Ushomi - charter - cruises - skippered cruises - cruise breaks

Day 1 - 11th May 2006
Position, 18º 5'N 62º 53'W Distance to go - Bloody miles Speed 5.5 Knots Wind F3 ESE

The time has come the Walrus said....... to leave the Caribbean. Once again Ushomi is dashing off to parts unknown. We have sailed from St Martin and are making passage for the Azores. There are four of us onboard, I am Andrew the literary genius of a kipper from the last trip. Today is also day one of my non smoking campaign, in the Atlantic with no fags, share my joy as day by day the temple that is my body gets cleaner. Enough said meet the boys:
John Werrett -- on a grande aventura. I am the good looking one in the photo! 50 years old and a few months ago declared myself disinterested in corporate life after 30 plus years in banking and computers and as a result I find myself aboard Ushomi with 3 other odd fellows for a trip of a lifetime - or un grande aventura as Jolanda my erste while Spanish teacher called it. I joined the boat a few days ago after spending 5 weeks on Summer Breeze going round the Caribbean and covering 1200 miles with the guys on that boat. We had a good time and learnt a lot and now I feel ready (if also challenged) by the trip ahead.
Mark Robertson --
Somehow Matty took a wrong turn on his way to work and here I am sailing towards the Azores. When Roger suggested I should do this trip, typically with anything out of the ordinary and with my usual minimum thought I said yes. Over the intervening period I did have a degree of vacillation. (Matty is the sprite that lurks in the buildings at makemerich farm, where for the last ten years a great team and I have continued to put Northumberland Cheese Company on the map - so to speak.). So I am here sailing with a bunch of very sensible and successful people on a voyage of a lifetime brought down to "earth" by the majesty of the sea. We are in a beautiful and very well prepared boat, skippered by Andy whose latest escapade is to take up smoking camomile, which I prefer to drink see you soon. Mark (kippers note, as Mark is a fabricator of cheeses he has volunteered to run Cheesy Corner and a Cheese for the day competitions).
Rod Smith -- also on a grand adventure (I don’t do the foreign lingo thing !)
Like John I am recently discontinued from corporate life and having a ball doing the things I have never had time to do before. Until recently was a senior member of the Marconi management team were I had a great and enjoyable 15 years. I am the unofficial entertainment officer on the trip and hope to keep you interested as we run our 'Strictly Come Sailing' programme, a twist on a well proven format where someone can be voted off the boat each week until we find our best solo sailor!. I am hoping to get all the way across without eating some of the very strange foods brought on board by my companions - these guys eat VERY healthy food!. Talking of health, I have also been given the name of 'Nursy' because I am the only one who bothered to bring cream for mosquito bites suffered in St Maarten, so more from my surgery as the trip progresses.

The owners decided to equip the boat with a 24v system better to fuel air-con, watermakers, (hairdryers), breadmakers, etc. This took longer than expected - almost complete when the boat left for the Caribbean.

The boat left Sotogrande for the Canaries with skipper Andrew and 5 crew at 4 p.m. on 1st Nov 2005. Apart from the Skipper, aboard were: Gerry, ex. US Navy Captain, whose boyhood dream has always been to sail the Atlantic in a small boat, Tony from Wales and Kevin from Ireland, both seeking their fast track Ocean Yacht Master qualifications, Stan the Belgian surgeon and Nowegian Marius looking for for miles for Ocean Yacht Master. They joined on Friday and helped final preparation of the boat, provisioning and stowage. In addition to fresh produce the boat was stocked with the gourmet revolutionary new Look What We Found food (LWWF) from UK to provide quality comfort food on the trip.

Passage though the Straits was slow - no wind and with an adverse current reducing speed to 3 knots. Stood on 15 nm beyond Tarifa for a straight cut across the separation zone and picked up a 25 knot wind overnight which saw them flying. The recorder showed the Autohelm with the top speed of 12.2 knots, Kevin second at 12.0 and Skipper last at 11.7! They dined on LWWF Sausage Cassoulet and could not believe how easily gourmet food could be cooked and served while afloat - some converts there. Breakfast this morning was scrambled egg and bacon. Morale is good.

0400 - alongside Lanzarotte, Puerto Calero. Summer Breeze already in - hats off. (Summer Breeze is sailing in company). Basically we have all had a heavy three days with a steady force 7. Extremely tired and happy to be in port, though richer for the experience, steak tonight. Basically the plan was to head out into the Atlantic and catch a broad reach into the canaries, also being closer to the center of the high we would have less wind than the rhumb line route (direct). After discussion with Summer Breeze they sailed the rhumb line route under headsail alone, we on the other hand had the main up with 2 reefs and 60% genoa. Our maximum recorded speed through the water was 15.9 knots, our best days run was 220 nm and the day before was 205 nm, two 200+ days, quite an achievement for the boat and crew, and myself. Our total trip was 780nm against Summer Breeze's 620nm, proving that the rhumb line route, although giving slower boat speed was the fastest in this instance. As to Ushomi, everyone is more than happy with the boat, the heavy conditions have proved the vessel and given us great confidence as well as a strong team to cross the Atlantic with. Kevin managed to completely fill the cockpit with water, whilst the skipper was catnapping in it (skippers don't sleep, they catnap), Kevin's greatest achievement was to take the helm in relatively stable conditions and magic the mother of all waves from nowhere within 5 minutes and basically get everyone and everything wet. Tony (the elected professional fisherman and professor of marine biology) managed to catch the sum total of zero fish. In his favour, conditions only permitted fishing for one day, Tony is another tea lover so a man I can respect, he also got a mere pass with the sextant to within 3 miles of latitude (skipper 14 miles!). Stan the doctor of Polish origin now residing in Belgium, proved to be a brilliant person to have on a boat, he has taught us a few sayings that will stay with us for a long time. He has now departed and is flying home, as planned - a shame he is away. Marius had a spate of mal de mer, but fought it and stood his watch, quite an impressive thing to do. We had planned to do intensive theory on the way down but somehow it didn't fit it in. Gerry, who has regaled us with stories of his days in the US Navy, proved a strong crew, always attentive on watch and the first to dive in to clean up down below (dishes, pots and pans for six are not an easy thing to clean in a force seven). He was a Captain in the US Navy and I am very happy to have him along for the full ride to the other side. David will log off now, sorry the emails have been short but conditions have been pretty rough. Andy
Note from Gerry:
"So far it has been a very happy experience for this former naval person who in his career had just two years aboard ship. I couldn't have been given better companions. The skipper is a great instructor and I look forward to making an increasing contribution aboard". gfw
Note from Tony:
"A fantastic few days with a great bunch of guys; tough conditions, great morale, expertly skippered".

Position 28º48'N 14º05'W, speed 8.5 knots, wind F5. Scudding along after a few days in Lanzarotte, rested and watered we are on course for San Sebastian in La Gomera, we should arrive tomorrow pm. La Gomera is in the west of the Canary islands and is a stunning place, not sold out to tourism as with some. It is from San Sebastian that Columbus sailed, the Church of our Lady of the Assumption, is where they took their final mass before sailing. Treading in historical footsteps. We have just had our first bite with the fishing gear, it has scared us witless as we managed to hook a big ugly looking Marlin - it bust the line in the end. When it jumped we estimate it to have been bigger than me, easily (fishermen's stories!). We have now found our smallest lure and are trying that. Kevin is skippering the passage to La Gomera as one of his 60 mile+ trips that he is required to do for his YM ticket. Tight Lines, Andy (Huh!) Marius from Norway and Stan, the Polish doctor practising in Belgium, left the boat to fly home. Both were adding sea miles to their logs towards RYA Ocean Yachtmaster qualifications. Gerry, Tony, Kevin and skipper Andy enjoyed an R&R (rest & recreation) day in Puerto Calero. The web site proves its worth: Summer Breeze's owner did not even know she had arrived safely until he read it here! Tomorrow, Tuesday, they set sail for Gomera, the jumping off point for the crossing and also the final departure point for Christopher Columbus on his first voyage. Gomera is a UNESCO world heritage site because of its wealth of indigenous flora.

Days 7/ 8/ 9 upto and inc today 10/11/05 - Day seven saw Ushomi leaving Puerto Calero bound for San Sebastion De La Gomera. Light winds, a good boat, a strong crew - Brilliant. Kevin skippered the passage and as normal managed to stir up the wind gods, but that was only the start. Kevin decided that fishing was boring and opted to change the lure, he choose a small one that at the time looked innocent enough. Five minutes later the line started to run, a fish was on, Kevin disapeared to make tea and Tony, watched apprehensively by the skipper, increased the drag on the reel. When the drag was at maximum and the rod was bent ninety degrees the line was still running. Andy started to back away from the rod and looked for something to do in the bow when a 8-9 foot marlin exited the water 100 yards behind the boat (my immediate reaction was to stare in horror at the water behind us). Luckily the line broke at this point and the marlin, now considerably annoyed, escaped. Through that night we all stayed well in the cockpit, just in case. The Marlin incident is embedded in our minds, so much so that Gerry has written this "Ode to a Marlin":
Just within minutes of putting on a different and deeper running lure, Tony heard the line zinging off the reel. Tony gradually adjusted the reel drag to it's maximum strength, but the line kept running. The rod bent at it's tip to near ninety degrees as pressure was given to whatever it was on the line's far end. But even Tony's superior fishing skills could not overcome the fighting mad, sail finned eight foot marlin, That rose from the water and into the air, breaking the 100 pound line. The fish had gone but the thrill of the experience remains amidst all onboard.

Day 8 saw us arrive in San Sebastian De La Gomera, but not before the the winds returned to their, now normal 35-40 knots. San Sebastian is a truly good spot, so much so it is packed, we are rafted up in the entrance. To date we have had some good hard sailing and are all looking forward to the trade winds. Marius has left (and then there were four - Miss Marples eat your heart out) as planned and Gerry, Tony, Kevin and I are getting ready for a Sat departure. Ushomi has proved herself not to be lacking, slight damage to the two mainsails and these are being repaired, but that is heavy weather sailing for you.

Transat Day 12: 5 nautical miles sw of San Sebastian, speed 6 knots, 210 degrees(ish). Well, at sea again, but this time our next shore line will be the longest. Personal note to Mum, - We will never be more than three miles from land (beneath us!), love you, Andy. We were due to sail early, I urged everyone to have an early night and to be fresh this morning, so we all went out and got drunk, but we feel damn good for it. A bit of a phsycological point but often people will lie awake all night worrying about what tommorow brings, a few beers and we sleep like babies. The main reason for our late departure was the fact that we went to the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption for our final blessing, and it was

Editor's note: just so you know the depression Ushomi had been skirting South turned into Tropical Storm Delta. As such full details of the storm can be found on the following website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov. It is now centred on 25ºN and is tracking SSE, although as you can see on the web site it is forecast to head North over the weekend. Ushomi is at 18º (see below) and so out of the immediate danger area.

Transat Day 17:

Position 22º11'N 24º53'W. Course 250 T, 5.5 knots, wind F2-3 NNE. Asymetric spinnaker on starboard tack,no gybe's intended or conducted in last 24 hours. Last night we ate our first big yellow fish. Personally I wanted to keep it as a pet but was out voted, it proved to be a stunning meal, prepared by our resident fisherman and swearing chef 'big Tony' ; later Tony will be doing his cooking afloat slot with useful tips and recipes for budding chefs. Kevin has devised a means of scrunching (technical word) photos to send and be put on the web site, excuse the quality but we have to reduce them right down in order to send on sat com. Photo's below - Jerry's incredible custard (useful for hitting big fish and sealing joints), skipper attempting to eat Jerrys incredible custard and ...

