April 2015 – SV Blue Sky

Hanging out with friends

As we were preparing to leave Green Island and Antigua, we received an email from friends Judy and Ed on sv Judith Arlene. They had just arrived back to Jolly Harbour from Guadeloupe and wondered if we were still around as they were hoping to return to Nonsuch Bay. We contacted them and arranged to meet up in Jolly Harbour for a few days. This would give us another chance to get some fresh vegies on board and see our friends. Paul could play some guitar with Ed, and Charlie could get together with Nigel, their schnauzer.

As we sailed around we decided we’d see if we could extend our stay in Antigua in order to hang out with Judy and Ed. This was easily done with a quick visit to the Port Authority and $25 US. So now we have another month to enjoy this beautiful place.

Judy and Ed had never been to Deep Bay so we encouraged them to join us over there for a few days. We did the usual hike up to Fort Barrington and snorkelled the wreck that is sunken in the bay. There were a few rains while here, but it never lasts long and we simply enjoyed ourselves. We had a music night on board Blue Sky with Rob and Barb (Riff Raff), and Judy and Ed (Judith Arlene). Barb knew the words to every song by heart. Amazing singer too. Such and enjoyable evening.

Nigel is Judy and Ed’s dog. Charlie is a bit of a snarly guy when he’s around other dogs, but Nigel is one of the calmest dogs I’ve ever met. During our time together Charlie slowly came around and the two became doggie friends. This is good for Charlie. More time with Nigel, we hoped, would help Charlie get over his dog aggression. So the plan was to head back to Nonsuch Bay along with Judy and Ed.

So on April 4th (where does the time go), we headed back to Nonsuch Bay. The bay was very busy with boats it being Easter weekend. The locals had tents on Green Island and nearly every mooring ball was taken. We managed to get two moorings nearest the reef where there is nothing but Atlantic ocean beyond until Africa. Judy absolutely loves this side of Green Island in Nonsuch Bay, but we kept our eyes on the other side, dinghying or paddling over every day after Easter to see if a mooring was free.

Two days after Easter Monday we lucked out and got a mooring on the south west side of Green Island. Judy and Ed followed later in the day when the second mooring became free. There was a little excitement when they came over. Their engine quit while in the narrow cut that comes around Green Island. We were hanging on the mooring for them with the paddleboard and kayak when we saw their jib go out. We figured something was wrong. They disappeared back to where they came from, then showed up again. Meanwhile, I went to Blue Sky and radioed them. They needed our dinghy in the water to help guide them to the mooring as they had no engine. Paul went immediately while I held onto the ball with the paddleboard. I figured I could help with the lines when they got close. The adrenaline was running high when they arrived and rightly so.

Somewhere in here P got an email from his sister encouraging him to come visit his mom. She had a virus during the winter and was not recovering as well as usual. Decision was made that he would go visit now and I would stay on the boat in this safe harbour with Judy and Ed hanging in with me in case I needed anything while he was away. That’s what friends are for, and we are ever so grateful for them.

Meanwhile, I gave Judy, Ed, and Nigel some lessons on the SUP. Judy and I got into doing yoga together on the deck of Blue Sky. We’d walk the dogs together a few times each day and we spent many evenings together with Paul and Ed strumming their guitars while we all sang. We also did the usual snorkelling and swimming together a few times. I even tried out Judy and Ed’s Solaris chairs.
The day P departed for his visit to Burlington, we all rented a car together so the rest of us could get a few groceries and Judy and Ed could extend their stay at customs. It was a long day for the dogs to stay on their boats while we were away until dusk. They managed, but we heard from Q Queenie (a motor Lagoon anchored behind Blue Sky) that Charlie was very noisy and they were worried about him. He just doesn’t like to be left on the boat alone.

So here I am while Paul is away for a few more days. I’m keeping myself busy doing boat cleaning chores. Not a bad place to hang out awhile longer.

Green Island

So after hanging out in Barbuda for 10 days it was time to head back to Antigua and get some provisions. I wasn’t ready to leave Antigua yet, so I suggested we sail back over to Nonsuch Bay after an overnight in Jolly Harbour. It didn’t take long for Paul to agree to that one. We had a lovely 5 hour sail.

While heading into Nonsuch Bay we noticed that both mooring balls on the south west side of Green Island were available. We always look longingly at these as they are always occupied, but as luck would have it, we could have one. We immediately took the one nearest the beach and were greeted by 2 sea turtles. What luck.

This particular bay has two beaches. One which Charlie loves to walk on and the other he likes to swim at. The water is crystal clear and there are reefs all around. As our time here progressed we had daily sightings of the turtles, as many as 5 of them at once. Paul got good at spotting them while snorkeling.

We got ourselves into a bit of a routine while here taking Charlie ashore twice a day. Most days a tour boat or two show up for some snorkeling of one of the reefs. They stick around from 11-1 and depart after everyone is fed lunch. It’s entertainment for us to see them on a daily basis. One of them had guests on board who started cheering “Go Canucks Go” for us as they departed. What fun. The rest of the time we share the bay with one or two other boats.

