Sail Pandora

Last season, and again this year, Brenda and I wanted to visit Montserrat, a short 35 mile sail from Antigua.  However, it’s a challenging place to anchor and get ashore as there isn’t a sheltered harbor and the sea drops off very fast near shore.

Our friends Bill and Maureen on Kulanamoo suggested that a group of us go there by ferry and spend the day.  The cost seemed quite high but Brenda and I decided to do it anyway as we didn’t see a way to visit the island with Pandora.

So, yesterday we boarded a fast ferry in St John, where the cruise ships come into Antigua.   One thing that we hadn’t really thought about was that we’d be clearing out of Antigua, into Montserrat, out of Montserrat and back into Antigua in a single day.   The problem is that clearing in and out of Antigua is a tedious process, much more complex than many of the other islands.   And true to form, it took over two hours for them to clear all the passengers for the ferry to depart.

We left Pandora, at 06:45 to head to the taxi for the 20 minute ride into St John and it wasn’t until after 09:30 that the ferry was able to board it’s passengers and head out for the 90 minute run to Montserrat.    The ferry was powered by water jets and to see the water jetting out behind us as we made our way at better than 20kts hinted at the power of the twin engines.Montserrat is not very large, about 14 miles long and about half that distance wide and has a very steep shoreline that drops to depths of over a mile very close to shore.  In 1995 a powerful volcanic eruption destroyed Plymouth,  the capital of the island on the western end of the island, violently blowing off the entire top of the mountain and displacing much of the island’s population.  Following the eruption, 2/3 of the population left for the UK leaving as few as 1,500 on the island.  Since that time, the population has rebounded but is still under 5,000.  Fortunately, there was good warning that an eruption was eminent and fatalities were minimal with less than 20 killed.  And those were some particularly unlucky individuals that headed back to their homes “one last time” to collect belongings that they had left behind.

When the eruption hit, a massive amount of rock and ash blew some 40,000 feet into the atmosphere, with millions of tons of red hot ash and boulders crashing down on the city.  Within hours the entire city was virtually buried under millions of tons of volcanic debris.   In the days and months following the eruption, nearly  2/3 of the population left Montserrat and most haven’t returned.   To this day, nearly 1/3 of the island is  uninhabitable and that’s, in part the area that we would be touring with our guide.

The island is, in geologic time, quite young and still has an active volcano.  You can see the clouds over the volcano on the left.  It’s hard to distinguish the clouds from the smoke that is constantly coming out from the top of the mountain.As we rounded the western end of the island it was daunting to see the cliffs rise from the sea.  Not a place to be driven onto a lee shore. Overhead the frigate birds circled, looking for fish to catch.  These birds are huge, with a wingspan of more than 6′. A short distance later the “harbor” came into view.  The only way ashore is the ferry dock and that would only be usable in settled conditions with no protection from the seas.   With the swells breaking on the beach, there is no way that we’d be able to land with our dink.  There was a very small spot in front of the ferry dock that had a place to land though and a ramp for pulling the larger fishing boats ashore. The types of conditions that the island must experience was demonstrated by the huge concrete “jacks” lining the shore.  Note the color of the beach, black volcanic sand. Our group boarded a van for a day of touring the island and in particular, the eastern end where the volcano erupted.  We wound our way up impossibly steep switchback turns on our way up the side of the mountain, always with the semi-dormant volcano looming above us.  On the left of the photo you can clearly see the remains of the deep layer of ash and rock that devastated the surrounding mountainside. Everywhere you look there is evidence of volcanic activity, piles of ash pushed to the side of the road and vacant buildings abruptly abandoned.  At an particularly impressive overlook, we entered the ruins of a once grand resort.   The floor had a thick layer of ash.  A calculator on the welcome desk suggested how fast everyone evacuated. Out back was patio with what was once a lovely pool, now full to the brim with ash.  The ash is very fertile though, so nature has quickly taken advantage of the well fertilized soil and turned the pool into marshland. A view back toward the remains of the hotel.
The view of the volcano in the distance from the hotel. In the distance you can see the remains of the city buildings mostly buried in a field of ash. Following the eruption rain filled the vacant crater at the top of the mountain for several years until the waters finally broke free and rushed in a mad fury to the ocean, carving a deep ravine in the landscape.   The round white disks on the pole is part of an island wide early warning system that was put in place after the eruption.   It is still tested at noon every day.  Everywhere you look there is evidence of wonderful homes abandoned.   Most have no roofs as the shear weight of the ash from the eruption caused them to collapse.
However, in spite of all the devastation there is ample evidence that nature is repairing itself with green landscape filling in nearly everywhere.   In the distance there is still smoke mingling with the clouds at the summit, a reminder of what may happen and that the residents of Montserrat should not let their guard down. As we made our way back around the island, there is dense forest with many flowering trees and plants. And this flowering plant clinging to a crack in a whitewashed cement wall of someone’s home is evidence of the power of nature to rebuild in the shadow of unspeakable destruction.  And, it is no wonder that the hearty few that have remained on Montserrat take some comfort in knowing that while the power of nature can destroy, it can also bring life.

To visit Montserrat is a reminder of the power of nature, that we are just temporary visitors and that in the long run she will always have the upper hand.