Kevin with an Ugly fish (below).

Tony Cooking Corner (Eat your heart out, Keith Floyd):

Yellow Fish Dish

Any respectable Chef will tell you that fresh ingredients are the pre-requisite for great cooking so naturally, the first step in this recipe: CATCH YOUR FISH! This only took us four days and put us somewhere (?) off the coast of Africa, but was worth the effort. Clean, gut and cut into 8 'man-size' fillets. Marinate for 24 hours in fresh lemon juice, olive oil, a handful of dried oregano and a sprinkling of black pepper. (Chef's tip; put fish and marinade in a sealed tupperware container, refrigerate and turn at three hour intervals, or at every watch change). When you're ready to cook, take each individual fillet, dust with a sprinkling of wholegrain breadmaking flour and seal in a pan coated with a film of the finest virgin olive oil. When you've treated each fillet in this way, transfer to a baking tray and place on the top shelf of a hot oven (if its gimballed, oscillating through 90 degrees and generally trying to throw it's contents out over your feet at every opportunity, this adds authenticity). Bake for just 15 minutes (or until you smell burning), remove and serve immediately with a wedge of lemon. This astounding dish was served with 'Baked Mediterranean Vegetables' consisting of mixed peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic coated generously in the finest olive oil, a touch of balsamic vinegar, dried basil and baked for 40 minutes, emerging deliciously crisp and flavoursome. The dish was completed by adding a generous helping of 'Uncle Ben's' finest long grain rice..... 'al-dente' of course. The chef was pleased with his efforts but the Sommelier is up for Court Martial on account of there being no suitable accompanying wine....

(Editorial note: Overnight, fishing expert readers of the web site, Chris and Roger, variously identified the yellow fish as: Finnan Haddock, Smoked Cod, (a big) Kipper, (Chris) and, probably more accurately, Dorada (or Gitlhead Bream) (Roger). If the latter: beautiful eating!)

Our days are embedded in routine now, Astro navigation takes up a good chunk of the day, as do Andy's interesting 11am chats on the boat safety etc, attendance is not great but can improve. Boat fact, due to the fact that we have a water maker we can make fresh water from the sea, of all the kit onboard this is a biggie for comfort. A normal boat doing this trip will have 1.5 Litres for drinking and 2 litres for washing per person per day, that means no fresh water showers and limited laundry. We on the other hand are showering and running the laundry every other day. The only stipulation is that we fill the tanks every day and log the meter reading, this means that should the water maker fail we can monitor water consumption and resort to the 'normal' method. Ushomi carries 750 litres of water in three tanks, and 200 litres in bottles, only one tank is ever in use and average daily water consumption is 115 litres, it takes the water maker 45 minutes to replenish this amount. Joke received from Joss Doggett (Andy's Nephew) ' Man goes to the Zoo and there is only one dog there, it's a shitzu.

Transat Day 18:

Editor, how is the web site looking? Have you any suggestions? Also is there too much content? Are you having to chop any bits out? Have you had any feedback on the site? The days report has turned into a fun part of the day and definitely helps morale. Tonight is a Look What We Found night, will report tomorrow. Andy .

Position 21º16'N 27º4'W, 6.5 knots, course 250º, wind 10 k T NNE. Asymetric,T 35ºC (hot). We are now about 300Nm NNW of the Cap Verdes and starting to head more west, we are still above the trade winds butnow is the time to go according to my weather report (the old adage is sail south from the Canaries until the butter melts then go west. Basically a great past 24 hours, good progress, lets hope it keeps up. Fish to date Tony 3 Kevin 1 Andy 1 Gerry - room to improve. Hot News - Norwegian John (Andy & Jane's friend), in his brand new Jeaneau 50, has broken out of the med and is heading to Tenerife, will update as it comes in. Still no news on Summer Breeze.

"The last couple of days the winds have been lacking some but picked up during the night. It's interesting that the winds have consistently been from the northeast, off either the port or starboard quarter. I'd expected that we'd be tacking occasionally. I'd also expected that the temps would be uncomfortable. The sleeping is quite good. Andy has a good ship's routine that sets parts of the day for different activities and the organization sure contributes to an interesting and pleasant voyage. The evenings toward dusk are fantastic and sunsets and sunrises each an extraordinary experience. Jerry"

Plot progress:

To create your very own chart of the Atlantic follow the instructions below. 1/ Take a piece of A4 paper, lie it sideways in front of you 2/ In the top right hand corner draw a small (1cm diameter) circle and label it Gibraltar 3/ Measure 5cm along the top from the right hand corner and then 5cm down, draw a small circle (1cm diameter) and label it 'Canaries' 4/Repeat 3/ but measure 10cm along and 10cm down and label it 'Cap Verdes' 5/From the Cap Verdes measure 20cm directly across (going left), draw a small (1cm diameter) circle and label it Caribbean' YOU NOW HAVE A BASIC PASSAGE CHART!

Part B Africa

1/ Measure 8.5cm down the right hand page from the top right corner, then measure across 5cm, put a small X. Starting on the edge of the paper just below Gibraltar (but not touching) draw a line from the edge of the paper to X. You have now drawn the atlantic coast of Morroco. 2/From X measure 2.5cm straight down and mark X again. Join the two X's. This i the atlantic coast of Mauritania. 3/From the second X draw a line at 45 degrees (ish) to run off the right hand edge of the page. (Senegal) YOU NOW HAVE THE WESTERN BULGE OF AFRICA (round off the corners as you see fit)

Part C South America

1/From the bottom left hand corner measure 12 cm along the bottom of the page and mark Y. From the bottom Left hand corner measure 9.5cm (should be just below carribean) and mark Z. Join Y and Z together. You now have, from the bottom, Brazil, Guyane, Suriname, Guyana and Venezuela at the top. YOU NOW HAVE THE EASTERN COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA Use 1cm is approx 100 nautical miles. I will give co-ordinates daily.

Top Tip: make the coast lines a bit bumpy, colour the land green, the sea blue and add a few trees for authenticity.

Transat Day 19

Noon position 20º31'N 28º58'W, speed 5.2 knots, course 245ºT. Temp 38ºC (v hot). Position on Andy's Chart. Draw a line from Cap Verdes to the Caribean, from the Cape Verdes measure 1cm along and 2cm up. Thats us, 19 cm to go. Last days run 125 Nm (or 1.25cm), averaging just over 5 knots/hour. Fish to date, all the same variety (Dorado), BUT yesterday, just before dinner we got a good bite, it took the line fast and bent the rod,Andy (in his inexperience) braked the line too much and the fish was gone. Andy banned from Rod. Tactics so far and for the future - the line between the Cape Verdes and the Caribean is along the North Easterly Trade winds, this means that the wind should be constantly behind us slightly on the starboard (right) side of the vessel, a very nice point of sail. The trades are also constant, hence the reason everyone comes down here to cross the atlantic. So on your chart the trades are blowing from right to left with a slight downward angle. Theory good so far. The trades are set up by a very simple thing, the sun. The sun heats the air at the equator (the equator being closest to the sun, hencehigh temperatures (sahara etc). Heat rises (as every school boy knows) as the relatively hot air rises it becomes less dense and cools down it now wants to drop but is being pushed up by the newer rising hot air under it (like a fountain). As with a fountain the air falls to the side, some north, some south. This air descends, and then is sucked back into the equator to take the place of the rising newly heated air, and up it goes again, and so on. The clever amongst you will point out that the air in the north would therefore head south to the equator not North East, as the trades are. This is caused by a thing called Coriolis Effect , the earth is spinning on a north south axis (same as a school globe), it spins in an east direction (Great Britain is actually hurtling towards Russia) and therefore deflects the falling air, hence the North Easterly trades. We are just coming into the trades and a big atlantic low is hovering above the trade winds, the strength of it is such that it hasovercome the trades and is about to reverse the wind direction, possibly for the next 4-6 days, so much for theory. So on with foul weather gear and get to it. One note, we purposefully have crept well under the depression and will not see heavy winds, just that the wind will be on the nose instead of the bum. It always seems to happen to me !!!!!!!!

Foodie Bit (By Andy)

With Tony, a brilliant chef, Kevin, a nearly brilliant chef and Jerry, enthusiastic and incredible custard, I am daunted when it comes to my time to cook. Last night was such a night. As you may know we are carrying Roger's 'Look What we Found' food range. Now this is not a plug, I have been asked to report on how the food goes with boats and sailing. Please note that thefood has brought mixed views from the crew and myself. The biggie being it's easy to do in a blow, but it's always better to have homemade food, plus a lot of people take great pleasure in preparing a good meal. So armed with 5 packets of Shaun Richardsons Citrus Braised Herdwick Mutton I set sail as they say. I boiled up some potatoes and some runner beans, mashed the spuds and bunged the bagged the food into a pan and heated through, (not as per instructed in the microwave or boil in the bag). Served on plates with negative garnish. The general comments were very good, even Kevin saying if he had not known what it was he would have thought it was homemade. Unfortunately the bags, due to their longetivity and toughness, are kept in the bilges and it has kind of become known as 'Look what we found in the bilges' (sorry Roger). Unfortunately the best meal to date is still Big Tony's Dorada, smoked Cod etc, but we caught that and it was our first fish.

Laundry Officers Report

The laundry is well and good, statistics show that Jerry has sent in 12 pairs of underpants (Calvin Klein Jockey), Tony 8 pairs (Marks and Spencers Boxers), Kevin 7 pairs (Tesco Savers baggy fit). The skipper is yet to send anything and thinks his pair will last the trip. Jerry has reported the loss of a sock, it is grey, Kalvin Clein and ankle height, anyone seeing such a sock please let us know.

Astro Navigators Section (by Tony)

For a couple of days now I've been concerned that many of you reading these reports will be under the impression that we're on a pleasure cruise, soaking up the sun, dining extravagantly on a range of freshly caught fish and generally 'taking it easy', so it's time to set the record straight... Kevin and I awake each morning and over the course of the ensuing twelve hours are faced with solving a number of puzzles involving Azimuths, PZX triangles, Greenwich HourAngles, Local Hour Angles and celestial bodies. To assist with this(?) we're supplied with an impeneterable volume entitled 'Sight Reduction Tables', an Almanac and a contraption used by ancient mariners, known as a sextant. You'll have seen Russel Crowe wielding one expertly in a force 9 gale in 'Master and Commander' .Oh, I nearly forgot; any chance of solving any of these puzzles would be impossible without the trusty Casio digital watch purchased for the princely sum of £10 specifically for this voyage, from Argos (Thanks Lynn!) We have a number of reference sources (apart from Andy) to assist us and I thought it might be educational, informative (if not downright entertaining!) to share with you a paragraph from one of these volumes. Extracted from 'Simple Navigation By The Sun' written by David Smith and first published in 1974 (Reprinted in 1980) 'The Versine Formula (and the versine is merely the trigonometrical function (1- Cos 0), is a general one for all spherical triangles but applied to the PZX triangle which is already familiar: Versine ZXX= Versine P x Sin PZ x Sin PX +Versine (PZ : PX), where the symbol just means subtract the smaller from the greater. Or, in other words: Versine Zenith Distance = Versine LHA Sin Co-Lat Sin Co-Dec + Versine (Co-Lat + Co-Dec).' So, there you have it. This extract from page 67 of a 182 page 'simple' guide is just one example of the words of wisdom currently shedding immense light on a dark subject (unless it's a noon sight, when of course it's not dark at all).

