OYSTER 485/03

Dates	From	To	Distance (N. Miles)	Days
Sept.8-20, 1997	Ipswich	Las Palmas, Gran Canaria	1,522	13
Nov.23-Dec.13,1997	Las Palmas	St. Lucia	2,850	20
Dec. 28-29, 1997	St. Lucia	Nevis	~ 200	1
Jan. 4-5, 1998	Nevis	Tortola, BVI	~ 150	1
April 1-2, 1998	BVI	St. Martin/St. Barts	~ 100	1
April 5-6, 1998	St. Barts	Tortola, BVI	~120	1
May 4-9, 1998	BVI	Bermuda	890	5
June 30-July 4, 1998	Bermuda	Newport, R.I.	635	4
Sept. 25-28,1998	Newport	Annapolis, Md.	335	3
Oct. 17-21,1998	Annapolis	Bermuda	635	4
Nov.14-20, 1998	Bermuda	Antigua	~1,000	6
To March 31 - sale	Antigua	Tortola and islands between	400

Content of very beginning FY log:

"THE SAGA OF “FOREVER YOUNG”, AND THE PLEASURE THAT THE HALLS HAVE EXPERIENCED WITH HER"

1/19/98, Monday.         
Arrived in Tortola (Beef Island) at 7:30 p.m. from San Juan. This was going to be our very first time to live on board “Forever Young” and we were really looking forward to getting together with Mark & Chloe and learning about our great new “toy” (and life!). M&C picked us up in a Jeep and drove us into Road Town where we had dinner at Pussers. We then went on to Nanny Cay where FY was berthed. M&C had everything on the boat shining when we arrived. There were flowers on the table – a very nice touch. The air conditioner was on in the aft cabin for us. Boy, it was nice to come home and cool down!

1/20/98, Tuesday.         
Adjusting to boat life. We went into Road Town this a.m. and shopped for us, the boat, and for supplies. We then went on a drive around Tortola, starting with Soper’s Hole and the West End. We stopped at the Jolly Roger for beer and roti (curried meat, vegetables, potatoes, wrapped in a tortilla. (Very tasty!), then took the “high road” (mountain track) to the north side of the island.We visited Long Bay, Apple & Carrot Bay, Cane Garden Bay and Brewer’s Bay. We swam in the ocean, then stopped at Bomba’s Shack en route back to the boat. Bomba has built a shack on the beach out of driftwood and corrugated tin. Every time he finds more driftwood he extends his shack – until a hurricane comes along and he starts again! It is a very crude place – obviously – but he packs the crowds in at night, and particularly on full moons the place starts hopping. Some say that he puts “magic mushrooms” in his drinks and food at that time because many young folks leave their underwear pinned to the rafters – not a pleasant sight!! We returned to the boat via Road Town. The island is very native, but the people are friendly and there appears to be no real security problem. It is very mountainous and the roads go straight up! The weather was great all day, but as evening comes we have to prepare to repel mosquitoes. They are eating us alive!

1/21/98, Wednesday.    
After preparation in the morning, we left before noon for Jost Van Dyke. We headed west from Nanny Cay, between St, John (USVI), and Tortola. On the way a “Flipper” dolphin came up and took a look at us but was not too impressed because we were not going fast enough to keep him interested. He did swim across our bow, inspecting us closely, then took a good look at our dinghy, and then slowly swam away! We went past Soper’s Hole, through Thatch Island Cut, then directly across to Great Harbour, JVD, where we anchored for the night. We went into the little beach side village – sandy roads – and had a couple of drinks at the famous “Foxy’s”. The harbour fills completely up with boats on New Year’s Eve and several thousand people go to Foxy’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Apparently it is the place to be on New Year’s Eve, 1999 at the turn to the new Millenium. Must be lots of fun, but Foxy’s is nothing more than 6x6 pillars supporting a corrugated tin roof, with bars and tables underneath. We came back on board for dinner (thanks to Chloe) and passed the evening away sitting on deck watching the world go by.