Here we are in Nelson’s Dockyard, 2017 has come and gone and 2018 is only two days old.  As luck would have it, last night was a blue moon.  I just love to watch the moon rise at night and an extra bright and big blue moon, even better.   What a sight as Brenda and I perched up on the bow with a glass of wine. Of course, as it’s only now the 2nd of January, we were in this lovely spot for New Year’s Eve.  New Year’s Eve in the Dockyard lived up to it’s reputation and to see fireworks burst aloft at exactly midnight was a wonderful sight, certainly unique in our experience.   Not a bad view from Pandora’s bow. Really spectacular.Take your pick.  Loved these too. And, of course, the grand finale.  Sure, we have seen fireworks from aboard our boats in the past but never in the “dead of winter” sitting on the bow, cooled by a balmy midnight breeze. If you haven’t experienced it, I heartily recommend that you do.  It’s safe to say that some things are just better with a gentle tropical breeze wafting over you.

And, my New Year’s resolution is to…. Well, Brenda knows but let’s just say that it’s important that I am true to that plan and leave it at that.   Wish me luck.

While it does not qualify as a “resolution” I also decided to join the Ocean Cruising Club and after being encouraged to apply for membership by a number of cruisers over the years, Bill from Toodle-oo, who was tied up next to me in the Dockyard, offered to be my sponsor the other day.  Well, it seemed like the right time and after my friend Mel, also an OCC member, said the same thing when we visited him and Jane the night before flying back to Antigua, I decided that I just had to do it.  To be considered for membership in OCC you must complete a 1,000 voyage without stopping, which I have done, a number of times.

Well, the time was right, Bill offered and I joined.   As an added bonus, the club has an awesome burgee and Bill just happened to have a supply aboard.  I was approved today and voila, near instant gratification after years of delay.  Thanks Bill and of course my old friend Mel for “priming the pump”. Speaking of awesome.  Bolero, circa 1949, arguably one of the most famous ocean racers ever launched, is tied up just a few boats away in the dockyard.  She was designed by Sparkman and Stephens and has an impressive racing pedigree as a successful ocean racer.   She’s in magnificent condition having gone though a major refit in Maine in 2009 at Rockport Marine.

Also nearby along with Elenora a modern reproduction of a classic 1910 Herreshoff yacht Westward, exact in every important detail.  She is a regular here and quite a sight.  Tomorrow we will pick up our anchor, hopefully without a diver to untangle from all the “classic” items on the bottom of the harbor.  Remember that this place has been popular for hundreds of years and a lot of junk has accumulated during that time.

We plan to head over to Jolly Harbor, Antigua to meet up with Bill and Maureen of Kalunamoo and hopefully, in a few days we will head out to explore a few of the nearby smaller islands of Nevis and Montserrat.  Montserrat is one of the few islands in the Caribbean with an active volcano.  Many of the  smaller islands here don’t have protected harbors so their anchorages can be rolly when there’s a north swell running.  Hopefully, it will be calm enough too visit on this trip.

Tied up in a beautiful classic dockyard, fireworks on New Year’s Eve, viewed from Pandora’s bow and a Blue Moon.    Surely, all experiences that are truly only enjoyed, well, “once in a blue moon”.

Editor note:   Brenda immediately caught on that the “blue moon” is the second full moon in the month and that will happen at the end of January.   Oops.  The moon we saw was actually a “super moon”.  Neat but I don’t have the energy to redo the post.  Oh well.  Better to spend time sailing or thinking of my next post, I guess.

It’s December 31^st, the last day of 2017 and we are back in Antigua to begin our 6th winter afloat.  Tonight we will be celebrating the dawn of the new year with other boats from the Salty Dawg Rally and will have what will surely be a wonderful dinner at perhaps the best restaurant in these parts, the Admiral’s Inn in Nelson’s Dockyard.

We are tied up in the dockyard along with a good number of other Salty Dawg boats, all lined up Mediterranean moored, stern too on the same dock that was once the home to the English Navy.It’s hard to see Pandora in that lineup, all Salty Dawg Boats, but here she is.  Unlike in the days of Lord Nelson, the boats are mostly fiberglass and stainless verses the wood and canvas of so many years ago.

When we left home in the US the weather was just north of single digits and after a few, not so short, hours on a jet from Newark Airport we are once again in the heart of the tropics and enjoying a balmy overcast day here in Antigua.

After five weeks in the north I’ll admit that it was a jolt to be back in the tropical warmth.

The Salty Dawg boats, here on the dock, plans to head to Guadeloupe in a few days and we are currently on the fence about what we will do as our good friends Bill and Maureen on Kalunamoo will be arriving on the 2^nd and it would be good to catch up with them too.   Besides, we were hoping to head the short distance to the west to to visit Montserrat and Nevis, some of the smaller island. It’s looking like later in the week the seas may be calm enough to take a mooring and do some exploring.

Montserrat has an active volcano which would be pretty interesting.  I understand that the capitol of the island had to be moved because it was buried under lava and ash following a particularly big eruption not that long ago.    The problem with visiting some of the smaller islands is that there are no harbors so you just anchor or take a mooring in the lee of the island.  If there is a big swell running, conditions in the mooring field can be quite uncomfortable.

As we haven’t been there yet, we will have to get advice from “someone in the know” and decide if it’s a good time to go.

One way or the other, we will enjoy our time here in Nelson’s Dockyard.  It’s hard not to when you wake up to a view like this. Oh yeah, with all the snow and frigid temperatures in the US, we have had our own “weather” here in the form of very heavy rain that filled the dink nearly half full overnight.  In all the years we have been sailing together, I don’t think that I’ve seen that much water in a dink yet.

