Sailing with the Treleavens

What a wonderful treat to be in Antigua for the Classic Yacht Regatta 2008, with over 60 vessels competing from 148ft down to 30ft. Our favourites ones are the vintage gaff rigged yachts built from 1890 to 1915. Some of course were only built 5 years ago but to the original drawings, construction and rig. It seems to be that vintage is the new toy for those that have everything.

Of particular interest was the dog fight between the old Americas cup J class ‘Ranger’ and ‘Velsheda’ both at over 130ft with close match racing around the course. ‘Eleonora’, a 120ft gaff rigged schooner, is an exact replica of the Schooner Westward designed and built by Herreshoff in the early 1900’s and successfully raced with the famous Charlie Barr as skipper. She looks stunning under sail and was even more amazing to go onboard.

The regatta only competed 3 of the 4 races as the last day was abandoned due to no wind, a first for us in the Caribbean since arriving 4 ½ months ago.

Between the two regattas and with Annie and Baney on board we have an opportunity to sail around to Green Island for a few days. On approach to the entrance of the lagoon we spot a catamaran up on the reef and always a reminder to be very aware. The unfortunate owner was late leaving port and arrived in the dark to negotiate a narrow channel between reefs. There was no hope of salvage and the owner was trying to save everything possible.

A stunning area of shades of blue and green, white sand and conch shells everywhere. Conch is a local food and the beautiful shells lie everywhere broken on the beach but live ones can also be found at your feet in very shallow water. It’s very hard to accept the waste of these beautiful shells but to them they are like oysters to us.

At anchor in the lagoon one of the yachts organised a beach party and before long as the sun was setting over 10 inflatable’s were lined up on the beach as we all shared stories of our travels.

Lobster is also plentiful around the island and relatively inexpensive if purchased from the local fish market. It is always a treat to have them freshly killed and head straight back to the yacht to BBQ. Along with the rum which we can buy by the cask in the Caribbean we are certainly enjoying the local produce.

Antigua Sailing Week starts tomorrow and should be a lot of fun. Not too much preparation as we are in the cruising division with no spinnaker so plan to enjoy as the big maxis ‘Leopard’ and ‘Rambler’ fight it out. There are nearly 200 entries with about half the fleet in cruising divisions.

Passing the mid winter marks the weather warming up, the sea temperature will rise to 28deg and this means the hurricane season is fast approaching. Most owners will start to store their boats outside the hurricane belt (south of 12 degrees) around the end of May. Our plan is sail 350nm south on the 5th May to Grenada taking 3 weeks. Geoff and Pip Lavis from Sydney are joining us, so we have plenty of time to enjoy as we sail back down the arc of 11 islands.

Storage will mean hauling ‘Cape Finisterre’ out of the water, placing her in a one piece cradle and strapping down to very deep anchor points in the compacted ground. We will strip the mast and deck of all the sails, halyards, remove the dodger and bimini and lay the boom on the deck. All this reduces windage when and if a hurricane does pass through. We will keep our fingers crossed!!!!

Plans for next season are to return early November and sail very quickly back to Antigua and then enjoy the rest of the Leeward Islands, the stunning Virgin Islands then all the way to the white sands of the Bahamas passing through the Turks, Caicas Islands and maybe Cuba on the way.

While we shelter under Ilet a Cabrit waiting for the big seas and winds to abate, Liz and Heinz sail back to Pointe a Pitre in atrocious conditions to return the yacht to the charter base before flying back to France.

Sailing from the Islands of The Saintes to the coastal western wing of Guadeloupe is fast and lumpy but as soon as we are behind the mountains its flat calm and no wind. Halfway up the coast is Pigeon Island and the recently renamed Jacque Cousteau Underwater Park. Perfect diving in 12 metres; this is nature at its best with clear, deep, blue water. We snorkel over interesting rock formations, moray eels, coloured fish and octopus and even though it’s deep, it is perfectly clear. Actually, the moray eel sent my flippers flapping very quickly back to the boat.

