LIVE ABOARD’S IN THE CARIBBEAN!!!

Ok this is it I have arrived! If I die tomorrow I will have achieved my dream – hopefully that won’t happen and there is lots more of this to come! As I start this we are currently in Falmouth Harbour Antigua, Chicken Madras simmering on the stove, the sun is down, the ensign has been put away for the night, there might possibly be a glass of chilled white wine by my side and the only bad thing is that I am now 52 as of yesterday! However as Emma said I am now into the 2^nd year of my second half-century, which means I am only a toddler, and therefore there is much bad behavior to come – can’t wait to be 68!!

Back to our arrival in St Anne’s Martinique at 4 in the morning on 31^st January. It was strange to see lights on the land in the distance, Andrew and I brought her in for the last couple of hours and then woke the others so we could all experience the occasion and make sure we didn’t hit anything after all those days at sea! We dropped the anchor at 3.30am and then we could hardly go to bed there was much celebrating to be done, after all we were Transatlantic Sailors!! It was definitely the first time that I have started a party at 4 in the morning but it had to be done!

Transatlantic Sailor!

Lets just say that having had breakfast onshore the rest our first day on land was a bit of a wash out and it is possible that our impressions of Martinique were slightly marred by our rather sore heads! A great Lobster dinner ashore put a rosier shine on things, that and a good nights sleep at last!

The next morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed we motored around the Coast to Fort de France to sign in and provision, pretty awful town but there was a Carrefour and therefore decent, if not expensive, provisions all purchased in a very versatile shopping trolley…

We found a great little bay to anchor in, attempted to go ashore for drinks, got eaten by every bug known to mankind and retired to the boat for pasta and cards, girls 2 boys 0!!

Then it was time to set sail for St. Lucia, the local wild life accommodated us with two Sperm whales and lots of birds catching fish just of our bow. We anchored in Rodney Bay, having had a flyby of the hotel that we had spent our honeymoon in, sadly now a Sandals resort. A good evening was had in the Marina, much rum punch & vino culminating in some dancing on the back deck…

Marigot Bay

The next morning we meandered to Marigot Bay, dropping our anchor in the mouth to make the most of the breeze and what a fabulous and special place it is! Lots of boat boys looking for work, we employed one to get rid the beard we had grown over the last three weeks, not the best job in the world but as we had been told once you have your man the rest pretty much leave you alone so it sort of has to be done.

Posh dingy dock

We had an amazing dinner out for the Wilson’s last night at the Forest Hideaway – as we arrived in out dingy we were directed into a bay in front of the restaurant lit with green lights which was just magical, great food too! Then a last trip up to the Pitons for lunch onboard and it was time to say goodbye to our shipmates, which was very sad as we had so enjoyed their company and our adventure together, think we might entice them back for some more sailing antics….

The Pitons

Another night in Marigot Bay, a few chores and then a hasty exit as the boat ahead of us dragged its anchor in the freshening breeze and we had to get ours up pretty fast as there was no one onboard the other boat. Great maneuvering by Andrew and the hasty return of the owners of the other boat prevented a calamity and we sailed around to Rodney Bay and spent a breezy night on the hook.

Dominica

Time to head north; we had a cracking sail to Martinique, Q flag up, hook down, no venturing ashore. Then another cracking sail to Dominica which we had been told was now a safe place to go, up went the Q flag, boat boy was handed a few dollars and we sat and admired the rich green jungle around us. The party on the shore went on all night and was still continuing as we left at 10 am the next morning, we were both very pleased to get back to sea and some peace and quiet!! Must be getting old! We discovered later that it was carnival time so we may go back at some point and see some of the island.

Next stop Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, which are just beautiful, and a definite must see. Very picturesque, pretty painted buildings and lovely sandy beaches. We spent a couple of days there and then sailed to the top of the island before heading across to Antigua to meet my lovely in-laws who had come out to meet us and were staying in The Inn in English Harbour for a few days before joining us onboard. As we sailed into the anchorage we were met by a canoe bearing Tom & his friend Roger, the last day of their holiday they had spotted our arrival and come to say hello. Next arrived Keith, it was quite a welcoming party!

Two lovely dinners at the Inn with Keith & Syggs, what a fabulous place especially the restaurant on the top of the hill that looks over both English & Falmouth Harbour and all those red anchor lights.