I guess that’s about all I can say for now except that we will just have to work hard to adjust to the warmth and to ringing in the new year with palm trees and of course, fireworks.  Yes, there will be fireworks following our 5 course dinner tonight over the fort.

Stay tuned for what will surely be scintillating prose and fab photos of what it’s like to be in Antigua, along with 1,000 of our closes Antiguan “friends” as we enter the new year.  2018?  I still remember when George Orwell and his novel, 1984 seemed a very long way off.

As I think about all those huddled in Times Square tonight, I’ll choose the subtropics over sub zero every time.

It’s Saturday and today we put the finishing touches on getting our (land) home ready for a long winter snooze while we’re south aboard Pandora.  There’s antifreeze in the boiler, I’ll blow out all the domestic water pipes with a compressor, put antifreeze in the toilets and run it through the pumps in the dishwasher and washing machine.  After all of that is done, along with setting more mousetraps, we will jump in the rental car and head to our friend Craig’s home for a visit and a snooze.  Then on to MD on Sunday, Christmas Eve, to see our family for Christmas.

Yes, you go it, we will be driving through NY on Christmas Eve!  Driving through NY on Christmas Eve?  No problem… Brenda would fight her way through the flames of hell to be with our son Rob, his family, our still new granddaughter Tori (still remarkably cute and so smart, BTW) and our son Christopher who is flying in from CA.  It will be a full house and it’s going to be great.

It’s hard to believe that we are about to head south for our 6th winter afloat and second in the eastern Caribbean.  I can hardly believe that I have been retired for six years now.  How’d dat happen?

Perhaps almost as astounding, if a seemingly random addition to this post, is that our monthly healthcare insurance premiums, I am under 65 thank you very much, have gone from $500 to $2,200 a month during that same time frame.  But that’s another story so all I’ll say for now is that the system is clearly broken when any family of two with an income above the $66,000 Obamacare subsidy cutoff, should somehow be able to pay $26,500 a year for healthcare coverage and that’s before they even go to the doctor and begin to work off their $5,000 per person deductible.   So much for the “affordable care act” being affordable.

Anyway, I’ll return to heading south.

Back in the day, when we didn’t sail overnight, we used to say that it took a whole day of motoring/sailing to go the same distance, about 55 miles, that we could cover by car in a single hour.

Fast forward more years than I care to admit, my runs are much longer and involve multiple overnights at sea but the comparison still, sort of, holds.

Let me explain.  This fall it took me a total of nearly 13 days at sea to get to Antigua, including a stop in Hampton VA where I joined the Salty Dawg fleet.  By comparison, a direct flight from Newark NJ to Antigua takes the better part of a day, call it 13 hours if you include the time getting to and from the airport.  So, as a very loose comparison, it takes an hour in a plane, including ground transport, to cover what takes a full 24 hours in a boat.

Ok, perhaps the comparison is a stretch but it seems to me that there is a certain symmetry to the whole thing after all these years.   The point is that many of us, for some reason, still choose to go really, really slowly in a boat in order to spend time on the water.  However, I guess it’s not that odd if you subscribe to the perspective that  “the journey is the destination”.

Of course, there are plenty of times on a long voyage, the journey part, when a loud in-my-head voiced yells, “are we there yet?” or perhaps more to the point, “Bob, will we ever f*&%$#% get there?”

Somehow, after all the days at sea, finally arriving at a spectacular destination, that the “are we there yet” thoughts fade away and are replaced by “wow, this is a beautiful spot” and the “I’ll never do that again” somehow seems worth it.  Inexplicably those annoying days aren’t that bad when the are balanced against the great stories you can tell, again and again.  It seems that the human spirit is really terrific at making lemon-aid out of lemons.

Yes, sometimes being aboard can be tough when things aren’t going well but what makes it worthwhile is moments like first light in a peaceful harbor.Or when a morning shower gives way to a double rainbow.Or ending the day with a beautiful sunset…
Watching a full moon rise over the hills.
Or a full moon in the twilight at sea with a single sailboat on the horizon. Or dropping anchor for the first time in a new harbor.But, perhaps best of all, it’s about slowing down and making new friends or meeting up with old ones that you haven’t seen for months or years for sundowners.However, when you absolutely, positively have to get there to be with family for the holidays, there’s no question that a 737 goes to weather better than a 737.

Enjoy the holidays and, if it floats your particular boat, Merry Christmas!

Editor:  It this post seems a bit more strained than normal, just try writing while blowing out the pipes, setting mouse traps, picking up the rental car….

Earlier this week I gave a presentation at the Essex Yacht Club about Brenda’s and my trip south through the Leeward Islands last winter and I have to say that sharing the photos and stories of our months cruising the islands brought back some wonderful memories.   It also gave me an opportunity to make a plug for Antigua as a destination that EYC members really ought to visit, by boat or otherwise.

I also took the opportunity to make a formal exchange of club burgees between EYC and the Antigua Yacht Club.  As it’s currently way below freezing here in CT, the thought of a visit to Antigua and the AYC looked plenty inviting to our members.  Thanks to Commodore Thomsen for his support in granting reciprocity between the two clubs.  When I return to Antigua later this month, I’ll present this “anointed” EYC burgee to AYC Commodore Braithwaite and close the loop that formally links our two clubs. Of course, it really got me thinking about what’s in store for our run south after Christmas when we return to Antigua.

Having Pandora in Antigua as our starting point this season will be terrific as it will put us right in the heart of some of the finest cruising areas in the world and there is so much that we haven’t yet explored.

