Grand Dames of Antigua
Well, that’s it. Brenda caught a cab for the airport on Sunday and I am on my own until Friday when Craig arrives. I’ll focus on Craig’s arrival as I don’t want to think about the fact that I won’t see Brenda again until the 17th when I fly to Baltimore to see our son Rob, daughter-in-law Kandice and mother of our granddaughter Tori. I can’t wait to see them all and Brenda will be there when I arrive too.
So, here I am ALONE in Antigua, admittedly a magnificent place that I couldn’t even have imagined visiting until a few years ago.
Alone or not, I’ll just have to make the best of it by having ice cream each day and take pictures of some ot the magnificent yachts here in the harbor. Yes, ice cream and sailing yachts.
And what better yachts to focus on than the magnificent “J” class, the America’s Cup racers from the 1930s, of which there are only eight in the world, with another three in the development/build stage right now. Already, there are more of these remarkable racing machines in existence than was the case when they were raced for the America’s cup during the Great Depression. There is a website dedicated to the class. It’s worth checking out.
As I understand it, the class was revitalized by Elizabeth Meyer who funded the rebuild of Shamrock V, the first of the “Js” to be rebuilt back in the 80s. Actually, most of them on the water now are replicas built from the original plans as the boats themselves didn’t survive.
There is a special event here in Antigua in a few weeks, the classic yacht regatta, probably the largest gathering of classic yachts in the Caribbean each year. Antigua is also the place that many of these huge sailing vintage America’s Cup yachts make their home for the season and I think that there are 5 or so of them here right now. In May they will head up to Bermuda to race in conjunction with the America’s Cup event itself.
Brenda and I were here for nearly a month in March and now that we are back, many of these beauties are still here. I know that they have come and gone for other superyacht regattas in St Barths and the BVIs.
These boats, while each unique, have a similar hull shape and are not to be confused with most any other classic design. With most over 100′ long, they are sleek and fast. 
The first of the J boats to hit the circuit in modern times was Shamrock V, the only wood J sailing today. She is wood on metal frames and was restored by Elizabeth Meyer back in the 80s, long before the huge sailing yachts were as popular as they are today. She has beautiful copper colored hardware, all custom, I would expect. 
While most of them have their woodwork covered while they are at the dock, they have impressive attention to detail as does Topaz.
One of the boats Velsheda, has it’s own “tender” a magnificent yacht designed to look like a classic. Bystander is it’s name, the same name as a tender owned by Vanderbilt when he campaigned a J in the 30s. Can you imagine having the ability to have a 100′ racer and a support yacht like this?
Neorion was launched in 1999 and yet looks like she might have been build 100 years ago. She was built in the Netherlands and was completely refitted just a few years ago.
The attention to detail on Neorion is really remarkable. You can’t let this varnish go for even a moment. 
Now here’s a real looker, Adix. She’s probably the largest boat here in Antigua right now. She’s also new and is over 200′ long, 213′ not to put too fine a point on it. Learn more about her here.
She has a number of “toys”. Nice little daysailer. Nice davits too. 
Everything about these yachts is huge. How about the scale of the masts on this one. 
This is a Wally tender, I think made in Italy and cost, well, they cost a lot. However, it’s peanuts compared to the “mother ship”.
Of course, there are plenty of contemporary designs in the harbor. I wrote about Leopard recently. She’s one of the fastest mono-hulls in the world, capable of speeds of about 40kts. She’s available for charter if you have the coin. She looks fast from the bow. 
And from the stern. All business. 
And speaking of charter, 100′ Penelope was designed for the charter business and even makes the point on her stern, “by Luxury Living”. Check out her site.
Want to charter but prefer a grey ride? Check out Seawave. She’s fast too. The site says that she cruises at 9kts and has a top speed of 11kts. Pandora goes 9kts and she’s less than half as long. Heck, skip this and go with Leopard if you want fast as she’s 4x faster.
Fast, sleek or even grey, there is nothing that compares to a classic schooner and Elena was designed by Nathaniel Herreshoff “the wizard of Bristol” in RI in 1911. Her namesake didn’t survive but the design lives on in Elena, a replica launched in 2009.
I guess that the owner wasn’t hurt too much by the recession. Check out her site. Lot’s of great information about this remarkable yacht.
However, classic or not perhaps the queen of the fleet here in Antigua, if age and heritage is any measure, would be Mariette, also a Herreshoff design but she’s an original and was launched 102 years ago in 1915. What an amazing boat. Check out some great photos and information about her history here. 
Well, I guess that’s about it for now. I could go on all day as there are many more yachts that I have not included here. Antigua, at least in the winter season, is home to the world’s most magnificent yachts, that’s for sure.
And what better place to view the scenery than where Brenda and I had her “departure dinner” on Sunday before she flew out for home. 