Mary & Jeremy onboard

We left them in peace for a couple of days as we had a box to tick. Having spent two lovely holidays with Jeremy and Mary in there gorgeous villa on the island I had vowed we would bring our boat into their bay so that is what we did and they came onboard for dinner. Just fab seeing them both and being there!

Fav colour in the world!

Then it was time for my fabulous mother in law Syggs to come onboard for three days, not a keen sailor we did not want to put her of so we stayed on the West side of the Island with its calm turquoise waters and what a lovely time we had, so very special to have them on part of our journey. Dinner onboard both nights, lunch in Dickinson Bay, just a very special time. Big thank you to them both for coming to join us and being part of our adventure!

The Fab In-laws

Sue and Eddie joined us at the very special Sheer Rocks to celebrate my birthday, which was lovely. They are out here for the RORC 600 so it was perfect timing. Big thank you to them for including us in two great parties and so lovely to see them as always. The 600 is a very popular race attracting over 70 boats.  We walked up to the top of the hill to watch the start, which was a fantastic sight.

So now it is time to go home for a couple of weeks, boat to be lifted and bottom painted, much needed after out travels!

In the slings..

Thoughts on being a live aboard in Paradise:-

Food – you have to go with the flow, buy what ever is available and make do. I fell upon a tub of marvellousguacamole in St. Lucia and we used it in everything for days. King prawns in Antigua by the packet fried with garlic, accompanied once by pea Risotto, no mint but a cup of mint tea did the trick. Loved our lunch sailing into Antigua Foie Gras from Las Palmas, tomatoes from Dominica, white wine from St. Lucia and fresh French baguette delivered onboard that morning in Guadeloupe.

Sun – get the jobs done by lunch time then get in the shade, 4.30 to sunset cool enough to start again, best part of the day in the evening sitting on deck enjoying the moonlight and a cool breeze.

Hullabaloo – Best boat in the world still! Most important thing is to have control of the ladder…

Things to fix –

Internet connection! O2 is definitely making its millions out of us, hard to believe they can charge us so much when the local café will connect you for the price of a cup of coffee.

Water – we have a bug in our pipes and it smells.

Hair – I am starting to look like a scarecrow!

Nothing to add

Oh and Atlantic Rowers – Watching single rowers and fours arrive in English Harbour has been very inspiring. Having been out in that ocean and seen those waves I take my hat of to those competitors who have rowed and rolled all that way! And I love the way all the boats big and small blow their hooters to show their support and respect for such an achievement!

The boating world is a really nice place! But then I am a little bit obsessed….

"DOING THE ATLANTIC"

‘Doing the Atlantic’ on Hullabaloo
By Nigel & Louise

30^th January 2016

Current position has Hullabaloo at 14.18N, 59.10W, and 99 nm from Martinique, our intended landfall. Having left Mindelo in the Cape Verdes’ at 12pm on Monday 18^th January we have now been at sea for 12 days and 2 hours. With approximately 15 hours left at sea we are all now starting to recall what life is like at 90 degrees to the horizontal, what bliss a full night’s sleep will provide and whether it is true that too much rum doesn’t cause hangovers!

We have had a blast; below are some of the highlights…….

·      Almost more Dorado that you can shake your fishing rod at. It was just before 6pm on the evening we left Mindelo when the line started to run; typically the gin and ice had just hit the bottom of the glass, the tonic was at the ready. Andrew, having fought the good fight, reeled the monster in and I then proceeded to beat it to death whilst trying to hook it on board with the gaff. Amongst a certain amount of squeamishness we set about the dismemberment – the mongers of Billingsgate would have been horrified. Nevertheless an hour later sashimi was served; sadly to a crew who were feeling the onset of seasickness.  Andrew was devastated so decided to eat the lot!

Since then we have pretty much caught fish to order – we feel rather spoiled to say that there is only so much ocean fresh fish you can eat. After Annie, Betty, Curtly and Desdemona the Dorados we now have, as of 10 minutes ago,  Englebert the Tuna! Sashimi for lunch!

Nigel and Betty

Lesson learned – don’t take any advice from Andrew when it comes to landing a fish on deck. Video evidence is available but to see a man reduced from total confidence to cries of  ‘even Julia is better at this than me’ is to witness the descent of man.

·        Games. Monopoly on the iPad clearly demonstrated that the ladies of Bursledon are rather better at residing in the smart hotels of London than they are at developing them. Hearts (the card game) showing that whilst staying in the smart hotels the ladies of Bursledon are rather good at plotting revenge attacks on their husbands. A devastating final play by Julia upset Andrew for at least 24 hours!