The furthest south that we made it last year was Portsmouth Dominica on the NW side of the island, just south of Guadaloupe.   Dominica is perhaps the least developed island in the Caribbean and as it’s quite mountainous, it has some spectacular rain forests and miles of hiking paths going the length of the island.

During the 2017 hurricane season the island took quite a beating and I am hopeful that with all the rain the the trees will soon leaf out again.  Rebuilding is underway and I have been told that they are in need of plastic tarps to provide temporary roofing so we plan to bring along a small supply with us to donate when we visit.

While we were there last winter, Brenda and I took a number of tours and were blown away by how beautiful it was.   When I say “tours”, I mean we hired a van with some friends for the day, pretty informal.  It was great fun.

It’s hard to believe that there are still trees like this around.  We saw ferns that were impossibly tall. I did the whole “Tarzan” thing over a stream.  Twice, just to prove I could.
Of course, we visited a beautiful waterfall. And met some wonderful local folks. like this woman in a local market wearing traditional Caribbean garb.  It’s worth noting that this market wasn’t in an area frequented by many tourists so she wasn’t dressed like this “just for show”. Unlike many of the islands further north, including the BVIs that are pretty arid, there is considerable rainfall here to support a wide variety of agriculture which makes for lots to choose from in the local markets. We enjoyed visiting Dominica and are hopeful that the forests will recover quickly.

In Portsmouth there is a group of local guys, and they are all guys, that have established a group, PAYS, the Portsmouth Association of Yacht Security.  They offer services to visiting yachts and also patrol the harbor at night to be sure that visiting boats are safe. In the past, Portsmouth wasn’t the best place to be but now it’s a great spot to visit and every February they put on a week long festival, Yachtie Appreciation Week, with cookouts, tours and all sorts of fun events.

This year I plan to organize some social events, in conjunction with their activities, for fellow Salty Dawgs as well as other cruisers sporting the Seven Seas Cruising Association burgee.  Brenda and I are members of both groups and it will be fun to catch up with them as well as make new friends.

Here’s a shot of Fauston Alexis, one of the PAYS guys, as he sped Along side Pandora last winter to “claim” us and welcome us to Dominica, shouting “welcome to Dominica, welcome to Paradise”.   This post gives a pretty good feel for what we experienced during our first few days in Dominica.  I really can’t wait to visit again.

Of course,  there are plenty of islands south of Dominica for us to explore along the way and I am excited about what’s in store.

For now, we will enjoy the holidays and time with our family but in the back of my mind will be thoughts of what’s in store for us this season as we make our way south from Antigua to Grenada and back before I run Pandora north in the Spring.

When we return to Antigua we will move Pandora into Nelson’s Dockyard to enjoy the New Year’s Eve celebrations.  I understand that there are a number of other Salty Dawg Rally boats that will be there with us.  It will be fun to enjoy the festivities with them and 1,000 or more locals as we party our way into the new year.  And, speaking of “where in the world is Pandora”, which I was, kinda, click here and see where she is”right now”   The link will be current all winter as we explore new islands between Antigua and Grenada.

So, as they say, “but wait, there’s more”.   Yes, there’s plenty in store.

We’ve been back in the US for nearly two weeks now and I feel like I have barely caught up with things.  My lawn and landscaping, that I am determined to keep from looking like a “cruiser’s lawn”, is looking fairly good in spite of being littered with dead leaves for longer than is reasonable.  The rose garden, and it’s a long one, try 150′ or so, is pruned, has undergone tree trimming with the help of tree services, and ready for a winter nap and I am about ready to drain the fuel from all the garden equipment, the chain saw, leaf blower, trimmer and mower… Whew!

I can’t say that I feel like we’ve been home all that long as we spent the first four days in MD with our family celebrating our granddaughter Tori’s christening.  At nearly one year, she still wasn’t the oldest that the priest baptized and I would say that it was quite a sight watching her walk down the isle with her parents and the priest.  🙂The holidays are always a busy time but this year is particularly nutty as we are visiting MD three times, and it’s not just around the corner,  in a single month.   I’ll also be putting up and taking down holiday decorations as well as winterizing our home and setting tons of mouse traps before we head back to Antigua.  It’s a whirlwind and after less than ten days here off to MD again for Tori’s first birthday.  Crazy travel or not, it’s a real treat to see her an her parents three times in a single month.

However this is a sailing/boating blog and I have been meaning to write about a boat that I saw in Antigua that I was particularly struck by.  First of all, she’s huge, perhaps better referred to as a ship, visiting Falmouth for the charter boat show.

Nero, and I am not sure where that name comes from, is a real beauty and at nearly 300′ long, is one of the longest yachts in the world.  Actually, in total volume, there are some that are much, much larger,  However, as she is designed in spirit of a sleek classic, Corsair, the yacht once owned by J.P. Morgan her total volume is not as large as others of this length and that’s one of the key attributes that makes her magnificent.

Here she is berthed at the Antigua Yacht Club Marina in Falmouth.  She can’t be missed, with her distinctive yellow funnel.  Oddly, as I took this shot, the crew didn’t pluck me from my rubber boat for a tour.  However, personal tour aside, as she is very popular charter yacht, there are plenty of great photos on various sites.  “So, Bob, how much does it cost to charter her”?  Well, as J.P. once said “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it”.  But, since you asked, a few years ago the rate was $555,000 a week during the high season.  Heck, off season, you can get her for just a tad over a half mil.   “Holy mega-extravagance Batman.”  And I thought Pandora cost a lot to maintain.

