Thursday, August 18, 2011

BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS TO ANTIGUA, B.W.I. - MARCH 29, 2011 - MAY 1, 2011

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Ahoy, Everyone,

We hope that this entry finds you all happy and healthy.  We hope that you enjoy this blog. 

Love to all of you,
Bill, JoAnne and Sailor Kitty :  )




SAILOR SACKED OUT UNDER THE HELM AGAINST THE FLARE BOX,
SPOTLIGHT KITS AND AIS SYSTEM






A POD OF DOLPHINS RIDING OUR BOW WAKE





MARCH 29, 2011
Anchored: Bitter End 18.30.138N, 64.21.905W

We fueled and watered up and departed Marina Cay this morning and headed for BEYC.  We arrived and jumped in the water to cool off.  We caught up again with Sabbaticus here.  They have been showing Bud and Patty the beautiful BVIs. it is so great to see Bud and Patty again.  


MARCH 30, 2011

Bill found message in a bottle at: 18.22.500N, 64.30.490W



B AND J HANGIN' OUT IN THE HAMMOCK AT BEYC



THE SPECTACULAR NECKER ISLAND OWNED BY SIR RICHARD BRANSON

THE FAMOUS SABA ROCK: HOME OF THE EXCELLENT PAINKILLERS


HIKING AT BITTER END

BEAUTIFUL DRIVE TO THE BEYC VILLAS  WE SAW ON OUR HIKE AROUND THE ISLAND

TRELLIS ON THE BEACH OF BITTER END

THE UNMISTAKABLY PICTURESQUE BITTER END YACHT CLUB and VILLAS



~WHAT A BEAUTY~

WE ARE IN THE LAND OF MEGAYACHTS!
We took a hike today around the island.  It was super hot, but the views were spectacular.  We took a dip in the ocean to cool off and then took a harbour tour in the dink. We took a swim and then got dressed for the Saba Rock Restaurant Happy Hour with Sabbaticus for the $2.50USD Painkillers and then off to pack up two pillows, Bill's homemade popcorn and a bottle of wine and headed to shore to watch the FREE movie at BEYC. The movie was a family movie called "Up". Even though it was PIXAR animation, it was a great movie. The moral of the story "Go for your dreams, and don't let anything stop you"!

MARCH 31, 2011

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!  TODAY WE CELEBRATE 2 YEARS OF CRUISING ABOARD ULTRA!






WHAT A SETUP MICHEAL BEAN HAS!

MICHAEL BEAN

BUD & PATTY AT THE MICHAEL BEAN HAPPY ARRR

HAPPY ARRR PIRATE PARTY WITH THE FAMOUS MICHAEL BEAN

CONNOR AND THE CAPTAINS ARE SHAKING IT!

BUD AND COMPANY SHAKING IT!

HEATHER, JOANNE AND DENA. SHAKE IT BABY, SHAKE IT!


TOASTING OUR SHAKERS
WATER BOTTLES FILLED WITH PEBBLES AND SEASHELLS

HEATHER, DENA, & JOANNE SHAKIN' IT SOME MORE!


ANOTHER YUMMY ICE COLD CARIB BEER!  THIS BEER IS MADE IN TRINIDAD.

CONNOR AND BILL READY FOR THE CONCH BLOWING CONTEST

CONNOR'S TURN

BILL'S TURN

JOANNE'S TURN

DENA'S TURN

CONNOR'S PRIZE OF AN ENTIRE CASE OF HEINEKEN

YEA, CONNOR!!!

DAD GIVING CONNOR THE THUMBS UP FOR A JOB WELL DONE

WHAT A SURPRISE, DENA AND JOANNE ARE DOING MORE DANCING!!  : )

THE MESSAGE IN THE BOTTLE OPENING CEREMONY BEFORE DINNER ABOARD SABBATICUS

JUST BEFORE IT WAS OPENED

EXTRACTING THE MESSAGE GENTLY WITH NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS

YEA, THE MESSAGE IS OUT SAFELY


Today we snorkeled and then tonight we headed to Leverick Bay for the Michael Bean's Happy ARRRRGH show. We got a big picnic table and surprise, Dave and Heather from S/V Wild Hair arrived. We have not seen them, since Puerto Rico. Sabbaticus arrived in the middle of JoAnne providing a toast for the crowd. Melissa, Golden Isles DockMaster, your toast won us 2 FREE drinks! Cheers! In addition to our toast, JoAnne announced that today she and Bill are celebrating their 2nd year of cruising aboard. Bill and Connor and 7 other guys participated in the Conch Blowing contest. Bill played for 37 seconds and Connor played for 47 seconds and Connor ended up winning the contest and a case of Heiniken Beer. Only in the BVIS can a minor win a case of beer. The girls, Dena and JoAnne included, also participated and the girl that won was from Alaska and she played for 57 seconds and is now on the board for the record. Micheal did a great job and we all had so much fun!  We all went back to Sabbaticus for a great dinner and the ceremony of opening our message in the bottle.  So Fun!   : )






APRIL 1, 2011



CONCH BEACH CREATED FOR THE MINI-CRUISE SHIP GUESTS THAT COME TO THE BITTER END  

SAILING BY NECKER ISLAND ON THE WAY TO ST. MARTIN

NECKER ISLAND


NECKER ISLAND





ARTIFICIAL PALM TREES OFF OF NECKER ISLAND


SIGNS WE SEE EVERYWHERE ABOUT THE LIONFISH


We met a wonderful divemaster at the yacht club the other day at the pool. We are in need of a taxi, but do not want to pay $65US per person for a taxi to take us to SpanishTown for customs to check out. Dena and JoAnne went to seek out the divemaster, since he is local and is in the know of other ways to get things done besides the expensive tourist way. He offered to give us a ride on his day off. Well, turns out he was off the next day, instead of Friday. The reason was because he had dropped a dive tank on his big toe with barefeet. YIKES! We cringe thinking about that. He phoned his brother, his uncle and a friend, but everyone was either working or babysitting. He then told us that we could use his girlfriend's car and go to town, which is the complete other side of the island. Bud and Patty are departing today back to Canada. They are taking the ferry to Beef Island to the airport. We had a great time with them and will miss them and look forward to seeing them again. We said our goodbyes and we got the keys and loaded up with Dena and Kevin in the dinghies to go to the harbour where the car is parked. No cars at the Bitter End, so everyone leaves their car at the ferry dock and takes a 10 minutes boat ride across. We loaded up in the brand new SUV. Bill stopped at all of the vistas so that we could take great photos. We made it to Spanishtown and did our checkout. On the way home, we stopped at a great off the beaten path grocery store that had inexpensive produce, by island standards.  We arrived back from the around the island adventure and got Ultra ready our trip to St. Martin tonight. 





APRIL 2, 2011


We sailed with Heather and Dave of "S/V Wild Hair" and another boat that we met out at sea that wanted a travel companion to keep up with on the VHF named "S/V Flawless D" and had a great sail over to St. Martin. Of course, as always there seems to be an adventure involved.
While JoAnne was at the wheel, she heard someone calling the Coast Guard on the VHF.  They called a few times without any answer, so we asked them if they needed help. The captain told us that he had broken down and needed to get in contact with someone to assist.  We offered to relay for them to the Coast Guard.  The vessel was a produce cargo ship that traveled between Tortola and St. Martin. When we relayed to the Coast Guard they asked if we could stay in touch with the vessel in distress until they could arrive around noon the next afternoon.  We explained that we only had enough fuel to get us to St. Martin and did not have enough to hang out for 10 hours and wait for the tow.  There was a cruise ship that was also in the area and they offered to stand by so that we could continue our way to St. Martin.  We had done a relay with the vessel in distress and discovered that it was not life threatening and relayed the phone number of the company manager's phone number so that they could coordinate a tow for the produce vessel the next day.  The Coast Guard agreed this was a perfect solution and we were happy to relay for everyone. 
 
We made a new message and put it into the same bottle and sent it on its' new journey in the Anegada Passage at: 18.15.455N, 63.36.144W. We are excited one day to hear from the person that finds our message.  It took 3 years for us to find the original message.  We arrived exhausted, but dropped our hook in Marigot Bay on this beautifully bright and sunny day!  We were greeted right away by Peter and Martha of S/V Lightheart from Austin, Texas.  Last time we saw them was in Dinner Key, Fl.  They invited us to go with them to snorkel and then Happy Hour aboard their boat. We were so sorry to decline and be so lame, but we were so tired and wanted to rest.  They invited us to their wedding that would be here in a couple of weeks.  We said that we would be delighted to attend.  They are renting a house for the wedding guests.  