1/22/98, Thursday.         
Got up early – 7 a.m., because we’re going to bed by 10 at night!! I took pictures of the sunrise – it was beautiful, and peaceful with no interruptions. Frankie was not up!! By 8 a.m. we were all up, with lemon poppy seed rolls for breakfast, then on our way to Sandy Cay before the “rush”. We were indeed the first to arrive, which gave us the choice of the anchorage spot. There was a moderate swell, which we had to navigate through with the dinghy to reach the beach. We landed without mishap. We then toured the island – all 5 acres!! It has a sandy beach all around, with bushes and small trees in the middle. It has been left in its natural state as a nature preserve, and I believe it is owned by the Rockefellers. We then snorkelled off the beach. ABSOLUTE PARADISE!  Got back on board to leave for Virgin Gorda by noon. We sailed all afternoon up the northern side of Tortola, up to Scrub Island, then decided to turn right and go to Marina Cay for the night, rather than to proceed to Gorda North Sound. Our timing was perfect. We dropped anchor off Marina Cay at 4:30p.m., with happy hour on board at 5. We saw a lot of flying fish en route, as well as gooney birds, which were diving for fish. That night we had a great dinner at Marina Cay, which has a six-bedroom hotel and a very nice restaurant.

1/23/98, Friday.            
Swells at night tended to keep us awake, and we have asked Mark if we can be sure to anchor in the lee of an island tonight. We left at noon(ish) and soon picked up the pace – 7+ kts. (max. 7.8 kts.) up through Sir Francis Drake Channel, past the “Dogs”, up around Mosquito Island into North Sound of Virgin Gorda. We arrived at the Bitter End Yacht Club around 2 p.m. It is a very attractive facility with a lot of cottage units, shops, bars, and all kinds of sailing services. Due to our lack of sleep we had a brief nap before heading in to shore, but we did not miss happy hour at the BEYC. Mark & Chloe fixed a very nice meal on board – BBQ Pork Tenderloins – and we listened to the steel band ashore, looked at the stars and talked. Bedtime was 10:30p.m.

1/24/98, Saturday.         
It must be all the fresh air, we slept well, with one brief rain shower in the a.m. causing us to get up to close the hatches. We got going at about 10a.m. Chloe had bought some fresh bread from the store, which tasted great with breakfast. First, when we got sails up in North Sound, Mark took the dinghy and took photographs of FY under sail. We then set sail for Anegada, which is due North of Virgin Gorda. It is about 18 miles away, and we initially thought it would take us 2 ½ hours, but with the winds, the helmsmanship of your truly, Mark, Chloe & “Fred” von Autohelm, we never went below 7 kts. so we did it in 1hr. & 40mins. Quite exhilarating. We actually got to the anchorage just before about 20 boats pulled in, so we got a preferred spot and had the fun of watching many chartering novices pick up moorings and drop anchors. In the afternoon we took the dinghy around to the north side of Anegada and walked miles on beautiful sandy beaches, and swam and snorkelled in somewhat cloudy water because of the state of the seas. The dinghy ride to the beach was kind of bumpy, but we were running with the swells. The return to the boat however was a different story and Frankie called it “the dinghy ride from Hell”. It was a 15 – 20 min. ride and we all got soaking wet. The island is very flat, 28 ft. above sea level  – sand on coral – about 10 miles long with about 150 people living on it. There are miles and miles of beautiful white beaches, with the sand being even lighter and pinker than Bermuda’s. We enjoyed happy hour on board, the went to Neptune’s Treasure for dinner. This restaurant and surrounding property is own by the Soares family, with Bermuda connections. Mark reckoned that he was a relative, and there is a Mark on that side of the family. We had lobster dinners, and there was enough to bring back some for lunch tomorrow. I even volunteered to cook. I must have been drunk!!