Heck, my annual budget for her wouldn’t even pay the salary of the assistant to the assistant stewardess.   And, there are 20 crew to attend to the needs of a mere 12 guests.

Nero was built in China and launched in 2007.  Wow, Pandora was launched then too!   What a coincidence.  I just knew we had something in common.

Nice “dink”.   We have a dink too!Brenda and I have a dining table on Pandora. Actually, this coffee table is about the size of Pandora’s dining table.
And we have companionway stairs too although ours are different, they are brown.And, of course, we have our own bed.  However, I have to climb over her to get into my corner.  If we had this bed, I’d still want to…  Never mind. Speaking of that, perhaps a dip in one of the two pools to cool myself off would be more in keeping with this blog’s PG rating.  No need to declare “adult swim!” as the kids can use the other pool on the bow. All and all, a remarkable boat, yacht, ship.  Whatever, shes something.  Want to learn more, check out this brokerage link.  Lot’s more to see.

Perhaps when we return to Antigua her crew will take pity on us when we get all sweaty and invite us aboard for a dip.   Perhaps not, but if they did, I’d settle for the kid’s pool.

I guess if you have to ask…

And, to add insult to injury, I have a sneaking suspicion that the owners don’t cut their own lawn when the are home.   “Buffy, can you bring me that red gas can?  Can you believe how long the grass has gotten?”

Oh well.  But I doubt that their grandaughter, and I sure hope that the owners aren’t too young, is as cute as Tori.

It was a few days in late October before we were scheduled to leave Hampton VA to head to Antigua and anticipation of what was to come was high.  Pandora, my Aerodyne 47 sloop was as ready as she would be and my crew was excited.

We’d been listening to Chris Parker, who I had been working with on each of my trips for the last 6 years, and were trying to make sense of his forecast calling for extremely light winds and how we’d make it the 1,500 miles to Antigua without running out of fuel.   Fortunately, Pandora is what Chris refers to as an “easily driven vessel” so I was feeling like it would likely be easier than predicted and besides, there always seems to be more wind than is called for when I am offshore.

After my previous experience of making the run to the BVIs in January of this year and “enjoying” gale force winds and 20′ waves for nearly 5 days, the prospect of a calm run was very appealing, although, as port captain for the rally, I was feeling real pressure to get to Antigua as soon as possible so that things would be ready when the rest of the fleet arrived.  Of course the Dawgs would be looking for a good time and I didn’t want to be the one that fell short. And not to torture the whole “dawg” thing too much, I was really hoping when they got to Antigua, that “the the Dawgs would like the Dawg food”.

As far as planning was concerned, with all the hurricane damage in the BVIs in October, just a few weeks prior to departure, the board decided to head to Antigua and with less than a month to plan, it was my responsibility to be sure that those who made the run would have a great time when they arrived.   It just wouldn’t be fitting if 50+ boats sailed 1,500 miles and didn’t feel “the love” when they got there.

Brenda and I visited Antigua for a month last winter and had really enjoyed our visit so I was anxious to do everything possible to make for a great time for the 55 boats that would ultimately make their way to Antigua.

Even with nearly 80 boats leaving Hampton, we were only within eyesight of any other members of the fleet for a few days.  A view like this, a boat on the horizon and a full moon rising isn’t something you see every day.  We took it as a good omen.  While it’s not news for those of you that follow this blog, the trip was indeed relatively uneventful and we did what we could to get as far east as possible, get around the ridge, catch the trade winds and avoid motoring the entire way.

Don’t Chris and Jim look happy?  Actually, that was about as rough as it got on the whole trip.  Well, that’s if you don’t count the 20+ squalls we went through.  With our new cockpit enclosure, what squalls?Things held together pretty well and it was only Jim’s eagle eye one night that averted disaster when the fitting on the boom that holds the tack of the main broke.  A few minutes longer and the main would have ripped from tack to leech.  I dropped the main immediately and went to work lashing the clew to the boom and mast.

It wasn’t pretty but held just fine for the rest of the trip.  This is just one reason that I keep a good supply of Dyneema, super strong line, aboard.  You can see that one “ear” of the “rabbit ear” fitting is gone.  I always thought it looked a bit fragile.   In Antigua I swapped it out for another bolt I had on board. All better now. And, speaking of sailing, or at least motor sailing as the engine did run 100+ hours on our way south, Pandora is a fairly light boat and can sail at a reasonable pace, assuming her main isn’t ripped to shreds,  in wind as light as 10-12kts so I was fairly confident that we’d be able to make it all the way without using up the 155-175 gallons of fuel that we had on board.   I use that capacity as a liberal estimate, as I really don’t know exactly how much of the fuel we have in our tanks we can actually use.   It turns out that the one “50 gallon” tank we ran dry, only took 38 gallons to refill.  I do wonder about the other two that supposedly hold 50 gallons.   Before learning that at least one tank is smaller than advertised, I assumed that we held 150 gallons between the three tanks and another 25 in Jerry jugs.  Now, I’m not so sure.  I guess I’ll have to run the other two tanks dry and hope that the engine doesn’t quit at an “inopportune” moment.   Having a boat where only three were built is always a bit of a “scavenger hunt” any time I need something.

Dry fuel tanks or not, I was very focused on keeping Pandora on the move without burning any more fuel than I had to and to get there as close as possible to the ten day goal that I was shooting  for.  Besides, Brenda doesn’t do the long runs with me and I really wanted to be there by the time she flew in on the 15^th.

