Month: June 2010

St. Lucia – Bequia

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June 24-27th

The squally weather was supposed to be subsiding and so we left the Pitons of St. Lucia in a rain shower that increased in intensity and became a squall as we left the harbor and rounded the first of the Pitons.   The winds coming off of the Pitons increased to 28 kts.  With the mainsail up the boat was difficult to handle in the erratic winds and torrential rain.   I had been at the helm but when the squall hit I, as Mike likes to put it, Tapped Out and had him take the helm.     As we crossed from St. Lucia to St. Vincent the showers stopped and the winds became steady again at about 18 -20 kts out of the East which made for a wonderful sail all the way to Bequia.    As we passed St. Vincent we were met by a pod of about 60 Dolphins who raced our bow and lept gracefully out of the water.   I should say the adults lept gracefully.   The babies would leap up out of the water and land with a big flop……It was great fun to watch.   Those that swam alongside and in front of DD would turn and look up as they swam and make eye contact with us.    The feeling of connection it brings to us is unsurpassed and one of the greatest delights of our cruising life!   We made our way into Admiralty Bay in Bequia around 4:30pm and anchored off of Princess Margaret Beach.    When we had anchored we were met my David from S/V Daniels Story.  He and his lovely wife Michelle have been coming to this area for the last 4 years and they have been a wonderful wealth of information.    We also met up with the Marty and Deb on the Trawler, Bay Pelican, whom we had been in radio contact with at the Pitons.    We spent the next few days getting to know new friends, swimming, and hiking around Bequia.  We visited the Hawksbill Turtle Sanctuary one day with David and Michelle and then Hiked over to Friendship Bay the next Day.  The locals have been out sailing their boats  around the harbor in preparation for is St. Peters day on Tuesday.  There will be festivities and boat races.    I have volunteered to become the Tuesday Net Controller for the Coconut Telegraph, a cruisers SSB Net that meets M-F on Frequency 4060 at 8:00am.  Many of the normal Net Controllers head back to their homes for the summer and so the help is appreciated.   The Net allows cruisers to get in touch and share information.   What have I gotten myself into?   I hope I don’t get too nervous and start to stutter.

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The Pitons, St. Lucia

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June 21 – 23rd

We left Martinique and had a great sail down to the Pitons in St. Lucia.    The winds were running at around 20 kts out of the East which placed us on a beam reach and on DD’s favorite point of sail.   We made great time and Arrived at the Pitons on St. Lucia by around 1:30 pm.   Trouble comes in three’s……We must have been enjoying ourselves a little too much as it was then we noticed the 1st of our 3 mishaps of the Day.   Our alternator was not charging our batteries.   This we could deal with of course as we have a working spare on the boat that Michael will be able to change out at our next stop  and after all we still have our solar panels and our Windgen……ooops!   The 2nd problem occurred with our Ferris Wind generator.  The welds of the bracket that hold the unit and the blades at a 90 degree angle to the mounting pole separated and when Michael tried to untangle our spare brake line to stop the unit and tie it off, the spinning blades struck the support poles and shattered, sending pieces of it flying everywhere.   Michael was very lucky not to be hit by any of the flying debris.   Michael tied off what was left of the blades and climbed down off of the davits.    As we were approaching our anchorage for the night we ran into an amazing 2 kts of current on our nose.  That along with the east winds kicked up some pretty good chop and we debated stopping here for the night.    We were met by 2 different boat boys who explained that it was calmer in the anchorage.   We allowed them to assist us in picking up a mooring.   We initially picked up a mooring off of a location called the Bat Cave near the town of Soufriere.   Michael went for a swim to cool off as the snorkeling off of the boat was supposed to be very good.      He was swimming leisurely along when he suddenly turned and swam rapidly back to the boat, not usually a good sign.   He had been stung by a jellyfish on his side and leg never actually seeing it.   The anchorage next to the Bat Cave although picturesque, was quite rolly.  After treating Mike’s sting, (no Doug and Laura we did not use the same treatment as we had recommended to you two as we had an alternative handy on the boat) We decided we would move DD across the bay and anchor at the base of the Pitons a set of twin peaks that rise out of the ocean to a height of 2600 ft along the coast of St. Lucia.    Another front was due to move through the area and so we remained anchored off the Pitons for an extra day before continuing south.     It continued pouring rain and we remained on the boat and did not go ashore on St. Lucia which is just as well as we had to keep a pair of Caribbean Martens from trying to build a nest in our boom…..We tried explaining that we would not be staying but Mike finally had to stuff it with tin foil to deter them,  they were very persistent.

