Notes from the Skipper

 Holly and the girls have said it’s about time I did my bit on the blog – it hasn’t been for lack of trying, I have just been quite busy with fixing things and getting things Bristol fashion. I’ll start by filling in some blanks from the start of the journey, pre Holly and the girls flying out to Antigua.

The advance crew which consisted of 6 included myself, nephew Simon, Trevor & Dorie, Geoff & Carole (Trevor’s sister and brother-in-law). Simon and I flew in to find the other 4 who had arrived the day earlier were already finding their way round Orion and had done some provisioning. Trevor I met in the autumn of 2010 when I decided to get a sailing qualification. He ran the shore based yachtmaster course in Churchdown (evening classes) and I went on to do the practical Yacht Master Offshore ticket with him on his beautiful ketch ‘Ronar M’ based in Plymouth. For you yachties, Ronar is a Nicholson 38 – a real head turner. The advance crew had already begun a list of things that weren’t functioning, were missing or worn out. The list grew and grew as we looked at the boat in more detail. There is always something to fix on a cruising yacht but it did seem that maintenance had been a little lacking. Our man on the ground David George was sent off to the chandlery and hardware store many times for various spares and supplies. Basically, what was meant to be a bit of a jolly for the crew, albeit a potentially hard sail from Tortola to Antigua, turned out to be nearly 4 days of fixing things and waiting for parts / repairs to be done. We eventually set off from the NE corner of the BVI at about dusk past Mr Branson’s Island (Necker) into a fairly heavy sea and about 22 knots on the nose (dead against us). The traveller car(holds the boom down to the boat) pulled off less than an hour into the journey and showered us and the dinghy with very expensive balls. With Trevor’s quick thinking and a bit of precarious monkey business up on the targa bridge (thing that looks like a spoiler towards the back end), we lashed something up which would eventually hold as a jury rig all the way to Antigua. I have to say, that famous line from a good cruising friend on a boat called ‘Double Bells’ - ‘nothing goes to windward like a 747’ was going through my mind on a regular basis. The motion of a catamaran motor sailing to windward is really not pleasant and those in the forward cabins were feeling like they had entered Groundhog Day at Alton Towers’ most gut wrenching ride. Both Simon and I were sick, a first for both of us. It was short lived and not at all debilitating – thank goodness! Having decided regretfully that there was no time to stop in Sint Maarten, we pushed on a bit further and got our heads down for a few hours on the far west tip of St Barts (without clearing customs – tut tut). Then another overnighter loomed to Antigua but the seas and the wind had waned and it was an altogether much more pleasant experience but still with the wind on the nose. Karma came to us a couple of hours out from Antigua in the form of a good sized Spanish Mackerel. Although we deliberated for a while about eating it as there are risks in certain areas of Ciguatera (fish poisoning). Once we were safely anchored in English Harbour, I sought out a local fisherman who happened to have caught an identical sized fish and told us we were safe providing it was not caught around Redonda (worth Googling – very odd customs). The fisherman also advised us to fillet the fish and not cook it on the bone but I was already one step ahead and the said fillets were chilling nicely in Orion’s super efficient fridge. A big fish supper was had by all and never have I felt a crew deserved it more. We are very grateful to the advance crew for a safe passage and hope that they enjoyed some of it. Thanks to Dorie & Carole who kept the boys fed and watered and to Trevor, Simon & Geoff for their hard work and good sense of humour.

Being in English Harbour almost felt like home. It was the first landfall Holly and I made in Leopard Star after our crossing from Cape Town in 2001. It is a beautiful harbour with so much history (Nelson’s dockyard) and a great place for the girls to find their feet. We were anchored off Freemans Bay in the harbour (fairly poor holding with Eel grass and the odd patch of sand) and probably saw at least 20 turtles around the boat every day. The other very good reason for being off this bay is that there is a walk up to Shirley Heights (a naval lookout post and officer’s dwelling) where one of the best night’s out in the Caribbean is to be had. On a Sunday night, for the last 40 years a 12 piece steel band starts to play from 4pm and does a 3 hour set. This is followed by a sort of reggae / mainstream band that goes on till 11pm. We all did the walk called ‘Desmond’s trail which is basically a partial rock climb or at least a 1 in 3 for ½ a mile. Darcy and Isla skipped up there like mountain goats, leaving us trailing and sweating behind. They were mesmerised by the steel band and we were treated to an eclectic mix from Bob Marley to Abba to Rossini. Isla seemed to go into a crazy dance mode and kept it up for a couple of hours – she became quite the spectacle with both the tourists and locals alike. I used to have stamina like that! In the interest of staying in one piece we took a taxi back down the hill. This was my third visit to Shirley Heights and the first time I can remember the return journey – it’s that sort of place!

Anyway the first sail with the girls went very well and despite being up wind to Green Island, we had no casualties. It was a very benign 10-15 knots and 1-2 metre waves. We came back down wind to Falmouth Harbour yesterday in similar conditions and finally, completely under sail, we were able to see what Orion was made of. We averaged about 7.5 knots with one reef in the main on a broad reach (for the benefit of you sailors) and it was very comfortable + the bonus of a small 3lb Spanish Mackerel (more posh fish fingers!).

Signing off now for a couple of days of preparation for making our way down island to Guadeloupe.