YOLO, LLC . . . You Only Live Once

Don't always believe the channel markers.  But, to think we arrived through here in the dark.  Hmmmm...

We are finding food and clothing to be very expensive down here.  With no money left, we have resorted mostly to fish and fruit.  While I fish, Colleen forages for berries and coconuts.  Clothing is courtesy of Tommy Hilfilger's reminant store of reduced price scraps in his hogfilger line.

May 1, 2008 – Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

It looks GREAT!!!  Colleen and I spent most of the day sanding and varnishing the manway entry into the galley of YOLO.  This is actually the third time since December that I’ve done this.  I just haven’t been happy with the results until now.  Not only is it varnished nicely; we have new tread pads for the steps, which we’ll put on tomorrow.  What an improvement. 

I finally managed to get the empty propane bottle filled.  It was quite the dinghy ride over and past Crown Point.  It was very intimidating as I took the dinghy down a narrow channel in front of St Thomas’s primary power plant and industrial area.  A far cry from paradise. 

We headed into town for no particular reason at all and had a couple drinks with a family from Georgia.  The 30-year old son came to visit his parents.  The son was a good-looking guy named Larry that had quite the story for his airport arrival in St Thomas.  He was escorted off of the plane by 7 drug agents and held for two hours.  He was strip searched to his underwear.  It was kind of funny as he told this story because he had actually arranged a date with two of the airline stewardesses for that night on St Thomas.  So when he said goodbye upon exiting his first class seat. The girls watched as agents surrounded him.  Needless to say, the date was off.

Of course, one has to wonder why he was pinpointed for this embarrassing intrusion.  He feels that he was profiled, and I agree.  He was wearing casual clothes although he had a nice gold watch and expensive ring.  He had a first class airline ticket for a 4 day round trip hop to St Thomas.  Obviously there’s money talking there that’s coming from somewhere.  The father had a wooden leg.  He lost it 14 years ago in Bermuda after a moped accident. 

April 30, 2008 – Compass Point to Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas

Another very busy day.  I hoofed it down to Red Hook in the morning to cash out some signed over traveler checks left to us a couple of months ago.  No bank would touch them along the way.  I was told I have to have an account with the bank.  So, I do have a checking account with a bank on St Thomas.  And that leads me into a little bitch session.

It never ceases to amaze me how the local black population in the Virgin Islands can be so unfriendly.  I’ve spoke of this so many times.  It’s just become more and more apparent after seeing the wonderful people down island.  I could go on and on and on about specifics but its not worth it.  The story is always the same.  They won’t look at you, they just grunt.  You ask a serious question, and you may get a weak nod or a faint grunt, neither is usually distinguishable.  The best examples are bank tellers, customs agents, grocery checkers, and so on.  They won’t smile.  They hate their lives and they hate us for being a part of it.  They talk to you in gibberish even though they can speak perfectly good Midwestern English if they wanted to.  So you ask them to repeat it as many times as it takes to figure it out.  Now most restaurant and non-essential establishments have very friendly people.  This is a must of course to survive.  Most of the time though, if you ask a friendly local where they are from, they’ll tell you they came here from somewhere other than the Virgin Islands.

Now back to the bank.  I stood in line behind a man from India.  He struggled through his business with the Teller and had one final question.  He had an envelop of US paper money amounting to about $300.  He had ones, fives, tens.  He requested an exchange for three one hundred dollar bills.  “No, we don’t do that,” says the bitch.  He asked why but never got an answer.  She just rolled her eyes and said no, she wouldn’t do it.  He walked away frustrated and baffled.

Now it’s my turn.  When filling out my deposit slip, I requested some cash back.  I had money in the account aside from the checks I was depositing to cover my request.  “No, you can’t do that”, says the bitch with a glare.  “Why not”, says the stupid white guy?  Long pause …. “You can’t do that”.  The cycle repeated three times with no explanation.  I had to fill out a new deposit slip.  I didn’t have any checks and I don’t carry my ATM card for this bank so I walked away empty-handed.

I got Mathias from VIP to come and do an oil change on YOLO for me on his lunch hour.  So the general engine maintenance is now complete with the oil change and both fuel filters changed.  Dave came by and did his measurements for my new bimany so that will be ready when we return to Compass Point either on the 8^th or 9^th.

Colleen and I took the bus up to Home Depot in the afternoon.  We also checked out a store called Cost Uless.  It’s a warehouse type store like Sams Club with pretty reasonable pricing.  We hope to use it for some more provisioning before we leave the island for good.  I also hit an Ace Hardware and Budget Marine also today.  We are stocking up on materials for boat projects.  Our missions were very successful.  Yolo is really coming along. 

Say, we had a unique and rare exception to the unfriendly local rule today.  A young local girl stopped in her car and asked us where we were going and if we would like a ride.  We accepted.  She was wonderful.  She was 20 years old and born here.  She asked for nothing, she was just being nice.  We had to force our $2 on her that we had ready for the bus.  I honestly think that’s very rare. 

After accomplishing our missions, we pulled out of the slip and headed for Charlotte Amalie.  I should now be within dinghy distance of getting my propane bottles filled.  This also gives us a chance to check out the big town.  We had dinner at the Green House.

April 29, 2008 – St Thomas, Compass Point Marina, VIP

The day was mostly successful.  I got some of my marine parts at Budget Marine here in Compass Point.  Then we took a bus up to the Kmart area.  Between that and an auto parts store, I got most of what I need to work on the boat. 

Oh, we have music back on YOLO.  Although my big IPOD is history, Colleen’s little IPOD Shuffle can now be patched into the boat stereo.  So we can have at least 200 songs available at any given time and change the song list via computer anytime we want.  We were getting pretty tired of the reggae rap crap that was on some of these local stations. 

Getting a propane bottle filled here on St Thomas is no better than any other island in the Caribbean.  We have to take it to Crown Bay near Charlotte Amalie to get it filled.  So we decided to sail up that way tomorrow rather than try to take the bottle by bus.  Then we’ll get to check out Charlotte Amalia for a day or two. 

My dodger and my jib are off for repairs today at Neptunes Loft.  The Bimany work will start tomorrow.  I had an oil change scheduled for 4 PM but the guy never showed up.  I’d do it myself but I don’t have the tools.  They suck the oil out rather than drain it.  What a pain trying to get things done sometimes.

We had a great evening with some new friends at the Marina Dock.  They were Jack and Kee Wee.  Jack is the owner of this huge luxury power boat.  Kee Wee is the workhorse that maintains it for him.  The boat was amazing.  We got a complete tour.  It has everything, and I mean everyyyyyything. 

They invited us over for cocktails and we talked for several hours.  It so happens that they both new Donna Lange.  So we called Donna via Skype and chatted a bit.  Donna remembered Jack and Kee Wee well and even had a picture of the two of them that she emailed to us while we were on the Skype phone.  I guess everybody knows everybody down here.

April 28, 2008 – St Thomas, Compass Point Marina, VIP

It was a workday on YOLO.  I got a hold of Skip and we ran the new main halyard line through the top of the mast.  I was able to run my second reef line through the boom by myself with some help from Colleen.  That was tricky.  So now the sail rigging is back to normal after the main halyard broke a couple of months ago. 

Dave, from Neptunes Loft stopped by very late in the day to assess the bimany project.  I’m also going to have him do some repairs to my dodger and touchup the jib sail.  He’ll be back in the morning to collect everything.  So hopefully by Wednesday morning, I can pull out of here and seek some quiet bay to do some tender loving boat detailing. 

April 27, 2008 – St Thomas, Compass Point Marina, VIP

WERE HOME!!!  At least were back on St Thomas at VIP Yacht Charters.  Even though I’m no longer part of the fleet, Glen was gracious enough to loan me a slip for a few days.  We have lots of projects to tend to over the next week or two.  We’ll get things rolling and pickup supplies before relocating to a quiet bay somewhere to do more work. 

Jimmy and his imaginary friend

April 26, 2008 – St John, Caneel Bay

Headed around the point into Cruz Bay in search for wireless Internet.  Our search was long and hard.  It turned out that there is complimentary wireless Internet right in the central town park.  Very convenient except I need a place to plug in for power.  All the outlets around the park were turned off.  So, I ended up sitting on concrete under the ferry dock ticket booth for over two hours.  But it was worth it.

The only sailing charts I am missing are the US East coast.  Now, I have those coming via DVD.  They’ll be delivered to Iowa and Roger Swanson will be bringing them down when he comes on May 9^th. 

We have the go ahead to dock in one of the VIP Yacht Charters slips in Compass Point for a few days starting Sunday night.  This will be a big help.  I have a lengthy list of things to accomplish during that time.  I don’t really like being in there any longer than I have to be because it gets so hot.  So we’ll do what we have to do and then pull out for a few days until Roger arrives. 

I’ve never mentioned Jimmy before.  Jimmy and his friend are extreme regulars in the bars of Cruz Bay.  Jimmy is probably in his 60’s.  His friend, well, we can’t see his friend, only Jimmy can.  I’ve been observing Jimmy and his friend for years and years in Cruz Bay.  It’s a guarantee that he’ll be there and its rare for him to not bring his friend.  Colleen and I watched Jimmy have several lengthy conversations with his friend, including a couple of heated arguments.  I wish they could just get along.  Jimmy had to move to the other end of the bar after someone sat down in his friend’s chair.  I’m not sure if Jimmy’s friend was crushed or had just left for the bathroom. 

April 25, 2008 – St John, Caneel Bay

The winds are gone.  There’s no sailing today.  I had to motor along St John to get to Caneel Bay where we grabbed a mooring ball.  I was hoping we could be in range of some wireless Internet from the boat.  I used to pick up the Caneel Bay Resort but they now open it only to there own guests.  Bummer, that means I have to buy a room for $2000 a day.  The expenses are really adding up.

If I could come up with regrets over this whole experience, one would be that I don’t really know how to fish.  I’ve always found the concept of fishing to be boring and a waste of time.  However, the money we could have saved would be tremendous. 

Michael Bean                  Vegetable Lasagna                 The Willy T                     Dead Calm

April 24, 2008 – Sopers Hole, Tortola and St John, Lienster Bay

Were getting anxious to move on.  I’m basically killing time until Monday when the measurements will be taken for my new bimany.  The new bimany will be blue and match the stack sack for my sail.  It will really sharpen up the boat.  I need to be in the marina at Compass Point on Sunday night.  My new main sail should come the following week and then Roger Swanson arrives on May 9^th. 

We took off around noon from Norman Island to Sopers Hole on Tortola to clear customs.  We also picked up some grocery items and ice.  We had planned to head for Jost Van Dyke next but decided to opt for a calm anchorage and do some more work on the boat.  Lienster Bay on St John was the choice and calm it was.  The boat didn’t move an inch all night. 

April 23, 2008 – Norman Island

Sure enough, Otto’s (autopilot) problem can be attributed to a can of beans.  Yes, maybe the tuna had some part of it as well. 

My hunch was right.  Colleen had reorganized our food pantry down in the galley.  She was not aware that the compass for Otto is located in the same compartment.  There were can goods stacked up against the compass causing it to go haywire.  It doesn’t like being around metal objects.  The compass was located down there because it’s the closest point to the center of the boat and the water line.  Anyway, I took YOLO out for a calibration run and this time, it took.  Otto seems fine now.

We have had a great time snorkeling the last couple of days.  The waters are back to being calm again and so so clear.  I remember being on Norman Island once before in 23 years where the water was this clear.  It’s spectacular.  After spending the morning on projects, we took the afternoon to go snorkeling.  First at the Indians, about a mile from our anchorage, and then the caves just around the point.  Absolutely beautiful snorkeling.  We couldn’t get enough of it. 

We observed an interesting change in the environment from years past.  I used to enjoy feeding the fish at the caves and creating a frenzy of small fish near the boat.  Then someone could go in the water and take pictures in the middle of the fish frenzy.  The problem now is the birds.  These obnoxious birds are there to grab the bread before it even hits the water. 

We ended the day over at the infamous Willy T.  Same old place.  Always a great time for all.  I’m going to miss that place.

April 22, 2008 – Norman Island

Off to Norman Island where we can do some more boat work in nice calm water.  The sail was pretty relaxing except Otto decided to act up.  He wouldn’t hold a course at all.  He would just decide to do a hard turn, sometimes right and sometimes left for no reason at all.  I spent over an hour trying to recalibrate the autopilot compass outside of Norman Island with no luck.  I could turn circles and the compass would not even read a full 360 degrees.  I gave up for the day but, as often happens in the night; I have a hunch for tomorrow.

Colleen likes to ask me what I would like for dinner from time to time.  I usually tell her, either vegetable lasagna or fillet mignon, jokingly of course.  I usually have no clue what is in the refrigerator so my point is; whatever works is fine with me.  Well, tonight I got vegetable lasagna, made from scratch on YOLO.  I didn’t think it could be done but it was awesome.

April 21, 2008 – Marina Cay

What a glorious relief for the Captain.  The day went perfectly as planned.  Maybe a little slow but I’ve gotten used to that.  I took off on a mission at 6:30AM to park myself in front of the Yanmar Dealer office.  Yanmar is the brand name of my engine.  I was looking specifically for Chris Cook how is the Yanmar Technician.  I felt confident that he would figure out my electrical phopah pretty quickly.  I was right.

I finally got Chris to the boat about 11:30 AM.  He looked at my panel and ran his voltage tester around a bit and as he was doing it, it hit me.  There was a little termination strip that was part of what I played with.  I asked Chris at that point if that was more like a min buss bar.  He first said, no.  Then he tested it and sure enough, it was.  So, when I pulled my two wires to create a direct splice, I removed the 12-volt source to other wires.  Problem solved.  Pretty stupid actually.  I knew it was going to be. 

Now, those of you that are somewhat technical are thinking, Neil, you idiot.  Why didn’t try putting the wires back where they were and see what happens.  Well in my weak defense, you have to see this little buss bar.  It clearly looks like a terminal strip, honest.  I GOOFED UP!!!

We were out of the Marina about 1 PM heading for Marina Cay.  We hoped to catch Michael Beans show this evening.  As we approached the anchorage area, I could see nearly 100 boats.  And it was only 2 PM.  There were no mooring balls left, which was fine, I’d rather anchor.  But it was amazing.  Michael plays from January 1 through June 30^th every year now for 8 years.  His show has become the best in the islands, hands down.  It’s amazing the draw he creates.  You can come by in December and it’s nearly empty.

We met up with Neil Perks and his skydiving friends once again.  That wasn’t planned but it worked out well.  Michael’s show was great.  He is certainly in top-notch form and he has smoothed his show to perfection.  I talked with Michael for quite some time after the show.  I have watched his act evolve over his full 8 years at Marina Cay.  We reminisced about the first couple years.  He even remembers when I bumped his microphone into his teeth on year 1.  He didn’t have a stage back then and we started dancing right in front of him.  Whoops. 

I shared my BVI Customs experience with Michael and the whole incident really set him off.  He confirmed that I should definitely have 24-hours according to some international maritime rule.  He said that he got a guy fired a few years ago by reporting something similar to the BVI Prime Minister (might not be proper title?).  So, I do intend to follow-up on this when I can get back on the Internet.

Neil Perks, Cooper, Colleen and Me                                              Donna Lange, Cooper, Colleen and Me


April 19 thru 20, 2008 – Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor

Wow, the last 24 hours have been a blur.  I’m not sure where to begin.  How about at 10:30 AM yesterday when we pulled into the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor and took a slip.  My cockpit instrument panel electrical problem gave me no choice but to go dockside.  I need shore power to keep my batteries up until I can solve this problem.  It’s very likely that I’ll need outside help (for the first time).  I just don't have the resources.  My wiring diagram is in French and I just can't figure this out.  There is a Yanmar Technician here in the harbor that I hope to secure on Monday morning for a look-see. 

We were on a mission to hookup with Donna Lange who is in the islands for one week.  Donna is expecting us on Beef Island on Saturday and I can’t get there via YOLO.  So Colleen and I managed to catch a ferry and a cab to the airport area of Beef Island. 

Donna Lange was here supporting her friend Neil Perks who is a key organizer of Tortola’s first “Air Show” in 40 years.  Neil got involved by accident, but his involvement was crucial.  Neil has lived on Tortola for the last 15 years and literally knows every body.  I do mean literally. 

Flying, and big time Air Shows has been Neil’s life.  It wasn’t until the startup organizers found him that the show potential really took off.  And wow, what show they put on.  The attendance was phenomenal for the size island of Tortola.  There had to be at least 10,000 spectators, or more.  It was a huge success.  What made this special for us is that Neil Perks made us VIP guests of the Air Show, and his personal guests from 2PM Saturday through 9AM Sunday morning.  Talk about one hell of a great guy.  We were privileged to be in his company as well as all of the stunt pilots brought in from all over the US.  Neil and three of his long time friends opened the show with a skydiving exhibition.  Neil, the most experienced, has over 1700 jumps.  Neil was rated the 3^rd best skydiving competitor in the world at one time and was number 1 in his homeland of Canada for two years as well.  Neil included us in their private party in Trellis Bay at the Loose Mongoose last night (an old stomping grounds for me).  This included an incredible evening meal and open bar.  He also put us up for the night in his home and bought us breakfast along with his team this morning.  He also drove us all over the island.  