Did I mention that Brenda’s gone home? I miss her, even if the Grand Dames of Antigua are here and she’s not.
It rained a few times last night so the salt was rinsed off of the decks. That’s good as it was pretty thick after our somewhat sporty run from Guadeloupe the other day.
I have posted so many sunrises and rainbows, you’ll just have to trust me that these are not recycled. Honest…really.
I thought that this ship/tug, military I think, was pretty neat. We saw her in a number of harbors in Guadeloupe. I’ll bet that she can handle pretty rough seas. 
This ship, the 
The stern is pretty jaunty, right?
So, I guess that’s about it for now. Brenda’s leaving, the SSB is working and I am going to be lonely, well, at least until Craig arrives on Friday.
As we climbed the winding road you could feel the air get cooler as we rose in altitude. The van seemed to work pretty hard to make it’s way along the increasingly narrow and steep roads, most of which were barely wide enough to pass.
Later a pole is inserted so the vine can grow up and mature. 
Banana flowers are distinctive and lovely. I understand that it takes many months for bananas to mature and then the plant itself dies. However, little shoots come out of the base of the plant that flowered so they are removed and planted by themselves to begin the process all over again. Bananas are not grown from seed, just from shoots off of those “mother” plants. 
When Brenda and I were in highschool we purchased a banana plant that we had in our home for many years after we graduated from college. That plant, or shoots from that plant, live on today in a friend’s garden in Florida, nearly five decades later. Sorry, no bananas until “Bob” as the plant is known, found his way to Linda’s garden in Florida. He’s doing very well now, thank you.
The locals also grow coffee up in the mountains. The beans grow right on the branches and are harvested by carefully plucking off each ripe bean as it begins to turn red. 
There were many birds in these garden plots carved out of the fores. We spied a hawk looking to feast on something a little farther down on the food chain. 
Along the side of the road, plants so beautiful it was hard to remember that these are a “weed” of sorts here. Nice weeds. 
We spotted this beautiful amaryllis growing on the side of the road. I don’t know for sure if this is endemic to the island or if it was planted. Of course, you’d recognize this from the same bulbs that us northerners force for holiday bloom. These flowers were the size of a large salad plate. Beautiful. 
Not all the flowers were that showy. Some were not much larger than a fingertip. 
I saw this beautiful vine growing on a dead branch. The leaves are smaller than a pencil eraser. 
Everywhere you look something wonderful. These ferns sported fronds that were only an inch or so long. 
It was hard to focus on them when faced by what might be called the “queen of all ferns” the tree fern. They grow to great heights and look like something right out of Jurassic Park. 
Even big ferns start out little, but not that little. No short jokes please. 
There isn’t much more impressive than a stand of tree ferns in the distance. 
A mix of textures and shades of green.
As we entered the forest we were blown away by the majesty of it all. Hard to take in the scale of these trees that lined the path. 
One view more magnificent than the last.
Just huge.
Everything is competing for light. The trees grow up and everything else uses the trees to climb up too. 
Some were hundreds of feet tall up in the canopy with roots that ran all the way to the forest floor. Anything to reach the light.
Some plants very small like this vine with leaves that were barely an inch long. 
Vines of nearly every shape and size clinging to their host.
Once things drop to the forest floor don’t last long as there are plenty of fungi ready and willing to make short work of them like these beauties. 
We nearly stepped on this tiny frog who was hopping in the middle of the path. He blended in perfectly, well almost perfectly, into the ground litter. 
Along the way we stopped to do a short hike up a riverbed to an amazing waterfall. As we made our way into the forest we spied the only orchid that we saw in bloom. This one was growing on the side of the road. The flower spike was several feet tall. 
This African Tulip tree, with magnificent flowers was quite a stunner. Each individual flower was perhaps 6″ wide. Very showy and a stunning blaze of color in a sea of green. 
We hiked up the stream bed crossing first to one side and then the other as we made our way toward the falls. 
The trees towered over us. 
At one point we even did a “Tarzan” thing swinging from a vine across the river. 
Not bad for a 61 year old guy. Right?
Made it. 
As we worked our way toward the waterfall we could hear it a long way off. 
I would have loved to go for a swim but there wasn’t time for that. How about a photo op instead?
This photo of our traveling companions, Dave and Chisholm of Plantina II and Bob and Carol of Oasis, gives a better feel for the scale of the falls. 
That evening, as the sun set over the ocean to the west, we were treated to a real show, a wonderful way to cap off a great day. We even saw the elusive “green flash” something that you rarely see except when the horizon is haze and cloud free. The sun set like a giant fireball.
And, just as it dropped down into the sea, a momentary flash of bright green. 
A closeup of the “flash”. You can see it’s green on the edges. I am told that it’s much easier to see when mixed with rum. We have found that wine works well too. However, too much wine somehow makes the horizon tip a bit. How is that?