APRIL 3, 2011
Anchored: Marigot Bay, St. Martin: 18.12.155N, 63.27.873W






WOW! IS THAT A HUGE SAILBOAT OR WHAT!
LOOK AT THE COMPARISON IN SIZE OF THE 10 FOOT DINK TO THE BOAT






FUN HATS IN ST. MARTIN SHOP
DINK DOCK AT ST. MARTIN





St. Martin is a beautiful place.  Full of French Culture and great food and wine. It is so fun that within a small walk or dink ride, that we can go from one country to another.   The story behind St. Martin (French) and St. Maarten (Dutch). On March 23, 1648, France and the Dutch Republic agreed to divide the island between their two nations, with the signing of the Treaty of Concordia.  Folklore surrounds the history of the once ever-changing border division between St. Martin and Sint Maarten, and a popular story among locals narrates that "to divide the island in two sections, [in 1648] the inhabitants were told to choose two walkers, one chosen by the French-dominated community and the other one by the Dutch-dominated community, who were put back to back in one extreme of the island, making them walk in opposite directions while stuck to the litoral line, and not allowing them to run. The point where they eventually met was set as the other extreme of the island, and the subsequently created line was chosen as the frontier, dividing Saint-Martin from Sint Maarten.



APRIL 4, 2011



ST. MARTIN (FRENCH SIDE) BRIDGE 

FORT LOUIS, ST. MARTIN (FRENCH SIDE)




DINGHY DOCK AT BARNACLE'S
SIGN AT THE AIRPORT: TOTALLY NAKED PEOPLE O.K., JUST NO NAKED LIGHTS.
THE ADVENTURE OF GETTING PROPANE IN ST. MARTIN.  WE HAVE TO HIKE TO THE
PROPANE PLACE AND THEN HITCHHIKE BACK.
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT FRENCH COUTURE YOU MIGHT SEE PEOPLE WEARING IN THE FRENCH ISLANDS

HITCHING A RIDE

A BOAT FROM TEXAS THAT WE SPOTTED WHILE DINKING INTO ST. MAARTEN

TOO FUNNY!  THAT IS SOME SPICY CURRY!

Today the adventure was filling our propane bottles.   We use the propane bottles for cooking.  We spent almost the entire day trying to get our propane bottles filled.  We had missed the dropoff at the Island Water World, since we did not know that there was a deadline for dropoff.  We asked the manager, since we already had our bottles in hand if there was a way that we could drop them off at the center to have them filled and then returned to us later on that day.  It was a total wild goose chase after that.  We ended up walking miles with the bottle to a place we were told was the place, but no it was not.  Then another place, not there either.  Well, the last place we went was the place where we could fill our gas bottles. We had to wait in the blazing sun while they were filled.  we hitched a ride with Budget Marine.    



APRIL 5, 2011
THE S/V AN-TIKI 
THEY SAILED OVER 3,000 MILES IN THE ATLANTIC ABOARD THIS VESSEL 


Today we headed to do some errands and stock up at the Grande Marche.  This is a fantastic grocery market that has inexpensive wine and cheeses and other great happy hour items for entertaining.   We unloaded the dink at Ultra and then off to take a look at the S/V AN-TIKI.  They have just arrived in St. Maarten.  Please Google the An-Tiki.  It is amazing.  It is home-built from all kinds of strange things.  It is solar-powered and built from a pig pen. 


April 6, 2011
Anchored: 18.04.835N, 063.05.973W



THE QUEUE FOR THE DUTCH BRIDGE



RAINBOW OVER THE WITCH'S TIT




We left Marigot Bay and headed into the Lagoon.  We must go through the Dutch Bridge because the French Bridge is too narrow.  Our beam is 26 feet and the French Bridge is only 24 feet wide. This means we will be have a great sail today along the coast to get to the Dutch Side.  We made it through the bridge without a hitch.  The queue for the bridge was quite long and there were even megayachts waiting to go through.  We were totally in their shadows.  Really nice bridge tender. We anchored under the Witch's Tit.  It is called another name on the charts, but the cruisers thought that it looked like a Witch's Tit, so now it is known as such.


April 7, 2011

Today we spent the day running errands and exploring the area.  We had Sabbaticus and Sol Mate over for happy hour. 

April 8, 2011



WE TOURED PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN TODAY



DENA PRACTICING DRIVING THE DINK


THE BEAUTIFUL BOARDWALK IN PHILIPSBURG, ST. MAARTEN


CRUISESHIPS DOCKED IN ST. MAARTEN. DISNEY AND CARNIVAL











WOW!  CHECK OUT THE NAME OF THE BAR.  WE ARE BOTH WEARING BLUE.  Hmmmmm.