I have done a fair number of offshore passages over the years and find that for the first few days I feel like “are we there yet” and by the 4^th or 5^th day the only way I can even tell how long it’s been is to look at my log and count the days that have passed.  Being a skeptic about electronics and knowing more than a few friends that have had all their electronics knocked out by a lightening strike, I log our position every two hours including our course, speed, battery level and other important numbers , just in case.

As I am a pretty fastidious guy, “Well Bob.  Actually, the word that comes to mind is anal”, I tend to do all the cooking and besides, it gives me something to do.  With the limited amount of ingredients to work with, sometimes I have to be creative, like this banana, zucchini, raisin, date etc. quick bread.  It tasted great, like most everything aboard does.  I guess if you are hungry enough…Preparing three meals a day along with keeping things clean down below, staying in touch with Chris Parker’s twice daily SSB nets and checking in with the fleet keeps me pretty busy.  I also like to do a daily blog post when conditions are reasonable and that burns up a few hours.

Under the category of “just how much can you photograph while underway” category, here I am at the nav station writing a post. Anyway, we made it and were one of the first boats to arrive in Falmouth Antigua.  I tied up at the Antigua Yacht Club Marina where I stayed until Brenda joined me and got settled, nearly a week.  Chris and Jim had to head out the very next day so I made sure that before they left that they had the best breakfast in Falmouth or Antigua, at the Admiral’s Inn.

Just so you’ll think, for a moment, that this post is actually a shot of my breakfast on Facebook,… Why is it that EVERYBODY puts photos up of food?Yes, it was really tasty and my crew, they sure look happy. Hope it’s not because they FINALLY had a decent breakfast.  I rarely tie up at a marina but the convenience of just stepping onto the dock is pretty intoxicating, as was the wine I shared with other Dawgs on the dock, I’ll admit.  Besides, if I’d anchored out I would have been all alone and you know how much I hate that.

As port captain and “responsible party”, I was really focused on making the shore side activities so great that nobody would question why they had come all the way to Antigua.  And given the long history of the rally, that was going to be a tall order.

So, there I was, a Dawg with a mission.  A mission to making landfall in Antigua the best it could be.   However, that was complicated by the fact that nearly a quarter of the fleet decided to divert to Bermuda to refuel because of the light winds and others waiting it out in Hampton for better sailing conditions.  That meant that the fleet was spread out with nearly 1,000 miles between those who left with us and those who opted to leave later or stop in Bermuda.

For the month or so after hurricanes roared through the eastern Caribbean I spent countless hours on the phone contacting folks in Antigua.  At first I was just trying to find out who to talk to and then focusing on setting up events.  All the while not knowing exactly when the fleet would arrive.

“Yes, we’d like to have a welcome dinner at your place but I really don’t know when it will be.  Interested?”  Fortunately, they were and everyone I spoke to was very supportive and anxious to help.

We had some really terrific events including several cocktail parties at Pillars, part of the Admiral’s Inn, a fabulous spot in Nelson’s Dockyard in historic English Harbor. We held our arrival dinner at Boom, another part of the inn, overlooking the dockyard.   Then you already knew about that if you follow this blog as I have written more than anyone wants to know on the subject.

So, here I am in CT struggling to get the lawn and gardens put away for winter and to prepare our home for a long winter nap before we return to Antigua after Christmas.   And, all of this is punctuated by visits to MD to see our family and our new granddaughter Tori who’s about to turn one.   I can’t resist sharing a photo of her when she was christened last week.  Yes, as they say “home for the holidays” and as far as Antigua is concerned, been there and Port Captain, done that, so I’ll just leave it there for now.  Besides, Brenda’s home and it’s opening time.

And, you wouldn’t want me to get out of practice, would you?

As I mentioned in my last post, all the participants in this year’s Salty Dawg Rally arrived safely to their port of choice.  With over 80 boats participating and distances traveled of between 1,000 and 1,500 miles, there was ample opportunity for stuff to break and as a result, have great stories to tell.

And, as port captain to Antigua, and a competitive one at that, I wanted to be sure that there was plenty going on and lots of fun stuff to do over the ten day period, during which, the fleet trickled into port.

With that in mind, there was a variety of activities to keep the Dawgs happy including dinners, cocktail parties, cookouts on the beach and ladies lunches.

Perhaps the most important thing was to be sure that crews on the last boats to arrive would have at least one party to attend.  After perhaps nearly two weeks at sea, it would be a total let down to arrive and learn that all the parties were over and that everyone had gone on their way leaving them to say “hello, hello, is anybody here?”.

So, what’s a port captain to do?  Well, these are after all sailors and what do sailors like better than a cocktail party?  Here’s an idea.  How about a “Tail of the Dawg” cocktail party to recognize the boats that “brought up the rear” or “wagged the dawg”, of the fleet to torture the pun just a bit more?  And, on top of that, how about telling some “tales of the Dawg”.  Get it, TALE of the Dawg and TAIL of the Dawg?   “Just Shut Up Bob, we get it and it’s completely lame.”

Ok, so we had a party and I gave out awards.  Yes, I know that it is a bit pedantic to go through all of them but it was fun and I found some local businesses to donate items and they do deserve credit.  Besides, I thought that the “awards” were fairly clever.  Well, to me anyway so humor me on this and read on.

