBE he has met with the Pope, Queen, Prince Charles and many Prime Minister’s but his interest is making natural medicines from the island plants.
We took Cutty (actual name Cuthbert) Island Tour of the Spice Island. It’s amazing to see what’s growing on every corner. As we toured in his taxi Cuthy, who is a farmer when not driving, stopped every 10 minutes to show us more plants and spices, fruits and vegetables. These included from what I can recall: Pineapple, Papaya, Cocoa, Castor Beans, Ginger Leaf, Nutmeg, Star Fruit, Lemon Grass, Cashew Nuts, Limes, Traveller’s Palm, Poinsettia, Chelsea Flower Show winners, Cinnamon, Breadfruit, Bread Nut, Noni, Cloves, Turmeric, Cocoa Pods Cocoa
We have been to Choo Light Chinese Restaurant a few times. It’s almost cheaper than cooking onboard. The restaurant has a large floor area but we tend to be the only ones eating there. Mrs Choo said the crews have just stopped coming and people get take away now – and this is a common thread across all island businesses. Things are slowing down or disappearing. Top dishes here are Honey & Garlic, Black Bean and best of all Ginger & Green Onion
We have had a few good days but the squalls returned
The Cuban was finally substituted for by another electrician called Davis who was a delightful guy. He tested the mainsail furling solenoid and connections and they were OK. So the hydraulic motor was disassembled and all the connectors were burnt out. They had caught on the casing internally due to stress the source of which is unknown. Now we wait for the verdict from the workshop. In the UK I could order a motor off-the-shelf today. Ah well…
I am waiting for ‘The Cuban’ to come and inspect my solenoid. This is the dangly bit that operates the mainsail hydraulic motor. No sign of him yet but this kind of waiting isn’t all bad!
We went for a walk and ended up in Dodgy Dock. Very colourful but we were attacked by noseeums so got out quickly.
To get our headsail furling fixed we will have to sail about 400nm north to St Martin to work with Rondals ‘partner’ in the Caribbean. This is likely to be more economical and result in a better solution than carrying out bespoke engineering even in capable locations such as Grenada. Our mainsail furling, a second complete hydraulic system, packed up in Canouan. It’s probably a faulty starter solenoid so ‘The Cuban’ is coming out at anchor to check it over tomorrow.