WOW!  WE HAVE NOT SEEN A RED FORD PICKUP TRUCK IN A LONG TIME




WE HAVE THE SAME CAR BODY AND COLOR  LIKE THIS, BUT WE MOUNTED
 ONTO A BARGE SO IT IS A BOAT!  WE USE OURS FOR FUN BOAT PARADES AT HOME.

WE COOLED OFF IN THE SWIMMING POOL OF ONE OF THE BEACHFRONT HOTELS
 AFTER A LONG DAY OF TOURING AROUND TOWN

CURRY ANYONE!

AFTER A GREAT DAY TOURING AROUND, WE HEADED FOR SOME GREAT 
INDIAN FOOD WITH KEVIN AND DENA






April 9, 2011




April 10, 2011




MAIN SALON DINING TABLE OF ULTRA

FIRST PLANE WE SEE FLYING OVER MAHO BEACH

BILL HOLDING DOWN THE BEACH UMBRELLAS
 SO THAT THEY DO NOT BLOW AWAY


JET READY FOR TAKEOFF
ALL CAR TRAFFIC MUST STOP OR RISK BEING PELTED BY ROCKS, SAND, DEBRIS, ETC.
FROM THE JET BLAST



A SMALL PLANE FLYING OVER JOANNE AND THE DINK


CHILLING OUT BETWEEN ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES


AIR FRANCE COMING IN TO LAND




READY FOR THE JET BLAST AND READY TO RUN FOR OUR LIVES FROM
THE TREMENDOUS HEAT AND  PELTING

THE CROWD IS READY AND THEN NOW RUNNING AWAY



CHECKING OUT THE BEAUTIFUL CAVES AROUND THE MAHO BEACH AREA

THE LOCATION WHERE A BEAUTIFUL RESORT ONCE STOOD BUT THE HURRICANE
A FEW YEARS AGO TOOK IT AWAY


THIS IS A REALLY COOL CAVE.  WE DUCKED UNDER AND
WENT INTO AND PART OF THE CEILING IS OPEN ON THE OTHER SIDE




WOW!  THE EUROPEANS REALLY KNOW HOW TO MAKE A FUN WATER TOY!

CONDOS AND EVEN MORE CONDOS.  THE DUTCH SIDE IS DEFINITELY
 MORE DEVELOPED THAN THE FRENCH.









April 11, 2011



TASTE TEST OF THE CREME DE CASSIS THAT DENA AND KEVIN BOUGHT AT THE LIQUOR STORE

BILL HAVING FUN PLAYING THE STEEL DRUM
NOW JOANNE KNOWS WHAT BILL WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS

BILL FINE TUNING HIS SKILLS

HANDPAINTED BOTTLES AT THE RUM SHOP


BEAUTIFUL SUNSET VIEW FROM RESTAURANT AT GRAND CASE


IT SEEMS EVERYWHERE WE TURN THERE IS A MINI COOPER


WONDERFUL ARCHITECTURE

BEAUTIFUL FRENCH RESTAURANT IN GRAND CASE, ST. MARTIN

BILL DOING SOME TRICK PHOTOGRAPHY



THE BEAUTIFUL FRENCH CREOLE GIRLS IN THEIR CARNIVAL COSTUMES


BILL POSING WITH THE DANCERS BEFORE THEIR PERFORMANCE



April 12, 2011


Today we worked on boat projects and then dinner aboard Ultra with Sabbaticus and Sol Mate.


 

April 13, 2011
Anchored: Grand Case, St. Martin

Today we departed the Lagoon for Grand Case. We had a great sail over.  All sails up and full of wind.!  YEA! We arrived and through the floats in the water off the back of the boat and took a swim to cool off.  We headed to town to the Street Fest.  So fun!  We ate BBQ at the Talk of the Town again.




April 14, 2011


A PIZZA PLACE THAT WE SEE ON THE WAY TO LE TASTEVIN

ONE OF THE LOVELY COURTYARDS OF THE ANOTHER LOCAL FRENCH RESTAURANT AND BAR


DENA AND JOANNE POSING WITH TAFARI, OUR WAITER FROM TALK OF THE TOWN



SHRIMP GAZPACHO

COCONUT MANGO CREME BRULEE


We had a spectacular French dinner at Le TasteVin restaurant. We have not done anything like this in over 3 1/2 years, so this was super special for Sabbaticus and for us.  We split a meal and a half bottle of French wine came with it.   


