Alec arranged to take an extended leave / period of telecommuting so he could be here for the 2007 regatta season consisting of the Caribbean Ocean Racing Triangle (the regattas here on St. Croix, on Culebra, and on Tortola) and the Rolex regatta on St. Thomas. The crew he regularly races with on Lake Minnetonka were excited to join us, although not everyone could make every race. Alec also tried to talk us into doing the regatta on St. Martin, but that was too far away.
THE ST. CROIX INTERNATIONAL REGATTA
(For more information on the regatta, see St. Croix Yacht Club)
Tom Elsen and Paul Quast came down a few days before the St. Croix Regatta (February 10-11), and they and Alec put in two full days of boat preparation – reshaping the centerboard, reinforcing the starboard bulkhead, replacing turnbuckles with easier to adjust open body types, as well as simply pressure washing the bottom, which still looks good.
All that work was too little avail however. The two day regatta was sailed in light air and calm seas – just the opposite of how Tom had rigged the boat. So we were heavy and slow, finishing 7 out of 9 in spinnaker racing 2 class. The sailing was fun though, the mixed crew (including me, Larry Sickenger and Ron Herron) got along well, and who can complain when you get to see dolphins dive under your boat? Alec said they were checking out his keel work!
CULEBRA HEINEKEN INTERNATIONAL REGATTA (For more information on the regatta, see Culebra)
A month later (March 8), Ambivalence was rafted up with TomCat, a 65 foot power cruiser at anchor in the Ensenada Honda of Culebra. Tom and Catalina Miller had graciously offered the use of their boat and services of Captain Bob Lorrello to our friends Paul and Sharon Quast. We were all there for the Culebra Heineken International Regatta the coming weekend. Also here are Alec -- who is almost half way through his two month Caribbean tele-commute -- and his school friend from Blair, York Pasanen.
Alec, York and Paul had put in another two days of work into boat prep with more shaping of the keel and strengthening of the newly required stern lifeline stanchions. It was tedious, cautious work, jacking the centerboard from below – imagine our chagrin when it wouldn’t come back down again! Some of my jumping up and down and a little more sanding and it’s as good as new (almost).
Alec, York and I left Salt River about 7:45. Winds were 12-15 knots from the SE as predicted but the seas seemed much larger than the 6-8’ predicted. We broad reached with the main and old North spinnaker on a course of 330o which eventually took us well east of Culebra. The boat hit 11 knots sailing down the swells until the spinnaker came apart the second time we rounded-up hard. Alec has been trying to destroy that 25-year old sail for ten years! I probably can’t send it back to North with a complaint!
After a little recuperation, we hoisted the recut 135 genoa and still touched 9-10 knots. We averaged over 6 knots, including the sail change, a blown guy and jibsheet. Great sailing but we’re all a little tired, and we may need TomCat to give us a tow to get back home.
Most of us took a swim and or nap. The young ones took the 40hp dinghy into check out the town of Dewey and Jean is cooking chicken cacciatore. Life is GOOD.
March 9 (late entry)
It’s 7:00 on the 10th as I write this; I will have to get the crew up soon.
Yesterday was a practice day – not to say that it was entirely relaxing. Paul and I started the day by taking the dinghy into Dewey where we walked around, mailed letters for Jean, and picked up some sweet rolls at a bakery. I saw a choice piece of waterfront property complete with junk boats and briefly fantacized about retiring here. I like this bay – or is it a sound?
We took Ambivalence out for a morning practice, which we needed. York’s sandals were way too slippery and CPT Bob has sailed but never raced before. I thought we were overpowered with the main and 155. Alec finally agreed that the 135 (now renamed a 130 since it has the wrong sail number on it) might be better for the conditions. By that time it was time to play with the spinnaker. The set went well enough but something happened and we broached. Paul let the sheet run as he should but it ran all the way out so we had to come into the wind to recover the sail. All that went OK, but even with the video camera on the back rail recording, I don’t know what caused the broach.
We sailed with just the main for awhile to settle everything down, and then we reset the spinnaker after we cleared the channel and had a nice run with practice gybes going up the sound.
We had left-overs for lunch and Bob took the dinghy to town to take care of business while the rest of us napped.
When he returned, Sharon, Paul and I took the dinghy back through the canal, under the lift bridge, to snorkel on the west side of the island. We found a nice spot inside a reef, but the coral was mostly dead. Afterwards we finished registering for the regatta, but they weren’t set up for any activities yet.
