Sail Pandora

For the last two days we have been staying in Mendocino, on the coast, with our son Christoper and his girlfriend Melody.   This is the view that greeted us this morning from the kitchen.  It’s been a real treat to spend a week with them, here and near their home in Oakland.  They live in a lovely little studio apartment with their dog Mila.  It’s way to small for us to stay with them, so off to an Air B&B for us.  It’s an expensive area so I won’t comment on where we’ve been staying. Let’s just say that today’s view, well, it’s better.

So, here we are, and it’s great.  Chris and Melody set this up and are treating us to a stay with them high on a cliff overlooking the ocean.  The place, and you can’t see another building from here, is located on 85 acres.   Its  a compound or tiny village with an eclectic mix of buildings.  There’s even a root cellar, or is it a Hobbit House?  The view from the deck on the main house, where we are staying, is pretty spectacular.  From the northern part of the property you get a pretty good feel for the scale of the place.  You can barely see the main house peaking out from the trees on the left. These trees to the left on the above photo look like they have had to work hard to grow here.  Craggy and I expect very old. Out on the point, near the edge of the cliff, there are some wonderful spring flowers.   These low lying fleshy plants grow everywhere. Love the dwarf iris, not more than 6″ tall.  Near the northern property line, is a government survey mark placed here in 1930.  It says that to disturb or remove it will subject me to a fine of $250 and imprisonment.   $250 sounds like a pretty good deal for what would be a very nice souvenir.  I wonder if they would calculate inflation from 1930 into account if I take it?   Not sure about the “imprisonment” part.   On second thought, I’ll leave it.Anyway, back to the flowers.  I have no idea what this is but it is impressive with a flower stalk that is over 4′ tall. These clusters are on a bush along with dozens more make for quite a show. For lunch yesterday we stopped at a tiny deli in nearby Elk, population 250.  There was a lovely picnic area across the street, overlooking a beach. 
Nice spot.  Mila waiting for lunch to arrive.  Melody in a lovely hat.  I just love hats. The Pacific coastline is remarkably rugged, with many miles between ports.  By the mid 1800s, this area was a major source of lumber, shipped all over the world and a major source for the wood used to rebuild San Francisco following the devastating earthquake of 1906.  This photo does suggest that they needed a lot of lumber.Lumber schooners, mostly with two to three masts and easily maneuvered, were able to pull into just about any spot in the coastline that offered even a small amount of protection from the ocean swells.  These harbors, such as they were, were known as “Dog-Hole Ports“, so named by the captains that used them because they were just large enough for a dog to get in and out of.  There were some 400 sawmills along the northern California coastline serving these tiny ports.    It’s hard to imagine bringing a ship near a rocky coastline like this, but they did.

This photo, BTW, was taken from the deck where we are staying.   Amazing.  As close as we are to SF, about 3 hours by car, this areas once felt a lot more remote when it was only accessible by boat or stagecoach.  In many ways, it still feels far away and very primitive.  Well, primitive perhaps but with some really nice places to eat out and don’t forget about those wonderful wineries that are so close.

Yesterday evening we visited the nearby town of Mendocino for dinner.   Before dinner we had drinks at a beautiful old inn from the late 1800s.  I expect that our bar tab would have put us all up for a month, meals included, in the olden days.  I also expect that the crowd would have been a bit rougher.    “Hey you, yeah you dog face, get me another whisky and make it right quick or I’ll blow yer frigging head off!   On second thought, a chardonnay if it’s not too much trouble.”

The trip here from San Francisco takes you through the major wine regions and finally winds through the redwood forest just north of the Anderson Valley, our favorite, and one area that Brenda and I have been visiting for over 30 years.  It was a bit surreal for us to sit in the back seat on the way here as Chris drove us along those familiar roads.    It wasn’t that long ago, well it doesn’t seem that long ago, since Brenda and I were in the area while Chris and his brother Rob were toddlers, home with their grandparents.

Melody and Chris just love it here.   About 100 yards from the main house, there is a small deck that overlooks the very edge of the cliff.  The wind off of the ocean is so strong that the chairs on the deck have to be tied with a rope to keep from being blown over the edge of the cliff.  Not the most relaxing place to sit and sip wine.  However, after a glass or so, the risk of falling to certain death somehow seems less of a problem.   Their dog Mila loves surveying all that she can see.  “Hey mom and dad, I’ll bet that cove is one of those Dog-Hole Ports.  Am I right?” This area is very close too the dense redwood forest of the Navarro valley to the east, one of the areas that were heavily logged.   As the coastline is so rugged, with safe harbors so far apart, transporting the lumber to anchored schooners involved a huge effort.    Some spots, but not many,  were sheltered enough to allow for the construction of a wharf that went far out into the water.   Note the many lines strung from the bow of this steamer, no doubt to hold her off of the wharf in the ocean surge.  
I expect that these structures did not last very long with the relentless pounding of ocean waves.    However, with low cost labor along with cheap and abundant building materials, I doubt that it mattered.

The often precipitous drop off from cliff to the water posed unique challenges in getting lumber down to the ship. The only way, in those areas, to get materials down from high on the cliffs, was to use long lines strung from the top of the cliff or lumber shoots designed to slide boards down to the waiting schooner far below. As technology improved, schooners made way for steam powered freighters but creativity was still needed to board freight and passengers.  “Don’t worry little lady, I’ve done this hundreds of times.”
The schooners that served this area had to be very maneuverable in order to safely make their way in and out of the tiny harbors along this exposed coastline.  It was easier to load the ships from high cliffs than to try and transport lumber any distance over rough dirt roads to better harbors.

The last remaining lumber schooner from that era is the C.A. Thayer, launched in 1895 in Eureka CA, not far from here.  She is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime museum.     Over the years, she, along with a number of other vessels in the museums large collection, fell into an unfortunate state of disrepair but recently she has been fully restored.

We visited her in 2017, on our last trip to SF, as they were just finishing the restoration and enjoyed a tour.   She’s in great shape now. Her stern was designed with openings that allowed the loading of long pieces of lumber below decks. In order to fit the maximum amount of cargo, she was designed with no bulkheads below decks.  There were once hundreds of these schooners moving lumber down the coast to San Francisco but she is now the last remaining one and it was nice to see her restored to better than new condition.

So, here we are, in an area with so much history and along with is us Mila, who must particularly appreciate the history behind these out of the way, “Dog-Hole ports” that played such an important part of area history.

It’s the beginning of April and I find myself completely focused on something that hasn’t been on my mind for the last seven years.  Spring launch.  It’s not news to anyone that follows the blog that Pandora’s been on the hard over this winter, her first since being launched in 2007 and that this winter was the first in Pandora’s decade long life when she was “decommissioned” for any reason, b beyond a few months, much less and entire winter.    Not to put too fine a point on it but the last time I did any real sailing was a year ago May when I returned from Antigua.

So, here I am, recalling so many spring commissioning sprints trying to getting the boat ready for the water in time for the long Memorial Day Weekend.   Well,  not actually, as in my retirement it’s a bit different as I am no longer focused on a single long weekend but the whole year and months aboard.  However, with Pandora about to emerge from nearly a year out of the water, I’ll be in the boat yard working hard to get the boat ready in time to enjoy the season.

After an ill fated attempt to prepare her for a run south last fall resulting from a long delay from some work that I had commissioned last summer, I came to the painful realization that we’d be staying home for the season.   It turned out to be OK,  I guess, as I got a lot done around the house and we also spent more time with our growing troupe of grandchildren.  That was good but, and there’s always a “but” I am anxious about being afloat again.

Being home-bound for the winter did allow me to get many projects done around the house, especially for Brenda, that I am hoping that she will take pity on my and not grouse too much when we head south next winter.

So, soon enough Pandora will be back in the water where she belongs.  The bad news is that shortly after she is launched, she will be hauled yet again to address a problem with the waterline resulting from last summers paint job.

Regarding that bit of news, when Pandora was being painted, I asked to have the aft portion of the waterline raised but somehow the port and starboard lines ended up being a few inches off from each other.  I noticed that last fall, shortly after she was relaunched.  At first I thought that she had developed a list to port, but when I put a ruler on the waterline I realized that port was two inches lower than the other side.

So, in order to fix the problem and get a good feel for exactly where the waterline should be, she has to be fully rigged with mast up, sails on and dink in the davits.  After launch, measurements will be taken and she will be marked for fore and aft trim.   The key in all of this is the “after rigging” part as that means that she will then have her mast and all that rigging in place which means she will be tall, a lot taller than the door of the shed where she was painted.   The good news is that the painter has access to a building in Bridgeport with a door that is tall enough to accommodate her inside, even with her mast up.   While Pandora’s mast is tall and the door to the shed is taller, something like 75′.

