January 1993

Not sure I am entitled to All Hands when I no longer have a boat, but a sleek boat was in the anchorage as I came back from grocery shopping. Paddled the sailfish out to a Beneteau (French builder of hi-tech racing boats). Uses hardware and parts from whomever has the best stuff, a lot of American rigging, English deck hardware, Japanese engine. French fiberglass but assembled in South Carolina.

Manned by 3 professional sailors, 2 French, 1 Italian. They were in big trouble: the seams at the bottom of the jib had opened. Spent a hectic half hour trying to sew on may "maquina a coser". Nope, a boy to do a man's work. Couldn't find a big machine by phone - it's already nearly dark on a Friday afternoon - so we set to work sewing the seam ends by hand, all 4 of us. And I served up supper of chicken stew that would have lasted me several days. They needed fresh food too, so I enlisted Jose to take them~shoppin~ G~pt got some Visa money from the bank, spent $70 in Grande supermercado, and we cooked up a monster meal in my kitchen. To bed quite late after quite a lot of my beer - and an invitation to me to join them for the rest of the trip to Marigot on St. Martin.

Saturday pm was the target for starting, but apparently only I expected it to happen. Told Rosa, rushed to get my life in order, and went aboard about 9 am. Nobody up, I went home for breakfast. They were trickling gradually into the day when I got back aboard about 10:30, and we got under way.

Power out of my bay, and then roller-reefed Genny and roller main, neither more than half way, into the steep chop of the Carribean. The Beneteau is a fancy yacht. Wins a lot of hard competition contests. This one is built for charter and has less than standard gear for competitive racing, but all controls lead aft to the cockpit (good). Compass set too low and too far forward (bad). For a seagoing boat it should have twice as many handholds (bad). 3 staterooms, all double, two heads (one works), a generous galley all along the port side of saloon (no cold or refrigeration). Bottled water only. Large solid table and upholstery, seating for 11 people maximum. New Yarramota (?) diesel has only 50 hours, more or less. 2 heavy batteries, lights aplenty, auto bilge pumping, auto electric charging, auto pilot that works in our rotten nasty chop - at this moment all four of us are below with supper getting underway.

They are real pros, damn good at anticipating the jumps and bumps of steering upwind in an angry sea. Nothing we are doing is any more than has been done for years by commercial sailing vessels. Most were bigger, all slower probably, it's a hard slog to windward through short steep seas. When I went into the forward compartment for my foulweather gear, the pounding of the steep seas sounded as if it would shatter the hull. Our 5 and 6 knots of motion was being bitterly disputed every 30 or 40 feet. Wet - one out of 3 waves shed spray all over the boat. "They" sailed naked or in a g-string. I couldn't risk my hearing aid, wore foulweather gear over a sweater, skivvy and underpants, with a plastic bag around my hearing aid. 3-hour watches became 2 after I got into the swing of it. Long night all the same - two rain showers darkened the moon that was only a day or two older than full, so it was a gorgeous night. Sunrise behind a cloud bank was not such a much, but the early promise of day was a rare display of rich red rays in a regular crown of glory - a coupla nice rainbows in the morning showing off Point Tuna. We put into Vieques for a hot meal. They wouldn't even try to cook with the boat heeling over. Had a swim too at anchor in the cove beyond the little town on the south shore. Didn't get to town, Sunday, no stores open.

OK, couple three hours rest from the chop, and off again beating into it. Watch and watch, all beat - our objective is dead upwind. How can a boat stand that pounding? Mine didn't! In fact it didn't twice - both my lost masts were beating into the Carribean chop. Night into day, and sure enough it was too much for the main. Mainsail ripped from luff to leach this morning. No confusion. I was on deck, Capt. at helm. Hollered for one of the crew to help. It was rolled up into the mast in a minute, some luffing but a real minimum. Let out a bit more jib and we charged along at almost the same 5 knots. My French is so poor that I have to hide out of the way in any emergency - parts of a sailing vessel are just not in my vocabulary, so I'm somewhat limited help. I can stand a watch though, have taken my turn.

All three of "them" are charming, joyful and good sailors, but not well organized or efficient. I'm reminded of ny own younger days, sailing to the limit of my ability and then squandering the windage gained on poor information or lack of preparation. We had no details of where in St. Martin we were to deliver. Beneteau had hired "them" to deliver, but gave them no address.

Since they were French, carried French passports, they didn't bother with customs at all, and there's no stamp from St. Martin on my passport! No matter, we found our way into Marigot after midnight, without a chart - spooky entrance, no lights, wide open bay, no need for lights for local boats but none of us had ever been here before. Too far past the entrance and back to the middle, then in very slowly, past anchored boats of all kinds. Did finally get to the Customs Wharf, shut tight of course. Tied up, went ashore for a beer and bought a meal in an all night bar. I went back to bed, but t'others went on partying.

When I got up at 7 "they" were still pillow pounding. No water left in the bottles. I went ashore and begged a couple of gallons in the jars. Things started moving when I got back to the boat, but "no cafe", we were out, and no bread, some sweet biscuit. OK, I survived, bought tix to SJU (had thought of a Tortola stopover to see Isaac Fonseca, but was put off by the $100 additional airfare). So back to PR at 1630 on 1/12 and in the same old slot of trying to beat down the passenger fare. At least I've found a bench under a light so I can write and read in comfort.

A new project. helping a young Ensenadan refit a small laser sailboat.