Oh, by the way, we did clear customs by phone and they were quite nice BUT although you’re not supposed to need a passport, they wanted passport NUMBERS (or SSN) and dates of birth for everyone. And why do we need an 18 digit clearance number in this tiny place?
We went ashore again for the party which was a bit of a flop. The music and local dancers were good, but the Heineken tent ran out of beer right away and they stopped pouring mojitos at 8:00! The skippers’ meeting was more disorganized than most, but we think we know where we’re going. Some of the distance races could be quite challenging for us.
March 10
Another late entry, but what can I say? We’re having too much fun, or I’m too tired at night to write? Both are true.
We were ready to get underway for the first race at 8:30, but nobody else in the bay was, so we waited too. The first signal was scheduled for 9:55 but the first race didn’t get going until after 11:00. We did get in three 2-mile X2 windward-leeward races and were back to TomCat by 1600.
We had agreed to try the 130 genoa but I still couldn’t control the boat or keep the mainsail from luffing, so we changed down to the 105. That worked better, and we could still make 6 knots on the beats.
We were late for the first two starts, but I can put a little of the blame on the race committee which was not communicating well. Our tacks and spinnaker handling improved dramatically over the day – at least we didn’t run over the chute like we did on the first take-down! I was having trouble with the rudder kicking up even after removing the plastic “anti-corrosion” washers. I’ll try something else today.
Conditions were by no means extreme (15 knot winds and 6’ seas) but rugged enough so that the only smaller boat in the fleet (the Etchells 22 Ghost) retired after the first run. As the slowest boat in the fleet, we were at the back of the pack all day, but we’ll see how we did on corrected time. At least our third race should be OK.
After sipping Paul’s excellent “Ron del Barrilito” rum – which we all felt we deserved even without a win – we swam and relaxed until dinner time. Jean stayed behind while the rest of us had dinner at the “Dinghy Dock.” There was absolutely nothing going on in the race area, so we played a little bridge and then an early bedtime for me.
March 11
The race committee was more organized this morning and we all got off for an 18-mile around the island race. Both wind and sea were milder and we started out with the 130. We had a decent start and were third at the first mark, messing with the bigger boats. It was a spinnaker run up the channel inside Culebrita with some stronger breezes along the shore. Rounding the tip of the island, we changed up to the 155, but by that time we’d been passed by most of the boats in the combined fleet.
It was a very pleasant sail all day, and we saw all of Culebra’s very beautiful beaches. Spinnaker handling was very good and we made no major errors. Still our boat speed wasn’t good enough and we finished 6th. Alec estimates we need to go 2% faster to move up in the fleet and 5% faster to beat the J27s.
Boats started to clear out of the harbor even before the awards ceremony (where they again ran out of Heineken) and Captain Bob wanted to put TomCat’s dinghy away and get all of Ambivalence’s gear off his flybridge before dark. All that was accomplished and he broiled us steaks on the grill.
This morning (Monday) it’s much calmer and the wind has shifted to the east. We’ll finish rigging to tow Ambivalence to Christiansted and be off by 8:30.
March 12
We left Ensenada Honda about 7:30 towing Ambivalence behind TomCat. We were able to make almost 10 knots and arrived in Christiansted by about 12:30. The trip was uneventful although seeing the boat throwing such a wake was worrisome. She tracked well with the rudder tied down. She didn’t ship any water. When we reached Christiansted, Alec, York and I set the mainsail and had a lovely, slow sail to Salt River. Our landing was delayed by the launch of a Gold Coast catamaran, and we had drinks at the Columbus Cove while waiting for Jean to bring us the picnic basket with car keys and other essentials. We reorganized and gave the boat a preliminary wash. I called customs to clear back in to the US Virgin Islands – although the computer was down and I didn’t get a clearance number. They did say I need to clear out of the USVI before leaving for the BVI. I have to check that out.
THE ROLEX REGATTA
(For more information on the regatta, see Rolex Cup)
Jean and I left Salt River about 8:30 on Thursday, March 22 and sailed with the main and 130 genoa on one tack all the way to Christmas Cove in Cowpet Bay. The wind was supposed to be SE but wasn’t – we probably would have been more comfortable and just about as fast with the smaller jib, but the seas were too rough for me to want to try a short-handed headsail change while underway. We arrived just after 1400.