A year ago a statue to Jacque Cousteau was mounted here under the water and after some persistence we find it. Set on a white sand patch, looking at a coral encrusted cliff teaming with fish, it is in very deep water. Cousteau considered this to be one of the finest dive sites in the world.

Deshaies Harbour on the northern western tip of Basse Terre is home for a few days while we explore the Rainforest Mountains of Basse Terre and the Botanical Garden. High above the pretty fishing village of Deshaies is Jardin Botanique and after a bit of exercise for the day, it turns out to be one of the best maintained gardens we have seen to date. There are tropical flowers and plants everywhere; lots of pink pelicans and native birds too. I can only dream of my new camera but in the meantime Ian’s waterproof “sardine can” camera will suffice.

We loved Guadeloupe’s diversity from the flat dry land, white sand and shallow turquoise seas on one side to the lush green towering rain forests and deep seas on the other side.

Crossing 42 miles to Antigua couldn’t be better and it only takes us 5 hours in the north easterly trade winds. Into the protected English Harbour, super yachts are everywhere and with English spoken we will settle in here for a few weeks very nicely. The first major event is the 21st ‘Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta’ starting on 17th April and then the regatta we have entered the 41st ‘Antigua Sailing Week’ starting on 27th April.

Our first surprise on arriving was that we had to have the yacht rated to enter the regatta. For 40 years they have had a Caribbean rating system similar to IRC but without weighing the yachts. It has worked well and minimises the little white lies yacht owners tend to use.

The Classic regatta will be a new experience for us and some wonderful famous craft from the bye gone era are gathering. Ian is drooling over yachts such as ‘Ticonderoga’, the maxi to beat in her day, still looking immaculate, the J Class ‘Ranger’, at 136ft, and the wonderful gaff rigged schooners ‘Eleonora’, a Herreshoff 120ft, and ‘Altair’, a Fife 108ft. There will be over 50 classics from 30-140ft racing.

Of interest also arriving for our sailing week are the old round the world racing ketch’s from New Zealand “Steinlager” and “Fisher and Paykel” and of particular interest to Ian is “Charisma” a 55 footer which was a member of the 1973 USA Admirals cup team of which he was crew on “Salty Goose”
English Harbour is an amazingly sheltered anchorage. It was the home of the English fleet in the 1700s & 1800s with “Nelson’s Dockyard” having been wonderfully restored. Nelson actually only served here when at the age of 25 he was in command of a Frigate with a complement of 250 on board. 5000 military were based here during the Napoleonic wars but like all the other forts on the various islands, Fort Berkeley never saw action.

You may remember one of my ARC reports about the yacht ‘Barbary Duck’ which was abandoned mid Atlantic and left to float at the beginning of December off the Cape Verde islands. Three months and 2000nms later it turned up here off the coast of Antigua and today Ian and I saw her in a boat yard. It is quite unbelievable seeing her from the out side looking very sea worthy and that this very strong yacht, a ‘Westerly Corsair 38’, was even abandoned in the first place. Her mast had broken at the lower spreader but she was not dismasted when found. The reason for abandonment was cracking around the chain plates and the owners believed the mast was in danger. Leaving her created a very dangerous hazard all that time for other yachts crossing the Atlantic. You would have to wonder what was on their minds to abandon the yacht for their life raft when it was still floating and sailing well.

Sunday night is ‘Jump Up’ at Shirley Heights overlooking English & Falmouth Harbour. With the sun going down, steel band and reggae music its one big BBQ party. From 44 gallon drums, 3 steel drums and various local musical instruments they beat out anything from the ‘Beatles Let it be’ to a Mozart concerto. Absolutely amazing! Unfortunately we missed the previous Sunday when famous West Indian cricketers Curtly Ambrose and Richie Richardson performed with their band ‘Dread and the Bald One’. The island is cricketing mad with Sir Viv Richards, a former captain, the local hero. Being an Australian helps and it is a pity we are going to miss the Aussie one day tour here next month.

Getting the bus is another musical experience. One day we rock along with loud reggae music and a Rastafarian driver steering to the music and the next day a sing along gospel service. Loving the good nature of the locals and while the West Indies are winning the cricket everyone is happy.

