Friday, April 30, 2005 - Greg

Bill arrives later today and Alexandre tomorrow afternoon.

We are nearly prepared for our next leg with safety gear checked, storm sails bent on, gear stowed. We went to the big supermarket in Jolly Harbor this morning and purchased fruits, vegetables and meats. Tomorrow morning we have a caterer delivering some frozen casseroles. Chocolate, Cheese and PopTarts are loaded and stored. Watermaker has been serviced and is ready to churn out sweet H2O. Engine fluid levels are checked and diesel is topped off. Espar heater is fueled and ready for use after the Gulf Stream. Crew anxious to catch the last of the daffodils and inhale the intoxication of Lilacs.

All are well.

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - Greg

Hot, hot, hot. No longer fun. Not even as a literary device to cudgel our New England readers. A brief window around 6 AM provides a spell of relief but I swear that as soon as the sky to the East begins to brighten, the air temperature starts to climb.

There are currently two guys on board who are most anxious to untie our lines and head north. Reports from Blue Hill state that daffodils are emerging in abundance; here even the cactus are wilting.

This is Antigua Race Week. Hundreds of unattractive boats gathered to provide sleeping quarters for the hours after the bars close...which I'm not sure they do. Bands playing the same songs we've heard for months...late into the night. A little cranky?...sorry, it's the heat.......We were joking yesterday about sleeping in our air conditioned rental car......seems less funny this morning.

All are well.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005 - Greg

Today is Anne McPheeters' (see bio!) birthday.
annemcpheeters@yahoo.com

It is getting very hot here. Easily in the 90's and little wind to cool it off. The nights are hot as well but luckily we are plugged into shore power and can run the fans down below. We have been starting the day earlier and taking the noon hours to head for the beach where the 85 degree water seems quite refreshing in the 95 degree air. It is definitely time to head north, though I'll eat those words in a week or two as we cross the Gulf Stream and head into the springtime Gulf of Maine!

All are well.

Monday, April 25, 2005 - Greg

We are back into Off Shore mode getting Thunderhead ready for the last leg between Antigua and Blue Hill. Justin is finding, checking and installing safety gear. I have begun daily downloads of weather information and trying to get a feel for the weather systems along our route. I have found that it is much easier to get familiar with the various highs and lows tracking across our route than to just open a new weather chart and try to understand what is happening. Right now we are happy to be in Antigua----or at least not trying to make the passage from Bermuda back to Maine. As our Northeast readers may know from looking out the window, this is no time to be making a passage into the Gulf of Maine. Our plan is to get to Bermuda stop for a night for fueling if necessary and then reassess the weather for the final leg. Right now there are a series of lows tracking across the Northern US so I'm hoping in a ridiculously optimistic way that it'll "get it out of its system" by the time we are ready to leave Bermuda. It is most unlikely that we can make this trip without at least one blow but the boat is up to the job and we'll take great care to get a good weather window for the passage.

I was unclear how to reenter the US on our arrival and spoke with a Border Patrol officer in Bangor this morning. As of now (with alerts being what they are) we will be able to arrive at our final destination (likely Center Harbor, Brooklin, Maine) call Customs from there with all the info about the ship and the passengers and they will make a determination if we need to be inspected. Should alert levels be different we may be required to head to an official Port of Entry, Belfast, Maine being the closest.

Our crew for the return trip includes Justin, Billy Anderson and my nephew Alexandre Vial. They've been instructed to bring clothes for temperatures ranging from 85 to 40 degrees........oh, it is going to be a shocker!

All are well.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 (Part II) - Greg

We were just down on the dock in Falmouth talking with a friend of ours on Cuilaun. He said that he got a great shot of us " the day with the whales". Justin and I looked blankly at each other and them as they told us about the whales breeching just to Leeward of us. They said that they were thinking we didn't see the whales because we were all looking at their boat.

So I've just uploaded a picture for you to enjoy. After you've looked at it----can you believe we missed this?

Oh, well. We've seen some other splendid sights during the year!

All are well.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - Greg

The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta finished last night. Thunderhead finished in the middle of her class. It was terrific to have the "all beef patty" crew on board again and despite rather tedious racing which was essentially all reaching legs with no spinnakers, a good time was had by all. Two J boats, Ranger and Valsheda were joined by a modern hot schooner called Windrose in providing the real excitement of the race. The large boats start last so they quickly work their way through the fleet so the challenge becomes staying out of their way....but being close enough to watch these amazing craft drive through the sea like freight trains. If they pass close to windward it is like being in the lee of a great cliff. Unfortunately, Thunderhead got a poor rating and had to give time to boats which were clearly bigger and faster. It is always easy to piss and moan about your rating in an event like this. Trying to arrive at an equal handicap system for a group of apples and oranges is never entirely fair but it is a little disheartening when a bigger boat sails by you for three days in a row and at the end of the day you have to give them a time allowance. Nevertheless, it was a fun reunion of the Eastbound transatlantic crew and friends. Pictures to follow..........promise.

As the Regatta was finishing up, I switched gears to the next (and final) leg. I have begun to organize the weather files we will use for the trip home and also the list of things to do prior to departure. As I was doing chart work last night, figuring courses and distances to Blue Hill I was suddenly aware of the finality of this adventure. It seems almost impossible that the year has passed and that soon I'll be sleeping ashore and Justin will be back at Hobart. We've often joked about how much time, sailing, warm weather, etc was still to be enjoyed. I have no idea what happened to the time.

All are well.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005 - Greg

This morning Peter and Eve Mcpheeters and our neighbor John from OM SHANTI joined us for a quick trip out of English Harbor and around the corner to the Antigua Yacht Club Marina where we will be docked for a week during the Classic Yacht Regatta. We are nested between and among some fabulous yachts; some classic...some not. Immediately adjacent to us on the right is RANGER (should be Ranger II). This is a reproduction of the famous American J boat which beat Endeavour in 1932 in the America's Cup Race. The original RANGER was built at Bath Iron Works in Maine and the hull was constructed of bronze plate--not a common building material. It was later melted down to aid the WWII effort. The new RANGER captures the distinct snub bow of the original but much of the deck design is an interpretation only.

Just on the other side of the pier we tie to is VALSHEDA. Another British J Boat from the same era. VALSHEDA is a restoration like ENDEAVOUR and much more true to the original design. All three of these boats are in the Harbor here and are breathtaking vessels.

Interesting to point out that VASHEDA has her own 90 foot power yacht as a tender and RANGER has the famous CHRISTINA O. (O as in Onassis) as her mothership. God forbid the owners would actually have to sleep on these sailboats whose interiors are frequently featured in interior design magazines!

Across the way is MIRABELLA V, launched last year and the largest sloop in the world. It is 240 ish feet long; the mast 300 feet; a crew of 10. We were watching a man at the top of the mast yesterday and he looked like an ant on the end of a string.
Also in the ranks of superlative is ATHENA 296 feet (including bow sprit), schooner rig....the largest privately owned sailing yacht in the world.

So THUNDERHEAD is suffering from a little mast envy.... but Justin who has somehow acquired a staff (?)..........has gotten great amounts of Bronze and brass polished to shaving-quality shine, the brightwork has just gotten two coats of varnish and divers today just scrubbed the bottom and waterline. I understand that "the staff" is returning throughout the week to bring her to a regatta ready condition.

The crew arrives in bits throughout the week and we race on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The scene here in Antigua is a cross between Newport prior to the Bermuda Race and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. The air is filled with the smell of BRASSO!

All are well.

Thursday, April 7, 2005 - Justin

he preparation for Antigua Classic Yacht Week has made me think about what I love most about sailing. It used to be that any race, any time, on any boat was the coolest thing I could be doing on a boat. But after spending so much time aboard Thunderhead since last June I find that it is not the racing of Thunderhead that I am looking forward to most in about a week’s time. Do not be mistaken here, I cannot wait to get this boat racing. But this is different, and I am not fully sure what to make of it. I find myself wondering what has changed. Having kept up with the emails from my beloved college sailing team I have found that some of the kids on the team are working to stay relaxed and trying to remember that this is about fun and not about winning. Everyone sails better when in this state of mind. This too was not my problem, with a group of about eight guys, Margot Anderson and possible (hopefully even) one or two more friends coming down to take part, my role in the racing will be minimal. My responsibilities will be less then they have been for some of the passages that we have done. It is not that I have lost my love for racing either. Upon our return to Antigua I have
had the chance to catch up on emails and hear from my friends on the team. I often go to bed dreaming of racing dinghies in the snow. If you hadn’t known before I am weird. I love sailing when it is freezing cold in a boat that can capsize with sheets that freeze, where everything that gets water on it is coated in ice. As I have already said, I happily dream about it. So why is this race, one sailed in far more pleasant conditions different for me? Then finally it dawns on me. I want to sail in this race, not for the racing, but to see the friends I have made throughout this year. Because friends are priceless

Thursday, March 31, 2005 - Greg

On Sunday night, our diving instructor, Barry, and his partner Patricia came by for a glass of wine around 8 PM prior to an expedition in search of nesting Leatherback Turtles. We then loaded into two jeeps and headed out to Sand beach on the Atlantic side of St. Kitts. It was just after full moon so the half mile beach was bright and handsomely nestled between two rock outcroppings. We walked down to where a turtle had come ashore the previous night. Barry described it as one of the largest he'd seen; eight to nine feet and three feet high. We saw the "crawl" marks from her migration onto and off the beach. They were easily six feet wide. We also saw the area of the nest and could see where she had dug a hole filling the nest with sand. Barry said that she had laid 103 eggs about the size of a ping pong ball.

Alas, no turtles and a repeat walk of the beach on the following night produced none either. The saving grace was that walking that moon-soaked beach on a warm and breezy tropical night was a delight in it's own. On the afternoon prior to the second walk, Barry and Patricia came by Thunderhead with a hatchling Hawksbill turtle which a youngster found on a different beach. Justin got a great picture of it which will soon be on the website. The little guy was then returned to the beach where it had hatched and returned to the sea.