The northern crew members (Paul & Sharon Quast, Paul & Becca Daggett, Tom Elsen and Kim Jensen) met us at the St. Thomas Yacht Club between 5 and 5:30 with Alec joining us from Puerto Rico last. The club and the Rolex people know how to throw a party and ADVERTISE!, Becca Daggett had found excellent accommodations right next to the yacht club (convenient but noisy) while Jean, Alec and I dinghied back to sleep on the boat. Christmas Cove was a very comfortable anchorage with enough breeze to be comfortable and calm enough to not rock the boat.
Come Friday morning, we motored over and backed Ambivalence in beside Tony SanPere’s Cayenne III to unload gear; then we gave Cayenita a tow out through the mooring field. Seas were still rough – in the 6 foot range and winds moderate. Not the best conditions for us. We used the 130 again, which is becoming my favorite sail. We raced three windward-leeward races with mile and a quarter legs. Our fleet consisted of most of the boats we’ve raced at the previous regattas plus the J24s. We were faster than some of them and finished 8, 9 & 11 overall.
Conditions were milder on Saturday for the races to and from Charlotte Amalie Harbor, but we aren’t used to weird distance courses and probably would have finished better if we knew where we were going. We would also have finished better if the rudder hadn‘t broken! The lower pintle snapped off clean inside the bracket. Tom Elsen and I tried to tie a jury rig, but we needed to go upwind, which would have been very difficult, so we radioed the race committee for help. They sent over a large RIB to chaperone us, but she wasn’t able to tow us -- Ambivalence yawed way too much and the tow line snapped. So they called for Sea Tow, a commercial “rescue” vehicle which towed us with a longer, heavier tow line and a big plow anchor off our stern to keep us straight. That worked much better and we made 6 knots back to Christmas Cove at a cost of $250.
That could have ended our regatta, but Terry, the dockmaster at STYC, called Bruce at Independent Boat Works for me, and Bruce, who races IC24’s, agreed to stay open for us. Paul Daggett and I drove over there and disassembled the rudder head. Bruce was skeptical of his ability to do the repair, but he cut the bracket apart and welded in a new pin. Paul and I put it back together, and we were just about on time for dinner reservations at Robert’s on the Beach.
We were ready to go and make a dramatic comeback on Sunday’s race up the Pillsbury Sound. The new pintle is a little bit stiff and Tom suggested we try shimming it on the port side. It was another LONG race for us on a little, slow boat – 4 ½ hours. It takes a long time to sail a six mile beat against the current. Alec’s GPS tracks overlaid on Google Earth maps clearly show the effect of current.
We were disappointed to learn that despite what felt like good sailing and fun boat-to-boat competition, we still finished 11th, 11th overall and 11 points behind the next boat.
TO THE BVI
Monday was our day to cruise up to Nanny Cay in anticipation of the next regatta. After sailing us into the wrong Cruz Bay on St. John (who let me navigate?) we cleared Customs – or rather I was told by a rather grouchy Customs Agent that I (and the previous five other skippers) had been misinformed and clearing out of the USVI to visit the BVI was NOT necessary.
After that inconvenience, we had a lovely sail up the Pillsbury Sound and into the Sir Francis Drake Passage. Since the timing was appropriate, we sailed into Sopers Hole. It’s a spot I find scenic and everyone agreed that the “little shack” on Frenchman’s Cay would be the perfect place to sail a 7.9 from the beach. We were complemented on our boat handling by a Customs Officer as we sailed along side the dinghy dock. We had to redo our papers (just because) but didn’t have to pay the per diem cruising permit since we were on a private yacht.
We sailed out through the cut while commenting on the current. (Alec’s later GPS overlay showed that it was considerable.) Kim J took the helm and threw in a series of perfect tacks which prompted Alec to suggest that the ladies sail the new boat (the former Hard Tack) in the WYC’s Women’s Series this summer. We had a near perfect hat overboard drill rescuing Paul’s Alinghi hat on the first try. Sharon was reassured that we might do the same for her. We sailed with an Olson 30 (J-Bird) that won our class at the Rolex for a little while and then pulled into Nanny Cay about 1630. We found a nice wide slip on D dock with no problem.
Shore accommodations were a little more problematic. While I think the public bathrooms at Nanny Cay are now the nicest in the Caribbean, the two bedroom suite I thought I’d reserved turned out to be a “suite” with two beds – something that was not acceptable long term. With Becca’s and Sharon’s persistence we were able to secure two more rooms. See Nanny Cay Hotel & Marina for more information. Alternate plans to move to a nearby villa fell through when the maid said she couldn’t have it ready and the owner would rather have it sit empty than accept Paul D’s offer of five nights for the price of six (rather than the initial listing of five nights for the price of seven). The food and drink at Pegleg’s (at the marina) were quite acceptable and we dined after briefly checking out the regatta / sailing festival activities.
