Miss Daisie

Can someone pass me some lemon and tobasco to go with these Calabash oysters

Miss Daisie

Miss Daisie, the fluffy bear, with her pal Betsy

Miss Daisie

With the wind in my hair

Before Leaving Chaguaramas

Michael the travel lift operator at Power Boats hauls a lot of boats so we know we are in good hands. Ray and Genna of Nighthawk look on from the sidelines.

The end of the 2009 Caribbean hurricane season is almost upon us. Bristol Rose "splashed" today, Monday, 2nd November. She's back in her old slip on Dock C at Power Boats. Our neighbors at the dock are Golden Fleece, Spirited Lady and Kardia. Next on the list of to do's comes bending sails and her shakedown cruise, all in preparation for returning to the cruising life.

In Trini, not only do they permit traveling in the boat while in the slings, they encourage it.

BR was hauled out by Power Boat's travel lift team headed by Michael just a week ago. She sat snugly on the jack stands while barnacles were scraped away, new black bottom paint was applied by Andy and Lester, through hulls were serviced, sea cocks greased, sides polished, zincs replaced, new anchor chain installed, gold scrolls and the Shannon named on starboard and port sides were re-painted, decks washed down, Orande of Fortress completed a new cupboard where the microwave used to sit, TV was relocated to a bulkhead and a new shelf went into the cupboard in it's place, new family size cockpit table was fitted by Sterling of Fortress, sails came off for checking and prep for new cradle-style sail covers by Soca Sails, Robert continued to manage operations and chase up new equipment, Trish cleaned, provisioned and organized and Daisie supervised. All that in just one week!

It has been 13 months since Bristol Rose was hauled, Cheasapeake bottom paint is no match for Grenada or Trini barnacles



Here's the view from the travel lift, looking over BR's port side to Crews Inn.

And looking to starboard is a good view of commercial boats and sail boats in Chaguaramas Bay. There are a few islands around the bay. I think this one is Gaspar Grande.

While Trish was in the States during October, Fred worked on BR's brightwork. It's quite a big job and we're happy to say we're very pleased with the results. Robert even enjoyed some friendly sporting rivalry with Fred during the Trinidad versus Australia cricket matches.

Companionway cover.

One of the four dorade boxes.

Before leaving Chaguaramas, there's more work to be done. When we started our list of "to dos", we were a little daunted by the 60+ items on the list. Many were safety items we needed to purchase to comply with the World ARC safety standards. Others were typical annual maintenance "gotta dos" like haul and apply new bottom paint. Our top "wanna do" was to have a new cockpit table built; one that would seat 8 people. After all, one of the things that attracted us to Shannons was the large cockpit, great for entertaining.

New cockpit table with Purple Heart and Trinidad Juniper compass rose. Our cockpit table can be lowered to seat height, turning the cockpit into one large bed.

Scraping barnacles. Haul out time is a chance to inspect every inch of Bristol Rose. She's in good shape. Just a few more little things to be completed and we'll be on our way north.

Miss Daisie

Miss Daisie - "what am I doing here?"

All Hallows Eve - Chaguaramas Trinidad 2009

As the sun set over Chaguaramas Bay, ghostly figures emerged from behind the shadows. Instead of jack-o-lanterns, the figures weaved their way through a sea of jack stands holding stranded, sleeping giants.

Daisie jumped to attention when cries of "Trick or Treat!" rang out. Who are these strange creatures surrounding Bristol Rose? Thank goodness we were able to placate them with candy. Off they went, leaving the giants alone again, land sick and waiting.

Miss Daisie

Make-up! Will someone please wipe the sand off my nose? She's pointing that camera at me again. The wet sand feels great on my tummy.

It's Sunday morning; time to share a picture of Miss Daisie's cruising life. It was a hot day in the Bahamas when I took this picture. Daisie dug a hole right at the water's edge in the only shady spot she could find. Perfect!

Mss Daisie

Miss Daisie reporting for duty