January 2020

We are still here in Deshais, Guadeloupe and this morning were visited by a turtle that has been keeping us company over the last few days.  He’s/She’s about 18″ long. There is a bit of a swell coming into the harbor so we had a somewhat rolly night but the sun is out and it’s a beautiful day.

I am in a little cafe as I write this and spied this little heron as I came ashore.  Yesterday Brenda and I rented a car with some new cruising friends and toured the island of Guadeloupe.   We had lunch in an excellent French restaurant along the way and visited a rum distillery but the highlight of the day was a hike into the rainforest to view Les Chutes de Carbet a spectacular double waterfall with a total combined vertical drop of nearly 600′.

To get there we drove up an impossibly winding narrow road with dozens of switchbacks along the way, some so narrow that two approaching cars could not pass at the same time.   Once we arrived at the entrance to the park, we noticed a number of emergency vehicles lined up.  It wasn’t until later that we saw someone being carried out on a stretcher.  She had obviously fallen somewhere on the trail.   I’ll admit that did give all of us pause and I was extra careful along the way. Near the parking area was an overlook to give us an idea of what we were going to see, the spectacular double falls in the distance. The path we took was labeled as easy and was very well maintained with pavers and wooden walkways the entire way.  However, because of the constant wet from rain and mist, it was still slippery. Everywhere you turned, something was growing, from tiny moss and ferns to trees hundreds of feet tall. It seemed like every branch had something growing on it. Some of the ferns were 40′ tall with fronds that stretched 8′.The path followed the stream up to the falls. The top of the mountain, some 4,000′ tall, was shrouded in clouds and mist. After walking up and down, down and up, we arrived at the overlook with the water crashing down from the lower falls in the distance.   What a view.
There was a little bird looking at us, perhaps hoping for a handout. I am always on the lookout for orchids and didn’t see any.  That’s not unusual as they generally grow high up in the forest canopy, hundreds of feet up where the light is bright but hard to see from the forest floor.

However, a few days ago, I went for a short hike near the harbor and did see some vanilla orchid vines.  They were not in flower but I am pretty sure that ‘s what they are.  This particular species grows pretty close to sea level, not high up in the mountains.   The vines can grow hundreds of feet long and are the source of “vanilla beans”.  The island mountains are so steep and there is only a single road that runs around the perimeter of the island, with what seems like hundreds of switchbacks and winding curves that follow the coastline.   Driving these roads can get tiring after a while as it’s more like a slalom course where going more than 30 kph is tough.

Along the way we visited a distillery, billed as the Musee du Rhum.   It was a bit odd, I’ll admit, to be tasting their wares at 10:00 in the morning. A charming building. Including a mix of new and old.  I swear that I only had a tiny taste.As a museum, they had a very eclectic mix of stuff in their collection.    A number of ship models including such unrelated designs as a Mississippi steamer, Christoper Columbus’s ships and, well, an odd mix.  Along with some life size dinosaur models, both outside and in, they had a huge collection of bugs in frames. Tiny ones all lined up behind glass. Butterflies of all kinds. And lots that I’d hate running into at night. Some bigger than you’d want to imagine, about 12″ long.  To make matters worse, they are the sort that flies, I expect. Of course, everyone’s favorites, horned beetles. Ask yourself, what museum is complete without a collection of sand, all carefully labeled?After the tour of the collection, all I could think of was someone saying “what in the world are we going to do with Dad’s collections?  Have a tag sale?  No, wait, let’s open a museum! Any better ideas?”

Anyway, it was a wonderful, if long, day and a great way to get a feel for what Guadeloupe has to offer.

And, now we have replenished our rum stores aboard Pandora.  Yum.

That and a walk in the woods.  Perfect.

In the summer of 1926, when he was 78 years old, Captain Nat Herreshoff launched what would be his last schooner, the 64′ on deck, Mary Rose.