That’s a really big door and an even bigger shed.  Actually, it was the building where the yacht Cake Walk was constructed in a few years ago.  She was, I am told, the largest displacement yacht ever built in the US at over 250′ long.  Longer yachts have been built in the US but none with greater displacement. She’s now named Aquila but she’s still huge.   If the shed could fit her, Pandora should fit too.  Actually, the building can fit many Pandoras.

Here’s Aquila.  Pandora could be her dink.   So, here I sit.  It’s early April and I have a growing list of what has to happen to get her ready for the water.  It’s like the old days before I retired but at least I don’t have to get up on a Monday morning and head to the office.

Well, I am in my “office” but at least I am writing a blog post and not a business plan .  Well, I guess it is a business plan of sorts, a plan to get Pandora back in the water.

The biggest thing standing between me and the launch of Pandora is the collapsed headliner that was sagging badly in, well in just about every part of the boat, the main cabin, aft and forward compartments.    About a year ago the foam backing on the headliner had deteriorated to a point where it separated from the cabin sides and fell down.   At first I thought that the problem was limited to a few areas.  No such luck.So, I decided to take nearly all of it down.   It was a huge job and very messy.  I consulted with Chad, the canvas maker that did a great job on my cockpit enclosure, to get advice on what to do.  He suggested that I pull the vinyl down and then, with a wire brush on a drill, have at it.   This is a view of the aft cabin, where I pulled down all of the vinyl.  Then the drill…The main cabin, post wire brush.  Looks like a derelict boat.   Depressing.  And such a mess…Over the weekend, I went to a sale at Defender, a discount marine supply company nearby.  They have a once a year warehouse sale and it was mobbed.    I purchased most of the lights I needed, along with a new EPIRB, Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.   Say that three times fast.   As the name suggests, it is a transmitter that I can activate to call for help if I get into trouble while at sea.   I have two on the boat already but they are both out of date and it makes more sense to get a new one instead of having the older one re-certified.  All this, lights and EPIRB, and it wasn’t quite one “boat dollar”.   And, speaking of lights, I’ll also be replacing all of the inefficient fluorescent fixtures in the cabin and cockpit, along with all of the halogen bulbs in the overhead with LED bulbs and fixtures.  The bad news is that the “footprint” of the old fixtures, and there are 9 of them, is larger than the new ones so that means that I’ll have to replace all the vinyl on other areas of the headliner that are basically fine to eliminate the old screw holes and stained vinyl in the areas around the old headliner.  There are a LOT of fixtures to deal with.    Fortunately, vinyl comes in many colors of “white” so we should be able to match the new to the old.  Fingers crossed.

Also, in going from halogen to LED in some areas so I have to replace the dimmers, three of them with a type made for LEDs.  This is what the old, non compliant, dimmers looked like.  In spite of my best efforts, I could not locate new dimmers that look anything like these and would fit in the same 2″ hole.  So, I decided to just “remodel” and use the same dimmer casing.  So, I made up wooden inserts from scrap plywood that matched the interior.  The plan will be to glue the new touch dimmer into the old housing and it will look like this.  Pretty neat, right? I’m pretty pleased with myself, frankly.  An elegant solution that will minimize effort in matching the current holes.

I am doing, have done, all of the demo but I am hiring Chad to put the new headliner in place and it’s a LOT of work so it’s going to be several boat dollars, I expect.   Brenda will be so pleased.

Add to this project myriad other issues, like re-bedding deck fittings, general cleanup and a number of other upgrades and there is a LOT to do to get Pandora ready to splash.

Oh yeah, and with all the time I save in making my own dimmers, I’ll be spending plenty of time trying to pull out the bolts that hold in the mast step as the heads of the bolts had become corroded and suspect.  So far, not a lot of luck in getting them out.   Yes, that’s a bolt extractor in the lower left.  Wish me luck. Oh yeah, one more thing.  Pandora has electric toilets.  Can you imagine, electric?  And mixing electricity with, well, you know what, is a messy business.  The toilet, head, has three electric motors and one failed on the aft head so I had to put in another.  If you think that this looks expensive, it is.  Fortunately, I was able to get it replaced under warranted.  Let’s hope that if it decides to “poop out” it does so before a year.  Motors on a head?  Who knew?  So, after a winter spent waiting for the weather to get warm enough to work on Pandora and time spent focusing on my “honey do list”, it’s time to get cracking and find a way to get Pandora back in the water and ready to cruise.

I never imagined that I’d be back in the grind of spring commissioning, but now I am.  And, when I get her up and running again in a few weeks, I’ll learn if I missed anything when I was winterizing her systems.

So, if I can only get her ready by Memorial Day.  Wow, a deja vu moment.  At least I don’t have to go to work the following Tuesday.  No wait, perhaps I’ll wait and not even use the boat as everywhere will be jammed that weekend.   Ah, the luxury of being of a “certain age”.   Now don’t go telling me that I am in my “twilight years” and that it’s “all down hill from here”.

And speaking of “down hill” I guess that it is a race to the finish line.  Yes, I guess it is and time’s a-wasting so I’d better get cracking.

“Brenda, anything you need me to do before I head to Pandora today?”

This year, the season won’t end in the fall, I hope but I’m still racing to get her in the water.

Did someone say deja vos, again?

So often it is the work of one person or a single family whose actions and vision can be the spark that changes the course of history.   For Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbor, Antigua it was the Nicholson family.

In 1948 the Nicholsons left Ireland beginning what was to be an around the world voyage aboard their 70′ schooner Mollihawk.  Aboard were “Commander V.E.B” Nicholson his wife Emma and their two young sons who arrived in English Harbor, the site of the then derelict Nelson’s Dockyard where they decided to make a home.Over time, their older son, Desmond and his wife Lisa also became passionate about the historic Dockyard, looking beyond the caved in roofs and crumbling walls to envision what is today a national treasure, UNESCO world heritage site and the only operating Georgian Dockyard in the world

It was their hard work, the enthusiasm of the family and certainly others that galvanized support to rebuild the iconic Dockyard that was once the center of British naval power in the Caribbean.

At the time of their arrival, only a few years after the end of WWII, Antigua was not the tourist destination that it is today and the yacht charter business in the Caribbean was not yet born.  Soon after their arrival, the family was approached by John Archbold, a wealthy landowner from nearby Dominica with a request to charter Mollihawk.  This event proved to be the beginning of the first charter business in Antigua, that lives on today as Nicholson Yachts Charter & Services.

Desmond was an enthusiastic photographer and when I was in Antigua last November I visited his daughter Nancy’s art gallery, saw a charming book of his photography and purchased a copy.   All of the black and white photos in this post are from that book and are posted compliments of Nancy.

There were only a few cruising boats visiting Antigua in those early days.   The building in ruins to the right in this photo, without a roof or windows,  is where the customs office is now located. Today the grounds and customs office are fully restored. Nearly every inch of dock space in English Harbor and nearby Falmouth Harbor are crammed with all manner of mega-yachts and cruisers.  Some of these behemoths look more like ocean liners than private yachts.   I was told that in January there were some 80 mega-yachts in residence between English and Falmouth harbors. Shortly after arriving in Antigua, the Nicholson family received permission to take up residence in the abandoned Dockyard and set about doing what they could to improve the facility.   No drones in those days.  These photos were taken after much of the rebuilding was done, replacing missing roofs and walls. Today the look of the Dockyard is true to it’s roots and looks much like it did when it was the Caribbean base for the British Navy with all of the buildings beautifully restored.  In 2016 the Dockyard was designated as a  World Heritage site by UNESCO.