April 15, 2011


Today we headed to shore one last time before departing Grand Case to get an internet connection . Today is tax day in the U.S.  Even though we are in the French Islands, we still have to file and take care of our IRS obligations.  We are off to Isla Tintamarre.  We arrived and the weather rolled in.  Rain, rain and more rain.  We collected water and filled both of our water tanks.


April 16, 2011
We departed for Orient Bay.  This is a beautiful beach that is home to the Nature Touriste.    Interpretation is: Nude Beach Resort.  We swam off the back of the boat and then had Happy Hour at Sabbaticus.

 
April 17, 2011



WARNING








WARNING






WARNING





DO NOT GO ANY FURTHER OR ELSE YOU WILL SEE NUDE PHOTOS OF JOANNE





















TOO FUNNY.  BILL PUT ME UP TO THAT.  :  )











WE HAD TO PUT OUR SUITS BACK ON FOR THIS SECTION OF THE BEACH.  THE BEACHES ARE DIVIDED BETWEEN NUDE, TOPLESS, AND FAMILY.  






THE BARTENDER JUMPED INTO THE PHOTO JOANNE WAS TAKING TO DO A TRIBAL DANCE







A FENCE BUILT AROUND THE BEACH PLAYGROUND

THE FRENCH REALLY KNOW HOW TO MAKE THINGS SO BEAUTIFUL!



Today, Sabbaticus and Sol Mate left for another harbour and we headed to Orient Beach Resort to stake out our spot.  We anchored the dink by the restaurant and stripped off our swimsuits loaded them in the beach bag and swam to shore.  We covered ourselves in sunscreen just as a precaution.  Since it is so hot, we spend most of our days aboard without any clothes on, so we have pretty good all over tans.  We found a great location in the middle of all of the 250 bright yellow beach chairs and beach umbrellas.  We walked around the property a bit to scope out the condos.  They are fantastic!  The property does have a sense of humor.  When we were walking by the restaurant and there are mirrors like you would see at a theme park.  One makes you looks short and fat and the other makes you tall and skinny.  The beach is filled with people from all over the world.  Unfortunately, we do not have any photos of the property or the beach, since cameras of any kind are prohibited on the nude beaches. Alot of from the Nederlands, France, Italy, Brazil, U.S., Canada and U.K.  If you have never been to a beach like this, it is the same as a beach with clothes on, people are having normal conversations about politics, traveling, family, business, etc., they just happen to be naked.


April 18, 2011





Today we headed to the beach again and staked out our favorite spot on the beach.  It is amazing how packed these beaches are this time of year.  The economy is still going strong here. We walked down the beach in search of the dive shop to have our dive bottles filled.  On the way, we stopped for French fries and cheap beers at  cute little French cafe on the beach.  Later we dropped off our dive tanks for an airfill and toured the cute backroads of the beach while we were  waiting.


April 19, 2011
Anchored: Marigot Bay, St. Martin


GUESS WHO! IT IS M/Y APOGEE.  THIS IS THE MOTOR YACHT THAT THE CREW MEMBER
SENT THE MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE FROM THE DECKS OF


WOW! TALK ABOUT A FIXER UPPER!


Today we departed Orient Bay for Marigot Bay.  JoAnne has an appointment tomorrow to have her tooth repaired after hitting it with huge fender shackel and chipping the underside of the front tooth.  This is the third attempt at this with the dentist.  Since JoAnne has never even has a filling, this is quite nerve -wracking.  The dentist had to order the 3M white filler.
  On the way back from the market, we spotted the Motor Yacht "Apogee".  This is the vessel that we received the message in a bottle from.  We stopped to talk to the crew member that sent it, but he was not onboard. He is currently in Ft. Lauderdale. 


April 20, 2011

We showed up at the dentist today, and found out she never even ordered the filler as promised.  We are once again shafted by the dentist.  We headed to Philipsburg for some duty free rum and an underwater camera case.   






April 21, 2011
Anchored St. Barth's





WHEN IN THE FRENCH ISLANDS WE ALWAYS HAVE A FRESH BAGUETTE IN HAND


























WOW!  TALK ABOUT A FORK IN THE ROAD!  THEY LOOK EXACTLY THE SAME!