Author unknown (but possibly Kevin - see text) I have to report that Kevin (Mechanical engineer, young, tall, good looking, single) is currently leading the battle of the astro navigators having managed to use a Sun-Run-Sun combined with a Meridian Pass to fix our position to within 11 miles yesterday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHurely ShoMe MISHtake?Pic of the day

Jerry's emergency hole repair custard

Transat Day 20:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE - LOVE YOU - ANDY

Noon position 20º25'N 30º57'W, Course 270º T, port tack, wind on the beam force 4, present boat speed (last 4 hours) avge 8 knots (yahoo!). Last 24 hours run 105 Nm (worst yet), but read tactics below. Cloud cover 100%, humidity 75%. Boat heeled at 10º and pretty stable. Position on Andy's chart from the Cap Verdes-Caribean line measure 2cm along and then 2cm up. That's us (last 24hrs run 1cm) Top Tip ( from Sean Doggett) I have received information that www.mapquest < http://www.mapquest > is working but instead of west put our longtitude as a negative (ie todays position will read N20º24.4' -30º57'W, I think). (Editorial comment: advice from on high: best Net map to plot positions on is that provided by US National Hurricane Centre. You can print an Atlantic chart with lat & long at this site
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/AT_Track_chart.pdf)
Tactics (Andy) - After yesterday's brief ditty on the trade winds you will realise that the winds are not behaving as they should. That's sailing and you deal with it. However yesterday there was a big wind hole (an area of no wind) just north of us increasing in size. Two possible outcomes: 1. The hole moved over us and we would sit still for possibly two days(disaster) or 2. We get the hell out of it with a dodge (easy said, hard to do). The Atlantic low (I referred to yesterday) has wind and, as I said, now is the time to head west. What I didn't add was that it was an attempt to swop systems and get into the edges of the low, so rather than sedate sailing with lots of south in our course, we opted to try for more interesting and faster sailing (really the only option). We were always going to end up in the low, just a question of when. All yesterday was tedious, then at 0300 (3 o'clock this am, Mum), with Kevin, THE WIND GURU, on watch the wind started to come, slowly at first, but increasing. We are now barrelling along in 16 knots of wind averaging 8 knots of boat speed; Ushomi has been given her head at last and is sailing beautifully. We will probably ride the bottom of the low for 4 days and also we intend get some south into our course (not too much) so as to give us a good angle of attack to the wind in 2 days. After that who knows.

Crew Comment (Jerry) - Andy has appointed me as sanitation and personal hygiene officer in addition to my duties in providing American style cooking menus that I obtained from the head chef at the Salvation Army Men's Shelter, Detroit, Michigan, especially for this passage. An example of the latter was my version of English custard prepared last week. As personal hygiene officer I have required all crew members (excepting myself) to trim their heads bald. I'm sure you'll understand this requirement. One of my sanitation officer duties is the daily cleaning of the heads. Andy has promised that if I do a good job, in another week he'll issue me a brush. I enjoy these collateral duties immensely. (Andy forced me to put in this last sentence) Jerry (Editor: Is this where the earlier Capt. Bligh comment comes from?)

Sleeping at Sea (Andy) - This is a subject close to any sailor's heart, a rested sailor is a coiled spring, ready to leap into action, a tired sailor is more like a shock absorber on a particularly bad 1950's landrover used in the Desert, heavily. Traditionally, the skipper has a berth near to the Nav station, this is usually picked for comfort and quietness but the reason given is it's proximity to the nerve centre in case of emergency. The mate normally takes the second best cot and so on, with the last in the queue getting the sail locker in the bows. Motion in the stern is the most comfortable whereas in a good beat the bow cot can resemble a monkey cage, deck head one minute, bed the next. At first it may seem difficult to sleep but eventually everyone will attain a level of tiredness where sleep comes. On Ushomi I have somehow messed up and Tony and Jerry have the aft cabins, Kevin the stateroom up near the front and I am in the bunkspace. It does not offer the space of the other cabins but I have managed to make a nest and take refuge there in times of despair. TOP TIP - When joining a yacht for the first time. While everyone else is shaking hands and introducing themselves dive down below, check out the 2nd best berth (skipper will have the best), drop your bags on it and defend it with a will.

Sanitation on Ushomi(!)

Transat Day 21:

It's Banging Mr Potter!
Noon position: 19º39'N 33º26'W. Speed 6 knots (but we have slowed a bit), Force 5, course 180ºT, cloud cover (someone saw some blue a while back), wave height 4 meters, water on deck and Kevin (lots), sails: main 2 reefs, yankee. Last day's run 150Nm (best since Canaries- remember that the distance run is measured from noon till noon in a straight line, we often cover more miles through the water but it is the day's distance that counts). Today's picture was taken in calmer times, before the Canaries. Stan and Marius you will no doubt remember it (Editor: possibly Johnny Depp's Pirate ship?).
Tactics: (Skipper) as expected we have wind, too much of it now, life is full of extremes. The wind is veering (the direction is going from 200º to 205º and so on). What this means to us is the following: we have had a bumpy old night on port tack with a course being pushed from south of west up to north of west, this is known as a header as it is deflecting us from our desired course, we rode with the header until 1000 this morning and tacked (put the bow through the wind on the sails onto the port (left) side of the boat, our course (as you cannot sail directly into the wind) is now due south. This will do two things: i. on the last tack we were sailing towards the centre of the low, and hence if we stood on the wind would increase, by tacking we are heading away from the low and will get lower winds, ii. as we progress the wind will continue to veer, BUT instead of heading us (see header above) we will now in position to be lifted, this is where you can follow the wind shift to your advantage i.e. as we get lifted we will get more and more west in our course, which is where we want to go. Do not forget that the south course at present is not to our disadvantage as Antigua is still below our latitude. Yesterday, I mentioned deliberately sailing west for the low to get wind, this was an absolute necessity as to remain where we were would have meant 1-2 days wallowing, followed by what is happening now; net result: lose two days. We are having a bumpy ride as mentioned, and I believe it will be so for a few days to come. Everyone is talking about how everyone describes trade wind sailing as idyllic, spinnakers for 17 days etc. This is how it normally is, I suppose we aren't a normal crew.
Laundry Officers Report: (Jerry) Shut until further notice. (Editor: Is Capt. Bligh gagging him?)
Watchkeeping: (Skipper?) as you are aware the vessel is sailing 24hours a day, we cannot anchor and there are no ports to go to, we therefore need a system that will maintain vigilance at all times and also allow the crew to rest. There are many watchkeeping systems but we have opted for a one in three system. So basically, starting at seven in the morning. One person (a) on watch for 4 hours, 1100 (b) on watch for 4hrs, 1500 (c) on watch for 4hrs. We are now at 7 pm and shift to 3 hr watches: so 1900: (a) back on watch for 3 hours, 2200 (b) back on watch for 3 hrs, 0100 (c) back on watch for 3 hrs, 0400 (a) back on watch for 3 hours, 0700 (b) on watch for 4 hours and then revert to day watches. So once every three nights one person will get all night in bed (0100 - 0700). Also the system ensures that watches rotate, that each person has a different watch each night. It takes the human body about three to four days to settle to a new sleep pattern, those early days see everyone settling and sleeping lots, now we are mainly sleeping during the night hours and catching a short nap in the day.

Note from Tony:
We carry a sail wardrobe that allows us to optimise our sails to the variety of conditions we're likely to face. ie, if we're running with the wind behind us in light wind conditions, we can fly the asymetric spinnaker, a light fabric sail that is perfectly suited to the conditions. Yesterday, as the wind increased and it became obvious that we were going to be in for an extended period of beating (sailing as close to the direction of the wind as possible), it was clear that the best headsail for us to use was the 'Yankee', a sail with a high clew (rear end), designed for these conditions. Unfortunately, at the time, we were flying the largest, heaviest sail in our wardrobe, a 140% Genoa. So, in a force 4 wind and a building sea (2 metre waves) 'on the nose' I raced to adopt the bowman position. This involves sitting on the pulpit rail (overhanging the bow, but facing the stern of the boat) hauling the genoa down the forestay track, unshackling the foot and the head, folding and stowing, prior to unfolding the Yankee, shackling it to the furling gear and guiding it up the forestay track. Sounds simple, eh? Let me add into the equation a boat that's pitching through an arc of 10-12 feet and shipping water in copious quantities over my shoulders! Fortunately, at these latitudes, it's warm water! But, the highlight of the manouvre was undoubtedly Kevin's efffort to prevent the Genoa from ending up in the water as the wind attempted to lift the sail off the deck; he decided to lay down on it at strategic intervals whilst Andy and I tried desperately to fold the sail...needless to say, he was always kneeling/lying on the wrong bit!! Anyway the ensuing 24 hours has proved that the Yankee was definitely the right choice and was worth the soaking we all endured to get it aloft! (additional from Andy: it is worth noting that throughout a sail change one of the main players is the 'piano player' in the cockpit, this job is to organise, release and haul the relevant sheets and halyards throughout the manouvre, called the piano player because all the jammers that take the tension of the halyards resemble the keys on a piano, and are just as difficult to learn. Our Piano man is Jerry and if he don't release the right one the sail don't come down, and another will.

Note From Kevin: Beating across the Atlantic, isn't what was expected but its great to have some good winds. My fore-cabin (aka sail locker) is a bit like Alton Towers / Funderland and Mammoth mountain all together. With these waves it's pitching and rolling about 15 feet all the time and in any direction. It's a bit pot luck, putting contact lens in... On the plus side, I spend lots of time relaxing and levitating. When we go down a wave I levitate towards the coachroof, when we hit the trough of the wave I levitate back down to the bunk. All good fun, I have packed the forecabin bunk with the Asymmetrical spinnaker, so I should be well wedged in tonight.

Johhny Depp's Frigate?

Transat Day 22:

Position 18º17'N 33º52'W, Course 210ºT, average speed 5.5 knots, hot and humid, very wet up top. Wave height average 5 meters max 8 meters. Waves - breaking across the bow and continuing the length of the boat. Sails - Yankee, Morale - high but tired. TOP TIP 'wunderground.com' shows the weather around us using satelite imagery. Thanks Kurt

General situation:

At present things are pretty much as described yesterday, we are still plugging along under the low, the waves are generally better but there are still big waves waiting to get you unawares. We have all had a few drenchings. As I said we are hoping to get back into better winds, it basically gets slightly better as each day passes, We do not expect trade winds for at least five days, that is not to say we won't have pleasant times. Light winds and flat seas are what we want.

The Mainsail In the early hours damage was spotted to the luff of the mainsail, this is the area of the sail that slides up and down the mast. Repairs are pretty straightforward, it is the same problem as we had to repair in San Sebastian but lower down. The original repair is holding well. We are therefore sat in the saloon having a craft fair convention and swopping sewing techniques, Kevin prefers to introduce sequins, while Tony prefers ribbons.

Wet Clothes - At present we are all wet but not cold, the routine is to stand watch, come off watch and get your wet clothes somewhere where they may dry, or if not going to bed change into dry stuff. It is important to keep your bed dry, this is refuge, all beds are dry and will remain so. When you get up it is on with wet clothing and go on watch, why put wet clothing on when we all have dry ? If we get all our clothing wet we have nothing dry to wear and until the weather and sea abate we cannot dry anything. Sorry today is short but we are a bit busy and a bit tired - BUT HAVING A BLOODY GOOD TIME!

Position 17º22'N 34º21'W Speed 5 knots, course 270ºT. Lumpy and Bumpy and Wet (my salt encrusted underwear is no laughing matter). Our last two days course has been dictated more by weather and sea state than anything else, we are heading west and the Depression East. We have lost some ground over the last two days, especially due to the main repair, but we are well placed and chugging on.

