This is Leo’s 7th delivery on avalanche, and on this trip that makes him the crew with the most experience aboard.  Leo began  on avalanche as a “day worker” who could help Jake (and me) with routine maintenance and repairs aboard that were beginning to be overwhelming for arthritic knees, hands and shoulders.  (Besides, Jake loves having someone to work with so he can tell all his stories!)  When we contacted Ken Malone, who runs the local service yard, looking for help, he brought Leo to us.  We have since learned that Leo was (and still is) Ken’s lead worker in the yard.  Ken hoped that working with us would broaden Leo’s horizons and lead to many wide-ranging experiences.  Looking back over the approximately 5 years we’ve known Leo, I think he’s experienced lots of stuff–some of it even positive and enlightening!  The first day Jake taught him how to catch a lobster!  And how to clear his ears snorkeling!  And I keep  treating him to new foods, but still haven’t convinced him that black olives are edible.  On a serious note, Leo has learned so much about boats and their systems and is so conscientious and competent as well as skilled and intuitive, that Dave and Brian (both trained engineers) are mightily impressed by him!

As we described before our November trip south, Leo, who is from Dominica, is 3/4 Carib Indian.  We have been reading about the Caribs and have become very proud of Leo’s heritage.  It turns out that the Caribs were very strong and fierce warriors.  They defeated many English, French, Dutch and Spanish explorers and settlers as well as the Arawak Indians who tried to conquer them and their lands.  Reports say that the Caribs would rather fight to the death or commit suicide than become slaves to the European conquerers.

Leo comes from a family and village of fishermen on the northeast coast of Dominica.  At 15 he had quit school to help his grandfather fishing with hand lines from a small skiff with an outboard motor on the sea offshore.  As a result he is a very fine fisherman.  He knows where fish are likely to be and why, he is very good at actually catching fish and boating them.  Additionally, he has introduced us to the delicious local meal called “fish water” made from fish heads! (He’s broadening our horizons!)  When he was 19 he moved to Antigua where he began working for Ken Malone…and, as they say, the rest is history!

We have said for weeks that we would leave on May 22nd, and we will!  However the weather is a bit dicey north of us–storms, gales and such, so Herb has suggested we stay put.  Never a crew to do the expected, we have decided to go for a sail tomorrow.  We’ll shake the boat and crew down, have a picnic lunch at sea and anchor up in…….St. Maarten!  to stay put there if it’s still necessary.  We’re looking forward to wonderful French coffee and croissants for breakfast and ribs on the beach in Grande Case for dinner!

That’s the plan of the hour. We’ll let you know tomorrow how it works out.

All the best from the crew of avalanche, ready to go!

A final photograph.  We sent this photo of the crew to our local newspaper for the “Where in the World is the Jamestown Press” feature, and today they published the photo.  Here is the relaxed crew of Avalanche on November 22nd, 270 miles north of Antigua.  In the back row:  Kim Hapgood, Jake and me, and Peter Vaiciulis, front row:  Leo Bontiff and Chris Adams.

November 25-29, 2009 At anchor, Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

Hello Everybody,

I’m sorry this final blog has taken so long to post, but just as I predicted, the Patriots game kept me from writing on Monday night November 30th, so I am writing the final chapter of our November 2009 delivery south from stormy cold Jamestown instead of sunny Antigua.

Once the boat was cleaned up and all the work done, Leo had headed to his home, and Peter had flown off to cold upstate New York;  Kim, Chris,  Jake and I had a fun filled vacation for 5 days, including Thanksgiving.  Our vacation featured wonderful weather: water temp about 83, air temp in the high 80′s and 90′s, little wind, even calm at night, and after the first couple days only small seas with no swell.  We spent our time diving almost daily, snorkeling, swimming, bathing, reading and eating.   Probably the most fun was diving.  We all dove together 3 times, seeing a turtle and a threatening green moray as well as the usual colorful tropical fish.  We were excited to note that the coral in Windward Bay, which was wiped out by a hurricane several years ago, is coming back!  Jake and I had a 4th dive at Split Rock just below Eric Clapton’s cliff top home.  We had great visibility down to almost 100′.  Heading for the dive site in the dinghy we saw what must have been a jellyfish hatch.  As we motored we saw more and more jellyfish, closer and closer together, until finally the water was pink with little jellyfish–an area about 5′ by 20′.  It was incredible to see, and I was awfully happy that we didn’t find the same thing at the dive site!  We also saw a large turtle on the surface:  3-4′ in diameter.

The day Jake and I dove alone Leo took Kim and Chris on an “Antiguan’s tour” of Antigua.  They drove through Antigua’s rain forest; into the Jolly Harbor yacht and resort area; stopped in St. Johns, where they walked the streets with the locals, shopped at the produce market and ate fresh rotis for lunch.  (A roti is a flat bread with veggies and chicken, beef, shrimp or conch in a curry sauce all rolled up.)

On Thanksgiving day Kim, Chris and I hiked around Falmouth and English Harbors.  We checked out the local handcrafted items:  Nancy Nicholson’s signature blue pottery, Carl Henry’s great carved fish, watercolor paintings by local artists, and the ubiquitous t-shirts.  We wandered through Nelson’s Dockyard, named for Admiral Nelson, who commanded the Antiguan outpost in the 1780s.  The area has been restored, with historic buildings now housing contemporary businesses.  We finished by hiking over the hill and back to Falmouth Harbour where Jake met us with the dinghy.  By then we were hot, dusty, thirsty and tired, so we enjoyed a swim before preparing our Thanksgiving dinner.   Jake and Kim, both huge football fans, had a fine time watching football, and Leo joined us for turkey dinner with all the trimmings.  We wished Peter Happy Thanksgiving on the phone, and were happy to hear that he had gotten home in time to celebrate with his family.

