Leaving Antigua on Sunday morning.

Well, it’s about time to leave Antigua and head home to New England waters.  I am pretty excited about being home and, in particular, about seeing Brenda again.  It’s been nearly three weeks as of today since she flew out of St Lucia.   I miss her.

My crew, George and Bob arrived yesterday and are enjoying a few days ashore before we leave.  This is their first visit to Antigua.

The good news is that the weather is pointing to a Sunday departure and some pretty good conditions for some fast sailing as we make our way to Bermuda.  I say Bermuda as the weather north of there is very uncertain so it will likely be best to make a stop there and regroup before heading out for the Gulf Stream and Montauk where we will enter Long Island Sound.

Speaking of Bermuda, I have never been there but my crew have.   As a British port, they are fairly detail oriented and have some pretty complicated processes for clearing in.  Even before I leave here I have to send them quite a bit of information about Pandora and our plans.  I also understand that the cost of even a short visit is pretty steep.  Isn’t that just so British?

So, the forecast, which hasn’t changed for a few days calls for 20-25 out of the east, perhaps ten degrees south of east, for several days.  They seas should be in the 8′ range.   While it will be a wet ride, Pandora does pretty well in these conditions so I am hopeful that we will be able to reel off between 180 and 200 miles per day on a beam or close reach.

As we get closer to Bermuda the wind is forecast to clock to the SE and South, dropping to 10-15 kts which will slow us down.  After a few days of fast sailing and lots of water on the deck, I expect we will be ready to have some more relaxing conditions as we approach Bermuda.

Today will be busy with last minute provisioning and a quick re-cleaning of the bottom.  I cleaned the bottom last week but there has been a bit of return growth that needs to be addressed.   Even the smallest amount of slime can make a big difference over 1,600 miles.

As is my custom, I will be doing posts most days while we are underway and will send them to Brenda via email to put up.  I  can’t send photos as the SSB email system is pretty slow.

And, don’t forget, you can track us, complete with speed and position updates every two hours while we are underway.   Just go click on the “where in the world is Pandora” link and follow the instructions.  If you are interested, you can also sign up to receive an email note when I put up a new post.

I guess that’s all for now.  Before I break, I should mention that I had a tour of the 150′ schooner Columbia yesterday.  She’s a reproduction of a Grand Banks fishing schooner of the same name.  Launched just a few years ago and built from plans that the owner had from way back in the 70s, waiting until he had the resources to have her built.  She’s really beautiful.    I don’t have time to write a proper post about her before I depart for Bermuda but I’ll tempt you with a photo of her.   What a boat. I guess that’s all for now.  Stay tuned.   Need to get provisions.

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