Off to the Races!

Once we decided to leave the boat in Antigua over the hurricane
season, we made the further decision to relax and enjoy Sailing
Week.

Sailing Week in Antigua is actually two separate back-to-back
weeklong regattas, Classic Week and Sailing Week, which together
dominate the scene in English Harbour and adjacent Falmouth Harbour.
It was our intention just to stay peacefully where we were anchored
and watch the boats motor into and out of the harbor, occasionally
walking to a fine vantage point to watch an actual race.

Things turned out a little differently, of course. The Thursday
before Classic Week we needed to go into the Slipway to get fuel
and water. When we returned, almost to our same spot, we were
told we would have to move, as we were too close to the marina
at the Dockyard. When the big boats came in they would need
to drop their anchors and we could be in their way. So after
three hours of work, Horizon's stern was firmly tied to the mangrove
bordering the harbor and we had put out a second anchor. We
were out of harm's way.

We had help in this endeavor from Cornelius, captain of the Antiguan
powerboat that would be our neighbor for the week. We think
he could tell we were novices at the procedure. Thank you, Cornelius.
That night there was quite a good blow, so we were able to test
that we were not a danger to ourselves or others.

We were glad to be out of the way. The big yachts, including
Eric Clapton's 150-foot motor yacht, did drop their anchors perilously
close to where we would have been.

It turned out that Classic Week was accompanied by almost no
wind, so if there was excitement, it happened somewhere else
and we didn't see it. But we had wisely booked a table at Johnny
Coconat's, so we had front row seats for the parade of sail.

The yachts that sail in Classic Week are old or new built to
the look of the old. Many are wooden and have absorbed great
amounts of love and money. The new ones just take taste and
more money. Our friend Peter of Eight Bells, whom we met in
Turkey, crewed on the yacht Bolero, a cruiser- racer built in
the 1930's which had just undergone its second total refit.
We also admired his wife, Carol's, new knees. Susie, whom we
met in Trinidad in 2003, has just had a new wooden boat built
to the standards and style of the old, although with a hot-pink
spinnaker. Although new, Spirited Lady, clearly fit the spirit
of Classics Week.

We met the folks on Astor, a 1920's Fife-built luxury cruising
yacht (Fife is just to the north of Edinburgh), and they took
us through their boat. We think that their plan had been to
enter their boat in Classics Week, but they had developed a split
in one of their (wooden) masts off Guadeloupe. By the time
the repair was complete, it was too late to enter their boat,
since the yachts are also judged on their perfection. They had
won in their category a few years ago, having spent the last
22 years bringing the boat back to perfection from where they
had found her moldering away in California. A labor of love.
(They are also on their way to Europe, so we were able to give
them some tips.)

Classic Week ended and we unscrewed ourselves from the mangrove
to go into the Slipway so the riggers could take down the wind
instrument sensor acquired in Grenada back in February. No sense
leaving it exposed to the elements for nine months.. Since all
the classic yachts had left and the race boats had not yet arrived,
we found a good space in the little bay near the marina—out of
the way, but close to the action and services.

Our refrigerator quit working, so Jack replaced the thermostat
himself, since it was impossible to find anyone to do it. (The
Antiguans are either sailing themselves, or catching up on work
in the month of April so they can go racing.) After a day, it
died again. Oh, well, that's what ice is for, and we were needing
to empty the fridge anyway. We were sort of bummed that it looked
like we would need to get a new reefer (that's sailor talk for
fridge, by the way), but it had been that sort of year.

On the Wednesday of Sailing Week we went into the Slipway and
were hauled. The Slipway is just that—tracks go into the water,
a car is lowered down the tracks, you drive your boat onto the
car, pads are raised to fit your boat to the car and then your
boat is towed out of the water on a cable. Hitch the car to
a tractor, and after a short ride to your space, the boat is
blocked and the car is pulled away. Pretty cool.

We then spent the next four days working to put the boat away,
mindful that Antigua is in a hurricane zone. That means leaving
as little as possible on deck or in the cockpit, where it could
catch the wind, and securing the rest so it won't move in strong
winds. Much harder than in Trinidad, which is outside the zone.

After Sailing Week was over, we found a technician who fixed
the reefer for only $140. Thanks be.

At 4 p.m on Saturday we took the water taxi to the Admiral Inn
and luxuriated until our plane left Monday morning. We heard
the Carnival crowd when it marched past the Inn around nine,
but weren't bothered by Carnival again. We slept through it
all. That's what four straight days of hard labor in the hot
sun will do for you.

On Sunday, the Dockyard was deserted by revelers and boats as
well. Racers don't stick around and Carnival in Antigua is timed
for the locals to celebrate that the season is over. We saved
quite a lot on our airline tickets by waiting until Monday to
leave, but as it turned out, spent the same amount on hotel and
food. (Antigua's restaurants are primo, by the way.) However,
two days of idleness and pleasures of the table clearly provided
a vacation and the rest we needed.

We're back at the condo in Virginia now, and have just about
acclimatized. The weather down here has been gorgeous and not
hot. We had a visitor at our guest slip, our friend Scott, who
did persevere in getting his boat Billy Ruff'n back from the
Caribbean this year and should be back in Massachusetts before
we are. A quick trip to DC for John's birthday assured us that
all was well there, and we have decided to drive to Massachusetts
for Memorial Day

We hope to upload some pictures from the year soon and we will
send you the link if you want it, just let us know. Laurie has
talked with Kodak and has found out how to set it up so you don't
have to sign in.

This will be our last email for a while—until we have something
to say.