When they talk of ‘Caribbean blue’, this is what they’re talking
about. This is the view from the cockpit of Profligate.
With the water 83 degrees, how could you not start the morning
by jumping in?
This is lovely Grand Saline Beach, one of the finest in the Caribbean.
Every day or two, we motor 20 minutes here from our normal anchorage
to charge our batteries and to do some boogie-boarding and swimming.
The water is clearer than most vodka. Almost all the French girls
go topless, which doesn’t hurt the ambience at all. The cruising
guides say this is a day anchorage only, but we stay overnight. Photos Latitude/Richard
Profligate’s
Progress
January 7 – Gustavia, St. Barth
It’s another spectacular Caribbean morning,
with puffy tradewind clouds against soft blue skies, brilliant
blue water, and a velvety breeze. The temperature is perfect.
We can’t think of any way the weather could be improved.
Two days ago we did our second circumnavigation
of St. Barths of the season in 8 to 15 knots of breeze. The first
half is always slow because it’s to windward, and it’s tough
to point in relatively light air and a rolling sea. Plus, it
gets really sloppy in the shallow waters off Le Toiny and the
Grenadiers near the top of the island.
We brought along some single guys who brought
along some single girls from the Manhattan financial industry
they had met on the beach. With the going slow at the top of
the island, we could tell the girls were disappointed that it
wasn’t the Vogue magazine sailing experience they had
in mind. As such, it was unlikely any of the guys were going
to ‘get lucky’ that night. Too bad. When the Wanderer goes sailing
in the Caribbean, he does it for his sailing pleasure alone.
Once we passed the Grenadiers and set the
asymmetrical chute, things changed rapidly. The ride smoothed
out and the boatspeed quickly jumped to the low teens. While
sailing past the beautiful homes on the jagged cliffs of Pt.
Milou, we hit a top speed of 15.6 knots. Before we knew it, we’d
rocketed past Lorient, and if we blew the jibe we were going
to crash into the luxury accommodations and tapas bar at Eden
Rock Hotel, one of the loveliest spots in the Caribbean.
It was a fine sail that only whetted our
appetite for more. Tomorrow we’re thinking about circumnavigating
the dramatic volcanic island of Saba, which would be a 30-mile
spinny run following a 30-mile beat back to St. Barth.
Speaking of appetites, after the circumnavigation
of St. Barth we were hungry as animals – and were soon eating
like them. We went to Picant in St. Jean for dinner. Like most
of the restaurants on the island, it had a unique ambience, so
unlike the cookie-cutter places in the States. The background
music they play in French restaurants is bizarre. Picant featured
Sammy Davis Jr. singing what had to be the world’s longest and
most souped up version of The Lady Is a Tramp. When is
the last time anyone in the States played anything by SDJ?
Although our food was right off the menu
from a zoo, it was delicious. Johnny ordered the tuna tartar,
and the Wanderer ordered the boeuf tartar. We split them
to create a raw version of ‘surf & turf’. We might get mad
cow or mad tuna disease, but the meal was so spectacular it would
almost be worth it. De Mallorca was the only one who didn’t eat
‘in the raw’.
Unfortunately, given the drooping dollar,
the bill was as spectacular as the meal. If you come to St. Barth
on a budget – which you can do if you come on a bareboat – plan
on eating aboard often. Even so, you have to shop carefully.
We saw a package of 43 marginally ripe cherries in the store
the other day for a little over 8 euros – or about $10.U.S.
When on St. Barth, you want to check prices before you buy. It
takes more than 1.25 dollars to buy a euro now.
We’re all on the Atkins Diet down here.
The Pierre Atkins diet. That means a pain de chocolat
and a crab sandwich for le petit-dejeuner, rarely any
lunch, and something like a three-cheese pizza smothered in fresh
cream with a couple of glasses of red wine for dinner. Still,
the pounds are melting away. When you’re on a boat full time,
it’s a physical life, no matter if you’re pumping the head, getting
in and out of the dinghy, resetting the anchor, or jumping in
the water. Sore as we might be, we’re loving it. But we’re going
to have to get back to fruits and veggies.
Confit de Canard, a heart-stopping staple of the Pierre Atkins
Diet.
While on the Charles de Gaulle Quai the
other day, we bumped into the Bridge family – Chris and Carolyn,
and kids Tristan, 7, Ethan, 5, and Cheyenne, 2 – from Newport
Beach. Early last year they’d gone to Europe and purchased a
new Outremer 55 Light catamaran they christened Cheval,
and proceeded to sail 3,000 miles around the Med in just four
months. “We like to keep moving,” says Chris, who carries
a British passport. Starting in France, they visited Corsica,
Sardinia, Naples, southern Italy and the Aeolian Islands – their
favorite – Sicily, the Ionian Islands, the Corinth Canal, the
Cyclades, the Peloponnese, then back to Sicily, the Aeolian Islands
again, Sardinia, St. Tropez, and Grand Mott, France. As many
may remember, it was a deadly hot summer in the Med, with tens
of thousands of people dying because of the heat. The air was
often over 100 degrees. Chris says the water was often over 90
degrees, and he swears he once swam in the Med when it was over
100!