1/25/98, Sunday.            
A really rough night at anchor and we did not sleep too well. Several squalls went through with some high winds. Of course there is no lee shore off the main anchorage, so in most circumstances you get open sea conditions. We got up around 8 a.m. and Mark cooked his “Sunday morning special breakfast” – scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, OJ & coffee. It was great! We then set sail back to Virgin Gorda. Mark can really trim the boat so that even partially reefed we were crossing at 7+ kts. It took us about 2 hours until we dropped anchor off Spanish Town on the west side of Virgin Gorda. BRH made a lobster and tuna salad with leftovers from last night’s dinner. We then decided that our anchorage would be pretty bumpy overnight, so we arranged for a berth at the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, which was great. We walked around the shops and looked at all of the boats on dry land and in the marina. They have a large storage facility, with pits in which you can put quite large boats to shelter them for the hurricane season. Some of the boats on land were pretty badly damaged from prior hurricanes. I guess they weren’t in the pits at the time! We met the people next door to us. They were from Buffalo, NY, and a guy, Cuan, and his wife, Dolores, from Argentina. Cuan loved to sail, but he was trying to get his wife and daughters to enjoy it. They weren’t and it looked like he would spend his entire vacation right there!! We went to the pub, the Bath & Turtle, in the evening with “Jimmy” and Judy Cook, friends of M&C, to watch the Super Bowl on TV. Frankie was so sure that the Green Bay Packers would win, so I bet $20 on the Denver Broncos – the blue team! I won only to find that Frankie did not have $20!! We got to bed around 11:30p.m. FJH Note: I did manage to find $20 and paid my debt in full. The game was very close all the way through and exciting. Slept very well through the night with the boat in the berth over night.

1/26/98, Monday.         
We had a wonderful night’s sleep, and left the Yacht Harbour by 7:30a.m. to get to the “Baths” before the crowds. The Baths are large round granite boulders sitting on top of one another. You can walk under, over and through them. They are caused by very old volcanic conditions, where the granite was blended with sandstone, but over centuries the sandstone has been eroded by wind and wave action leaving the granite boulders perched on top of each other. It is extremely majestic and beautiful. It is a great snorkelling site, and we swam around the boulders checking out all of the different size and colours of fish. We will have to take Steve and Rosemary there when we return. We set sail for Norman Island, which is about an hour away. At one point our speed hit 8.2 kts. and we almost had the gunwales underwater. We anchored in the Bight and had a great lunch. Chicken & pasta, thanks again to Chloe. Frankie had an hours nap on deck. There was a barracuda swimming around the boat so we didn’t go swimming! FJH Note: We did feed it leftovers! BRH response: That’s why it’s swimming round the boat!!! We went to the Sir William Thornton for dinner tonight. The Willy T. is a small sailing, trading ship, which floats at anchor and has been stripped and converted into a bar & restaurant. It apparently gets quite wild late in the evening!  It was great, with lots of it. BRH had shrimp creole & FJH had ribs. It is nothing fancy, but people poured out of there ‘til 2 a.m. singing loudly as they went home by dinghy!

1/27/98, Tuesday.         
There were a few squalls during the night but we were able to sleep relatively alright. It is sunny and breezy this morning. We had a leisurely breakfast, sat at anchor during the morning, then left at about 11:30 a.m. We motored past the Treasure Caves on Norman Island, then motor-sailed back to Nanny Cay, getting there at 1 p.m. We celebrated the end of a wonderful week, and sat around the pool at the marina, soaking in the fresh water, and unwinding.

1/28/98, Wednesday.    
We got a taxi from Nanny Cay Marina around 7:30 a.m. to the airport. We really hated to leave the boat and sailing. We felt very relaxed, and much more fit than when we arrived. FJH Note: I could really get into this lifestyle! But all good things must come to an end, so they say. We are looking forward to returning in a couple of weeks.

2/18/98, Wednesday.    
Arrived at Beef Island Airport around 6:30 p.m. Mark & Chloe met us and took us to Brandywine Restaurant by Jeep. It is a great restaurant, with great food and beautiful views from the top of the mountain. We got to the boat around 11 p.m. and stayed up talking for about ½ an hour or so, then to bed. Air con. was on during the night and we  slept fairly well, even though it got cold!!

