Hurricane's , sailing, and the transition of Seasons

Songtau Boothbay Harbor

             Coriolis anchored off of Maglathery Island Merchant Row.

                                                                                                     

                                                                                   A foggy morning in Brooklyn Me.

                                   

                                          Dorade off of the Castine Light:

The end of the summer in New England can be the begining of different transitions for many yachts and their owners and crews. As I reflect back on the summer of 2008 I am taken by the number of changes one has been experiencing on my own. The weather this past summer for me has been a mix bag to say the least. At the begining of the summer while I was on the west coast in the San Jaun Islands the weather was nothing short of perfect. Upon my return to Maine in Mid July the weather went into the tank for about five weeks. Rain, Fog, with more rain and more fog is the only description I can give this period. Despite this weather pattern that ran from most of July well into August, when it comes to sailing and messing about in boats all days are good . Just some days are better than o

thers.  Speaking of good days one reflects  back on the Classic Yacht events in Castine and Brooklyn Me, I was able to attend with the Coriolis as a spectator. This week of races and gatherings is a nice contrast to the Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua. First the size of the vessels are much smaller than the giants that sail in the Caribbean. It is more of a down home feeling with many yawls, ketches,  schooners, and sloops. The largest boats in the fleet were the W Class sloops which are around 70 feet.

I was blessed with the opportunity to see the fully restored "Dorade" and to capture some very excellent pics of her sailing. Olin Stephens was there to see his most favorite design win the Castine to Maine race. He was celebrating his 100th birthday at the time. He was quoted as saying "This is the best birthday gift he could have ever had". His career was launched with the success of this yacht in the 1931 Transatlantic race. To say the least his impact on the yachting world is profound. I am sad to write that at this time Olin has passed on. 

As the summer moved on I was given the opportunity to deliver from Maine to RI a most beautiful sloop. The Friendship Yacht Company 53 "SONGTAU" was to be my home for a few days as I made the trip south. It was an enjoyable trip not only for the boat but the chance to go offshore again. I had not been offshore since I brought WINGS back from the Caribbean. It was also a great chance to see how this boat would perform in a fairly robust wind. I left Boothbay Maine at about noon to sail overnite across the Gulf of Maine to the Cape Cod Canal. I was leaving on the back side of a cold front with winds expected to be in the 25 knot range for most of the trip. I was not dissapointed in this boat at all. As the wind began to build in the afternoon I began to peel off sail area. Despite the short sail I was carrying she continued to burn off 7 to 8 knot speeds over the bottom. The sea was building to the 7 foot range and Songtau tracked like she was on rails. She did at one point in the late evening ship a wave aboard which completely doused the cockpit. fortunatly for me I was below at the time looking at the charts. 

Maine is without equal when it comes to contrast in the view on any given day. Even the days when it is foggy the views can be just stunning. From Fog to Brilliant sunsets.  The coast can be a visual smorgasbord of classic yachts, windjammers and pine tree lined islands. I hope all enjoy the pics I have added to this blog. 

At this time we are experiencing one of the most active Hurricane seasons we have had in 

some time. As I prepare to make the trek to So Florida one cannot rule out the possibility of having to deal with one of these twirling monsters. With the recent devastation caused by IKE on the Texas coast I hope that for the balance of the season the US will be landfall free.

Wishing all a fun filled and beautiful fall season. Remember to click on any image to see a full size view.

COAST TO COAST

The begining of the end of our time with the Wings began when we loaded the boat onto the ship for her transit to the PNW. For both Terry and I it was an emotional moment. Although this was not the end, it had more of an impact on me than at any other time. Having sailed this boat for close to 20,000 miles and thru most any weather you can imagine how one can get attached. Wings has been my life for over three years. She has been at times a great deal of hard work and at other times a great joy as she would log off the ocean miles under her keel. She has developed her own following in many of the different ports we have visited and spent time. At this time she is missed in Rockland ME. I have had many people come by the public landing where I am currently aboard my boat the Coriolis. They would recognize me and ask where is the Wings? Although I am happy to report that she is safely  home with her owners and family in the San Jaun Islands of the PNW, there is a part of me that is sad she is not here. 

