In Search of Internet in Guyana

Once again, we are Internet-challenged. Sad to say, we used to survive admirably well without Internet in our early days of cruising. But now that we do a daily blog, it seems a hardship to do without it. Internet access aboard, via digital modem, has been on our agenda since we arrived here in Bartica. Typically, in other countries, we've purchased a dongle/digital modem, a SIM card and a prepaid data package and though there were hiccups, we (read that David) usually succeeded in getting Internet aboard. It's been a struggle here, however, to access the Internet at all. As you'll recall, we visited the Digicel office on our first day ashore. We couldn't purchase a digital modem here in Bartica (maybe in Georgetown...hours away downriver), but if we unlocked our iPad, we could purchase a SIM and a prepaid data package. Not the best solution, but better than nothing. But Carl, the “unlock” guy, wasn't in his office that day or the next, so we needed to find another alternative … an Internet kiosk. Really? We haven't done that in nearly a decade.

We found two places offering Internet … one was locked up tight; the other was just opening at 10:15. Internet was G$500/hour … fair enough. David had his iPad and, with a little help from our kiosk friend, was able to get on line immediately. I had a USB memory stick with me loaded with pics and blog posts for Gentry and I planned to use the kiosk's computer. I had problems getting on-line. First, the keyboard letters were missing entirely. Second, all the screen commands were in Portuguese … I forgot to mention, it was a Brazilian Internet place.

I finally accessed Yahoo only to be blocked from the account. “It appears you have not accessed your account from this computer before. For security reasons, we'll send you a code to verify your identity.” They offered to send it to my Yahoo mail (which I couldn't access) or our SailMail email address. Well, we weren't on the boat and I didn't have my computer, so SailMail was out of the question. Luckily, David was already on line, so we opted to have the code sent to the Yahoo address.

We waited and waited. Internet was painfully slow, but not this slow. I asked for the code to be resent. It popped up on the iPad screen a few minutes later. Unfortunately, the message “Downloading this message is taking longer than usual” also appeared. We waited and waited some more. Finally, the Yahoo code appeared … just about the same time that the electricity went out. “Black-out”, murmured our Internet guy. “How long?” we queried. A shrug of the shoulders indicated anywhere between 10 minutes and 10 hours. He told us to return in 30 minutes.

We checked out the flea market alley and a few other shops … Christmas decorations were on sale … and dutifully returned to the Internet shop in 30 minutes. Still no power. We had lunch and returned in another hour … still no power. We picked up some Demarara sugar from the grocery store and returned an hour after that to find the shop closed. A neighboring vendor indicated 6pm was the ETA for power resumption. We gave up and headed back to the boat.

En route, David noted that the generators for the power station, right on the main street, were housed in a semi-trailer in front of the Bartica Power & Light Company. A service truck was parked in front of the trailer.

Looking up at the bird's nest of wires surrounding each utility pole along the street, we could begin to understand the power issues in Bartica.

And then it was Sunday … everything was closed. On Monday morning, bright and early, we headed back into town. We found Keevan who handled our iPad unlocking problem. We waited out a torrential downpour then headed to Digicel to purchase a SIM card and 1GB of prepaid data for a whopping G$5000. Ouch!

Looking at the Digicel coverage map in Guyana tells the story of where the population centers are … and aren't.

While David waited for the Digicel service to be activated (anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours, we were told), I headed back over to the Internet kiosk. We had never paid the fellow for our previous visit (though we'd accomplished nothing) and I was anxious to send blogs and photos to Gentry. This time we lugged my laptop ashore and I could get into Yahoo without delay. The Internet was slow, but at least I got through. Hallelujah! Just as I was finishing up, David arrived with a smile on his face and working Internet on his iPad.

Do we sound disgruntled and frustrated? Well, we were a bit frustrated, but honestly, the rustic, vibrant feel of Bartica has been enough to overcome the Internet malaise. Life is good, especially now that we're in touch with the world once again.

Arrival in St. Helena

Day 13

Arrival at St. Helena Island, South Atlantic Ocean

Passage stats:

• Total miles sailed - 1,396
• Total days: 12.25 days (294 hrs)
• Average speed: 4.75 knots
• Hours motored during passage:  4

A mild enough night livened up with several showers which had the watch crew scampering to get everything down below and out of the rain and then hauling it back up again once the brief shower finished...only to repeat the same exercise three more times during a three hour watch.

The 0600 change of watch had us 50 miles from the anchorage off Jamestown under a thick, grey sky. Cups quickened her pace like a horse heading for the barn. About 45 nm out, the shadowy silhouette of St. Helena Island came into view on the horizon. Literally a mountaintop, its craggy peaks are quite impressive poking out from its submarine depths towards the sky. It was certainly a welcome sight for sailors who've just spent nearly two weeks at sea. I remember the first time we arrived at St. Helena. Jelly cat was aboard then, and she paced the deck continuously. She could smell land long before we sighted it and when we finally did have the island in view, she was totally enthralled. It's one of our favorite pics of Jelly.