Others have told us that Dominica is their favorite island for hiking and enjoying the natural wonders of a tropical paradise and if our experience is any indication, than they are right.
This is one of the most undeveloped island in the Eastern Caribbean so there aren’t many services. I guess that crime has been a problem in the past so a number of locals got together and formed an informal security group, PAYS, to patrol the harbor, provide moorings and give tours of the island. They are a group of independant operators, entrepreneurs, who are able and willing to help with whatever you might need. As we approached the anchorage on the lee side of the island, Alexis roared up in his skiff to welcome us. It seems that who ever connects with a yacht first as they enter the anchorage “owns” them for the duration. Alexis was the first to reach us as we rounded the point and gave us his business card. “Welcome to Dominca, Welcome to paradise. Let me know what you need. I’ll get it for you.”
Alexis is a very charming guy and is happy to do whatever. His specialty is tours of the island as he has a taxi as well as a nicely appointed skiff. There were other cruisers in the harbor that we knew so once we anchored we began to make plans, of course, with the help of Alexis.
Before we could go ashore I had to clear in at customs. It was a 2 mile dink run down the beach on a really nasty commercial shipping dock. Unlike some of the other islands we have visited, there are no natural harbors in Dominica, just the “leeward” side of the island. When storms hit there is no protection at all.
The island is very mountainous with mountains that truly “touch the cl0uds” And, speaking of “touching the clouds” the view of the mountains from Pandora is spectacular. And, you can clearly see the cloud forest at the top of the mountain. 
The next morning I decided to go for a hike with some of our cruising friends. Brenda stayed aboard to do the laundry and relax as we were told that the “hike” was going to involve a LOT of up and down. We took at bus, a sort of minivan jammed with locals, up and over the mountain pass to the windward side of the mountain as that’s where the forest is more lush. The bus dropped us off at the beginning of a well marked trail. The national park service has laid out many trails on the island.
The view that greeted us as we entered the trailhead was amazing. 
And we spent the next four hours winding our way up and down through spectacular ravines.
We would climb up impossibly steep hills and then go down again. The switchback trails were muddy but passable. These photos don’t begin to do justice to how amazing the views were. 
Everywhere we went there were beautiful flowers. This vine was draped for hundreds of feet from tree to tree. 
I particularly loved these red flowers. They were everywhere. 
I am always on the lookout for orchids and wasn’t disappointed. However, I only say one in flower, a “Lady of the night” 
I saw plenty of other orchids but they weren’t in flower. These are likely a member of the Cattleya or 
All these plants look about the same when they are not blooming but their flowers are spectacular. I wish they were in flower while I was there. Here’s a sample of some Dominica stamps, including Brassavola Nodosa in the lower right. 
Orchids grow in the very top of trees, attached to branches so they can get lots of light. However, fungus grow down low and don’t need so much light. These tiny mushrooms were on a log. Each one is only the size of a pea.
Everywhere I turned there were beautiful leaves and flowers. These were about 3′ across. Impressive with the afternoon light streaming through the canopy. 
As we took the bus over the mountain pass to reach the windward side of the island the air was much cooler, the part of the island near the clouds. Tree ferns, sometimes 15′ tall, were everywhere. Hard to imagine a fern that large. 
Everything competes for light. This bamboo stand was perhaps 60′ tall, perhaps taller. When in active growth, this member of the grass family can grow several feet per day. The “stalks”, actually individual “blades” of grass, were about 5-6″ wide. Bamboo is known to be quite invasive and I can only imagine trying to control something like this in a home garden. “Bob, the bamboo broke through the cement patio again last night. Would you get out the chainsaw and cut down that new growth.” I know of such things from personal experience as we had bamboo in our garden for years but ours was only 1″ wide and perhaps 15″ tall. Still a handful to control.
Every tree seemed to be bigger than the last.
As we came over each ridge the view was spectacular.
In some areas local farmers had cleared the woods to grow bananas or other crops. After a few years, they let the forest reclaim the land. It opens up the canopy and lets new plants take hold in a sort of sustainable agriculture approach.
As things grow back, begonias and other delicate plants take hold.
I am not used to seeing such flowers growing “wild”. 
We saw plenty of birds like this hummingbird out for a morning snack. There are many native varieties here with all the native flowers.
There are no poisonous snakes on the island but this lizard, about 3′ long looked plenty fearsome. It doesn’t show but he had a decidedly blue hue.
The locals “farm” in the forest and pick the fruit when it is ready for market. This is cocoa. Interestingly, the “fruit”, about 6-8″ long grow right out of the trunk of the tree.
At the bottom of one of the ravines there was a beautiful babbling brook. I was dying for a swim but everyone else seemed intent on pressing on. Perhaps they were afraid that if they stopped they wouldn’t be able to get up again without a nap. 