I have struggled with writing this blog for a few weeks now. I have wanted to put down my thoughts about life as a professional yacht skipper. One of the most difficult questions I am asked is where do you live. I have all kinds of different answers for that question. None of which really address the core of the question. Examples of this answer are, the east coast, the western atlantic, this boat, my drivers licence tells me I am from Florida. Yes I am from Florida at this time. One does need a base to catch some mail and a place to send some to.  This is all part of the commitment it takes to do this line of work. When one is running a boat, the job is not 9-5. In reality it is 24-7. In many respects it is difficult to leave the vessel unless it is in a boat yard and on the hard. I have been fortunate in some respects that my employers are very accomplished yachtsmen. When they would come to use the boat we would get a break as they would prefer to sail alone or with their guests. 

So at this time I find myself at a turning point in my career. In all of the endeavors I have undertaken in life I have not found one I love to do more than being the skipper of a private yacht. I love the challenges one faces on a daily basis with respect to the complexity inherent in a large sailing vessel. The planning involved in order to meet the schedules of the owners. The planning involved in order to effect a cost effective yard period. The maintainence involved to keep her looking good and running right.  The planning involved to take care of the ships stores and spares. Running a sailing vessel that is sailing thousands of miles on a yearly basis is not unlike running a small business. 

During my time with the Wings we have seen some amazing places and have met some amazing people along the way. The sailing community is a unique and special collection of boats and people. Some are professional (ie Captains of other yachts doing it for a living) and others are true cruisers who are out there living their dreams. In some respects we all have a common thread, the joy of sailing. 

As I leave the San Jaun Islands and the Wings on her dock I have a wonderful feeling of having competed the circle with this boat. I have worked hard to bring her back to her beautiful look she always had. I have wonderful warm feelings for my employer. I could not have worked for better people and I thank them for this opportunity. I look forward to the new adventure and responsibility that lies ahead for us this fall in Europe. In the short term I will enjoy a few weeks of R&R cruising aboard the Coriolis. The Coriolis Effect will continue on as we move forward in this life we live. I wish the owners of the Wings many continued adventures and safe passages with this wonderful boat. I look forward to hearing about the adventures of the kids and the grandkids as they sail this boat into the future. As she did for us she will always bring them home safely. 

Fair Winds Wings we will miss  you.

Moving West to the Bahamas!!!

                                                     

Underway for the Bahamas from St Thomas. The downwind slide in nice weather.

             A perfect place for this crew at Rum Cay

At this time the Caribbean is well over the horizon for us. We are currently in the Exuma Chain of islands making our way to Nassau and then to Florida. This is a beautiful cruising area and a total change from the Caribbean. The water is so clear you can see down 20 feet as clear as a glass of water. 20 feet by the way is deep water in these parts. We cleared in at Great Exuma Island in the port of Emerald Bay. Very fancy marina with great service but a very lumpy harbor with a bad surge. 

The first stop we made was at Rum Cay but there was no one there at the time to clear us in so we did at Emerald the next day.We spent a night there and what a delightful stop it turned out to be. Someday I would like to stop there and spend some time just hanging out with the locals.

Very friendly and warm people. This is a small island in the outer or what are known as the Far Bahamas. These Islands are adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean.  A stop was made at Sampson Cay for some weather. Good spot in any weather. The Banks do not afford much protection for a 6' draft vessel when the wind comes from the west. Not many choices to say the least. We spent a lumpy night anchored off of Shroud Cay with a brisk southerly. Not much sleep that night. Next stop and the last in the Exumas is Highborne Cay. This is a very nice marina and Island. Has one of the best beaches in all of the Exumas. As I write this I am struggling with the WIFI here.

Our next stop will be Nassau for a night and then to Florida to get Wings ready to be loaded on the ship for her trip to the PNW. It has been a very interesting adventure for us and this boat.

She has been a great boat and has been a good home as well. 

