May 12, 2013-As English Harbor Empties Out, Wings Remains.

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Judy and the Canon.

The sound of large ship’s horns blowing tells us another of the super yachts is departing for the Med; the other yachts still here are giving it a send off. We look to see who is leaving. This time it is Endeavour, last of the J’s in Falmouth Harbor, and we see her mast moving through the anchored yachts towards the ocean. She reaches the mouth of Falmouth Harbor and turns into the wind, her long bow rising and falling with the Atlantic swell. We see the huge mainsail creep slowly upward, waving gently in the breeze. Then Endeavour bears off and gathers way.

And is gone around the point.

Many of the other boats have already left or are leaving; all of our cruiser friends have departed.

It’s getting quiet here.

We, too, are ready to be on our way, yet not ready; there is a sail, a replacement for the number 4 jib, now under construction at North Sails, to be finished, there is a new computer to be delivered, (replacement for the beloved Dell studio which died, out of warranty of course), some rigging bits to be built at Antigua Rigging, mail to be delivered from Seattle, etc, etc.

We pass the time. Today we took a walk to Fort Berkley.

But sail we will, and soon, possibly Monday or Tuesday. By then the boat should be ready.

Bound for where?

When all preparations here in Falmouth Harbor are complete we’ll sail around to Jolly Harbor for final provisioning and to check out of the country. It is an easy shakedown from here to Jolly. We can take a look at the new sail and check out the cruising systems.

Then a short passage to Dominica. We missed it on the way north.

But by early June we should be on our way southwestward, to Bonaire, and after that, Cartegena, Columbia.

These are ocean passages, yet not the long ones we’ve done in the past; 480 miles to Bonaire, another 500 miles or so to Columbia. A few days each.

But we’ll go prepared, and that is why we are still here in English Harbor.

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Two Boys on a Slow Day.

Click here for a few more images from English Harbor and Falmouth.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

May 9, 2013-The Season Changes in Antigua

The season is changing; the rain is pounding down, the cruising boats (as well as the super yachts) are leaving and things are finally getting quiet for us after a month of frenetic activity. What with making preparations for Antigua Sailing Week, viewing Antigua Classics, having a visit by sister Jan and her husband Howard, the racing, all the parties, and finally putting everything back the way it was on Wings before all of this started, we have hardly had a moment to take a breath. Now we do. Finally I have time to post a blog or two.

Antigua Sailing Week

Antigua Classics Regatta

Visit by Jan and Howard


Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

May 8, 2013-Antigua Sailing Week

jason pickering imageWings Flying.

Antigua Sailing Week is over. We had some good sailing, our crew was wonderful, but a couple of disasters occurred which put us last in our class, plus my sister was here and, while ashore, got hurt.

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Marco and Andrew look at Damaged Sails.

Last in class? How did that happen? First of all our sails self-destructed. These kevlar sails, which worked so well for us in Thailand, and have hardly been used since we won King’s Cup with them, started coming apart on seams. We’d be sailing along and, without warning, the sails simply spit apart. The jib broke at the top and the main broke twice, once at the top and once in the lower middle. This is obviously a defect in the sail construction. The seams where they split are glued seams, not sewed. Well, they are sewed now. We did one repair on the boat and on the day off we took them to North Sails and had all the seams sewed with big reinforcement patches. After that they held, but the damage to our race score was already done.

We also tore the #4, our Dacron working jib and that is serious because it means the cloth is getting old. We may need to replace this sail soon.

The other problem is that we were slow. Even when the sails held together we could hardly get out of our own way. I accept responsibility for this. Gambling on the weather I had the boat rated for non-overlapping sails. So, for the whole regatta, we couldn’t use the genoa. But the wind went light and with just the #3 jib we were desperately short on power. This affected our starts and the beats. Downwind we were fast. Of course on the days when the wind blew we were fast enough all the way around the course, but then we had the sail problems.

So we finished the races in the bottom third, and with the retirements, ended up in last place.

Analyzing the results data I found that if we’d have had only 1/3 of a knot of more speed we’d have been very competitive. The genoa would have delivered that so going without it was a major mistake. Of course if the wind had come in as forecast, 13-18 knots, we’d have been fine and would have enjoyed a very low rating. You make the call and take the chances. This time I lost.

