Yes I am still alive. Right now it's Antigua's race week time but I can race no more this season. My left arm needs rehab and my liver needs rest and cleansing. Rachel and I have finally slowed down this past week to get some work done on Hogfish Maximus to get her ready for the downwind ( hopefully ) sail back home to our place in the Bahamas. It's been a great season of sailing and racing in these wonderfull islands. We have been away from our land base for 18 months and the HFM is full of beach treasures, scraped boat hardware, and it's getting near hurricane season so it's time to go home and rest.
Here's a glimpse of what's we have been up to.
Pirate party during Grenada's sailing week with the Taz crew. We placed 3rd.
Out front in Taz but being the scratch boat we had to finish 18 minutes ahead of everyone.
That's me with the beard after finishing the 600. Out of 70 boats with Taz being the smallest lightest boat entered we placed 17th over all and 6th in our class.
I have never been so wet in my life as racing on this boat in 28-30 plus knot winds for 3-1/2 days.
Great crew.
Photo by Tim Wright of Taz rounding the mark off Barbuda with three days to go. I was in charge of the pit which has 6 halyards, 2 bow sprit lines, out haul, Cunningham, jib adjusters,jib trim and spin trim.
Lots of podium places on Taz this winter.
Rachel at the Whale Boner Bar in Bequia. We stopped there in route back up to Antigua to trade for whale bones and teeth.
HFM as mothership to Taz.
Christmas dinner with friends on a 44' cutter.
Installing bilge stringers in Genesis a Carricou beach built boat.
Now the hanging knees go in.
New floors too and ready for paint. She won the Concourse De Elegance this year during Classics for best local built and maintained sloop.
Lots more sea glass collected with a gold chain too.
Storing beach stones for the house and getting ready to put the sea glass on top. That's supposed to be our shower, now it's a loot locker.
All sea glass here. We will be making all kinds of stuff this summer from all this loot.
Alexis Andrews steering Genesis in the Classics. We placed 2nd in our class. This sloop beat boat for boat all the modern fiberglass boats bigger and smaller. Just amazing how these sloops sail to windward and on reaches. Very fast. I have a blog coming all about them.
Well the big schooners sure could go.
178' ADIX coming to take our wind for a bit. She's going along at 10 knots in 12 knots of wind.
Columbia sails by to leeward.
The Classsic regattas people are so much fun. They all just want to go sailing, have fun and enjoy looking at each other's boats. If you win something so much the better.
At all the other races it's all about winning. And drinking. Well if you do both its not so bad.
Except in the rowing races with everyone's dinghys. Here we are coming in 2nd in the family category losing to a double oared dory off of the schooner Columbia but beating 8 other different dinghys.
Doubles women with Rachel and Sara coming in 3rd behind the double pared Dorys. The Whitehull skiffs sure rowed straight and fast but their oars men had no clue as to how to turn them around the bouys. Our skiff spins on a dime so always lost them at the first mark.
Rachel coming in 2nd just behind a dory. They could not be beat being longer by 4' and double oared at times. Our dinghy was designed and built by me. It planes along under oar but it needs length to go faster. We placed 2nd and 3rd through 5 races. I'am worn out.
Rachel today with a nice Paul Johnson Venus ketch in the background.
Will be posting all kinds of stuff soon, just have a few last party's to go to and then it's off to the Bahamas next week and no distractions for awhile. It should be a 7 day non stop passage to Mayaguna so will be going through rehab and rest while at sea.
Hopefully
