Day 165, Year 6 Happy 2nd B-day to Ziggy from Antigua
Date: Thursday, April 7, 2011
Weather: Sunny (one little squall); Winds E 15-20
Latitude: 17 00.794 N
Longitude: 061 46.645 W
Miles Traveled: 43.20
Location: Falmouth Harbor, Antigua
Happy 2nd Birthday, Ziggy! We celebrated Ziggy’s birth on the island of Ko Lanta in Thailand. For his first birthday we were in the Peros Banhos Atoll in Chagos. And today, for his second birthday we are in Antigua. Hopefully next year we can be in New Mexico for his third birthday. But from wherever we are, Ziggy, just know that we are thinking of you and hope you had an incredible day.
The sail here today was upwind and sloppy, but fast. We were bucking a knot of current and still made speeds better than 6 knots all the way. We were heeled over so far that it was hard to get around on the boat, but the consolation was that we were making good time. Sailing north through the Caribbean seems to be ALL (fast and on your ear) or NOTHING (motoring with no wind when on the leeward side of islands). We left Deshaies, Gaudeloupe at 6:30 am and arrived here at 1:30 pm. Even though we were really heeled over most of the way, making it a bit uncomfortable, it was a good sail. Once we arrived, Steve took Mark in to the Antigua Yacht Club and dropped him off so he could go check in. Technically, crew is to stay on the boat until check-in is processed, so Steve returned to Windbird and we waited for Mark to call saying it was legit for us to come ashore. Steve had already seen some of the beautiful big boats at the yacht club and was anxious to get back to shore to see more. Mark had to walk across the peninsula to English Harbor to check in and then called us to come ashore. It took us a little longer than it should have as we had to stop and oogle at the Maltese Falcon. According to our friend Alan Kanesgberg in Concord, NH, this is the largest sailboat in the world that looks like a futuristic square rigger. It is hard to describe, so photos will have to fill in the gaps here. We walked the docks at the Antigua Yacht Club and almost immediately I saw Selijm, a beautiful boat we had first seen in the Sakatia anchorage in Madagascar. It was Selijm that donated their spinnaker to the local Rotary Club there and that Mark volunteered to turn into pirogue sails. We stopped by the boat and met Steve, the captain. We had met the crew in Sakatia, but not Steve, and he was delighted to meet the man who had turned the spinnaker into local sails. Selijm’s owner is Portuguese and they are headed there at the end of the season, but will first participate in the Classics regatta here next weekend. It was great to see Selijm once again. She is a beauty. We saw her in Madagascar and in Cape Town and now here in Antigua. We walked on down the dock looking at the other huge beauties. There were a few racing machines, a few classics, and some mega yachts. We came back to the yacht club and visited Lord Jim’s bookstore, and then walked over to English Harbor just to have a quick look. We will return there tomorrow morning to tour Fort Nelson and the boats in the marina there. When we returned to Falmouth Harbor we walked up to the Falmouth Marina to see the boats there. Again, there was a mix of racing machines, classics, and mega yachts, but it was the “J” boat, Ranger, that caught my eye. I didn’t realize at the time that Ranger was a “J” boat, but I did make mention of the fact that this looked like the boat that would win the race. She is long and sleek and in beautiful condition for an 80 year-old boat. In order to get a good photo of her we have to return in the morning and get the shot from dinghy. In front of Ranger was Rebecca, a yacht out of Newport, RI. She is also a beauty, but Ranger won the beauty contest today.
Antigua is all about boats and all three of us wish we could be here next weekend for the Classic Regatta and the last week of the month for Antigua Race Week. But we must leave here last tomorrow afternoon to do an overnight to St. Martin. Mark’s sister Jeanie arrives on Sunday and we want to get there a day early just to be safe. Once she arrives we will be sailing to either St. Barts or Anguilla or both, and possibly to Saba. The snorkeling there is fantastic, but the winds have to be just right in order to anchor there safely. So we’ll just have to see what the winds allow before we make definite plans for next week.
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| 110407 Day 165 Antigua–Falmouth Harbor Boats, Boats, Boats |