On Monday morning Justin and I got in two more dives with the dive master from the previous day. Both of these were on coral reefs, about 40 feet deep. The high point of these dives was the spotting of sharks, each resting quietly on the sand under rock. The sharks were only about 3 feet long.......but we never got to measure the jaw span! These reefs were both quite unspoiled; no evidence of previous divers. Very beautiful.

Around noon on Tuesday we shoved off from St. Kitts headed for Antigua with a plan to arrive in Antigua at dawn. We had plenty of time so we sailed down the west coast of Nevis and around and close by the "Island" of Redonda. This large piece of rock is theoretically part of Antigua and Barbuda but locals from Antigua have, in the last century, declared it an independent kingdom. It is all quite facetious but there is, in fact, the second reigning "King of Redonda" who lives in Antigua. I have read his article describing the flotilla which sailed to the rock on a specific day, landing (somehow) climbing to the top (somehow) and with crown on head, staked his claim to this piece of terra firma (emphasis on the firma!).

When we left St Kitt's, Justin asked me if I was aware that we would arrive in Antigua at 3 AM? Well, I was anxious to get going but he was wrong about the arrival time. We got to English Harbor at 10 minutes to 3 not 3. We found the gas dock empty, tied up and slept for a few hours. In the morning, we filled our diesel tanks, contacted the Nelson's Dockyard Marina and moved over to our berth there. This place is getting to be like home. We know everyone and everyone knows us...for better or worse. Tomorrow I head back to Maine for a week and "Kong" and his army begin putting two more coats of varnish on Thunderhead. The Classic Yacht Regatta begins on the 14th so we will be quite shiny for it and hopefully also get through the summer season before we need to varnish again.

There is talk of a log from Justin while I'm away....and as you can imagine, he is distraught that I will be going North and leaving him; 21 years old, alone on a 49 foot yacht in English Harbor, Antigua, in the weeks leading up to regattas......I don't want to even know!

Check for pictures soon.

All are well.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - Greg

Happy Birthday today to Ricky Bergland e.bergland@itcglobal.com and Dave Oldershaw dlo@icsrepgroup.com

Monday, March 28, 2005 - Greg

Good Morning today to Ms. D-H and Mr.Oliver's 2nd Grade Students at Narragansett School Gorham, Maine. They are right now studying about the Oceans. If Mr. Oliver will show you the map, you can see that we are sailing around the top half of the Atlantic Ocean. We left Maine last June and sailed for 20 days to Ireland. Along the way we saw many whales. porpoises and sea birds. The water in the North Atlantic was very cold....about 50 degrees....so no swimming! We then continued our voyage south along the coasts of Spain and sailed out of the Atlantic Ocean into the Mediterranean Sea...just for a look around. After looking around we sailed back out, down along the coast of Africa then headed West for a 21 day sail to Antigua, an Island in the Caribbean Sea. This sea is formed by the south coast of the United States, Mexico, and the North coast of South America. The eastern boundary is the chain of islands below Florida which stretch from Cuba to Trinidad. This is where we have spent the winter. No snow storms here. But no "Snow Days" either!!!! While you kids were sledding and making snow angels, we were swimming and looking for star fish. The water in the Caribbean Sea is 80 degrees. In May, we will point Thunderhead back North sailing from Antigua to Bermuda and then on to Maine. That will complete our circuit of the Atlantic Ocean.

Sunday, March 27, 2005 - Greg

This morning our neighbors in the marina asked if we had an Easter egg hunt. I replied that they were hard enough to find at the bottom of the cooler....plus Justin threatened to hide them up the mast.....knowing full well...........

We set off at 0800 to Kenneth's Dive Shop (Monkey Sea, Monkey Dive) where we met up with an instructor and were taken to his house where he had an instruction pool. I was certified a thousand years ago but it was Justin's first dive and here in the Caribbean dive shops will waive certification if you take a morning course and then proceed to the dive with your instructor. I was happy to have a refresher so the two of us plus another gentleman were given the basics on the equipment, mask clearing, sharing air, and pressure equalization. We then suited up and drifted to the 9 foot end of the pool. Now, I won't say that the pool was dirty but the bottom did remind me of some coral reefs I have seen.

After the three of us were checked out on the various techniques, a van picked us up and brought us to the waiting dive boat at the marina. We then proceeded to a dive site about 3-4 miles away and were instructed on what was below. We entered the water one at a time with the dive master on the boat looking out for us and our instructor in the water. Repeated hand signs were used to assure that we were all comfortable and that the equipment was working properly. We then proceeded down a "dive rope" suspended from the bow of the boat and slowly descended to about 40 feet, the instructor frequently reminding us to equalize the pressure in our ears and ascertaining that all was well.

I was very happy to hear that we were diving on a wreck off the coast. A small freighter had sunk there years ago but was tossed into two pieces during Hurricane Hugo fairly recently. Also down below was an old tractor and the skeleton of what looked like a Ford Econoline passenger van. the last two items may seem like littering but the fish and coral clearly like hanging out at these structures. Our instructor lead us through and over the wrecks. He pointed out flounder buried in sand and found other interesting sea life and shells which he handed to us for closer inspection. Just hanging weightless looking at these structures was incredible.

Tonight we head out with our dive instructor on another of his ventures. His Springtime hobby is protecting the nesting sights of Leatherback Turtles which come to beaches in St. Kitts to nest. He takes tourists with him and Justin and I are headed there after dark.

More to follow.

All are well.

Saturday, March 26, 2005 - Greg

Okay, here is a story for you:

On the final night in St Martin, after a fine dinner and cake, Justin set about taking down the awnings and preparing the boat for an early departure to Saba and Statia.
As he was working in the cockpit, I hear a rare profanity from him and figured that he must have stubbed his toe in the dark. I went aft to investigate and he said "Bird Crap". In the light of the nearly full moon I saw Justin standing shirtless and covered with bird crap all over his arm, chest and shorts......and I mean alot of bird crap. Frankly, he looked like someone had just tossed a pint of White-Out at him! As delicately as I could, I asked a simple question. "Could I take a picture?" His reply was swift and firm. "No", he replied in a voice which told me not to ask again.
" Look, it is up there" he said, pointing to a large dark shadow perched up on the second spreader. "And look here" as he motioned toward a truly unbelievable array of white puddles on the deck, toe rails, cockpit rails, seats. Bird crap everywhere. . But the next thing I saw was Justin, covered, with fire in his eyes as he headed out of the cockpit to the foredeck. Then, with a will, that would move a mountain, he found the spinnaker halyards that go to the top of the mast, untied them and began to sweep them across the upper spreaders with a most vigorous force. He found his mark as we heard a very disgruntled bird screech then take flight for some other roost. The bird did not come back.....in fact, I doubt he will ever go near a wooden spreader again. And, Justin? Thunderhead has a good hot shower down below..........but damn, I wish I had a picture.

Things then calmed down and we spent a Karaoke free night in St. Martin. We weighed anchor at 0800 and headed for a sail around Saba Island to St Eustatius- about 40 miles. The wind was just forward of the beam as we crossed the 20 miles to Saba with a reefed main, stays'il and jib doing 8+ knots much of the way. Saba, as I reported in an earlier log is a very steep conical island with one bluff protected side and one side which slopes gradually enough for an airport. We sailed north of the Island entering a 2-3 mile run of calm seas and light winds as we tucked under the lee of the bluff. There are a couple of 100 yard beaches under the cliffs with torturous roads and one set of at least a 1000 stone steps leading to houses perched high above. As we came out of the lee of the Island, we were hit with a gust which made the wind meter jump from 4 knots to 22 knots in about 3 seconds. The next few miles were difficult as we worked our way out of the drafts created by the Island and into deeper water. It was later than I wanted and "Statia" was two very long tacks away so against the oncoming waves, we started the engine and were able to maintain 6+ knots. The 17 miles to Statia were made but as we were about two miles from the anchorage I could see the mast of anchored yachts waving back and forth in wide arcs and determined that it was going to be one long rolling night aboard.

We anchored as best we could tucked up under a breakwater but to little avail. The swells rolling into the anchorage were 90 degrees off from the wind and roll we did.
As soon as we got our anchor secure, I got out the cruising guide, figured out our next destination, St. Kitts, and announced that we'd be leaving at the crack-a-dawn. I didn't even want to go ashore in the morning for fear that we'd be stuck there a second night

Early in the morning after half a cup of coffee, we weighed anchor in Statia and were soon headed for St. Kitts. Another uphill climb, but we "charged the batteries" en route and made it in good time. St Kitt's has a protected marina where we found a slip and will settle for a couple of days. The port of Bass Terre is "under-construction" with most of the marina facilities yet to be finished. I enquired if there were rest rooms and the marina manager quite confidently said "oh, yes. See those concrete blocks over there?, That is where they will be....and showers too." A taxi was required to get to Customs. But "Dr. Elvis" picked us up promptly and drove us about five miles away where we were greeted by yet another surly Caribbean bureaucrat. What is it with these people?....and since it was a holiday "Good Friday", we then had to travel to the airport to get our passports stamped. This customs stuff is nuts. It is like traveling around Kansas and having to get permission at each farm!

All are well.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 - Greg

Spent yesterday on St.Martin. We took a taxi across the island to the Dutch side and had lunch in Phillipsburg, the capital. Big cruise liners including the QM2 in port. These places are organized around the cruise ships. Both here in Marigot, the French capital and Phillipsburg are wall to wall shops. Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Tiffany's, Hermes, Cartier............too much! All we saw between the capitals were industrial zones, big stores etc.

But back in Marigot we'd found a fine little store called Epicurean Francaise. A great little store run by a husband and wife from France. Cheese...if you please. Thunderhead's ice box again smells like a cow barn on a hot day........but heaven at cocktail time. We ate as planned at the Moroccan restaurant but I'm here to say that it was not authentic.....NO Moroccans eat that well! A really handsome restaurant in the center of three small houses. A beautiful space tempered by only a suggestion of North Africa. It has been multiple generations since the owner stepped foot in Marrakech!