ULTRA ANCHORED OUT IN ST. BARTH'S 






EVEN THE FIRE HYDRANTS ARE BEAUTIFUL



Today we departed at 6:00 a.m. for our run to St. Barth's. On the way, we caught a Blue Fin TunaWe are so happy to have caught up with everyone again.  Sabbaticus, Sol Mate and a surprise, Southern Bella is here.  We all rented scooters for a 24 hour period.  This was a great way to see this truly beautiful island.  The photos totally tell the story of how beautiful it is.




APRIL 22, 2011





THE PICTURESQUE HARBOUR IN ST. BARTH'S

CARRYN AND JOANNE SUITED UP FOR THE SCOOTER RIDE 




DEAD TREE THAT WE RECOGNIZE IN THE SALT POND THAT IS SELLING IN A PHOTOGRAPH IN AN ART GALLERY IN TOWN FOR $500US



WOW! WHAT A BEACH!

EDEN ROCK BEACH RESORT























ULTRA ANCHORED OFF IN THE DISTANCE
















Today we set out on the scooters again. So great!  St. Barth's is a paradise.  We all had packed a lunch and stopped to have lunch on the beach by the world-renowned Eden Rock Hotel. Everyone went for a swim and then Bill & JoAnne headed to tour the Eden Rock Hotel.  It was wonderful.  They have named rooms after celebrities.   




APRIL 23, 2011
Anchored Bassaterre and then Shitten Bay, St. Kitts 17.17.388N, 62.43.677W

REPLICA OF BIG BEN




We departed St. Barth's for St. Kitts.  We will check in here and then move to Antigua tomorrow.  We had a wonderful surprise.  Lightheart is anchored here, too, and invited us over for Happy Hour later.  We went to check in and then to see the sites of St. Kitts and then back to Ultra to make hors' and a gift of a bottle of wine for Peter & Martha for their wedding present.  We had a great time catching  up on all of the details of their wedding.  We will depart around midnight tonight and sail to Antigua.



APRIL 24, 2011
Anchored Jolly Harbour, Antigua: 17.04.441N, 061.53.864W40



Tonight we celebrated Brandon's birthday with Ed and Vicky from S/V BOTO that are from Houston and Kevin and Dena.  As a gift from us, we presented Brandon with a precious bottle of the infamous BBD, which stands for Big Black Dick.  It is very strong dark rum that is made in the Cayman Islands complete with a drawing of the Pirate Captain Dick . 

HAPPY EASTER BUNNIES! We sailed 40 miles to Antigua today. We will be there for Race Week. That is when all classes of boats come from all over the world to participate in the races.


We made Easter Cupcakes for everyone and hand delivered them to each boat. We are still a little tired from lack of sleep so we are laying low. We decided at around 3:30 that it was so hot and time for a swim. We hailed the the other boats and they were ready, too. We headed to check out the sites and swim. Bill and JoAnne headed to walk around some of the resorts.


APRIL 25, 2011
Anchored English Harbour, Antigua: 17.00.210N, 61.45.701W

THE RACES WERE JUST BEGINNING WHEN WE WERE SAILING INTO ANTIGUA







THIS IS A GUNN BOAT





























THIS IS WHAT FISH BOIL LOOKS LIKE.  A FISH BOIL IS A RESULT OF THE BIG FISH EATING THE LITTLE FISH.  IT LOOKS LIKE THE WATER IS BOILING, DUE TO ALL OF THE CHASING ACTION.

THIS IS THE RESULT WHEN YOU DRAG TWO FISHING LINES THROUGH IT!  YIPPIE!  TUNA SASHIMI!

WE THEN CAUGHT A NICE SIZED SNAPPER!

BEAUTIFUL SUNRISE




We departed Jolly Harbour and sailed to English Harbour today with all sails up.  We had great sail over with all sails up. We got the call from Dance Aweigh that the race was about to begin and we would all have a first class seat to see the race. JoAnne sat in the bow seat and took photos while Bill was at the wheel. We got excellent photos and you could definitely feel the energy of the crews as they manually winched in these enormous sails and you could here the grinding of the boats as they are pushing them to the max in these high winds and big rollers. We headed to shore to do some exploring at Nelson's Boatyard. This is a park and is complete with an old fort from the 1700's, and several wonderful buildings that once serviced the boat trade. Lots of great history here to explore. We met up with Dance Aweigh ashore. We are so happy to see them again. We have not seen them in about 2 months. We explored the Fort and then we had Happy Hour aboard Ultra and then off to the Captain's Party. Since it is Race Week, there are alot of fun things going on just about every night. This event was complete with live Caribbean music and dancing.