Classic Yacht Regatta Antigua 2008

There are few events in the Caribbean during the winter that can rival the Classic Yacht Regatta in Antigua. For over twenty years some of the most beautiful restored and new classic sailing vessels have gathered here for this spectacular event. Of all racing events this one stands alone in presence with any of the classic events in the world. This year we had the opportunity to be out on the water to capture some really great shots of these wonderful boats doing what they do best. Sail>>>

It can be very thrilling to be in close when two of the worlds J boats are racing towards you. In this shot we have Ranger and Velsheda racing for the finish only seperated by seconds and only a few hundred yards from where we were watching. 

During the event we became friends with a small yacht that had sailed from England with three women aboard. She was the second smallest boat in the fleet of 57 but had the sprit to capture the attention of every one there. Pouncer may not have been the fastest and the most spectacular but she was a very beautiful little classic. Proudly owned and Captained by 

Charlotte Ashburner and first mate Jane O'connor, the pouncer won the "Sprit of Regatta Cup".

Well done gals. It is a long way in a small boat to come across an ocean to go racing. We wish them godspeed in their voyage home. 

It has been a long winter here in the Islands and I can not think of a better way to have finished the season than the Classic's in Antigua. This time of year the Caribbean Yacht fleet begin the process of heading back to the North Land. Weather it is the European waters or the East coast of the USA, many will be sailing home to enjoy the beggining of a new season. One door closes another one opens. This past season was a year of Big Winds and Big Seas. Unusual for the Caribbean but nonetheless a tough sailing season. We wish all of our friends who will be voyaging in the next few weeks Fair Winds and Following Seas.

Wings Underway

Chasing Rainbows

In the past few weeks we have made the trip between Antigua and St Lucia twice. During that time there have been numerous squalls that have come across the islands or the passages between the islands that have produced some of the most spectacular rainbows. As diverse as the squalls themselves the rainbows provide a visual display of color that blends and contrasts with the islands and the surounding landscape. This has been a wonderful accent to the trip our guests have been able to enjoy during their sail with us. The picture above was taken off of Martinuque. This particular Rainbow was actualy chasing us. It moved across the harbor and appeard to almost touch the boat. Guests Scott and Jean enjoying the sunset off of Guadalupe. Every day was a new rainbow as we travelled through the Island Chain.

The sailing in this past few weeks has been nothing short of spectacular and at times down right challenging. Some of the passages between the islands were very lively with 30 kt winds pushing us along at 8+ knots. Wings like the bird she is flew along and across the waves with a powerful and steady grace. She is remarkable in these conditions. Like her designer the ledgendary Ted Hood once said. "There is no replacement for displacement when the wind blows hard and the seas go rough". Wings brings you to sea at a level of comfort most are not used to.

Follow up to my last blog on ocean rowing;

As the crowd began to gather at the arrival of the "The Reason Why" I could not help but get caught up in the moment. Well OK! I must admit that this endeavor is nothing less than an extraordinary accomplishment. Yes I still feel strongly about these small boats in a big ocean. But what I will say is that they are manned by very strong people. I just do not mean that in the pure physical sense either. Trust me they are in shape. What I was taken by the other evening was the emotion of these guys arriving after 55 days at sea.

The emotion of their friends knowing that at last they are OK.

The emotion of themselves in the reality that it was over. This brought home to me what they have done and my hat is off to them for this accomplishment.

The next thing that blew me away was the two guys on the "The Reason Why ". Old guys rule in my book and after seeing these guys I want to get back into rowing again. No worries I will not be doing a trans Atlantic any time soon. Just some recreational rowing will be fine thank you. I was taken by the fact that these guys, I am not sure of their exact ages but certainly mid to late 50 somethings were only a few hours behind two members of the British Special forces Marine Commando unit. Talk about a couple of guys in shape. These guys are poster child's for the fitness aspect of rowing. Any how I certainly feel if there was a handicap rule of some kind in this sport these guys would be the winners. So I congratulate these guys on achieving their goal.

While enjoying the excitement of the event, I was made aware at the gathering that there were still 14 rowers out on the Atlantic still trying to make it to Antigua. It was a sobering reminder of how hard this is to do. It was also suggested that there may be boats out there well into the month of February.Whew what a thought. At this point after 55 days it becomes more than just the accomplishment but more a case for survival. God bless them and God Speed to them. I hope and trust that they will all make it safely to Antigua.