Sunday evening Kim and Chris headed up to Shirley Heights, a scenic lookout above English Harbour, from which you can see both harbors and on a clear night  Guadeloupe and Monserrat as well as  a beautiful sunset.  They feature  a steel drum band, a bar and restaurant, and a man who weaves hats, bowls, birds and more from grasses.  That evening was the final event of a unique introduction to Antigua for Kim & Chris.

Monday we took Avalanche to the dock, where Leo will take care of her in our absence.  It takes about a day to get that accomplished.  We always leave her clean, so the hull got a good polishing and the deck a final clean up, and the awning was taken down.  We had to pickle the water maker, defrost the freezer and clean out the fridge. We 4 had had the difficult task all week of finishing all the food on board because when we leave the boat we turn off both the freezer and refrigerator.  We ate very well:  lasagna, ham, turkey, meatloaf, eggs & potatoes & bacon, french toast, and on the last day a “clean out the fridge omelet” and a “clean out the fridge salad”.  On Monday night Leo was the recipient of spaghetti sauce and garlic toast for 6, plus a pork tenderloin and a few leftovers from the fridge.  Now he will eat well!

In summary, the delivery was quick.  We had some queasy moments initially when we were affected by Ida’s waves without any wind to steady us.  We got through the Gulf Stream with a brisk breeze, even catching a Mahi Mahi.  After we left the Gulf Stream the wind picked up for 3 days, which gave us a 200 mile day, but left the deck watch soaked with constant spray.  Because of our great mileage and the wind around Bermuda, we could forego the fuel stop, but we knew it was a risk because the weather folks were predicting areas with little or no wind in our path.  Fortunately we found enough wind to get to Antigua in  9 days and 1 hour, which also gave Peter a whole day to get to customs before departing for home the next day.  We had one of the most experienced crews ever, capable of handling any mechanical or sailing problem.  All in all, it was a very satisfying and pleasant trip!  A quick note for the record:  This year’s bath on the back deck was indeed the furthest north ever at 38 28 degrees North, it’s about 108 miles further north than the previous record of 36 40 in 2006!

Thanks for making the trip with us, we look forward to having you on board for the next trip!

November 28, 2009
Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

Hello Everybody,

Our morning arrival on Tuesday was a great relief to all because it meant Peter could celebrate Thanksgiving at home with his family. The morning timing was also a big help because it meant all 6 of us could pitch in to clean up the boat. This probably sounds picayune or nit-picking, but clean up is a huge time consuming deal! Remember we have just moved our 60′ home 1600 miles through the salty ocean full of splashes, breaking waves and salty air. Salt penetrates everywhere and attracts moisture and mildew, especially in warm, dark, closed spaces. For that reason we hose, wash with joy and rinse every inch of the exterior of the boat: deck, cockpit, hatches, hull, mast & boom, sails, lines, cushions, fishing gear and more. Inside we vacuum, then wipe down every surface with vinegar and water to cut the salt followed by Murphy’s Oil Soap to feed the finish. Foul weather gear, life jacket/harnesses and tethers, emergency flashlights, MOB watches, emergency gear pouches and other personal gear all get washed, rinsed and dried. Bedding gets aired or sent to the laundry. We were doubly fortunate in having a beautiful clear sunny day with none of the usual convection rain showers. Gear dried quickly. (In the photo gallery you will find a photo of Kim reading in the cockpit while everything was drying all around the deck.) The next step was putting up the awning and the “froo-froo” light in the cockpit, opening all the hatches and letting the balmy Caribbean breezes blow through.

While the crew was on clean up duty, Captain Jake had to play captain at Customs and Immigration. Unfortunately a clipper cruise ship had just arrived, so Jake had to wait about 2 hours for Customs to return to the office. Once he returned we took on 230.6 gallons of diesel. We had 31 gallons in the tanks when we got here. That was where we had planned to shut down the engine in any case, but the wind filled in before we had to make the measurement and the decision to stop motoring!

After everything was clean Leo took off for home and the rest of us broke out the rum and had a fine dinner of pork tenderloin. The boat was level, the hatches were open, the sky was clear and full of stars. We sat on deck and enjoyed our own company! Then we all fell into beds sans lee cloths for a full night’s sleep. (There is a photo of Jake in his bunk with lee cloth up, and my bunk empty.) We use the lee cloths to stay in the bunk when the boat heels. Jake was on the high side for the entire trip and had to have his lee cloth up, while Peter was on the low side and took great pleasure in goading Jake by not even putting his lee cloth up, except for one 6 hour period while we were rolling. That, he said, was strictly for insurance against having the entire crew laugh at him if he had rolled out of his bunk.

Chris and Kim have joined Jake and me for a mini vacation, Wednesday-Sunday, before we head home. Monday will find us moving the boat to the dock and closing the boat up to leave before watching Monday night football. Go Patriots! We all fly home together Tuesday, arriving in Providence about 7 pm.

Tomorrow I will try to get time at the computer to write again, but bear in mind that I will have to fight off the football fans because they watch the game on the computer.

All the best from the remaining crew of Avalanche, having as much fun in the sun as we can.