As a point of interest, this next photo was taken about a week after back to back hurricanes ravaged nearby Barbuda and other islands in the Caribbean two years ago.   By a quirk of geography and the storms path, the island and Dockyard were spared.    That same year the Salty Dawg Rally decided to head to Antigua with 55 boats making landfall on the island. The Dockyard doesn’t look all that different these days than it did when Desmond took this photo. Well, one thing that is different is that there are a LOT more boats.  This is a photo of boats participating in the Oyster round the world rally from a few years ago.  I have a friend who had hoped to meet me there this April as they return, having completed a circumnavigation themselves as part of the rally.  I wish that I could be there.  Next year…There are still remnants of the careening dock that was used to pull over navy ships for bottom work.  The Nicholson family used similar equipment to restore yachts in the early years.  Nowadays, right across the harbor, there is a full service yard with a railway servicing yachts of all sizes. Most everyone visiting the island makes the pilgrimage up to the British Navy era Shirley Heights fort overlooking the harbor.  Here’s Desmond and his young bride Lisa, C1958.The Lookout is still a tremendously popular spot to watch the sunset for locals and visitors alike with barbecues and bands performing at sunset every week. Crowds or not, this view will never be beat and no less lovely than it was when the Nicholson family first made landfall.  It’s no wonder that they decided to stay and make a life for themselves on the island.
Sail making has always been a part of the Dockyard, including during Desmond’s time.  I’ll bet that the figurehead in the corner has an interesting story to tell.
And that craft remains a vital part of the Dockyard today.  A&F Sails is located in the Dockyard, owned and operated by the Commodore of the Antigua Yacht Club, Franklyn Braithwaite.  He’s a great guy and has been tremendously supportive of the Salty Dawg Rally. In addition to Franklyn’s loft, the Dockyard is home to many marine related businesses.   These stone pillars, now part of the Admiral’s Inn, were once the base of the loft that took care of the sails for naval ships.    In Nelson’s day, the channel between the columns allowed ships’ gigs to row under the building and have sails lifted into the loft for service. Today they serve as an iconic backdrop for the Admiral’s Inn, run by siblings Astrid and Paul Deeth.  Their parents founded one of the earliest resorts in English Harbor.   These columns are quite a sight as is the rest of the property, especially in the evening.  Astrid and Paul have been tremendously supportive in helping me organize events in celebration of the arrival of the rally for the last few years. The Dockyard plays a big role in the arrival of the Salty Dawg fleet.  We have a number of events in the Dockyard and cap our week of celebration with a dinner by the pool at Boom, part of the Admiral’s Inn. The view of the dockyard from that spot is really impressive. Across the harbor from the Dockyard, is Clarence House, built in the early 17th century as the residence for the Duke of Clarence, Prince William IV.  The restoration of the building was made possible by a grant from Sir Peter Harrison, who now keeps his yacht Sojana, in the Dockyard during the winter season.   When the refurbished Clarence House was officially dedicated in 2016, Prince Harry was on hand.   His appearance in Antigua was chronicled in the Daily Mail of UK. 

This shot shows Clarence House on the hill.
Today English Harbor and Nelson’s Dockyard remain a vital harbor for cruising and charter yachts alike and it all began with the arrival of Commander Nicholson and his family so many years ago.

Every cruiser or yachtsman who arrives in the harbor owes a debt to the Nicholson family that had the vision to help remake English Harbor into what it is  today, perhaps the most wonderful place to make landfall in the Caribbean.

As part of the arrival events for the Salty Dawg fleet last November, Nancy Nicholson, daughter of Desmond and Lisa, hosted an arrival event in conjunction with the season opening of her gallery, Rhythm of Blue art gallery.

It was nice to meet her mother Lisa at the event with Nancy.   I for one, would love to sit down with Lisa to hear more about what it was like in the Dockyard during those early years. So many years have come and gone since Mollihawk arrived in English Harbor but the legacy remains, a good example of how important the vision and work of even a single family can be.

In addition to his work revitalizing the Dockyard, Desmond was instrumental in helping to develop the original website for the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, www.antiguanice.com.  That site along with his many books and articles ensure that Desmond’s legacy in Antigua is secure and the results of his work will continue to benefit the island for decades to come.   Read his obituary here as it lists many of his impressive achievements.

Those who spend time in the Dockyard and, for that matter, all of Antigua surely owes a debt of gratitude to the Nicholson family who helped spark the revitalization of what has become a jewel in the crown of Antigua, Nelson’s Dockyard.

I look forward to joining the Salty Dawg fleet in the Dockyard this coming November and will raise a glass to those who made it possible.

Ok, here’s the deal.  If you are heading to the Caribbean next season I’m here to tell you that the best place to make landfall is Antigua.  So, feast your eyes on this beautiful sunset that could be yours and read on.  There are a number of options for heading to the Caribbean from the US east coast.   Beyond where to make landfall, a key question is about how convenient it is to explore the rest of the islands once you arrive.

Several years ago, when I was planning for Pandora’s first run to the eastern Caribbean, I asked around about where would be the best island to head for.   Many skippers, heading south for the first time, default to the British Virgin Islands as they are familiar with the area from years of chartering.  And while it’s a wonderful place to charter for a week, it’s tough for cruisers to get further south without slogging to weather.  The bad news is that there just isn’t a lot of information easily available regarding the islands to the south.

Cruisers wishing to continue south from the BVIs to the next island, St Martin, must make a run of nearly 100 miles due east, directly into the trade winds.   Some will say that this trip is “easy if you wait for a cold front”.  However, that may take a long time according to weather router Chris Parker who says that you are likely to wait weeks or worse, especially during mid-December through March for a more northerly wind shift. Several years ago, Brenda and I made the run between the British Virgin Islands and St Martin and in spite of light easterlies of only 10kts, it was quite an unpleasant trip, very bumpy motor sailing directly into the wind and waves that made for a VERY LONG DAY that began before sunrise and lasted until long after dark.

It was not a great way to begin our run south after the holidays.  Brenda hated it.  Unfortunately, our experience was not unique and for us it wasn’t a great way to begin our winter season aboard Pandora.   As they say “gentlemen do not go to weather”.

For years now, we have worked with Chris Parker of Marine Weather Center, as our preferred weather router and have relied on him for guidance for local weather forecasting as well as advice on where to cruise based on the type of sailing conditions that Brenda and I prefer.  And, when I asked him about cruising the eastern Caribbean, his recommendation was to head directly to Antigua from the US and begin our winter cruising from there.

From the Hampton, VA, the starting point for the Salty Dawg Rally, the run to Antigua is only about 100 miles further than the BVIs and by the time you get there you have made all of the easting required to begin your sailing season.  Once you’re in Antigua, you can sail just about anywhere on a reach or down wind.

Chris also notes that Antigua is well protected from the large winter north swells produced by the all to common north Atlantic storms.  These swells, that grow out of major lows in the North Atlantic, make anchorages farther north and on the smaller islands untenable for much of the winter.

Stronger winds, known as the “Christmas winds” pipe up in the Caribbean in the second half of December through mid-March.  However, it is easy to ride them out with good holding in the protected harbors of Antigua.  With so many cruisers in the harbor, there is plenty to do on the island if you opt to spend several weeks there before heading further south.If you need a place to keep your boat when you head home for the holidays, dockage, moorings and marina storage in Antigua are a lot less expensive than you might think and flights home for the holidays are convenient and reasonably priced.

Of course, on any long voyage, stuff always breaks and Antigua has extensive services available so you can get just about anything fixed.    And, while equipment is somewhat more expensive than in the US, most anything can be brought in quickly and installed by those who know how to do it.   It’s no surprise that many skippers of megayachts have work done in Antigua.  Need paint work or varnishing?  Antigua is a great place to have that done too and it won’t drain your cruising kitty, well, now compared to some other areas at least.

When heading further south, you’ll be sailing on a reach, the distances between islands are short line of sight sailing and the longest distance you’ll have to cover between harbors is only about 50 miles with most islands closer together than that.

To the south, there is great variety in the islands that you will visit, with each stop offering their own unique cultures, especially the French islands of Guadaloupe and Martinique and the very quaint Le Saintes archipelago just south of Guadaloupe.  

Dominica, the “nature island” is very popular with cruisers given its’ rustic nature and extensive hiking trails through the rainforest.Love waterfalls?   Dominica’s got that…There are often questions about safety and crime in the Caribbean and while it’s always a good idea to keep your dink locked when on shore and tied to the boat at night, crime is mostly concentrated in certain areas of St Lucia and much of St Vincent.  A bit farther south, Bequia and the Grenadines are wonderful and safe.

Antigua has some crime but it’s generally centered in the largest city, St John, where the cruise ships dock, far from Falmouth and English Harbor.   Actually, there is a police station right near the entrance of Nelson’s Dockyard.   You will feel safe when walking around the area, even at night.

It was no accident that the British Navy chose English Harbor and Antigua as their base of their naval operations in the Caribbean for several hundred years as these harbors are very well protected and offer consistent trade wind sailing on a reach to just about every area of the Caribbean.It’s a truly beautiful place. And loaded with fabulous yachts of all sizes.  Yes, Antigua is the ideal place to begin your season and from there you can head further south without beating into the trade winds.   And, as the season winds down you may choose, as many do, to leave your boat south in Grenada or Trinidad where you’ll be safe from the seasonal hurricanes.

And, for those returning to the US, sailing back to the Virgins is an easy run, off the wind, and there you can join up for the Salty Dawg Rally back to the US and home.  Along the way you’ll want to be sure and stop in St Barths and St Martin as well as some of the smaller islands if the north swell is not a problem.