2/19/98, Thursday.         
Got up around 8 a.m. BRH broke a tooth which held his bridge, so first thing was to find a dentist – got a 9:05a.m. appointment. Later we will sail to Trellis Bay, and take the dinghy in to the dock by the airport. We’ll walk to the airport to meet Susan & Alan who arrived at 4:50 p.m. This will be their first time on Forever Young. First time even seeing the boat! They are staying until Sunday afternoon. We sailed from Nanny Cay to Trellis Bay – just over 2 hours sailing. It was rather rough (FJH didn’t take tablets and didn’t feel particularly good). We ate on board (and FJH felt better!) and then BRH/FJH took an hour’s nap while M&C went ashore. We went ashore around 4 p.m. and walked around the shops in Trellis Bay (2!) and we bought a BVI chart to be framed for Wintergreen. We then had a 2-minute walk to the airport to meet Susan & Alan. The ‘plane arrived on time – they thought the island was beautiful as they flew in. We took them to FY by dinghy (only one heavy bag, so 5 fit in easily!). They are very impressed with the boat. We had cheese and cracker during happy hour, then went to the Last Resort Restaurant, on the little island in the middle of Trellis Bay, for dinner. The buffet was very good. The island is owned and operated by a retired British RAF wing commander who puts on a lengthy “comedy hall” type act, with lots of songs like “Mad Dogs & Englishmen”, etc. and lots of jokes, some quite off-colour (English-style!), and he played a variety of instruments to support his act. He also had dogs howling, and a donkey, called Vanilla, braying to some of his songs. His daughter (quite dishy!) also joined him for a couple of songs. Back on board we studied the stars for a while, then crashed. FJH Note: Didn’t sleep too well, probably because of earlier nap, and it was hot & too many noises.

2/20/98, Friday.            
Up at 7 a.m. and motored from Trellis Bay to the Baths to get there before so many other boats. Too late – lots of people! Walked through the Baths. Alan loves to climb rocks, and he and Susan had a great time on the island, and we did too, swimming and snorkelling. We sailed off the mooring. Very impressive! We headed for Virgin Gorda North Sound and the Bitter End Yacht Club. We sailed for 1-½ hours to get there, and picked up a mooring before the crowd arrived. We went ashore and walked around the club for about an hour. We had drinks (happy hour) at the bar, then headed back to the boat for dinner (pasta & garlic bread were great!). We had a couple of light rain showers in the evening and went to bed around 10 p.m. Everyone was worn out from too much sun, swimming and sailing.

2/21/98, Saturday.         
We got up around 7:45p.m. , had cereal for breakfast, and M&C went to the store at the Bitter End Yacht Club. Alan & Susan talked to us about their plans to go into partnership with Lisa in Bristol, Tennessee. BRH agreed to back Susan, (as FJH knew he would!!) and they hope to move to Bristol in March, or early April at the latest. We sailed 3 ½ hours from North Sound down wind to Jost Van Dyke. On the way, we had about 12 dolphins join us and swim alongside the boat – what a sight that was! We stopped off at Green Cay, a very small island with a pure white beach all around it, to do some snorkelling. Around 2:30 p.m. we continued on to Great Harbour, where Foxy’s is located. We anchored, then went ashore to the bakery (bought only a banana bread loaf) and then went to Foxy’s for a drink, then back to the boat. We returned to Foxy’s for dinner at 7:30 p.m.(the first time ever the BRH went barefoot for dinner!!) We had a buffet of BBQ ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, salads – all really good. There was a live band playing calypso & reggae, so we danced and returned to the boat around 10:15 p.m. (BRH didn’t want to leave then – he was just getting into it!!) We got to bed by 11:15 p.m.

2/22/98, Sunday.            
We got up around 8 a.m., having slept very well. Some better than others!! Being Sunday, Mark cooked breakfast (pancakes & bacon) – “brunch” around 11 a.m. We left for Trellis Bay around noon, heading back to Trellis Bay. We made it in just over 3 hours, passing a 37 ft. Oyster Lightwave (which is supposed to be fast!) along the way. We averaged 7 ½ kts. We saw a large turtle as we were sailing along. Susan & Alan left at 5:10 p.m. They said they really had a great time & we truly believe they did. We returned to the boat, had a drink, after all it was happy hour, and fresh vegetables and dip that Chloe had prepared. We barbecued steaks on board and listened to the Last Resort show at a distance before turning in.