What sweet lines if the word “sweet” applies to such a powerful sailing yacht. And even more beautiful under a full press of sails.
Mary Rose has had a number of owners over the years including Hugh Hefner, who used her as a set for a 1959 issue of Playboy.  She was called Gallant at that time. Mary Rose is very likely in way better shape these days than the “bunnies” that spent time aboard her nearly 60 years ago.

There have been some bad moments in her past as she was badly damaged in the hurricane of 1938.  Fortunately,  she was rebuilt to sail another day, unlike so many yachts that were lost in that terrible storm. Today she lives a somewhat less exciting life full time in English Harbor, Antigua where I spent time aboard with her owner Gerald.   I had been admiring Mary Rose for a number of years as she swung on her mooring off of the Admiral’s Inn and had wondered how I might get aboard for a look. As luck would have it, Gerald is a member of the Royal Navy Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda, a group that I am a member of and have written of many times.   

I approached Gerald and we spent some time talking about his schooner and fortunately he agreed to host me for a tour.   We set a time to meet.  I was thrilled.

As we approached, her “royal” pedigree shows with the graceful curve of her bow. Gerald keeps here in Antigua full time and stores her, during the hurricane season, in what might be best described as concrete bunker designed to withstand hurricane force winds.   It is in her cocoon that a long list of off-season chores are done to keep her looking new as she prepares to enter her second century.

So, where should I begin?

Perhaps a good place to start is in the cockpit with her lovely wheel and binnacle.    Note the nod to the modern, her lovely brass lamp has been refitted with an LED bulb.
And the original builders plaque commemorating her as design #954.How about these beveled port lights, original of course. And, as you would expect, beautiful deck hatches, worthy of any proper yacht.  Her hardware, and it’s all original, has been refurbished over the years. The goose neck, with it’s interesting vertical bar is worth noting.  When the sail is hoisted, the boom raises up to the top of the slide. Gerald was proud to show me the recent scarf joints on the boom where there had been some decay.  It was beautifully done with perfect hairline glue lines. Everywhere lovely leather covers for shell blocks and covering whatever hardware might mar the decks, varnish or paint. I was taken by what must have been a very innovative piece of hardware on her mast track to hoist the storm sail. One departure from the original designed to make here easier to sail short handed, was the addition of a boom-kin.  Of course, Gerald consulted with experts at the Herreshoff museum in Bristol RI where he sits on the board of directors.   It’s a lovely addition and surely Capt Nat, always the innovator himself, would have approved.  This change made it possible to remove one of the two sets of running backstays, an important simplification. And, on the pointy end. As you head down below.  What a banister and the classic “Herreshoff interior” white panels with varnished wood trim.
Wonderful glazing on the interior cabinets  in the main salon. And a commemorative print when she was launched way back when.   However, no sign of that 1959 cover shot. A very nice, functional galley.  Of course, with the modern conveniences of generator and refrigeration to keep things civilized when cruising.
It’s clear from the stuff stored in the forepeak that she is a yacht that is used and not some sort of static museum piece. Beautiful restored hardware in the two heads complete with modern heads. A very nice master cabin although I expect it is a bit stuffy in the tropical climate. All and all, Mary Rose is a proper yacht with a caring owner and it is clear that he is committed to bringing her into her second century in grand style.

The very last schooner launched by the Wizard himself.

If you are interested in learning more about this remarkable yacht, check out her website from which I borrowed some of the photos in this post documenting her early history.

I am told that there are some great videos on YouTube but they appear to be blocked here in Guadeloupe.

After more than three weeks in Antigua we headed off to Deshaies, Guadaloupe yesterday,  a bumpy and fast 50 mile run south to the next island.    This tiny harbor is a popular spot with cruisers and yet, when the wind is up, can be a tricky place to anchor, with winds that can really whip down off of the mountains overlooking the harbor.

It can also be quite unpleasant with a nasty wrap-around swell that can make it really rolly.   Aren’t I making it sound just so great?