Antigua is very simply the sailing capital of the Caribbean and very cruiser friendly.  And, as rally port captain, I have seen first-hand, that they have been extremely welcoming to the Salty Dawg Rally and have gone out of their way to help us.  The Antigua Yacht Club even throws the Dawgs a free party, with food and drink for all.  It doesn’t get more welcoming than that, if you ask me.If you’ve been to Antigua in the past you know that what I am saying is true and I am sure that you won’t be disappointed by your next trip.  If you are new to cruising the area, trust me, making landfall in Antigua and tying up in historic Nelson’s Dockyard for the first time will give you and your crew a thrill to be in a magical place that has hosted sailing vessels for hundreds of years, a UNESCO world heritage site and the only operating Georgian boatyard in the world.How about this view of the Dockyard from aboard Pandora?Still need convincing?  Contact me, Antigua Port Captain for the Salty Dawg Rally, SDSA board member and I’ll answer your questions.   Believe me, if Antigua wasn’t such a great spot, I wouldn’t be spending so much of my time working to make your arrival a great experience.

And, speaking of plans, when the Dawgs arrive in Antigua in November there will be quite a lineup of events to please skipper and crew alike.   So, I hope that you will join me and the rest of the fleet in English Harbor for our arrival and more than a week of events, some free and all reasonably priced.  Click here to see the details of what’s planned.

Can’t bring your boat?  Not a problem, there are really special, super great rates at the Admiral’s Inn, in the heart of the Dockyard, just for Dawgs and their friends during our arrival time.   How about this as a perfect spot to begin your day with a cup of coffee at the Inn?  The place is beautiful. Or perhaps for a glass of wine as the sun goes down.  Pandora will be in the Dockyard waiting for you.  Well, that’s assuming that you don’t get there first.

So, there you have it.   The case for making landfall in Antigua.  And, with so many Dawgs together, it’s going to be awesome.

Oh yeah, we even do dinghy drifts and pass around snacks to share or should I say “Dawg Food”. So, why would you miss out on this?

Well, it’s been two weeks since I last posted and that’s way too long.  Along with visiting our son and grandchildren, I have been busy building two looms for Brenda, perhaps as penance for keeping her away from home for the last six winters voyaging here there.

It’s just beginning to get light outside and this is the view from my office window.   Not looking too good for an early spring.Beautiful yes, in a wintry sort of way.  Me, I prefer this instead.   Soon enough.    It’l get better in May.Yes, it’s been tough for me to be here in CT with the sub-freezing weather for months now but at least I have been spending a lot of time in the the shop with no windows so I can’t see outside, the bare trees and… well, you get the picture.  Actually, I already showed you the picture.

Speaking of picture, this is one of the two Takadai looms that I built while hanging out in that windowless shop.   Takawhat! you say.  Check this link to learn more about this obscure fiddly technique.  Trust me, I won’t be ditching Pandora to make ancient Japanese braids any time soon.  However, now Brenda has one of these arcane gizmos of her own…The loom looks deceptively simple, but, trust me, it’s not simple to make at all.   I used some exotic materials including zebra wood.  I have had a single board on hand in the shop for a decade waiting for the right project to come along. I also had to make 40 of these.  They are called Koma and each one has 9 pins inserted into fiddly little holes.  Yikes, talk about repetitive motion…And, there are SO MANY OF THEM.  And that’s just one of the two looms I made.   To set up jigs to make all the parts took plenty of time so I decided to go ahead and make two of everything.  Brenda plans on selling one of them to another weaver. 

Interestingly, there is only one guy in the US that makes these looms and there is a 2.5 year long wait to get one.  From me, Brenda got hers in only two months.  Go me!  However, we won’t talk about the fact that she purchased the plans over seven years ago.    Well, I did have to think about it long enough to get it right.  Right?

Anyway, the looms are nearly done and I can soon turn my attention to getting Pandora ready for spring.    There’s still plenty to do and I’ll be spending days aboard Pandora scraping old glue off of the overhead so I can put in a new head-liner.  I’ve decided to hire the guy who did my cockpit enclosure to install the new material.   That way I can be sure that it will turn out perfectly and I HAVE to have PERFECT.

I’ll also be taking out the last of the less efficient lighting and replacing it with LEDs so I won’t have to be quite so stingy with cabin lighting when we are on the hook.   Pandora’s cabin lighting has been mostly upgraded but there are still the overhead halogen puck lights that need attention plus a number of high pressure fluorescent fixtures that aren’t very efficient either.

And, well, there’s always the quest of trying to fix those small if persistent leaks coming through that bolt hole on the traveler, under a line clutch and one of the granny bars that drip down below from time too time.  Annoying, but a bit of proper bedding should do the trick.   Of course that all sounds easy enough but to get things sorted out and ready for that “bit of proper bedding” will take hours or days.

And, remember my last post?  The one about our visiting the UK and renting a Narrow Boat?  Well, NEVER MIND…

Brenda and I both decided that being away for a month wasn’t all that great an idea after all and we’ve decided to put that trip off and go to CA instead for a week to see our son Chris and his girlfriend Melody.    We’ve been looking forward to seeing them again so that’s the plan.

So, it’s UK out and CA in…  Best laid plans? Right?

We’ve also been visiting with our son’s growing family.   They are getting bigger and louder by the day.  It’s fun to be with them but just about everything that gets done all day long involves bathing, bouncing, playing, feeding or changing diapers along with putting them down for a nap and then getting them up  again.  Really adorable but what a handful…Feed me, FEED ME “Tepe”!!!  That’s Tori’s name for me, Grandpa.   Double adorable.  The best thing about being the oldest is that you get “naming rights”. The morning after we returned home from our visit, Brenda and I both were struck by how peaceful it was to have coffee and read the paper in ABSOLUTE SILENCE.  We miss them but not until after that second cup of coffee and an hour spent reading the paper.   Such are the joys of being a grandparent.

So, back to sailing.   We still plan on going to Maine this summer and I hope for a brief visit up the St John river in Canada.   I’ll be running Pandora to Annapolis for the sailboat show in October.  After that, on to Hampton VA and the Salty Dawg Rally to the Caribbean and my “home island”,  Antigua.

I should mention that there is a load of activities planned for our arrival in Antigua in November and I sure hope that at least one of you will decide to go there too.   The events are great and I should know as I’m port captain and set them all up.   Check out what’s planned for our arrival.   The page is still a bit rudimentary but it will be fleshed out more soon.   While you’re at it, why not sign up for the rally now.  And, of course, make it Antigua, I will.   Everyone I’ve been working with in Antigua has been so supportive and the government is even taking a booth at the Annapolis boat show as a result of my prodding.

And speaking of signing up.  Put the “Open Boat Blue Water Weekend” on your calendar too.  In my “spare time” I have been working on this meeting at the Essex Yacht Club beginning June 21st for three days focused on preparing skippers, boats and crew for safe and fun, well mostly fun, blue water passages.  And yes, you can sign up for that too. But wait, there’s more…  I’ve been asked to give a talk on July 23rd as part of the Camden Yacht Club’s Summer Speakers’ Sunset Series.   I’ll be speaking on behalf of the rally and about cruising the Windward Islands, south of Antigua, an area that I just love.    The event is also a rendezvous of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association and they have a signup page if you’re interested.  It’s free.

The Camden Yacht Club is a beautiful spot with a view of the Camden Hills from the clubhouse.  Other than that, I’m just hanging around waiting for the crocus to come up hinting that spring is just around the corner.   And, now that the “takawhatervers” are nearly done, I can turn my attention back to Pandora so that I’ll be ready in time for some summer cruising.

Oh yeah, and Brenda wants some bar stools for the kitchen so I’ll have to somehow fit that in too.  And, the passerelle (boarding ramp) for Pandora, almost forgot that.

So, there you have it.   Nothing to do except to wait for spring except, well, except just about everything.    A sign, please, at least give me a sign…

But, you know they say, “busy people are happy people”.  Than I must be about the happiest guy around.  Well, the happiest one with dry feet at least.

The Narrow Boats of England’s inland canal waterways have always captured my imagination.  To me these distinctive boats are a pinnacle of “form follows function” as they all look very similar being designed within a strict standard that will fit with the locks on the canal system throughout the UK.

A Narrow Boat must be under 7′ wide and most are kept to a maximum of 6′ 10″ and to a maximum length of 72′ and sometimes a bit smaller as there are some locks on the system that can not accommodate anything longer than 57′. Originally these boats were more like simple barges with horses pulling them along with a rope on a tow path.   With the development of compact steam engines,  many became self powered and ultimately converted to diesel engines. The canal system of the UK and the iconic narrow boats played a key role in the industrial revolution in England making it possible to cheaply move material throughout  the country before the development of the railway system.  As canal traffic became the standard way to transport heavy cargo, shipping prices dropped precipitously with the cost to move coal dropping by 75%.   However, by the mid 20th century the canal system was all but abandoned in favor of train transport.

