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!
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