This morning we motored over to the Island of Anguilla. On the way over Justin read the recent history from the Cruising Guide. In 1967, the British teamed up Anguilla, St. Kitts, and Nevis into one independent country. Anguilla would have nothing to do with being ruled by the folks from St. Kitts and were soon in armed rebellion against them. Fearing an invasion from St. Kitts after the governor there talked very tough about getting Anguilla to fall into line, a small band from Anguilla took the initiative and invaded St. Kitts! No Fatalities. Soon the British fearing that Anguilla had become communist landed an invasion force on that Island to be quite embarrassingly welcomed by the entire Island. They had never wanted Independence and the British finally conceded in 1969 and let them rejoin the Commonwealth. In the past couple of months we've seen some other Independent Islands that should have been so lucky.

After a nice snorkel at the cove where we were anchored, we determined that it was just too exposed and rolly to spend the night so we motored back to St. Martin and this time moored well away from the scourge of the Caribbean ports--Karaoke!

Okay, okay.......54.......there I said it. Happy?.... Thank you all for the many emails. I'll get back to you in a few days..........and the Ship's Baker?.....a cake, frosted, candled, ballooned.........and my very own Telescoping Spyglass in a handsome wooden case. I suppose I'll have to back off on the floggings for a few days.

Tomorrow a sail around Saba then down to St. Eustatius (Statia) for the night. We are desperately hoping to find a Laundry there....The Statian's too should be hoping for one.

All are well.

Monday, March 21, 2005 - Greg

After packing away all of our stuff....and man, do we have stuff; awnings, awning rods, union jack, union jack staff holder, dinghy, fenders, lines, swim ladder, dinghy cover, spare sails, main sail cover, stays'il cover..........Justin started the engine, I cast off our mooring and out we powered ever more confident than yesterday of the sufficient depth of the entrance channel. We then power sailed down between the southern reefs off Anegada and the eastern tip of Virgin Gorda. As I left you in yesterday's log, the wind was coming straight out of our destination which requires a sailing trip of exactly twice the distance of a straight line route. However, as our course shifted to the east the wind also shifted first east and then northeast. We were able to head nearly for St Martin, our goal. Being able to head "nearly" to the mark means that the trip will be longer than a direct course but not the full double distance that we anticipated when the wind was blowing directly from St. Martin.

We left at around 1:30 PM and at 6:28 watched the sun set behind St John, US Virgin Islands 30 or so miles away. We have yet to see a famous Caribbean " Green Flash" and until so remain entirely skeptical. I know, I know, I can already imaging the emails claiming that "You've" seen one.......We'll keep looking.

Justin, the auto pilot and I began three hour watches at about 8PM. The wind was blowing 14 knots so J~ tucked in a first reef and we sailed under reefed main, Jib and Stays'il. The wind continued to shift through the night, more unfavorably at first but not too severe. We had to think very hard about when last we actually had to beat to weather on this voyage. We can only really remember one night, just prior to the west bound landfall of Gibraltar, with Chris, Alexandre, and the two of us, a night I have already written about. The auto pilot continues to work. But, however miraculous and accurate it can steer, it cannot outsteer a good helmsman going up wind in shifting breezes. (It can be set up to steer to the wind but ours is not) Ultimately, Justin and I ended up steering by hand most of the night. Pretty exhausting but entirely exhilarating. Moon, stars, dry warm wind, gentle warm spray, Thunderhead with one rail frequently buried driving though short chop like a horse headed for the barn. I was off watch from 0500 to 0800. At 0830 I woke and realized that Justin had not given me the usual "Ten Minutes!" signifying the start of my next trick at the helm. I got out of bed and found him square behind the wheel in glorious sunshine, grinning from ear to ear as he drove us into Marigot, St. Martin.

As we were again in France we were quickly ashore in search of croissant and coffee. Because it was 11:00 AM we had to settle for fresh strawberry tartes. C'est dommage! We found stores at which to reprovision (......okay, we found fresh Fois Gras) had lunch at a cafe next to the Lagoon and checked out the remains of an 18th Century fort which once protected this Island from those pesky Englishmen.

Still exhausted from the lack of sleep last night, we opted to return to the boat for an early dinner and movie at the Cinema Thunderhead. We put off until tomorrow night a great looking Moroccan restaurant. As we checked out the menu I asked Justin if he were by chance looking for camel on the list of entres. I think that it is his only untried species on this trip.

All are well.

Saturday, March 19, 2005 - Greg

We motored over to Anegada shortly after Justin returned from shore. With him in charge, navigating and running the ship, we motored the 14 miles over to Anegada.
Though it is only 14 miles away, the highest point on this spit of scrubby sand is only 28 feet. This is the flattest land we have seen since the backside of Nantucket last June. The first thing spied were the tops of Palm Trees at about 9 miles distant. After the towering bluff coasts of Ireland, Spain and the Med, it was quite unusual to see such a low lying piece of Real Estate. As I mentioned this morning, there are 300 wrecks reported here and on entry one can see why. The entire Island is surrounded by reefs with only one narrow and shallow entrance to the harbor. However, the water is the cleanest, clearest we've come across yet. At one point about two miles out we were in 12 meters of water, a smidgeon under 40 feet, and Justin was on the bow picking out Star Fish at the bottom. Amazing. As we entered the harbor, I was on the bow and as we progressed inward in about 10 feet of water (sometimes less-and we need six feet) watching the bottom in this ultra clear water and Thunderhead's bow passed over it was a most unnerving experience. There was, though, a boat ahead of us which I was quite certain drew as much as we do so we just kept a close eye on its progress and followed its track. After rounding the final reef, Justin at the helm, we worked our way into the mooring field and he did a fine job of threading Thunderhead through a maze of boats and crisply up to the mooring ball.

The harbor consists of a hotel (of sorts) a general store (of sorts) and a couple of restaurants. We scoped out the restaurants and finally decided on the one which was serving Garlic Shark....guess who that was for! Since we had exhausted the local area of things to look at we decided to take a taxi to the major town called "The Settlement" We just went to see what was there but in a hat tip to Ms. G. Stein, we discovered that there was "no there, there"! A few shacky houses, police station, firehouse and a flock of sheep. We quickly returned to the harbor and will hang out reading and playing cut throat Cribbage until we row in to dinner.

later---the Garlic Shark was reported to be excellent. The singing waitress was not.

We returned to the boat, watched "Captain Ron for the "I won't tell you how many' times.

Sunday morning we woke at the usual hour and after coffee (genuine Cuban coffee, BTW!) we went ashore and hired a taxi out to the North End of Anegada where we snorkeled off a beach. The breaking surf at the edge of the reef roiled the water too much and it was a fairly mediocre swim. Justin did manage to see a small sea turtle and found a small inhabited conch.

We returned to the boat and facing a head wind straight out of St. Martin, we headed to St. Martin. More to follow.

All are well.

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - Greg (Part II)

Okay, let's get down to the brass tacks. Laser racing in Gorda Sound.

Justin representing Thunderhead.
Now read carefully as I write out the results.

Six races, six boats-----Justin's finishes as follows:
1-1-1-1-1-1

He won't be buying tonight!

And other stuff happened today too.

All are well.

Thursday, March 17, 2005 - Greg

St Patrick's Day. I wonder if they'll dye the Caribbean green for the occasion? They certainly have the rest of the activities (activit-y) down to a fine science around here!

Yesterday morning, we were up and leaving the mooring at 08:00. We were headed to the Baths at Virgin Gorda and no anchoring is allowed so you must be there early enough to find an empty mooring. A good wind (10-12 knots) was blowing so I decided it was a good opportunity to really stress the auto pilot and try to convince the skeptical mate that all was well with the new unit. We rolled out the jib and left the motor running. This would force the pilot to contend with speed in a small chop as well as the steering imbalance from carrying jib alone. For an hour the new drive unit worked. Later in the day "Elijah" steered us for over an our on a close reach. I declare it to be working.........from the mate?........grudging agreement that .....so far..........!

Having been to the Baths on a previous visit, I took to my book this morning while Justin joined the others in a hike and swimming. The Baths is a beautiful sand beach studded with huge round rocks which form pools, channels at the waters edge. It is more remarkable because these huge round bolders are not found on any other shores of this or neighboring Islands. If I hear of their geological origin (hint to the Ship's Scrivener) I will report later.

Around noon Justin showed back up aboard with volunteers for an afternoon sail. Dave Reynolds, Jesse Millett, RJ Hoar, Fred Clark and Ollie Kippen joined us for a great sail with 12-15 knots of wind hard on the nose up to Gorda Sound. Though it was entirely in the wrong direction, we headed Thunderhead back toward Jost Van Dyke and got the Spinnaker flying. As it was late in the day, we only had it up long enough to be spotted by the Flag Ship then dowsed it and headed for port.

When we got to our mooring which was being held for us, Justin was given Thunderleave until the next scheduled event....... dinner tonight. He was last see grinning widely and heading off to the Bitter End Yacht Club with 10 people his age in an inflatable dinghy built for 6. There must have been a medical emergency because they were all talking about "Pain Killers".

I was invited aboard the flag ship for dinner by the chefs de jour Dudley Ladd. Appetizer was conch fritters which were all conch and little fritter) followed by charcoal grilled pork loin, rice, vegetables served with a fabulous hollandaise. For dessert, the chef on "Flame" delivered freshly made profiteroles. The last word from the "Kids" boat was something about pasta. Ah, there are a few consolations to adulthood.

Plans for today call for the usual morning snorkel followed by team Laser racing this afternoon and dinner ashore on Saba Rock at the head of the anchorage.

While in Road Town, we found a cloth hammock which Justin is now installing under the awning on the foredeck. If he gets it hung up, I will encourage him to spend the day with the "kids" off hunderhead.......thinking only of his own enjoyment, of course.

All are well.

Wednesday, March 16, 2005 - Greg

It is like we are on vacation from our voyage.

Yesterday morning all went snorkeling and diving except Justin and myself who took the morning to catch up on some maintenance. Justin removed the offending auto pilot drive unit remounted the sprocket gear on to the new drive unit and reinstalled in its place deep in the bowels of the lazarette.