While the decline was years in the making, the winter of 1962/63 sounded the final death knell of commercial canal traffic when the canals completely froze the system, locking traffic in place for three months.  Shippers made the final shift to the railroads and never turned back.  Even the trains struggled with the unusually cold and snowy winter but they got through. As you can imagine, it wasn’t long until much of the canal system fell into total disrepair.
As is so often a basic truth, if you don’t use it, you loose it.
Today the system is thriving, thanks to a small group of enthusiasts that campaigned to repair the waterway.  A particularly seminal moment in this reversal of fortune was the publication of the book Narrow Boat by L.T.C. Rolt, originally published in 1944.  The author, Tom Rolt, brought attention to the decaying system.  Many give credit to this book as being the catalyst that lead to the renewal of the canal system as it exists today.   This book is still in print, after all these years, providing evidence of the enduring importance of his words.

Here’s Tom on his beloved narrow boat, Cressy.  He toured what remained of the the then decrepit canal system and founded the Inland Waterway Association in 1946 with a friend, Robert Aickman.   This group remains a major force to this day in restoring and maintaining the canal system.   Robert Aickman aboard a narrow boat.  He was a successful author of what is described as “supernatural fiction” whatever that is.  Remarkably, today there is in the neighborhood of 4,700 miles of navigable waterways in the UK with some 2,500 miles of those waterways primarily accessible by narrow boat.   If you ever wonder about what can be accomplished by a single individual, consider the impact that both Rolt and Aickman had on what is now a thriving canal system with over 30,000 registered vessels in the UK alone.

I am focused on all of this, beyond the obvious is this is all about boats, because, as I announced in a recent post, Brenda and I are planning a holiday to the UK in April, beginning with the annual meeting of the Ocean Cruising Club in Wales (I wrote about our plans and a few other random thoughts in this post).  After that we plan to tour other areas and are considering renting a canal boat or should I say Narrow Boat.

The particular segment of the canal system that we are interested in is often described as the most popular one, crossing from England to Wales, the Llangollen Canal.   This area of the canal system, under 50 miles, offers spectacular scenery along with a number of remarkable aqueducts and tunnels and is quite manageable for a week long holiday.   When you think of the fact that this canal was built in the early 1800s, it’s an all the more impressive feat.

Perhaps the most amazing part of the journey on the Llangollen is the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, a specatular bit of Victorian engineering.   Named a world heritage site, it is lovingly maintained to this day.  Check out this short tour.  We’ve been watching a number of shows recently about the canal system and have particularly enjoyed a series highlighting various areas of the system, hosted by two British actors, Timothy West and his wife of 50 years Prunella Scales.  Sadly, Prunella has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and her condition plays into the touching narrative.  I urge you to view this 45 minute piece.Timothy West is a well know stage and film actor and, in addition to the above episode, made many others with his wife, covering other areas of the canals of Europe.   It’s an impressive list and the number of episodes alone highlights the historic importance of canals in the history of Europe.

Prunella Scales, is someone who you will probably remember as playing opposite John Cleese, in the television series, Faulty Towers or perhaps in Monty Python skits over the years.  Anyway, West and Scales, who clearly have a love of canals and Narrow Boats,  bring this wonderful lifestyle to life and I am hopeful that Brenda and I can find a way to fit a canal boat holiday into our trip in April.

Perhaps the most impressive part of all of this is how the rebirth of the now thriving canal system in the UK was catalyzed by one man and the publication of a book shortly after the end of WWII and how that has grown into a thriving economy that attracts boaters from around the world.  If the sheer number of videos on YouTube is any measure, the canals indeed mean a great deal to many people.

For me, the chance to visit the UK and spend time aboard a boat, now that would be very special indeed.  Oh yeah, there’s one rub, we have to find someone to come along with us as Brenda’s freaking out about those pesky locks and don’t get her started about those scary aqueducts……and long dark tunnels. So, will we go?  As Brenda once said, “Bob and the dog, ever hopeful.” 

Way back in the 40s, Rolt and Aickman had hope when they had the bold idea of reviving the entire canal system.  Me, my hope is a lot less ambitious.  All I want to do is to go for a boat ride.

That’s me!  Fingers crossed and, oh yes, the power of hope.

My memories of my Grandfather Wallace, on my father’s side, are faint as he died when I was very young.  I do have one memory of him with my grandmother and parents in their kitchen but that’s about it.  

He became a successful business man, publisher of a trade magazine in the building trade, American Artisan, which is long gone.   I expect this photo predates that part of his life. My father did not speak much of his childhood but I do recall hearing that his parents, Wallace (Wally) and my Grandmother, Wilhelmina (Willy) Wilhelm, a good German Girl, ran a pretty tight ship and were stern with their boys, my father and his two brothers.

My memories of my Grandfather, such as they are, were mostly formed by what I heard after he was gone.  I guess that most of my memories were formed by the “things” that he surrounded himself with.  The stuff that he left behind.  When I was a bit older, I would sneak up to the attic, to gaze longingly at his enormous stash of fishing gear that was stored in a special climate controlled room.   Part of the allure for me was that I wasn’t really supposed to be up there in the first place but I did it anyway, and it was, surely, the most amazing place that I had ever been.

The room, tucked away in the corner of the walk-up attic, was lined with all sorts of outdoor gear, everything from winter jackets (find more info), snow shoes and all manner of fishing gear.  My Grandfather was a fisherman and a hunter but a fisherman first, and not one who’d “beat the water” with casting gear but a firm believer that the only proper way to catch a fish was with a rod and fly. 

And, for proper fishing gear, THE place he shopped was Orvis and Family legend had it that my Grandfather had one of nearly everything that Orvis sold, and I believed it.   I was entranced by what I saw in that secret room and imagined what it must have been like for my grandparents to trek deep into the wilderness, wading out in a cold running stream,  looking for the big one that I imagined never got away.  

Recently, I have been sorting through boxes of old family photos that Brenda and I have taken over the last forty years, and have come upon some real gems, some of which have appeared in recent posts.   I am nearing the end of the boxes of photos and today I came upon a small envelope with some remarkable pictures. Tiny black and white photos of my Grandparents taken while they were on several of their legendary wilderness fishing trips in the 1920s and later in the 40s, in Maine and Canada including Newfoundland.

Prior to today’s remarkable find, the only photo that I had of my grandfather, was this one, that I keep on my desk of him dressed as I always imagined he must have been when he was out exploring the wilderness.  There he is wearing his waders for trout fishing in a river and I can still remember how they smelled when I handled the old rubber in that forbidden place. 

I also have this photo of me and my late dad fishing on what I believe is a reservoir near our home, at the time, in Fairfield CT.   I’m not sure if Dad really enjoyed fishing so perhaps he was just doing his “good daddy” thing.  I wish I remembered that day.  I am sure it was awesome. So, back to the travels of  my grandparents, Wally and Willy.   Over the years I heard bits and pieces of the many trips that they took to Maine and Canada to fish and hunt but  mostly to fish. 

I can only imagine what it must have been like to head out into the wild back in the early part of the 20th century and it was surely very primitive by today’s standards.  Legend has it that on one of their visits to Newfoundland, my grandmother was confronted by a bull moose that towered over her head.  I remember her as being pretty tough so I expect that she stood her ground, no doubt, having been told that to run away was a decidedly bad idea. 

They were really on their own, guide or not.  No cell phones or GPS transponders with little red “help” buttons to push if you got into trouble back then.  Cars were even a fairly new thing and most transportation in the back country, at that time, was certainly by horse.  This photo was captioned on the back in neat printing as “Lori Pond Maine”.   I couldn’t find it on a map.Here they are, fording a stream, clearly in the same area, labeled  “Katahadin Maine” which I learned is the highest mountain in the state.  Located in the remote center of the state and I can only imagine how tough it was to get there in 1922 when this photo was taken as it was years prior to the interstate highway system. 

