s/v DRUM - Chapter Seven – Antigua and Onward
Hi Everyone
I can’t believe it’s been so long again – I try to write monthly but somehow it always seems to be two months.
It is April 11, 2008 and we have just arrived in Jolly Harbour, Antigua and boy is it buggy in here. Our friend Mary arrived on Saturday as guest of Juergen on Caledonia – just a bit of match-making on my part; let’s hope it takes.
We were surprised to see the Antiguan Coast Guard board a sailboat next to us. Six big guys went below and roamed her decks for half an hour while their cutter circled. After a flurry of activity on her deck she raised her sails and was followed out by the coast guard in the direction of St. Johns. Apparently the sailboat had raised her quarantine flag but not checked in at customs after more than 2 days; it’s supposed to be within the hour of arrival. Not a good idea.
We moved on to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua and met with Gypsy Blues, Allegro and LightHeart. We had an experience of a life time on April 18th when all of us were invited to race in the Antigua Classic by Captain Larry and First Mate Pat on Pasha a yacht we met in the 1500 Rally. This was the absolute first time for Roy and I; Allegro, LightHeart and Gypsy Blues had raced before. There were a total of 11 people on board with everyone assigned a job; Roy was on the main sheet and I was deck fluff running from side to side to hang my legs over the side just like in the yacht racing pictures where you see dozens of hairy male legs hanging over on the high side – as if my 120 lbs. was going to do a lot to keep the boat from going over.
Totally exhilarating! There were four days of racing; On day one we blew out the clew on the Yankee and had to retire early but we made up for it on days 2 and 3 with 5 hour days and lots of wind. Going around the race bouys was wild with boats converging at full speed – surprisingly there was only one collision – I’ve got the picture. Day four was cancelled with no wind. Pasha won two awards: We came second in Boat Presentation (the spic and span award) which all the ladies on board made possible and we came third in our class of Spirit of Tradition. Pat, the First Mate on Pasha cooked a feast for the whole crew in celebration. Thank you Pat and Larry for a great experience.
On April 25th we had a great time at the final Mount Gay party at Falmouth Harbour with Juergen and Mary on Caledonia and the next morning Mary left to go back to Toronto and we left to go to Deshais, Guadeloupe – the best sail so far, reaching 7.4 knots. With LightHeart we rented a car and spent the day touring. What a diverse island – a wonderful rain forest with stone walk ways, waterfalls, a rum plantation and surprisingly – highways. We have to go back, the stay was too short.
The next morning, April 29th, we left to sail to The Saints. This is another on our list of favourite islands. There are very few cars; instead everyone uses mopeds the locals and the visitors zipping along the steep hills and very narrow roads on this small French island. That French flavour brings great baguettes, classy, sexy clothes and great food. At the local restaurant “La Saladerie” we had the best meal in a long time.
We toured Fort Napoleon which was beautifully restored with a museum and landscaped surroundings overlooking the bays. Next time we visit, we will stay even longer.
On May 2nd we left for Portsmouth, Dominica a large, luscious, green island with lots of dormant volcanoes. Arriving late afternoon we were met by our boat boy, Martin who took us, LightHeart and Allegro and their guests Tony and Kelly on the Indian River boat tour. This tour winds along a jungle river amongst giant trees, covered with winding vines, ferns, flowers clustered around dim forest pools where we all jumped in and swam. Talk about us wood nymphs in the Garden of Eden – this was definitely it. The following day, again with Martin we shopped at the morning market at the crack of dawn and then an all day tour of the island; jungle, cold volcano mud pools ending in a late lunch at a restaurant serving local cuisine.
On to Roseau in Dominica, not my favourite anchorage compared to Portsmouth and then to St. Pierre in Martinique where we met up with Gypsy Blues and their guests. Most of St. Pierre is built around the remnants of the original village which was inundated by a volcano eruption (Mt. Pelee). The original old stone walls have been completely incorporated into the new structures creating a very unique flavour of new and old.
On May 16th we continued on to Trois Islets in Martinique where we watched the local sail boat regatta swooping along in a stiff breeze. These are small 18 feet or so long with one large sail and long poles jutting out from the sides that the sailors hang on to keep the boats from going over. We toured Fort de France and shopped at the local market where they sold exotic spices, fruits and exquisite flowers along with madras skirts and blouses. Great prices for wines and cheeses at the local grocery stores.
This part of our trip is almost becoming a blur because we rushed through too quickly. We will have to do this entire route again.
We arrived in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia where our windlass died – it was about time for another large expenditure. We also found out that the chain we had bought in Canada was not actually marine chain which is no doubt why our old windlass kept slipping. So, we also have to buy new chain. A local mechanic was able to resurrect our old windlass motor to at least get to Grenada where a new one awaits us; there weren’t any suitable ones in St. Lucia.
We left Rodney Bay on May 14th and on to Soufriere, The Pitons in St. Lucia. We stayed at this beautiful bay anchored under an enormous stone mountain for 2 nights - incredible! Great swimming too except for the tiny little floating gelatin blobs – apparently they are non stinging jelly fish.