News on the Mainsail: yesterday we started out tired and spotted a problem with the mainsail, the easy answer would be to totally ignore it. Unfortunately this was not an option so at 0600 yesterday we took down the main. There then followed a busy day of sewing, first repair the bolt rope, then strengthen it. By 1800 (6 oclock Mum) the main was ready but then the shackle on the traveller failed (the traveller holds the line that controls the boom, that holds and controls the mainsail, an essential bit of kit). We then set to, in darkness, stripping the traveller and fitting a new shackle, this only took 3 hours against my dread of 12 hours (the problem is the traveller is held together by stainless bolts into Alluminium, not a happy combination). So, by 2100 (9 oclock Mum) the main was up and away we went. Hussahhhhhhhh. At this stage, having started tired we were all pretty exhausted but still found energy to burst into hysterics when Tony got a head to foot drenching on the helm. This morning the wind picked up and we took down the main due to sea and wind state. The motion is now quite comfortable.

Tropical Revolving Storm Delta: Well, we are now sailing under Not an Atlantic Depression BUT Tropical Revolving Storm 'Delta', it's been given a name, cool. We have had a few days of totally non trade wind sailing as you may have gathered, Just a point I want to make out, this is not normal for this passage, if it were, I would be tucked up in my bed in my Jim Jams with Jane (Editor: from what Jane said, he may be a touch optimistic!). But we all do daft things in life, the problem is I keep coming back and doing it again. They say that what sets us apart from animals is our ability to learn from our experiences, I am applying for an intensive course in Landscape Gardening (in Birmingham).

What is it like: (All of you who have sailed through a TRS skip this bit). The weather is changeable, the wind direction will alter by 30-40 degrees in an instant, squalls full of wind and rain are frequent, one way to describe a squall is a typical warm front in the UK, this is what brings wind and rain, BUT in a frontal system as you get in the UK there is a warm front followed by a cold front. In our part of the atlantic there are basically no fronts (hence it is not a frontal system). The squalls can be seen for miles and under each is rain, wind, thunderand lightening, we take all the normal precautions. At night it is similar to a fantastic light show, there are thunderstorms going on everywhere you look, some near, some far with every kind of lightening in the book, Fork, Sheet etc. Once through a squall the wind usually drops and a calm period follows, this can be deceiving and prompt the shaking out of more sail, we keep the sail to a minimum which reduces speed but increases comfort and more importantly, when the squalls hit we are prepared.

Skippers note on the crew: they are tired, looking forward to good sleep YET still dig deep when called upon, ability is one thing but to give 110% all heart is quite another.

Laundry Officers Report: Anyone seeking a hardworking, clean and presentable man to do laundry and domestic chores please contact L/O S/Y Ushomi, Somewhere in the Atlantic.

Kevin's Shower: Today Kevin Showered! He was confused by the Shower Gel and asked it's meaning, but otherwise the evolution went well.

Sunrise

Dog Bowl Dining - See today's picture, in any sort of vessel a must is the trusty dog bowl. Not a dog bowl for a terrier, but one for a rotweiler. Any sort of food can be prepared and pleasantly displayed in a range of colours or for the affluent stainless steel bowls. Bowls can also be customised with your name such as Rex, Fido, etc. To purchase, go to your nearest pet shop or if money is tight ask at the local dog centre, they are sure to have some unfit for the dogs and will gladly give them away.

Situations Vacant - Laundry Officer - We have yet another applicant, please see cv:

Fishy Tales - There is a bit of a fishing competition between Summer Breeze and ourselves. We have been informed that SB is winning, we actually dispute that as we have not been reporting every fish, many we are returning (interestingly every fish has been a Dorada. Anyway,the competion is now at an end, yesterday we hooked a gert big un and landed it. Jerry took the initial actions when the line zinged away and fought bravely. When Ushomi started to go backwards we knew that we were into a big un. Tony took the rod and by the steely glint in his eyes you could tell that this was 'mano el mano', low down and personal. The fish (yellow as it happens) cleared the water near the stern and a gasp was heard from all, huge doesn't even get close. Kevin, with no thought for his own safety, grabbed the freshly baked loaf we were eating and dived headlong into the boiling mass of water astern of us. After 2 minutes Kevin re-appeared wrapped around the behemouth and started to beat it with the soggy loaf (whole grain). The fish soon capitulated and all four of us dragged it into the boat. Jerry was armed with the whisky: a shot in the gills kills all fish. Unfortunately he had a few in his own gills and slipped and dosed the fish with 1/2 litre of JW red label. Needless to say tonight we are having marinated Dorada. (see todays picture for proof).

Transat Day 30:

Time Zone GMT -0300

Posn 16º46'N 46º34'W, Course 245ºT, Speed now 5.7 Knots, avge last 24hrs 4.5 knots, wind F1 (using engine), temperature (reads 48ºC but this is wrong), humidity 85%. Last night's film 'Clear and Present Danger', pre-dinner watching was the 'Office'. A gourmet dinner was prepared and cooked by Andrew and consisted of Snorkers (sausages) lying besides a bed of mashed potatoes with egg and baked beans skillfully mounted on top to give the impression of 'Windsor castle at sunset'. Lunch today is courtesy of Tony and is 'Potatas Bravas' (Flowery

potatoes, cooked with with olive oil, onions, paprika, cayeen pepper, cumin and a a dash of chilli) with Chorizo lightly fried in olive oil. (He may be creative but bangers and mash take some beating)

Hot News - Norwegian John reported that TRS Delta hit Tenerife, the marina in Santa Cruz was devastated on Monday. He said: "Tennerife was hit by hurricane force winds from DELTA. We were in Santa Cruz marina when all hell let loose, within 30 minutes the marina was wrecked. The pontoon we were on lost 11 of it finger pontoons but stayed attached to the harbour wall, the pontoon over from us broke up completely. I was third from the end on our pontoon the two boats outside me disapeared, finger pontoons, cleats and all (basically the entire boat and pontoon was blown away), the finger pontoons we were on broke and capsised as did the 7 finger pontoons inside us.

General - Fortunately Ushomi is great, no wind, engine on and expecting wind tonight or tommorow that should give us fair passage all the way to Antigua. The boat smells of lily of the Atlantic (I moved back into the bunkspace last night with hatch open all night). The UK governing body for natural disasters and epidemics have given us the all clear, so it's back to films, breadmakers, perculated coffee and Thai massages.

Situations Vacant - Laundry Officer - We are quite amazed by the rucous that our dirty smalls are causing - the following are e-mails between Mary Jo (naked LO) and Chris Horatio Columbus Oxby (Chris is a balloonist by the way)

Mary Jo - " I have just successfully laundered a teenager's rugby kit, fresh from the soggy playing fields of Ilkley, adjacent Ilkley Moor - I claim the position. Oxby doesn't know how to turn the machine on and besides, how can he attend an interview at short notice when travelling by balloon?"

Chris HC Oxby - "To Turn The Machine On: 1: Stand in Front of it in your best clingy lycra shorts

2:Rub your hand through your greasy hair and thrust out your pelvis:

3: say "I Luuurve You, Baaby!"

How hard can it be ?

Mary Jo - "And you can add that I look much better than Oxby naked! "

At this point I feel our employment officer Tony must continue - all applicants will obviously be required to present themselves before the formal Assessment Board: for such a key position, we anticipate that applicants should allow two days on site. (Site to be advised when we figure out where we are, precisely). In addition to the formal Board, psychometric testing, key skills testing (no exemptions, proxies or equivalents accepted) an energetic rendition by the candidate of the Laundryman's song will be a non-negotiable feature of the recruitment process. To enable candidates to prepare fully, the Board has decided (exceptionally in this case) to make the full version of the Laundryman's song available for candidates to practice, refine and 'characterise' prior to their performance before the Board. With absolutely no apology whatsoever to Michael Palin or any of the Monty Python team we publish below the full version of the Laundryman's song, set to the tune of the Lumberjack song and clearly best delivered in the key of 'E':

I'm a Laundryman and I'm OK

I drink all night and I wash all day

I dress in women's clothing

Suspenders and a bra

I wish I was a girly, just like my dear Papa

Now these 4 chaps with filthy clothes

Need Persil, Daz or Bold

Their needs are my concern alright

I don't need to be told

There's shirts and towels and shorts and socks

Suspenders and a bra (?)

We don't know who these belong to

But Kev said 'Oh la la'

I'm a Laundryman and I'm OK

I drink all night and I wash all day

I dress in women's clothing

Suspenders and a bra

I wish I was a girly, just like my dear Papa

The mood is gay, the guys are sound (Editor, shouldn't that be the other way around?)

The shirts are colour fast

I'm proud to do my duty

But don't know how long I'll last

Washing powder harms my hands

I yearn for mother's Dreft

So when the clothes are drying

They all hang to the left

I'm a Laundryman and I'm OK

I drink all night and I wash all day

I dress in women's clothing

Suspenders and a bra

I wish I was a girly, just like my dear Papa

With new machines, I cannot cope

Which knob do I turn?

I love to sweat and rub instead

Blisters I must earn

Twice daily I will do a load

The lads seem really pleased

I'm proud to serve and be their slave

When tension I have eased

I'm a Laundryman and I'm OK

I drink all night and I wash all day

I dress in women's clothing

Suspenders and a bra

I wish I was a girly, just like my dear Papa

It goes without saying that the full force of the law will be brought to bear on anyone attempting to plagiarise, publicly perform or record this work. All rights reserved, Intellectual property rights protected, etc, etc .

Sunset

Transat Day31:

(Editor: another Fisherman's tale?) After swimming, we put the shark lures back on the fishing lines and sailed on. This morning we hooked and caught a small Dorada. While getting it in Kevin stated that the fish had tried at one point to make a run for it, which surprised us as the reel was on a high setting for such a small fish. On inspection the Dorada had teeth marks on it's flank that were still bleeding ie very fresh, the teeth marks were about one and a half inches apart. (Editor: could it be Jaws?)

Time Zone now GMT - 4 hours

Posn: 17ºN 54ºW, distance run last 24hrs 170Nm, course 275ºT, speed now 7knots, wind NNE F4, Cloud Cover 10%, Cloud Type - Fairweather Cumulus (little fluffy white clouds), temp hot, humidity 85%.

Photo - Another from our time in TRS Delta, the sheet is airing and is hanging vertically, it's the boat that is not.

5 Boyle stated - "The square root of the capacity of the drum divided by Pi is directly proportional to - how big the pie actually is."

6 Explain 'SOCK PHENOMENA' - Sock Phenomena is a small plant like mollusc that grows in Gentlemen's hosiery and if not checked can get underneath and cause Barnacles.