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Happy Anniversary

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June 20th, 2010

Well our first Anniversary arrived without fanfare on a day much like our Wedding Day!  Rainy!  Arriving as it did on a Sunday, St. Anne is closed down and since we could not celebrate ashore, we enjoyed a quiet dinner of Lobster that we had placed into the freezer for just such an emergency.  David and Trudie donned there foul weather gear and Trudie even dressed her guitar in foul weather gear and braved the elements to come over and have a drink with us before dinner to help us celebrate.    Trudie had also brought a gift of a serenade and sang a love song from the Broadway Musical, West Side Story.    She is a trained Opera Singer and has a lovely voice.  Thanks Dave and Trudie for making our day special!

A nice walk to the beach!

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When we weren’t pouring over the latest weather reports and tracking the Storms progress,  we did enjoy the sites around Marin and St. Anne, Martinique.   We became quite the baguette connoisseurs and relished heading into town each morning to pick up our fresh bread.    When we could see that the storm was not going to develop into a hurricane we took advantage of the overcast weather.   Mike said,    “How about we take a little walk this morning over to the beaches on the other side of the point?”   You would think I’d have learned by now that our walks are never little and that I should prepare enough survival supplies for at least a full days walk.     I let my guard down and only packed 2 quarts of water and a granola bar, forgetting the sunscreen and my hat back at the boat.    David and Trudy learned early on about our little walks and somehow always have something else planned when we extend the invitation to accompany us.   Our walks always start out with Michael and I sparing for what sort of a pace to keep.   He wanting to immediately work up a good sweat while I attempt to snap pictures of the back of his retreating head or him having to wait while I stop to examine some bit of new flora or fauna I find fascinating, allowing me just enough time to catch site of him before he sets off on his forced march pace again.    We always tease each other about how to best see the sites.   I move  quietly while his tactic is to not give any animals the chance to flee before he is on top of them.     Usually about an hour or so into the hike we compromise.    We made our way through the dense verdant growth along some wonderful trails that are maintained by the forest service here on Martinique.     The hike was lovely and took us along the rugged coastline of the south western end of the point.    There were some beautiful beaches on the windward side of the Island.     We expected there to be very little foot traffic along the trail as this is the off season.   We have not seen many locals taking advantage of their trail systems.    This was the exception.   An exercise group of mostly ladies were enjoying a brisk walk and gave Michael a run for his money with their pace.     We caught up with them on a beach on the other side of the point where their workout routine was continuing with other exercises and stretches.   They invited us to join them, or so their pantomimed French would indicate, and so we spent a few minutes doing deep knee bends….etc  before proceeding on our on our extended (little) walk.   We looked at the posted trails map we came to at one of the beaches and saw what appeared to be a trail or a road that would take us from a beach further along and then across the peninsula in a circle back to St. Anne where we began.    We had no idea if this was really the case as all of the descriptions were in French but we took a chance and headed in the direction indicated.     Our journey took us across a number of amazingly different ecosystems.   From lush verdant forest , along palm lined beaches , we crossed a plank walkway across a salt marsh where some local children were fishing for crabs.  We then found ourselves walking across an old lava flow area that provided some rugged, starkly beautiful scenery down to the ocean.   Once we reached the beach where the road or trail was supposed to be we cut inland and found ourselves on a gravel road that traversed acres of beautiful private cultivated fields and pastures full of well fed cream colored cattle.   We stumbled back into St. Anne and picked up a paper trails map from the tourism office.  Perhaps we should have done that before leaving, not that it would have discouraged us as it too was all in French.  As we were leaving the office we could hear someone practicing a piece of music on a piano……the song was Henry Mancini Theme from the Pink Panther……I must have had too much sun because I was half expecting Inspector Clousaeu to appear and declare ” I will prove to the world that Maria Gambrelli is innocent…….of the crime!” We dragged ourselves back to the dingy and to DD.   We calculated our little walk for the day at 20km or about 12 ½ miles.   Even being as ill prepared as we were, we fared pretty well.  I improvised some shade for my shoulders by tucking a couple of Sea Grape leaves under the straps of my shirt and although I looked a bit funny I was better protected.  Nothing a little Aloe Vera wouldn’t soothe.   At least I found the right combination of shoes and socks to wear that day and suffered no blister problems from this.  As the gentle waves rocked us to sleep that evening with scenes from the Pink Panther Movies playing in my head….. I could almost hear Clouseau singing “Ooohhh, sixteen chests on a dead man’s rum/Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of the chest/Drink to the devil and some for the rum/Hooooooooooooooooooooo!”  The sun must have gone to my head!