Lessons learned - Rummikub is about the most pointless game invented by man. Please, never again.

·       Daily mileage estimates – Louise’s unbeaten winning streak of 4 straight days rather took the fun out of the game.

Lessons learned – that’s the last time I will be able to get away with pretending that six inches……

·        Sleeping at sea. The theory of ‘lee cloths and wedging’ has dominated conversations. All of us have slept from ‘awful’ to ‘blimey, that was good’ on the scale.

Lesson learned – firstly that the ‘starfish’ is by the far the most effective method. One person, 4 limbs, one in each corner of the forepeak. Unbeatable for a good nights sleep at sea!

·         Provisioning at sea – the sessions of planning by Julia and Louise (no white wine involved) and the seemingly endless visits to El Court Inglais in Gran Canaria and the markets of Mindelo paid off. We have eaten like kings. Supplemented by Annie and her fishy friends we have had everything from beans on toast to perfectly cooked roast leg of lamb. Where possible, and to much scepticism, I have sought to introduce the skipper and his wife to the endless meal variations that Chorizo allows. Aside from the lamb highlights have been Curtly’s ceviche, Scallops with Cauliflower puree (and Chorizo) and Dorado Kerala. All have been washed down with a combination of the finest wine boxes that man can buy, Canarian beer, rum or gin. Anyone who has been able to follow our track will now understand quite why we have taken the route that we have.

Curtly's Ceviche

Lessons learned – firstly that to set sail with no less than10 feet of Chorizo should be a criminal offence. Secondly that, Julia, just because the prawns are cooked in the picture on the front of the packet doesn’t mean that they are.

·      Technology and communications – with the obvious exceptions of lack of contact with family and friends, which we have all missed, our  contact with the outside world has been almost non-existent.

Lessons learned – firstly that with our own personal ‘Google’ on board we didn’t need the internet anyway and and secondly we should all spend more time at sea.

·       Oh, and the sailing. With very few exceptions we have had day after day of glorious sailing conditions; well established trade winds, mostly blue skies and following seas. Nights have been moonlit and warm.

Half way across!

Lessons learned – firstly, whichever watch Andrew is on, avoid. The skipper is a magnet for squalls, rain showers and flappy sails. Secondly that the phrases ‘poled out yankee’ and ‘3 to starboard’ are now ingrained in Louise’s vocabulary – even Robert Galbraith would struggle with those! 

Skipper dressed for half way party

And so with Martinique almost in sight we have all being reflecting. Louise and I feel enormously privileged to have ‘done the Atlantic’ with Andrew and Julia. Hullabaloo could not have been better prepared or more comfortable for an ocean crossing.  With very few exceptions Hullabloo ‘worked’ and when she didn’t we could rely on the Dallas inventory to tell us where to find the parts or provisions that were needed. Never has a greater collection of Tupperware and labeled boxes and packages been assembled in such a relatively small space. We have been staggered to realize that Andrew is rather organized and Julia doesn’t like to be very far from a bottle of cold white wine!

We are now all looking forward to a last few days of island hopping, beach to beach, bar to bar. It will be wrench for Louise and I to get on a plane back home on Thursday after an amazing three weeks; back to real life, for some of us at least……

Thank you so much, Andrew and Julia, for putting up with us; for the giggling, the pearls of Andrew’s wisdom and for the Ceviche and Sashimi. Life doesn’t get much better than this.

THE BIG ONE

Happy Girl

Wow what an amazing thing to have done sailing across the Atlantic! I am going to let Nigel & Louise tell the story - just a few thoughts from me:-

The boat was fantastic - all that preparation paid off and we had very few problems except for the pump on the freezer which failed and started dribbling sea water into the bilges but we had a spare so it was quickly sorted.

Food becomes very important but gave us much to think about each day.

There is nothing out there except for flying fish.

There is nothing to worry about as there is nothing you can do about anything outside of your little bubble so total peace of mind - bliss.

On the other hand you are aware that anything could have happened and you would't have a clue - weird.

We loved spending so much time with Nigel and Louise who were a joy to have onboard - lots of giggles and no stress - and HUGE respect for Louise for stepping so far out of her comfort zone!!

The only things I missed were a full nights sleep and a steady work surface in the galley, otherwise I  loved the whole experience!