Perhaps they took a train from New York or took the long drive up route 1.  It’s hard to imagine them making the trip on their own as cars of that era were pretty primitive with running boards and brass headlamps.  One way or the other, it must have been a days long journey from their home in Fairfield CT.In his later years, I heard that my grandfather flew to fish in the Pacific Northwest to fish for salmon but back in the 1920s this was the sort of plane that was used commercially and I doubt that there were many airports, if any at all, in that part of Maine.   Well, this photo isn’t actually a commercial airplane and has nothing to do with my grandparents but I love the image and all that it conjures up.  You’ll get the point that air travel wasn’t quite the same then as today.  Not sure what this photo is all about but it’s labeled as “Maine Woods 1922”.  Yep, looks like the woods.  I wonder if they ever visited when there was snow on the ground.  Perhaps the trails were to rough for wheels so this was the only way to carry their camping gear. 
Roughing it or not, this photo, taken that same year, shows grandfather looking right at home in the backwoods, especially for a city guy.   Adventuring of the sort that they did was probably not all that common at that time. 
My grandmother was no shrinking violet.  And here she is “packing”.  Notice the sidearm.  I wonder if that was before or after her encounter with that moose?  Of course, as you’d expect for a proper rusticator, a skirt, appropriately below the knee, of course. Wally packed too.   It’s photo was taken some years later, in 1937, again in Newfoundland.  And, of course, complete with his ever present cigarette. And out by the cookhouse in Newfoundland in 1940.  I would imagine that they flew there as I can’t imagine having the time to get there by train, car or ship. 
My grandmother did plenty of fishing in those years too.   I remember her as pretty stern but with a great smile.   When she was much older and saw me she’d say in a high pitched voice with a jaunty lilt, “little lamb, little lamb, little lamb chop, chop” and poke me in the ribs.   I loved that. And, our Willy could handle a gun as well as a rod and reel.   Love the feather in her hat. Looks like lunchtime with their guide.  In those areas I doubt it was a good idea to go it alone.   And, I expect that there was plenty of critters, large and small, that “went bump in the night” to keep an eye out for. I’d love to know the story behind this moment.  Willy could fish with the best of them it seems although she never spoke of it with me. 
This photo, labeled only as “Maine” appears to be some sort of ferry.  Imagine being out in a remote area and wearing a tie and hat these days?   Heck, I even get comments at our yacht club when I show up in a bow tie. 
This photo carried an interesting caption on the back, “Dashing Youth, Wrecked City, Canada”.  I tried but couldn’t find any reference to such an event in the 20s when I guess the photo was taken. 
Along the way they did the tourist thing.  This was taken along the Mohawk Trail in western MA.   The name comes from it’s origins as a trade route for native Americans.   Some of the photos show my grandfather in what looks like really remote areas, like this one on a rocky riverbank, also from the early 20s.   I guess that is an Atlantic Salmon.   Come to think of it, all the photos look pretty remote. Legend has it that in his later years he had a standing order from a guide in the Pacific Northwest to contact him when the salmon were running and he’d hop on a plane and fly out.  In those days that was a very long way as planes didn’t have nearly the range of today’s jets and had to stop every few hundred miles for fuel as they made their way from coast to coast, across the continent.   

I never knew much about my grandfather and although my grandmother was with us until after Brenda and I were married, I still don’t know much about their earlier years.  However, their memory lives on, if perhaps more in my imagination, as I conjure up the adventures that they must have had as they fished and hunted in the wilderness, areas that seem impossibly remote even by by today’s adventure travel standards. 

I expect that it was the allure of fishing pristine streams and rivers and the promise of catching that big one, that drew my grandfather to the remote north country.   

And he, I expect, like me so many years later, was surely drawn to all the wonderful fishing gear, as he dreamed of the promise of what he’d catch and the big ones that, it seems, didn’t get a way.   Particularly the lures that he said, I am told, were designed to “catch more fisherman than fish”.   In his case, I expect that it was the other way around. 

I wish I’d been there with him.   Now, that would have been awesome.   And even though I wasn’t, discovering these photos has brought us just a bit closer after all these years.  

When we were planning our first trip south of the BVIs a few years ago, we found it very difficult to get good information about the more southern areas of the Caribbean.  Most of what I could find in the sailing magazines and online, was focused on the American and British Virgin Islands, so popular with the charter set on holiday.   Chartering in those areas is fun but cruisers generally head further south.  This lack of good information was a real problem for us, and finding information about the islands of Antigua and south, the area that had been described to me as “where the real Caribbean begins” was tough to find.

As I consider plans for spending next winter in the Caribbean, the 2019/20 season, I have been thinking about some of the favorite places that we have visited, those harbors and Islands that stood out in our travels, and thought it would be fun to share some thoughts about the spots we particularly enjoyed.

We visited many terrific islands and harbors in the last two years, so from time to time, I’ll be writing about the ones that we particularly enjoyed and share what makes them special to us.

When I make the run from the US, I generally plan on making landfall in Antigua and it is from there that we make our way south before heading north and back to the US.

As I asked around for advice on “favorite places” Bequia, in the Grenadines came up, over an over, as a must visit spot.  And while going there is always fun, it was recommended that we head there for the Easter Regatta, three days or racing an special events.   FYI, in 2019, the Bequia Regatta will take place from April 18th to the 22nd.

It’s a very popular event with locals and cruisers a like with visitors coming from all over to enjoy all that’s going on and for many, to participate in the races.  Boats of all shapes and sizes join in the three days of racing and parties.  Some came under their own power and some on the decks of inter-island freighters. This regatta draws from nearby islands, including a number of Carriacou sloops, those beautiful traditional, beach built sloops like Exodus, the last boat of it’s type launched in 2013.  It’s quite a sight to see her racing around the course with her cousins. Exodus was the subject of a full length movie about her building and the history of the design.  Here’s a short trailer for the movie.  Check it out.  If that inspires you to watch the full movie, here you go. Get a glass of rum, sit down and enjoy the show. Others came from the US like this lovely schooner Heron.  She summers in Maine, chartering out of Rockport.   Brenda and I will be in Maine this summer and plan on spending time in Rockport ourselves.  Perhaps we’ll see her.  Her captain and owner also built her and he did a great job.   Want to learn more about her?  Follow this link to her home page.  She’s really beautiful. While Heron is a classic design, she’s only a few years old.  Other classics participate in the regatta as well as other events in the Caribbean, such as the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta, held in late April in Antigua.  One particular beauty that was there last winter was Ma Jong, built in the 1950s.  I found this particular shot of her on the Easter Regatta home page.  She’s a beautiful and very powerful boat.  Her home port is Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard where she was restored to her present glory.  I wrote about her last winter.  There are some good sized one design fleets in the regatta, like these vintage J24 sloops.  This colorful shot is also from the regatta site. And, of course, there are the local Bequia sloops, built and raced on the island.  You don’t have to be there during the regatta to enjoy the fun as they tack around the harbor.  The local youth are out sailing these boats nearly every day, regatta or not.   The youth clubhouse, oddly in a bar, is jammed with burgees brought by visitors over the years including this well used one from the Essex Yacht Club, my home club.  Along with boat building on the islands the history of fine craftsman goes way back including a tradition of model boats.  These are fun to see and watch being built.   I wrote about these models in this post last winter. If you followed the link above, you’ll find this photo a bit repetitive as that post also included discussion about the new dink chaps we had built.  Anyway, we had some great work done on the dink. Pandora’s varnish below was freshened too. There’s plenty to do ashore during the regatta including all manner of competitions.  Everything from musical chairs on stage to threading the needle, yes threading sewing needles.  Brenda competed and won, with a little help from a local and no doubt mortified, young man.   They were both good sports.

Brenda’s favorite event was “crying for nothing” where contestants are judged on their ability to conjure tears and a sobbing cry on command.  I believe that our two year old granddaughter Tori would do quite well in that event. Checking into Bequia is easy if more expensive than the French islands.  Just about all of the islands from St Vincent, south through the Grenadines, to just north of Grenada, are all part of the same jurisdiction.

There’s a very good public landing at the head of the harbor and it can be busy during the regatta.  The harbor is large with many moorings but, even during the regatta, there’s plenty of space to anchor.   Nobody seems concerned about dinks speeding around the harbor so even getting back to your boat if it’s far out in the harbor is a fast trip.  The harbor is well protected from any surge except in the outermost area. Everything about the harbor is colorful including the ferry boats from St Vincent. With all manner of local boats pulled up on the beach. We enjoy checking out local eateries and there are plenty to choose from, convenient from the walkway ringing the southern side of the harbor.  I have used this shot before.  To me, it perfectly evokes the image from the much loved classic book, The Wind in the Willows, when Ratty famously says, “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Well, there you have it, Bequia, one of our favorite harbors and the Easter Regatta, one of our favorite events.  This a place that you should include on your itinerary if you’re headed to the Caribbean.  You won’t be disappointed.  

For more information on customs and immigration check out this official government link.  Another good source of up to date information on clearing into the island and other useful information about visiting, check out Noonsite.com.

It’s worth nothing that while there is a problem with crime in nearby St Vincent, we found Bequia to be friendly and safe and didn’t hear of any particular problems from other cruisers.  With regards to your dink, it’s recommended that you keep it locked up when ashore and out of the water and locked up at night.  Good advice for just about any area in the Caribbean.

Now you can see why Bequia is one of Brenda’s and my favorite places.  I’ll be writing about other favorites in the coming weeks and months, so stay tuned.

Oh yeah, if you’ve signed up to get notifications when I post and aren’t getting them, you’re not alone.  I have had difficulty with that function, I think it was the Russians, but Chris’s girlfriend Melody fixed it over the holidays so if you’d like to get a “ping” when I post, and I hope you do, sign up on the home page and then you’ll know.