Now, what about Donna.  For those that don’t know, Donna has been a friend of mine for several years.  Since meeting her on Marina Cay in about 2002 (?), I have been a prime supporter of Donna in her quest to sail her 28-foot sloop around the world.  My unsolicited part was to create a website for Donna and maintain it.  You can read more about Donna on that website at donnalange.com. 

Donna accomplished her goal last year of sailing around the world.  Wow, what a hair raising journey that became.  I logged the event almost daily for two years on the website I created.  It gives me goose bumps to hear how appreciative she is of this effort.  Neil Perks shared this gratitude as well and I guess that’s one reason he has been so generous to us while we were here, besides just being a great guy. 

It was a fantastic reunion with Donna.  We got the extra bonus of meeting one of her two sons, Cooper.  What a cool guy he is too.  Cooper is a story in itself.  He’s one of these outrageous extreme snowboarders and has some video and photo stuff to prove it.  When I say extreme, I mean like shooting off of cliffs and dropping down shear mountainsides on a snowboard.  I believe some clips can be found through donnalange.com.  It doesn’t stop there.  He’s also an extreme kayaker, shooting huge rapids and high waterfalls, that sort of thing.  

After an incredible evening with all these people, we headed back to Neil Perks place and relaxed to some of Donna’s new music.  Since the CD isn’t out yet, we got a first hand show.  Donna’s voice is in its prime if you ask me.  She can still sing like a bird.    

April 18, 2008 – Virgin Gorda, Trunk Bay

After spending the night on a mooring off of the Baths, we decided to relocate the boat back at Trunk Bay and just hang out for the day.  I decided to do some maintenance and created myself an electrical problem.  In the process of solving one problem with my cockpit instrument panel, I created another.  As a result, my alternator is not charging my batteries.  This isn’t good.  If I can’t figure this out, I’m going to have to take the boat into the Virgin Gorda Yacht harbor and possibly find some support.  

April 17, 2008 – Virgin Gorda, Trunk Bay

We are going to enjoy the Baths and Trunk Bay for a couple more days.  We have two reasons.  I want to hook up with Donna Lange, a friend of mine that sailed solo around the world in a 28-foot sloop.  We also want to catch Michael Bean and his Show on Marina Cay on Monday or Tuesday.  I’ve seen the show a million times so it’s more to say hello to Michael for the first and last time this season.  We were not able to connect with him in December. 

                                                         NEWS FLASH

BIG NEWS:  ROGER SWANSON HAS AGREED TO JOIN YOLO FOR IT’S FINAL JOURNEY TO THE CHESAPEAKE BAY!!! 

Roger is a longtime friend from Fort Dodge, Iowa and Twin Lakes.  He was on my very first, and second, sailing trip to the Virgin Islands with dad in 1985 and 1988.  He’s done many charters of his own in the Virgin Islands over the years.  Roger has maintained his 1^st place standings in the Sweet 16 sailing class at Twin Lakes almost every year for years and years.  So I expect that we’ll now be able cut our sailing time down by at least 20%!!!!  Roger is flying to St Thomas on May 9^th for our scheduled departure of May 11, 2008.

April 16, 2008 – Virgin Gorda, Trunk Bay

This was a delightful day.  The weather was absolutely perfect.  I have rarely seen this area without, at least, some rolling swells coming in.  But today, it was flat and that accommodated the best snorkeling adventure I think I’ve ever had.  Colleen and I swam nearly a mile along the coastline of the Baths and took it all in.  The water was extremely clear and fish were everywhere.  For the first time, we were able to swim into areas of the huge boulders that I’d never seen before because of water surging in and out.  We were able to get into places you just can’t normally go.  I actually got a little sunburn on my back from being out there so long. 

Now the story of the day.  I have said many many times that the locals of the USVI and the BVI are the unfriendliest people in all of the islands.  I’ve also said many many times that the BVI Customs and Immigration is a joke.  The officers thrive on hassling you.  It’s been that way for as long as I’ve ever been coming down here.  I’ve been hassled for having a damp t-shirt, forgetting to cross a “t”, not having correct change down to a penny; I could go on and on.  After some 25 Customs and Immigration experiences over the last 4 months, this one topped them all.  I really thought I was going to jail, and frankly, I wish they put me there.

I went to Customs at about 3 PM after arriving in the BVI at 11:30 PM the night before.  Now anywhere I’ve ever been, checking in within 24 hours is perfectly acceptable keeping in mind that I just sailed over from Anguilla, not the US Virgin Islands.  Well apparently it’s not here.  Immigration wanted to charge me a $250 fine for not coming in at opening time of 8:30 AM.  The kicker was that every question I was asked, and subsequently answered, would dig me deeper into trouble.  They asked if I had ever been to the BVI before.  I told them yes I had, countless times.  Wrong answer, that nearly got me a $5000 fine because I should know procedure. 

Now, I’m talking to Immigration here.  Picture the Customs Agent in the next room laughing at everything that’s going on.  Then there was another female agent in the background laughing as well.  I asked to speak with a superior officer and another man came in and basically read me my rights, which were none.  I would have to pay the $250 or be held.  I asked this superior officer, why two of the other agents were laughing.  He said they are not Immigration, they are Customs and they are not laughing.  I saw the Customs man get up and walk out of his room.  I told the Superior that I didn’t have $250.  He argued that I couldn’t be sailing a boat without having access to at least $250.  He said it would be unacceptable to come back in the morning with the cash.  He said I couldn’t be trusted.  I told him that he has my passport.  No, I had to get it now from the ATM.  They told me if I don’t stop being arrogant, they would apply the $5000 fine.  At that point, I stopped talking and slowly began filling out the four required forms.  I knew it was closing time after being there a good hour so I took my time.  I frankly didn’t care what they did next.

So the paperwork is done.  The now somber Customs Agent does his thing first.  I owe him $0.20 for the Customs form and he checks me through.  Now, back to Immigration.  I didn’t say anything unless they asked.  They asked me one more time “So you don’t have $250”?  I said no.  The Superior came out and had a discussion with Customs about banning me permanently from the BVI.  Then it came to having me head out at first light for the USVI.  Finally, the officer told me to be at the office, with $250, at 8:30 AM tomorrow morning.  I then reached in my wallet and laid $250 on the counter.  I asked for a receipt with a detailed explanation of my charges and any information they could provide regarding an appeal process.  One of the Immigration Officers did one of his disgusting gyrations and told me I had lied to them AGAIN!  I told him, “That money was not meant for Immigration fines, it was meant for groceries”.  Again he accused me of lying and I told him that the contents of my wallet were none of their business.  They conducted some gibberish in the background.  A couple minutes later, the Superior came out and told me to keep the $250 and buy groceries with it.  He said that I should consider myself duly warned and to never do this again.  He said he doesn’t want me to have a bad impression of the BVI.  I was free to go.

Tell me now, what is going on here?  I do intend to follow-up.

April 15, 2008 – Anguilla to Virgin Gorda, Trunk Bay

We sailed off to Virgin Gorda early on Tuesday morning.  Our original plan was to head for St Croix but I over slept a bit.  I was going to have to drop anchor in the dark and I felt much more comfortable doing it in familiar territory.  Maybe we’ll pick up St Croix later but I’ve never been too impressed with it.

It was kind of nice doing a long day sail at sea.  I’m used to doing these mostly at night.  The seas were actually pretty flat but we did have a slight roll coming in crossways, which made it very obnoxious.  The winds were light so we didn’t even average 5 knots.  Otto did a splendid job.  I have changed the setup on Otto just a bit which will make it much more reliable for the rougher seas.  Our arrival time off the beach at Virgin Gorda was 11:30 PM. 

April 13 thru 15, 2008 – Anguilla

I got several maintenance projects done on Sunday.  We did decided to rent a car on Monday and do a little exploring of Anguilla.  It was nothing like I suspected.  The island was very run down.  I was not aware that Hurricane Lenny hit Anguilla in 1999.  It must have hit hard.  We are not sure why, but literally half, if not more than half, of the buildings on this island are under construction.  Or, they are abandon construction projects.  The homes are pretty trashy.  The ground is pretty much red dirt like Arkansas and filled with rock so construction is probably difficult.  There are those high-end exclusive hotels and villas that we hear about but there aren’t that many.  I would have to say that this is not an island I would come back to unless I could afford to hold myself up in one of these resort type environments.     

April 11 thru 13, 2008 – St Martin, Orient Bay to Anguilla

We sailed on Saturday from St Martin, Orient Bay to Anguilla.  This is a first time for me to stop at Anguilla.  It’s a flat island.  I’m not sure if we’ll explore this too extensively.  It seems to be an expensive and rather exclusive island.  Lots of high-end hotels and dining.  Just what were in to?  I understand the beaches are great but how can they exceed anything we’ve already seen.  I suppose were getting to the point where we’ve seen the best of the best in the Caribbean.  I still must say though, my favorite beach is on Virgin Gorda and is still the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen. 

My big focus now is the trip planning for the Chesapeake Bay.  This is huge for me and requires a lot of planning.  At this point, I am hoping to set sail on May 11 (or sooner).  The date has been determined by the arrival of my new mainsail. 

The first leg of the trip will be 550 miles and take approximately 3.5 days to Providenciales.  This island is part of the Bahamas extensive Turks and Caicos Islands.  There is a nice Americanized marina there with lots to do for a good rest. 

Although all dates are totally approximate, we hope to set sail again around May 18^th for a 524 mile run.  This should take about 3 days and we’ll end up on Grand Bahama Island.

By the way, all of the miles that I describe in my log have been traditional statute miles.  We actually sail according to nautical miles, which is a little less.  I’m not sure why I started using statute miles in the log but I’m not going to stop now. 

The third and last leg of the trip will begin around May 25^th and take us 860 miles up to the Chesapeake Bay.  Our destination is Gloucester, Virginia.  My current estimate for this leg is 5 days.  I am counting on riding the Gulf Stream as much as possible but I need to do more homework on this.  The Gulf Stream looks like it will add 2.5 knots or better to our speed if we can find the middle.  A huge advantage.

In addition to this fairly direct route plan, I’m also trying to research possible stopping points in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.  At this point, these would be bailout stops in case of weather or boat problems.  I’ll do the same with the US East Coast.

April 5 thru April 10, 2008 – St Maartin, Phillipsburg

We have been working hard on the boat.  I got a number of little projects tackled.  I had an extensive list of items to purchase and we got it all done.  One item was actually a vacuum cleaner.  I found the perfect Shop-Vac.  It’s bigger than a Dustbuster but small enough for the boat.  Sanding projects get messy without a decent way to clean up after yourself. 

Our transportation around the island has been by the local bus system.  We had planned to rent a car one day but this is working out perfectly, and it’s cheap.  We can go across the island for $1.50 each.  Can’t beat that.  You can get on and off pretty much anywhere.  So heck with the rental car. 

We did take some time on Monday to get to a beach.  We also stopped at the Sunset Beach Bar by the airport and met some great people.  One couple even gave us a ride back to Phillipsburg and then we met for a drink at “The Greenhouse”.

After cleaning up the boat a bit, by Thursday (10^th) we were ready to head around the island for Orient Bay, St Martin.  Departure customs was step one though.  It didn’t go so well.  The office is about a mile away.  I had forgotten my wallet so I had to make the trip twice.  Almost three times because once I got my wallet, I realized there wasn’t enough money in it anyway.  Thank goodness for ATM’s.  Next, we topped off the diesel, the water tanks, and the dinghy fuel. 

Colleen has been running most every day lately.  She helped by running back to the dinghy and ultimately getting my wallet.  I’m sure she got a good 4 miles in.  Me, I’m really out of shape.  It’s been hard for me to get motivated.  I’m not sure how Colleen is managing that but she is.  I’ll have to hit it hard when I get home to Iowa. 

FLASHBACK – JANUARY 20, 2003 – VIRGIN GORDA

This is a lame story about a particular person I had on the boat one week.  I believe I have written about this individual in a prior flashback and referred to him as John Boe.  As explained in my prior flashback story, there were some basic personality conflicts that lead to this individual, and his girlfriend, being the first and last persons ever to be scuttled at sea.  None of the silly things below had anything to do with that.  You’ll have to scroll down to read that story.  These are just some of the other fun quirks that are worth sharing.

I must first qualify all this by saying that John Boe is a really nice guy.  I know he has a heart of gold but he just simply was not cut out for this trip.  It might have been that he was just trying to prove himself to his short time girl friend and his newfound friends on YOLO. 

The first circumstance revolved around his eating schedule.  He needed to consume high protein food every three hours, on the hour.  At first it was comical, then each night when we heard the can of tuna pop at 2AM, and then again at 5AM, it began to get irritating.  At least he saved the blended protein drinks for the daylight hours.  You might ask, why was he doing this?  He was a regimented body builder and his body was a prime specimen.  Actually, it seriously was.  He had not an ounce of fat on him and he was built for competition.   We estimated that John took about 30 pills a day of various vitamin components.  It was quite funny to see John in a panic for his protein when others were consuming kitchen space.  John would essentially cause a halt to traditional dinner preparation while he concocted his blender drink.  Once he was finished, work could resume. 

John didn’t like suggestions when it came to, well, most anything.  I’ll never forget how I told Jane and John about all of the cameras I had seen get ruined at the Baths (Virgin Gorda).  Salt water and cameras are a deadly mix.  Even a tiny drop of salt water will ruin a camera.  So my suggestion to John was to protect it well as we trudged through the huge boulders and pools at the Baths.  Refusing the suggestion, it wasn’t 5 minutes before his (no wait, it was Jane’s camera he was carrying) bit the dust.  Oh so sad. 

Later on the same day, we anchored off of my favorite beach on Virgin Gorda.  As John clearly noted, and the words are now spoken in jest on YOLO almost daily, “IT’S JUST ANOTHER DAMN BEACH”.  John meant it seriously though as he had no appreciation for this beauty.   The swells were large and the beach was unapproachable by dinghy.  My suggestion was to swim in and use a lifejacket if you want to.  John, having his own opinion, refused to accept my plan and insisted that I take John and Jane to shore by dinghy.  We went on about this for a while when I decided, okay fine.  I really shouldn’t have but I was so sick of him second-guessing me that I guess I wanted to prove a point.  So in we went, only the three of us.  I refused to take my other guests.  The dinghy surfed up onto the beach and then was smacked by the next follow-up wave, and then again.  Fortunately, no one got caught underneath of it as we attempted to pull it onto the beach.  It was close though.  I decided I had to get the dinghy back to YOLO.  The dinghy was completely full of sand and water by the time I got it back out of the surf and headed back.  John and Jane, although totally soaked and sand drenched, were now safely on shore.

It turned out to be a nice beach day on Virgin Gorda.  But we learned from John and Jane that one should never leave their beach towel in the sun unattended.  No, not because someone might take it, but because it might fade.  We learned proper etiquette when walking past a topless sunbather.  It’s not adequate to simply not stare; one should hold ones hand over ones eyes to prevent the possibility of a peripheral peak.  And one should trot to reduce the time exposure. 

Hah, that reminded me of another circumstance.  Shame on me.  Oh well, its time to tell all.  One morning on the boat, our other female guests were clad in t-shirts.  John had simply had just about enough.  He requested that the girls put on proper undergarment to prevent nipple bumps, which would intern cause the males to lust, which of course was a sin.  I think they used band-ids.  

When it came to taking pictures on the boat, John had to prepare himself first.  At least 100 pushups were required before he would be properly prepped for a photo.  Up on the deck he would go, or down below and out of site for a bit.  When he returned, the blood would be flowing and the vessels would be bulging.  Say cheese!!!!  I tried very hard not to show pleasure on the day John lost his lunch during a sail. 

April 4, 2008 – St Barts to St Maartin

We pulled anchor at 8 AM and motored into the heart of Gustavia to fill the water tank.  I checked us out of Customs while Colleen grabbed a couple of grocery items.  We were off the dock by 9 AM to set sail for St Maartin.  It would be a short sail of about 19 miles. 

Our original destination was Orient Bay.  However, upon approaching, I realized it would be trouble ahead.  Orient Bay is a tricky approach in good circumstances but the 15-foot swells made it treacherous.  The closer we got, the bigger the swells got as the shelf got shallower.  Then I noticed the swells were actually starting to break the closer we got to the bay entrance.  I had Colleen check in the sailing guide and sure enough, it said if you’re reading less than 25 feet on the depth gage in large swells, don’t do it.  I saw 17 feet at one point.  It would be possible to hit bottom in the trough of a breaking swell so we changed our plan and headed to Phillipsburg.