Kevin and Tony have been doing an 18 week fast track (zero to hero) sailing course, with Colin, the Principal of Straits Sailing in Gibraltar. Colin basically gave us the lads as crew, one to help me and two for them to build experience on a 'boring tradewind passage" to the Caribbean. Now I have always been a bit outspoken and admit I am not a fan of the fast track idea, experience is gained with time and experience, 18 weeks is neither. Also the two were to do their yachtmaster exam in Antigua, after a suitable rest, with an appointed examiner ... namely, our kindly gent. Back step a bit..... when Tony and Kevin joined Ushomi she was still full of tools dust and mayhem. They asked what they could do and I replied that they could sort the sails and deck. Now the difference between a sailor and a seaman is that a seaman is professional in all aspects afloat, a sailor can sail, hence a seaman is a man of the sea. Now the two lads set to and with no requests or questions hoisted sails and and started to go through Ushomi's sail locker. That period was a bit dificult for them both as they wanted to leave, to sail and there I was getting them to sort sails and tidy Roger's (Co-owner with berth) garden. When we sailed I appointed Kevin and Tony as watchleaders, on the trip to the Canaries the boat saw some strong winds and did some amazing heavy weather sailing, they both changed my view on the fast track system. In La Gomera work was carried out without question and new skills were learnt, by all, Tony became the sail repair guru and Kevin became the sail master. The Atlantic passage, I will not recount, it is on the website, but needless to say every man and jack on the boat could be counted on. Kevin somehow whistled up wind slept in the most uncomfortable part of the boat for head winds, the bow and leapt about the boat with a passion, ever ready. Tony was steady, I really can't say better, he was there out of his pit in the best of squalls before being called, now that is really saying something, most people go deeper in their pits (bed) and hope they will not be needed. When no one wanted to cook he turned to and created some amazing meals in totally hostile conditions. Anyway, the kindly gent is the Yachtmaster Examiner. After the initial greetings he said "Andy because of the time on passage I really need to do your (Kevin and Tony's) Yachtmaster Exams tomorrow, how about I join you on Ushomi at 1000." "Of course", we said! So, after a long and interesting passage, the lads are doing their YM exam tommorow at 1000 (1500 English time). They will pass I am sure and when they do, I will be chuffed to bits. Why? Because they have earned it and deserved it. Please wish them well. I have not forgotten the "Sanitation Officer" he was actually self appointed (honest). He may not forgive me for this (sorry Jerry). Jerry is over 70 and is an incredible man. Being ex US navy he has access to USN privileges, flights, PX etc. He once decided to see if he could fly around the World using 'space available' seats with the US Airforce'. He set out and got to somewhere in the Middle East. From there he could not get the one link he needed. Rather than face a wait of two weeks he got a bucket seat home. He got back three days after leaving (I am sure that he only popped out for a bag of sugar). I asked him (with regards to Jerry's seniority as a CAPN USN RTD) if he wanted to stand out of night watches and stand day watches only, he readily agreed. As a typical seaman (refer to my earlier paragraph) he then appointed himself Officer 'Jobs No One Has Thought about'. Every morning at 5.30 a.m. he rose and joined the morning watchkeeper. At 0800 he then started to clean, namely the heads (toilets), galley (kitchen) and cockpit, (we were not idle as the watchkeeper at this time was down to clean. BUT we only cleaned every three days due to the watch system). Jerry was pivotal in the cleanliness on Ushomi. Now, you may think: "Cleaning is menial", but it is essential, shitty and no one wants to do it. You clean a head on a boat with 35 degrees of heel and say it is menial. As was said at the begining, everyone brings something to the party. Jerry as mentioned earlier ran the cockpit, namely the piano, during sail changes and evolutions, I will not repeat myself but this is not easy. Out of all of us, for me, Jerry fought the toughest battle on the trip and showed us all how to do it. I hope to cross the Atlantic when I am his age. He has stated that he is looking at Kilimanjaro next!!!!!! Would I have made any changes to the crew 'YESSSSS ....' I would have kept Stan and Marius for the crossing, on the way to the Canaries we made a good team, we miss Stan's humour. Humour is essential and he actually was a good watchkeeper (for a doctor .. Stan is chartering a yacht in the Carib in January... be in touch we are here). Stan you left behind tablets for yeast infections (we tried it in the bread machine). Marius learnt a lot and he assumed the position of ships photographer (e-mail them), I admit to having a word with him reference taking photos when hands were needed BUT he was seasick and dug deep to keep his watch when he could have stayed in bed. Thanks (big thanks) to David our weather router (no small task with out of season TRS's) and the editor of the website, my spelling and grammar are atrocious. Also thanks to Colin at Straits Sailing Gibraltar, he gave me a grand couple of crew, whom he taught. All in all I consider myself very fortunate, good guys and no muppets. Anyway, if I have bored you, I apologise. This ditty is my thanks to the guys who helped sail Ushomi, we did it in style, a 220 nm day run are not common (my first in a monohull). In the words of the 101st Airborne "Currahee" (See the DVD Band of Brothers) Andy .

(Editor: well, they finally made it today at 1 p.m. GMT - interim report and pic below - full update to follow later - if publishable after celebration).

The RYA Yachtmaster Exam lasted from 10 am to 7.30 pm on Day 37. Both Kevin and Tony passed - congtaulations to them. So ends the Transat saga. A bit of R&R for all concerned and then some much needed repairs before the first Owner cruise. Skipper's wife Jane arrived last night with a two metre pole with which to repair the furling gear and some new stainless steel slides for the head of the mainsail.

Antigua to BVIs
General - After her arrival in Antigua Ushomi underwent a heavy cleaning and maintenance program, four men in a boat can start to smell and it rubs off on the boat. Jane joined and unfortunately Jerry, Kevin and Tony departed. Tony's fiancé Lynn flew out and they were married on the dock of the bay in Jolly Harbour, very Otis Reading, I,m sure he would approve. With the boat ready and Frank and Carole due to arrive the next part of our odyssey was due to begin. Our initial impressions were very good, from the beaches to the island to the people, talk to them and they will talk back. An important note to take onboard is that the Blue water Rally boats that were in Jolly Harbour stayed in their own groups, to the point of blanking out the locals, possibly due to them being a little worried. This is totally the wrong attitude, caution is needed, but by being friendly and open we have had some great help, information and new friends and to date (touch wood) no bad episodes. Antigua - Antigua was discovered by Christopher Columbus (is this a relatin to Chris Columbus Oxby (Laundry officer candidate?)) in 1493, the name derives from the Church of Santa Maria la Antigua in Seville. The Spanish being generous people abandoned the island because it was waterless and guess who walked in - the English in 1632 (I suppose it took us a bit longer to get here). Under English rule the island became a stronghold and with it's easily defensible harbours became the stronghold of the English Leeward Isles Squadron. From here the story is oft told, colonists had land cleared for plantations and slavery supplied the workers from Africa. Introduction of slavery ethnically divided the island and with the abolition of slavery in 1834 saw the land being divided into small holdings. Antigua. became an associate state of the commonwealth in 1967 and gained independence in 1981.

That's the blurb, but what of our ditties from the island, we were tied up in Jolly Harbour on the west side of the island, the marina has been built for tourism and is what most people see in their minds eye when conjuring up the Caribbean. Of the bars and restaurants there is the Dog Watch Tavern. Tony and Kevin decided to eat in the Dog Watch and came to the desert menu. They asked Claudine their waitress (who sings to, strokes and hugs all customers) what a dirty dick .She replied that it was banana with two scoops of ice cream strategically placed. Kevin ordered and with a sly grin and a deep West Indian accent she told him " you will be getting in touch with your feminine side, Man". Kevin and Tony's Big day out - I was due to get Jane from the airport and Kevin, Tony and Myself left in good time to get a bus to St Johns and then me a taxi to the airport. In St Johns we found it was Hero's Day! and everywhere was shut, all with the exception of a small Bar in the ferry port. Tony went straight for a pina colada and Kevin and myself a beer apiece. Next round Kevin switched to Pina Colada and the girl behind the bar began another mixer full. Tony asked where we could get food and the girl tried to give us directions to a Kentucky fried chicken, she soon gave up and told her brother to go and get a bargain bucket for us, needless to say KFC was shut. After an hour I needed to make tracks to the airport, but not before the girl behind the bar, getting bored with making so many pina coladas, had decided to save time and serve the lads pina coladas in pints. I was offered a lift to the airport by one of the guys at the bar, he had been tinkering with the engine and had it running so it seemed a good idea. He came from around the bar and could hardly walk, his left leg was in plaster and he adopted a hop to get to the car, laughs echoed from the bar as we burnt some good rubber leaving, with reggae blasting out at 675 dB. Our one legged driver had mastered the driving thing so well he returned and offered to take Tony and Kevin to the Recreational Ground (Antigua's Cricketing Hallowed Turf) where there was a game on. At the ground the lads blagged their way in to find it full of Antiguans, Reggae Music and Ganga. The air was thick with burning pot and everyone seemed to be having a party, the game, which turned out to be Football was secondary to the party in the stands. With the music belting out a team member or two would occasionally stop playing and dance to a specifically good song, the game would continue around them. Everyone they met were great, maybe stoned, but friendly and took to calling them Red Necks. A spectator, obviously not happy with the music on the PA system brought his car into the ground, on the roof were two speakers that were bigger than the car. He drove around and over the ground blasting out alternative music choices, by the team players 50% seemed in favour of the new music. After a while our intrepid duo found DJ Kenny, Kevin stated that he was loosing his dancers, to which he was told that it was trial mixes he was playing for a competition, Kev thought they were electrical faults and feedback. Kenny recognising that fans were important invited the two to a fashion gig he was doing in St Johns, acceptance was immediate. As roadies Kev and Tony sauntered down the high street with DJ Kenny and were warned that whilst walking it may take time as everyone would stop him due to his popularity and fan base. Needless to say the trio had an unmolested and quick trip down the high street. At the 'gig' security was tight and our duo were refused entry, DJ Kenny jumped in and blagged them in stating that they were his 'Sound Engineers', the fashion show was a roaring success, on display were next years school uniforms for primary children. At eight o'clock (p.m.) a tired and pina colada'd out Kev and Tony returned to the sanity of Jolly Harbour. Note - I will explore St Kitts and St Martins later and hence the lack of local knowledge and ditties.
Antigua Onwards
Frank, Carol, Jane and Myself left Antigua on the 22nd December and set a course for St Kitts for a night at anchor. Passing through the Narrows between St Kitts and Nevis in the black of night was interesting, mainly because the pilot recommends people with no local knowledge not to attempt this at night due to the shoals and rocks. We have tons of local knowledge, but unfortunately for the Mediterranean. The passage was straightforward and left us wondering what market of sailor the pilot caters for. We anchored in Whitehouse bay and had a calm relaxing night at anchor. In the morning we sailed on for St Martins, leaving St Kitts unexplored, mainly because we wanted to crack on for the British Virgin Islands. Dutch St Martins - Spanish Town (Virgin Gorda BVI)- St Martins is a big stop in the Caribbean, due mainly to it's Tax status, big marina facilities and excellent chandler's. We all decided that we had not yet found our vision of the Caribbean and stayed mainly due to it being Christmas eve. We did not really explore St Martins, again due to the desire to crack on for the BVI's. Christmas night saw us departing St Martins for a night passage to Virgin Gorda, the night was uneventful and at 11 am we arrived in the BVI's. At last on the morning of Boxing Day we have found our Caribbean. See next dit for the BVIs and our visit to Ricky (Virgin) Branson for cocktails and subsequent removal by security.
The Virgin Islands to St Lucia:
On Boxing Day morning Ushomi sailed into the British Virgin Islands and up Sir Francis Drake’s passage to finally moor off Spanish Town in Virgin Gorda. The BVI’s, as they are known, are still a British Colony and aspects of colonial life are evident all over. The islands have been British since 1672 and were given a constitution in 1773, giving the islands some degree of self-governance. Initial impressions excellent: close your eyes and picture the Caribbean, the picture you see in your minds eye will be that which presented itself to us, narrow beaches bordered with palms and sea, the sand is coral based so is fine and totally different to Europe. Also the names are straight out of a good pirate film, Privateer Bay, Deadman Point, Black Point, Dead Chest Island, Gallows Bay and so on. The Baths is an area of beach to the West of Virgin Gorda and is a popular spot. Not only do you have the beach but large boulders, some 20 feet in height, are scattered as if a giant bored with his marbles has moved on. Ushomi spent two nights off Spanish Town allowing us some maintenance and exploring, on the North of Virgin Gorda is Gorda Sound, a huge bay fringed with islands, one being Necker, Richard Branson’s (Ricky to his mates) Island. In Gorda Sound is Leverick Bay, with a unloading ‘store’ for Pussers Rum, well worth a visit. On 28th December we sailed around the North of the islands to Tortola and an anchorage named Cane Garden. By now perfect beaches and stunning settings were getting slightly tedious. I found myself longing for the odd gas terminal, but alas paradise has no warts. In Cane Garden we went ashore for a meal and found ourselves treated to a reggae band, the band (no connection to DJ Kenny) had their own entourage of dancers who made us all re-believe in ourselves as dancers. Apparently the trick is to be as stationary as possible and throw out some well thought out arm movements now and then. An example is the shirt lift, with the right arm reach over your neck and lift the collar of your T-shirt, for the advanced combine this manoeuvre with a salute whenever the Lion of Zion is mentioned - a seriously cool night. With New Year in the offing we were advised to ship ourselves over to another island named Jost Van Dyke and prepare for Foxy’s. Foxy’s started as two freezers buried in the sand and a guy named ‘Foxy’ with serious ideas about parties, we heard stories of heady nights with ladies spraying themselves with beer and such like. Frank and myself agreed Foxy’s sounded just right so on the 29th December we settled the pick (anchor) in Great Bay and wondered what to expect. Foxy’s has grown, the bar is planks on sand and the atmosphere is so laid back it’s horizontal, a T-shirt shop (in shack) is next to the bar to provide that essential souvenir. Each day Foxy takes the stage and addresses his congregation something like this:
"You white people call me coloured, but when I am born I am black, when I am scared I am Black, when I am envious I am black, when I am angry I am black, in the sun I am black and when I die I stay black. You on the other hand are born pink, when scared you go white, when envious you go green, when angry you go purple, in the sun you go red and when you die you go black. AND YOU HAVE THE CHEEK TO CALL ME COLOURED".
New Year’s Eve morning saw about a hundred boats in the bay, all riding at anchor. Some strange anchoring methods were witnessed but nothing prepared us for what was to come. Each hour saw boats coming from all directions and by six in the evening there must have been a thousand yachts and cruisers anchored in a bay less than a half mile wide, an incredible sight. With music pumping (all tastes catered for – Reggae) we set ashore at 11pm and took a walk, looking out across the bay was a sight that I will never forget, a thousand (or so) boats with anchor lights on winking across the bay. Foxy’s was mobbed and ferries continued to disgorge foot passengers from Tortola, about four thousand people partied away the night, the island populace set up impromptu bars in any available space and on it went, my only regret, not seeing it twenty years ago when the two freezers were Foxy’s.
New Years Day saw us lifting the Pig (Carole’s new name for the anchor having misheard me say pick) and sailing South below Tortola and onto Norma Island, supposedly the inspiration for Treasure Island. Another beautiful location and still no gas terminals. The bar ashore is known as Billy Bones Bar and on it goes, little to no habitation, no litter, just us tourists and the sun and sand. Are you getting the picture, this is the BVI’s; period. On the 2nd of January we sailed into Road Town and took a marina berth to prepare for our slog south to St Lucia, Grenadines and then to Tobago. Road Town is the main port in Tortola, and hence the main port for the BVI’s. A busy area with shops, chandlers and communications, our first since St Martins. Road Town is good but the BVI’s is about the anchorages and bays. One lesson we learned is price: provision in St Martins and sail to the BVI’s needed nothing. Paradise has a price.
The sail to St Lucia lasted three days and gave us the opportunity to view most of the East Caribbean, from 15 nautical miles, in particular Montseratt and Martinique seemed to take forever to pass, so much so we wondered if we were sailing around and around them. We sailed into Rodney Bay in St Lucia and took a marina berth and a day’s rest. More to follow…
St Lucia
You guessed it, another island discovered by Columbus, but this time during his fourth voyage in 1502. He must have clocked up some air miles with all his holidays out here, possibly with Mr Branson. The Caribs resisted colonisation until the 17th century and remained masters of the island until signing a treaty with French, this put St Lucia square in the sights of the British and the island changed hands 14 times until in 1814, after the Napoleonic Wars it finally stayed British. St Lucia became an associated member of the commonwealth in 1967 and gained independence on the 22nd February 1979.