People of the Dock Yard

The People of the Dock Yard:

What I have come to learn about these islands is within the diversity of its people. What I have also learned is that it is easy to fall in love with a particular place. Each of these islands has it’s own sense of character. To me it is difficult to find a place that has more character than Nelson’s Dock Yard in Antigua. Just the sense of the history that is here makes this a very special place. More importantly it is the people of this place that separate it from other spots one can find as you travel through the archipelago. There are many more wonderful people here in the Dock Yard that I have not mentioned in this blog. I will try and fold some of them in future blogs about the Dock Yard. If you are sailing the Caribbean do not miss a stop at Nelson's Dock Yard.

You will be gald you did.

Aukland Joseph :
With his cool shades and signature baseball cap Aukland Has been the dockmaster here for over twenty years. This year he will be retiring from his job at the Dock Yard. All of us within the yachting community will miss his warm and friendly smile upon arrival here at the Dock Yard. Aukland has created a nice little business for himself to carry him along in his post dockmaster years. He has a storage business located not far from the docks. I am sure this will be a big hit with many of the cruising boats especially those that make the trip annually.

Apple Water Taxi :
Apple is best known for his Island style fedora.
Apple has run the water taxi here at the Dock Yard for over twenty years.
Before this he did this for other people . He used to take people out for snorkeling
Trips. Has had different business in the Dock Yard. A true Antiguan he is the son of a son. A true man with great hope and a wonderful demeanor.

Miss Baltimore Laundry:

She is one of the first to greet you upon arrival at the Dock Yard.
We have come to know her as the Laundry Mafia Don. She has run this
business here for thirty plus years. Her mission is your laundry. For the most
part she does a great job. There is a lot of competition here on the dock and
she is the most competitive of the bunch. This is a valuable service for those
who are in need of some clean skippys after a long passage.

Kerry at the Galley Bar :

She is a youngster around the Dock Yard as compared to the above group. She has

been working at the Bar for over a year and has developed her own following of fans.

Terry has been joining her for coffee almost every day since we have been in Antigua.

Good thing they do not sell desert.

Loyd Day Worker :

I met Loyd two years ago after a passage from Bermuda. He is an honest hard working young

man who is an Antiguan to the core. Born and raised here he is very good at many skills in the

area of boat detailing. I try and employ Loyd whenever I can to help with the recovery work needed to bring WINGS back to her shiney ways. Ocean passages are hard on the cosmetics.

Feat or Folly or Crazy????

It is with great curiosity that I find my self looking at these boats and wondering just how much pain and suffering is the human willing to self administer. I confess I do not know much about ocean rowing other than it takes a long time in a small relativly open boat to make a trans atlantic trip. Granted these boats are designed from the bottom up to do this job. I have spent many days at sea on sailing vessels of a much more substantial nature and am always in awe of how small we are when out at sea.

So let us take a close look at what was home for some very hardy and I will say adventureous souls who have just completed a trans altantic crossing in these boats. I have had some experience with rowing as an activty for fitness and recreation. I am proud to say I owned a Alden Ocean Shell for many years. Now granted the ocean shell has about as much freeboard as a bowl of chili. But the sliding seat and the foot attachments were not at all different than what I was to observe on these boats. I was also to obeserve that there were differences between each of the boats with this regard. Of the four boats that I have had the opportunity to see only one appeared to have what I would call a decent seat. Well I do not know about you but two months at sea on my butt I need a good seat. Some of the foot attachments were crude at best and one was what I would call essential. When I was rowing my Alden I installed cross country ski bindings and shoes for the foot attachments for the sliding seat. This improved the efficency of the rowing by leaps and bounds over the supplied straps. Only one of the boats appeared to have such an arrangement.

Well enough with some of the small detail observations. Once again as I said having been to sea for many ocean miles I cannot think that these guys and gals who do this are nuts. It has also been brought to my attention that more of them have been rescued at sea than have ever comleted the passage. God bless them I guess for trying but they do put other people in harms way in order to go out and save them when they are in trouble. For this reason and this reason only I cannot support this as a feat but more of a folly.