While I was putting out the jib, I had Colleen steering.  She misunderstood me when I said to try to aim into the breaking swells.  We caught one broadside that nearly tipped us over.  I think YOLO was as close to sideways as she’d ever been.  Everything survived though.  It only took us another hour or so to get down to Phillipsburg.  I hope to spend a few days here working on the boat.  The list is long as my goal now is ensuring sale value and marketability.

Of course I had to clear Customs upon arrival.  That was a one-mile walk each way.  I noticed a liquor warehouse on the route so I stopped in on the return trip.  A large bottle of Kalua that would sell for over $30 in Iowa was $11.  I couldn’t pass up buy a whopping $39 of liquor.

STATISTICS 101

I was reviewing my records this morning and have some statistics to share.  To date, I have had a total of 106 different individuals on YOLO since I purchased her in 2000.  If I include all the repeats, I have had 318 individuals for trips on YOLO since 2000, including many 2-weekers.   I have spent 507 days, or 72 weeks, or 16.6 months on YOLO since 2000.  

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 1990 - VIRGIN ISLANDS

I’ll never forget the non stop laughter of the “all guy” trip in 1990.  Steve Peterson was the catalyst.  He had a spontaneous one liner for every circumstance.  He kept us going constantly.  The crew that year was Steve, Wayne Gordon from San Diego, Scott Van Gundy, Bill Thatcher

As with most of our trips, the question, “where are you from”, comes up almost daily in bar conversations.  With all of us coming from Iowa, we almost always hear back, “how do you learn to sail in Iowa”?  We would typically try to explain that there are lakes in Iowa and we learned on small boats, blah blah blah.  It would really get old trying to justify ourselves in these circumstances to seasoned Caribbean sailors.  

One night, out of the blue, Steve spoke up first to our unsuspecting conversationalist.  Steve looked this guy in the eyes and said, “What the hell is the big deal.  We were told you just put up the sails and go.  It seems to be working fine.  Why do you ask”?    From that point on, our answers to these typical questions took all kinds of turns.  It became a challenge to see how far we could string these people out. 

I recall talking with a woman on the same topic.  I explained that I bought the sailing video and learned through correspondence school.  Once that took, I expounded on the hands-on learning requirements.  This consisted of a radio-controlled model in the bathtub with a hair dryer.  The boat were sailing now is the same thing with bigger ropes.

April 3, 2008 – St Barts

What a wild night.  The winds were howling and still are this morning.  The boat is holding but it was one of those nights where you sleep with one eye open.  We are anchored in 32 feet of water, which is much more than I prefer.  We have every foot of chain out that’s available (150 feet).  Very strong gusts keep whipping us back and forth.  It’s hard to believe a chain and a 45-pound anchor can hold a 39-ton boat.  I notice that there is a boat anchored way out in the middle of the channel this morning.  I wonder if it dragged out there during the night.  I see the one boat that was directly behind us is now about 100 yards to the south of us.

We had originally planned to sail over to St Maartin this morning but after looking at the weather yesterday, I decided to stay here another night.  It’s really nasty out there.

April 2, 2008 - St Barts

Colleen worked on her taxes much of the day and I caught up on the Internet.  We sat in the little restaurant with wireless Internet across from Le Select, our favorite hamburger joint. 

As we were heading back to the boat by dinghy shortly after sunset, I barely noticed a black line strung across the water over 200 yards.  It was actually about 2 feet above the water.  It was off the stern of a huge cruise ship that was using one of the huge fuel tanker buoys.  You have to see this to believe it.  All I could think about was that someone was going to die tonight by getting flipped out of their dinghy.  I was fortunate to have seen it but 10 minutes later, it would be dark out.  It was strung right across the main channel with no lights or markers at all.  I’ll probably have more about this later.

April 1, 2008 – Barbuda to St Barts

We set sail at 7 AM for St Bart.  It was a nice sail.  Our arrival was about 4 PM or so.  After settling in, we took the dinghy in for a cheeseburger at Le Select.  Colleen mistook the hot sauce for catsup as she prepared our burgers so it was a little different. 

March 31, 2008 – Barbuda

We took the dinghy to shore at 9 AM where we would grab a water taxi across the lagoon to the main town on Barbuda.  I needed to check us out of customs and Colleen was hoping to pick up a couple of grocery items.  We shared the water taxi with three others.  One young couple was from Switzerland but born in the states.  They spoke fluent German and French.  They sailed their boat across the Atlantic and were touring the Caribbean as we were.  It sounds like their trip won’t end soon as they are considering the Great Lakes next, then putting the 45 footer on a train for Alaska.  From there they would sail down the Pacific side of the US.  Funding seemed to not be an issue for them.  I kick myself for not asking more about that.

I felt the steaks would shrink a bit after they got cooking so I wanted to get all of them on the grill at the same time.  I would layer a couple of them for rotation later.  I think Brad was the first to say, “maybe you should do them in two shifts”.  “Brad” I said; “I got it covered, I can do this, I’m the grill master.  Go make me a rum drink and leave me alone”.  Then I think it might have been Colleen, then Roger … Oh hell, I don’t know who was nagging me!!!!  I had it all under control. 

I had just got things going when a dinghy pulled up.   It was Bob and his wife from VIP Yacht Charters just stopping to say hello.  He was taking a couple of days off and was on a powerboat.  He said that he always wondered what my charters were like so this was his first hand opportunity to see us in action.

The music was going and the party was swinging as everyone anticipated the steaks.  A couple people were down below working up the side dishes.  I hollered down, “15 more minutes”.  As I stood near the stern of the boat, I heard a large thud.  When I turned around, all I could see was hot coals and ashes flying off the back end.  The grill was overcome by the weight of the steaks.  ALL SEVEN T-BONES WENT OVERBOARD!!!

I can’t tell you what that feels like?  I went into a dream state and didn’t come out of it for two days.  When I woke up, the story was the same.  I just dumped a good $140 worth of T-Bone steaks into the drink.  Brad, in his equally rational wisdom was grabbing his mask and snorkel to go on a steak hunt, along with the barracuda and sharks.  I could barely convince him that it wasn’t a good idea.  So I stood there, having to not only face my hungry crew, but also look at the smirk on BOB’S FACE!!  That was too much.

Well, I, and we, all recovered.  I ended up taking everyone out for dinner the following night at a restaurant on Virgin Gorda called “The Rock”.  Very costly I might add but I had to do something to save face.  I’m not sure if it worked but they eventually got over it.

March 20, 2008 – St Lucia, Rodney Bay

Thanks to Colleen’s masterful sewing ability, we got a new boom lift line strung through the top of the mast.  She sewed the old with the new, we taped it up and pulled it through the mast and pulleys.  The main halyard line will be a bit tougher.  This will require someone to be hoisted to the masthead to manually thread the new line down through the mast.  I need to either make sure I have someone that can safely hoist me up and down, or possibly send Colleen up the mast.  We’re still pondering that. 

It seems that I have a failing solenoid which is effecting the recharging of my house batteries.  I was suspicious of this when charging voltage took forever to kick in one day when we were running the engine.  The solenoid isolates the house batteries from the engine battery when the engine is off to make sure the engine will start regardless of how week the house batteries get.  When the engine is running, all batteries should be charging unless this solenoid isn’t doing its job.  I opened the engine compartment and asked Colleen to watch the voltage.  A tap on the solenoid was all it needed but I do need to replace it.  Add it to the list.

We also managed to get all of the rigging measurements taken for my new mainsail.  The weather was perfect for this, but lousy for our existence.  The morning was intensely hot and humid with no breeze at all.  We were in the center of some storm system.  I’m glad we weren’t out sailing; we’d be becalmed for sure. 

I was able to get on the Internet this morning and make a couple of phone calls.  I also had to fax some information.  One issue was the detailed specs for the mainsail.  I was able to get those faxed to North Sails in Puerto Rico. I also bit the bullet and officially signed a broker agreement to sell YOLO.  Yes, I am locked in for 6-months at 10%.  That is the going rate for Yachts.  Believe me, I researched the hell out of it.  My broker is in the Chesapeake Bay area where I hope to take my boat this spring.  That’s the part I haven’t quite figured out.  But the bottom line is, the boat can be brokered from anywhere.  Ted, my broker, has all the specs and info on the boat as well as all of the pictures I took in November.  The advertising will be primarily through the Internet, which is where most used boats are sold now.  The biggest recourse is Yachtworld.com I believe.  I’ll be showing up there when the timing is right.  Probably another month or so.

It’s been drizzling all day long.  What lousy weather.  Boats are shifting every which way in this tiny harbor. 

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 5, 1999 – ST THOMAS, COMPASS POINT

The, not so well seasoned Captain pulled off a great 10-day trip through the BVI with friends from all over.  There was Brad Davis from Lake Tahoe, Neal Spurgeon, Heidi Holland, and Diane Palma, all from Des Moines, Rebecca Shaeffer from St Paul and Maureen Huber from Philadelphia. 

Should I have been embarrassed when I ran the boat aground on our final approach to the Compass Point Marina?  After all, it was the end of the trip and we were simply returning the boat to VIP Yacht Charters.  I had nothing to prove now.  So what, just because I had to call in for help to tow me out of the muddy mangroves.  So what if I looked like a fool.  I just got a little confused, that’s all.  So there!!!

March 19, 2008 – St Lucia, Rodney Bay

I was successful at making contact with Chuck, from North Sales this morning.  Chuck is the guy in Puerto Rico that will help me get a new mainsail made.  Normally he will actually go visit the boat and take measurements for the new sail.  My assumption that it was standard is way off base.  Two identical boats sitting side by side may end up with different measurements.  There are just so many variations in the rigging. 

I am electing to take the measurements myself.  Flying Chuck in for a day seems mighty expensive on an already expensive project.  He has provided me with a two page detailed specification form that we talked through in great detail.  I feel pretty comfortable with the measurement requirements, which will take the better part of a day to perform.  I’d be quicker but I left my Professional Engineer license back at the office.  Chuck says that once he gets the order in, he may be able to negotiate a quicker turnaround time.  It’s normally 8-weeks.  That hurts badly because I won’t sail YOLO to Virginia with the repaired main.  I need that new one.

The remnants of a north Atlantic storm are making its way to us here in St Lucia.  The reports are saying the swells are 20-feet and coming straight down from the north.  This is not good sailing condition given a choice.  So we will hang tight here for a few days until this settles down.  That actually works for me since I have a number of boat issues to sort out.

The Rodney Bay Lagoon Marina is currently under reconstruction.  There are only a few slips available as others are being demolished for rebuild.  In addition to slips, you could normally anchor in the open areas of the little lagoon.  They made this off limits because there is a dredging project going on.  However, because of the unusual weather conditions that are approaching, they have reopened some slips and opened the lagoon for anchoring until the conditions subside.  We did decide to take advantage of this.  At last report, we heard there were only a couple of boats out in the large bay that did not.  It’s very crowded in here right now but we did get a good anchor hold before the place got too packed. 

FLASHBACK – NOVEMBER 27, 2006 – TRELLIS BAY, BEEF ISLAND

It Twas a calm moonlit night in the BVI.  We had hooked up with another Fort Dodge group captained by Neil Gadbury.  They too had a Jeanneau 45.2 they had chartered through one of the BVI companies.  We both grabbed moorings that afternoon in Trellis Bay and ended up heading into the Last Resort just over the reef.  The Last Resort is a bar and restaurant.  Someone discovered that the Last Resort made a killer “Bushwacker” drink so all 13 of us decided to indulge in one.  These drinks were $7 each so you have to enjoy it.  In fact, they were so good that we all decided to have another round.  Then another.  And then one more.  Let’s see, that’s 4 x 13 x $7 = $364 total.  The YOLO group was pretty much ready to head back to the boat at that point.  As we announced our departure, Neil Gadbury happened to be on a high as he told about a recent, and major, plumbing contract that his business had secured.  So up he spoke, “ALL THE DRINKS ARE ON ME!!”  The YOLO group just looked at each other, thanked Neil and walked out quickly before the check arrived.

That’s not really the story yet.  When the YOLO group returned to YOLO, it was dark and there was absolutely no wind in the bay.  All the boats in the bay had drifted every which way from their moorings.  Normally they are aligned with the wind.  YOLO and Neil’s boat were aft to aft when we arrived.  Literally, you could walk from one to the other.  We expected Neil’s group to be returning any minute, so for fun, we tied the boats together from the sterns. 

Neil’s group must have decided to check out the island bars a little further that night.   Time passed and they still had not returned.  Then a dinghy approached.  It wasn’t Neal but it was friends of Neil’s that he mentioned would be in the bay that night looking for him.  The dinghy was full, including a couple of young kids.  They recognized Neil’s boat name and were hooting and hollering for Neil.  Since we knew of this group, we welcomed them aboard YOLO for a drink assuming Neil would show up any time now. 

Time went on and Neil’s friends decided to go aboard Neil’s boat and leave a note or something.  After all, we were still tied together so it was a short hike.  Well, apparently, they did more than leave a note.  They TP’d the place and who knows what else.  And there was still no Neil.  They finally got fed up and departed.

The YOLO crew was tired so we too, called it a night and untied the boats so they could drift apart.  We were unaware of the condition that Neil’s friends had left the boat.  The YOLO plan for the next morning, which we never got to share with Neil Gadbury, was to motor over to the Bath’s on Virgin Gorda fairly early in the morning.  So we did.  I fired up YOLO around 7 AM, dropped the mooring and headed out.  Lynn Schultz and I were the only ones up as we looked back and saw Neil on his bow waving something softly side to side over his head. 

We didn’t realize the perception Neil’s group had of their boat condition.  We also didn’t realize that we would not see the Fort Dodge group again.  We figured we see them at the Baths.  Tonight, YOLO would be spent in the marina in Spanish Town preparing for our long long overnight sail to St Martin.  So when we realized that both of our winch handles were missing, it all came clear. 

Neil had assumed that it was the YOLO crew that trashed his boat.  So he snuck over during the night and stole our winch handles.  Fair game when were all in our pirate mode.  Well, he didn’t realize we were leaving early in the morning, nor did he think about how critical those winch handles were to our St Martin crossing.  So when we thought he was waving like “see you later at the Baths”, he was waving like “I’ve got your winch handles you suckers, that’ll teach you.  Come back and get'em you yellow bellies.”  You can’t sail a boat without winch handles. 

The misunderstanding didn’t get sorted out until a couple of weeks later when the pictures were shared of our two boats and Neil’s messy guests.  I ended up buying an $80 winch handle from some guy in a boat yard to get us buy.  Neil graciously paid me back although I’m not sure he should of. 

March 18, 2008 – St Lucia, Rodney Bay

This was not what you would call a very glamorous day in the islands.  My first chore was to rebuild the second of three toilets.  I will look forward to the third one of these days.  The bilge pump had also failed during the last 24 hours.  It wasn’t the usual thing this time.  It turned out to be a small chip of wood or a seed that had slipped by the filter and lodged in the pumps intake diaphragm.  That’s working well now.  Then there’s the main sail.  I am missing the four battens for my main.  I should be able to get some cut here on St Lucia. 

My main halyard line failed a couple of weeks ago so I picked up some new line for it today.  I also decided to replace the boom lift line since it was pretty ratty too.  The combined cost of the two lines was $350.  Hard to believe.  I just never know if the price is fair or not on these things.  These lines are extremely specialized with incredible strength.  I will ultimately be replacing the two jib lines and possibly the main sheet.

This is where the realities of owning a boat are really coming clear.  They say that for every day of sailing, there is one day of maintenance.  That may be coming true.  It’s very important to me now to keep up with these things.  Selling YOLO this year is a must and I can’t afford to have others do the work. 

By the way, I think I forgot to mention that I had to spend some under the hull time the other day.  You may recall me telling about the fishing buoy we hit in the darkness of our long St Lucia sail.  We’ll the remnants of the trap lines were evident the other morning when I could feel an odd vibration under moderate engine speed.  So overboard I went with my trusty Leatherman knife.  It took a good 20 minutes to cut the wrapped cord off of the prop shaft.  Runs much better now.

FLASHBACK – 2002 – 2006  – MY DAD

Dad had always loved the tropics.  I think it all began for him in the Navy.  His service took him to the beautiful Cook Islands.  Bora Bora was his favorite.  Over the years, mom and dad were able to return a couple of times but that wasn’t enough for dad.  

Dad discovered SCUBA  in about 1968 and that lead to other tropical adventures including one of my favorite dives with dad in 1988.  We dove the wreck of the Rhone off of Salt Island in the BVI.  Roger Swanson, Neal Gadbury, Bill Brokaw, Steve Duvall, dad and myself were all on that dive.  

I’m not sure what year dad discovered sailing but it had to be in the late 70’s with his good friend Don Kersten.  Dad soon put together his own charter groups including my first sail in 1985.  That was supposed to be dads last sailing trip.  Only because he was 60 and he felt fortunate to have enjoyed so many great trips.  The 1985 sailing trip in the Virgin Islands also included my brother Scott, Jim Humes, Roger Swanson and Neal Gadbury.  Scott and I enjoyed it so much that we recruited dad for a 1988 sailing trip and paid his way as he did ours on the first trip.  