On the evening of the 6th of January we sailed into Rodney bay, St Lucia. After a three-day passage we were ready for land and the comforts of a marina again. Rodney bay marina is an excellent spot it is totally sheltered, clean, boasts excellent facilities (Chandler’s, Shops, Communications etc), it was great to be able to e-mail and use phones easily again. We are learning that a huge part of Caribbean sailing is local knowledge, more so than other areas of the world, certain islands are good for stores, some good for fast gas refills, even to the point of some islands being good for lamb others for beef! We all decided to explore the island so booked a taxi/excursion and with total disregard for our own safety (we took no bag meals) set off south in an air conditioned taxi and a knowledgeable driver. Soon we passed the oil terminals; the sight was magical, lots and lots of massive oil containers, not quite gas terminals but close. We were on a scenic trip though and headed on south to the Tropical rain forests, in amongst all of this majestically sit the Deux Pitons. The Deux Pitons, two huge volcanic mounds that dominate the southern skyline of the island were fantastic and apparently only take two hours to walk/climb/crawl. The Pitons are named 'Grand Piton' and 'Petit Piton' and the St Lucian flag denotes the two pitons, one inside the other. St Lucia has an active volcano that last erupted 230 years ago give or take, bearing in mind that active volcanoes erupt every 200years on average! Guess where the highlight of our tour was to take us, the sulphur springs, caused by, yes you have guessed it, the volcano. The first thing you notice when you drive into a volcano, is the huge sign saying 'Welcome to the Caribbean’s Only drive in Volcano', see the picture for proof. The second thing you notice is the smell of Sulphur, this not only keeps the mosquitoes at bay, but also everything and everyone else with a heartbeat, quite an incredible sight, and no Burger Bars. Another good stop was the gardens and baths near to the sulphur springs, these gardens are private and have taken tourism onboard seriously. Our driver told us to attach ourselves to the back of a tour group and he would see us at the other side, we were automatically included in the group which turned out to be from a passing cruise liner. The guide took her role seriously, and when she asked if everyone was enjoying themselves we all knew better than to even dream of answering in the negative. To be fair her tour was informative and interesting, but the group was quite big. At one point it started to rain quite heavily and we all attempted to shelter under a small cover, too many people and not enough cover. Jane gleefully told everyone to stop being daft as we were in a rain forest whilst I started to nudge children and grannies out of the shelter to give me some room. The gardens were spectacular and I will go back, but not attached to a large group. Our excursion gave us a chance to see some of the bays and anchorages from above, one in particular that caught our eye was Marigot Bay, it is known as a hurricane hole, and you can see why. The bay is steep sided and has a very small entrance, plus it is absolutely beautiful. A definite place to anchor in the future. Another is Soufriere bay, not so good shelter but sat at the base of the Deux Pitons. The view from a boat must be fantastic. All in all we gave St Lucia a big thumbs up. Each island we have visited so far has it's own charm, each is different and each has it's good and bad sides. We spent three enjoyable days in St Lucia, and having completed some more maintenance we set sail for a night passage to the Grenadines and the Tobago Cays.
The Grenadines
In the South of the East Caribbean lie the Grenadines, St Vincent to the north and Grenada to the south with islands scattered between the two. The Grenadines are split into the St Vincent Grenadines and the Grenada Grenadines, two different governing bodies, two different flags and one amazing collection of anchorages. Ushomi sailed from St Lucia and through the night sailed past St Vincent, Bequia, Mustique and into Canuan, a sleepy bay with one hotel and a Moorings base (the sailing charter people). The wind had increased and the sea was a bit lumpy. When picking up a mooring we asked the boat boy when the wind would abate, he stated that these were the Christmas winds and were normal for January and February. As usual we had to get to the airport for Customs and immigration, the boat boy stated that he was the taxi man, as well as lobster salesman, mooring tax collector and general handy man. Canuan is a pretty island, worth a visit and typical of the Grenadines, open to tourism but not sold out, no high rises, and definitely no rushing. At the airport we presented ourselves to the customs officer who gave me a chair, a full pen and the paperwork (work being the key word). We then said that we were intending to depart for Tobago the following day and would it be possible to clear out as well as in! He gave me a chair, a now half-full pen and some familiar paperwork. We paid our dues for entering and he then told us that we would have to pay the same amount again for clearing out, we haggled unsuccessfully and he gave us a warm smile as our pockets lightened a second time. Ashore in Canuan lies a beautiful hotel, some houses, a police station and no gas terminals, I am starting to wonder what they all cook with! The island is stunning and well worth dropping in, the anchorage is well protected and a good, easy entrance. In the morning we slipped and sailed to the Tobago Cays, planning a brief two hour stop before cracking on for a night passage to Tobago. The Cays are one of God’s good bits, he must have been well chuffed when he made them, a bit similar to that feeling when you get the windshield on an air fix model plane without covering it in glue! When we anchored it rained, almost as if God was a bit miffed at our trespassing. Rain came down by the bucket load, but a major point to note is that it is warm. The Tobago Cays are truly stunning, a collection of five small islands lost in a mass of coral, the waters are crystal clear, reefs are everywhere and there are still lots of fish. Ashore there is nothing, just palm trees and sand, unspoilt paradise. After an all too quick two hours we lifted the pig and sailed into the sunset, bound for Tobago or Tobagee as us vagrants of the sea call it. On reaching the Atlantic side of the Grenadines we settled for the night in 30 knot winds and a slightly lumpy sea, Ushomi was moving around a bit and it looked like a bumpy old passage. We saw a squall on the radar and attempted to go around it, it was not to be and we soon encountered torrential rains, 45 knot winds and a very bumpy sea. Ushomi was well stowed but still we found the odd object flying across the boat and the squall was intensifying. After more squalls of similar intensity the decision was made to turn around and head back to the Grenadines, not lightly made but sensible. At midnight we anchored in Saline Bay in Mayreau. In the morning we motored to Union and Frank and Carol made plans to fly onto Tobago. Things in the Caribbean do not go always to plan, and on the next day we were informed that the fire engine was broken and the normal flights could not land. Bookings were made with a small private plane, piloted we suspect by an ex Vietnam fighter jock. Things in the Caribbean do not go always to plan, and on the next day the pilot announced that the winds were too much for flying! Erica's, a local agent for all things, arranged a ferry from Palm Island to Grenada and then a flight from Grenada to Tobago. Problem! How to get from Union to Palm Island: answer Fast Water Taxi. The last we saw of Frank and Carole they were hurtling out of Union in a force 6/7 with the rain lashing down in an open home built power boat appropriately called: 'OCEAN PANIC'