It does leave me feeling like I have unfinished business. I’d really like another shot at this regatta but that is probably not in the cards. This time next year we’ll be in Cartagena, Columbia and are not likely to make the trek back here to Antigua. Oh well, maybe there will be other races in other places.

Not to make this report even bleaker, there were personnel injuries. Not among the racing crew, but among the shore crew. My sister Jan and her husband Howard were here for a holiday and to act as shore crew for us. On the night before the regatta Jan fell while dancing at one of the parties and shattered her shoulder. She has been undergoing medical treatment here in Antigua and trying, unsuccessfully, to get earlier flights home to get it looked at by her doctor in California. This was really a disaster for Jan and Howard and basically ruined Sailing Week for them. We are very sympathetic but there was nothing we could do, but being there for her as much as we could, and going through it with her and Howard, brought us closer together.

And Sue, from the yacht Piano, who took over line handling ashore for us, as well as making our lunches every day, fell boarding her dingy and sprained, or broke, her wrist, so she too became one of the walking wounded.

Were there any good parts?

Superb Crew, never got discouraged!.

Yes, by all means. Our crew crew was superb. The whole week they remained positive and performed brilliantly. Whatever I, as captain, asked for, they delivered. And we had fun every day, even the days when we broke down. And there was some great sailing with blue waters, sunny skies, and pleasant, if light, winds (dang!). Though I didn’t get enough of it, I had some real duels with other boats on some occasions, and that was great.

The camaraderie of our group, including Jan and Howard and Sue, was terrific. So our 2013 Antigua Sailing Week crew have joined the Wings’ family and will remain always in our hearts.

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Great Sailing, at times.

All in all, Sailing Week was a mixed success for us; one which, for various reasons I guess, we will all remember.

Click here for more photos from Antigua Sailing Week.

Click here for photos of the whole crew.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

May 8, 2013-Antigua Classics Regatta

Fleet of Classic Yachts Set Off.

We grabbed a bunch of friends and went out to watch the classics regatta. It was a wonderful day of good weather and fine sailing. We got a few photos and one of the best things was having Jan and Howard aboard with us.

Click here for more photos of the Antigua Classics Regatta

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

May 7, 2013-Jan and Howard

Jan & Howard at Antigua Yacht Club.

My sister Jan and her husband Howard came to Antigua to visit and to enjoy the Sailing Week activities with us. They were to be our shore crew. It didn’t happen quite as we planned it. After a week of fun and visits and exploring Antigua together Jan had an accident which changed it all for them and us. She broke her shoulder when she fell (or was knocked over) at one of the Sailing Week parties, and she shattered the arm bone right at the shoulder, and from that point on she was out of action.

Well we, still enjoyed the visit tremendously but we are so sorry for her and Howard both for the sad turn this holiday took for them.

Jan Sails with us at the Classics Regatta.

We are wishing Jan a speedy recovery.

Click here for more photos of Jan and Howard's visit.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

April 10, 2013-Moving Day

We’re pretty often asked if we have a house back home, or do we have our furniture and other stuff in storage somewhere back in the USA?

“Everything we own is on this boat”, we answer.

But not now.

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Looking good.

We went into the marina on Monday to unload some gear for racing, mostly heavy stuff, and get measured, and before the day was over there was about 1500lbs of sails, spare parts, books, etc, sitting on the dock. Later a truck came and hauled it away, to where I’m not sure, but I am confident we’ll get it back when we want it after Sailing Week is over. There is more to go, we'll drop another 500-600 lbs before race day, but we need some things between now and then, like the chain rode and the solar panels.

This is the fifth time since we left Seattle that we’ve unloaded the boat; three times for regattas, twice for refit periods. It’s a lot of work, and taking it off is only half of it; we still have to put it back on. A local boat worker named Elroy came over and did all the heavy lifting for me. I’ll need him to come back when we put this stuff back on in May. I don’t know how much good this weight removal will do for the racing, it should help, but at least it is a psychological advantage for the crew. They know we are doing everything possible to win. However, from inside the boat it doesn’t look much different. The measurer still gave us credit for having a “medium weight” fit out.

