After taking ownership of our new old boat, a 1981 Tayana 37, we prepared her to sail from the island of Trinidad to Grenada. Grenada is around 90 nautical miles north of Trindad and would require an overnight passage. But until we could make a few upgrades to Soltara, our insurance company was holding us hostage. Ah, marine insurance — how I loathe thee.
We replaced the old glass in the portlights (some of the double panes had small cracks), replaced the rigging, made a small repair to the bowsprit, upgraded all of the electronics (details about this will come in a later post), and a few other items were repaired/upgraded in Trinidad. Once we had completed the repairs, we were itching to get back to Grenada to meet with a potential buyer for Snowflake, our catamaran.
We made a few short sails on Soltara around Chagauramas Bay, testing out systems and learning how Soltara handled. The next day was Christmas Day and the weather window was perfect. What better way to celebrate Christmas Day than to go on our first little voyage on our dream boat?
We cleared out with Trinidad Customs and Immigration, and on Christmas afternoon we left Chagauramas Bay and sailed towards the Bocas. The Bocas are narrow waterways between Trinidad and several little islands. We sailed just outside of the Bocas, tacking and jibing, getting a good feel for our classic lady. Once confident, we altered course and sailed with the ebbing tide through the first Boca.
The start of our sail was exciting. We motor sailed, as the wind off the cliffs of Trinidad would come and go. One huge gust sent us healing a bit more than expected and took us by surprise, but Soltara handled it beautifully. Not long after we emerged from the Boca, the trade winds steadied to around 10 to 15 knots.
The sail was almost magical. The waves were gentle, the sky was clear, dolphins came to visit. Soltara seemed to dance and play with the dolphins as she gracefully sliced through the waves that gently caressed her hull. We smiled and enjoyed the easy motion of our little ship.
Looking behind us, we thought we could make out a ketch-rigged sailboat coming through the Boca. While in Trinidad, we became friends with Cori and Dale. We knew they were also taking advantage of the good weather window to sail to Grenada, so we figured the sailboat was likely their Pearson 424, SV Hiflite.
L.J. hailed Hiflite on the VHF radio and confirmed that the ketch rigged boat was indeed Hiflite. It was nice to know that our friends were also out sailing in the beautiful weather and enjoying the dolphins as well.
As the sun set and darkness fell, millions of stars appeared in the sky above us. We marveled at how beautifully Soltara handled. Of course, it was much different from our catamaran — we were sailing on a bit of a lean. Going below for something to drink or eat was like moving around in one of the funny houses I remembered from childhood trips to the fair. While awkward, it wasn’t difficult to move around inside. When I placed my water bottle on the counter to reach for a snack in the fridge, I laughed when the bottle instantly slid across the across the counter.
Over all, the sail was easy, beautifully uneventful. It was the best first sail we could’ve asked for on our new-to-us boat. The following morning, as the sun rose, we were excited and quite proud of ourselves when we sighted Grenada. As we turned into the wind, just outside of Prickly Bay, Grenada to lower our sails, a feeling of joy overcame us. While we were tired — it was our first overnight sail in months — we couldn’t stop smiling.
Our first sail on Soltara was a success!
Motoring into Prickly Bay, we knew the tasks ahead of us would be challenging. First on the list, was to move our personal belongings from Snowflake to Soltara. We only had a few days to accomplish this task, before the potential buyers would come to see Snowflake. We were up for the task. We didn’t think we had that many personal belongings to move, and we had a very keen buyer.
What could possibly go wrong?
Adventures of SV Soltara 