The bad part
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| Fisherman at Roseau, Dominica |
You may be wondering why we sail. Torn sails. Big seas. Broken bits. Boat yards. Read on.
Newly repaired sail hoisted proudly on our jib we set off north from Ste. Anne to Grand Anse 'd Arlet. Not far but very windy. A suitable sort of shakedown cruise after our long period at anchor. Lovely little French beach town and newly equipped with mooring balls. Unfortunately they have no pendant and are to far down to reach and too heavy to lift. We didn't even take the dinghy down.
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| Restless in Roseau |
Next day was a run to Saint Pierre, the town at the northern end of Martinique which was destroyed by the volcano Pele at the turn of the last century. A lovely town but it was Sunday and everything was closed. No way to check out. Dinghy down and up. Monday at the tourist office the check out lady is late and shows up just as we are about to give up. Fast and very bouncy ride to Dominica pulling in to the southern end well before sunset. We were greeted by a huge pod of dolphins and were convinced our luck had changed. Seacat assured us that he would take care of us with a comfortable mooring (as it is too deep to anchor there). By the time he finally got around to us, no more room at the inn. The only thing left was dropping anchor before a reef and backing down to a partially completed solid cement dock (with obligatory rusty bolts protruding) to which we could tie a long line. Still windy. Not relaxing.
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| Rounding Guadeloupe Lighthouse |
Next day we extracted ourselves from the mass of moored boats, the lines and the reef and its fish pots and took off for the northern end of the island. Behind Dominica it is flat seas and fluky winds but by the time we got to the northern end of the island, the seas were still flat and the winds held steady. Things were going well so we decided to press on to Iles des Saintes. The next passage was windy and bouncy but we passed the only boat going our way by taking a narrow short cut through the reefs that our rival didn't dare. Pulling into Bourg we were intercepted by a small boat who directed us away from the town to an anchorage to its west just past the commercial dock. It was so windy we didn't even want to go ashore and the regular wakes from the ships passing made for an anxious night.
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| Passed by Freewheel |
Off to try our luck in Guadeloupe. Still very windy but fast sailing and we made it to Deshais well before dark. Deshais was living up to its reputation for wind. the wind was gusting over 30 knots. It howled and blew while we anchored in 30 feet of water. It howled and blew while we fixed dinner. It howled and blew while we watched others trying to anchor in the even deeper water behind us. It howled and blew until just after sunset. Then it stopped. It didn't die. It just stopped.
click for the good part > |
The good part
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| Maltese Falcon at Antigua Yacht Club |
The next morning you could see the anchor chain winding around below the boat on the bottom of the bay. The water a mirror. When you have been sleeping on a boat sailing about its anchor like a tiger in its cage (but nowhere near as smooth or silent), this is a blessed state of affairs. Coffee and breakfast quick before the wind machine starts again. Off to Antigua.
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| The bow man reflects on anchoring |
The winds were well to the East and the seas had big swells on the beam but no chop. Once clear of Guadeloupe we were buzzing along steadily in the 7-8 knot range. Picked up a lovely little tuna right away and didn't even have to slow down to pull him in. The threatened squalls never materialized but the clouds provided a lovely shade. The miles ticked off and we were able to lay Falmouth harbor without tacking. Mesmerizing watching the deep blue sea wash past the hull. The anchor was down in time to prepare cerviche before sundown bcause the passage was so fast. Spectacular snacks, sundown, sirah and a pleasant tiredness from a long sail.
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Garcon 4 Ace
(note Christo Project aft) |
Falmouth harbor is huge and closed except for a narrow entrance. We arrived just after the Super Yacht Challenge and all the big boats were still on display. Apart from the docks the harbor was sparsely populated and table flat. Antigua is one of the last little outposts of British expats and we were just in time for one of their more quirky folk festivals.
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| Paddle wheel design |
The Wobbly Club was holding its annual fund raiser for the search and rescue service called ABSAR, the BYOB Regatta. In this case, BYOB stands for "Build Your Own Boat". Entrants are supplied with a couple of thin sheets of plywood, a handful of nails, duct tape and caulk. They get three hours to build a boat and carry it over to the beach for a chaotic start. Cheating is encouraged. The perpetual trophy is a small replica of an outhouse. That (and the beer) is more than enough to engage the energies of numerous youthful crew of the assembled yachts.
The largest entry was - appropriately - from the largest sailing yacht, Maltese Falcon.
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| Maltese Falcon'a Fenders |
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| Maltese Falcon launch |
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| Maltese Falcon flounders |
They lashed two of their enormous fenders together, tied on a sail from one of their water toys and put a kayak on either side for steering. Though their ambitions were huge, the winds were as well and they blew down on the docks forfeiting the race.
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| Art boat |
Another crew plagued by the cross winds had used their plywood to decorate a pair of side by side stand up paddle boards with a fine green dragon.
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| Costumes and cheating encouraged |
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| Trying out the peg leg |
The fender floatation scheme was popular this year and found among many of the boats which didn't sink straight away. One was equipped with a gas powered bilge pump which insured that everyone remained cool and moist during the race. Two boats attempted side wheel paddles. One had attached paddles to the spokes on the back wheel of a large tricycle and the other tried plywood paddle wheels attached to two hand cranks. Steering was an issue in both cases.
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| Chippy's frame |
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| Chippy wraps in plastic |
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| Chippy's kayak flies |
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| Chippy in the winner's circle |
The wining entry was from Chippy, the local boatwright and his crew. He cut out a series of bulkheads from one sheet of plywood, screwed on longitudinal stringers and wrapped the whole thing in a giant sheet of plastic to make a fine, two person kayak. Did I mention cheating was encouraged? He had recruited two comely rowers and they walked away from the pack taking line honors.
We have been enjoying the festivities and the protected anchorage. No doubt cruising can be bad. But when its good, its very, very good. We are ready to go sailing.
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| Bilge pump aboard |
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