APRIL 26, 2011




























LET THE PARTY OF THE YEAR BEGIN!




THE CONCERT IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!
YEA! FRONT ROW SEATS

BRANDON, CARRYN AND KEVIN ENJOYING THE LIVE TUNES



KENNY AKA ITCHY FEET


THE CARIB BEER GIRLS FROM TRINIDAD



MAXI PRIEST
WE BOUGHT HIS CD THE FIRST TIME WE CHARTERED A BOAT IN THE BVIS






Today we took a great hike that was almost straight up the side of the mountain to Shirley Heights Lookout. Wow! What a view. This is the old Fort. We hiked it up there, because we were told that this was the place to purchase the tickets in advance to the Maxi Priest Concert. WOW! What a treat. The opening act for Maxi was Itchy Feet. The singer, Kenny, did a great job. He sang everything from Disco to Michael Jackson to Bon Jovi to Bob Marley. If you have never heard of Maxi Priest, just Google him, and have a great listen to some of his great Reggae Tunes. When we arrived at the top, we discovered that we could have purchased the tickets at the tent down in English Harbour at Nelson's Boatyard. Oh well, we sweated and worked out on that hike and it was good exercise for us. We got some great photos of the Regatta from atop the mountain and toured around the well preserved ruins and then hiked it back down the mountain. We took a swim when we got back to the boat because it was sooo bloody HOT! It was then time to take the bus up the mountain. Good thing, it was only a $1.00 per person each way. What a deal!


APRIL 27, 2011











CONNOR PRACTICING FOR THE COMPETITION













THIS IS THE S/V TITAN THAT RACED AND PLACED WELL AND THEN CAUGHT ON FIRE AT THE DOCK DUE TO FAULTY WIRING TO ITS' BATTERIES.  IT WAS TOTALED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY.  THE SMELL OF THE BURNING CARBON FIBER WAS PUTRED

S/V TITAN







CONNOR'S TEAM COMPETING IN THE DINK RACE TO THE FINISH LINE

CONNOR COMPETING IN MORE GAMES


APRIL 28, 2011





























THIS CARRIAGE IS HOW THE CREW ON THIS MEGASAILBOAT GET UP THE MAST.
WOW!  ABOARD ULTRA IT IS JOANNE HOISTING BILL UP THE MAST WITH THE MAIN HALYARD AND BILL USING THE MAST STEPS
S/V THE MALTESE FALCON UNDER SAIL


WE ARE SURROUNDED BY MEGASAILBOATS

THE MALTESE FALCON LOOKS LIKE IT IS SMILING


THE MALTESE FALCON
WOW!

SOL MATE AND THE MALTESE FALCON






SABBATICUS AND THE MALTESE FALCON










S/Y BOLERO

WE HEADED TO STREET PARTY FOR RACE WEEK



JACK SPARROW AND HIS 3 WENCHES
HE REPRESENTS ANTIGUA RUM




AN OLD SHIP CAPSTAN


BBQ LOBSTAS



AWARDS CEREMONY FOR ANTIGUA RACE WEEK AT NELSON'S DOCKYARD, ENGLISH HARBOUR










APRIL 29, 2011


Today we took a great hike around the fort and then to the beach.



APRIL 30, 2011

Today we worked on boat projects and swam off the back of the boat and then had Happy Hour aboard Dance Aweigh.


MAY 1, 2010
Anchored Deep Bay, Antigua: 17.07.593N, 61.53.301W




















Today we departed Falmouth Harbour for Deep Bay.  We had a great sail. We did have a squall blow through while we were underway.  We saw it coming and dropped the sails immediately.  While we were out there, a Hobie Cat had just screamed by.  We held steady until the storm passed and kept a watch on the Hobie, just in case he got into trouble.  After the storm passed, a dinghy from the resort came flying out and guided the Hobie back into the harbour.  We arrived in the harbour and put on our snorkel gear and headed to the wreck.   



OUR LITTLE CUTIE!


We hope that you enjoyed this Blog Entry.  We are quite behind, so we are trying to catch up.  We look forward to hearing from all of you, too.  We love to hear what is going on with all of you!

Cheers and love to all of you,
Bill, JoAnne & Sailor Kitty  : )