“I loved the Med,” says Chris.
“But I wish there had been more wind.”
The Bridge family of the Newport Beach-based Cheval: parents
Chris and Carolyn, plus Tristan, 7, Ethan, 5, and Cheyenne, 2.
“We particularly liked the Aeolian
Islands,” says Carolyn, “because there weren’t many
tourists and because they are so different. Panarea was our favorite.
The few homes on the island are owned by rich Italians, and no
more can be built. Another of the Aeolian islands, Stromboli,
has an active volcano. We got to within 100 meters of it before
we were warned away.”
The Bridges noted that it can be expensive
in the Med. They have a friend who paid $500 to anchor his 60-footer
in a marina at chic Capri for just one night. Their solution
was to stay out of marinas, which proved to be no problem at
all. “We even anchored in the middle of exclusive Puerto
Cervo, Sardinia!”
Being one of the lightest catamarans, the Outremer 55 Cheval
is also one of the fastest.
Following the fun in the Med, Carolyn and
the kids returned to Corona del Mar while Chris and a couple
of other crew sailed Cheval down to the Canaries and across
the Atlantic. During one blow on the way to the Canaries, they
hit 21.5 knots under Solent alone. As for the kids back home,
they couldn’t wait to rejoin the boat in the Caribbean, as they’d
become complete water bugs, and the boat is like a giant jungle
gym. They use the forward netting like a trampoline, and ricochet
around the interior with incredible ease.
Ethan and Tristan giving the net on the Outremer 55 Cheval
a workout. No wonder the kids love living aboard better than
being on land.
After cruising the Carib until the end
of February, Carolyn and the kids will return to Corona del Mar,
while Chris will sail the boat back to California. After that,
they’ll head to the South Pacific or Alaska or anywhere they
feel like going. More on the Bridges and their cat in the February
issue of Latitude
38.
Carolyn and Chris monitor their three water bugs playing off
the back of Cheval at the anchorage at Publics.
Did we mention that we’re having the time
of our lives? In addition to great weather, the snorkeling and
boogie-boarding have been a lot of fun, and thanks to the local
marine conservation program, we’re seeing lots of big turtles,
both right by our boat and inside the busy harbor. They say turtles
are slow, but we’ve yet been able to get a good photo of one.
We also love it that many of the great yachts of the world stop
by. Just yesterday for example, the great 154-ft Mari-Cha
III, former holder of the transatlantic record, set her hook
nearby. No sign, however, of Mari-Cha IV, current holder
of the monohull transatlantic record.
Robert Miller’s great 146-ft ketch Mari-Cha III on the
hook off Fort Oscar, Gustavia, St. Barth. Since Miller has a
great new all out 144-ft racing schooner, MC III has been
retired to cruising.
You think real estate prices are high in
California? A guy renting a small villa here told us the going
rate for a place with a view is “one million U.S. per bedroom.”
Ouch! We pay $10 a night to be on the hook at Gustavia, and that’s
twice what monohulls have to pay. And if we moved over to Shell
Beach or Colombie, we wouldn’t have to pay anything. As nice
as the little Bartian villas are, they’re stuck with the same
view all the time. We get to move our place all about.
Actually, mooring on the Charles de Gaulle
Quai isn’t that expensive either. As Tim, captain of the 137-ft Sariyah told us, “It’s $150/night for us on the quay,
which is just a little more than $1/foot. The killer is what
you have to pay divers. With all the mega yachts setting two
anchors, you’ve got chains on top of chains. And the divers charge
$150 to clear each chain. We came in for one night last week,
and paid $150 for tying up to the quay, plus $750 more to get
the anchor chains cleared so we could get out.”
Did we mention that we’re loving life out
here in the anchorage? When we told the port captain we hadn’t
paid since December 31, he said that we should just remember
to pay before we leave. Clearing, by the way, takes about 10
minutes, all in one convenient place. Did we mention that we’re
loving it here?
Zihua SailFest 2004
January 9 – Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Rick Carpenter checks in from Z-town on
the southwest coast of Mexico: “Zihuatanejo is said to be
one of the best cruising destinations. A special group of sailors
show up in Zihuatanejo who have cut the dock lines long ago.
One third will continue south, one third will puddle jump, and
one third will continue or return north. The fun has already
begun in Zihua with Thanksgiving at Rick’s Bar. There will be
regular volleyball, walking groups, cooking classes, events at
Rick’s, all kinds of tours including kayaking, hiking the jungle
and zipping down a mountain on zip lines, viewing architecture
and ruins, travel to the monarch butterflies, and the not-to-be-missed
every Sunday night on the town square with great food and entertainment.