So, on we walked, up and down, and up and down again, through hill and dale, mostly hill for several hours. After that, out on the road we stopped for a cold beer before we caught a bus back to town and “home”.
All and all, a wonderful “walk in the woods”. Amazing.
Coconuts grow everywhere and MANY coconuts are opened up to fill bottles with “water”. A big pile of “nuts”. 
We bought flowers from this lady. I loved her outfit. She was well put together to encourage sales. 
We probably bought more produce than we can eat but it all looked so inviting. 
So, back to Alexis. Remember him, the guy who greeted us as we sailed into the anchorage a few days ago? We, along with several other cruisers, hired him to give us a tour of the nearby Indian River. As he rowed up the river, no motors allowed, he entertained us with a very enjoyable patter of local historic lore. I expect that at least some of it was actually true. 
He sat up in the bow pulling the skiff against the gentle river current. During the rainy season, think hurricanes, the water level is about 8′ higher and the river, impassable.
There was plenty of wildlife to take in. 
This heron was busy looking for lunch, which he found.
We passed another tour boat returning from their visit. Cute kids. 
One of the “attractions” was an abandoned “set” from one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. I can’t imagine where Johnny Depp stayed while they filmed the scene on the river as the roads are rough and I didn’t see any hotels nearby.
It looked pretty convincing that a sorcerer would live here. This is a scene from the movie filmed here. I’d say that “you had to be there” and we were. 
The trees on the side of the river left plenty to the imagination. 
It would be easy for an overactive imagination to see these roots come to life at the stroke of midnight during a full moon. 
At the “head” of the river we visited a charming bar. One of the “bar keeps” was cooking up some sort of fruit concoction that would be fortified with rum, what else?
Bob and Carol, our fellow explorers. They too are from the NYC area and have spent the winter cruising the same islands as me and Brenda. 
I can’t help it. A picture of me and Brenda too. 
We enjoyed meeting these two young couples who had sailed over from Europe, with their young children. Both in their own boats. Adventurous, for sure. 
River tour access is carefully controlled, which is good. It’s a busy place but done in a way that ensures that it will remain a popular attraction for many more years.
I guess that’s really it for now. Stay tuned.
And, to do this with Brenda, the very same woman who has a photo of me from our senior prom wearing a light blue powder blue tux with dark blue piping, all the while sporting a particularly dashing Dutch-boy haircut. I guess she wasn’t thinking “power blue tux” or sailing thousands of miles with me for that matter, when she said “yes” over forty years ago. WHAT WAS SHE THINKING? Oops!
Unlike the one we rented a few years ago in Rum Cay Bahamas with our friends Dick and Anne of Nati, this one even had brakes. Good thing as the hills were very, very steep. Steep hills make for spectacular views. Is there possibly any more spectacular view anywhere? 
Here’s Dominica in the distance. Actually, it’s looking good for us to visit there for a few days beginning tomorrow before we head back to Antigua. 
Each beach was more beautiful than the next.
With views from the fort like this, it would have been tough for anyone to sneak up on the French unless they were busy eating croissants and drinking local rum.
The fort had all the comforts of home for those Napoleonic soldiers, if in a severe masonry sort of way. I doubt that they played cricket in this courtyard. “Sacrebleu! Banish the thought you English sympathizer you… To the guillotine!” 
It seems that there were regular cruise line routes from France to Guadeloupe in the days before transatlantic air travel was common. This cruise line poster was on display in the museum for the Ile de France, a steamship liner that my mother Shirley traveled to Europe aboard after graduating from college in the early 50s. 
She was in good company as Christopher Columbus also sailed the ocean blue although a few years before, aboard the Santa Maria. Yes, I realize that was an awkward segue. Anyway, here’s a nice model of his ship in the museum. 
I’ll bet that this fort kitchen got plenty hot. “Napoleon! Napoleon! your baguettes will be out of the oven soon. It’s so frigging hot in here so hurry up!”
I mentioned in a recent post that Brenda and I used to grow orchids so we are always attracted to them in our travels. This one was in spike but not yet flowering. I expect that the flowers are small and green, not terribly showy. The plant is huge with “bulbs” over 1′ long. The flower spikes are nearly 5′ long. 
The fort was in active use for only about 10 years. Unfortunately, the museum descriptions were all in French and there wasn’t much about the history of the fort itself and what it might have looked like prior to restoration. However, it’s obvous that a lot of time has been spent restoring it over the years. Impressive attention to detail.
Perhaps I’ll close with the view from where we had lunch yesterday. Not to shabby. Even better, the food was French. 
So, here we are in the Caribbean with plans to come back next winter. Me and Brenda, and I for one, never imagined that this would happen so many years ago as I dressed for the prom in my powder blue tux. Hey wait, it was almost the color of the water here. Perhaps it was an omen?