In fact, the town dock can be so bumpy that the decking is sometimes removed to keep it from being blown off by the waves.   When I went in to clear Pandora yesterday I found the dock “topless” only an open framework and no deck to walk on.  I had to find another way ashore.

The clearing in process here is such a contrast to Antigua with it’s multiple stops and  fees, just so English.   Here you just visit a local T-shirt shop, fill out a one page form on a PC and you’re done.  As a point of comparison, when I checked Pandora out of Antigua the bill for two months in the harbor, not counting mooring fees, came to $250US.  These fees were in addition to our mooring and dockage fees.  By contrast, my fees yesterday, clearing into Guadeloupe came to a total of $4 Euro.   “Nope, we don’t charge a lot.  Just go buy some of our French wine and cigarettes.  What you don’t smoke.  It’s never too late to start!”

Anyway, we are here in Deshaies and it’s lovely. The village is impossibly charming with a little French bakery and loads of, you guessed it, French restaurants to choose from.   As we got here fairly late yesterday, we ate aboard and enjoyed a bottle of rose, some French cheese and cured meats that I purchased in a charming little shop.  Yum!  No, make that Triple Yum.The harbor can be crowded and arriving late in the day we had to anchor fairly far out in 40′ of water.  It was a bit rolly but this morning we were able to move in closer and it’s much more settled.  At 25′ deep you can clearly see the bottom.  Schools of pilchards or sardines, swim around the boat as well as dolphins and turtles.  It’s quite a spot.  Sorry, no photos.  Have you ever tried to take a photo of a dolphin or turtle.  Good luck catching them at the perfect moment.

Oh yeah, it’s wash day.  Well at least the whites that I hand washed in a mix of ammonia and water.  It works very well and brightens up dingy grey items a bit.
There isn’t much wind right now as the trades are low which is a good time to visit.  Interestingly, while the trades are always from the east, this harbor has an onshore light westerly wind, a sort of Station Wagon effect, where the wind blows over the mountains and curls around 180 degrees in the lee of the island.

This means that when you approach an island that is mountainous the wind will abruptly shift 180 degrees within a few miles, an odd experience.

We will likely be here for a few days or longer and then may head back to Antigua to await the arrival of our new compressor for the fridge.  The old one is still working but I fear that each day may be it’s last.  Fingers crossed that the new one will be ready to ship before the old one is kaput.

Not sure about our next destination, Antigua or somewhere to the south, but getting the new compressor unit installed will be fairly easy in Antigua as opposed to somewhere else where I don’t have any contacts.    I guess that will depend on how long it takes till the new unit is ready to ship as I don’t want to spend all season in Antigua, as nice as it is.

If we do head back to Antigua we are looking forward to a reception like this that greeted a recent arrival from the Talisker’s Whisky Atlantic Challenge rowing race. “Welcome back, Bob and Brenda.  We are so happy you are back!  We missed you so much!”They would be waving American flags, I’d expect.   “Here they come!  I see them coming into the harbor.  Yes, It’s Pandora, I see them, both Bob and Brenda are aboard!  YES!!!”“No wait, it’s only a little rowboat.”Never mind.   For now, it’s great to be somewhere that is “just so French”.  Can I have another baguette?

There are plenty of ways to get from one place to another and sailing, at least for me, is probably about the roughest way to get from one place to another that I’d consider.

When I head out from Essex each fall to make my run to Antigua I rely on the wind to keep me moving along and when it’s dead, on comes the motor.  Even with that and all the comforts aboard Pandora, sometimes it feels, well, hard.

On our run south this year there were moments on the 11 day run that were pretty discouraging with adverse winds or no wind at all and there were times when I didn’t think that we would ever get there.

And, once we and other in the fleet arrived here in Antigua we were pretty proud of ourselves, doing something that most sailors never do, a run of 1,500 miles in a small boat.

However, there are some that are driven to do things the REALLY HARD WAY and those teams that compete in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challange rowing race from the Canary Islands to Antigua have elevated “hard” to another level.