Dad was an adventurer and never did quit sailing.  At least not for about 10 more years.  He continued to enjoy his friends through sailing trips to the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas.  He also took a few more SCUBA diving trips to exotic locations all over the world.  Dad’s excuse for all these trips was, you only live once.  

Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson Disease sometime around 1995 and for the first time, he started to slow down a bit.  It seemed that he started to age much quicker after that although the medications did wonders for years to come.  

I purchased YOLO in March of 2000 knowing that I would never get dad down to the islands to see her.  Dad’s health had slowed him down to a very slow pace.  But that all changed one day in 2002 when I approached mom and dad about a plan to go sailing on YOLO.  Much to my surprise, my mother was not only all for it; she had to work dad over pretty hard to convince him to go.  Dad had lost a lot of confidence in his abilities to maneuver and he was well aware of some dementia.  I know mom knew that this trip could be unforgettable and unregrettable.  We just had to build dads confidence and make sure he was taken care of in all respects.  It would be just dad and I so I had my concerns as well.

We did it.  Dad was able to fly down from Florida where I picked him up at the airport for a three-day sail in the Virgin Islands.  Those three days will remain dear to my heart.  Seeing dad on YOLO was a joyous thing.  Taking him ashore for a lobster dinner on Jost Van Dyke was priceless.  His mobility was limited so it wasn’t all fun and games but we pulled it off.  It was worth every struggle.  Dad was so proud of himself.  He raved about the trip to his friends back home for weeks to come.  

Within a couple of short years, as dad’s health declined, we managed to get him on a couple of adventures.  Besides sailing on YOLO, he went snowmobiling on his 1975 Scorpion (still operational).  I’ll never forget how he pranced with excitement in the kitchen when I unexpectedly drove up to their back door.  I came inside with my snowsuit on and said, “dad, your going snowmobiling”.  Mom wasn’t so supportive at first but then came around.  We bundled him up and next thing I knew, he was driving all around Friendship Haven hooting at his friends.  Then, just a month or so before his death in January of 2006,  Bill Thatcher offered him a plane ride in his single engine Moony.  Dad owned a plane just like this many years before.  His mobility was almost completely gone but we got him in the plane with lots of help.  He could barely contain himself that day.  

As I sit here on YOLO, I can’t help thinking about mom and dad and how supportive they’ve been throughout my crazy years.  I’m told that I am most like my dad but dad wouldn’t be dad without mom.  I do miss dad so much.  I can picture him coming down the driveway of the VanGundy family cabin at Twin Lakes, turning his head to see who’s where and what’s going on.  I miss that.  I miss him telling me his concerns about how things are being done at the lake cabin.  Don’t forget to cover the yard light, bring in the windmill, when are you going to take in the garden hoses for the winter.    

I remember so well the Labor Day weekend of 2005 when dad stumbled to the car after a nice afternoon lake visit.  His near mishap was my first signal that things were going to change.  It was five months from that day that dad passed away, Really a short time in the true span of life.  Yet we thought it was long at the time.  

Those five months were maybe longer and harder for us more than him.  I know I learned so much during that time.  Not a pleasant lesson about life and death but such a common one.  His struggling decline was a lesson in humanity I hadn’t had before, yet I needed it badly.  Hard to believe I was 50.  

Now I realize that this was all good.  Life has its cycles for all of us.  I’m different now because of it.  Had I not been there to share dads last five months, I don’t know if I would understand.  I do miss him so much as time goes on.  I even miss his final months as my memories of better years take over.  I think he would not be happy with me if I forgot his exit.  It’s important because its part of life.  My life, my kid lives, we are human and none of us know how our final days and months will be.  We can barely accept that are days are numbered.  You only live once.

March 15, 2008 – St Lucia, Marigot Bay

Everyone took a short shopping trip on the other side of Marigot Bay while I did my Customs and Immigration thing… again ….   We had a cab guy waiting for us at noon to take us to the zip-line location.  Wow, this was an awesome trip.  The cab ride itself was pretty interesting.  Just driving through the hills and backcountry of the island was cool.  We could see what everyday life was in the villages across the island.  We eventually made it to the rain forest area for zip-lining.

For those that don’t know, zip-lining is where you attach yourself to a cable strung between two trees and roll down the cable in a harness.  This one was set up in the rainforests.  First, we took a tram for 40 minutes up the side of a mountain.  That was spectacular.  All the jungle type foliage that we’ve seen on hikes looked incredible from this aerial tram.  Once we reached the top of this tram, we hiked for about 15 minutes to the first platform.  From there, we took 10 consecutive zip-lines down through the rain forest.  The longest was probably 200 yards or so.

I had never done a zip-line before so it was really special for all of us.  It was way more fun than I expected.  I was so glad to see that it was set up deep in the rain forest so the scenery was half the thrill.  Each zip-line runs about 80-feet off the rain forest floor which is never visible anyway with the flora.  This was definitely a highlight of the trip.

We got back to YOLO around 5 PM and cleaned up for dinner.  The kids had decided to take Colleen and I out to a neat little Italian restaurant in the Bay.  It turned out that this was where Colleen and I finished off Valentines Day exactly one month ago.  We had a great dinner.  Steven, Kelsi and Jason took advantage of the two-for-one drinks on their final night in the islands.  I’m hoping they can all make it up in the morning for their flights in the morning. 

March 14, 2008 – St Lucia

It was a 2:30 AM wake up call for me.  We were heading off for a long sail to St Lucia.  The mooring on Mustique was dropped at about 3:30 AM and we were off.  Colleen and I were the only ones up of course.  The half moon had already set so it was pitch black.  Quite eerie really.  I was totally relying on the GPS.  There are a number of cays off to the north of Mustique so I had to take a wide track to the west and then north, then northeast, with a goal of sailing up the windward side of St Vincent.  

It was about 45 minutes after our departure, we hadn’t set the sails yet, and we hit something.  I’m not sure exactly what it was other than a good size buoy.  Probably a fisherman’s buoy that was in 100 feet of water.  The noise was certainly startling and had me backing off on the throttle pretty instantly.  We could see the remnants of a yellow buoy as a big piece floated passed the boat into the stern lighting.  Everything seemed to be functioning okay so we continued and began setting sails for St Lucia.

Jason was the first one on deck this morning.  I believe Kelsi was next, then Steven.  Nick and Calli didn’t show their faces until early afternoon.  Even those on deck were pretty much sleeping all day.  The sail was actually very nice.  It did take one tack to get away from St Vincent but the seas were flat and we had a nice steady wind all afternoon.  I was averaging 7.1 nph.  

We arrived in Marigot Bay, St Lucia around 5:30 PM and took some dock space at JJ’s so we could refill our water tanks.  I for one was dead tired and didn’t have a lot of ambition.  As it turned out, no one else did either so we had a nice dinner right there at JJ’s restaurant on the dock.  I went to bed right after we returned to the boat so I have no idea what anyone else did?

March 13, 2008 – Mustique

HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLLEEN!!!

Today we would explore Mustique with the kids.  We did spend the morning just wondering around the local bay including a grocery store.  Then we took a little taxi tour around the island to check out all the famous homes.  I had to run into the airport terminal to deal with Customs and Immigration and then we had our driver drop us at Macaroni Beach.  

We had a blast body surfing the waves at the beach.  The waves were pretty powerful at times.  Everyone got beat up pretty good including myself.  A little bit of a head plant into the sand never hurt anybody.

Salmon was on the menu for this evening with multiple sides.  It was a great grilling night on YOLO.  I tried to go to bed a little early to prepare for our 3 AM departure to St Lucia in the morning.

March 12, 2008 – Mustique

We got a pretty early start for Mustique.  It was about a 5-hour sail but it seemed much longer.  We were all a little strung out from last nights on board Bushwacker party.  As we were nearing our destination, I took it upon myself to pull in the jib.  I let one of the jib sheets get away from me and it smacked my dodger putting a nice hole in it.  Another day, another $1000 as they say.  

My rebuilt autopilot (Otto) was not functioning very well on the sail over so I chose not to use it.  I was able to take it apart once we got to Mustique and I think I have the problem solved.  I’ll find out when we set sail for St Lucia on Friday.

We all went in to Basil’s on Mustique around 8 PM to check out the band.  It was nice to loosen up a bit on the dance floor.  The band was so-so but we had a good time.  Not sure what time we headed back to YOLO but we all hit the pillows pretty quickly.  The trip is definitely wearing me out!!

March 11, 2008 – Tobago Cays

We decided to relocate in the Tobago Cays for a second night.  We had an absolute blast using the bow of YOLO as a diving platform.  There were no 10’s today.  My best launch was a 0.5 forward half flip.  It’s a new way of getting you’re back tanned.  We also took the dinghy into a beach then hiked around the small island for a bit.  The reef that forms the Tobago Cays covers many many miles so the views are spectacular.  

Nick got the Bushwacker drinks started a little early.  So early that we ran out of ingredients before the sunset.  Jason stepped in with some alternative imitation.  By that time, we couldn’t tell the difference.  Wow, what a wild time we had on the boat.  The music was cranked and we were all in basically uncontrollable form.  Those that could were doing everything from putting their feet behind their heads to hand jiving across the deck.      

FLASHBACK – JANUARY 29, 2003 – VIRGIN GORDA

My season was basically over so I had a few days to kill on YOLO by myself.  I took a couple days to make my way up to the Baths on Virgin Gorda.  Usually I drop anchor off of a beach if I’m staying the night but I decided to use one of the day moorings for the National Park.  This was not a good idea.  It only takes once to learn this valuable lesson.

I hooked the line up in the usual way that we did it back then, direct to the cleat.  The problem with this is that the boat movement will chafe away at the line is given enough time.  Well, the night was pretty rolly so a lot of chafing was going on.  

It was about 3 AM when I felt some wooziness that seemed really strange.  I rolled around for a bit and then decided to go up top.  When I looked out, I couldn’t see anything that I recognized.  I could not find the shoreline.  I was totally confused.  I took a minute to realize where I was and how lucky I was.  I woke up in the middle of the Sir Francis Drake Channel heading for the rocks on Beef Island.  Another hour and YOLO would have been rock bait.  

March 10, 2008 – St Vincent to the Tobago Cays

I forgot to mention on my March 6^th entry that I was successful in getting the mainsail repaired.  As planned, Tiger brought the mainsail over to our anchorage in the Tobago Cays.  The price of the repair was much less than I expected.  It was about $140 US dollars plus the $120 I gave to Tiger.  Patrick helped me put it on the following day in Bequia.

Everyone was up in good time this morning in Blue Lagoon, St Vincent.  I had to make a phone call to Puerto Rico, North Sails about getting a quote for a new main.  I was successful making the contact and hope to correspond with them by email from here on out.  They are working on a quote.  In the mean time, the repair seems to be holding up well.  

We had a nice sail down to the Tobago Cays.  This will be our third and last visit.  It was a beautiful day.  We arrived around 5 PM but in plenty of time for a swim.  Everyone was in the water within 10 minutes of our arrival.  We plan to spend tomorrow here doing some exploring.

I did manage to blowout my autopilot for the second time.  Got a little careless and thought Otto could do more than he was designed for.  I have my spare that I rebuilt with a part that Mike Smith brought down for me several weeks ago.  I’ll get the spare installed as soon as I can and try to get another spare gearbox ordered and sent to St Thomas.

I got her going again and headed back to where I should have been in the first place, on my own anchor off Virgin Gorda.  I’m not sure I slept any more that night but I do recall a fabulous morning.  I threw up the jib for a downwind sail just before sunrise.  Downwind sails are always relaxing.  I turned on a Chris Isaak CD and propped myself in my perch with a hot cup of coffee and counted my lucky stars.  I look back at this sunrise as being my greatest high of all times.

March 9, 2008 – St Vincent

Again, off with the old and in with the new.  Rebecca and the family caught their cab to the airport about 6 AM.  After a short nap attempt, Colleen and I started cleaning the boat.  This project takes a good 5 hours.  We did use the local laundry service for towels and sheets.  Never the less, it’s a lot of work.  We also had to fit in a grocery run to Kingstown.  It’s a pretty long taxi ride and consumed a good 90 minutes.  

Nick and Calli, Jason, Kelsi and Steven arrived around 1 PM.  A great reunion.  They were energized and ready to go.  We thought they might want some down time but nooooo!  So we decided to go do the rock climb, which we originally planned for tomorrow.  It was great.  We took the dinghy for a good 15-minute ride to a mooring buoy just off the rock.  Then we swam a good 100 yards to the foot of the rock.  Then we climbed a good 300 feet to the top of “THE ROCK”.  We had forgotten how difficult it is with bare feet.  I didn’t recall it being that bad but we were all feeling our tender feet.  Nick had the added benefit of a spiny sea urchin barb stuck in his foot.  But he did the climb anyway.

Our fancy spaghetti dinner on the boat was just what the doctor ordered.  Everyone was pretty well famished by the time we returned.  The rum began to flow around 7 PM, or was it 6 PM?  Maybe it was 5 PM??

March 8, 2008 – St Vincent

This was a stressful day for me.  We had a pretty long sail to St Vincent ahead of us so I had to make sure we got off in good time.  That’s not always easy when you have an easygoing group that’s not familiar with the hassles of island hopping.  My goal was to raise the sails around 10:30 AM.  We didn’t get off until around 12:30.  My pressure was coming from the fact that I had to get to Customs and Immigration in order to get our guests off of my boat manifest and make sure they had proper clearance papers to leave St Vincent.  I knew I would have to take a bus to Kingstown on St Vincent (45 minute ride) in order to get this done.  They close at 4:00 PM.  Also, Colleen and I needed to get the boat onto a dock in St Vincent for our turnaround cleaning.  We have new guests arriving tomorrow.

The delayed departure from Mustique was making me very nervous.  It finally hit me around 11 AM that I might be able to check with Customs/Immigration at the airport on Mustique.  Success!!!  After a taxi ride across the island, I was able to get all the clearance papers I needed so my schedule was saved.    

We arrived in St Vincent about 3:45 PM.  Rebecca and the kids took the dinghy over to Young Island to climb the BIG ROCK.  We stayed to clean the boat knowing that we’ll be doing the rock with our own kids next week.

We had a good last night with Rebecca, Patrick, Michael and Megan.  Patrick was in great form with his newly discovered rum drinks.  The thing he might not have realized was that the rum he was using was over 150 proof.  Megan figured it out really quick with one sip of Patrick’s drink.  It wasn’t 30 seconds before she was hurling over the back of the boat.  Patrick will be well prepared for his early morning flight to Barbados.

March 7, 2008 – Mustique

It was a quiet night on Mustique.  We enjoyed a nice evening on the boat.

March 6, 2008 – Bequia

We managed to make it into Bequia for their Wednesday night “Jump UP” at Basils.  Rebecca and her family ate dinner at the restaurant while Colleen and I caught up on some Internet stuff.  Then the steel band started around 7 PM for our evening entertainment.

March 5, 2008 – Tobago Cays

I woke up early in the morning worrying about my main sail.  I had to get it off and repaired.  My wish came true with the first local boat vendor which happened to have a boat anchored directly behind YOLO.  Much to his surprise, I waved him over to request his services.  I asked Tiger if he knew Slick, who supposedly could repair sails.  He said he did and we negotiated a deal.  Tiger would get a hold of Slick and transport my main sail to him.  Make sure it got repaired and return it to me at the Tobago Cays tomorrow.  My concern of course was price and the quality of the repair.  Neither of which I’ll have too much control over.  Tiger’s services would be set at $120.  He has to run the sail in, get a taxi and take across the island of Union.  Then return to pick it up tomorrow and boat across several miles to the Tobago Cays with his 75 horsepower wooden boat.  

Once the sail was removed from the boat, Colleen and I went in to the Yacht Club restaurant to try to pick up some Internet time.  We have a ton to do.  We have to secure shuttle airline trips for 9 people do to my change in itinerary.  I also needed to see what I could find out about ordering a new main sail.  Hopefully I can get one going and have it in St Thomas when I arrive, whenever that will be.  

The Banwell group likes to sleep late.  Michael and Megan didn’t come up until 11:20 AM.  Patrick did get up the earliest and actually swam into shore where Colleen and I were interneting.  Rebecca laid out on the deck to get some sun then I took her and Patrick back in for some shore leave.  

We started our sail to the Tobago Cays around 1 PM and arrived around 3 PM.  The boat vendors had a heyday with us.  Lots of t-shirts got purchased before everyone headed to the beach island for some snorkeling.

March 4, 2008 -  Union Island

This was not a very good day for me.  I underestimated the sailing time from Grenada to the Tobago Cays.  As a result, I changed the plan slightly and we targeted Union Island.  We made it in and dropped anchor around 6:30 PM.  That was the latest I think I have ever dropped an anchor but still had a little daylight.  

