The Gang are (mostly) here.

Most of the Salty Dawg rally fleet is now in Antigua. Sadly, there are still about a half dozen boats stuck in Bermuda with a possible departure today, Sunday or perhaps Monday. And, as they are still 900 miles north, it’s going to be the better part of a week before they arrive. That’s a bummer and in spite of having events that span two weeks, they will miss a lot of them.

Part of the reason that Salty Dawg is so warmly greeted in Antigua is because we show up a few weeks before the “season” begins. That means that we are looking to have broken stuff fixed and we eat out a lot. Having a few hundred more mouths to feed for two weeks is important to the economy.

When I arrived in Antigua about a week ago, the Dockyard was completely empty.

Now, a bit busier.

So much has been going on with the arrival of the fleet that it’s been hard to keep everything straight. One thing that I have been able to keep careful track of is that Brenda is arriving later today and I am very excited about that. Our son Christopher will be with her so she will have her own personal Sherpa to help with her bags.

Pandora is tied up in the Dockyard with many of the other Rally boats and I was lucky enough to receive a number of photos, compliments of the Department of Tourism, of the fleet on the dock. What a beautiful place.

And, if you look realy close, Pandora… No, that blue arrow isn’t part of the boat 🙂

But wait, there’s more. The boats on the other side of the dock. Salty Dawg boats all around.

These drone photos were associated with a meeting that I had with the Minister of Tourism, Max Fernandez on Friday. We have met many times over the years and when we met this week, we were talking about a number of possible collaborations in the US for Antigua. During and after the meeting a photographer followed us around.

Our meeting included the Board Director of the International Yacht Restoration School, Steve. I have been working with IYRS and some folks in Antigua on a scholarship program for a number of years with my friend Bob and it is really beginning to build momentum. This meeting was to discuss expanding on that activity and I feel like we made some nice progress.

The gang… From left to right. Franklyn, President of the Antigua and Barbuda Marine Trades Association, Steve, Chair of the IYRS Board of Directors, Bob, my partner on this initiative, the Minister of Tourism, Paul, the owner of the Admiral’s Inn and terrific supporter of many initiatives on the island, Me :), and Devin, who is responsible for Yachting Development for Antigua. A number of the items discussed came up when I met with Devin at the Annapolis Boat show in October.

After the meeting the Minister, photographer in tow, toured the Dockyard with me to see all the Salty Dawg boats that were tied up. He was impressed and noted that the size of the boats was larger than he had expected.

A few years ago, then “Prince Charles” visited Antigua and took a tour of the Dockyard. My friend Mike, happened to be tied up when the small entourage, showed up to see the boats. I asked Mike to show the Minister a photo of that encounter when Charles spoke to him for about 10 minutes, which he did. The Minister was very interested and asked Mike to send a copy to him. It was a pretty neat moment.

There are still loads of events planned to celebrate the arrival of the fleet and with Brenda here it’s going to be at a whole better level.

There are a lot of folks from the fleet enjoying themselves. A few nights ago we had a “happy hour” on the dock behind Pandora. I climbed up on a neighboring boat and got this great shot.

And yet another event… No rest for the weary and a bigger group.

I have also spent a lot of time with my painter friend Patrick O’Brien, who agreed to come to Antigua to scope it out as a possible destination for other members of the American Society of Marine Artists. Patrick is the president of the group these days and as a huge fan of marine art, I am anxious to help try and make something happen.

A few days during their visit here, I have accompanied him out to do some plein-air painting sketches. It’s been terrific fun. To watch a piece come to life from a blank canvas in a few hours is quite an experience.

We camped out behind this old storage building that once held gunpowder for the nearby cannon battery.

When Patrick paints, he attracts a crowd. This little girl and her mother were fascinated watching him. It was fun to see him interact with her and how patient he was while trying to paint.

He spends a lot of time scoping out the right image and location to focus on. His pieces are generally pretty rough at first and then he takes them back to the studio, compares his photos, the painted piece and a lot of detail from memory to complete the picture. I expect that some of the pieces he worked on will end up being larger scale pieces once he returns to the US and his studio.

Being around artists for so many years, I have come to appreciate how they see the world in a more nuanced way. So many today are busy trying to get ahead that it seems the world sort of washes over them and they aren’t all that aware of what going on all around them. Not so for Patrick. Like many artists, he sees the world with the wonder of a child experiencing things for the very first time.

Only partially finished. A view toward Nelson’s Dockyard from Ft Berkley.

And from way up high at Shirley Heights. The sun goes down so quickly in Antigua that he was only able to do a very rough sketch, with details to follow.

Once he returns to his studio he will finish the few canvases he started in Antigua. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with. As a point of reference, here are two pieces from his website.

In keeping with the period of Nelson’s Dockyard.

Or this historic New York harbor scene.

Patrick’s work is revered worldwide. Check out his studio site.

Last evening Astrid and her husband Bo, of the Admiral’s Inn, invited me, Patrick and Alison to their home overlooking the harbor for drinks and then dinner at the Inn.

We discussed the possibility of Patrick bringing down members of ASMA for a retreat and a week of painting. This place is so rich in history and I have to believe that many would find it to be inspiring as has Patrick.

During dinner, this little guy dropped from the heavens, well from the umbrella, stayed for a few moments and then scampered off.

Well, Brenda will be here in a few hours with Chris and I look forward to enjoying the island with them in tow.

Being here with Patrick and Alison, who leave the island tomorrow, has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to seeing them again soon, perhaps in Essex or even Antigua.

And, speaking of seeing folks here in Antigua, I sure hope that the skippers who have been stuck in Bermuda are able to make a fast passage to Antigua and join in the fun and I can’t wait to be able to say “the gang is all here”. Soon enough, I hope…

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