“Zihua SailFest is a celebration by
and for cruisers that benefits a small school which teaches indigenous
Indian children Spanish so that they can attend Mexican public
schools. Otherwise they may never receive an education. This
year promises to benefit some other programs as well. Events
may include a pursuit race, poker run, games day, seminars including
Northbounders (Sea of Cortez), Southbounders, Puddle Jumpers,
Ham test, radio, presentations by members of the fleet on many
subjects, parties, raffles (the community really contributes
here!), charity cruises on special boats from the fleet, cocktail
raftups, and a big awards banquet and party at the end with performances
by the children from the school that receives the funds, which
last year amounted to a whopping $23,000 with the Bellack Educational
Foundation matching funds.
“Landlubbers, friends, relatives,
land yachts, hobie cats, and virtual cruisers are just as welcome!”
Bob Willmann of Viva spent New Year’s
Eve in Ecuador and explains the local customs: “In addition
to wearing something yellow, which everybody does but nobody
can explain why, the deal here is to burn an effigy representing
somebody or something that brought you bad luck in the year just
ending.
“Bahia swells to twice or three times
its normal population for the celebration. People come in from
all the farms and little towns and just walk around all day and
all evening, wearing everything from swimsuits to shorts and
t-shirts to party dresses and spiked heels. A crude farm truck
will pull into town carrying 40 people, all bug-eyed and excited
and scrubbed clean for the big day.
“The people who can afford it build
or buy effigies of soccer players that let them down or store
owners that cheated them or political figures that, well, did
what they all do (the local President Luis was slightly more
popular than President Bush) or anyone imaginable. Then at midnight
they fire them up in the street or on the sidewalk amid much
yelling and cheering. This all happens in good fun, quite soberly
(hardly anybody drinks), with lots of fireworks and laughing
and hugging.
Effigies in soccer uniforms Photo Bob Willmann
“Around midnight the town looks like
a riot zone with the crowds and fires blazing everywhere, but
in the morning it looks like a volcano erupted and covered it
with ash. I’m told we were lucky this year in that the winds
were southerly enough that most of the ashes went someplace other
than on our boats.
“Hope you had a sane celebration where
you are, and that whatever bothered you in 2003 is burned and
forgotten.”
Rolex Yachtsman and Woman of the Year
Announced
January 8 – Portsmouth, RI
Augie Diaz of Miami, FL, and Hannah Swett
of New York, NY, today were named the 2003 Rolex Yachtsman and
Yachtswoman of the Year. A panel of sailing journalists selected
the two accomplished sailors for the distinction from a
short list of seven nominees for the Rolex Yachtsman and five
nominees for
the Rolex Yachtswoman (see www.ussailing.org/pressreleases/2003/Rolexyynominees.htm).
The awards recognize outstanding on-the-water achievement in
the calendar year just concluded. The winners will be honored
and presented with specially engraved Rolex timepieces at a February
6 luncheon at the New York YC in Manhattan.
Augie Diaz (left) sails a Star at the 2003 Rolex Miami OCR with
fellow Miami sailor Dmitry Yakovenko as crew. Photo Rolex Miami OCR/Daniel Forster
Augie Diaz, age 49, was recognized for
his achievements as a skipper in three different one-design classes:
Laser, Snipe and Star. A string of successes culminated in the
Snipe World Championship title. Diaz is the first U.S. sailor
to win the Snipe World Championship since 1981.
Hannah Swett (left) sails an Yngling at the 2003 Rolex Miami
OCR with crew Joan Touchette and Melissa Purdy (of Tiburon). Photo Rolex Miami OCR/Daniel Forster
Hannah Swett, age 34, was cited by the
panel for full-time dedication to her Olympic campaign in the
very competitive Yngling class, which will make its debut at
the 2004 Olympic Regatta in Athens, Greece. Swett’s list of achievements
in the Yngling is topped with victory at the Yngling World
Championship, where her team competed among a fleet of 40. The
banner year includes an impressive string of first-place finishes
at the Yngling Olympic Pre-Trials, Scandinavian Race Week and
Danish Nationals, as well as a second out of 85 boats at the
Yngling Open World Championship.
Who is out making passages in the Pacific
and what kind of weather are they having? The YOTREPS daily yacht
tracking page has moved to www.bitwrangler.com/psn.
Looking for current as well as recent wind
and sea readings from 17 buoys and stations between Pt. Arena
and the Mexican border? Here’s the place – which has further
links to weather buoys and stations all over the U.S.: www.ndbc.noaa.gov/Maps/Southwest.shtml.
Pacific Winds and Pressure
The University of Hawaii Dept. of Meteorology
page posts a daily map of the NE Pacific Ocean barometric
pressure and winds.