I left out the worst part of the day’s story.  Shortly after setting sail, my main halyard line broke and the sail came flapping down.  I had to borrow the boom lift line to get the sail back up.  It was about 30 minutes after this mishap that the main sail blew out.  A horizontal tear right across the middle of the sail.  It was kind of a brutal recovery because the seas were pretty rough.  

This number 2 mishap leads to a lot of thinking.  I have not been looking forward to our scheduled sail from Mustique to Barbados.  I underestimated the magnitude of this sail way back when I sat in my desk at Martin’s planning this adventure.  This is basically 129 miles of upwind sailing in very big water.  At best, this would be 30 hours of pounding for a very novice group of sailors.  The return the following week would not be quite so bad because it would direct downwind and with the waves.  I was not aware that Barbados was not considered part of the Windward Islands.  It’s kind of off on it’s own.  It even has its own currency.  

Now with my mainsail damaged, I decided to bite the bullet.  Barbados is out; the Grenadines will take its place for my current group of Banwell's and our group next week, which happens to be our own kids.  All in all, this will be a much more enjoyable trip for everyone because the Grenadines are gorgeous.  It opens up a whole extra day of island hopping because the long sail is out.

So tomorrow, I must try to figure out how to get my sail repaired, get a new one on order, and secure puddle jumper flights to get everyone where they’re supposed to be for their flights.

March 3, 2008 – Grenada

This was a packed day.  I had the chore of checking us all out of Grenada Customs.  Always fun.  Then we all took a great island tour to the 7 Falls in the rain forest.  The Banwell kids did the amazing series of jumps from the top of each of the 7 falls.  The second to the last was the big one.  It was about 40 feet high and actually pretty dangerous.  They all made it down all right.  It was pretty neat just watching them.  My only reluctance for doing it was simply the possibility of getting hurt myself.  I just can’t afford to let that happen right now.  Otherwise, I’d be all over it.  

We swam around in the pools beneath the last of the waterfalls before hiking back out of the rain forest to meet up with our driver.  My next task was getting fuel for YOLO.  Colleen and I took the boat off of our dock space and motored to the fuel dock while the others shopped around.  We all met at the fuel dock then dropped anchor a couple hundred yards away for the night.  The plan would be to get an early start in the morning for the Tobago Cays.

March 2, 2008

Off with the old and in with the new.  Sarah, Suzanne, Lynn and Mike all left us in the morning while Colleen and I cleaned house.  Big job after a week of sailing but we pretty well got her done by noon.  Our next guests would be Rebecca Banwell and her two sons Michael and Patrick.  Michael brought his friend Megan Bezdichek.  They made it to the boat about 3 PM.  This is Rebecca’s second trip with me.  Her maiden voyage was in 1999.  Rebecca and I graduated together in 1974, wow, long time ago.  

We didn’t really have any food on board for them so we all went into the town of St George for dinner.  Michael and Megan hung in for the late night while the rest of us settled in.  

March 1, 2008 – Grenada, St George

Laundry laundry laundry ????

February 29, 2008 – Grenada, St George

We had an early sail to Grenada from Carricou after filling up the water tanks.  Took off around 7 AM and arrived around 2 PM.  We took a slip in St George for a major cleanup job.  Docking was a little tricky here.  We docked stern to the dock with a crosswind.  Lynn dropped the anchor about 50 feet off the bow at 45 degrees up wind as we backed into position.  

This was pool night.  After a nice dinner in the Yacht Club restaurant, we played pool for a few hours.  We had a great time.  Lynn and Sarah were dominating the table over Mike and Suzanne, and Colleen and I.  Colleen and I finally won the last game with Lynn and Sarah but it was mainly because they didn’t want to play any more.  After about 12 games, they were pretty tired of it.  We got a little crazy and had a great time until closing. 

February 28, 2008 - Carricou

Tour day for the island of Carricou.  Lynn had rented a small 5-passenger jeep for the 6 of us.  The option for number 6 was the roof rack or the cargo area.  I, being the 6^th, chose the cargo area.  I picked up a brick to sit on and off we went.  

Our first and most interesting stop was Sarah’s old school.  She took her senior year of high school at this Carricou Marine Biology School.  This was nearly 30 years ago so she was pretty excited to see her old stomping grounds.  The school has long since been abandoned.  I guess the funding ran out by the end of her school year and they closed it down.  There was an attempt to turn it into some sort of a hotel but that failed too.  Wow, what a setting though.  It has most certainly the most gorgeous view of any point on the island.  It was magnificent.  Sarah walked us through all the old buildings including her dorm, various classroom settings, some of which are outdoors.  Part of her education here included a lot of scuba diving.  We could see why she wanted to return.  Now we have heard that they are tearing down all the structures next year so she made it just in time.  

Most of the roads on this island barely could classify as a road.  There are some paved roads but much of the island is accessible only by dirt roads with huge ruts and boulders.  It was quite the bumpy ride for me in the cargo hold.  Fortunately Mike took it over about halfway through our travels.  He decided it was more comfortable to just lie down on his back.  

Sarah was able to locate a couple of locals that remembered her from 30 years ago.  It was pretty neat.  One guy was 14 years old back then and likely had eyes for the 17-year-old Sarah.  He recognized her voice immediately.  His mother runs a little bar with a pool table.  She was there and Sarah says that absolutely nothing has changed in there.  They had a great time reminiscing.  

We all gathered later in the day for dinner on shore.  We started by splitting some sort of folded over pizza thing at one place, then moving on to another for the main event.  The food was great, wherever it was we ate.  Colleen wasn’t too keen on the Red Snapper served to her with head and tail in tact.  Lynn stepped in and made it a little more presentable but the image was still stuck in her head.  She didn’t eat much of it.  

It was getting pretty late when we decided to dinghy back to the boat.  We almost made it but got side tracked by a mini-Willy T.  Yes, a floating bar right ahead of our anchorage.  This was way to reminiscent of the good old BVI.  Lets just say we all made it back to YOLO eventually.

I have a sad story to tell that I’m determined to follow up on.  I almost hate to tell it because it really put a negative hit on our day.  In the very bay that we were anchored, we came across five large turtles lying on there backs, still alive, squirming for their lives.  It was one of the saddest sights I’ve ever seen.  There were two or three guys sitting on a log watching them squirm.  We have a number of pictures and also a good video of the worst part of it.  Obviously, turtles cannot right themselves when placed on the back of their shell.  Colleen could see them looking at her as she managed to take some pictures.  One of the guys asked Colleen not get him in the picture.  We don’t know if this is legal or illegal but it’s horrifying.  The hot sun was torturing them all day.  We know this for a fact because they were very much alive at 11 AM and laying very still when we saw them at 5 PM or so.  We all would very much appreciate the spreading of this story.  Hopefully it will ultimately hit someone that knows something about this or can do something about this.  I hope to put the video on U-Tube.  

February 27, 2008

Our morning started with at least 10 visits from the local diesel man.  There were actually two of these boat guys buzzing around asking if we needed diesel.  They just kept coming back over and over again.  Not sure what was up there?  

After a lazy morning on the boat, we all headed to the Yacht Club dock to run errands.  I had to check us all out of Customs and pick up my propane bottle that was refilled.  Customs took a long time as usual.  They said that I had not properly checked in through immigration when I arrived.  They slapped me on the wrist and let me go anyway.  Every country is so different that I never know what mistakes I’ve made until they tell me.  

Mike and Lynn and I went back to the boat to prepare it for a water refill.  We got the bumpers and lines all arranged for a port docking.  Unfortunately, a catamaran slipped in just before us.  We ended up doing a perfect stern docking with the anchor.  After we filled the tanks, got ice, picked up the girls, we were off to Carriacou.

Whenever we dock or anchor, we always pull the dinghy in close.  I have a 75-foot painter line on it so its way out there when we sail.  I learned that when its time to let out the dinghy, not to ask Suzanne.  Suzanne asked me if there was anything she could do.  So I said, “yes, please let out the dinghy”.  She untied the shortened line and was concerned that maybe it was too soon since we were still navigating the harbor.  I said it would fine to let it go.  So Suzanne let it go.  I mean, she “LET IT GO”.  Mike had to jump in and fetch it.  

I use the word “fetch” because that’s what it looked like to me.  I’m not sure what Mike was thinking.  The wind was pretty strong and he was trying to swim while pulling the dinghy line with his mouth.  We finally came around and picked him up before he drowned.  I just couldn’t figure out why he didn’t hop in the dinghy and just drive it over.  I guess everyone was having brain farts this morning.

Our first anchoring was on Carriacou was in Hillsborough for Customs and Immigration.  Checking into customs on Carriacou might beat the record for time and number of forms.  No wait, the BVI takes that hands down.  I’m sure I spent an hour and a half getting us all checked in.  

While were in Hillsborough, Lynn managed to get a car rented.  The plan was that he and Sarah would drive over to the bay called Tyrrel and the rest of us would sail around.  For some reason, I was expecting a little bay but it was huge.  There must be 150 boats anchored in here.  Anyway, this made it tough to locate Lynn and tough for Lynn to locate us.  Mike and Suzanne finally took the dinghy in just after sunset to scour the beachfront in hope of finding them.  They never did.  Lynn and Sarah had to find us by water taxi.  I’m not sure why Mike and Suzanne couldn’t find them.  Lynn and Sarah said they sat for four hours on the beach waiting.  

FLASHBACK - DECEMBER 6, 2004 – ST BARTH

It was late night action in Gustavia on the island of St Barth.  The harbor is generally full of a sampling of the largest private yachts in the world.  We never know who’s on them because it seems like they never come off.  One of the yachts was named Janie and was owned by the top dog in the NASCAR organization (name to be filled in later).  We read later that it rents out for $175,000 per week if anyone is interested. 

Lynn Schultz and Paul Krone decided to check out the local scene one evening after midnight.  They walked a short distance from our boat to a somewhat exclusive late night party spot on the water that opens at midnight and closes at 6AM.  They got settled in with one of those $17 beers when a large group came in with tuxedos and gowns.  It was a wedding party for NASCAR greats, Jimmy Johnson and his best man, Jeff Gordon.  They were ready to party.  

Lynn couldn’t help the urge to get a photo with the both of them.  He made the request when they were standing together and they obliged graciously.  Lynn says he was standing between them and at the very last moment, through his arms over their shoulders for the snap.

The odd thing is, Lynn managed to email the picture to his office before losing his camera and all his vacation pictures.    

February 26, 2008 – Palm Island and Union

We covered a lot of territory today in a very relaxed way.  Colleen and I stayed back on the boat while the others headed for shore and explored the little village.  They even got in another exercise class on the beach.  My job was toilet repair.  I swapped out the pumping mechanism of the master head.  I bought the part in St Thomas just before I left.  Colleen did some cleaning.

Our next venture was to sail to Palm Island for lunch.  Palm Island is a very small island developed with only a resort hotel.  Very exclusive, very pricey.  It has a fabulously beautiful beach around much of the island.  We basically just walked around to check things out until we were told to stay close to the waterfront.  The island is pretty much for their paying guests.  But we had a great lunch on board, compliments of Mike.

The final sail took us across to Union Island where we anchored for the night.  A local trying to sell us a mooring approached us well outside the bay.  Our information clearly cautions against moorings down here because you never know what you’re attached to.  You can’t beat a good anchoring job so I choice that route.  He was persistent though right up to when I was digging in the anchor trying to say the holding here is no good.  Finally after I was done, he agreed that I did find a good spot as he now shifted to selling other services, fuel, water, ice, lobster . . .  

We still had time for a taxi tour of the island of Union.  It too is a beautiful island.  Not lush like the upper Windward Islands but it has some great beaches and interesting countryside.  It’s not very developed so all of the roads are either dirt or they consist of two concrete strips wide enough for one car.  The homes for the average local are not much more than four sideboards and a roof.  Some places don’t have windows, just a sheet over an opening.  There were many nicer homes as well.  

I was able to drop of an empty propane tank for refill.  I’ll pick it up tomorrow.  I had the last empty refilled in Antigua.  I’m not sure exactly what the fuel is but its not pure propane.  It is working fine though in our stove burners.    Tomorrow, were off to Cariacou, which is the last island in the Grenadines.  Grenada is a separate country so we’ll have customs to deal with once again.  

February 25, 2008 – Mayreau

Sarah held her daily morning exercise class on deck again.  Participation varies from day to day.  Mike’s a regular.  Lynn is hit and miss.  Colleen usually holds her own swimming aerobics class in the water each morning so she was absent.  I tried a few pushups and got discouraged.  Maybe tomorrow.

We sailed out of Mustique for Mayreau for a 2-hour sail.  It was a perfect sailing day with a nice wind and light seas.  Mayreau is a little island with a small village.  We didn’t make it up to the village.  Another cruise ship party on the beach sidetracked us.  They were serving free drinks and light snacks apparently to whomever wanted them.  And we wanted them of course.  

February 24, 2008 - Mustique

After a good grocery run, we all went for a taxi ride around the island.  Very worth while.  Mustique is a very rich island that is privately owned by a conglomerate of very wealthy people.  We saw many of their notable estates.  I recall that the Niki mogul, David Bowe, Mick Jagger, Tommy Hilfiger, and some other clothing giants have homes here.  We pulled up outside the gates of Tommy Hilfiger’s home.  We were told that Mick Jagger was on the island staying with Tommy while his own home is seeing some remodeling.  We had only stopped for a minute before Tommy’s bodyguard made his way out to the gate just to chew out the cab driver.  Apparently it is an established understanding that cabs are not to stop outside the gates of these homes.  

We had a nice relaxing afternoon at Basil’s restaurant and bar catching up on the Internet.  Then we headed back to YOLO to clean up for the evening Jazz entertainment at Basils.  Mike and Sarah hiked up the hill to the Firefly restaurant to catch the sunset.  The rest of us went up a little later.  Wow, talk about pricy!!!  

Mustique is really a cool island.  It would be a great place to live if one could afford it.  Oh well, off to Mayreau tomorrow.

FLASHBACK - NOVEMBER 24, 2006 – ST THOMAS

We have a rookie on board!!!  Mike Smith’s first sail with “The Guys”.  We have had a core group that has sailed together every two years for about 15 years.  This year, my brother Scott was having knee surgery so he was off the roster.  Mike stepped in and of course we had to initiate him any way we could.  We had all kinds of fictitious rules for “the rookie” that we planned pull on him as the week went on.  They pretty much went by the wayside after we set sail on day one from St Thomas.

This was a 17-day sailing trip where we planned to cruise the Virgin Islands and then cross to St Martin and St Barth, and then back.  The St Martin crossing is pretty tough at times so we knew Mike would get an eye opening experience.  

Day 1 – We motored out of the Compass Point Marina around 10 AM.  We decided to take the southern route to Norman Island, which would be a good 5 hours sail.  We had been out on YOLO now for a good 15 minutes (of our 17 day trip) when the Captain (yours truly) started getting a little nauseous.  I couldn’t figure out what was coming over me.  The seas weren’t really that rough.  Then I lost it over the stern for the first time ever.  Although I felt better, I felt like a total fool, until . . .  

It wasn’t but a couple of minutes later that Bill was hanging over the stern giving up his breakfast, then Lynn moments later.  Last but not least, Mike made it to the back of the boat.  The only survivors were Bennett and Mike Stitt although they were both very queasy.  

Well, you can imagine what Mike Smith was thinking. 

"You call this fun????  Do we do this every day?  What have I gotten myself into?  I thought the tough sail was next week?  Why did I bother with breakfast?  

We never really figured out why we all got sick.  It could have been partially caused by the night before.  Possibly some over indulging, possibly something in the food we all ate.  Never the less, it was quite the wakeup call for us so called seasoned sailors.

February 23, 2008 – Bequia to Mustique

Colleen and Mike and I made a grocery run this morning in Bequia.  As we pull up to the dinghy dock, the local boys are usually standing by to help us disembark.  One boy grabbed our painter line while the other held his hand out for the tip.  It’s certainly a form of begging but it’s quite common down here.  A better example was in Montserrat several weeks ago.  We were traveling by taxi and made a grocery stop.  A vagrant came off the street as we were checking out of the grocery store.  He tried to grab the sack that Colleen was carrying but she didn’t let him.  He did grab the bag I was about to pickup and he carried it out of the store to hand it to me by the cab.  A total walk of maybe 15 feet.  I took the bag and got into the cab refusing to tip him for a service that wasn’t required or requested.  He began circling the van knocking on the closed windows while holding his hand out for a tip.  He became quite belligerent and although our guests wanted to tip him, I stood fast.  Maybe I’m the bad guy, I don’t know?

Our next challenge was to get water, which was really quite effortless on this island.  They have a local family that has three mobile vessels that carries water and diesel fuel for yachts.  They pull up alongside the boat and fill your tanks.  Very convenient and very lucrative for this family.  The boy that filled ours said they were able to send his brother to the US for college and flight school and he’s now an airline pilot.  He also has a sailboat he races in local events.  