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Storm Brewing!

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June 13th – June 20th

Dancing Dolphin, Dancing Dolphin,  Dancing Dolphin,  Persephone, Persephone!  Dancing Dolphin here.  Up one?  Up one.    Hi Mike and Crystal……Trudie and I were just listening to Fox News on Sirius Radio and there is a storm out in the Atlantic that has the possibility of becoming something serious.

My how plans can change in an instant.   We picked up anchor on Sunday after securing a cruising permit that will allow us to stop in Roseau, Dominica before continuing south.    So much for our plans to hike up to the boiling lake.    I began to chant my Wedding Day Mantra……The weather now controls your life……you can’t change the weather……deal with it!    We compared notes and decided that we would have to either do a couple of overnight passages to head straight to Grenada or find a hurricane hole somewhere between Dominica and Grenada that we could duck into should the storm take it’s most southern predicted track.     We opted for the latter, keeping an eye on the storm and found what appeared to be a good hole on the Southern end of Martinique called Cul de Sac, Marin.   We had about 5 days of intensive weather watching.  We were able to get WiFi on the Boat in Roseau, Dominica where we stayed Sunday night and watched with earnest interest the predicted paths of System 92(which by the time you are reading this is now called Hurricane Alex).  That was the last reliable WiFi.   Over the next several days we downloaded reports every 6 hours from the National Hurricane Center of NOAA on our SSB Radio using Saildocs and kept a wary eye on Storm  92’s progress.   We made one more stop at Grand Anse D’Arlet and passed Diamond Rock before tucking into Cul de Sac du Marin on the southern end of Martinique.   An interesting bit of history.  Diamond Rock was actually commissioned by the British into the British Naval Fleet as ships were scarce and for 18 months was outfitted with cannon and crew and became known as HMS Diamond Rock before Napoleon sent Villenueve to take it back for France.  Martinique happens to be the birthplace of Napoleons beloved Josephine.    There were about 30 boats already in the hurricane hole and tied in for the season.   As we entered what we hoped would be a good place to ride out the impending storm,  we saw hundreds of masts in the harbor.     Marin as it turns out is the French Charter Capital of the Caribbean.    We just hoped that they wouldn’t all try to move out of the harbor and into the hurricane hole should the storm turn bad.   During those days Storm 92 went from a disorganized  system with a 20% possibility of becoming a cyclone(hurricane) up to an organized system with a 60% possibility and then became disorganized again and dropped to a 10% chance finally diminishing to 0%.   With this bit of good news, we moved DD out of the Cul de Sac and over to the more open anchorage of St. Anne. (with a small hope at least on my part, of some decent WiFi, no such luck.)   This is not to say Storm 92 dissipated.  It split into 2 parts, one traveling North to the USVI bringing rain and thunderstorms and the other ½ hanging directly over Martinique.  So here I sit on our 1st wedding anniversary, confined to the boat while a downpour rages……pretty much a repeat performance reminiscent of our wedding day but with a lot more wind!    Chanting Mantra…..Chanting Mantra…..