We also managed a few projects while enjoying this serene place. I pulled out the sewing machine and made a suncover for the dodger and repaired the cushion cover on our salon settee. Some hand sewing was also in order with repairs to the strapping on the sail cover. I also cleaned up the stainless and removed rust from the fiberglass. Paul repaired the stanchion on the bow and tightened up the lifelines and did his usual scraping barnacles off the hull.

Often in the evenings we’d head to the bow to watch the stars. On one of these nights we noticed what looked like fireflies in the ocean. They were lighting up for about an hour and then stopped. We looked it up and discovered it is a type of bioluminescence. We saw it again a few nights later, deciding that it seemed to occur with the incoming tide.

It was easy to spend 10 days here. The days went by like a flash in this little piece of paradise. It fast became my absolute favorite place to be in Antigua and I’ve already put it on my wish list as a place to return to as often as possible.

Barbuda, Birthday, Zen, and Green Flashes

[Pictures to be added soon]

After a quick re-provisioning in Jolly Harbor, we headed to Barbuda, the last of our five 30+ knot sustained trips. By now it was almost starting to feel normal. The good news is that it was a beam reach almost due north with the swells grudgingly shifting from NE (bit rough) to due east about halfway through the trip making the ride a lot more pleasant than a close reach despite the 8 to 12 foot swells. Good but salty (think spraying your house down with a hose then dumping a 500 pound bag of salt into a giant fan blowing at your house, you get the idea) and a bit rough passage.

But it was Barbuda by birthday and we arrived on the 8th, just in time to grab some much needed sleep and wake up to pure Zen – and a happy birthday (Paul). Why Zen? Because the western shore of Barbuda is miles and miles of beautiful pink coral beach with almost no one on it Just sit back or take a walk/swim and soak it up. To the lee is the Caribbean Sea, maybe a small reef, but we weren’t headed that way. We had nosed the boat within 130 feet of the beach and dropped anchor so a trip ashore could be a swim, ride on a SUP, or kayak. We chose at first the southern end of the beach where no one stops but there is actually a better wind break but slightly more swell. The result was we never had a boat within a mile of us while there making it pretty much our own private beach. So the days vanished rapidly as we read, walked endlessly on the beach without encountering anyone, swam, did chores and often sat or lay in the hammock while soaking it all in. In a fit of dramatic decision making, we opted to move to the northern end near the reef but still enjoyed the company of only a couple of other boats – for a while. Then the weather improved and we suddenly had more company.

When the clouds finally dissipated, we observed two “green flashes” on two consecutive nights. Very rare! Last year Gwyn saw two and Paul saw only one. So what is a “green flash”? Well, from what we have seen it is not a flash as in something flashing into the sky. Rather, as the disk of the sun sets in the sea, the very top sliver of the disk turns a brilliant emerald green for about a second just before dropping out of sight. It is amazingly beautiful but not quite what I would call a “flash” other than the very brief nature of its existence. So what is it exactly? Don’t know. What we do know is the weather needs to be without smog/cloud/etc, the disk of the sun needs to be very clear as it sets, and voila, green flash. At least on Blue Sky these conditions are very rare. We are not often on a lee shore with only the sea on the western horizon, but when we are, there is often weather, so that works against a “flash”. The scientists can take it from there. We have seen it, rarely, but always both of us in the same place at the same time – solid. Haven’t seen it since but we will keep looking. For those who believe it’s a myth, keep looking, it is definitely real but occurs in only rare conditions.

Back To Antigua – follow the meteor

Turtle wishing us bon voyage as we leave Deshaies

We learned a lot about sailing our boat in 30-40 knot winds on our passages from Antigua to Deshaies to the Saints and return then on to Barbuda. These high winds were quite unusual and the result was that we saw almost no boats on the water except in Guadeloupe. After 5 trips of 30+ sustained winds on a close reach or a beam reach, we definitely developed a comfort level with managing the boat in that wind strength. I can’t honestly say that the close reach was physically comfortable but it wasn’t bad, just a little rough at times when the waves arrived in the wrong sequence or broke over the boat.

Deshaies to Antigua was a touch rough double reefed the whole way

At those wind speeds we were definitely double reefed on main and genoa, sometimes triple reefed on the gennie if we were seeing frequent gusts over 40 or prolonged gusts. We still happily tore along at over 8 knots, despite some wave bashing, which made the passages reasonably quick.

Montserrat to port on way to Antigua in a 32g40 breeze but loving the boat speed

We were a couple of hours from Antigua when I was startled by a meteor blazing extremely bright as it tore across the sky right by us also heading north. I have never seen a meteor in the daylight before, let alone as close as this one was. The brightness was like looking at a welding torch. Just before winking out, a part of the meteor separated and descended in a jagged trail of smoke. Sorry no pics. My jaw just hung open a while.