Off to Mustique and a nice sail it was.  A short one of about 2 hours but very relaxing.  We are not allowed to anchor here so we picked up a mooring offered by the local authority.  The island is privately owned although I don’t know by whom.  There are a number of notable personalities that have property here.  The island, from what we see so far is very picturesque along the waterfront.  We’ll explore more tomorrow.

Suzanne made it down from Canada to join our sail for a week.  The plan was to meet at Basil’s, the only waterfront bar on the island.  We tried to keep an eye on it from the boat in case she made it in early.  And she did.  We had a couple of drinks at the bar before getting Suzanne settled on the boat.

After a great chicken dinner on YOLO, we decided to take a hike up the hill to a lookout bar called Firefly.  It was very upscale and expensive.  We had a couple of drinks there and decided we were really tired.  A simple answer to that was SLEEP!!!

February 22, 2008 - Bequia

Sarah and Lynn rented a car and explored the island of Bequia that way.  Mike and Colleen and I walked around town for a while and then took a taxi to Industrial Bay.  There’s no industry there so I don’t know where the name came from.  It was a beautiful little bay to relax.  We did walk up the road to a The Old Hegg Turtle Sanctuary.  A retired local that wanted to do something for the marine life established this.  It’s a simple place where they try to nurture hatching turtles until they are big enough to survive on their own.  They have turtles there of all sizes.  They also nurse injured turtles back to health and let them free.  They did have one pet turtle that they’ve had for 11 years.  It’s very responsive to humans.  You rub it’s back and it squirms.  They actually take it out snorkeling with them from time to time and it stays right with them. 

February 21, 2008 - Bequia

The Tobago Cays are certainly beautiful.  We do plan to return in a week or so.  But for now, we’re off to Bequia.  It was a beautiful sail except for the high winds, heavy seas and rain.  

We arrived in Admiral Bay on Bequia around 4 PM.  Our mission was to make it for the Thursday night jump up party at the Frangipani Hotel.  This represented a fond memory for Sarah who spent time here about 28 years ago in her college years.  We did make it to the party and had a blast.  

The entertainment consisted of a great Steel Band; two messed up dogs, and four wild crazy guys from the Republic of Czechoslovakia.  The dogs were confused about their sexual orientation and so were the guys.  So funny.  We had a great time with the guys and thoroughly enjoyed their company.  They spoke fair English.  We learned some new dances and they taught us some provocative Czech phrases.  We really didn’t figure out what we were chanting until they confessed at the end of the evening.  It’s not documentable?  

February 20, 2008 - Tobago Cays

Another beautiful sail down to the Tobago Cays.  Wow, what can I say about this place.  Talk about tropical picturesque.  It’s mesmerizing with the turquoise water and white sandy beaches amongst several tiny islands.  We motored through a narrow cut and out popped another beautiful island.  This is a very popular stopping point for yachts but there’s plenty of room to enjoy it.  

Tomorrow morning we’ll have to take our Twist & Shout picture for the local Fort Dodge paper.  I saw it was minus 17 degrees in Fort Dodge this morning so I’m sure it will be appreciated.  

We had a great evening on the boat.  It was a full moon so we sat on the deck and enjoyed the sky.  We could see our surroundings as if it was daylight.  Tomorrow, we’ll sail back up to Bequia. 

February 19, 2008 - Canouan

After refilling the water tanks at the dock, we sailed off to Canouan.  We skipped on by  Bequia and Mustique with a plan to return in a few days.  The sail was pretty nice.  I managed 6 to 7 knts with the jib only.  The seas were a good 15 feet at times.  It has been a very cool day with strong winds.  Our anchorage on Canouan didn’t offer much cover from the winds so we are whipping all over the place.  We used a mooring bouy supplied by “The Moorings” Charter Company.  It looked to be in excellent condition so I didn’t have to worry about the boat coming lose.

It was a laid back, snorkeling, swimming, and napping afternoon.  Our plan is to go to shore tomorrow morning and see what’s on this island, then we’ll sail to Mayreau in the Tobago Cays in the afternoon.

February 18, 2008 – St Vincent, Blue Lagoon

Sarah, Lynn and Mike took the dinghy to shore for a provisioning run.  They had to use a cab for the grocery that was near the airport.  They were also able to book some puddle jumper airline tickets that they’ll need for their return home.  Colleen and I stayed back and did a few boat things.  I was able to install two new anchor rollers that Mike was able to transport to me in his luggage.  He also brought down a part that I needed to for my original Autopilot.  I was able to rebuilt it with the new part so I now have a full spare if I need it.

We all decided to go on an adventure snorkel in the afternoon.  We took the dinghy over to Young Island, which is basically a large vertical rock, several hundred feet high.  Our snorkeling ended up being secondary to our climb to the top of this thing.  There were crude steps up most of it and the view from the top was spectacular.  We could all sit on the very top of the rock and see 360 degrees around us.  The climb down was a little tricky.  None of us had shoes.  But even worse than that, none of us had a camera. 

FLASHBACK – JANUARY 16, 2001 - THE WILLY T

It’s story time again.  One of my favorite memories is one that took place at the William Thornton in The Bight on Norman Island.  The Willy T is a floating bar and restaurant in the bay.  It’s an old ship that never moves.  But it has provided many great memories for virtually everyone that sails the BVI.  This particular night was no exception.

I had the pleasure of sailing with the Woodruffs.  Leonard put a trip together with his four boys, Dave, Bill, Don, and Tom.  All of the boys are fairly close in age to myself.  Dave is the oldest and he is a year younger than I am. 

The boys and I decided to go into the Willy T on this evening.  As guys do, we all kind of mingled around the very small bar at the stern.  The entire bar space is probably 20 feet by 20 feet so it can get quite crowded.  It’s always a fun crowd for the most part with loud music and continuous random dancing.  I managed to get one of the 8 or 9 bar stools and “people watched” while “The Boys” stood in various corners and did the same.  

I was facing the bar with the dance floor behind me when a guy to my right started nudging me.  Maybe more like subtle jabs although he was looking the other way.  I first assumed that he didn’t realize I was there or thought I was a post or something.  It continued for a couple of minutes and then got more defined and intentional.  I was starting to sense what was going on.  He was clearly trying to stimulate trouble.  Now normally, I would have gotten up and walked away.  But this situation was very unique.  I had an unusual amount of confidence and curiosity in this circumstance.

I spoke for the first time to this guy, simply saying, “Excuse me”.  He said something like “what the f___ is your problem”.  I told him that I just wanted to let him know I was there in case he wasn’t aware of me.  He started pushing me with his elbow and shoulder in a typical provoking way with a few more comments.  I remember the minutes ahead so vividly as it if was yesterday.  I thought hard for a moment trying to decide what to do.

Now I must further set the stage.  Dave Woodruff is about 6-foot.  His brothers Don and Bill are both 6’-5”.  Bill had shoulders twice my size and Don was proficient in one of the marshal arts and quite intimidating as well.  Oh, did I mention Tom who was 6’-8” tall?    

It was obvious that this guy didn’t have any idea that I was not alone.  But rather than share the facts, I decided to play his bluff.  I decided for the sake of my own entertainment, I would hold my ground and see if I could turn the tables.  I knew that if my tactic failed, the worst that could happen would be a broken nose.  And then the boys could share the aftermath story with me when I came too.

So here I go…. I turned my head slightly toward the guy while still looking down at the bar top.  He made one more comment and it didn’t even matter what he said.  I followed it with an unflustered reply, “your f___ing with the wrong guy.  There was quite a long pause there as I recall.  Then he said, “I’ve got backup” and he pointed over to another guy on the dance floor.  I turned my head to look, then put my eyes back to the bar top and said, “I’m telling you, your f___ing with the wrong guy.  My heart was racing with excitement for some reason.  There was another long pause and then he moved off into the small crowd and I don’t recall seeing him again.  I’m not sure if he ever figured out why I stood up to him.  I’m hoping he simply was totally intimidated by me and FEARED FOR HIS LIFE!!

You guessed it; my story doesn’t completely end there….

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 18, 2001 – THE WILLY T

Back at the Willy T with Bill Thatcher and his daughter Amy.  We too went to the Willy T for the evening.  I enjoyed sharing the above Willy T story with Bill as we stood next the very bar that the incident took place.  As the evening went on, I ended up sitting at the same bar stool as I did on that nearly fateful night in January.  Amy was out dancing and Bill was standing alongside the bar on the other side.  Once again, the irony of events seems amazing.  For the second time ever, and the last time ever since, I was confronted in the same fashion by a stranger.  I’m not sure if it was the way I looked or what, but it was happening again.  

Now Bill Thatcher didn’t give me quite the same comfort level as the Woodruff boys did.  So I wasn’t sure what to do this time.  Once again, it was obvious that this guy didn’t know whom I was with, but it wasn’t going to be as helpful this time.  I turned around and faced the dance floor and this guy said something like “see that chick, she’s got it, you don’t have shit”.  Well, the girl he was looking at was Amy.  

I stood by for a few minutes trying to look tough (ha!).  Then, Amy, unknowing of the situation, walked over to me with her drink in her hand.  She asked if I would hold it for her while she danced.  This guy, whoever he was, butted in and said, “I’ll hold it for you”, and then he grabbed the drink from me.  Now Amy is a good 5’-11” and stands out in the bar.  The look she gave him was priceless.  She grabbed the drink back and handed it to me for the second time.  I grinned at him as Amy hit the dance floor and he melted away.  I didn’t need no Woodruff brothers, I had Amy!!

February 17, 2008

Our new guests arrived last night.  Sarah made it in from Canada around 5 PM.  Lynn and Mike came from Iowa around midnight.  Needless to say, we sat on the boat and over indulged until at least 3 AM.  That didn’t help our sailing itinerary for today but we still made it.  

After spending some time wondering around shore and checking out the Pirates of the Caribbean sets, we had breakfast on the boat.  The movie set is really about all there is in this bay.  We shared the space with very few other yachts.  I’m sure it was off limits and humming during the filming days but its really pretty quiet now.  

We’ve had a lot of entertainment from the local boat boys during our stay.  I get a kick out of the way things work around here when an incoming yacht is spotted on the horizon.  The small rowboats will paddle way out and jockey for position to be the first to make contact.  Once they do, they’ll insist on guiding you in and helping you tie up.  Sometimes, two or three will claim dibs on the same yacht and the fun begins.  As the bow and stern lines are strung, they will all shout conflicting instructions to the captain causing total confusion.  Sometimes they’ll start arguing amongst themselves on where to instruct the captain to tie off.  Any other boat boys that aren’t involved are standing by with something to sell.  Jewelry, dead fish, fruit, or any service they feel they can provide.  Fathers will bring their small children along to do the talking.  The sympathy act is put into full gear as they explain how this is the way they make their living.

Our sail down to the southern tip of St Vincent was a nice one.  The weather today was gorgeous.  Unlike yesterdays continuous rain.  I think it rained more yesterday than I’ve ever seen down here.  We ended up taking a mooring ball in Blue Lagoon.  Everyone took a dip to clean up and we headed into the restaurant zone for dinner.  We had no food on the boat so we were all starving.  The provisioning run must take place in the morning.  

The village was nothing like it was described in our info.  Establishments were all open but there were no people.  We really don’t know why.  We had dinner in a very nice restaurant all by ourselves.  We took a taxi up the way for this but decided to walk back.  There was a Karaoke set up in a parking lot outside some sort of a convenience store.  Only locals were present but we were welcomed and greeted over and over again by very nice people.  Very friendly and outgoing.  I wish I could understand their dialect better because it would really be nice to communicate.  They supposedly speak English but it’s so twisted that we can’t understand them.  It’s funny how they talk to you in gibberish yet they’ll go up and sing American music with perfect English.  Mike took on the challenge and sung a song.  His performance was outstanding.  Even the local dogs joined in. 

January 31, 2008

Ready at 6 AM and no Alexis to be seen.  He turned up 25 minutes late.  We joined up with our taxi driver named Kent and off we went up into the mountains of Dominica in search of Parrots.  Timing is everything.  I guess they are best seen in the early morning hours.  So up the hill we go in our tin can Toyota Van when the thing runs out of gas.  40 minutes later, we’re back in the van and heading up the hill.  

Actually, the private tour of the upper levels of accessible mountainside was fantastic.  We hiked quite a bit through some of the most beautiful jungle you could imagine.  Every imaginable fruit, herb, and spice was found in this jungle environment.  We could hardly believe it.  Again, pictures won’t do it justice.  Our guide was great.  Kent spent the entire morning with us showing us this amazing natural wonderland.  One trail ended in amazing waterfalls.

We took a rowing trip up the Indian River in the afternoon.  Alexis took us on this one in his wooden boat.  This was even more spectacular to me.  The best way I can describe it is the, “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disneyland.  That was always a favorite ride of mine as a kid and here I was seeing it first hand.  This was actually no coincidence that all the similarities were there.  The last two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies were filmed on Dominica and this very river was used for a large amount of the filming.  

January 30, 2008

When two boats go bump in the night ….  

YOLO had a little incident last night.  We all woke up with a start at about 2AM when YOLO slammed against a neighbor yacht.  The wind had kicked up from an entirely different direction than before.  It had shifted nearly 180 degrees.  All anchored boats were swinging in new directions.  After the big slam, we all dashed to the deck where we met face to face, our French neighbors.  We struggled to push the boats apart because the wind was still whipping us into them.  Roger took a few extra seconds to kick into action because he found himself almost cheek to cheek with the naked neighbor woman.  I had to yell to Roger just to break him out of his trance.  

I got the engine started as quickly as I could.  Roger and Colleen went up front to ultimately pull our anchor.  The wind was whipping YOLO back and forth with an anchored boat in front of us as well as the boat that we bumped.  I had to maneuver my wind whipped boat back and forth between these boats as the anchor was being pulled.  We did get it pulled and with two attempts, got re-anchored safely away from the others.

Two gentlemen from the other boat came over to talk to us early the next morning.  The captain approached YOLO and I greeted him as best I could.  His English was poor.  He said, “You attack our boat last night?”  Oddly enough, YOLO and this French boat were both flying pirate flags (skull and cross bones).  At first I didn’t realize it was the language barrier that caused my shock over his comment.  I said, “we’ll, we really didn’t mean to attack you.”  He told us they had some damage and that I should come look at it.  Roger and I went over to check it out.  I was pleasantly relieved to see that it was very minimal.  I returned with my passport ID and took some pictures.  After talking a bit about an engine problem they were having, I doubt they will contact me for repair costs.  

We had a beautiful downwind sail to Dominica today after picking up a few groceries.  It did rain a bit along the way but nothing too significant.  Good wind, nice swells, good music.

Our arrival to Dominica was textbook.  Just as we were warned, there would be “boat boys” well out to sea coming out to greet us.  We had decided on using “Alexis” as our service for the few days we’d be here.  Using a boat boy service is almost a necessity when visiting Dominica by boat.  They help arrange everything for you and make sure you and your boat are safe.  The bay is full of druggie locals on little boats and surfboards trying to sell you things.  So being connected with a legitimate boat boy allows you to fend off some of the soliciting problems. 

We anchored in close to the shore so that I could have wireless Internet for a couple of days.  Then Alexis stopped by and we made arrangements for some daytime tours.  Our first would be at 6 AM tomorrow.  Alexis will pick us up at the boat and take us to shore for our taxi.

We did go in for a drink and some appetizers at the Purple Moon restaurant straight in from YOLO.  Then we all crashed early to prepare for our morning tour.

January 29, 2008 – Marie Galante

We were sitting on deck having our morning beverages when Roger noticed a ferryboat heading toward our harbor.  We panicked because we wanted to beat them into town and rent scooters.  So we dashed over in the dinghy and successfully secured three motorbikes.  Off we went around the island.  First stopping at some absolutely incredible overlooks.  One of magnificent arches and the other, well, I’m not sure how to describe it.  It was the most amazing blue turquoise water I’ve ever seen in my life.  I hope the photographs capture it.  Then off to a rum distillery where we sampled some local spirits and bought a few bottles for later consumption.  Colleen and I stopped at a very cool beach café and had lunch while the others wondered the beach.  

This island is unique in its own way.  It’s very clean and the people are very friendly.  You can wave at field workers as you whiz by and they’ll wave back with a smile.  There are animals grazing all around the fields and roadsides.  The countryside is very green and healthy looking.  Like Iowa with corn, it’s field after field of rich looking sugar plants.  The island is not mountainous but it’s not flat either.  Kind of like southern Iowa.  The beaches and landscape of the oceanfronts are so blue and beautiful.  It’s a great island.

Tomorrow, we’ll be off to Dominica where we’ve been told to heed the warnings of potential crime.  We are told it’s an impoverished country and we must be careful.  Our plan will be to secure a “boat boy” as we approach the island.  The boat boys are actually trained and available for yachters to help deal with the island.  They are familiar with our culture and will help secure anything we need, and provide some level of security while we’re there.