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Dominica

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June 11 – 13th

We reluctantly said farewell to Isle de Saints and continued south to Dominica.   Dominica has 8 potentially active volcanoes and our plan was to spend a few days here to do some inland exploring and a hike up to the boiling lake   Michael had told me that when he traveled here before Boat Boys would paddle out on surfboards or anything to try to get you to purchase something in the way of goods or services from them.    Nowadays however they have become well organized and present licenses that identify them as certified guides.   They have taken it upon themselves to provide security, tours, and help yachties in many ways with whatever they may need in the way of information or services.    We traveled this day with all 4 boats and as we approached Dominica we radioed each other to compare notes as to whose services were recommended in the updated guidebooks etc.       As we approached the Island we were met approx. 1 mile out by our first boat boy, Alexis (this we knew as it was painted on the side of his bright yellow boat).   His was one of the names on the list of approved guides in the most recent guidebook and he pulled alongside of DD to introduce himself.   His face lit up when we told him we were traveling in a convoy of 4 boats.     He told us he would come by the boat after we were anchored and proceeded on to introduce himself to the other boats.     We anchored in Prince Rupert Bay off Purple Turtle Beach in the area that was recommended by Alexis.    We took our dingies and official paperwork to the customs and immigration office to check in.  We then took a walk around town,  stopping of course at the Purple Turtle Café for a local beer, Kubuli, which we found very tasty but only came in an 8oz bottle, barely enough to wet our whistle and by no means any less expensive than any other beers.  We needed to get to the bank but unfortunately there was a marine store along the route that side tracked our little band and the bank closed before we could change our money.    On the upside though Mike found 50 EC on the ground that got us through the weekend and Alexis welcomed US Dollars.   We spent our EC at the local Farmers Market on Saturday morning and were well supplied with plenty of fruits and veggies for the next few days.   We have been pretty lucky so far in finding fresh produce on most of the Islands we have visited even if it is shipped in.    S/V Just Imagine and S/V Sanctuary decided to press on as they must have S/V Just Imagine hauled out in Trinidad by the end of June.    David & Trudie of S/V Persephone and Dancing Dolphin stayed an extra day and hired Alexis to take us on a tour of the Indian River where part of the Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed.   It was a beautiful River Trip as no engines are allowed and we were rowed up the river by Alexis and his young cousin Doniel.   Alexis was a font of local knowledge and told us about the old time uses of the flora and the fauna of the Island.   There was a small Tiki Bar at the Zenith of our journey and we were treated to a local drink that they call Dynamite.  When we asked what was in it we were told it contained, Rum, Fruit Juice, Cinnamon and a lot of atmosphere.   We could not argue with that sitting in the middle of this jungle paradise.  With drinks in hand we toasted our afternoon River Adventure and our able guides!

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Iles des Saintes – the Saints

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June 5th – June 10th, 2010

After a quiet evening in Dashais we traveled along the coast of Guadeloupe passing S/V Sanctuary and S/V Just Imagine anchored just off the southern coast.   We had decided that morning to travel on to Iles des Saintes just south of Guadeloupe and found that they were also headed there.   S/V Persephone had decided to travel up to Pointe a Pitre for some supplies and water but when they heard we were all headed to Iles des Saints they changed course and met us there.   The quaint town of Bourg de Saintes lies along a protected anchorage on Terre d’en Haut.   The buildings have a lot of gingerbread trim on many of their buildings.  I have been told by those that have visited the Mediterranean that the atmosphere of this Island is very similar.  These are a group of French speaking Islands and we do not have any French phrase books so we have had to rely on the kindness of bilingual strangers when in need of translations.    Fort Napoleon sits atop a hill close to the town and La Chameau, an old Napoleonic Lookout Tower sits atop the Islands highest point and offers great 360 degree views of the Island and the entire archipelago.    Michael and I got up early one morning and hiked up to this tower.   Vehicles are not allowed and so those that make the trek have definitely earned the spectacular views.   The hike took us along an old road surrounded by lush greenery and flowers.  Along many stretches we found ourselves engulfed in a cloud of yellow and white butterflies.    We have watched a constant stream of smoke that appears about ¾ the way up the hill the tower is on.   We contrived a story that this was a fumarole (volcanic vent) and like Monteserrat, Iles des Saintes was also an active volcanic area, teasing them that their boats were closer to it than ours.   We had a number of our friends believing us when we finally had to come clean and let them know it was just the local town’s burn area for trash.     We have enjoyed reuniting with our friends and sharing stories over a few cold drinks and of course a French baguette with plenty of Olive Oil and Balsamic for dipping.   The weather was promising a bit of a hard blow and big seas so remained in this slightly rolly but protected anchorage.    We enjoyed walks around the little Island.  We hiked up to the Fort twice.  The first day we arrived late and it was closed but we enjoyed a scenic picnic lunch we had brought along.   The next day we hiked up again and enjoyed imagining what life must have been like for the soldiers that lived there.   It is an impressive structure.  It was constructed and in operation around the Era that was depicted in the movie Master and Commander to spark your imaginations.   The top of the fort has been planted and is now a botanical garden with a museum inside the central barracks with Dioramas of the Historic Battles between the French and English.     We took lots of pics and then meandered back down into the town and stopped for a scoop of sorbet/ gelee before returning to DD.