Ok, perhaps the title of this post doesn’t exactly flow off the tongue.  Let me explain.

For the last six years my cruiser friend George and I have been putting on an event in Essex CT at the Essex Yacht Club, with the goal of offering what George would refer to as an opportunity to bring together a group of “like minded people”, folks that enjoy being on the water.  Every June we have put on a two to three day event that includes a series of talks about cruising on small boats in partnership with The Seven Seas Cruising Association, SSCA.

This year, with all of that free time I have on my hands, I thought that I’d try something new and likely more complex.  Silly me.   Free time you ask?  Did I mention that Pandora is on the hard and I am stuck in this Arctic place for the ENTIRE winter?

Well, here I am and as I write this it’s -1 degree F outside so at least I can think about sailing to warmer waters.   However, if doing an event with one group wasn’t complicated enough, how about organizing an event with three?    Along with my membership in SSCA, I am also a member of the Salty Dawg Sailing Association, SDSA and am a fairly new member of the Ocean Cruising Club, OCC.  That’s three groups with complimentary missions so three it is.

At the risk of someone taking issue with my description of what these groups are all about, here’s how I see their missions.

SSCA is the group that years ago brought me and Brenda into the fold of cruising and living aboard for extended periods.  Simply stated the group celebrates the cruising lifestyle.  A simple mission and a group loaded with many folks like our friends Bill and Maureen on Kalunamoo and the Melinda and her late husband Harry of Sea Schell, that nurtured me and Brenda along the way on our first winter heading south on the Intra Coastal Waterway, ICW.

Of course, there were many more SSCA members, as we made our way south, that held out hands as we adjusted to life afloat during that first eight month run south in 2012.  Maureen and Melinda, were so great and went out of their way to make Brenda feel special for her birthday that first year.   That’s Bill in the background waiting for his piece of chocolate cake. The Salty Dawg Sailing Association, a group that in only a few short years became the organizers of what is now the largest rally to the Caribbean from the US East Coast.   SDSA, is dedicated to educating sailors and their crew to prepare for the rigors of offshore sailing and they do a wonderful job at it.   It’s very exciting to be part of the nearly week long events in Hampton VA as skippers and crew from nearly 100 boats attend seminars, have parties and get ready to head south.

For the last two years, I have held the position of Port Captain for the rally in  Antigua and let me tell you, it’s been a wonderful experience.  Along with the fun I’ve had with the folks headed to Antigua, I have also made some great friends on that island.  Antigua isn’t the only landfall for the group and some boats opt to go to the BVIs or the Bahamas, but I’m biased and feel that Antigua is THE PLACE to make landfall in the Caribbean.  I wrote quite a few posts about Antigua but perhaps this recent post best sums up the fun we had when the fleet arrived in November.   I can not stress enough how supportive everyone in Antigua has been to our rally.

The third group that is involved in this year’s event is the Ocean Cruising Club, a group that I joined just over a year ago when I was in Antigua.  They celebrate blue water sailing and to join you must complete at least one ocean passage of a minimum of 1,000 miles, and you have to do it in a boat that’s less than 70 long.  No 3,000 passenger cruise ship rides for their members!

Just for fun, I wrote about my joining the group last winter in this post along with a bit about the wonder of sitting on Pandora’s bow and ringing in the New Year, complete with fireworks, in historic Nelson’s Dockyard.  OCC is out of the UK and has around 2,500 members worldwide, making them one of the largest groups of it’s kind.

As a side note, Brenda and I were trying to decide where in Europe to go in the spring and hearing about the annual meeting of OCC, to be held in Wales, clinched the deal.   So, we’re headed to the UK for a few weeks in early April.  We plan on covering a lot of ground in England, Wales and Scotland while are there so it will be great to get some local knowledge from the folks at the Wales event.  So far, they have been amazingly supportive and we are getting very excited about the trip.

Part of the three day event will be held in clubhouse of the Royal Welsh Yacht Club.  Among their claims to fame is that their clubhouse, located in a castle no less, is the oldest clubhouse of any yacht club in the world, originally built in 1283.  However, the club isn’t nearly that old.  Heck, it’s practically brand new as it was only founded in 1847.   Ok, perhaps the place doesn’t look quite the same these days as in this etching below, but it’s still in a castle, which is awesome, for sure.  I couldn’t come up with any decent photos so you’ll have to wait till April.  I wonder if they serve mead in the bar?  Hmm…There wasn’t much yachting going on in the 13th century, more like sailing around and pillaging, I expect.  One way or the other, it will be fun to visit a club that can say, with a straight face, “our home is a castle.”  

These three groups share a common bond as cruisers who love to spend time on the water but their missions are unique and very complimentary.  Happily, all three, along with the Essex Yacht Club have agreed to be involved.

George and I are pretty excited about this event, scheduled to run for three days, beginning with a rendezvous of members of the clubs in nearby Hamburg Cove, about a mile north of Essex.  This is a beautiful perfectly protected harbor and as if that’s not enough, it’s fresh water, something that we cruisers don’t see much of.

Hamburg cove is filled with moorings.  Most of the moorings are only used on weekends, when the hordes show up, but if you visit during the week you will be virtually alone in a beautiful spot.

I don’t seem to have any shots of the harbor, that I can find at least, but this shot taken by my friend Liz shows the Onrust, a reproduction of Adrian Block’s boat, the one that he cruised the area with back in the “olden days”.  I expect that the members of the RWYC would remind you that Block was late in the game, nearly 400 years after the first buildings of the castle where there clubhouse is located was first built,  Anyway, here’s the Onrust on the river just outside of Hamburg cove.  The river is very scenic.  Just a bit farther up the river is Selden Creek, a really narrow and beautiful, cut off of the river.  It can be tough to get over the bar at the entrance but once but once you are inside, it’s plenty deep and stunning.  You can anchor fore and aft if you tie up to a spot on the bank.  There’s an iron ring cemented into a cliff on the bank.  This was our first Pandora, a SAGA 43 tied up there, way back in 2007.As tempting as it may be to climb up the rock and jump into the water, don’t do it as it’s private property.  Years ago, our son Rob broke the rules.  Don’t tell anyone. He and a friend jumped off of the “private” rock. What goes up, must come down.
So, first we will have a rendezvous in Hamburg Cove with those who are attending the event at the Essex Yacht Club.

Then off for the one mile run to the Essex Yacht Club and the village of Essex, the home to the CT River Museum ,where the Onrust is berthed these days.  She’s available for cruises on the river through the CT River Museum, also a great place to visit.   I wrote about her in this post when she first arrived in the area.  She’s beautifully built and worth seeing. Essex Harbor is quite large and while there are lots of moorings for rent, there is also plenty of room to anchor on the far side of the river.   This shot, from the air, is compliments of the CT River Museum. It’s a beautiful harbor, especially in the early morning.  Fresh water here too.
There’s plenty to do in Essex, after hours.  A particularly popular spot is the bar in the Griswold Inn, known locally as simply, The Gris.  It’s one of the oldest,  or perhaps the oldest, pubs in the country, operating continuously since 1776.My favorite event, held every Monday night at the Gris, is sea chanteys performed by the group the Jovial Crew.  They always pack the house with a very colorful mix of locals and visitors.  If you join in the rowdy fun, you’ll see  folks wearing everything from foul weather gear, to suits and even an occasional kilt, complete with waxed mustache.   Trust me, it’s way more crowded and interesting than this shot suggests, and totally worth it. And, let’s not forget the Essex Yacht Club, where the event will be held, with Pandora conveniently out in front in this shot.  The agenda is coming along nicely and will include a program on weather routing by Chris Parker of Marine Weather Center, who’s flying up from FL to speak to us.  He will talk about changes in weather forecasting and weather routing as well as some information about passages to the Caribbean.   Here’s Chris at a past event when he spoke at the museum.   Yes, that’s a reproduction of a really early submarine, the Turtle.  It lives at the CT River Museum. We’ll also have talks about cruising in Maine, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.  All with a bent toward blue water sailing.

My friend, editor and publisher of Blue Water Sailing Magazine, George Day will also lead a number of round tables with experts on preparing for blue water sailing and passage making.

The plan is also to have a number of boats on display for boarding on the club bulkhead so that attendees can see, first hand, boats that are well fitted out for ocean voyaging.  It will be fun to compare notes with the folks that are out there doing it.

I also expect that we’ll be visited by the United States Coast Guard, that’s if the government shutdown ever ends and they start getting paid again.   The plan is to stage a live search and rescue demonstration with a J-Hawk chopper along with a visit by one of their cutters.  This is a shot of one of their choppers that I took up at the USCG station on Cape Cod.  Brenda and I were given a tour a few years ago.   What an awesome machine, and one that I never hope to get plucked out of the water by.  I wrote about our visit in this post. Well, there’s still more in the planning stages but George and I are really excited about how things shaping up so stay tuned to learn more.