FLASHBACK - DECEMBER 8, 2004 – VIRGIN GORDA / LITTLE JERUSALUM

It was “The Guy” trip, 2004.  We were returning to the Virgin Islands from St Martin and arrived much earlier than I anticipated.  The winds were good so we were approaching the southern tip of Virgin Gorda around 4:30 AM.  I would have preferred some daylight, or moonlight, but we had none.  The southern end of Virgin Gorda has no lights what-so-ever on shore so you really couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.  

There is a very narrow passage of 565 feet to the south of Virgin Gorda that is passable.  There are some large rocks at water level called “The Binders” that make up the south side of the passage and then the island of Little Jerusalem south of that.  So guiding YOLO through this passage is critical.  Now crazy as it sounds, I decided to do it, solely relying on my GPS.  It was pitch black out there as we motored through the pass steering the boat like it was a video game.  Using absolutely nothing else but the GPS.  Bill and Mike were glued to the screen as well as I.  There was no value in placing a lookout up front because everything was black.  We made a perfect pass that night.  Then went on to use the GPS to find my very specific anchor drop location off of Trunk Bay, Virgin Gorda.

Now mind you, I would have never done this if I had not already confirmed the accuracy of my GPS maps prior to this maneuver.  My story does not end yet until March 29, 2007.

FLASHBACK – MARCH 29, 2007 – VIRGIN GORDA / LITTLE JERUSALUM

I had the honor of receiving Donna Lange as she returned to the Virgin Islands after sailing around the world, solo, in a 28-foot sloop.  I was able to share this event with the Mike and Carla Holt family as part of a one-week sail.  The planned arrival time was someone cryptic because our communication capabilities were limited.  I knew she planned to sail around the south end of Virgin Gorda.  What I didn’t know was that she was totally unaware of the hazards in making that pass.  Donna, as I did, had to do it in the dark.  There was some moonlight that night but not much.  

Donna was able to give me an approximate arrival time.  My plan was to dinghy out of the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor and meet her.  She did not expect to have a workable engine.  As the time got closer, I began to worry more and more.  My assumption was that she was familiar with “The Binders” but my confidence was diminishing.  Finally, I decided to try to text message her a warning.  

As Donna tells the story, she was able to get her engine started.  Donna has only a handheld GPS with no maps.  So she is sailing toward a dot on her GPS with a paper chart at her side.  However, the Binders are not marked on her chart.  She has no idea that they are there.  As she made her way into the narrows, she heard her cell phone beeping as her heart dropped.  She saw the waves crashing over rocks just off her bow.  It was the Binders.  She was able to steer away and basically navigate by sight through the narrow pass.  This was a miracle for sure.  To have sailed around the world and lose it at the very end was not meant to happen.  

January 28, 2008

It probably sounds silly but today was a day of rest.  It seems like we’ve been going going going.  So Colleen and I relaxed today.  The others went off to do their own things.  We walked 2-miles up to a beach and hung out there for a while.  We returned later to the boat and relaxed.  We watched a funeral procession march along the main street of this town of St Louise.  It consisted of a hertz, a band, and lot of people all dressed up in their Sunday best following along behind.  This slow moving procession went on for about 20-minutes before they arrived at the cemetery.  There wasn’t much open in town when we were there so we suspect this was why.  

The others in the group came back with various artifacts.  Some purchased and some found in the water and beaches.  Doug brought back some sort of a jawbone from his snorkeling run, teeth and all.  We have no idea what it came from.

We are finding it more and more difficult to keep the boat provisioned.  The last time we were able to get the water tanks filled was a week ago.  The grocery stores are very limited.  Our meals can’t really be too planned until we see what is available.  We are told Dominica is even worse.  That’s our next port.

The language barrier continues to be difficult.  With all the signs and menus and even grocery products in French, we can’t tell what were getting most of the time.  We wished we had brushed up on our charades before coming here since we are mostly depending on sign language.  

Colleen and I will rent a scooter tomorrow.  We wanted to get two mountain bikes but the cost would be the same.  It just didn’t seem reasonable so we’ll go with scooters.

January 27, 2008

We started out the morning, pulling anchor and motoring around the point for water.  However, it’s Sunday and we were unable to get water.  So off we headed for Maria Galante.  Had a beautiful sail in fairly flat seas.  The winds were all over the map.  They varied a good 90 degrees at any given time and went from 20 nauts to zero.  We had some good rains as well.

We dropped anchor on Maria Galante about 3:30 PM.  Our anchorage is in 9 feet of the most crystal clear water I’ve seen for a while.  There’s starfish and live conch scattered around the sand and sea grass.  This bay is very large and the bottom is consistent throughout.  You can even see the starfish in the moonlight.  

Carnival was taking place on shore when we arrived, and well into the evening.  We all took the dinghy in to watch.  It was pretty fascinating to see the hundreds on hundreds of groups dancing through the streets to large drums of all types in a very syncronized form.  It looked very native to us.  We saw only a couple other Caucasians during our two-hour visit.  Everyone seemed very friendly toward us.  We’re not sure what this carnival thing is all about but it is now taking place throughout these islands.  

I must mention that we finally saw the infamous “Green Flash” that supposedly occurs at the last glimpse of sunset.  Several of us saw it.  It’s not what I expected but it was definitely there.  For a brief second, you see green across the top edge of the sun just as it disappears to the horizon.  

January 26, 2008

Another beautiful island.  One that Colleen and I intend to revisit on the return.  I wasn’t really aware of this island until we basically ran into it.  There’s much to see here.  It’s got everything one could ask for.  

Colleen and I spent much of the morning at work on the Internet.  Catching up on things.  The transportation is mostly scooters although there are some cars.  Doug and Carole rented a scooter in the afternoon while the rest of us headed for a beach.  Kind of a lazy day, but it is the weekend.  

There was a small Carnival parade around the dinner hour.  We sat down at a little street café and had a couple beers while enjoying the local scene.  It’s hard to describe how cool this narrow street full of shops and pubs really is.  Very different from anything I’ve seen.  Yes, we’ll have to come back.

January 25, 2008

A few last minute errands on shore and we were off to LeSaintes for our next island destination.  This is a small group of islands south of Guadeloupe that I was totally unaware of.  The sail was a fairly long one.  We dropped anchor at about 5:30 PM then made our way into town to see what this place was about.  

We were all so pleasantly surprised.  The little town was beautiful and absolutely spotless.  All we could take time to see was the main stretch of their downtown, which is maybe two blocks long.  The people are very friendly.  The locals all come out in the evening and congregate in their little groups.  We think we will really enjoy a couple of days here.

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 9, 2001 – JOST VAN DYKE

Roger, who is on board now for a couple of weeks, reminded me of his very first night ever with YOLO.  We all took the dinghy into Foxies on Jost Van Dyke.  I tied the dinghy to the end of the dock and we all scattered ourselves around the beachfront and Foxies.  Later in the evening, I had to make a run to YOLO.  When I returned to Foxies dock, I tied the dinghy up closer to the shore.

Roger found his spot on a stool at Foxies little gazebo bar.  He was somewhat infatuated with the bartender.  He must have been really nice to her because she would give him the leftovers from the blender drinks she was producing.  So his cup was never empty.  Which means he had no idea how much he was drinking….

Time to leave and Roger can barely get off the stool.  We guided him to the dock and decided that Roger should be the first to climb down into the dinghy.  Well he missed of course and ended up sliding head first into the water.  In his mind, he was not concerned because, well, he’ll pop back up soon enough.  But what Roger didn’t realize was that I moved the dinghy and the water depth was only about 2-feet.  When he came up, Roger’s shaved head was covered with sand.  It was the look on his face that was priceless.  Needless to say, his initiation was over.  Tomorrow, the hazing would begin.

January 24, 2008

This was our day to tour the island of Guadeloupe.  Wow, it’s huge.  There’s no way we could cover the entire island in one day.  We tested our language barrier first thing with the rental car company.  It took over an hour to get two cars checked out.  Then, off we went with our first stop at a museum.  It included history and old artifacts from the early rum making days.  The museum also had model replicas of some of the first ships to arrive in Guadeloupe going back to the 1400’s, including the Santa Maria of Christopher Columbus.  My favorite part of the museum was a bug collection.  It contained over 15,000 bugs of local varieties.  Weird stuff.

Colleen and I left the museum early to see if we could find one of the huge waterfalls that cascades down the mountain from one of two volcano peaks on the island.  It was very difficult to figure out way to drive to and then ultimately, where to hike.  Again, the language barrier kept us in a fog.  All the signage was of course in French so we basically guessed.  We hit it right though.  After a good hour of hiking in mud and rocks, we found the waterfall.  The last of the hike was so steep that there were ropes nailed into the rocks to assist in the climb.  It was worth the trip.

We all ended the day at a local pizza joint in the harbor where YOLO was anchored.  All we really wanted was a few cold beers but the lady serving us made us feel so back that we felt obligated to order pizza’s.  The beer was warm so we had to request ice.  And “ice” is not “ice” in French.  

January 23, 2008

Started the morning with fixing one of the heads.  Then Customs and Immigration.  Both are equally enjoyable.  We are officially legal in Guadeloupe now.  We’ve arranged for two rental cars for tomorrow when we plan to really cover the island.  Sounds like there is lots to see and do.  

Today was a beach day for most.  Our four guests hiked over and Colleen and I held back to clean and catch up on some things with plans to dinghy to the beach a little later.  When dinghy time came, we loaded it with a cooler and took off.  After rounding the point and approaching the beach, I realized it was not very approachable.  Although it was an absolutely gorgeous beach, the surf was up and it was impossible to get the dinghy to shore where the others had settled.  I motored up to the calmer end hoping to find a better approach.  Not good but I figured we Colleen and I could make it in.  Our concern was the cameras because we didn’t come totally prepared for getting wet.  Our attempt was successful but it was way to rough to secure the dinghy on the beach.  Each wave would crash the dinghy and flood it completely with sand and water.  The effort was futile.  Colleen grabbed our valuables and I scrambled to get the dinghy off the beach and out of the surf.  The cooler and the gas tank were almost washed out but I made it.  

So having left Colleen behind with the others.  I took the dinghy back to YOLO and then to the local dock and began hiking for the beach.  Not knowing the way, I took the “hiking trail” where the others had taken the road.  1000 vertical feet up and down later, I arrived at the beach.  Found the others just in time to hike back to our harbor.  We took the road by the way; I don’t think I could have made it over that ridge again.

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 31, 2003 – VIRGIN GORDA

It was New Years Eve of 2003.  Mike and Carla Holt put together a group of their very good friends for a Holiday trip on YOLO.  We docked at the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor that day so that we could enjoy the holiday and come and go as we please.  Shortly after arriving, I crossed paths with a tall thin man wearing a ball cap and sunglasses.  Seconds after I passed him, I realized that I recognized him.  I did a double take and a woman security guard leaning on a building said, uh huh, that’s him.  

I was notorious for telling stories about how our YOLO groups would plant stories in pubs and bars of notable personalities being present.  For example, we saw a guy once that looked like Mr. French on the TV series, Family Affair.  So we casually spread the rumor that, that was in fact him.  We had great fun with that.  Cara O’Connor on another trip became Reese Witherspoon.  Anyway, when I tried to share the news of whom I ran into, no one really believed me.

Now it’s 9:00 PM on New Years Eve.  My group went out to dinner.  I stayed back and ultimately secured a table at the Che Bamboo for the New Years festivities.  The local music group began to play and in comes the tall gentlemen dancing across the floor with his daughter.  He picked a table right next to mine so we were back to back in our chairs.  I couldn’t help turning around and saying hello.  I said I was a great fan and delighted to meet him.  So on and so forth.

Shortly there after, my group arrived.  Everyone sat down and we ordered a round of drinks.  I waited a good 10 minutes before I leaned across the table toward Carla and said, hey, I have someone I’d like you to meet.  We both promptly stood up and she came around the table.  I turned her around and said, Carla, I’d like you to meet Morgan Freeman.  Morgan, this is my good friend Carla.  She is also from Iowa …   The fun part for me was that the whole thing came off like Morgan and I were buds.  Morgan was very congenial.  It certainly made that New Years Eve very memorable.

January 22, 2008

This was a wild day.  Most of us woke at 2:40 AM with the sound of horns and hollers as the small harbor cheered on the arrival of the second place, four man rowing team.  Flares were being shot off, even from the rowboat itself.  It was quite timely because my alarm was set for 3 AM.  We planned to depart the harbor for Guadeloupe in the wee hours so it worked out well.  

We pulled out of the harbor about 3:40 AM.  Wow, it was ruff.  We had very strong winds and some pretty wild swells.  Ultimately, I believe we had, maybe12 to 15-foot seas, until we hit the coverage of Guadeloupe around 1 PM.  I’m glad I had reefed the main sail.  We never needed the jib with this kind of wind.  Otto did a superb job, which allowed me to at least close my eyes once and awhile.  

What a spectacular dolphin show we had.  We couldn’t even begin to count how many there were.  Dolphins of all sizes surrounded the boat.  Numerous dolphins would approach the boat in perfect formation just as if they were trained at Seaworld.  Off the bow, the stern, both sides, off in the distance, there were so many.  They could swim within inches of the boat and then duck under it like we were just a plaything for them.  We enjoyed this show for at least five minutes before they decided to move on.  

We ended up covering more miles than necessary because I wasn’t exactly sure where we wanted to land.  The island is huge.  We ended up anchoring in Deshaies Bay on the northwest part of Guadeloupe.  Customs would be available to me in the morning.  

All of us did go into town.  It seemed like there were no people in town at all and then all of a sudden at 5 PM, the streets got crowded.  We found it very hard to communicate with the locals.  It’s very French and no one seems to speak or understand English.  

January 21, 2008

OTTO IS FIXED.  It ended up costing EVEN MORE that I anticipated due to shipping to Antigua but its done.  Now I must treat it like a gold from here on out.  I also intend to order another spare piece with hopes of having a future crewmember bring it to the islands for me.  

We explored Nelson’s Dock Yard a bit.  Tons of history there for Antigua.  I didn’t get to absorb it too much because I was scrambling with Otto.  We also got ourselves through the exit process with Customs and Immigration.  It’s always a challenge when I add people to my manifest that have flown in.

Another magical evening unfolded.  The first place two man row boat was to arrive in English Harbor from its cross Atlantic journey around 9:00 PM.  It was spectacular and exciting.  YOLO was positioned perfectly in the narrow channel way into the harbor.  The rowers would have to go right past us on their way in.  The harbor was bustling with excitement as they watched from hilltops as the distant small white light got closer and closer to the harbor.  It was almost hard to believe it when we saw this 15-foot, (approximate) bath tub looking, self contained, row boat coming in with a single man rowing it.  The other man was standing high and yelling with jubilation as voices, horns, flares, and any other noise-making device was being deployed.  

The YOLO crew cranked up the theme song for Chariots of Fire before hopping in the dinghy to help escort them in.  Thirty-nine days it took them to row across the Atlantic.  One man would sleep or eat and the other would row.  Generally, 1-hour shifts we were told by one of the rowers.  They were English speaking men from South Africa.  Champaign rained the area as the two men set foot on the dock.  Their families literally climbed all over them with long sustained hugs for several silent minutes as on lookers respectfully waited.  

We were honored with a picture from one of the rowers.  Both of them were very genuine and friendly.  The gentlemen in our picture said that the most memorable time on the journey was a day when the sea was totally flat and the heat of the day was unbearable.  He jumped in the water to cool off and a whale passed directly under him.  Next thing he knew, there were five whales curiously examining their vessel.  

Needless to say, we all felt pretty special to have been there and been a part of the occasion.  It’s just hard to imagine two men crossing the ocean in a rowboat but they did.  Our plan is to leave Antigua, English Harbor around 3 AM tomorrow morning.

January 20. 2008

What an awesome sail around Antigua.  We left Jolly Harbor around 9 AM after checking out of the marina and grabbing a few last minute groceries.  The winds were better than expected.  We turned up the music and just enjoyed the cruise.  We arrived in English Harbor around 1:30 PM.

We dinghy’d into Nelson’s Dock Yard.  Much to our surprise, we pulled up to the dock along side the winner of the Atlantic rowing competition.  This competition involves 2 and 4 man teams that literally row their boat across the Atlantic.  It’s a race.  It’s incredible.  You’ll have to Google it and read more.  The winner of the two-man team is due tomorrow night.

Off to the Shirley Heights Party.  Google that too.  The best steel band in the world plays and the view is unbelievable at the top of this high ridge.  Every bit of the 360-degree view from this peak is spectacular.  You see two major Antigua harbors and then the countryside in between.  It’s amazing.  We did have to deal with some rain but Colleen forced us out to dance in the rain and it was worth it.  None of us melted and we all had a great time.

FLASHBACK – FEBRUARY 25, 2006 - THE LEEWARD ISLANDS

I had finished a two-week trip back in 2006 with the very same people that are on YOLO today.  We started in St Thomas and ended in Antigua.  Colleen had joined us midway through that trip so that she and I could have a week to ourselves.  We spent one additional day on Antigua before setting sail direct to St Martin.  We left in the late afternoon with our plan to sail through the night.  Of course Otto didn’t exist back then so it was going to be a lot of wheel time for both of us.  The journey was going to be 100 miles.