There was a woman from New Hampshire who was running for Congress. You may have heard of her. She became known as Granny D. Well she decided that in order to learn what was happening across the country she decided to walk it. She walked from LA to Washington DC a distance of 3200 miles at 90 years of age. To me this was a feat.This took every bit as much to accomplish as any of the ocean rowers have. She is certainly not the athlete that any of these rowers are. She did not need to be rescued by anyone. If she was to have failed at her attempt she would have simply gone home. This is something you cannot do when at sea. Someone has to come and fetch you. I do not mean to diminish the physical aspect of this sport. I am not sure it can be called a sport but I did anyway.

I guess that these boats are life rafts in and of themselves. I guess that it really comes down to the risk factor. We take great pains with respect to safety procedures and equipment to insure the safety of all aboard before we go offshore. I wonder just how much these rowers know of the ocean before they leave the safety of the harbor. If they really understood how unforgiving the ocean can be would they be putting to sea in such small boats. These are questions of which I cannot answer. The only thing I can tell you is that it would take an athlete of tremendous fitness and strength to endure what they must have, in order to make such a voyage in a small open boat. It is not unlike climbing the highest mountains in the world. We all know how many souls have been claimed in that endeavor.

Sailing in the land of the Giants

Everything in life can take on a certain relavance when one looks at the context of the view. When Wings is tied to the dock in Rockland Me at the public landing she can certainly take on the presence of a large vessel. When she is tied to the dock at Nelson's dockyard here in Antigua she can appear to be relatively small when surrounded by a rack of superyachts. When a superyacht makes an appearance on the coast of Maine in a small town like Rockland it can be an event amongst the sailing community. Here in Antigua they can be stacked like cord wood. Having had the opportunity to be here in Antigua for the annual yacht charter show I was blown away by the quanity and size of the vessels on display. There was a time not long a go when there were less than 500 yachts of 100' or greater sailing on the planet. At this time there are 500 per year being built at this time.There has become a huge demand for dock space for these vessels and new marinas are being built just to accomadate these bohemoths of the sea. Many marinas that once were the home of a smaller crowd are being displaced in order to make room for the giants.

Although there are some spectacular sailing vessels being built in this genre most are of the Tri Deck Motor Yacht class. These boats cannot purchase fuel at most fuel docks as the docks do not have enough fuel in their tanks to accomadate them. It is not uncommon to see a couple of large tanker trucks along side a dock for a fill up.In a world where we read every day about greenhouse gases and the warming of the planet this concept is somewhat disturbing. The buzz word in this talk is carbon foot prints. Talk about a carbon footprint. These boats have enough power aboard to run a small town. It will become obvious if not down right apparent that I am a sailor and lean toward the sailing side of these giants. Some can take on the look of a motor yacht with masts and some can take on the look of a classic schooner built 100 years ago. What has always been an attractive side of sailing to me is that you can always get home with your boat regardless of weather or if the engine decided to quit. The same is true for a superyacht if it is powered by sail.

The other morning while I had few extra minutes to spare I took a walk over to the Antigua Yacht Club dock to take a look at what might be the most spectacular superyacht on the planet.While there I was blessed with a most unique photo opportunity. Alongside the Maltese Falcon was a traditional square rigged sailing vessel. What a contrast these two vessels made. I was taken back by the sheer size of the Falcon as she dwarfted the small ship that was next to her. As the Maltese Falcon has a completely modern and totaly unique rig it was an interesting view to say the least. The Maltese Falcon has what would look like a square rigged ship at a distance. When up close and personal to the vessel she is very far removed from the past. This is one very impressive sailing vessel. It is as high tech a boat as has ever been built. She is a superyacht of epic perportions yet she is sleek and elegant. While there the captain was getting the vessel ready to get underway. I was treated to a spectacular view as the sails started to set and the boat began to sail off of the dock. This maneuver is not for the meek and weak but the conditions were light and perfect to accomplish this spectacular departure.

So as I made my way back to the reality of our lovely and elegant little ship I was taken by the accomplishments of the shipwrights and craftsmen who build these boats. It is one thing to see them and to look at them tied to the dock. We must remember that human hands build these vessels and human hands sail them.