One of the couples cruising with us, Stuart and Robin ray are on a captained motor yacht called "Flame". this is a handsome wooden Feadship from the 1950's which surely gives Thunderhead a run for her money in the classic looks department. The Captain of that boat is Wayne Ellsworth who had an interesting solution for the polishing problem aboard. His secret was to polish the brass, bronze, copper, wash with rubbing alcohol then apply a thin coat of Johnson's acrylic floor wax. Unlike trying to clear coat (varnish or urethane) a highly polished surface, this wax is easily removed with ammonia when it is time for repolishing. Six months, he claims, the metal will stay bright and untarnished. As our current longevity for a polished surface is one day (unless it rains sooner) we were eager to try his system and he had some of the polish on board Flame. Justin went to work on the binnacle with Noxon and soon had it clean. He washed the metal with Hydrogen Peroxide (we were out of rubbing alcohol) and then applied the Wax. Applying the wax is trickier than Wayne let on but eventually it smoothed out and the shine remained bright. Today 36 hours later it looks just polished. We shall see.

After the others returned from snorkeling, we were joined by Art and Carol Watson, David Brooks, David Millet, Dudley Ladd, and Ollie Kippen for a sail on Thunderhead. On the way out, we turned on the new auto pilot and it seemed to work. Justin was still skeptical and said that it was too easy a trial. But it was making sounds which were far more familiar to me than the replacement installed in January. And it worked for nearly an hour. We had a nice quiet sail with soft winds at 7-9 knots.

After swims and showers, we donned our compulsory Hawaiian shirts and after "Pain Killers" (regular and virgin) at a nearby tropical shack, we were ferried over to a great restaurant called Donovan's Reef on Scrub Island. Forgive the expression but "upscale tropical" comes to mind. After dinner there was speechifying, songs and group pictures before being ferried back to our boats.

We were far from karaoke and a fine nights sleep was had though I have no idea when Justin returned......... as long as he is quiet, he can return anytime up until 07:59.

All are well.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005 - Greg

News from the Cruise.

Sunday, after snorkeling at "The Indians" at Norman Island, we headed west in the Sir Francis Drake Channel and as we crossed a thin purple line (on our chart plotter)off St. John, Justin announced that Thunderhead had just entered US waters for the first time in 7 months and three weeks (to the day). We didn't tarry though and quickly tacked over to Starboard, sailed inside Great Thatch Island headed to Jost Van Dyke (BVI).

There we anchored in very hard bottom. Justin dove on the anchor, reported that we were hooked to a small boulder and attached a trip line to the hook. We were clearly dragging across the bottom but paid out more chain and set the electronic anchor alarm. Eventually our anchor "took".

Dinner (for 32) was at the famous "Foxy's" in Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke. Three tables divided us up for billing purposes with one table was quickly populated by those of the younger persuasion where pitchers of the local "Pain Killers" were soon being delivered. Fred Clark offered as how the medicinal ingredient of these palliatives may well be the sprinkle of nutmeg on top but few bought into that that theory.

Adjacent to the restaurant, the bar and dance floor were hopping. Soon, loud, bad , Karaoke (a triple redundancy?) began at the bar and like rats off a ship, the sensible (read: tired, old, boring) departed for our vessels.

The following day, having put the younger ones at a distinct disadvantage, Christy organized "beach olympics" at a small deserted strip of sand on Green Cay. The group was divided into 4 teams; Coconuts, Papayas, Mangos, Guavas. Events included Tug of War, two team relays, one with a ball held firmly between the knees and the other a swim around an anchored dingy. Water balloon tossing was followed by sandcastle building. I can report that the winner was called Virgin Gorda a remarkably obscene Adam and Eve depiction which featured beach debris including coconuts, a corn cob, seaweed, and a tropical variant of a fig leaf. I leave the rest to your imagination.

During the events, we were visited by Paul and Maripat Brady and there offspring Andy and Caitlin. They are staying in St. Thomas. Mike Swanton had relayed our location for the day and they motored over in a 25 foot Mako. I'd forgotten to mention to David and Christy that I knew they were coming so there was much astonishment when it was reported that they were walking up the beach.

Lunch was then taken at our own boats before reporting to our team captain's vessel for song writing. We had about one half hour to compose a cruise related song and report back en masse to the flag ship. The songs were all remarkable good. One Calypso, two more contemporary and one written to the Milton School song. Christy then presented the final tally and reported that the Papaya team was the winner of the days events. Unfortunately, I was a coconut and Justin a guava and a few sour grapes aside, we congratulate this outstanding team (.......not!).

Well, let me tell you what many of you will not be disappointed to hear. Yesterday, it rained and was quite foggy. After the beach events and awards we motored over to Marina Cay on the west end of Jost Van Dyke. It was like being in Penobscot bay (on a hot day). Islands and boats looming out of the fog, wet soggy breezes. Frankly, it was beautiful. Christy made the trip over with us and at one point we both thought that we could be rounding up the west side of North Haven heading for Pulpit Harbor.

After anchoring, we were invited over to the flagship for dinner, a birthday cake for Robin Ray and a round of "Up the river, Down the river" or "Oh, Hell!". There were ten of us playing with two decks of cards but suspicions began to run at the first appearance of three Jack of Clubs. Later, three Ace of Spades appeared and a few other extra cards as well. The competition was heated but the ambiance quite Caribbean so we just continued playing. We ended only going "Up the River" and not down and the game ended in a tie for first place between Robin Ray and Holly Burnes. The mystery of the extra cards was solved when Justin sorted the two decks and discovered that we were playing with one regular deck and one pinochle
deck.

This morning while others are snorkeling, Justin is down in the lazarette installing the new auto pilot drive unit. It is now operating and appears to be working though the unit we are replacing also worked for an hour or so each morning. We will test it this afternoon. Life would be much simpler for the trip back to Antigua and the trip back to Maine if this were the solution.

We sail this afternoon, just for fun, and return here tonight for a group dinner at Donovan's Reef . I'm glad to report that our mooring is mercifully far from the establishment and tonight's Karaoke need not be appreciated by those of us in our bunks. Also, I can add that Justin has perfected the art of noiselessly getting back aboard at whatever hour it is that he and his compatriots break up.

All are well.

Saturday, March 12, 2005 - Greg

To the readers from the Northeast USA:
Since I have received emails about your current weather and I'm about to describe our day, I want to give you this opportunity to skip this log until you might be in a more serene state of mind. You've been warned!

We left Road Town this morning after fueling up. We were politely waiting our turn when another boat dashed in front of us to secure his position at the fuel dock. I went out to the bow and shaking my fist, told him what I thought of his maneuver. I can say though that I used no words with less then 5 letters! We went to a different fuel dock in another part of town and quite by accident did the same to another boat. He was more polite though and seeing that he was staying for the day and that we just wanted fuel, cheerfully held off for the few minutes it took to top off our tanks.

It was a totally splendid day in the Sir Francis Drake Channel (hey, you were warned) We soon had the sails up and were sailing in company with our friends on their 45 foot Catamaran. Part of what made the sail so great was that we only were going about 5 miles and it was like going out for a day sail. No pressure to get to a certain harbor, no checking Speed Over the Ground or estimated arrival times. Just sailing along in cool tropical breezes.

We followed our friends into The Bight an anchorage on Norman Island and after picking up a mooring, we got the boat organized, dinghy launched and awning placed. The Milletts showed up a few minutes later in their inflatable dinghy with an invitation to join them in snorkeling at the caves. We piled into their boat, motored around a small point of land and with flippers and masks dropped into crystal clear water at the edge of a cliff. the snorkeling was great, good coral and a large variety of tropical fish including a baby Morey eel. But what was really fun were caves that you could swim into. The most impressive was about 100 feet deep ending in a large cavernous room which was quite dark until your eyes got adjusted to the light. Norman Island was reputedly the setting for R.L.Stevenson's "Treasure Island". These caves certainly looked like stereotypical pirate's lair's.

After we returned to Thunderhead we were hailed by a dinghy coming towards us. "Justin?", the girl cried out. "Katie?", Justin answered. Soon aboard were Al Hart and his daughter Katie from Pownal, Maine. Katie graduated from Hobart William Smith last year and had been in the same house as Justin. Al sails out of Penobscot Bay and has know Thunderhead for many years. His sister was aboard for a segment of Giffy Full's famous delivery to San Diego thorough the Panama Canal in 1978 (ish).

Tonight's events have yet to unfold. The younger crowd doesn't arrive until tomorrow so I can look forward to one more peaceful night aboard.

Good luck with the shoveling.

All are well.

Friday, March 11, 2005 - Greg

We arrived in Road Town Tortola, BVI yesterday afternoon around 3 PM. We wandered around looking for a slip but none were available so we went over to the very exposed anchorage near the Customs House Dock and anchored there. We rowed ashore, cleared customs and they sent me to an ATM across the street for currency.....out came US Dollars. That is the currency here.........and I've found that out from readers as well. Thanks for the information.

Road Harbor, Road Town is a center for many large yacht chartering operations and a base for Cruise lines. There is a tiny section which is the old Main Street with a few little shops. The rest of the city is a sprawl of reclaimed waterfrontage, poor city planning and all the charm of Sanford. We eventually found a slip late yesterday afternoon in what I describe as the Camp Ellis of Road Harbor but the folks here are pleasant and we have a good spot for the two nights we will be here.
This morning the Dock Master (Mistress?) described Road Harbor as being " like Beirut on a bad day". That is a bit harsh...........I've heard wonderful things about Beirut.

We met up with the Milletts over at the Moorings charter company and we had lunch with them while they wait to take delivery of their 45 foot Catamaran this afternoon.