The weather was wonderful so we set sail as planned around 3 PM.  I sailed first for a while and then I wanted Colleen to take over as the sun went down so that she could slowly adjust to the darkness.   We had good wind and probably 7 or 8 foot swells.  I laid down to get some rest just after the sun dropped out of the sky.  It seemed like moments after I closed my eyes that I heard the sails luffing.  There was obviously difficulty on deck.  So I climbed up the stairs and Colleen said that she couldn’t get the boat back under control.  I took over to save the situation and instantly realized, the steering cable had come off of its pulley system.  We had no steering.  

Now this isn’t the first time this happened unfortunately.  But fortunately, I was very familiar with the problem and knew just what to do to fix it.  The first thing I had to do was go into the under floor compartment and make sure the rudder was completely from of the non-functioning cable.  Then I had to retrieve the emergency tiller arm and put it into place.  This is an L shaped metal arm that comes up from the floor and then bends toward the front of the boat.  This manual steering arm is about 3 feet long.  Using this emergency tiller, I was able to get the boat back on course.  We were sailing again but it was very very difficult.  Having only three feet of leverage to control a 46-foot, 37-ton sailboat in 7-foot swells, in the dark, was not going to be fun.  

I could see no choice but to continue on.  I remembered my good friend Donna Lange who had to do the same thing for 30 straight days in a 28-foot sloop crossing the Atlantic.  But then I realized, she was as tough as nails and I’m a thumbtack.  But I really did have no choice.

Steering was extremely hard.  Not only the physical aspects of continually fighting the swells, but darkness made it nearly impossible to maintain course.  There was no moon that I recall.  I could not watch the compass and steer at the same time because of how I had to position myself with the tiller.  After a couple hours of struggle, I finally came up with a system that worked.  I would sit on the floor braced against a solid fixture so that the only part of my body that had to work was my arms.  I would make sure the boat was on perfect course before getting myself positioned, and then use star constellations as my compass.  It worked pretty well for quite a long time.

Fatigue set in at some point during the night and I wasn’t sure if Colleen would be able to relieve me.  But she was going to have to try.  I explained how I was doing it and she did her best to follow my instructions.  She fought it like a trooper but nausea set in after a short time and she had to give it up.  

The hours went on and the fatigue was becoming overwhelming.  I could not lose my concentration for even 3 seconds without losing control of the boat.  Colleen and I both noted that you could not even reach for a can of pop without creating a major disruption.  Once again, I had to ask Colleen to try.  I felt like if I could have 15 minutes to close my eyes, I could resume and get through it.  She did do it and I got my 15 minutes of shuteye.  I believe the nausea Colleen was having had now reached fruition but she knew how important it was.

We made it to St Martin the next day.  I was able to fix the steering and we later completed our journey on to St Thomas.  By the way, the entire steering system on YOLO was rebuilt this last summer.  I have a new cable and new pulleys.  I have no intention of letting that problem develop again. 

January 18, 2008

Des Moines has arrived.  Roger, Phyllis, Doug and Carole made it to YOLO on Antigua around 9:40 PM last night.  They had a good trip down and we had a great time catching up on things before crashing around 1 PM.  

We all rented scooters for the day.  Had a great time just touring around the island and seeing the countryside.  I still can’t get over how pretty this island is.  It just seems to have it all.  Beautiful beaches, incredible scenery, great roads, and friendly people.  The colors are amazing with the turquoise waters surrounding the island and its lush foliage that so perfectly arranges itself pretty much everywhere.  The natural flowers bring virtually every color to the landscape.  There are goats and cows randomly roaming and even they look happy.   If I had to be a cow, I would want to be on Antigua.

We finished the day with a bang.  The happy hour right there in Jolly Harbor was memorable.  We met numerous people with their stories and shared ours.  I talked with a very odd looking individual that was a boat builder.  I mentioned that I was intrigued with a small boat building business that we saw during our scooter ride.  I explained how I watched a craftsman putting final touches on a beautiful 18-foot fiberglass keelboat.  The gentlemen at the bar cringed.  He explained that his boats are made entirely of wood.  I am hoping to get to see one of his boats because it sounds like he’s the real deal.  He looks the part as well.

FLASH BACK - DECEMBER 20, 2001 – VIRGIN GORDA

I had a bad day.  I woke up after a rather uncomfortable night off of the Baths on Virgin Gorda.  Made my coffee as usual and probably listened to some Chris Isaak.  Something was different but I couldn’t put my finger on it.  Well, I finally realized that I had no dinghy.  It was gone.  A repair knot had come apart during the night and the dinghy was set adrift.  The sad thing is that I was the one that tide the knot so I could only blame myself.  It’s difficult to tie knots in plastic rope that won’t come apart but I thought I had it covered.  

So off we go on an immediate downwind sail in search of my dinghy.  We zigzagged back and forth carefully viewing the shorelines, with binoculars, of every island between Virgin Gorda and St Thomas.  No dinghy to be found.  But just to top off the long day, I was about 4 miles off the south shore of St John, sailing with the jib only, when another eery sensation came over me.  I felt like we stopped moving.  I looked up at the jib and it was pleasantly full.  I felt like I was out in the middle of the twilight zone.  It made no sense at all.  Well, I’ll be darn if we didn’t get hung up on a lobster trap buoy.  It had caught something under the boat that had completely stopped us.  

The water was pretty rough out there so I tide a rope around me as a safety line.  Then over the back I went with my mask and snorkel to see what was going on.  It was a simple snag on the prop shaft that wouldn’t take much to break loose.  Naturally, I had taken the sail down but I didn’t want to have to rely on my safety line if the boat started blowing away quickly.  Fast hands under the boat and a quick grab of the passing ladder and I was back on board.  

We never did find the dinghy.  The Coast Guard was even notified and VIP Yacht Charters put the word out.  I assume it headed on to Puerto Rico or beyond.

January 17, 2008

Our first group of guests left early this morning to their various destinations in the states.  We really had a great time with them.  Lots of great conversations and reminiscing about anything and everything.  The week was an experiment for us with Colleen doing all of the cooking through the week.  I think it all went well but it was more work than she anticipated.  The hardest part about it was getting groceries.  And trying to make menus based on what is or isn’t available on any specific island.  But it all worked out. 

I think without a doubt that Antigua will continue to be a favorite island of mine.  The beaches go on forever and the countryside is magnificent.  We plan to rent a scooter tomorrow and do some of our own touring for a day. 

FLASHBACK – DECEMBER 13, 2000 – PETER ISLAND

Randy, you should remember this one.  I made the great decision to top off our water tanks at the Peter Island Yacht Club on Peter Island.  There’s a small entrance channel to a very small little harbor, which includes the fuel and water dock.  Getting in was easy so I was quite proud of my boat handling since I was very new with YOLO at the time.  

We got the water tanks full and then it hit me.  The strong wind was pressing the boat against the dock, which was great, except for exiting.  I had docked with the bow toward the shore, and the dock T to my stern.  In other words, I was trapped.  The wind was so strong that I could not get the boat out.  I couldn’t go forward and I couldn’t go backwards, and I certainly couldn’t go sideways.  Oh, and I must mention the reef not far off my port which meant potential trouble once I do figure out how to get off the dock.

So the plan was this, I would use the dinghy to pull the bow from the dock and Randy had instructions for steering YOLO to safety.  Once able, he was to take YOLO completely out of the harbor and I would catch up in the dinghy.  I tied a towline to the back end of the dinghy in such a way that I could release it quickly once we were free.  

Everything worked out as planned accept for one thing.  The line I had attached to the dinghy would not come loose.  Imagine this.  I am standing in the dinghy being pulled backwards along side YOLO.  No one knows I’m there because the dinghy is completely submerged and I am in water up to my waste.  Know one could here me yelling and I guess I’m glad they couldn’t.  It was more important to get YOLO out of the harbor than worry about the dinghy.  I figured the engine was already toast.

This went on for maybe 45-seconds until we were out of the harbor.  Once Randy slowed down, the dinghy surfaced under my feet.  What I didn’t expect was that the engine would still be running.  It just purred. 

January 15, 2008

What a day for the Captain.  Other than a gorgeous taxi ride around the island of Antigua, the day was a major hassle.  I started out with Customs and Immigration.  I swear this is the worst island of all.  Lots of walking and lots and lots of forms.  After that, I checked us into the Jolly Harbor Marina for an unknown number of days.  Only after all that, could I attack my major goal of the day, which was to fix Otto (autopilot).  

Otto had a major injury and after proving himself as a major crewmember, I couldn’t go without him.  So I sought medical attention.  If I could find the right part, I would do the surgery myself.  There were two Raymarine dealers on the island, both in English Harbor, which was way across the island.  I tried calling but I couldn’t get a phone to work.

My first visit was to Cay Electronics where I wasted 2.5 hours with a guy that wouldn’t have been able to arrange a table.  I found out quickly that no matter what, the part would have to be ordered from the states and shipped.  It was feasible since I expected to be on Antigua through Monday.  He tried calling Raymarine, but couldn’t get the phone to work long enough to complete a conversation.  Three attempts including email exchanges.  I told him I would be back in 40 minutes and took off running to the alternate dealer.  I could only hope they had a little more competence.  

Raymarine Dealer 2 consisted of a very nice local woman that accomplished more in 10 minutes than the other did in hours.  But, the part I need is on backorder, which puts it out of reach for my current situation.  My only alternative was to by the entire wheel drive unit at a much greater expense than I would have liked.  I just couldn’t imagine going without Otto any longer so I went ahead and ordered it.  What I didn’t expect was that I needed to provide my Customs Clearance papers in order for the dealer to accept delivery of the shipment.  She agreed that I could fax her a copy of my papers from Jolly Harbor since she was way across the island.  Got back to Jolly Harbor, attempted the fax but the phones wouldn’t work.  I’ll try again tomorrow.

I shared the taxi ride with my guests because they had decided they wanted to explore the English Harbor area of the island.  That worked out well for us.  We actually got an extended tour because the taxi driver had to pick up his daughter at school.  We agreed because it allowed us to see the St John area and countryside of Antigua.  This island is by far my favorite so far.  It’s beautiful in everyway.  It seems the entire coast is white sandy beach.  The hillsides are so green and unique.  Even the impoverished areas seem cleaner and better maintained than most other islands.  There seems to be more pride here.

Our guests took us out to a very nice dinner in the harbor.  We enjoyed a couple drinks on the boat and everyone went to bed in pretty good time. 

January 14, 2008 – HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICK

We set sail about 8 AM for Antigua.  The wind shifted on me so I had another upwind sail to accomplish.  The seas were pretty flat though so it was very pleasant.  The winds were moderate so I had to use the engine at times to keep us in daylight.  We arrived about 4 PM but too late for Customs and Immigration.  The Jolly Harbor Marina told us it was okay to dock at the marina and check in tomorrow.  

The marina was hopping.  Much more activity than the past two times I was there.  The marina is fairly new and when I was there in 2003, not everything was complete.  This would be my third visit now.

January 13, 2008

I checked us into Customs and Immigration first thing in the morning.  My favorite job for sure.  Then we all shared a taxi tour of the volcano-devastated Montserrat.  The volcano first blew in 1995 and has continued with eruptions for the past 10 years.  The last eruption was January of 2007 I believe.  They believe it to be pretty well settled down now.  

We were able to tour a section of the island that had only been opened for 2 months.  It’s actually illegal to cross the zone boundaries set by the local government.  Our taxi had four-wheel drive so he took us on some pretty rough upper and lower level terrain that other cabs can’t do.  

Most of Montserrat has been abandon.  Hundreds of homes have been left to rot; many are buried with ash or washed to the sea in the ash washes.  The locals are trying so hard to bring life back to the island but I think they have a long up hill battle ahead.  

January 12, 2008

We started for Montserrat around 9:30 AM.  I had decided it would be prudent to go around the north side of Nevis before heading south.  In hindsight, I’m not sure this was the best choice.  It might have cost us an hour, which nearly resulted in a dark arrival to Montserrat.  However, the winds cooperated and seas were flat.  We made it there around 5:30 PM.  

Colleen wasn’t feeling well all day and spent most of it in our cabin.  She did manage to drum up an incredible lunch while under sail.  We had a chicken and broccoli wrap with all kinds of other flavorful goodies cooked into it.  Her problem was not seasickness but she was dizzy whenever she stood up.  We think it might have been the result of some water in her ear that didn’t drain well.

January 11, 2008

After looking at the weather forecast, I decided to throw out a couple options for our next couple of days.  The winds are going to be light from the East making a direct shot to Antigua, quite difficult.  After bouncing things around with everyone, we decided to head back to Nevis for tonight, and then sail on to Montserrat for an overnight stop.  The sail to Nevis was very nice with the long cover of St Kitts and a reasonable breeze.

I had to take my three new guests along with me to Immigration in order for them to officially join YOLO for the departure.  As expected, this was a major hassle.  They did not have a little piece of paper that they were supposedly supposed to have so the officer had to fuss and puff for a while.  After a phone call or two she decided to let us proceed.  What can you do?

January 10, 2008

Our first guests arrived about 1 PM at the Marina in St Kitts.  We have Jim from Des Moines, George from Michigan, and Debra from the San Francisco area.  Jim is 81 years old but acts like he’s 50.  George is 75 with equal energy.  Both are retired Professors of music.  Debra is Jim’s niece and she is a manager in a Bay area Police Department.  They’ll be with us for a week.  

The week is somewhat of an experiment for Colleen and I.  We have agreed (only this once) to plan, cook meals, and clean up.  The group is paying for the service with the understanding that we’ve never done a trip like this before.  However, Colleen has put a tremendous amount of energy into making sure they have the best meals possible.  So far so good.  The Mahi Mahi tonight was incredible.

January 9, 2008

Another big day preparing the boat for guests.  Colleen cleaned every nook and cranny of YOLO.  I worked on the deck.  The boat looks great.  

Our arriving guests had requested fresh fish so we had some prepared on the dock off the back of the boat.  Mahi Mahi (dolphin fish) was the catch of the day.  We should have an incredible dinner tomorrow night.  Actually, story is that we happen to be docked next to a fishing boat.  That has its pros and cons.  The pros are that they offered us an entire Mahi Mahi fish, fully fillet and ready to grill or freeze.  We got way more than we really needed so we’ll spread it over two nights.  

New Years Eve!!! As quoted through an on line tabloid, the real party on St. Bart’s this year was on Dec. 30.  The location was Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s Octopus, the sixth-largest private yacht in the world at 414 feet.  ((( Note; YOLO was anchored next to it )))  I’m told guests got to rub elbows with Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington and Brett Ratner, while both Jon Bon Jovi and Robbie Robertson played in separate jam sessions with the amiable Allen and his house rock band.  Also there were Billy Joel with wife, Katie Lee; Harvey Weinstein and bride, Georgina Chapman; Penny Marshall; Tom Freston; Linda Evangelista and Peter Morton; financier George Soros; and Rebecca DeMornay (fresh from her DUI arrest in Los Angeles).  LeeLee Sobieski; Vivi Nevo and Ziyi Zhang; Charles Simonyi and Martha Stewart; Lorne Michaels; and Antonio "LA" Reid of Island Def Jam Records all hung out on the boat.  My spies even spotted Warner Music Group’s Lyor Cohen, who was probably celebrating his company’s spectacular 75 percent loss in value for 2007. Their stock was trading at $6 Wednesday morning.  Maybe he was explaining over Champagne and caviar why on Friday, WMG suddenly turned over 3 million tracks to Amazon.com for downloading with copy protection (see Monday’s Fox411.) The many dozens of Warner/Atlantic legacy artists who depend on CD sales would be heartened to know Cohen was enjoying himself.

January 6, 2008

We haven’t done too much exploring of Nevis.  We have heard that the hike to the top of Nevis requires a guide.  People have gotten lost and died on the climb because it’s so dense and natural.  No groomed climbing trails like Saba and its much higher. 

We are moored right off the end of the Four Seasons Resort.  We’ve been trying to do a few things on the boat that needed work.  I did some more sanding and polishing of the port side of the hull.  I haven’t mentioned this before but that work didn’t get completed before I left St Thomas.  It’s very hard work without an electric buffer.  I’ve probably spent 4 hours on it and I’m 1/3 of the way down one side of the boat.  Colleen put the first coat of varnish on a surface behind the galley stairs.  Now it needs some more sanding before a second coat.  The dinghy is running much better these days.  I must have inherited some bad gas from St Thomas.  I filled it with fresh gasoline and an additive in St Maartin and it seems to run better and better every day.  I’ll do that again soon.

Went into shore yesterday afternoon for a couple more Killer Bee drinks.  Glad were leaving those behind.  I don’t even care to know the recipe.  Tomorrow, I hope to find a place to top off one of the two propane fuel tanks for cooking.  We read there was a place on Nevis to do that.