That was Tony Maidment, the local CSA measurer. He spent about two hours with a tape measure and a clip board. Later it all goes into a computer. It will be the 4th measurement rating we will have received since we've owned Wings: IOR, IMS, IRC, and now CSA, not to mention PRHF and a few dozen made up TCF ratings we've had here and there. I watched him like a hawk and questioned everything I dared, but he seemed implacable; the boat will get the rating it deserves despite my pleading that we are just an old IOR liveaboard. “Yeah”, he said, “but you still have kevlar sails, a tiller, eight-foot draft, three spreader mast, and running backstays.”

He wasn’t fooled by the photos of grandchildren on the walls.

While we were here we had Elroy clean the stainless and wax the boat.

It looks nice.

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1500 lbs.

Click here for more photos from moving day.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

March 31, 2013-Judy goes to Harmony Hall

Judy Checks out the art.

Near our Green Island anchorage in Antigua, we found Harmony Hall, an art gallery and restaurant. Judy thought we should check it out for lunch.

We had a great lunch, saw some interesting art, and had a nice dingy ride home.

Click here for more photos of Judy's fun day out.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

March 24, 2013-A Quiet Anchorage

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Greeen Island.

There is little which gives us more comfort than a really quiet anchorage.

In the middle of night, when we are in our snug cabin with soft lights on and softer music playing, whether we are reading a good book or just napping with a half-finished glass of wine close at hand, that is when the peace of a quiet anchorage is perfect.

By quiet I mean still. No waves to rock you, no wind to whistle through the rigging and buffet you; a still place where the boat is as motionless as if it was on dry land.
Oh we have also enjoyed those other bullet-proof little hidey-holes where the wind whistles overhead while we stay safe and protected; content to let the storm rage outside, knowing that we will be untouched, and we have endured nights with both wind and waves, but it is the still places, the ones as still as a graveyard, that give us real peace.
We’ve found some of these spots on Antigua: inside Jolly Harbor, the back of English Harbor, and in most places in Falmouth Harbor.

Falmouth is probably the best. During the day, even if you have anchored up at the head of the bay, close to the mangroves, there may be some wind waves to disturb you, but at night they die off and Falmouth becomes still. You can ask yourself, “Are we still at anchor? Or have we moved into a marina for the night?” You go on deck and you see the motionless anchor lights of the other vessels around you and maybe you hear a dog barking in the distance, but little else.

We love Falmouth.

Now we are in Nonsuch Bay on the east side of Antigua, moored on a bouy at Green Island. It is only six miles from Falmouth and it is another perfect anchorage. Here we are in a small bay protected behind a spit of sand in the island and beyond that the Atlantic swell breaks up on the reef and comes no further. During the day the sun awning shakes and bangs some with wind gusts and small waves may sweep by, but at night it all quiets down.

We love it here as well.

We pass the days lazily, maybe doing a small project or going exploring in the dingy. Yesterday we were ashore and we poked around through the shrubs and agave cactus. Today I got the sewing machine out and we worked on a new canvas seat for a deck chair. Judy went into the water and cleaned the water line. Tomorrow I am meant to go in and do the keel and rudder. Maybe I will.

And she made bread. Since I overhauled the oven it can get up to 425 degrees although a knife must be used to hold the knob in and keep the fire on. I need to fix that. I also helped to knead the dough.

I’ve read three books since we’ve been here.

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Our Feathered Friend.

And the little black and red bird from the island which comes into our cabin to search for bread crumbs visited us as soon as Judy took the new loaves out of the oven. We chased him off; I’ll share a cookie with him but the bread is off limits.

This is cruising.

Click here for more shots from Green Island.
Click here for more shots of the little bird.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Antigua

March 12, 2013-Finding Falmouth

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Superyacht "A" in Falmouth Harbor.

It is unusual weather in Antigua when the north wind blows and the northwest swell rolls in and the normally calm lee side becomes as angry as Neptune can make it short of a hurricane.

Under these conditions we departed Jolly Harbor bound for Falmouth and as we left the inner harbor we found the outer harbor empty except for a few diehards in denial who hung on and rolled to their beam ends while the swells rose up at random over the flats and crashed over the leading marks.

This was no place to be in a north wind and big swell.

The safety lies in blue water and we sheeted in and held our westing ‘till the last of the breakers were behind us before we turned south towards Falmouth. Once we got away from the flats of the west side things got better; it turned into a nice sail.

Outside of the reefs off of Johnson’s Point we picked up the “On Deck” sail training fleet in their way home and we raced with them until they peeled off for Carlisle Bay.