These hearty souls, and there are over 30 teams this year, row the entire 3,000 miles from the Canary islands all the way here to English Harbor Antigua, a really long way.

The teams that left the Canary Islands back in early December have begun arriving in English Harbor after weeks at sea and it’s clearly been cause for celebration as they step on land for the first time after so much time at sea.  The crowd, friends and family are on hand to welcome them and what a welcome it has been.

Yesterday, I was on hand to see several of the crews come into the harbor, serenaded by horns from the nearby mega-yachts and onlookers cheering them into the harbor. The guys on this boat, and there were four aboard, really looked excited to be here. A few days ago, a three man team arrived, brothers.   It was quite moving to see them greeted by family and friends. And there were speeches all around.   They were justifiably proud of what they had accomplished.   The MC asked them what the most memorable moment was on the trip and they talked about how a butterfly flew by their boat, following a gale, more than 1,500 miles from anything.  We have had birds land on board Pandora many times, often more than 500 miles from shore,.  Amazing stamina for a tiny insect, flying so far.

A little later, another boat, this time, a two man team, arrived.   They came into view as they neared the dock. I can only imagine  how emotional it must have been for them to arrive after so long at sea and under such tough conditions. These guys were clearly happy with their accomplishment.  I wonder if they were this “buff” at the beginning of their trip.  Probably, but now “super buff” and very happy to be “home”.  Seeing the teams greet family was quite moving.  Most were overcome by emotion as soon as they stepped on the dock,  reunited with loved ones, wives and babies that they had not seen for months. Every moment of each team’s arrival was captured from every angle.
These boats are all nearly identical, only longer or shorter depending on the number of rowing stations.    I am told that some of the boats are shipped home after the race and some sold here in Antigua.  I doubt that they are used more than once by many individual teams.  “Hey guys, that was fun, wana row back?”

These are pretty high tech boats but they still have to be rowed, and rowed and rowed…According to the official site, some facts…

• Each team will row in excess of 1.5 million oar strokes over a race.

• Rowers will row for 2 hours, and sleep for 2 hours, constantly, 24 hours a day.

• More people have climbed Everest than rowed an ocean.

• The waves the rowers will experience can measure up to 20ft high.

• There are two safety yachts supporting the teams as they cross the ocean. In the 2013 race, one yacht traveled a massive 9000nm!

• The 2013 winning Team Locura arrived in Antigua with a blue marlin beak pierced through the hull of the boat.

• In the 2016 race, solo rower Daryl Farmer arrived in Antigua after 96 days, rowing without a rudder to steer with for nearly 1200miles/40 days.

• Each rower needs to aim to consume 2.6 gallons of of water per day.

• Rowers burn in excess of 5,000 calories per day.

• There is no toilet on board – rowers use a bucket!

•  Each rower loses nearly 30lbs crossing the Atlantic

Ok, so this is the course.  Looks simple enough.   Not…This short video gives a good feel for what the arrival was like and highlights from some of the races.  There is no doubt about it, this is indeed “The Worlds Toughest Row”.

Nope, not for me and surely not Brenda.  Imagine that one, will you?

We will just stick with this view from Pandora’s cozy cockpit.   How many rainbows can you see in a single day?  Come to Antigua and find out for yourself.

Oh yeah, the fridge is stable for now and a new compressor is on order.  I expect to have it by mid February.  Hope the old one doesn’t finally give up the ghost.

Off to Guadeloupe in a few days with friends.

 

It’s been very windy for the last few days with gusts in the 40s, conditions that are not uncommon during January when the Caribbean are in the clutches of the “Christmas Winds”.   However, unlike the Bahamas that suffer from clocking winds when a cold front comes through, the winds here are reliably from the east so there is no need to move from place to place as the weather changes.  And, again, unlike the Bahamas, when a cold front pushes south and brings very strong winds to the Bahamas, here it causes the trade winds to relax, something that we hope to see in a few days.   And, as Wednesday is Brenda’s birthday, a little less wind will be welcomed by the birthday girl.

