We sailed to Jolly Harbour where our friends Ian and Tracy (S/V Loon) and Jim and Janice (S/V Sierra Hotel) were. Loon has been hauled out to be stored for hurricane season. Sierra Hotel (aka. Serious Hangover as Loon calls them or Suddenly Hammered as I call them) was anchored out with us. When we arrived we were excited to see that Sierra Hotel's dinghy was not at their boat meaning that we could finally play a practical joke on them that Loon and Adamo had cooked up the previous week in Falmouth Harbor. Phil dinghied over to Sierra Hotel and left a "ticket" or as they call them here a "fixed penalty" on their door. We basically fined them $1000 payable in 10 days for anchoring under the influence. He was raging mad and went to surrounding boats asking questions. After a couple of hours, Janice took a look at the ticket and saw the signature... Officer Gull Able and realized it was a joke. We got them good! That evening we all gathered for drinks on Sierra Hotel. Jim didn't want to fess up about how he took it hook, line and sinker. Ian couldn't contain himself so after enough drinks the truth finally came out. It was a late evening and we all paid for it the next day, hence our nick names for their boat.
On April 29th we had the Adamo hauled out at Jolly Harbor and set on the hard to have the bottom painted and get some repairs made to the wooden cap-rail. She remained there until May 5th. We continued to live on the boat while she sat in the yard. Those were long hot days and nights with little breeze. The first night on the hard, we had all the hatches open attempting to cool the boat down but the mosquitoes were fierce. By midnight we had been infested by the buzzing, blood-sucking vermin. We closed the hatches, and began hunting the little bastards. It was a bloodbath. Each time you nailed one with the fly swatter on the wall, it left a red splat. When the carnage was over, the interior of the boat looked like we had been in a pain-ball fight. The rest of that night we were almost mosquito free, but it was hot and steamy with the hatches closed. For the duration Doug nicknamed the boat the “Heat Hole”. The next evening, Phillip rigged mosquito nets on all the hatches. The strategy worked. Most of the mosquitoes stayed out while some cool air made it in.Because the boat was on the hard, the only way of getting on and off was with a 12-foot ladder. This becomes a real pain during midnight runs to the restroom. The on-board head is inoperable when out of the water; so is the fridge, water heater, battery charger, generator etc...
The pace of the work was excruciatingly slow; definitely done on “island time”. And it’s understandable. The first thing you smell in the morning is “the sweet smell of ganja”. The workers wander around the boatyard dazed and in no hurry. The quality of the work leaves something to be desired as well. We spent our time supervising the progress and making sure we were not being gypsied. We had been warned that cans of bottom paint ($260 each) would disappear and the boat owners were getting only one coat of paint when they had paid for two coats. We watched as our cans of paint were open, mixed and applied, and pointed out spots that were missed during the application. We were determined to get a good job done, at the expense of being a pain in everyone’s ass. When the boat when back in the water we were satisfied that the job was done right.
Being back in the water was terrific. No mosquitoes and plenty of wind. Phil celebrated by catching a 50 lbs Tarpon.
Andrew is going to spend the summer with us on his college break. We had a week to kill in Antigua waiting for his arrival, so we sailed around the island to Nonesuch Bay. The bay is very calm since it is protected by a coral reef that protrudes from the ocean to block the waves. Yet, because it is located on the eastern end of the island, the trade winds blow without obstruction. It is a popular place for windsurfing and kite sailing. The boys took the opportunity to sail the Open Bic and explore the pristine beaches while Susan and I headed for Harmony Hall, an Italian restaurant/bar/art gallery located in an 18th century windmill overlooking the bay.
On the sail to Nonesuch Bay, Phil hooked a monster mahi mahi. He fought it to the boat. I was surprised his arms did not give out, but he was determined. The question was: what do you do next? There’s not a good place to put an almost 5 foot long fish that had plenty of fight left in him. We decided to gaff him and put him on the aft deck and try to subdue him with a couple of beach towels. Once on deck, he began thrashing. Phil almost got stabbed by the gaff while I got bit in the stomach (well more of a nick than a bite). Next thing we know is the fish is back in the water. Fortunately the hook was still in his mouth, so we gaffed him again and hauled him back on deck to try to subdue him a second time. This go around we tied a strap around his tail to help hold him down. We were successful. By the time the battle was over we had sailed nearly halfway to Guadeloupe! The fish fed us for 3 days. We also have concocted a new strategy for handling the next monster fish. A collapsing 40 gallon trashcan we have on board will give us a place to stuff the fish and keep him from getting back in the water.
While we were waiting for Andrew to come, the boys decided to build sail boats out of paint sticks, foam plates, fishing weights, sail scraps and other supplies they could find on board. Then they raced the boats against each other, tweaking them until they actually started working. Phil claimed to be the winner. After the races were over, they put the name of our boat and the blog site address and set them free in the Caribbean Sea, like a message in a bottle. It would be interesting to get a response and see how far they were able to sail.When Andrew arrived we picked him up in Jolly Harbor. We spent one night in the marina catching up on laundry and cleaning the boat from the haul-out and giving the varnish a new top-coat. Being at a dock was a treat especially when we turned on the AC. In the harbor the air was still and the mosquitoes…well you know that story. Andrew arrived in the evening with flowing golden locks and a tan. He fit right in with our motley crew. In the morning we all went to the grocery store to provision. We filled two carts in hopes of being able to feed three teenagers for a couple of weeks! Then it was off to St. Barth to show him our favorite island which we have discovered so far.
We anchored outside the harbor in St. Barth. As usual it was very rolly. So after a poor night’s rest we moved into the harbor and anchored stern to the wall as is customary down here. We were constantly moving but it was not as bad as the rolling motion. Voila!
St. Barth was hopping with action this visit. There was a transatlantic sailing race due to finish the day we arrived. The racing boats were late by two days, so the partying went on without them. The water front was full of booths selling local artwork and a bandstand had been erected with live music that went on until the wee hours of the morning.
We cut our trip to St. Barth short because we wanted to make it back to St. Martin to meet up with our very good friends Don and Leslie. They were our neighbors when we first moved to Florida in 1992 and used to baby-sit for the boys when they were toddlers. Don and Leslie have been coming to St. Martin every year for 30 years!
We departed St. Barth at 10:00am on the 11th of May and began sailing North. On the way we stopped at Ils de Fourche for lunch and to explore the island with Andrew. After lunch it was back to business. We arrived at Mullet Bay at around 5pm.
When we saw waving arms on the beach and in the water we knew we had found our friends. We spent the next several days hanging out on the beach with them. Being a French and Dutch island, many of the women on the beach go topless. Needless to say, the boys enjoyed the “eye candy”, especially Phillip.
On our last day at the beach, there we unusually large swells, producing huge crashing waves on the beach. We all took turns riding the waves on inflatable rafts.
Mid week, we took a day sailing trip to Saba, a very small volcanic island about 24 miles from St. Martin.
The island is inhabited and has about 600 homes built into the volcanic mountain. Just like Nevis and St. Kitts a permanent cloud hovers over the peak of the island.
After sailing 50 miles, Don and Leslie were glad to be back on terra-firma.
May 14th was Susan and my 20th wedding anniversary and Doug’s 17th birthday. Don and Leslie were celebrating their 40th anniversary. We celebrated the special occasion with dinner at Pineapple Pete’s.
A few days later we said our good-byes and were off to Great Bay to refill on water and take on diesel. Last time we were in Great Bay, we were waiting out a blow, 35 knot winds. This time, the wind has died, so we are waiting on its return.
