A NEar Perfect Sail - For Once !

Should we or shouldn't we ? We had many discussions about whether or not to make the trip down to Trinidad and Tobago; perhaps we would just stay in gorgeous Grenada ? We had already cancelled plans to visit Venezuela due to the ongoing issues there and now were undecided about TT. However, we reminded ourselves that we were on an adventure and decided to set sail.

We followed the advice about sailing overnight, advising the coast guard and others of our plans and picking a route that would keep us off the coast of Venezuela - there hadn't been a pirate attack for 18 months, but better safe than sorry ! We had done our safety checks, oiled moving parts and even had a curry ready for dinner. Time to go.

We left Prickly Bay in Grenada before 1800 to give ourselves some time to remember how to sail before it got dark. It had been 4 weeks since we had hoisted the sails after all. We were then treated to one of those rare experiences at sea - a near perfect night sail to Trinidad. The wind remained fairly constant all night (only a brief spell of motor-sailing required), no squalls or rain came to challenge us, we took turns to nap, all the other vessels and platforms we saw were well clear of us, we watched shooting stars and kept beautifully on track with our passage plan. 

Don't worry Mum and Dad - this was as close as we got to Venezuela
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As dawn approached we started to see the outlines of Trinidad and Venezuela and I think we would admit that pirates crossed our minds again, just for a second. However, when our yacht was approached by visitors it was by a very welcome pod of dolphins. They played in our bow waves for at least on hour, taking it in turns to swim perilously close to the bow before leaping off to breathe and then start the game again. We always love watching dolphins and wonder what they are thinking as they turn their heads to look up at us. How lucky to be able to dangle our feet and hands overboard and get splashed by their play.

Our visitors departed as we neared the north coast of Trinidad and we then heard the harbour control talking to a large vessel who was approaching Port of Spain. The harbour master advised the vessel that they were clear to proceed and wished them a “blessed day.” What a lovely start to the day and end to our night passage. Next stop Chaguaramas, Trinidad......