Oh yeah, we’ll have some great meals at EYC and Chef Michael is known as one of the best chefs at any club on Long Island Sound.

One way or the other, if you enjoy blue water passage making or dream about doing it yourself one day, you should mark your calendar for June 21st to 23rd at the Essex Yacht Club.  It’s going to be great.

As George has often said, what’s better than being in the midst of a group of “like minded” people who love cruising and that’s exactly what we plan.

Like minded people who enjoy sailing on the ocean blue.

When I was young, my parents took us to upstate NY in the Adirondacks each summer for a two week vacation.  In all the years we visited, and it was for as many summers as I can remember, it was always to the same spot, Lake Clear, just north of Saranac Lake.

I have wonderful vivid memories of those summer breaks, fishing, sailing on an old Sunfish and time spent watersking for hours each day.  I also remember the daily trips to a local gas station with my dad to fill up the fuel tanks for the boat.  Wow, but that boat, that we dubbed the “super pig” used gas.

When Brenda and I were newly married, we too took our time at Lake Clear and even considered buying a cottage, balking at what seemed like an unfathomably high cost of $50,000 for lakefront property in the late 70s.

While we had not yet begun to focus on sailing, I felt a strong pull to the water.

The cottage that we rented belonged to the Lathrops who were second generation owners of the property.  The cottage was impossibly quaint if a bit rough around the edges.  I seem to recall bringing our own vacuum to tidy up a bit when we arrived.    During those years, Brenda played the guitar.  Sadly, not these days but she has recently taken up the ukulele.   Fingers crossed that she will catch that bug again. I fell in love with the traditional boats of the area.  Perhaps the most iconic boat design of the region is the Guide Boat, so named because it was used for hunting and fishing by “sports” who visited the region by train from NYC to “rusticate”, beginning in the years after the close of the Civil War.  These boats were crewed by the builders themselves, who spent winters building the boats and summers taking visitors on guided hunting and fishing trips.   Guide boats are known for being easy to row and for being able to carry a lot of gear and as they had to as often it was a hunter, guide and any game that they may have bagged.

Windslow Homer spent time in the area too and painted this iconic image of a guide and his “sport”.   However, this may not actually be a guideboat but you get the general idea.I got the bug to have one of these beautiful boats but couldn’t afford to buy a “real” one.  Instead, I found someone who was offering a “bare hull” in Kevlar which I finished with walnut decks and cane seats.  I even carved out oars to pretty exact specs.   This is one sweet boat to row and very light. The hull and fitting design were taken off of the lines of a particular boat “Ghost”, built by H.D Grant.   The original boat is now in the collection of the Adirondack Museum, renamed the Adirondack Experience.

Plans for the boat, which I purchased from the museum, are now available from, oddly, Mystic Seaport.  The 16′ boat has beautiful lines and with her 8′ overlapping oars, is a dream to row.   It is said that a traditional guide boat is the fastest rowing boat you can find without a sliding seat.  The boat Ghost itself and museum are located on Blue Mountain Lake.  It’s a really great place to visit and has examples of many boats that plied the waters of the many lakes that dot the area.

Here’s are some of the sheets of the plans that I purchased. The plans even specify details down to the oarlocks which I was able to purchase from a foundry that had duplicated the design to be true to the original.  This design of boats has been remarkably popular for over 100 years and there are still boats being constructed using the exact same techniques and materials.  These boats are very tough to make as the materials are impossibly thin to keep the weight of the boats to a minimum given the need to portage, or hand carry, from one lake to the next.  There were many hotels dotting the lakes that featured guideboats for hire, complete with guides.We had many wonderful times heading out on picnics on the lake and nearby St Regis Lake.   Wow, what a dish.  Nice boat too. St Regis Lake was and is still today, home to many of the “Great Camps” where wealthy city dwellers would spend time “rusticating” in somewhat less than rustic conditions.

One of the most famous is the camp, Top Ridge, was built by Marjorie Merriweather Post, which she called a “rustic retreat”.  While the lake is home to many “camps”, hers was the most lavish, featuring nearly 70 buildings, including a Russian dacha.  She collected Russian art and her connection to the country was her third husband that served as the ambassador to the Soviet Union for a time.

I can still vividly recall seeing a plane at the nearby Adirondack Airport that my dad, an airplane buff, told me was hers as she still used the camp for vacationing and lavish entertaining when my family visited Lake Clear in the early years.    This is a photo of what was probably the plane I saw so many years ago as it’s the one that she used traveled in when she visited Top Ridge.  I’d guess that my father knew it was her plane because her name was right on the bow, “Merriweather.”While there was eventually there was a service road to the estate, during Post’s ownership all materials and visitors arrived by water, landing at this magnificent boathouse.  The largest building for the estate, above the boathouse, featured what was, at the time, the largest piece of plate glass in the area, offering a beautiful view of the lake. Following her death in 1973, she willed the compound to NY State that used it as a retreat for a number of years.  During that period it was open to the public so Brenda and I visited.  The state eventually sold the property to the flamboyant Roger Jakubowski, who had made millions selling hotdogs in the NY City area.

This article in Adirondack Life gives some interesting information about him, the property and it’s furnishings.  When we visited the estate, prior to his ownership, the main cabin was open for visitors and I recall many of the furnishings mentioned in the article.  This photo of the great room in the main building, is out of a wonderful book, Great Camps of the Adirondacks, that chronicles the history of these remarkable “camps”, er, estates.   It’s no longer in print but used copies are available at a very reasonable price on Amazon. Anyway, the estate is now owned by Hartlan Crow, a developer from Texas, who has substantially restored the camp.

Marjorie wealth was as a result of being the owner of General Foods and she was for a long time,  the wealthiest women in the country.  She became wealthy the old fashioned way, at the tender age of 27 she inherited the Postum Cereal Company, the predecessor to the company we’ve all heard of today.

The lake is also the home of a class of a very unique gaff rigged sloops, the Idem class.  Originally designed for the St Regis Yacht Club in 1899, the fleet consisted of a dozen boats.  How about this for a serious looking group of owners?Here’s a shot of them racing in 1900. Those same boats racing 100 years later. This is one we saw when Brenda and I visited the lake in our guideboat. One of the original dozen that were built is now on display in the Adirondack Museum with all of the others lovingly maintained and still kept on the lake.  In 2004 a new boat was built to the class so that now, once again, there are a dozen boats on the lake that race together.

As you can imagine, a great deal of work and care goes into keeping these boats in top shape more than 100 years after they were launched.  There is one shop in particular, Nik and Sons, that specializes in keeping these beauties on the water.  Here’s a shot of Idem Elfmere getting all new fastenings, 3000 in all.  When Post married for the second time, it was to E.F. Hutton and subsequently she and Hutton were the owners of Sea Cloud, built in Germany and launched in 1931.   When launched she was the largest privately owned yacht in the world.  We spied Sea Cloud in Bequia last winter, now a boutique cruise ship,  having many lives since being sold by Post in 1955,Post was also the builder and first owner of Mar-a-Lago, now owned by our current president, Trump, if somehow you missed his tweet reminding you.

Anyway, back to Lake Clear.  We took our guideboat up to St Regis and passed Topridge but by that time it was in private hands.  We portaged to nearby ponds and often stopped for a break at this spot, a huge rock just breaking the surface of Bear Pond.   This shot must have been from when we only had little Rob.  I recall that the water had a strange blue-green color and was impossibly clear. Anyway, visiting Lake Clear was a big part of my early years as well as when Brenda and I were newly married.   We spent many hours around the proverbial campfire at the Lathrop’s cabin nearby, first with just Rob and then Chris too. The four of us went on outings in the Guideboat.  And sat on the dock.  In our early years together, we rented a cabin with my parents.  This is them on the top of Whiteface mountain.  My mom is now nearly 90 and my dad’s been gone for about 5 years.  He was a great guy and I think about him every day and still miss him terribly.  Personally, I think he should have been given more time for “good behavior”. Not sure what this was all about but there were lots of shenanigans while the Osborn clan was visiting.
These days I am still very much a boat lover and spend as much time afloat as I can but then you already know that.  Today we spend more of our time on salt water with the sweet kind which is limited to our time on the CT River near our home.

However, is was those early days spending time on the sweet waters of the lakes of the Adirondacks and Lake Clear that ingrained, in me, a love of being on the water.

I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if Brenda and I had taken the plunge and purchased a camp.  While it would surely not have been a “great camp” it would have been terrific, never the less, all those years ago.

Who knows.  But, either way, it’s worked out pretty well.  Sweet, I’d say.  Yes, very sweet.