We held a number of these events at the Admiral’s Inn in historic Nelson’s Dockyard.  It’s a really beautiful spot for the Dawgs to spend time together. So, the “awards”…

Of course, a club like the Salty Dawg Sailing Association is only as good as it’s members so I thought it important to recognize those members that joined the SDSA most recently.    Those two “winners” learned about our group in Antigua and decided that they just had to become members.  Meet the newest members of SDSA, Brett of Malaki, who I had spied in the harbor and invited to our events enjoyed the group and decided to join and the “other” new Dawg (Ugg.  I lost her name) who was in Jolly Harbor after delivering her boat, her first blue water passage, heard about us and contacted me about joining in on the festivities.   Newest members? You win “official” Dawg shirts.   Help me, please!  Her name?  Also, want to join and be part of the fun?  Click here…Of course, when you take upwards of 100 boats out on the ocean for long passages, stuff breaks.  So, how about prizes for the worst luck?

The runner up for most broken stuff were Bill and Maureen on Kalunam00, who broke their boom in half.  Bad but not the worse.  Hey, you need a few “tots” of rum and some twine to tie everything back together again.   But wait, it gets worse… or better, depending on how competitive you are I suppose.  It’s up to you to decide which of the two couples won this round.    From my perspective, it seems to me that they are both real winners.

Mike and Ronna from Exodus were very excited to get a bottle of rum donated by Cork and Basket in Falmouth.  What’s so special about them, you ask?   Where do I begin… Broken rudder arm thus no steering and they lost their refrigeration, an alternator and a bunch of other electronic components that were soaked by a failed hose clamp installed by a sloppy mechanic.  Talk about bad luck.  I expect they will need that rum.Another very strong contender in the “really terrible luck” category were Mike and Daniella on ZigZag, who in spite of “zigzagging” on their way south, trying to stay out of trouble, somehow managed to get struck by lightening, loosing nearly all of their electronic systems, hundreds of miles from shore… That’s terrible luck in my book and certainly worthy of recognition.  How about a bottle of wine from Covent Gardens Grocery.  And, the whole point of the “tail of the Dawg” party was to recognize the last boat to arrive, the one that missed nearly all of the events.  And that distinction want to Pete and Irene on Destiny.   They missed nearly all of the parties.  Their prize?A $200EC gift certificate to Club Sushi. Not a bad deal.  Heck, they can have their own party. Oh yeah, one more.   How could I forget all the wonderful support I received from Suzanne on Suzi Too who pitched in with the morning net and saved me on the night of the arrival party, checking in over 100 Dawgs and making sure that everybody paid.  And, that doesn’t even count the Ladies Lunch, cookouts on the beach and numerous other fun things she cooked up.   Thanks Suzanne.  Her prize?  A one-of-a-kind hand made Salty Dawg Mug from the BVIs commissioned by Bill and Linda, founders of the rally.So, there you have it, Tales FROM and the Tail OF the Dawgs.  Perhaps not one of my most scintillating posts but hey, I think that the prizes made the Dawgs wag their tails.

“Really Bob, that was the most lame Dawg Tale ever…”

Perhaps… I’ll try to be better next time.

It’s Friday morning, the day after Thanksgiving and Brenda and I are flying back to the US to be with our family in Baltimore.  It’s going to be a long day as our flight from Antigua doesn’t even leave until late afternoon and gets into BWI really, really  late.

Under the “you can’t get here from there” rule of traveling,  flights in the morning from Antigua aren’t possible, at least not to where we want to go.   I guess that’s because most folks flying back from a vacation want to milk the experience for every additional hour and thus, afternoon flights.   For us, heading to the US, and our family, is the vacation, a break from our “winter home” aboard Pandora.

We won’t be in Baltimore for long, just a few days as our granddaughter Tori is being christened on Sunday and then we will head back to CT and our “summer home”.    However, with Tori’s first birthday coming up in late December we will be back in MD once again for that and home, one last time, to winterize our home, blow out the pipes and set, yet again, many, many mousetraps with the hope of keeping too many of those little pests from taking up residence while we are away.

So, after our whirlwind visit to the north we will return to Pandora to resume our 6th winter afloat and additional time with the “Dawgs”.

Which brings me back to the title of this post.  I arrived here in Falmouth Antigua nearly two weeks ago and for the last ten days, it’s been a crazy busy series of parties and get-togethers with others who participated in the Salty Dawg Rally to the Caribbean and in this case, to Antigua.

We had cocktail parties, a welcome dinner and cookouts on the beach with something going on nearly every day and sometimes two events in a single day.  Friendships have been renewed and we’ve met new cruisers many of whom will also be heading home for the holidays.  For some, this rally is just the beginning of a voyage for several years to distant lands that may very well take them west to the Panama Canal, into the Pacific and wherever the winds and their whims may carry them.

This year’s rally to the Caribbean brought together over 80 boats with some opting to go to the Bahamas and some to the islands that were ravaged by this year’s hurricanes.  And, lucky for me, as the Antigua port captain, 55 made their way here to Antigua.

As “port captain” I was responsible for pulling together all the activities and logistics for the fleet here in Antigua and it was a big job.  However, I received so many positive comments and help from others that it was a very enjoyable and worthwhile process.

So, now it’s over.  Well, at least, all the initial planning and running around to local vendors as well as the fielding of endless questions from those who have not been here before.  Now that that’s done. what remains are lasting friendships and the memories that make the planning for events like these so rewarding.

As with any long sea voyage,  there was plenty of adversity getting here and some boats suffered serious mechanical problems including the loss of steering, refrigeration and even one that was struck by lightning and lost nearly all of their electronics.  However, even the difficult moments somehow brings everyone together in a way that “normal life” just doesn’t.   I guess that it’s sort of like summer camp or even a college reunion where life speeds up and friendships are made quickly only to be rekindled months or years later as though no time had passed.