On another matter, our ongoing auto pilot issues; We tried to find an electrical solution this morning but only found that that aspect of the installation is fine. By happenstance spoke with RJ Hoar this morning at Navtronics in Portsmouth. He is joining the cruise tomorrow. I asked him if by chance he had another drive unit on his shelves and he said that he'd do what he could to find one before tomorrow morning. An hour ago I got an email from him telling me that he'd located one at Raytheon in Boston and that his mother, my very long time friend Patti Hartig, would pick it up this afternoon and deliver it to him before his flight tomorrow.
I'm not sure that a new drive unit is the answer to the problems but we've tried everything else and it is surely the next component to be checked out. Thanks to all involved in getting it here.

On a sad note, I just want to mention the most sudden and unexpected passing of our friend Lois McKenna Galli yesterday in Biddeford Pool. Lois had an amazing sense of humor; dry, wry, sarcastic. She followed the log during the Ireland portions and managed to fire off a few barbs to us along the way. She will be sadly missed by many, many folks. Our sympathy to husband Sam and her two children.
It is a sad loss to the whole community.

All are well.

Thursday, March 10, 2005 - Greg

We are currently 20 miles south of the Virgin Islands and scheduled to arrive at Road Harbor, Tortola mid afternoon. Instead of Island hopping to get here, we decided to do an overnight passage of 184 miles from Antigua. We hadn't tried an all nighter with a crew of two yet but figured that it was only one night and we then have 10 days to float around the British Virgin Islands in company with friends and family of David Millett who is celebrating his 60th birthday.

We left Antigua around 10 AM headed West under the island and then turned up to a course of North West taking us between St Kitts, Nevis, and Saba to Port and St Barth's, St. Martin to starboard. We had a trailing wind (naturally) but made good time through the day with the Mainsail (finally working again), the jib and stays'il.

While our repair or refurbishment to the Mainsail track exactly did the trick, we were not so lucky with our repair of the auto-pilot. It's problems seem to be in the motor which turns the gear rather than (as we'd hoped) in the rusty chain attached. when activated it will work exactly as it should .....for about 10 minutes. Then it just seems to give up and a notice shows up on its data screen saying that the drive unit has stopped. We spent many hours hand steering last night and trying to figure out what the problem is. The drive motor (an exact copy of what worked so well for 10,000 miles) just doesn't seem to have enough........well, frankly, enough spherical parts! Brian is working on it with Raytheon and also getting the original rebuilt. Sailing with two people is far more difficult without an auto pilot. During the day we've been spelling each other hourly due to the very hot sun and last night we each did a three and a two hour watch to give the other a little sleep.Well, to be honest Justin did a three and a half and a two and a half but he should have woken me up.......damned grateful that he didn't.

Amazingly little traffic in this passage. A small freighter or two and an occasional sailboat. I think that most cruisers down here just hope from one cove to the next (as we will be doing for the next 10 days!).

Finally located the Southern Cross constellation low in the sky at the bottom of the Milky Way. I've been looking for it since the Canary Islands but it wasn't above the horizon until now. So we've bagged another. and it looks just like the Australian national flag.

As we head into the BVI, it occurred to me that we will need Sterling for currency.
I now have in my wallet US dollars, Gibraltar dollars, Euros, Eastern Caribbean Dollars, and a wad of Indian Rupees. As I was complaining about this this morning Justin, who can put a positive spin on anything, said that it was just part of getting ready for the ......and he made a circle with his index finger!

All are well.

Tuesday, March 8, 2005 - Greg

We got the original (good) varnisher to come by and sort out our varnish covered sail track which he did yesterday. He spent the morning up the mast with paint stripper and bronze wool.
Justin hoisted the Mainsail part way this morning and all is well. We can sail again!
Auto Pilot has been cleaned up, chain freed from kinks, and reinstalled. We will see tomorrow how we make out on that one.
We are provisioned, watered, fueled, and set to leave in the morning. It should take 4-5 days to get to the BVI by stopping each night but our friends are hounding us to get our butts up there sooner so we may do an overnighter or two. Sleep later!
We've gotten great encouragement from our readers about the circumnavigation. And plenty of offers from former crew to participate. I bought Jimmy Cornell's World Cruising Routes yesterday and it is a great source for routes, weather and other bits of practical info on sailing a yacht around the world.
Our webmaster, computer consultant, is planning a new addition to his new home since he heard the news and initial inquiries are being made for masts and engines.
All are well.

Sunday, March 6, 2005 - Greg

We are now back in Antigua repairing and obtaining various parts. We arrived at around 3 PM yesterday afternoon. We knew that we wanted to be along the wharf which meant backing in between other boats. As I've written in the past, boats with long deep keels like Thunderhead don't back up very well. Once in motion, they want to continue on that track. This is compounded by the rotation of the propeller which, in reverse, drags the stern of the boat to the left. Anyway, we'd watched the Captain of ELENORA easily back his 130 foot yacht into a very narrow slot in St. Tropez and thought that we'd try the same method. All of this was compounded by the fact that we have just the two of us on board. After many discussions and careful planning, I pulled up adjacent to the open slip out in the channel. Justin dropped the anchor. We got the boat roughly headed into the slot and with Justin manning the anchor chain which acted as a brake and I shifting into forward and reverse to keep the boat straight, quite easily maneuvered into position where a good soul at the wharf took our stern lines. It was a great exercise and I've got to say that we were quite proud of ourselves (for some hours!)

After clearing Antigua customs, the most officious and bureaucratic of the Caribbean, we secured a Wi-Fi connection, Justin washed the very salty brightwork and we headed into town for dinner at Le Cap Horn, a terrific little French restaurant.

This morning Justin is again up the mast trying to remove varnish from the sail track. We now know that it needs to be nearly perfect and if there is one word which might describe Justin's approach to his tasks---thorough would be it! After about an hour he cheerfully declared that he had about three feet of track perfectly smooth........only about 60 feet left!!!!!!!

I emptied out cockpit lockers, removed slatted partitions and got to the heart of the auto pilot. I found what I hope will be the problem and that is a rusty chain with kinks at a few of the links. The kinks were shortening the chain and made the drive unit very stiff. I removed the chain (I can always take things apart) and found a can of Kroil penetrating oil. (thanks for putting it aboard, Houtz). I now have the chain soaking and will give it another day to soak then try to reinstall---and hope for the best.

I have written that I was uncertain about traveling back to Maine this year or returning to the Azores and on to France and the UK. I've decided to return to Maine. My friend Tom from Key West just won't be happy unless we complete the oncearound loop. But then...........once back in Maine, we will get the boat refit...... for a circumnavigation of the globe! This has been an amazing year and instead of satisfying my need to do some adventure cruising, it has merely whetted my appetite. The Atlantic-Oncearound was just a shakedown cruise!

The plan is to replace the current rig with a carbon fiber mast and boom, replace the engine, refit the forward stateroom and many more items which will fill pages of a to-do list. I think that the mast is in good shape but after having broken the boom last August, I've been quite wary of this 44 year old spar. My plan will be to remove the wooden rig entirely (with all standing rigging in place) and store away well protected. That way it can be used again by me or another owner when authenticity is required. The new mast will be about 25 times stronger than the current and will weigh far less. I hope that by lowering the center of gravity, we might take some of the roll out of the boat, the only characteristic of Thunderhead which can be really bothersome.

The summer of 2006 will be a shake down cruise, perhaps back to the Azores etc then in 2007-8 circle the globe through the Panama Canal, Pacific, the Antipodes, then either around the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Town) or through the Suez canal to the Eastern Med and back to the Caribbean and home. Justin is invited as mate with the qualification that he has, before starting, a signed and dated diploma from Hobart! I'm hoping that many of the previous oncearound crew will be available for the major passages and others will join Thunderhead along the way.
The best part is that we will not have to change the web address!

There is alot to do and years are involved. It might not ever happen.....which is exactly what I said about the circumnavigation of the Atlantic!

Justin has another foot of the track polished---59 to go. This afternoon we are headed out with our friend Margot and her daughter Annie to the regular Sunday steel band and reggae concert across the harbor.

All are well.

Thursday, March 3, 2005 (cont'd) - Greg

So around 6 PM Igna returned....with the part! He tried three different places and found a replacement at the last. He said that the girl at the establishment told him that it wasn't going to work and that she would not take it back when it didn't........ but he just laughed and said it would work.
This one armed mechanic got to work with his able assistant Justin and soon had the part reinstalled. Ready, ignition.....nothing. He went back to work cutting new wires, making jumpers remounting the device. Ready, ignition...nothing. By now I was coming to believe that the woman at the parts store was probably right....Out came Igna's volt meter....measuring this and measuring that....."no ground," he announced........."No engine", I thought. But moments later as I was in the forepeak trying to understand wiring diagrams, I heard the engine turn over. "No ground", he announced! He then went to work with our electrical kit, (thanks for putting it aboard, BBY) and was soon fashioning a ground strap for the device. You should have seen this guy work. His right arm was amputated below the elbow so he still had use of that joint. Stripping wire, crimping connections, as naturally as a man with two hands. A few minutes later we turned the key again and our engine turned over.
The only thing left was to pay him and we argued over whether he had 8 or 10 hours. (he said 8, I said 10) AND he didn't want me to pay his transportation because instead of the bus he got a ride with a friend. By the way the hourly charge for the best mechanic in Dominica is 30 Eastern Caribbean dollars per hour ( about US$ 11.50 per hour) I won all the arguments and we sent him off with a Thunderhead hat as well.
Things that break and go wrong while cruising are a huge pain. You want everything to work perfectly and when they don't, it momentarily seems like the end of the world. But this episode today, like the boom incident in August, led to a great cruising experience with a happy ending. We were lucky again today. We got the right mechanic, who got the right part and made it work. It is all part of cruising.
Now if we can get the mainsail up tomorrow,,,,and the autohelm straightened out......we'll be in great shape....if not....we have an engine that starts (and runs) and Justin and I can both sail this boat by hand....quite well I might add......As I type this, the refrigerator is now cooling down and the fois gras preserved. Now that is a happy ending!
There are new pictures up on the web site including one of a movie set being
built for "Pirates of the Caribbean, parts II and III" to be filmed in Dominica.