With Frank and Carole somewhere in the Atlantic on ‘Ocean Panic’, Ushomi departed Union and sailed to Bequia to meet Roger, Eileen, Mack and Cynthia. During the next two weeks Ushomi sailed the Grenadines and then headed north to Guadaloupe, the French Caribbean. With weather of all descriptions, some dodgy flights and more ferries the trip rapidly resembled ‘Six go Mad in the Caribbean’. Some stunning sights, brilliant sailing and a great crowd, what more could you want.
17th-30th January
Bequia-----Mustique------Mayreau-----Tobago Cays-----Bequia-----St Vincent-----St Lucia-----Dominica------Les Saintes-----Guadeloupe
Bequia is a beautiful island, in the north of the St Vincent Grenadines, it boasts a huge bay where a multitude of vessels can anchor in good shelter. Stores are on hand and boat-boys hare about selling everything from temporary moorings to batteries with only ½ hour life in them. It was here that Jane and I awaited the arrival of Roger, Eileen, Mack and Cynthia on the 17th of January. We received an e-mail from David informing us that Roger and co were in St Martins and could not get a flight to Bequia, could we sort something at our end. A day spent organising flights to St Lucia, then a smaller aircraft to St Vincent and then the ferry to Bequia ensued. Eventually plans were made, tickets purchased and all was good in the world. The ferry into Bequia was supposed to Dock at 12:30, at 08:30 with a face full of shaving foam I heard a knock on the hull and a familiar voice shout “we are here”; as said before things in the Caribbean never go to plan.
Mustique On the morning of the 19th of January we set sail for Mustique. Stories about Mustique abound all over the world for it is here that Princess Margaret had a holiday pad, the rich and famous partied and a man called Basil built a bar (the only bar) and charged exorbitant rates to said rich and famous. The pilots describe Britannia Bay as the only real anchorage and at times a bit lumpy, obviously their idea of a bit and mine aren’t quite the same, though to be fair it was windy. As has to be done by all who visit, we motored ashore and went for drinks and a meal at Basil’s. It turned out that evening there was a Blues Festival in the Bar, for once instead of missing an event by a day we were bang on time, totally unexpected and totally good. The acts covered all types of music, ‘rhythm’ and ‘blues’ and bar none the music was excellent, high class musicians doing what they love, and having a part expenses paid trip three weeks in idyllic settings. The musicians were not rich and basically explained that they worked their nuts off in the year to afford the time to come out here. The festival is now ten years strong and deserves at least another ten.
Mayreau The 20th saw us heading further south to Mayreau and Salt Whistle Bay, only 5 nautical miles from the Tobago Cays. The sailing was swift and before my bread had baked we were fetching up into a small cove to anchor, but what a spot. Salt Whistle Bay is the kind of place where, though being small, travel agents salivate, a truly beautiful spot, sand, palm trees and not a gas terminal in sight! We swam ashore the men attempting to look fit and the ladies emerging similar to Ursula whatsher name in Doctor No. Had a beer and delicious fruit cocktails at the bar of the Salt Whistle Bay Beach Hotel (a small quiet complex of small thatched roof huts hidden amongst the beach side palm trees). To put this bay into my league of spots, it is tops so far, 10 out 10.

Back on Ushomi we encountered a boat boy called Yellow Man, possibly the only white boat boy in the Caribbean, unfortunately he had no duff batteries but lots of lobsters. Taking Roger and Mack to cages he keeps in the bay for the lobsters he asked what kind of size lobster they had in mind and how many! Yellow Man then proceeded to jump into the lobster cage and wrestle lobsters, sort of a cross between Tarzan and Crocodile Dundee with a Caribbean accent, what people do for money. Roger and Mack returned to Ushomi with Yellow Man and three of the largest specimens of lobster known to man, the lobsters were wild, though so would I be if I realised I was the main course. It didn’t end there though, discarding his macho hat and donning his Delia pinny he offered, free of charge, to prepare and cook the lobsters, what a guy. The lobster was great that evening, then the next day for lunch, that evening for dinner and the next curried.

Tobago Cays At 0930 we lifted the pig (Carole speak for pick, which is Andrew speak for anchor) and sailed the short distance to the famed Tobago Cays, the astute amongst you will realise that the Cays (as they are known) is not in Tobago but by Mayreau! The Cays are a spectacular part of the Grenadines, of all the islands the Tobago Cays are probably the best known. Five islands form the cays, namely Petit Rameau, Petit Bateau, Jamesby, Baradal and Petit Tabac. It was on Petit Tabac where Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean) was marooned by his mutinous crew on the Black Pearl, we failed to find a rum cache and Keira Knightly though. The Caribbean islands run North to South: to the West the Caribbean Sea, to the East the Atlantic with easy rollers coming ashore; normally you anchor on the West side of the islands to escape the North East trade winds and the swell. In the Cays you are protected from the Atlantic swell by a series of reefs that encompass the islands, this is what makes the Cays unique, you sit facing the Atlantic with the five small islands around you. Not a place to be on a windy day, but with good weather it is excellent.

To walk the islands takes a short time and the snorkelling is excellent, there is a group/school/shoal? of about 20 turtles on the east side of Baradal that is well worth a watch. Here we met up with the coolest boatboy in the Caribbean –a charming rogue of a rasta called Harris who owns “Ocean Panic” the water taxi that rescued Frank and Carol from Union. Better than the Cays in daylight is the Cays at night, riding at anchor, no light pollution the stars are stunning, pin pricks of light on a jet black blanket, Rigel, Arcturus, Betelgeuse, Shedar to name a few. In my league of spots the Tobago Cays comes a close second to Salt Whistle Bay, (the lobsters won the day).
Bequia again On the 22nd January we sailed from the Cays and laid a course for Bequia, the reason being to leave the Grenadines and start exploring the islands north of the Grenadines, St Lucia, Dominica, Isles Saints and Guadaloupe. We sailed from Bequia on the 24th after an abortive attempt to leave on the 23rd, problems with the Genoa resulted in some mast work and many delays.
St Vincent We sailed up to St Vincent with the new “yankee” (it pointed at least 10 pts better than the big genny!) and picked up a mooring buoy courtesy of a boatboy! in Wallilabou Bay.
Wallilabou Bay is a bay, but not just any bay, it was here that the ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ was filmed, or at least part of it. In the film the bay is known as Port Royal and it is here that Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) first steps ashore in the beginning of the film. An opening shot shows an arch of rock with pirates hanging under it, that rock is on the north side of the entrance. The set has been left as it was on the last day of shooting, so it is possible to wonder around and take it all in. The only downside is that the set is slowly falling into ruin, some work has been done to keep it in its former glory, but unfortunately not enough, here’s hoping someone takes it in hand. A restaurant that was made over for the film is still there and the owners have had the set work rendered to maintain it. The food was delicious and seriously worth a stop.

St Lucia Ushomi sailed north across the St Vincent – St Lucia passage, it started out quite bumpy and wet but the seas eased and Ushomi was soon flying along to St Lucia, but not before we had all had a few drenchings; our specific destination being a hurricane hole called Marigot bay. A hurricane hole is exactly what it suggests, a well sheltered bay that gives protection from wind in literally any direction. Once anchored we found ourselves in an idyllic spot (am I starting to use the word idyllic too much?). Roger, Eileen, Mack and Cynthia found a bar come restaurant called Doolittles in the Marigot Bay Beach Resort, (the bay was the setting for the film Dr Doolittle) and suggested that any one wanting to hole up in a hotel room near the boat in St Lucia could use this place, prices are good and the food and service excellent.
Night sail to Dominica Our next sail was planned as a night passage covering 90 nautical miles to Dominica, skipping past Martinique. The sailing was perfect, to start, good winds and flat seas. Once in the lee of Martinique we desperately tried to sail but lost the wind due to the island being in the way, on engine for an hour we plodded North. Yachts seem to come alive when sailing but once you kick the Donkey (Stan speak for starting the engine) something seems to depart, the tranquillity, the motion, who knows but it is not a patch on sailing. Once clear of Martinique we turned off the engine and set the sails, joy. Ushomi was banging along at a good 8 knots, a bit bumpy but sailing well. For most this was their first taste of lengthy sailing at night, everyone seemed to enjoy the experience of sailing with the stars as companions.
Dominica On the morning of the 27th of January we anchored in Prince Rupert Bay in Dominica, we had our own official boat boy and Indian river guide, more of that to come. Because we had a full afternoon to explore a trip into the rain forests was quickly organised. The local guides have organised themselves into an officially recognised group, each have ID cards and will produce them on request. There is a cat burglar in the vicinity who is apparently very good at his chosen profession, the pilot recommends checking to see if he is detention or not, if not be careful when leaving yachts unattended. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on who you are he is presently locked up so we were safe. One plus of the organised guides/boat-boys is that they organise security each evening, so there is always a boat buzzing around keeping an eye out for ‘Collin the Cat’. The trip into the interior, with our guide Stratford, was spectacular. “Stunning”, seems a bit of a tame description for the trip .It was a nature walk to end all nature walks. Tasting as we walked 20 mins up to a refreshing waterfall, we had lemongrass, coconuts, starfruit, pineapples, coffee beans, coca beans, bananas, white grapefruit, limes, dashin, avocado, papayas, mango, thyme, cinnamon, ginger, breadfruit, mandarins, nutmeg, plantain, carob and succulent raw sugar cane. What a snack!
We all decided that this was another highlight of the whole adventure. We also took a trip up the Indian river, this is described as a mini Amazon delta, a slight exaggeration but hey in for a penny. I mentioned the Indian river guides, the boat boys used to take people up the river using engine driven boats, this caused erosion, damage and noisy fast trips. The guides have now banned motors in the river and oars are the order of the day, also they go up the river at the end of each day and collect any litter, cut back bushes as required and basically maintain the environment. Due to the diligence of the guides the river is unspoilt and a beautiful trip lasting two hours.

Isle des Saintes We sailed to Isles des Saintes on the 28th, part of the Guadaloupe islands and very French. We entered into the main bay and were amazed at the amount of vessels already anchored, finding a spot we set the pig and the men tootled ashore to find a means of booking flights to St Martin. The French Caribbean is very, very French, as Jane said it’s like Paris without the Eiffel tower. Isle Saintes is quaint, with picket fences, manicured squares (or triangle in one case) and only two cars to use the islands two miles of track. The airstrip serving the island is in a valley between two big hills, with hills in front and behind. Planes coming in to land bank around the hills straight into the valley and then have to get onto the runway fast, quite an interesting or terrifying experience depending on whether you are in the plane or watching from the ground. Flights proved impossible to organise so we decided to head back to Ushomi and make for Guadaloupe proper in the morning. That night we experienced heavy swell on the beam and Ushomi rocked and rolled all night long, so much so that at 7am the next morning we were under way and beating to Guadaloupe.
Guadeloupe Just before entering Guadaloupe the fishing rod bent and line started to scream off the reel, a yellow finned tuna had taken a shine to our lure, dinner sorted. We motored into Point de Pitre on the afternoon of the 29th January and Roger and Mack cut away to organise flights for the following day. The French islands in the Caribbean are part of France, as we had colonies that were under the umbrella of the UK the French actually made the islands part of France, therefore the people all have French passports. The patisseries are a source of joy for Jane and the chandleries and shops are European, they even have a Carrefour.
On the morning of the 30th we waved goodbye as Roger, Eileen, Mack and Cynthia departed by taxi for the airport. It has been a fantastic two weeks and Ushomi is set for Antigua for a deserved maintenance period.
Final Note On the 30th we flew back up to St Martin on Air Caraibes and spent our last night in the relative luxury of Mary’s Boon Plantation Inn a lovely small inn on the beach at Simpson Bay and just next to the main runway. It was a great way to finish a fantastic adventure and gave us time to digest all the wonderful experiences we had during our time on Ushomi. Much discussion took place about favourite islands, each being geographically and culturally quite unique and all very spectacular.

Antigua Explored
Tim and Sarah, son and daughter in law of co-owners Roger and Eileen, joined Ushomi after her maintenance period in Jolly harbour, Antigua. The agenda was not max sailing but max beach, no children (though Sarah spent most of the time missing them), some exploring, some more beach, retail therapy, and a bit more beach. With that on the plate we sailed the Southern side of Antigua and sampled the delights of English Harbour, Nelsons Dockyard, Nonsuch Bay and Green Island. At the end we returned to Jolly Harbour and did a bit more beach, job done.

