Chaguaramas, Trinidad

Hot hot hot! That is Trinidad in June. It isn’t so much the heat of 92 degrees every day but it is also the humidity that approaches 100% each day. That makes the heat index 100 degrees just before dawn and then it goes up during the day!

Steve is broadcasting the marine weather forecast in the mornings and he also is the net controller one day a week. The weather is important because this is hurricane season and we have to monitor where potential storms may form, just in case they threaten us.

The net controller position is like a radio disk jockey. The program is 30 minutes long and is broadcast to everyone within radio range first thing in the morning. Steve claims he has not talked so much in his life. Maria thinks he sounds like Walter Cronkite.

The gym is where Maria can be found every morning, working out to the sounds of the parrots flying overhead. After her workout, while Steve is hunched over his computer, Maria enjoys sitting by the pool before the temperature becomes too hot.

This also happens to be the rainy season. When it rains here we are talking about downpours! We have to keep an eye on our dinghy to make sure it doesn’t sink from all the water it accumulates from these tropical showers.

Injuries are common among the sailors here. Broken legs, arms, huge bruises and the usual cuts and scrapes are everywhere. It seems that the boats rolling at anchor and at the dock as well as the paths around the area take their tolls. Maria’s back is in bad shape after lifting the sails off the boat. Think of life on a boat as constant pilates because of the motion of the boat all the time. Arrrrr, isn’t this great!

Sail on sail on Aspen…
Steve and Maria