Thursday, March 3, 2005 - Greg

We began this morning with two problems and ended with three. We still haven't solved the mainsail not going up the mast properly and the auto pilot is acting erratically. We determined to ignore these problems and after filling our diesel jerry cans on shore and transferring to the ship's tanks we prepared to weigh anchor and head for Guadeloupe, the next stop north.
As Justin got ready to haul back the anchor, I went to start the engine and got nothing for a response. This had happened before but after one or two tries, it always turned over. Not this morning! Plenty of battery, switches making appropriate sounds, just no turn over of the engine, nor the familiar clicking noise of a faulty solenoid, just nothing. UUUGH!
We called both of our guides on the radio and soon one showed up to find out what we needed. He said I'll be right back with a mechanic and I thought .....sure in a week. But true to his word a few minutes later we looked up and saw him returning with another party on board. As they got closer I exclaimed to Justin, "We are in luck, we got the guy with only one arm!" Now you may be thinking that I was being callous or pessimistic but in fact the Cruising Guide had talked about the best mechanic on the island being a fellow with only one arm. And we got him!
Igna (Ignatius) stepped aboard with small tool box. A short, amiable fellow with only one arm. We had the engine covers removed and he quickly ascertained that the starter was fine but in fact the solenoid was not just faulty, it was in parts with a short springed axel hanging off the back. The best part was that he tested the starter by jumping it with a screw driver and had the engine running immediately. I am very, very happy to know how to jump start an engine with a screw driver. It would have been a very good skill to have had if this happened out at sea! And hot wiring is a great life-skill for Justin to have acquired as well!!
Igna then removed the solenoid and took it himself--by bus-- to the capital Roseau to see if he could fine a replacement. He was optimistic but not positive. We are now hanging out on Thunderhead doing odd jobs and waiting for his return. The most important part is that we can run the engine, continue on tomorrow morning by hot wiring if necessary and the VERY most important part is that the engine driven refrigeration will be operable and the fois gras saved!
More when we know!
All are well.

Wednesday, March 2, 2005 - Greg

We are back in Dominica having made the passage from St. Pierre, Martinique today. It was about a 40+ mile passage----damn, these islands are delightfully spaced apart. We continue to have problems with our Mainsail and unfortunately Justin's heroic 2 hours up the mast chipping varnish yesterday was not the solution. So we motor sailed across the Dominica/Martinique Channel and up along the lee of Dominica back to Portsmouth where we spent four days last week. On arrival one of our "guides" from last week powered over, check to find out if we needed anything and dropped off three grapefruit. These grapefruit are amazing. They need no sugar and are eaten like an orange.
We spotted a new flag on one of the boats in harbor tonight. Justin called it as Polish and he was correct. You don't see alot of Polish cruising boats in these waters! Not many American either. Mostly French, British, and German with a smattering of Swedish, Dutch, and Irish. It will be interesting to see if this changes as we approach the Virgin Islands. We will be in the British Virgin Islands primarily but this may be close enough for more US boats.
It was a pretty tiring day...........wait......... I was about to talk about how tiring it is to be in the hot sun and wind all day..........but considering that most of our readers live in the NE USA...I've reconsidered. We are fine, thanks.
All are well.

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 - Greg

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit
Justin and I came to our senses today about the time remaining. We are due in the Virgin Islands in 10 days and we need to stop in Antigua for some boat business on the way. So we are leaving Martinique tomorrow morning hoping to make Antigua in three manageable days sails, get some work done and keep moving NW for a few hundred more miles.
Yesterday we went ashore and while we waited for customs visited two museums relating to the Volcano. The second had remarkable artifacts salvaged from the wreckage including a large churchbell squashed as if it were tin foil. In my last log I remarked on how the local bells had surely come from Europe and were not cast locally. This was confirmed by the bell we saw in the museum; clearly a finely cast instrument-subjected to the power of an atomic explosion and heat estimated at 1000 degrees Centigrade ( like it makes a difference F or C at 1000 degrees!) We then found a great patisserie and did some hiking to justify the excess!
Today we took a "Taxi Collectif" into Fort de France the capital. It is a major city and except for the weather could have been some place in France; large shopping malls, major department stores were everywhere. We took another private taxi to the Carrefour a Wal-Mart-like grocery store and part of the chain we had provisioned at in La Ciotat. It had everything so our cheese, fois gras, and smoked salmon stores are now back to their proper level.
The Queen Mary 2 was in port so we had a chance to see her out at anchor. I've seen some flattering pictures of the new ship but non of the angles we saw today did her any justice. Just not a pretty ship. Lots of first class
staterooms with balconies but not a pretty ship. The monstrous black hull has some traditional lines but the square high superstructure looks like an apartment building was balanced on deck. a disappointment.
Currently, I'm sitting out in the cockpit typing and slowly cranking Justin up the mast in the bo's'in's chair. He is in the slow diligent process of removing varnish drips from our sail track. Hey, we got a deal on the price of the mast revarnishing-what did I expect? In this world you get EXACTLY what you pay for!
All are well.

Monday, February 28, 2005 - Greg

Yesterday morning Martin got a ride with Winston to Cane Field (so that's what happened to the sugar crop!) Airport in Dominica for a quick flight to Guadeloupe then on to Paris and Marseille. His plan was to arrive in Marseille about 0800 this morning and be at classes by 10 AM.
After clearing up loose ends on Thunderhead, Justin and I got underway at 0900 and headed for Martinique. We had (have) a problem with the track on the main sail so we powered and used the head sails for the 53 mile trip to St. Pierre arriving at 5 PM. The problem with the track is probably varnish dips from the refinishing done while I was in Maine. they got enough drips on the sail itself as well as the deck and life raft covers that I suspect they got some on the mast track too.
St Pierre is less of a harbor than a dent along the west coast of the Island but it is in the lee and our first night was quite comfortable. There are about 20 other yachts here which is active but not crowded. St Pierre was the sight of a Volcanic eruption in 1902 which killed 29,000+ people. All but two of the residents. One was a cobbler in his cellar and the other was a notorious criminal who was safely locked up in jail. There is a museum here about the eruption and we'll report more on this later.
At 6 PM, shortly after arriving, church bells began to peal from a fairly large cathedral in town. These were not locally cast bells! The sound was extraordinary. Clear, deep, melodious. It was like standing under Notre Dame!
A while later we went ashore to see what we could find. Most of the town was by then locked up for the night but we did locate and note a sign for a Boulangerie and we knew that where there is bread there is certain to be cheese! There were three different good restaurants to choose for dinner and Justin, given the choice, opted for the one that served frog's legs and escargot. We entered a small room with one other young family having dinner and were greeted by the owner, a woman in her 60's who seemed to step right off the screen from Triplets of Belleville. Both of us were amazed at the resemblance. Soon the title song was going through my head.
(If you haven't see Triplets-go directly to your cool Video Store and get a copy-alternatively you can catch up with us and watch it at the Thundercinema)
Frog legs, white asparagus, and escargot soon arrived and we began the best meal on this voyage since Real France. The Tart Tatin was the best I've ever had and truly a Tart Tatin.Usually you get an apple tart (even in France) and they dare you to complain! Justin had profiteroles and we agreed that we'd have to go back another night to swap desserts.
Justin and I got out the calendar and did some serious planning on our future routes, directions and likely ports of call. A good dinner will do that for you.
We head into town today to try to clear customs and see what there is to see.
All (both?) are well.

Saturday, February 26, 2005 - Greg

We were up until 1:15 this morning watching the last segments of Hornblower. They are so marvelously anti-French that it is great fun watching them with Martin! Well we thought it was a late night until we discovered that we were directly downwind from a (the) Portsmouth disco! Heinous music, non-stop, finally at 4:30 AM, I got to sleep.
A pitiful few hours later we were wakened by our water taxi to begin the days activities! We went into a local market and bought some fruit and vegetables then after dropping them off on the boat, Winston again picked us up and took us on a tour of the North end of the island. Great views of Guadeloupe and Les Saintes to the North and the flat Marie Gallante to the East. We stopped at Winston's home where he climbed a coconut tree and produced three fruits for us to sample the milk. It was really refreshing and filling. It is said here that it provides all essential minerals and vitamins except "C". We then proceeded beyond his village and began a
hike to a small waterfall and pool deep in the forest. Like the previous hikes, this was barely groomed and deserted. Eventually we found ourselves at the stream and made our way across and up to the "Chaudiere Pool ". Justin was the only one willing to jump from the 25 foot cliff while Martin and I stayed low and made chicken sounds. The water was brisk but definitely swimmable though the power of the rushing water into the little pool was a little intimidating. It is definitely not a recreation for poor swimmers. The round trip hike and swim took about one and a half hours and on the way back to the van an old man by the side of the road saw us coming and cracked open a shell from a local tree for us to sample the fruit. The tree and nut are called "Stinky Toes" and they are aptly named. It smelled exactly, exactly, like stinky toes. But inside was a dusty dry pulp which was quite tasty. You just had to hold your nose and eat it!
We then continued down the Atlantic coast visiting small villages and isolated beaches eventually coming to Red Rock. This most amazing natural wonder is the result of erosion of the top soil along a small narrow peninsula. What remains is a headland of very densely packed red sand. It is soft enough to scuff but solid to climb on. Natural and handmade caves are one feature and wonderful undulating ribbons of 'rock' another. This time I didn't have the digital camera but Justin got some pictures with his 35mm so we may yet get something on the website. We are now back aboard and planning to have dinner here tonight.
Martin is packing which takes a long time when you travel with as many shirts as he does. (Last trip Ireland to Gibraltar he had 18---[not a typo!] ). Justin and I have decided that we've seen enough (and alot) of Dominica so we will clear Customs tomorrow morning and head for Martinique. It is about 53 miles to St. Pierre and we hope to arrive before dark. Well, the real reason we are leaving earlier than planned is that here in Dominica we can find no Perrier and we had to buy Kraft cheddar cheese for tomorrow.
C'est Incroyable! Martin dit "Sapardie"!
All are well.

