Egyptians of the Pharaoh period built large boats that tended to sag at each end so they ran a rope from stem to stern, which was then doubled and tightened using what is now called a Spanish windlass. This produced a sort of aerial keel. A lot of this interesting information has been discovered from shipwrecks found on the seabed of the Mediterranean Sea or, perhaps, the 'midland sea'. The Egyptians buried their Pharaohs in magnificent tombs and in one case the parts of a complete unassembled ship were included so that he could sail in his usual splendour on what one must presume is the eternal Nile in their concept of life and death.
So, you see, there is nothing new in the history of boatbuilding large and small and we were well matched by the ancients, even with our high tech chemical bondings.
Caribbean News (TyroneC)
Tyrone is currently sailing his self built catamaran in the Caribbean and has sent this report.
We were happy to leave Guadeloupe; lovely spot but no cruising people around and all the yachties seemed to be French on charters, who are not always the best socialisers for us. The one plus was I picked up an old Genoa for 200 Euros which has been doing us great service for downwind sailing since then. Takes a few minutes to swap it over for our Jib but we are very glad to have it.
Our next stops were St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Stayed one night in Wallilabou, setting for one of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and had dinner in the remnants of a film set. Then on to Bequia, which was a real yachties anchorage, loads of boats of all shapes and sizes. We ended up celebrating New Year on a millionaire's charter boat with a bunch of Canadians, very luxurious and a hold full of toys but unfortunately we didn't get the chance to take their hovercraft for a spin. After Bequia we went to a fantastic snorkelling place and saw lots of turtles and rays, though it was rather crowded. Our final stop was Union Island where we just missed out on meeting up with Robert Livingstone (a canoeist friend of Tyrone's - Ed.) who was apparently coming out with a bunch of people from Share (an outdoor centre in N.I. - Ed.) on a charter. Funnily enough we got it from two sources so when our friends on Balu (from Carrick Fergus) came into the harbour the day after us and said one of them was meeting a boat in a couple of days we were able to tell them who was on it!
After the Union we made for Chagauramas in Trinidad to get some work done on Gillaroo (Tyrone's boat - Ed.) There is a huge work facility there with several companies with lifts and just about every marine expert you could want. We got hauled out on a trailer, a slightly easier operation than Dago's lorry but not as entertaining. Had 8 days up on the hard working away and got loads of jobs done, some fibreglass work that we couldn't do on the water plus painting and refitting various bits and pieces. Prices were a fraction of Europe too; cost us $280 all in for the week. Took our screecher and bowsprit off, which we never got working right. Had a very interesting neighbour, Wolfgang, who had built some catamarans and suggested that our keel design could be the cause of some of our performance problems. I have always felt Gillaroo sailed very well in light winds but not right in moderate conditions (and we have not had to face a storm yet). So food for thought for the future. People in Trinidad were so friendly, and there wasn't that pushiness we had had a bit of in St Vincent. The only negative was the mossies and "no see ums" who made a feast of Erica and me. Generally on the boat we have been free of them. Also got to visit the dentist at last and had my tooth whipped out. Very clean and professional clinic.
We had been planning to move on to Panama to meet up with Sacki but he cancelled his trip and as Christel and Ciaran were going to be visiting Tobago we set off for there. Had a tough sail across, 4 knots of current against us for half the trip. The pilot book had given a suggested route but neglected to give the reason why! Perhaps we should ask next time. In Tobago we went up to the north end of the Island and had a wonderful 5 days at Charlottesville. I did a diving course for 3 days and got my qualifications. Just loved the diving so much and the fish/eels/sharks/corals were out of this world. But perhaps the best bit is simply swimming around weightless amongst the beautiful coral and sponge gardens. They were all drift dives so we would be dropped of at one spot and get carried along by the current. Neil and Erica went fishing with a local landscape gardener but caught nothing. I suggested they try a fisherman next time! After Charlotte we went back down island to meet up with C&C. Were a day late because "immigration" was away for the day from Charlotte and we weren't allowed to leave. When we arrived in our anchoring bay there was someone surfing up the end of the beach. When I got ashore it turned out to be Scott from O-Flo
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