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Fire and Brimstone / Saba – Guadaloupe

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June 03 –June 04

We caught a good easterly breeze and turned DD South.  We traveled two 12 hour days, sailing for most of the way.   We now have numerous Islands in sight as we journey on.  They appear on our horizon as distant gray hills rising from the water and grow as we approach them into verdant majestic mountains dotted with pastel colored houses beginning about halfway up the slopes and trickling down to the coastline.   On our first day we passed Saba, St. Eustasius (Stacia),  & St. Christopher (St. Kitts).   Many of these Islands are shaped like what created them,  Volcanoes.    By evening of the first travel day we found ourselves moored off the coast of Nevis.  We fly our yellow quarantine flag & spend a quiet night.  This is required upon arrival and prior to checking into any new country however we will remain aboard and will not travel ashore for at least another day.   Upon leaving Nevis we tune into the Coconut Telegraph on SSB Channel 4060.0 at 8:00am and check in.  S/V Persephone whom we have not seen or spoken with since St. Thomas contacts us and we discover we are only 1 day behind them.   As we are making good time we plan on catching up with them in the next couple of days.   They have been traveling along with S/V Sanctuary and S/V Just Imagine whom we have not seen since Luperon in the Dominican Republic so a reunion of sorts is in the making.   We approach Montserrat with its active volcano that began erupting in 1995 and continues still.    We listen to a report given to another vessel traveling our same route regarding the level of volcanic activity expected today.   It is at a level 3 of 5, minimal activity,  and so we pass within about ¾ mile offshore.   We take turns looking over the lava flow area with the binoculars as we pass by a ghost town of sorts.   What used to be the capital city of Plymouth that was destroyed during the initial eruption and remains devoid of life to the present day.    Although not spewing any flaming projectiles, the Soufriere Hills volcano still belched sulfurous smoke that blanketed one side of the mountain.   As it made its way offshore and wafted over DD, the smell of it conjured up memories of downtown Pagosa Springs, CO   reminding us of the unseen forces lurking just below the surface of our own hometown.         Michael was able to get some good shots of the devastation and the contrast between the Northern untouched part of the Island and the lava flow areas to the south and west.     We make good time down to Guadeloupe and anchor off the picturesque  little town of Deshaies .   David from S/V Persephone has let us know that he believes he thwarted an attempt to steal his dingy in this anchorage the night before.   He was working quietly in the dark at his Nav Table when he could hear whispers coming through the porthole next to where the dingy was tied and fortunately locked to the boat.    He picked up a flashlight and climbed into his cockpit and shined it on some men in a skiff within an arms length of his dingy and they immediately started their engine and roared off into the night.    Lesson learned:  As Melanie of the Safety and Security net says…….Lock it or Lose it.    We leave our dingy on the Davits and don’t bother putting it into the water here.

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Sint Maarten

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May 31 – June 03,2010

We made an overnight passage from St. John to St. Martin arriving at 8:30am.   On the way we were treated to a group of Dancing Dolphins who played around the boat and rode along racing the boat and generally having a wonderful time.     My spirits soar whenever these powerful and graceful beings appear to grace us with their presence.    I have yet to be in a situation where I get into the water with them but I am hopeful that too will come in time.     We set our anchor in Simpson Bay on the Danish Side of the Island and checked in with customs and immigration.   There is no cost to check in but there is a $27.00 fee upon clearing out.     Many cruisers opt to stay in Marigot Bay, on the French Side of the Island as there are no fees however retail prices of goods and services are quite a bit higher.   We found Island Water World on the Danish Side to have prices comparable to the US and well stocked with most anything we might need for the boat.  There was also an Ace Hardware here and so we picked up some additional home furnishings and parts to spruce up the inside of DD.   We were also able to have our spare alternator rebuilt finally and so now have a working replacement should we run into problems with the current one.    While we didn’t anchor on the French side of the Island we did take a dingy ride across the lagoon and walked around the town and hiked up to Fort Louis and toured their museum.   In the evenings we enjoyed the spectacle of zooplankton swimming to the surface and glowing with phosphorescence.     We had two large Day Charter Sailing Catamarans moored close to us and during our time there watched the morning and evening routines of the Capitains, and Crew and they readied their boats or cleaned them after a full day of catering to the somewhat inebriated sometimes dancing masses whom they would return safely to the dock laughing and smiling despite their sunburns.   It was astonishing, the speed which the crew could complete their duties at the end of their shift and get off of their boats. Eager, I’m sure, to pursue their own leisure activities.    We have entered the land of fantastic bread.  We stopped at a French bakery and indulged in a couple of pastries and purchased a loaf of Rye and another loaf with a strange shape, golden inside with a wonderful  crispy crust,  that turned out to be some of the best we have ever tasted.  We still don’t know what kind it was but it was finished off within a day of it’s purchase and when we returned for more there was none to be found.  Lesson learned, when you find something you really like purchase immediately and in sufficient quantity.