On May 17th we left for St. Vincent in the Grenadines; another absolutely great sail topping 7.8 knots– so great in fact, that we continued on to Bequia skipping by St. Vincent. We also had heard a number of unfavourable stories about St. Vincent – boardings, thefts, etc. – so missing this was not a problem. This was also our first encounter at a local Rasta market. We were absolutely swarmed the moment we entered the market with each vendor pushing his wares into our faces and demanding we buy something from him. At the end we ended up with a bag of stuff which cost too much and back on the boat we unload and found something we had no idea what is was other than it was the size of a small watermelon, dark green with warts all over it and when I picked it up my fingers went through it into soft squishy stuff. The other thing I am finding out is that it is difficult to buy bananas – not because there aren’t lots, but there are several kinds. One is the good, old favorite regular bananas; the other are plantains and the third is a cooking vegetable. I thought I had it straight – other than the more rounded bananas, the others seem to have three sides with harder edges and the cooking bananas are very thin and short, not to be confused with the tiny, delicious red and dark brown eating bananas. During one of our walks Sharon and I saw a number of hands of little, three sides cooking bananas lying close to the road. Since they were just lying there we thought that its time to try cooking them. After a week they were still hard and green – nothing much happening – so I tried taking a bite – delicious! So, what were they? Who knows? The other free fruits hanging around all over the place are mangoes; no one seems to pick them – they just hang there and then fall off and rot on the ground. They are as prolific as apple trees in Canada.
Leaving Bequia we took some amazing pictures of Moon Hole, the site of some mostly abandoned houses built right into the cliffs. Wait for the pictures, they tell a better story.
Arrived in Canouan in the Grenadines on May 20th – not much here so left for Tobago Cays in The Grenadines. An incredible anchorage circled by small islands and reefs in pale turquoise waters – the water temperature is now 86 degrees the same as the air temp.
There were a lot of boats anchored here from all over the world some. Sorry to leave this great place. But, on to Mayreau for one night and then Petite St. Vincent where we met up with Vision, Tevai and, along with LightHeart and Allegro we all went snorkeling from a small white sand atoll with nothing on it but a palm leaf beach umbrella and semi nude sun bathers. The snorkeling in this area was the best we have seen to date; red, blue and purples sea fans, corals in all shapes and multi colored fish.
We had a full day on May 26th checking out of customs at Clifton on Union Island, checking in at Hillsboro in Cariacou and then on to Tyrell Bay in Cariacou for a few days waiting out a line of squalls and accompanying high winds. We met new friends and fellow Canadians, Don & Pam on Dorothy Ellen. Hopefully, we will meet them again after Venezuela.
Moved on to St. David’s in Granada on May 31st where I picked up one of the innumerable puppies roaming the island. This cute little puppy was infested with fleas and in a couple of days I had a rash covering every inch of my body that the puppy touched.
We left St. David’s for Clarke’s Court Bay and will stay here until we go to Venezuela by the end of July with Gypsy Blues, Livin the Dream and/or Gaia. We will have to wait and see about the timing.
We like it here in Granada! We all went on an island tour led by Cuddy followed by a great lunch at an old plantation. The old plantation house was full of bats which were diving bombing us while we were exploring. Apparently Queen Victoria slept here.
Sad day; on June 6th Allegro, LightHeart and Dorothy Ellen left at 5:30 am to sail to Trinidad, about 80 miles away, for haul out and a short trip home. We will meet our friends again in October in Venezuela where we all plan to meet again and take an Angel Falls Tour.
Meanwhile, we are settling into a routine here in Clarke’s Court Bay; unhurried breakfast, laundry, trip into town or tour, siesta in the afternoon, happy hour at the marina, BBQ or pot luck for dinner, movie, – oh, and some little boat chores, when we have time.
Vision, Whimbrell and us took a Seven Sisters water falls tour with our guide King David, again swimming in small, cold secluded jungle pools surrounded by the most glorious flowers – Birds of Paradise and Red/Gold/Green lobster claw flowers – fantastic.
Oh, and a word about bus rides on the island. The local buses are all mini vans with standard transmissions, holding about 13 or 14 people plus another 3 or 4 sitting on bolsters between the jump seats. Everyone crams on. When you get to where you want to get off – you just knock on the wall and the driver will pull over. The passenger closest to the sliding door opens and closes it and all passengers in the way of an exit have to get off and then pile back in, while you reach across the other passengers in the front seat to pay the driver $2.50 EC ($1.00 US/Cdn) per trip. The roads are so narrow that cars approaching a corner honk their horns to let traffic coming from the other direction know they are coming through. That, plus the uncovered, 2 feet deep storm sewers, keep driving interesting.
This is a great way to see the island – except for the terror part. Speeding is a way of life and just because it’s a bus, is no exception. The drivers see it as their own special challenge to never ever slow down or stop if there is any way to speed up instead or slalom around slow or stopped cars. But, on June 11th, we had the ride of our lives; we literally flew along the roads, careened up and down steep hills, made several stops to let passengers off on hills, gunning the engine to start on steep grades (manual transmission) and finished the trip in record time with a strong smell of burning rubber from the brakes. I haven’t seen one speed cop on the island – they could make a fortune.
Counting down now for the next leg – Venezuela. The new anchor chain is on and the windlass bought. Gypsy Blues just arrived on June 17th and we will be seeing them tonight for Burger Night. Several boats are planning to leave first week of July – hopefully there will be 5 or 6 of us together for the trip.
We are planning to go home to Toronto for a visit for August/September so hopefully we’ll visit some of our home-based friends and bore them with over 1,000 pictures – better run and hide now.
That’s it for now.
Roy and Maggie
s/v DRUM
www.royandmaggie.com