A
couple of days ago, we decided to sail around to Newfound Bay to
stay out of the swells predicted to arrive from a big storm in
the North Atlantic. We'd heard there are lots of legal size Conch
in Newfound Bay. Catching them is easy but our informant described
the process of getting it out of the shell which requires a small
chisel, hammer, slim knife and a lot of experience. As we rounded
St. John, we had to admit, we don't have the tools, or the inclination
to gather, remove from shell, clean and cook them. Sounded like
actual work. As we sailed by the bay, we were having such a great
sail, that we just kept on going. We came into Lameshur and made
contact with our friends on Kia Orana. They invited us to drive
into town and have dinner and listen to a live band at Skinny Legs
with their family. Good trio: acoustic bass, mandolin/violin and
guitar. They were able to compete with the rather dramatic clouds
of mosquitos hanging around the heads of the listeners. Kia Orana
is temporarily responsible for the camp while the manager is on vacation for the
holidays. They had a guest who wanted to go sailing, but had just
figured out that one daughter's cough had become Pneumonia, so
they weren't really available. We told them we would be happy to
take up to six people sailing, and the deal was set.
Lance met our passengers on the dock, and dinghied them
back to the boat. Over the course of a beautiful sail and snorkel, we all learned
more about each other. They are mostly from New England area, one currently living
in Denver, and one missing family member who had a deadline and couldn't join
the vacation lives, wait for it, in Berkeley, on Channing Way, probably about
10 blocks from us. Great fun was had by all. It was a glorious day of lively
winds and not too lively seas. We sailed past Coral Bay and on to the Indians
where the snorkeling is particularly good and giving them the right to claim
they sailed from America to Britain. Monitoring VHF channel 16 while underway,
we were treated to the drama of a may day call from a charter boat gone on the
rocks at Virgin Gorda. For reasons entirely unclear, the boats relaying the mayday
were contacting the USCG who is located in Puerto Rico. They seemed to be very
interested in gathering the statistics but not of much use. When we returned
in the afternoon, one squall after another rolled through, so we felt pretty
lucky to have picked exactly the right time to go. Our guests had a great time.
For entertainment, we
sat in our cozy salon listening to more VHF radio. The north swells had come
in and the squalls and basic trades were wrecking havoc on the charterers. The
winds and seas on the north side seem to |
have really increased dramatically
and gusts in the squalls were
recorded at up to 45 kts. We are sitting tucked into the lee of St.
John and have calm seas but pretty substantial gusts from time to
time. The rigging sings but we don't have any chop. One drama was
a 39 ft catamaran (that is BIG for
a cat) who has gone on the reef near Red Hook on St. Thomas. Mama,
who has a strong French accent, is worried about her two small children
1 and 2 years old and wants to get off the boat now please. They
have a hole on one of the hulls and they had to swim ashore (with
help) and abandon their ship. We get the whole drama in bits and
pieces as the rescue boats, the swimmers and the rescuees try to
talk to each other. Several boats responded to mama's cries for help
and Virgin Islands Radio co-ordinated
the effort. Because of the reef and the descending darkness, the
rescue boats could not come right up to the catamaran, so they put
a swimmer in the water who escorted the family off. They walk up
the beach and present themselves at the resort there for a dry nights
sleep. Strangely enough we never hear a peep from papa, the presumptive
captain. Beats TV every day.
On shore, such weather has no impact except
that the breeze keeps things cool. Our new sailing friends offered
us a ride into town in exchange for the sail so we could provision
without having to carry all the stuff around town. It is a great
ride over the mountain with really beautiful views. The roads are
scary and I'm glad not to be driving. Not only are you driving on
the wrong side of the road, but the roads are narrow, steep and sharply
curved. The last part of the road by the camp is deeply pitted muddy
roads, with big puddles. We had a good shopping trip, and they took
us out to lunch at a restaurant with local food — we had curried
goat, and mahi mahi in creole sauce. Both came with rice and peas,
vegetables, potatoes, fungi and fried plantains. Fungi is a cornmeal
dish. It was delicious. They were curious about how the Virgin Gorda
drama came out. Fortunately, the boat relaying the messages was known
to us, and I had contacted him for the denouement. It seems the mayday
was sent in by another vessel, that the vessel aground was unmanned.
Apparently, the group had gone in to walk or snorkel among the giant
rocks at the Baths and their boat had either slipped or dragged its
mooring and gone on the rocks. They were unable to pull it off as
the bow was badly holed and the boat was too heavy with all the water
to be towed. It definitely ruined someone's holiday.
Best boat name heard on the VHF: "Two
Salted Nuts". We've got comedy, we've got drama. Who needs the
movies? |