My friend Bill on Kalunamoo contacted me yesterday to see if we’d be interested in moving south with them next week when the winds subside a bit.  However, that’s not in the cards for us, just yet.

And that’s because, in addition to holding onto our hats in the wind, I am still messing around with some important repairs, most notably still unresolved compressor issues for our fridge/freezer.  Just getting someone out to look at the unit has proven to be difficult and at last estimate, it could take as long as another month to resolve the problem which makes the delay in moving due to the high winds, pale by comparison with repair issues.   For now, we have to watch our battery level like a hawk as the compressor really labors and chokes if the voltage isn’t up to snuff, at 90% or better of full charge which means that in spite of abundant sunshine, I am still running our Honda generator every day which I am sure brings joy to our neighbors in the anchorage.

The refrigeration guys told me that once we order a new unit, and that won’t happen until I meet with them early this coming week, it might be three weeks until the unit is even shipped from the US.  There are some options that I hope can speed this up but it’s going to be at least two weeks, I’d guess until things are resolved and we are free to move away from here.

The watermaker is happily now mostly mended and I can at least operate it in manual mode as the “computer” that normally controls the unit doesn’t work.  Unfortunately, the fix that would surely solve the problem will cost at least one boat dollar, a bit rich for my blood at the moment with the pending fridge repair so, for now, I am content to open a few valves, toggle some switches and make water the “old fashioned way”.  Old fashioned or not, I am still in awe that our prized watermaker can magically turn salt water into fresh at the “push of a button” or now, at the push of several buttons, throwing of valves and switches.

However, there may be help to bring us back to the “one click” machine option as the watermaker guy still has some ideas for a simpler fix for less than a boat dollar.  I’ll know more about that soon, I hope.

And, now for something completely different.  I decided to try some of the fruits that are common here like star and passion fruits, types that aren’t readily available in the US but are grown here in abundance.  Star fruit is supposed to taste a lot like apple, which is true, but the one I tasted left me unimpressed.

Another fruit that I decided to try was passion fruit.  It looks like a smallish overripe apple, sort of dried out and spotty brown.  Inside the pulpy rind is a filling of soft stuff with black seeds that look to me more like frog eggs than anything else.  The seeds and soft fruit are a bit sour and I was told to mix it with yogurt, which I did.  They tasted much better than this sounds.   The bad news, I now know, is that they have what might be called, to put it delicately, a “lubricating effect” and my stomach etc have been in full revolt for two days now.  Not fun and I guess that I am sort of sworn off on trying unfamiliar tropical fruit for the time being.

However, prior to the recent effects of the passion fruit taking full control, Brenda and I took part, along with some other cruisers, in a tour, put on by the Parks Department, of some of the old ruins along a ridge on the bluff above the dockyard, where many British troops were housed when Nelson’s Dockyard was in operation.

Our docent, Dr Murphy, is very knowledgeable about the history of the island and as a trained archaeologist, was able to make history come alive for us.  He spoke of the life led by those in the British navy when they were stationed here.  Based on what he said, that life was brutish and short, with a fatality rate upwards of 70% per year due to yellow fever, heat stroke and many other illnesses.

It sounded horrible.  But, like those of us that were participating in “Rum in the Ruins”, they had rum.  And, it seems that rum was about all that they had and they had plenty of rum every day, enough to keep them lubricated enough to take the edge off of their miserable life.   I can only imagine what it must have been like to wake up every morning with a raging hangover and have to march in formation with heavy wool uniforms on in the tropical heat.  “Please, please, Captain can I have another rum punch.”

