Fwa!

After three months of preparation the 14-foot Laser 2 made its first splashes into the colorful waters of Willoughby Bay. Conditions were a little too much for a first voyage in an unfamiliar and untested boat with a totally-green-never-been-sailing Spanish crew with no maritime vocabulary whatsoever but that didn’t stop us. We had worked hard and waited so long for the day that winds of 15-18 knots and big Atlantic swells out by the reef were no deterrent.

With only a few awkward moments, we found ourselves power reaching. The boat really moves! We were skittering down the face of waves with the dagger board half way up and spray flying, both of us hiking out, everything vibrating and humming. With the self-bailer sucking water like a wetvac and us hooting and a hollering, we sailed the mile and a half across the bay in just moments, tacked and were back in less! We had such huge speed grins on our faces that our jaw muscles actually cramped up!

It took a while to assemble all the missing pieces of the boat. I found several parts when I went home in December. Antigua Rigging made up the essential diamond wires I was missing and a wire jib halyard. I made a tiller out of a scrap piece of mahogany and a new set of grab rails out of driftwood teak. New hiking straps came from seatbelts out of a wreck at the junkyard.

I didn’t have a name at her launching but soon settled on ‘Fwa!’ which comes from Javier, my novice crew, who uses it as a catch-all expression so many times that his students actually call him that behind his back. On that first day, he uttered it every time we tacked, jibed or headed off the wind and came up on a plane. In English, it might be understood as, ‘Wow!’, ‘Holy Sh*t!’, ‘WTF?’, ‘You’ve Got to Be Kidding!’, ‘Oh My God!’ or, as I prefer, ‘That’s Frackin’ Fast!’

Stuck in the Mud

On a recent Sunday, I received a call from a colleague who had managed to get his car stuck in the mud on the way to a secluded beach. I rallied to help him and threw some boards and various lengths of thick rope in the back of Subi and headed out. By the time I arrived, six or seven Antiguans were in the process of lifting the back end of the stuck car onto firmer ground. The pulling power of Subi in low 4 wheel drive and the pushing power of, by that time, eight or nine helpful Antiguans was what was needed to get the car out of the greasy, clay-covered and deeply rutted road. With the car finally freed, we all shared smiles and thanks and continued our days, albeit, with greasy, muddy clay splashed over our clothes.

A Mountain on the Move

On an unusually clear and windless day two weeks ago, we were hiking atop Signal Hill, one of the higher points in Antigua’s southwestern mountain range. At the summit we were treated to an amazing view of the Soufriere Hills Volcano on Montserrat some 30 miles to the west. A recent increase in activity within the volcano sent a plume of ash skyward and the lack of wind made it tower over the island. I wonder if there is any relation to the activity in Montserrat and the earthquake in Haiti as we are all on the Caribbean Plate down here. The Montserrat Volcano Observatory has a great website that keeps islanders and the world updated on what is happening. http://www.montserratvolcanoobservatory.info/ Ferry service to Montserrat has just resumed and it’s on the list of my upcoming destinations.

More Signs from Antigua

Second installment in a continuing series.

Visitors from the Cold North

My friends L & J came to visit for a week and get away from the cold that is beginning to tighten its grip on New England. We had a great time touring the island and visiting some sights I haven’t seen. Hiking, snorkeling, body surfing, swimming, beach combing, and fossil hunting were just a few of the things we occupied ourselves with. Of course, rum mixed with locally made ginger beer made a nice starter to our tasty evening meals.
Although it is a bit far, a similar agenda awaits anyone who ventures a visit here!

Christmas in Antigua

It was a refreshing change to spend Christmas here in Antigua. The holiday is observed but not at the same level as back in the USA. There is not the push to purchase gifts and one is not inundated with an overwhelming sense of commercialism. I only noticed two houses that were decorated with lights, albeit, one was entirely covered! I spent the day relaxing and visiting Nelson’s Dockyard at English Harbor where champagne is served to the sounds of a reggae band. We then journeyed to a friend’s house for a great meal and a walk through her grapefruit orchards, filling bags of the sweetest fruits I’ve ever tasted.
The absence of familiar traditions and family was made easier by new friendships and warm Caribbean weather.