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Fred Steers to Falmouth Harbor.

One stayed out heading further east and I worked on him for a couple of miles up the coast. That was the best part of the day’s sail, when I was matching my helming skill and our boat speed against that other, unknown, guy. I had my total concentration on the two boats, on the wind, the waves, and on trying to eke out a few feet whenever I could, until when it was time for us to peel off for Falmouth Harbor, and by that time I had him beaten and it felt good.

With the wind in the north Deep Bay looked inviting and we turned in and dropped the hook in eighteen feet of water the lee of Brake Island. Up to the east the crowd of Falmouth seemed intimidating to us; who needs to anchor with 200 other boats?

Later I sat out in the cockpit drinking red wine and listening to the Who’s Quadrophenia while Judy played one handed scrabble and I watched some late arrivals come in. First a schooner tacked in and dropped anchor under sail the then a tall sloop with four sets of spreader lights dropped their hook right in the entrance.

Tomorrow, if you believe the forecasters, the wind will shift back to the east, and we’ll have to move up into the harbor.

We’ve come a long way in the last few years. Once upon a time we were immersed in China. I read a story today, “Nothing Good Comes from a Dead-Pig Tide” and in some ways I’m glad that China is a long way behind us. I‘m glad we’ve found Falmouth.

Click here for more photos from our trip to Falmouth.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Falmouth Harbor

March 7, 2013-Antigua's West Side

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Antigua's West Side.

For most Caribbean islands, and that includes Antigua, the west sides are generally protected during the trade wind seasons.

Normally.

And we have been gunk holing along Antigua’s west side for the last few weeks, going from one west side bay to the next and enjoying beautiful and peaceful anchorages.

Normally.

But normally doesn’t mean always.

For example, even during trade wind season, from November to April, unusual weather patterns can set in. The trade winds can shift from NE to SE, or even die off. And even when the trade winds are blowing something like the book says they should, the ocean swells can come rolling in from weird directions.

So, when you are in one of these west side anchorages, which are open to every direction but the east, you pay attention to the weather.

Like today: The trade winds stopped, the swell came in from the NW, and our anchorage in The Cove outside of Jolly Harbor became unpleasant. So we moved inside the harbor and picked up a mooring buoy. Here it is quiet, like a millpond. Yes, we have to pay a daily fee to be on the buoy, and they don’t allow anchoring in here so we have no choice but to pay, but it is worth it.

And it was a good thing too, because we needed a calm place to work on the dingy engine. It packed up yesterday and we had to be towed home. Overheating. There are always boat projects, and for us, lately, there have been very few urgent ones, but the dingy engine is one.

We hitched a ride to town, bought a new impellor, and spent two days going through everything on that Merc to get it to run properly. In the end it did (after we removed a stuck thermostat). Well, I still believe that Mercury is number one, made in the USA, one pull, etc. etc., but after 13 years even a Merc can have problems. At least we got it fixed, we think.

Zen and the art of Mercury repair

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Working on the Mercury.

In the first place, I have a sore back so I work slowly. That’s OK. I let the pain sit in the background and work slow, and at night I take my codeine drugs and it all feels better and worth it. Judy helps me work doing what she can and lets me be me. When we work she stands by and hands me tools and holds nuts, and offers suggestions which usually are spot on. We are a team.

But working slowly is really rewarding; without pressure I can think about each problem and do the right thing. And I don’t have to force things. If you look at a problem the right way, and long enough, you often find a good way to fix it. It feels good to solve things and fix things the right way. Also I have a good work space in the workshop on Wings; I can mount the engine on the workbench I have a nice little stool which I bought in Mongkok (Hong Kong) so I can sit down and work on the lower parts, and I have good tools. If the going is slow, that’s OK. What else should I be doing? As long as we are at anchor, and are not going to have to get underway, it doesn’t matter if I have a two day mess in the workshop.

Some problems still get me stumped but we have Internet and a Google search usually results in some good technical advice, and I was able to download a shop manual for $9.95, which has been helpful.

So I am happy to be working on my Mercury Outboard. I had to put it on the dingy twice to try out the water pump and gear shift, but in the end I had them all fixed, and now I can look at some other projects.

Gunk holing and doing boat projects in Antigua.

Click here for more Antigua photos.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Jolly Harbor, Antigua