Friday, February 25, 2005 - Martin

On our third day in Dominica everyone on board starts to understand what "no rush" means for Dominicans.
This morning, after an other warm and humid night, we went ashore to rent some snorkeling gear. Once ready, a guide named Martin took us to some nice places out of the Prince Rupert bay. There, we discovered that this island as also a great patrimonial under sea level. We saw many kinds of Caribbean's fishes. I teased a ballonfish trying to make him inflate but my stick's hit weren't hard enough so I gave up (You should have seen how bad this fish was ignoring me).
After that we had a French(only cheese and bread) lunch on Thunderhead. Now let sum up what every tourist has to learn about Dominica : "Dominica is an independent country since 1978, it was first called White Kabuli." The most famous one is : "There are 365 rivers, One for each day of the year, it rains 350 inches a year...(bla bla bla)"
Tonight Justin forced us to taste pig's foot, The sauce was very good but the pig tasted more like bones.
Tomorrow we will be visiting the North part of the island reputed for Boa constrictors and all the wild animals that many people hates ( Hi "maman")
I will be leaving Sunday morning and will go back to school working for some exams in April ( Caribbean are more attractive) but I have to do it if I want to accomplish my dream.
I made it, my first English log on Thunderhead.

Thursday, February 24, 2005 - Greg

We were picked up at 10 AM this very rainy morning and put aboard a small minibus for a tour of the Syndicate Rainforest and Waterfall. Our driver, Winston, a "senior guide" of the area took us up into the mountainous interior of Dominica frequently pulling over to the side of the road to pick some leaf or flower for us to smell. He was quite knowledgeable about the island in a good humored way.
It was pouring as he described the 350 inches of rainfall that this Island gets especially on the rainy side where we were headed. Along the road we passed another tour of young people who said that the river was too high to ford and that they were unable to get to the Waterfall. Winston scoffed at this and said that we'd go there on the way back and we would definitely get to the waterfall.
We continued up a steep but well paved road and finally ended at a small building which is slated to be a tourist bungalow. It looked quite finished and one wondered what the hold up was. but, anyway, we locked up the bus and headed into a well groomed trail through the rain forest. The downpour continued and we were soon drenched at which point being dry no longer mattered and the warm Caribbean rain felt quite nice. Our guide pointed out many different trees and other flora and it was a splendid walk through high lush forest.
Language here is Creole and though Dominica was English for far longer than French, the patois is clearly French with English and Spanish words mixed in. The signs which identified the trees were very interesting
especially for Martin. We passed a number of trees called Bwa Blanc, and Bwa this and Bwa that...when it finally dawned on us that the BWA was Creole for Bois! There were others as well which amused our friend from Marseille.
After that walk, we returned to the entrance to the waterfall and along the route Winston stopped for oranges picked from the tree and a few hundred yards later we entered what he said was his brother in laws Banana Plantation. Regardless of whose it was, the bananas were fabulous and on we continued toward the sound of falling water in the distance. We finally got to the stream which was running quite fast and cloudy due to the run off. Winston headed in first and it became clear that the stream was only knee deep thought the footing was precarious because you had to negotiate by feel. We all four got across and soon enough found ourselves at a second crossing...of the same stream! That one was a little hairier but we managed and then continued in the stream, along the edge to the fall. Because it had rained so hard last night, the output was impressive. Even our guide was amazed by the volume of water. The guide books talk about swimming in the
pool at the bottom....but that was not the case today. Standing under the waterfall was never even a question. It was just a huge torrent of water falling through space. Part of what was so amazing about this was that even though it is mentioned in the guide books, the trail was entirely primitive with no attempt to groom it for tourists. Fording the streams and walking along the stream bank made it seem like we were the first people to ever see this natural wonder. Winston was pretty proud that he'd gotten us there especially since the guide we'd seen early in the morning had failed.
Late this afternoon we headed up the Indian River, a small stream which enters into the bay where we are moored. Engines are not allowed so our guide rowed us the mile or so up this river through mangrove swamp and rain forest. At the top of the navigable portion was a large structure which housed a bar, souvenir shop, and gardens. It was all quite "Heart of Darkness" but we had cold drinks and returned quickly with the flowing
current to the port.
We have more plans for the next two days and though the tans are fading in the rain, it is an incredibly interesting, natural island to visit. Little in the way of fauna. No monkeys! But we are told there are boa constrictors! The plant life though, and the birds are really fascinating.
On a more mundane topic, Martin and I bought a fabulous Fois Gras Entiere chilled not canned, and smuggled it through two sets of customs. We broke it out tonight with Fleur de Sel which we have for just this occasion (thanks to my sister)
Tonight we dine at the Purple Turtle..............we checked it out, and Maxim's it ain't!
Later that night.......The Purple Turtle was SO bad that we paid for our drinks and walked down the beach to the place we went last night...I'm afraid that this is a one restaurant town!
All are well.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005 - Greg

Dominica. If I'd not just returned from India, the poverty here would depress me. After my recent travels though, it looks like middle class India.
We left the Saintes at around 10 AM. A really beautiful day. Not too hot, wind around 15 knots on the beam. One reef and the jib and staysail got us easily to 7+ knots and in no time we were in Dominica pulling into Prince Rupert's Bay with the town of Portsmouth in the center. Our first impression was that we'd arrived at a movie set for a tropical island shot. Mountains, streams, low hanging clouds, Palm trees, with huts and shacks scattered along the beach. Very Beautiful!
The Island used to have a real problem with disreputable fellows coming out to the yachts to offer services of varying qualities. Some of them banded together and formed the Indian River Guides. They are now organized with member guides certified to be both knowledgeable and honest. We emailed one of the guides last night and though he was not available, he sent one of his assistants to meet us, answer our questions, ferry us to the Customs office, take our laundry, provide water taxis and generally help out anyway they could. These services are offered so that we will use their guiding on the island which is certainly our plan. Over the next three days, they will organize trips to the rain forest, water falls, high mountain lakes, native villages (the last of the Caribes (indigenous tribe) live here on a reservation) and snorkeling for us. It is really a great service and we will end up doing much more in a short period of time than if we'd had to scout out these trips and sort though various providers. Visiting yachts is their major tourism source (no beaches and too much rain for the spa-going crowd) and they mean to do it right.
We opted not to take the water taxi back to the boat and walked from Customs back into town to be met there. The downtown is very depressed. What looks like quaint native huts from the boat are really shacks and run down housing when seen up close. Many stores with half empty shelves. Ramshackled wooden houses on stilts, many of which are in total disrepair and abandoned, sit next to new housing which will soon look like the old. An occasional old colonial building is found scattered along the street but these too are few and in bad condition.
Edison, our water taxi/ guide picked us up at 8 PM. He'd made reservations for us at the restaurant where we'd wanted to go and then joined us for drinks before and after dinner. His sister works there at the restaurant. We told him that tomorrow night we were going to eat at another nearby restaurant.....He said fine...another sister works at that one!
We get picked up at 10 tomorrow morning. More to follow.
All are well.

Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - Greg

After a night of lots of rolling, anchor alarms and general disturbance, the wind in this "protected" harbor finally eased around mid day today. Justin and Martin rowed ashore and found not much there. It is a tiny island with two small communities. They found a restaurant for lunch and little else (except one really good piece of Mille Feuille which made it back to the boat in one piece). They did though find evidence of two recent earthquakes. One in November which leveled the middle school in the neighboring island where we were yesterday and another quake here on this island last week. Last week's was only 5.3 so a pretty gentle shake. About 20 miles from here is Montserrat so the area is pretty active geologically.
We finished a few pending boat projects this afternoon and tomorrow morning we head down to Dominica. We have emailed ahead to a local guide and hope to spend a few days hiking and traveling into the mountains and forests of this island.
All are well.

Monday, February 21, 2005 - Greg

Proper flag etiquette for entering a country is to fly the yellow or "Q" flag from the starboard spreader until after clearing customs and immigration, the flag of the local country is flown.
In Deshaise, Guadeloupe we were flying our "Q" flag and went ashore to find immigration. A sign at the office said that they were closed and that clearance could be done in Pointe a Pitre....many miles away. We opted not to do that but on Sunday morning as we were readying to leave a customs boat pulled up along side and came aboard to do paper work. Two pleasant gentleman came down below and were much more interested in Thunderhead's construction and history than if we were carrying contraband. After doing the documents, they deboarded but as they were leaving I thought of some intricacy about customs that I wanted to know. The younger of the two men looked at me and in utter seriousness said "Do not worry about that. This is France, the only free state in the world".
Patrick left the boat as planned in Deshaise and the three of us headed south along the western coast of Guadeloupe. After leaving the lee of this island we had a romping sail over to the Iles des Saintes a small group of islands which are administratively part of Guadeloupe. There is only one "major" town on the little islands at Terre de Haut and we anchored there barely in the lee of Northeast winds and occasional swells. We went ashore though, had dinner at a great little restaurant, scoped out the town and headed back to the ship for a very windy and rolling night.
This morning we finally coaxed ourselves back to shore, were soon completely drenched from a rain storm and headed out around the island. We arrived at the Fort Napoleon with its museum at 12:50 to find that it closed for the day (not for lunch) at 12:30. "What else do they have to do?", we wondered.
Martin and Justin were anxious to move to a different harbor they'd found in the cruising guide so after some shopping for provisions (ok-cheese and baguettes) we weighed anchor and motored over to a small cove on the most western of the little group of islands, Terre de Bas.
We have changed to our larger anchor because of the constant winds here. We have an anchor alarm which is programmed thru the GPS and chart plotter so we can see easily if we are dragging anchor.... which we are not. The new harbor, Anse Fideling, is still windy and a little rolly by better than last night.
Our plan is to head south tomorrow to Dominica, an independent country about 16 miles from here. The itinerary committee (of which I am not a member) has been taken with the cruising guides description of tropical rain forests, waterfalls etc. I'll report soon on the veracity of the cruising guide.
All are well.