Repairs,laundry,and other stuff in Antigua:

This day has gone pretty well all things considered. We have sorted out the issue with our Gen although not good news not overly bad news either. It appears that we have an issue with the exhaust system possibly causing seawater to get back into the engine of the gen. What is it that they say about BOATS. These are complicated beasts in themselves and have lives of their own in certain ways.

Whew what a pile of laundry we sent out today. The one thing that you can count on in Antigua is great laundry service. Old Miss Baltimore Laundry runs the docks around here. We call her the laundry Mafia. You do not want to mess with her. She has also found out that she cannot mess with Terry either. It better be right and not messed up. The competition is pretty stiff around here.

We had without a doubt one of the best Mechanics aboard working on the Gen I have run into yet since being aboard WINGS. There have been a number of good guys aboard this boat for different projects and repairs. This Guy who used to work on ships and 100,000 hp motors really knows what he is doing. It will take a while for us to get the parts needed to repair the Gen so we will sail next week without the use of the Gen. Discovered a wonderful metal fab shop today and to have our injured boarding ladder repaired this week as well.

It is a good thing to have a few days between sailing. Our next guests arrive on Tues of next week. We are looking forward to the next few weeks and getting underway again. It is nice to be back in Antigua but one does long for the sea and the adventure that lies over the horizon. It seems with sailors that when at sea they cannot wait to get to where they are going and when they get there they cannot wait to leave and return to sea. It is an interesting parody. The sun is well over the horizon and there are some really wonderful aromas comming from the Galley.I think that this would be a good time to stop writing.

Perception and Reality on Security

Well at this time we are back in Antigua after a sail down Island to St Lucia and the Pitons.The Islands as one sails south are very dramatic and lush with vegatation. It is hard to imagine with such beauty that one needs to concern them selves with security for both property and personal well being. The thought was brought to my attention the other day by a long time cruiser who has lived in the Islands for some time now. If we are in the main stream world and our 25,000$ car is stolen we call our insurance company. Down here in the Islands if our dingy is stolen we get our shorts in a huge tuff and alarm the cruising world of how bad security is. Well if you lock your car and take the keys the chances of your car being stolen are less than if you left the keys in the ignition. The same is true if you leave your dingy unlocked. On the personal side ones personal security is another story. On our recent trip down island we were alarmed to learn of the armed boardings and robberys on St Vincent. In particular the anchorage at Chataubelair. Their were two incendents before Christmass and two just after the new year. Armed with machete's thugs boarded an anchored yacht with a couple aboard and injured the captain and threated their lives if they did not produce all of the money they had. The captain was cut severely in trying to bravely repel the attack. As a result of this we did not sail anywhere near the Island of St Vincent and have no intention at this time of doing so. This is very unfortunate for the people of St Vincent as they need the visiting yachts to help with what is a very poor economy. So what does one do in light of these issues. As for personal protection one is faced with the delima of weather or not to resist and attack or to sucumb to it. Despite the fact that the couple had given them all of their money they still assaulted them. Carrying weapons has it's own problems and most countrys will not allow you to have them abaord while you are visitnig. I think that sailing in company with other yachts is one of the best forms of security as all of these incendents were against lone anchored yachts. Make sure that getting aboard the boat is not easy. Raise your dingy out of the water and make sure that the boarding ladder is not over the side overnite. By stringing lines across the deck so as to cause tripping and to put obsticals at entry points can at least alarm one to a boarding. This is no less than a home invasion and must be taken very seriously. We have made our own version of pepper spray using spray bottles and HOT HOT HOT liquid pepper as a personal wepon. I can only imagine how it would feel to have this stuff sprayed in your face ,eyes and nose. It appears that these thugs are a very violent segment of the Island community. I have not and hope to never meet any of these people. I will say that most all of the Islanders we meet are wonderful people and are always willing to help in many ways. Many provide great services that make our visits more enjoyable. I will say that this issue has changed my perception of paradise and unfortunatly made one become a bit more paranoid about being anchored alone off some remote island. Sure one can say that the numbers are small as compared to the dark side of a major city back in the states or europe for that matter. None the less perception or reality in certain circumstances I find myself sleeping with one foot on the floor. We have chosen as a fundemental philosiphy to defend ourselves. If one is to be attacked by violent thugs I am going down with a fight.