March 29 (another late entry)
We planned for Tuesday to be a lay day, and we had a successful one actually enjoying the light showers that rolled through several times. Paul and Becca did a little exploring but the big activity of the day was Paul D and Sharon giving Alec and me lessons on the “five card major” convention in bridge. Becca and I rebuilt all four winches while Alec and Tom reset the rigging, moving two toggles from the forestay to the backstay – which approximates the rig we had before the 7.9 Nationals on Minnetonka.
Jim made plans to dive on the Rhone with the boat from Blue Water Divers on Wednesday. Ambivalence was to join him about lunch time. His plans went badly astray however. He couldn’t equalize pressure in his ears so wisely scrubbed the dive. Waiting on the dive boat induced a case of mal de mer. The good news was that he discovered that a school of yellow tail snappers cleaned up the mess immediately when he vomited into the sea.
Ambivalence arrived on time and Alec rowed the dinghy over to pick me up. Comments suggest that rowing your dink is very idiosyncratic. That didn’t prevent the crew from taking it over to a buoy and snorkeling over the Rhone. Everyone enjoyed the snorkeling with a sea turtle, but Becca found the experience a bit spooky, just as my brother, Roger, had.
Since Cooper Island was “just around the corner”, Alec suggested that we sail over to the Beach Club for lunch. There were only a few mooring balls available, but the kitchen was still open for lunch. The Painkillers were voted better than those at Peglegs (more pineapple, less coconut and better nutmeg was the diagnosis) and everyone enjoyed lunch. Alec was pleased that the food lived up to his recollection. Sharon would have enjoyed more beach time, but Jim was worried about the dark clouds to N & NE. He was right because we got very wet sailing back to Nanny Cay in low visibility. Alec sailed 300o, the reciprocal of his course out, but that took us back to Road Harbor. He wisely stayed off shore until he could clearly see the northerly set of bouys into Nanny Cay. Despite the dredging there is still shallow water around the entrance. We were motorsailing at 5 knots by then, and the diesel was reliable all the way. Tom and Kim were waiting for us on the docks and did the preliminary boat cleanup while the rest of us headed for hot showers.
We reconvened to teach Sharon the game of 9-5-2. Alec had all the good cards which is only fitting for the birthday boy. We had another good dinner at Pegleg’s but we’ve pretty much exhausted the menu so we’ll go further afield the next few nights. We called Jean to acknowledge Alec’s birthday – all is well at home – and retired after setting the sunshade as a minimal rainfly. That was needed as it rained hard enough for us to put in hatchboards during the night. Two fans kept us comfortable below decks, and plans for Thursday are dependent on the weather.
April 2 (late entry)
We woke on Thursday morning to weather that looked better than the forecast. Winds were more moderate and there was some sun. After discussing the possibility of another lay day to play bridge, we decided that it was Kim’s day to sail, and Jim proposed that we visit the beaches at Cooper and Peter Islands or snorkel at the Indians. Kim chose beaches, and we sailed to Cooper Island with Sharon deciding to stay ashore to do a little work (?!?). We put people ashore with a touch and go landing at the Beach Club’s dock and enjoyed another fine lunch. Clouds started to build over Tortola again, and indeed we got wet again before reaching Nanny Cay. Not as wet as Wednesday though, and this time we were smart enough to put on some extra clothes.
Q was scheduled to arrive around 1730, and Sharon chose to wait for her hubby while the rest of us took a taxi to the Spaghetti Junction. The restaurant had been recommended to us and was quite a bit fancier than we’d expected. Dinner was slow for a variety of reasons, mainly proving that there’s no such thing as fast food on this island either. I was disappointed with my tuna special, but the others seemed satisfied.
Friday morning we were ready to go racing. (For more information on the regatta, see BVI Regatta ). Q didn’t arrive until midnight, but that didn’t slow him down. The seas were lumpy and confused and after hoisting the 155 we went down to the 130 genoa for the first race, a two-lap windward-leeward. We did not have a good start and finished 8 of 11. We changed down the headsail again and had a better start, to windward of the fleet. We were 4th or 5th at the first weather mark, but trying to tack with a winch override on the jibsheet just doesn’t work . We may have fouled the mark as we were pulled downwind but we had to do a 360o turn to get around the mark anyway. We finished 9th but the really bad news was that there was a photographer in the water recording it for posterity!