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USVI

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May 23 – 30th

Arrived in St. Thomas and spent one day restocking a few meal provisions and picked up a couple of fans from Budget Marine that Michael will install in our cabin to make it more comfortable to sleep.   We enjoyed a meal out with David and Trudie and in the morning parted ways to head over to St. John making one stop for fuel and topping off our water.   Persephone has an excellent weather window and so will travel on to St. Martin.    We motored across to St. John and picked up a mooring off of Honeymoon Beach.     The moorings have been installed by the Park Service to help protect the reefs within the marine park and boats are required to use them within the parks boundaries at a nominal $15.00 per day.    We were greeted by a number of laughing gulls who had no fear of humans and found Mighty Mouse to be a comfortable perch.   After enjoying their company we hopped into Mighty Mouse and headed to Cruz Bay.   It had been 5 years since we were last here and we look forward to meeting up with many of our friends.  We walked around the town commenting on the things that had changed and those that hadn’t.     We stopped into Connections where we talked with Syd and Karen.  They had been awaiting our arrival and thankfully the part for our windlass that we ordered a couple of weeks ago to be shipped to them had arrived the day before.  It will be good to have a working windlass again and no longer have to haul the anchor up by sheer muscle.    We were invited to participate in the Friends of St. John, Beach to Beach Power Swim this weekend but with an entrance fee of $40.00 per person we opted to volunteer to help out instead.    We contacted Michael’s good friends Chris and Elsa Angel and met them for a wonderful Greek dinner at the Tamarind.   It was then that Chris told us he was competing in Foxy’s Wooden Boat Regatta over on Jost Van Dyke this weekend and that he could use some crew.    We had already promised that we would volunteer and help with the Swim, but I could see that Michael was chomping at the bit to get to race with Chris.   I suggested he and Chris head over for the race and some manly bonding time and I would remain on St. John and keep DD going while he was away as well as enjoy some girl time with Elsa and fulfill our promise to volunteer for the Swim.    We spent the next couple of days tracking down and visiting with our St. John friends,  surprising some, i.e. Jan and Lance by appearing at their by appearing at their businesses or in Terry (Sloop Jones) case slipping through his garden gate and up the path behind his home/studio.   We also enjoyed a wonderful Lunch at Skinny Legs’ with good friends Cindy and Paco Ward.   It has been wonderful reconnecting with old friends and an added delight when after lunch and while waiting for a squall to pass we met new friends Belinda and John and ended up spending the rest of our afternoon and evening sharing their company on the last evening of their vacation.   They had their own adventure when they ran out of gas on the way back from dropping us off in Coral Bay.   Welcome to the cruising lifestyle you two, where the unexpected happens and challenges us to draw on our wits and keep a sense of humor while working whatever problems we face usually in remote and exotic locations.    Mike and Chris headed out Friday (unfortunately without the camera) aboard Chris’ 37ft wooden Trimaran Rafiki to compete in the Regatta.    On Saturday,  I met up with Elsa and their dog Phinneus and enjoyed a wonderful hike to some old Danish Ruins.    An afternoon storm came up and I had left the Mighty Mouse on the beach.  I had set her anchor well above the tide line but when I returned that evening I found the wind and waves had caused the anchor to drag all the way to the waterline.  She had been pummeled by the rain and waves and was swamped.    It took me ½ hour of pumping to get the water out of her before I could head back to DD.    Lesson learned.    Tie off to something solid when leaving the dingy for any length of time.     I woke early Sunday morning and met the other volunteers on the beach to help set marker buoy’s and pick up water and station my dingy to distribute water to the swimmers.   We ended up with extra volunteers so I rafted up with the Whitback brothers an amazing couple of young entrepreneurs with a wonderful gift for boat building.  Check out their boat and website.   www.blacksailsvi.com.  We swapped stories, handed out water, and shouted encouragement to those making the long swim and then joined the swimmers and other volunteers on the beach for Lunch and the Awards Ceremony.    Mike and Chris sailed back from Foxy’s with a respectable 2nd place just behind Angelfire,  a 52ft Trimaran and regaled us with stories of their weekend of racing.  We enjoyed a final dinner with Chris and Elsa who were hoping we could stay a few more days, but as always we must keep pressing south toward Grenada and out of the path of potential big Storms that are predicted to come this summer.

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