Thursday, May 07, 2009

Antigua

    We are sitting at Antigua Yacht Club Marina, dwarfed by the mega yachts that surround us.  In fact, we are so small, we hope that we will not be noticed tomorrow as they tour the docks to collect the fees.  Our deck sits well below the dock and we have to step up to get to the cement pier.  We were lucky when we came in because there were two small boat owners near us who explained the mystery of how you dock to a pier that has no cleats.  There are chains around the pilings that we used.  Seven fenders are out in an attempt to keep us from smashing into the pier.  We first went to English Harbor, but the Med moorings had DT stymied, so we rounded the corner to Falmouth Harbor.  We had a first hot meal - a terrible mixture of green pasta and bottled sauce. The Argentina wine was awful as well.  It was the best meal so far.
    Tomorrow we check into customs and greet Ann, the crew for the next leg.  We have relatively few chores - fixing the running lights, updating provisions, maybe replacing the engine water strainer with the one Ann is bringing with her in her duffel bag.  She is also bringing a strobe light - the current one has failed.  I am not sure why we are not getting a new battery, but better safe than sorry.
    The ride up from Grenada was hairy at times, but our average speed was 6.1 knots.  The waves were choppy, and towards the end of the day the swells were around 10 feet tall. It is truly exhausting having three hour watches.  Effectively, that means no more than 2.5 hours of sleep at a time.  It is hard to be hungry in these conditions.  We expect to leave here on Saturday and it should be a seven day run to Bermuda - weather permitting.  Ann leaves Bermuda on the 17th.  Kel arrives in Bermuda on the 16th to join us for the Newport leg across the Gulf Stream and through the dreaded Bermuda Triangle. We hope to make Newport Memorial Day weekend to visit with Joe and Marge. Life seems pretty good right now.
    Team Welcome
   

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