On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 22:01:48 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:49:10 +1000, Peter Hendra
wrote:

I had dreamed, many years ago of sailing up the Hudson/Eire canal and
down the Chicago Sanitary canal to the Bay of Mexico. I doubt now that
I'll do it but it is still tempting and I might still head north after
leaving Trinidad. Florida is only two weeks away.

Do you know John and Penny from the Skookum 53 "Seahorse" in Trinidad?

They winter in Trinidad and go back up the Hudson River to Lake
Champlain in the spring. That's a great trip and they are nice folks.
Say hello for me if you run into them, Wayne and Diane from the Grand
Banks 49 trawler.


Hi Wayne,

There are four major yards here with mostly American boats in them
plus a marina attached to the Cruise In Hotel. I'll ask around and
give your regards should I find them. I am learning to speak with a
slow drawl like a mentally challenged person and mispronounce some of
my words, so they should be able to understand me. I've even learned
to curb my humour as I've discovered that Americans do not readily
understand my Antipodean one which is often based on puns - seemingly
foreign to them.

Actually, for an ex-British colony, this country has many hallmarks of
a US territory partly because Chagaramas was at one time, the largest
American base in the world. Given by the British in exchange for the
lend-lease destroyers etc in 1941, at one time there were about
400,000 servicemen based here as well as at the two military
airfields.

Another reason for the American-ness of the place is that, as I said,
there are so many US citizens here. Prices in catalogues (again -
correct spelling as in "colour" and programme") are often in US. I had
the teak on top of my hatches replaced - quoted in US dollars not TT
ones. Gallons are 3.7 litres, not 4.2 as in the rest of the world,
power is 110 volts, weight is in pounds and ounces - not kilos. Bolts
are not metric (they import Japanese cars so must have problems), and
linear measure is in feet and inches, not the far simpler metre,
centimetre and millimetre where, like the kilo, you just move the
decimal point. AWG is fine, but everywhere else uses cross sectional
area in millimetres - so much easier to calculate loss due to
resistance.

Last week I needed a new copper pipe for my compressor - couldn't get
any metric. I went to buy some wire - $TT 10 on the price ticket -
reasonable I thought for a yard or a metre - then I found that it was
priced by the foot.

At least time is still based upon 24 hours in a day and 365.25 days in
a year. I would spit tacks if the American system had more hours in a
day. I work long enough on this boat as it is already.

Still, most people are very friendly and helpful, are relaxed about
life and behave politely to each other as if they are in continual
holiday mode. I hesitate however to address people in the Australian
manner with "Gidday mate" least it been interpreted as being
suggestive.

cheers
Peter