About 20 nm out, we radioed ahead to let them know we were approaching. They welcomed us and as we neared the mooring field a few hours later, Port Control radioed us with instructions to pick up any available yellow mooring. There were a couple small yachts tied up, but none appeared to have anyone aboard. I had my lasso ready with a huge bowline in the end to pick up the mooring. We did a drive-by and after one failed attempt determined my bowline, though huge, was plainly not huge enough. I tied a new one and we cruised by, but I missed again (Annie Oakley I'm not). David tried his hand and missed as well. These were not your round mooring balls, but rather huge,wide, flat mooring discs with rings on top. The bowline couldn't slip easily down its sides as it would with a ball. On the fourth attempt, I altered my strategy a bit and voila...we were attached.

Cups has a lot of freeboard and therefore we're pretty high off the water. Maneuvering the mooring close enough to put lines through the ring was a challenge. We could, of course, have launched the dinghy, but the wind was up, plus we're lazy. With much finagling, David managed to get our mooring lines through the ring by hanging off the side of the boat. No photos...we were too busy...but they would have been interesting. He lost his hat in the process...this has been a two-hat passage unfortunately.

Once settled on the mooring, we confirmed with Port Control that we could check in in the morning and then went about tidying up Cups. We finally sat in the saloon with a glass of wine and relaxed. A long day after a long passage and here we were...all moored on a mountaintop in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. Welcome to St. Helena!

Lüderitz to St. Helena - Days 11 & 12

Day 11

Miles to go: 252

A rip-roaring night of strong winds and big seas that tossed us around like a toy boat in a bathtub with a toddler making waves. A full moon gazed down on us from a clear, star-filled sky. Waves broke over the side, dousing the on-watch crew with ice cold sea water.  Down below was no place to be unless you were snug in a bunk. In contrast to the still, warm afternoon, these 25-30 knot winds were cold and penetrating. We recovered the layers we'd shed and bundled up once again.

On a broad reach, the wind smacked us hard in the face and our eyes teared up constantly. With a brilliant moon illuminating the seas, we could see the building waves coming at us, their frothy, white-capped crests rising and breaking, and then the loud, nerve-wracking thud as they crashed into the hull. Cups would hesitate and shudder for a moment like a boxer shaking off a well-placed right hook, then get back to her course. To add to the merriment of the evening, it showered off and on, BUT we were at last covering some miles.  And then a grey dawn broke and the wind settled down to 15-18 knots. The sea maintained its waves and chop till late morning, then it, too, cooperated in getting us on our way a bit more comfortably, though with a definite chill.

Much of our time lately has been consumed with long chats about our future because after getting across the Atlantic and eventually up to the Carib, we have no plans. This is unlike us. We usually have a zillion plans which admittedly change frequently, but we do have plans. Big world, so many things to see and places to go. We've considered heading to Europe...expensive and crowded, but it's Europe. Or maybe hanging out in the Carib for awhile...visiting Cuba now that it's legal for Americans or spending time in Central America. Of course, we could head through the Canal again and cross the Pacific, the easy way this time...on the Coconut Milk Run and end up in Asia. Or maybe just head up to the States for awhile and enjoy easy sailing on the East Coast and up to Maritime Canada. Then what? We're not getting any younger, but we're healthy and not feeling all that old. We're pretty blessed and we know it. There's still some sailing years left in us and in Cups. David said it so well the other day...sailing on Cups defines who and what we are right now. Closing that chapter on life isn't something we could easily do. So stay tuned...we'll figure it all out.

In the meantime, with any luck, we should be in St. Helena in two days.

Day 12

Miles to go: 139

A mild night  and reasonable progress towards St. Helena.  The full moon rose abruptly. One minute the eastern horizon was dark and the next ..boom, an explosion of light and there was the moon...huge and orange! It shone ever so so brightly, much to the chagrin of the stars that seem to fade in the ambient moon glow.

And not to be outdone, the sun made a spectacular appearance this morning, too, heralding its arrival with such vivid color that there should have been a regal fanfare to accompany it. WOW! The moon was still up when the sun appeared, but it scuttled down towards the horizon rather quickly as the sun rose higher, and soon faded from view. A pleasant day filled with chat and minor chores and a couple of jibes as the wind tended more southerly, then easterly. It's still quite cool here though we're only 17 degrees south of the equator. I know, I know...soon we'll be complaining about the heat and humidity. Bring it on!

At the captain's prompting,whenever it's been calm enough the last few days, I've been practicing my lassoing skills on the aft deck. There were no visitor moorings the last time we visited St. Helena, but there are now and we're required to use them. There are, however, no mooring pick-up pennants, so lassoing the big mooring ball is the way to pick it up and secure our lines to it. David, the Colorado cowboy, has been coaching me and I'm getting reasonably proficient at lassoing the deck box though I'd never make it on the rodeo circuit. We'll see how lassoing a live, bucking mooring ball works out.

One more night of watches ... St. Helena tomorrow!