Dr. Murphy even dressed the part.  It’s hard to imagine living in this hot climate dressed in so many layers.   Note the rum punch, issued to us all to “get in the mood” as it were.   I have heard him speak in the past and he was as entertaining as I remembered.  High up on the ridge, overlooking the dockyard, the strong winds were really whipping.  Seeing the tall grass swaying in the breeze was beautiful. He talked about the history of some of the building, each with their own story. His description of the ruins and life in that era gave us a good feel for what life must have been like here so many years ago. I’ve mentioned this in a past post, but from the bluff, you could see Eric Clapton’s compound way down below. After the tour, just as it was getting dark, our group headed back to town.  Interestingly, here in the Caribbean, dusk is very short and sunset to pitch dark is quick, perhaps about 30 minutes.  Not a lot of twilight in these parts.

In the growing twilight, we went for a walk on the docks to see the mega yachts.  Now that the holiday parties in nearby St Barths are over, the marinas are nearly full, with one yacht more spectacular than the next.   It’s interesting to see the dozens of crew that work on these huge boats as they head out for an evening of bar hopping.  It’s easy to guess who is crew as they are all very young and very fit.   I guess that only “beautiful people” need apply.

One of the first we passed on the dock is the 300′ Phoenix.  She sports a huge sculpture of her namesake on her bow.  Check this link to see some remarkable photos of her.   Note that the wood expanse under the stairs isn’t the dock, it’s her sun-deck.
Phoenix 2 was launched for Jan Kulczyk in 2010, then the richest guy in Poland, for a reported $160,000,000.  Unfortunately, under the category of “you can’t take it with you”, Jan died in 2015 at the tender age of 65.  It was reported that he died of complications of surgery.  I believe that Phoenix is now for the use of his family.

Seeing a lineup of these yachts in the twilight is something to behold. Hard to believe that one person can amass enough wealth to afford one of these.  Imagine paying for such a yacht along with a full time staff of some 30 crew.

And, some yachts are so big and have to move around so much stuff and so many toys, that the owners purchase another “shadow yacht” to follow the “mother yacht” around from place to place.  The yacht on the left in this photo is such a vessel, aptly named Garcon as in “Garcon, please fetch my (whatever)”, submarine, sailboat, tender, toys, chopper, whatever.  And speaking of chopper, note the one secured to her upper deck.  Obviously it just wouldn’t be right to clutter up your yacht with an ugly chopper. This recent addition to the relentless need to “keep up with the Joneses” world of the uber-rich has only happened in the last few years but I am sure that you will agree that if you were forced to cram all your stuff into a single yacht it would be quite annoying.  “Garson, can you PLEASE get Dimitri’s chopper off of the sundeck?  I’d like to work on my tan.”

Besides, with only a single yacht it would have to be so ginormous that you wouldn’t be able to get it into your favorite harbors, so it just makes sense to have two.  To keep the cost down, your floating “garage” could have much more spartan conditions than the real yacht.  And, you could hire a cook instead of a chef, to feed the crew, which would be a big savings as well, right?

So that’s why everyone knows that it’s just plain less expensive to have a yacht and a shadow ship, than to have a single yacht that can handle all your stuff.  Check out this site that describes the “why” and see if you agree. 

And speaking of mother yachts, I wrote about EOS, owned by Barry Diller and his wife Diane Von Ferstenburg in my last post.  Up close, on the right, she definitely looks the part of luxury. Across the dock is Phoenix which is so much larger in displacement in spite of being about the same length. Everywhere you look, something more expensive looking than you’d expect.  How about these boarding ladders and most with a intercom to announce yourself.  “Can I trouble you for a bit of Grey Poupon?”  “No, go away!”I guess that’s it for now and as I continue to recover from my ill advised sampling out of the local fruits, I expect that the crew and owners on these huge yachts of wealth know better.

Besides, like those miserable British navy guys, no matter how miserable you get, a Tot of rum will make things seem right.

Yes, life here was once brutish and short but now…not so much, especially for those fortunate enough to have a mega-yacht or better yet, a second one to fit all their stuff.

Don’t forget, Brenda’s birthday is coming up soon.  January 15th.  Just sayin…