Greetings from the Caribbean

Greetings from 17 23.902 North, 061 59.427W.  Our course is a straight 5 degrees to Bermuda.  Total run will be approximately 940 nautical miles.  Right now, we are 90 minutes away from sunset.  Winds are from the east 15-20 knots.  Waves are 5-6 feet.  All sails are up, and we are cruising along on a reach at approximately 6 knots.
We spent the last two nights at the Antigua Yacht Club Marina in Falmouth Harbor.  It is a marina for mega yachts.  We were dwarfed by the breathtaking beauties around us.  Customs and Immigration is a short walk away in English Harbor.  Allegedly, it opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. daily.  There, a captain has to check in with Customs, go to the Immigration desk next to the Customs desk, and then cross the hallway to pay the Port Authority.  You cannot vary this sequence.  The Customs officer did not show up until close to 11 a.m., so the remaining staff sat idle, unable to process the dozens of people who came by in order to be compliant with the law.  When Captain Jay was finally able to meet with the Customs official and move to the next desk, the immigration folks said "Yes?"  He had to explain that he was sent to the immigration desk (next to the Customs desk) and he had no idea why he was there, but hoped that she might know. Do not forget your pen or your money when you check in.  The authorities DO NOT lend pens to beggars trying to fill the proper forms.  Also, forget having any emotions - nice doesn't get you anywhere and anger solves even less.  In order to avoid the wait this morning to check out, we went back to Customs and Immigration yesterday afternoon at 4:30 p.m.  Unfortunately, Customs had closed early - unannounced. 

We were able to take advantage of shore showers yesterday and today.  Despite the lack of hot water, it was wonderful to wash off the buildup of sunblock. We also were able to get some laundry done.

Jay and DT spent yesterday getting fuel, water, additional provisions and engaged in the constant maintenance and repair that defines living on a boat. The stuffing box was leaking, and two of the hose clamps had broken.  Jay married odd sized clamps so that we could manage the three inch span.  Ann came in around 4:30 and it was great to have a reunion on Welcome. Jay bought each of us a shirt with the insignia of the local sailmaker, and we debated whether we should wear the shirts at the same time.  I think the final vote was "too dorky". Ann was kind enough to lug from Seattle a new engine raw water intake filter and a new COB strobe light.  We spent the next two hours fixing and installing both.  The raw water intake filter Jay asked Beth to get was a size too large, and while the larger capacity is irrelevant, the existing engine hoses were too small.  So, the leaking old one was repaired with some underwater expoxy and reinstalled. We had a fine dinner of pizza, which was surprisingly similar to the cheese and crackers we had as an appetizer.  Gourmets we are not.  Everyone slept well.

This morning we went back to English Harbor to clear out, and once again the Customs agent was late for work.  Today he was only 90 minutes late.  Or maybe that is early for him.  Regardless, it does seem ridiculous and delayed our start by a few hours.  Checking into French islands is so much easier.  You just mosey up to a PC terminal and fill in your information - 24/7.  The French understand that they need to get you into their shops and cafes ASAP so you will spend your tourist dollars.

We ate breakfast at an outside bar, bought new hose clamps, spent the remaining Eastern Caribbean dollars at the quick mart, and cast off around 11:30.  We are back on 3 hour watches around the clock.  That rotation will give each individual a different watch series each day.  The crew will be better rested on this leg than on the last.  We are very pleased that Ann agreed to join us at almost the last minute.  She been on other adventures with Welcome, knows the boat well, keeps calm in a crisis, and is a good sailor.  While we do miss Michael, three is a perfect number for this voyage. 

Team Welcome