The third race of the day was a circle around Cooper and Salt Islands. We finished 6th and might have done better if we’d changed headsails again. We are getting some good surfing on the spinnaker runs.
We hung around the regatta area for the evening, eating from a choice of food tents and hoping to see us embarrass ourselves on the slide and video shows. The two Pauls, Alec and Sharon played cards and I went to bed.
Wind startled to stabilize on Saturday with the Trades reestablishing themselves from the ENE. We sailed two short W-L races, finishing and 7th and 5th. We would have had a 4th except that we had a spinnaker wrap on the last gybe and finished the race with Alec and Becca on the bow trying to pull it out. The photographers got that one too!
The Race Committee then decided to test our endurance with the longest distance course, around the entire chain of southern islands – Ginger to Norman. We had a good start
and were holding our own with all but the fleet leaders but let ourselves get downwind and were rolled by the three fleets of big boats that started after us. We watched our competition sail away while we were gassed by dirty air.
We started to gain as we rounded Ginger Island and hoisted the spinnaker. Alec started playing the vang which improved speed, steering and safety. We hit over 10 knots surfing before we saw tear start to open up on the starboard shoulder. We took the sail down before more damage was done and sailed with the small jib until the older North spinnaker was ready to set. By that time the other boats seemed out of reach.
We changed up to the 130 on the backside of Norman Island, and with aggressive sail trimming, good wind reads by the foredeck crew, and a favorable windshift, we were able to finish within a minute of Glory Daze, a J24. Of course we beat them on corrected time and finished 8. Glory Daze hung her red flag on the way back to Nanny Cay, “protesting” us for sailing too fast!
I was wiped out after that, took a nap and still preferred an early bedtime to dinner with the crew at the Sugar Mill. This log is back to being current. Winds are up and seas are down this morning, and we will see what the racing gives us.
April 1
The Race Committee and gods of wind and sea were gracious to us today. If we’d had another race like the last one yesterday, I would have proposed withdrawing as did the crew of the Kirby 25 Meltemi. As it was, we sailed a windward – leeward and then a race around Cooper and Salt Islands. Conditions were more moderate although Tom said driving was more difficult and he made regular use of the handhold straps we’d tied to the toerail. We made no major errors and a couple of good tactical moves, finishing 5th and 6th and 7th overall for the regatta.
We showered and used up our drink tickets, played cards, and I’m going to bed at 2030. Tomorrow Alec and I sail back to St. Croix and the rest of the crew makes their way back north.
April 2 (late entry)
Q drove me down to Sopers Hole and I cleared BVI customs without difficulty since I had the exact change needed ($5.00). Alec and I left Nanny Cay at 0915 hoisting the main and 130 as we cleared the harbor. Course to sail to Salt River was 206o but we sailed closer to 196o until we were a good mile east of the layline. Then we figured the current and wave set would take us west, and we sailed as close to the proper course as the short period swell would allow.
We made better than 6 knots all the way with the apparent wind on the beam. We took hourly shifts driving. When we were only a thousand yards out from Salt River, I called Alec up from his nap to check out a clicking sound. The boat was still steering OK, but the lower pintle had broken again and was attached only on the starboard side. I suspect that either the SS strap was weakened by the previous repair or corrosion did in some of the fasteners. Anyway, we got the sails down, tied on the rudder and looked around. The surf breaking at the entrance to Salt River was pretty high and Anchor Dive Center had a boat nearby. We might have been able to motor through the cut, but I radioed for assistance. We were advised to drop anchor while they sent a second boat to help us. Deliverance (aptly named) towed us in without difficulty until we were close enough to motor to our slip – only to discover that someone’s powerboat had taken our place. Hugh (the Harbormaster) got it moved, and we learned that our call for assistance had earned us a “courtesy” inspection by the Coast Guard. Three Coasties with 9mm’s found that we did have lifejackets, flares, a bucket and sponge and were satisfied.
Jean joined us for a drink at Columbus Cove – where we had the prettiest Painkillers of the trip. We loaded up the van with sails and gear to be washed, and that was the end of our adventure. I hope to pull the boat tomorrow so she can sit dry while I scrounge for parts to completely rebuild the rudder head. Other projects include sending the spinnaker to Spike Boston for repair, resealing the chainplates, replacing the traveler and mainsheet lines, repacking the stuffing box, installing new batteries and changing the fuel filters. Good thing I get a few days off!