Saturday, February 19, 2005 - Greg

We got into Deshaies, Guadeloupe at 7PM, dropped our anchor and after a quick dinner, most of the lights on Thunderhead were out for the night.
Now, I'll tell you the rest of the story.
As we were hauling our mooring anchor and leaving the dock in English Harbor, Antigua, a large nasty black smoke started coming out from the engine exhaust. I'd seen this twice before. Once at the Cape Cod Canal when our water pump broke and we spent the next 72 hours drifting to Maine. The other time was leaving LaCiotat in October when it only lasted for a minute.
I was determined to continue on so we left the port, and at sea figured out that we seemed to be able to run at half throttle without difficulty and all of the engine instruments registered normal. Any attempt to increase the throttle resulted in black smoke and a foul sheen of carbon and the wake behind.
As we are primarily a wind driven vessel, we decided to continue on to Guadeloupe and sort it out there. Unfortunately, there was no wind, so we slowly motored South at 4 knots.
As I thought about the problem, I figured that the engine sounded good, seemed to work fine out of gear making me think that something was amiss with the propeller. Either something wrapped around the shaft or the feathering aspect not working.
Anyway we went to bed and early this morning, Justin and Martin headed into the water with masks and Justin got to tryout a Christmas present of snorkeling gear. Justin quickly reported that the propeller was entirely encrusted with large barnacles. I was relieved at this news because the dragged caused by this could easily have interfered with a free turning gear. Armed with putty knives and a screw driver, they boys removed the barnacles then called for Scotch-Brite to finish the job. They declared the prop not just barnacle free but polished!
After they were out of the water, we fired up the engine and found ......clouds of black smoke...uuuugh! And not only that but it was happening out of gear as well as in gear. Martin and Patrick rowed ashore to look for things Français---Cheese, Baguettes, Mille Feuille---important things. Justin and I sat back and tried to parcel out what to do about the engine. I remembered that the Cape Cod incident was related to salt water being sprayed into the air intake (wherever that is.....) so we proceeded from there. Justin got the manuals out and before long had identified the air intake on the side of the engine covered in a black viscous dust. We also found a trouble shooting guide in the manuals which under "thick black exhaust" listed the air intake as the most likely cause. Thankfully the offending mechanism was within reach and only required the removal of two hose clamps to disassemble. He soon had it off revealing a foul interior of more black crap caked around what we assumed might once have been an air filter. Wads of paper towel, wire brushes and Simple Green (we love that stuff) later, a cylindrical filter appeared and was unclogged. Justin replaced the device onto the engine housing and we fired up the engine.......white smoke...no not a new Pope.....even better....a functioning engine.

I tell this story in length because one of the most satisfying aspects to cruising is to repair a problem without needing a boat yard, or mechanic, or other outside help.
To repair a problem with the engine by ourselves was most, most rewarding. We have the tools and manuals. It was terrific to make use of them and salvage what could have put a major crimp into this cruise. Cleaning the air intake will now be part of routine maintenance. It isn't hard to do and I'm sure that by April Justin will have swum and showered enough to get this morning's black crud off himself and his clothes.
We then all went ashore to a lovely small village, had a simple French lunch (two hours) and went food shopping. The store was quite small and didn't have everything you'd find in Paris, but it sure had a few necessities at the cheese and bread counters.
Martin is in charge of all talking.........what a pleasure to have a crew member to speak French!
All are well.

Friday, February 18, 2005 - Greg

At Sea. Thunderhead is finally, after nearly 2.5 months tied to the wharf at Nelson's Dockyard, back at sea.
Accompanied by Justin, Martin, and Patrick (see bios!) we left this morning headed for Guadeloupe and parts beyond. In determining that we'd finally make use of Martin's language skills, we are headed for the French West Indies and further south if we have time. Patrick is just on for a couple of days while we trial some of the new equipment installed over the last two months. Martin is here until the 27th of February when he returns to Marseille and Justin has returned to his indentured servitude until we get this craft back home or further in the summer.
The weather in the Caribbean has been most bizarre according to the locals. It is still frequently raining and the trade winds have not set in as is usual for this time of year. Here I am again writing about waiting for the Trade Winds. A recurrence of that well beaten theme (...this dead horse) is likely to send a few of you screaming from this website never to return so in an attempt to forestall of this exodus, let me declare that I'll only mention it from time to time.
The positive side to this rain is that the islands are unusually green and quite beautiful. And since we are not able to torment those at home with weather reports, we'll find other topics to fill the screen.
Thunderhead looks great. We had all of the exterior brightwork varnished with many coats and Patrick took to polishing vast amounts of brass and bronze. Following our last transatlantic, the boat looked quite down at the heal and it is most reassuring to see it "Bristol" once again.
More, much more to follow.
All are well.

Thursday, January 13, 2005 - Greg

Work is progressing with good results. Brian likes to look in dark hidden recesses where all the important stuff is. Thanks goodness. I'm the type who will put a piece of duct tape over an engine "low-oil" light. Out of sight out of mind. Thunderhead is in remarkably good shape for her 43 years and recent 10,000 miles but there are solenoids, and wire splices, and steering cables which need titravating and this is getting done.
Yesterday, Brian contracted a local electronics guy to sort out our shore power/battery charger issues. The inverter ( what changes our 12 v to 110vt) has been on the fritz since Ireland and our shore power is set for 110vts vs. the 220 standard of Europe. It turned out that our onboard TRACE inverter was just a little corroded and is now working and we will soon install a separate battery charger for 220 volts. allowing us to have hot water and cold ice cream without turning on the engine at dockside. HEY, these are important issues!
It is very, very rainy here. The locals say they've never seen rain so late in the year. The result though is a very green island. And the rain is for the most part is just cloud bursts and then sun again a few minutes later.
It is singularly peculiar to be sitting on my boat in Antigua and trying to pack for India. It is just a major disconnect.
All are well.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - Greg

The pace of life in Antigua? Normally quite slow ....when you need something done ...............quite excruciating. Gradually I'm figuring out where to go to avoid the Manana Syndrome. I'm glad that at present I have no serious boat needs and I'm putting off any non-vital work until we either get back to Maine or arrive in Europe. I still have not abandoned the idea of recrossing the Atlantic in May and leaving the boat at a yard there until the following year. Traveling around Europe on a boat has quickly become my favorite mode of transportation in that region.
Rock Stars Yachts----the one belonging to the drummer for "Queen" is located two boats over to Port. Somebody from "Pink Floyd"s is three boats to Starboard........ZZZzzz....... where are the yachts of Verdi, Brahms, and Mozart?
Check out new photo and bio for Patrick Reilly.
Work continues. The auto pilot should be repaired today. The bow navigation lights are repaired and working and Brian is headed up the mast today to repair the masthead nav lights. The topping lift has been replaced, the water pump impeller replacement is scheduled for.....soon. It would be today but it is difficult to schedule all this work around a three hour lunch break at the beach.
I'm off to pick up my International Herald Tribune. Interestingly enough, various newspapers from around the world are photocopied at a local printer's and sold at a nearby internet cafe. Two pages are added at the back for local advertisers. I have no idea if this is a legitimate scam or just a very innovative way to pirate newspapers. In any case the crossword puzzle is intact and I ask no questions.
All are well.

Tuesday, January 11, 2005 - Greg

In yesterday's log I tried to make a joke about arriving at the varnisher's house last night and finding a palatial estate...............Well, it wasn't a joke...........it was a premonition! Brian and I got a taxi ride over at 7 PM and after winding our way up a hill behind Falmouth Harbor, we drove through a pair of gates, continued up, and were dropped off in the middle of a complex consisting of two houses. The views of the harbor were spectacular and got better as we climbed up successive flights of stairs to the roof.
The party was made up of "Kong's" crew, staff from other yachts and a few locals.
Amazing buffet of Antigua cuisine............and around 930 PM, out came funny hats and dancing.........my signal that it was time to leave.
Antiguan varnishers have a world wide reputation for excellence and none more than Kong (that is King Kong--aka--James Titus). Kong spends every summer in Newport varnishing and is often flown around the world to take care of the yachts he has varnished here in Antigua. Another of his crew, Collin, is heading to Barcelona in March for a two month job on a yacht there and he has spent the last few years on similar assignments in Italy, France, and England. I can attest to their prowess, Thunderhead looks great.
All are well.

Monday, January 10, 2005 - Greg

Back on board for a week. Arrived last night, bags arrived this morning!

The boat looks great. The varnish dudes were 6 guys for 3 weeks and the boat hasn't looked this good since leaving the shed in Brooklin last April. Patrick Reilly a fellow from Mt Desert is the temporary Captain/boat sitter and has been very busy shining bronze. In the interior all the ports, bronze bulkheads, and other bits and pieces (some of which I have never seen) are now gleaming bright. I can only imagine Justin's groan when he comes back and sees the expanded polishing regimen. I also have no doubt that it will be quickly abbreviated! But for today, it looks great. We also had a awning built while I was gone and it extends from the aft cockpit to nearly the bow. It was completely necessary to keep sun and rain off the boat as well as to keep down the temperature in the cabin. It is constructed with many lines, halyards, and spreader bars and I am actually afraid to take it down in case we can't ever again remember how to install it.
Brian Harris is here for the week, repairing, installing, checking, pondering and basically making sure that Thunderhead is sound for winter cruising and the next ocean passage. He really is working hard and it was totally by accident that on the first day we had a swim at a nearby beach and a two hour lunch...tomorrow, by gawd, we work!
It is terrific to be back here in this climate. I had three weeks of winter, snow, and treacherous driving.........that was enough.
Tonight we've been invited to the house of the chief varnish guy. He is having a few of his customers over for dinner. I paid my bill today so I'm sort of expecting to arrive at a palatial abode in the hills.............but it will be a most "local" experience and should be fun. I love talking with these guys about cricket. I make it clear that I root for India ........not West Indies................. so it provides for some animated discussion.
I have no idea who (if anyone) will check in to this log but it is nice to be writing again and I intend to continue a log during my weeks in India so look for "The India Pages" on the same website.
All are well...........and Justin is someplace in New England hanging out with friends, recovering from 6 months spent with alot of old guys!