The island and population are small (72,000) but although it’s a slightly scruffy place, the locals are the nicest and happiest we have come across; especially the children. Maybe it’s the milk shakes, check out the menu in the pic.

Joining us for the regatta are Anne and Baney Richardson from Sydney and Ann and Phil Smith from New York. If the wind keeps blowing it will be an exciting race week.

Always to get a reaction: an Ian quote. Hi, I’m from Australia, the home of cricket!!!

The Caribbean has not been exempt from the strange weather that the rest of the world has been experiencing. Also, my photographic days are over for awhile as Ian lost concentration, went swimming with the camera and ended up black and blue, read on.Now is meant to be the dry winter season but we are having high winds and rain squalls most days. We actually haven’t minded because it is still hot and the odd rain cools us down but the long time cruisers and locals say they have never known a season like this one.

We are now sailing in unison with Heinz and Elizabeth Oser who chartered a yacht out of Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe. A very sheltered harbour and marina with a fantastic yacht base for provisioning and plenty of islands for day sailing. Guadeloupe is an interesting butterfly shaped island where one wing is flat and the other mountainous with three groups of small French islands all very close. Our first impression is the beautiful colour of the sea, miles and miles of shallow sky blue coastline, along the southern eastern wing.

Ilet du Gosier is only three miles away, where we anchor for a night, swim and listen to the waves breaking on the reef all night. The town of St Francois at the end of the wing looks interesting. To access the lagoon you have to enter a very narrow entrance through the coral reef. With a strong easterly blowing, we motor 20nms into the big rolling seas hoping that they will not be breaking at the entrance. We are a little edgy as waves break either side of us but once inside the reef the lagoon is a very safe and comfortable anchorage. Locals Philippe and Marianne, friends of the Oser’s, entertain us ashore at the new marina, full of shops and very good restaurants.

Leaving the lagoon, up and over the surf, we now have a great sail to the island of Marie Galante. Twenty miles to the south the island is covered in sugar cane, producing the bulk of the local 59% proof rum and surrounded by golden sandy beaches.

What starts out as a great day doesn’t always end the same way. Here we are anchored in photographic Anse Carnot and I can’t resist swimming to the shore. Ian takes the dinghy and a red bikini is a moment’s distraction. In the mean time, breaking surf picks up the inflatable and sends it sideways tipping Ian into the surf, tearing his hamstring while trying to hold the camera up high and everything turns to custard. By the time I get to him he is in agony and guilty and the red bikini couldn’t have cared less.

Keep walking is the best therapy and the next beach Anse de Mayes is the most beautiful long beach we have seen so far this year. The colour I can’t capture but it will remain in my memory forever.

With the wind behind us we have a fast sail west to a group of islands, Iles des Saintes. Entering between Fort Napoleon and ruins of Fort Josephine the protected main harbour will be home for longer than we had expected. With a cute seaside village, museum, crystal clear water, snorkeling and a flight around the islands we are very happy to shelter here until the winds and big seas subside.

Fort Napoleon has been well restored and is now a naval museum high on the hill above the main town of Bourg de Saintes. It is interesting to see the French side of the naval battle lost to the English in the straits to the south. Apparently the English had a lucky break when the wind changed and they managed to divide the French fleet. Even more disturbing were the models and drawings of the slave ships used to bring the Africans to the sugar plantations.

In the lee of Ilet Cabrit we are able to put a stern line ashore and spend several wonderful days swimming in beautiful clear water observing the colourful coral fish and the dive bombing skills of the pelicans as they swoop in from a great height.

Over the weekend Philippe and Marianne flew out to join Liz and Heinz and we all spend memorable moments eating marlin, drinking rumbos with fresh grapefruit and a special flight over the islands.

Once again we have crossed paths with Aussies Don and Aggie on “Honey Moon” enjoying fresh local lobster at ‘La Fringale’ and trading knowledge.

Bruises disappear in time, cameras can be replaced and wind conditions improve but we are both very well, happy and manage to fill in our days doing nothing.