Some of the events that I planned were worked on months in advance and others just sort of happened spontaneously.   Two days ago it occurred to me that there were many with us that had never been to Antigua and I thought that it would be a good idea to engage the “experts” among us to show the way for others that were exploring the islands south of here for the first time.

Our friends Maureen and Bill of Kalunamoo have spent several seasons exploring the islands from Puerto Rico to Trinidad so I asked Bill to lead a discussion.  With only one day warning, Bill arranged a very informative talk and half the fleet showed up to hear what he had to say.  It’s this sort of spontaneous support for others in the group that makes this such a wonderful “community”.  This Thanksgiving is also the fifth “anniversary” of our meeting Maureen and Bill who we first got to know at a Thanksgiving event in St Mary’s GA.   After that we “buddy-boated” with them further down the Intra Coastal Waterway and even celebrated Brenda’s birthday in Ft Lauderdale prior to crossing over to the Bahamas for the first time.    While Brenda was sad to be away from Family for the first time, they worked hard to make it a special event for her.    This photo of that day brings back so many memories from that first year as we begin our 6th winter afloat.So, last night, the last “official” Dawg event that I was responsible for brought over 100 to a Thanksgiving dinner at the Antigua Yacht Club and it was fun to address, for the last time, the full fleet.  And, when I stood in front of them all and asked, and in a loud voice, “Are we coming back to Antigua?”, there was a resounding “YES” from all.

For me that was the ultimate compliment and made all the work that went into our arrival events totally worthwhile.    Well, almost as good as the peck on the cheek I got from Angie, the woman who organized a number of our events and put on a spectacular Thanksgiving feast for all the Dawgs on our final night together as a fleet as I presented her with one of our rally flags.So now, back home for the holidays and our family, a wonderful way to signal the end of my role as “port captain Antigua” for the Salty Dawg Rally.

Meanwhile, all the “big girls”, the megayachts are converging on the harbor for the charter boat show that will begin in about a week.   And, it’s nice to know that even huge boats with a dozen or more crew have stuff break like this 100′ sailing yacht that short tacked into the crowded harbor yesterday because their engine wasn’t working.  I have to say that watching them tack down the narrow channel was quite a sight. So, back to MD and then to CT we go with lots of fun stuff to come.  While we are home, I am presenting to the members of the Essex Yacht Club about our travels to the eastern Caribbean and it will be fun to present to our commodore with a burgee from the Antigua Yacht Club, a group that has been so welcoming to us.

This is AYC Commodore Franklyn Braithwaite and me exchanging burgees, signifying a formal connection between the two clubs. And, speaking of connections, how about this Suzuki mini truck?  It’s a “box” version of my own but it has a Chevy logo on it.  There’s no mistaking this and I am certain that it is indeed a “sister truck” to mine, “Pandora’s box truck”.

Notice that it has “unlike mine, left hand drive.   Mine was imported directly from Japan and has the steering wheel on the right.  And, it looks like just another panel van until Brenda stands beside it.   Wow, little truck…In case you’re thinking “No way, Bob, you don’t have one of those stupid trucks”, here’s mine in front of Pandora when she was on the hard up in CT. Anyway, I guess it’s time to pack as there is still lots to do to be sure we don’t forget anything.  And yes, I’m really excited to be heading home to Family.

And guess what?  Chris and his girlfriend Melody are flying back to Antigua with us to spend New Year’s.  How great is that?

And, I think it’s fitting to close this post, and signal a close to my duties as Port Captain Antigua for the Salty Dawgs, with a shot of last night’s sunset here in Falmouth Antigua.    I am looking forward to our time home and also to coming back to Antigua and all the “Dawg Days” that lie ahead.

It’s been a whirlwind week since the Salty Dawg Fleet began to arrive here in Falmouth Antigua.  As Port Captain for Antigua, I have been crazy busy setting up events to be sure that when the 55 boats in the rally arrive so I can be confident that “the Dawgs will like the Dawg Food”.  Of course, I’ll never know for sure that everyone is having a good time but I see plenty of evidence that things are going swimmingly.

There have been quite a few events already but last night’s reception at the Antigua Yacht Club hosted by the yacht club for all of us.  Oh hand for the festivities in the clubhouse was Antigua Tourism Minister Fernandez, as well as Franklyn Braithwaite, AYC Commodore.  From left to right,  Me, Brenda, Minister Fernandez, his wife Jill and Commodore Braithwaite.  As Port Captain I had the honor of presenting a rally flag to the Minister.  Hey wait, is that Forest Gump in the background?And a rally flag and club burgee to the AYC Commodore. 
We had a full house of SDSA rally skippers and crew along with Antigua Yacht Club members and everyone had a terrific time. It takes a lot of work to put on an event like this and we are indebted to the Minister, club and others who’s hard work are making us feel so welcomed here in Antigua.

One thing for sure, the Antigua Yacht Club is indeed, going to the Dawgs and it’s great fun being a part of it.

Tonight we have our “safe arrival dinner” at Boom, a beautiful venue overlooking historic Nelson’s Dockyard.  I can’t wait. Oh yeah…  I almost forgot.  Remember the “royal visit?”  Prince Charles did visit the dockyard yesterday but Brenda and I missed him.  Perhaps had I met Minister Fernandez a day earlier…

Who knows, there’s always next time.  You know me, “ever hopeful”.  Yes, indeed.