Tim and Sarah arrived on the 22nd of February and our first night was a meal at Denis’s bar and restaurant, a short ride from Jolly Harbour. Denis is the owner/chef/entertainer/ and head decorator, he is a bit like Lenny Henry on speed and always gives good Caribbean food with good Caribbean friendship, all at stupidly cheap prices. Denis has a menu, but forget that, he will tell you what is on that day, we have had nothing but praise for this place and it is a great place to start a Caribbean holiday. The first full day was taken up at Jolly Beach and Castaways bar, the sand is made up from broken coral and hence is white and does not burn ones tootsie’s as does the sand in the Med. A brilliant way to round off a day is to make use of the happy hour at sunset and watch the sun slowly sink into the sea with Montseratt and Nevis islands either side. A great pastime is to look for the flash of green that fills the top part of the sun as it disappears, this phenomenon happens only at low latitudes i.e. the tropics and is only seen occasionally, but what an excuse for a sundowner.

The 24th saw us departing Jolly Harbour bound for English Harbour and Nelsons dockyard, to get there we had a choice of the long roundabout route or the passage between Irish bank, Fryes shoal, and Goat channel. The shorter route was opted for and with the best pink Muppet on the fishing line we tootled on our way on a gorgeous beam reaches; who said the Caribbean isn’t paradise? English harbour was the home of the Leeward Islands squadron of the Royal Navy and is an excellently protected anchorage, if you close your eyes you can almost picture the fleet sailing over to Guadaloupe, drubbing the French and sailing back for tea and tiffin. The Royal Navy departed and abandoned Antigua in 1889 and there the story would have ended. In the 1950’s Captain Nicholson RN retired started the first moves to restore the dockyard. Since then the Nelsons Dockyard National Park have taken up the mantel and the results are fantastic. The Admiral’s house, the old workshops, the stables and officer quarters have all been restored and put to use as a museum, bars, restaurants, sail makers, riggers shops and the like. Nelsons Dockyard is alive and kicking, not admittedly with old warships, but with yachts, gin palaces and the odd J class to boot. Hussah! A walk around Nelsons Dockyard is a must, it does get busy with tourists who are bussed in (why do Americans think everything is polystyrene) but it does not really affect the ambience. Tim and Sarah meanwhile checked out the beach off the anchorage. When anchoring we always try to scout out the anchorage first, normally people anchor quite deep, so we normally get Ushomi within swimming distance of a bar and restaurant. The reports from the beach and lunch restaurant were positive, but it was noted that Tim and Sarah had used an hotel’s sunbeds. Does this constitute theft, illegal possession etc. Basically a big thumbs up for English Harbour.

Our next destination was Green Island; this is on the Southeast corner of Antigua and a mere seven miles from English harbour. In the lee of Green Island lies Rickets bay, a totally deserted anchorage fringed with sandy beach and palm trees; to many the most beautiful anchorage in Antigua with room for just five yachts! Pass through the channel between Green Island and Antigua and you enter Nonsuch bay. The anchorage here faces the Atlantic Ocean and is protected by a huge reef that stretches from Antigua to Green Island, the whole of this area is excellent for snorkelling, bar-b-q’s, and general chilling out. We spent a day in Rickets Bay and late in the afternoon had a great sail back to English harbour and our now favourite anchorage. Nonsuch gets it’s name from the first ship that anchored here, the Nonsuch, in the year dot, somewhere between Columbus discovering Antigua and now. On the sail to English Harbour Tim got into a decent Barracuda, these must be the worlds nastiest looking fish, a bit like a Pike but bigger.

No visit to Antigua can pass without a few life experiences, two of these are to take a bus trip and visit St Johns, the capital. The buses are all licensed to be buses, but are privately owned, therefore the driver takes the fare and pockets it, then pays a license fee annually to the government. There are no timetables but each bus has a specific route, this means that there may be ten or so buses on a route, they go backwards and forwards attempting to overtake each over and therefore get the punters in before the competition. There are bus stops but if you are walking by the side of the road a bus will normally stop to see if you require transport. To stop a bus is easy, you just shout ‘Bus Stop’! Due to the bus driver’s earnings being directly proportional to the number of passengers moved in a day, the buses are the fastest things on four wheels in Antigua. We are sure that the drivers have police courses in tactical driving and then go to Herr Schummakers School for Formula One to complete their education. The second must in Antigua is St Johns, this is not only the Capital but is the cruise liner port, this has created two distinct flavours, one being downtown St Johns, wooden shops and a bustling but laid back sort of place and the other the Heritage Centre. The Heritage centre is built around the cruise liner terminal and is geared up to remove as many dollars from the tourist pocket in as short a time as possible. The buildings are new and impressive and the shops range from Ralph Lauren to Chanel to Flea markets, haggling is the order of the day and the locals are great. The ladies will divert you into their shops and explain the virtues of miniature steel drums for your children and tee shirts that tell the world that Antigua is ‘Grate Mon’. The selling is not hard, but fun and you can always plead poverty. The high end of the scale of shops are the named boutiques, these sell the cheaper than England expensive stuff, the staff are not pushy and exactly as you would find in any high street. Leaving the heritage centre takes you back to Main Street and St Johns proper, this is fun and worth a walk, with again some good shops. Sarah proved to be a match for any of the shopkeepers, these skills only being beaten by her ability to remove large denomination notes from Tim’s pockets.

Another day in English harbour, and we were unfortunately looking at returning to Jolly Harbour for another week of maintenance, but not before Tim and Sarah sampled the delights of Jolly Beach and another trip to Denis’s. On the passage back, off Cades reef I spotted a whale, about 35 feet in length it blew twice and then disappeared, unfortunately I was the only one to see it so could not share the experience. On further enquiries in Jolly Harbour I was told that the whales are now on the move and sightings occur regularly from now on, also I was informed that mine was an infant and not ‘A reallllllly big one mon’.

While waiting for the arrival of our guests (see below), Andy and Jane took us for a walk to the next door Falmouth Harbour where we were delighted to find the Tall Ship: Tenacious. Second officer Steve kindly gave us a guided tour of this amazing vessel. Steve had been Andy's (sadistic) yachtmaster examiner and Jane had worked for Steve when serving in the Navy. Tenacious is owned by the Jubilee Sailing Trust which sets out to offer disabled people Tall Ship sailing experience. She was recently built in wood with just a few strengthening metal bits. The Jubilee Sailing Trust and Tenacious are well displayed on their website: http://www.jst.org.uk.

Chris & Shirley, guests of David & Pat, arrived from Florida on 8th March and joined the boat in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua, where Ushomi lay stern-to complete with passarelle and the Laundry Lady from heaven (Ushomi’s washing machine needs TLC not available in Windies). On night one, Andy dispatched us to research a famous restaurant and art gallery overlooking Nonsuch Bay: Harmony Hall. Unfortunately it was a windy night and the plastic curtaining, to protect diners from the wind, shut out what must be fabulous views.

Andy and Jane discovered an exclusive club in Antigua. For ex. Royal Navy/Royal Marine personnel there exists the possibility of joining the Royal Naval Tot Club of Antigua and Barbuda. Qualification is, firstly, to attend the nightly 6 p.m. gathering of the club in and around English and Falmouth Harbours. Two of the 5 aims of the club are to: “signal the nominal end of the working day at 1800 hrs local time by a gathering of like-minded individuals who make up the membership. Secondly, to carry on a revered tradition, sadly ended in 1970, by consuming half a gill of the nearest equivalent to the rum issued to the Royal Navy (i.e. Pusser’s Blue Label)! This initiation is followed by an oral examination of candidates (which many fail) by respected full members at Tot 6 and if successful Tot 7 secures membership. The prize is to be the only organisation in the world outside the Royal Yacht Squadron and the Royal Navy permitted to fly the White Ensign as a burgee. Needless to say swots, Andy & Jane, passed the oral with the highest ever marks and are now fully fledged members. The RM author of this ditty was not able to complete his Tots due to unavoidable medical circumstances – see below.

Chris and Shirley attended one of the Tots but, being Anglo-American, failed in their duty to attend more. They may make up for this next year. A day or two later we sailed under Yankee alone to Nevis arriving after nightfall and terrifying a tall ship which we think feared a pirate attack. Meanwhile, we crept into Pinney’s Beach and eventually dropped the hook. It was alarmimg how few wore an anchor light!

We awoke next morning, after an air-conditioned night, to a breathtaking view of Nevis and St Kitts. Some swam from the boat. Chris may have made an illegal landing on Pinney’s Beach but we want to kept quiet about this. By the way, in case I forgot, Chris caught and landed a (puny) Yellow Fin Tuna on the way over from Antigua to Nevis.

Andy gutted, filleted it and stored it in the Fridge where unfortunately if languished too long and went off!

We sailed from Nevis later that morning, after being warned off by Capt. Ahab who was leaving at the same time but had no engine, and arrived in St Kitts, Basseterre Marina, notorious for its fishing Pelicans. We even saw a Pelican dive and catch a large fish right beside the boat but were not quick enough to catch it on camera. St Kitts has begun to be spoiled by Cruise ships but there are amazing sights to be seen. We hired a friendly taxi driver and toured the island. Memorable views were: the Amerindian Rock carvings possibly dating back to 2,500 BC.

Dieppe Bay which in a Southerly Hurricane provides a precarious Hurricane Hole bounded by reefs and the Island itself, the Rain Forest, the Batik fabric factory: 19 different processes to achieve one garment,

We so enjoyed St Kitts that we stayed on and Chris & Shirley flew back from St Kitts to Antigua to catch their return flights to Florida. We also met an engaging Welshman, John, who invited others and us to a drink aboard his new Bavaria 49. This finished up (don’t ask) with an Irish SingSong: The Wild Rover, the Black Velvet Band, etc. We staggered back and were lucky not to fall in.

Next day we set off for Jolly Harbour, Antigua, with wind on the nose, pounding the whole way. The only relief was our sighting of a humpback whale and calf just before the Narrows between St Kitts and Nevis. The Skipper, trying to get this owner to Coastal Skipper exam level, denied him use of GPS and Echo sounder. We suspect he is a descendant of Le Marquise de Sade – he also seems keen to carry out surgical operations at sea as well! His Father hopefully visits next Xmas and we plan skillful interrogation. En route we caught a real Yellow Fin Tuna weighing about 28lbs. Despite photographic evidence to the contrary,

my friends insist that it is: a) a Pilchard held close to the camera lens, b) photographic enhancement, c) purchased from the local Fish Market. Jane also hooked a big fish which stopped the boat and broke the 200lb breaking strain swivel – the one that got away!. We made a spectacular landfall much to the surprise of this owner whose passage plan it was and moored up at the fuel dock overnight. Next morning we moved to a proper stern-to berth and erected the passarelle for ladies disembarkation.

Thereafter things went fuzzy. This owner ignored the very sensible advice of his wife, Pat, Jane and Andrew, to see a Doctor believing things would get better – as men do. After four days this resulted in emergency admission to an Antiguan hospital with a 106ºF temperature and walking unconscious. Five days in intensive care, ice packs and a truly thorough medical investigation got this person back on his feet and on the boat after a short three day convalescence in the Jolly Beach Resort. If you must be ill in the Caribbean choose Antigua where Dr Kelvin Charles is the man to see:

Andy & Jane, as we left them, were busy planning for more guests, a visit from Jane’s Mum and some essential maintenance before the return journey to Sotogrande via the Azores.