2/23/98, Monday.         
Got up around 8 a.m. and had fresh fruit & banana bread for breakfast. We left the mooring around 11 a.m. and sailed about 1 hour to Peter Island. We dropped anchor and went by dinghy to shore and explore the resort, and to have lunch. There was a salad buffet and all kinds of tremendous desserts. While there we saw “Wild Thing” a 55 ft. Oyster that had crossed with FY in the ARC. It seemed like it had been brought to Peter Island, tied up & left. It looked in sad shape. Too bad!! Peter Island is a beautiful resort and marina, but very expensive to stay – about $600 per night. This is where Princess Di used to stay!! We got moving again at 3 p.m., pulling up anchor and moving around the island to Little Harbour, which is nicely sheltered for the night. We swam and snorkelled during the afternoon. We saw the remoras (or something like that!). They are the suckerfish that hang about with sharks. They were on the bottom under the boat (about 50 ft.) and identified FY as a shark. Since they were about 3-4 ft. long, they gave you quite a scare when they came away from the boat to greet you when you came back from your exploration! Chloe made a chicken dinner, and we were very happy that the weather had been so great all week. M&C went down about 9:30 p.m., but FJH & BRH stayed up until about 11 p.m.

2/24/98, Tuesday.         
Got up around 8 a.m. with breakfast on deck. We left for Nanny Cay in the morning because BRH had a business lunch. Typical!! FJH went to the pool back at Nanny Cay for a couple of hours. In the evening, we all went to Pussers at Soper’s Hole, and in the taxi on the way back we picked up 8 ladies from a guesthouse to take home. Apparently, this is quite okay. We pay the bill, they get the ride!! It was a very fast ride home. I don’t know who was showing off, but the taxi driver was quite a cowboy!!

2/25/98, Wednesday.    
We were up by 6:15 a.m. to get a cab to the airport at 7:15 a.m. We sure hated to go!!

3/24/98, Tuesday.         
The Kendells & Halls left Bermuda at 7:20 a.m. in the morning, and arrived at Beef Island at 7:30 p.m. – a long day! Mark met us at the airport, and Forever Young was anchored in Trellis Bay. It is amazing how quickly FJH & BRH are getting used to the boat and our surroundings, and it is great to be able to show our friends our new lifestyles. Conscious of people comfort, we took two trips to the boat in the dinghy with four of us and luggage. Gerry and Ron Evans were already on the boat, having arrived the day before us. After freshening up, we all went to the Last Resort for dinner and the show. Yes. He was still there with his dogs, mule, daughter, corny jokes, songs and entertainment. FJH thinks it is a cute show! BRH won a bottle of Last Resort white wine for demonstrating the “skills” of playing the digeridoo (you know the Australian thing!). We all rolled back to the boat around 1 a.m. with the Halls aft, Kendells forward, and the Evans on deck!!

3/25/98, Wednesday.    
Got up around 7:30 a.m. & we all had home made muffins for breakfast with orange juice & coffee. Some were fitter than others, but we soon got going, and headed for the Baths. We took our friends through the boulders, then went swimming and snorkelling around the beach areas. We returned to the boat and sailed to the Bitter End Y.C. – been there, done that! We anchored outside Bitter End & had lunch on board and relaxed during the afternoon. We had cocktails on board (you can tell when we have guests – “cocktails” rather than “happy hour”!), then went ashore for dinner. Great meal, but got back to the boat by about 9:30 p.m. because everyone was tired. Got an early night!

3/26/98, Thursday.         
Got up around 7:30 a.m. and had a lazy morning, getting off the mooring by 10:15 a.m. We sailed to Peter Island and dropped anchor in Deadman’s Bay. We took the dinghy ashore and toured the island and lunched at the beach restaurant. We then went around to Little Harbour where we swam and spent the evening on board. There was a good breeze, so it was nice and cool and we all seemed to sleep well.

3/27/98, Friday.            
We sailed straight across to Nanny Cay from Little Harbour on our jib alone, getting back to the marina and embarking on Pegasus II. It is a beautiful yacht, but not to our liking. We feel too much like a visitor (guest), rather than an owner, or sailor! We motored from Nanny Cay to Norman Island – the Bight – and in the evening went to the Sir William Thornton for dinner. Leaving the Willie T. Gerry fell and twisted her ankle, which was too bad. She was fairly uncomfortable with this sprain. We got back on board Pegasus by 10:30 p.m. and turned in fairly early. At least Ron & Gerry now have a cabin, and FJH & BRH have the aft suite, which is quite luxurious. The crew is all very nice, helpful and friendly, with Captain Todd; 1st. Mate Cuhn; Deckhand “Boy”.

3/28/98, Saturday.         
Got up around 8:30 a.m. We really slept in!! FJH could not sleep on the bed (with a 5 degree list!!) so she moved to the couch in the aft cabin, then slept very well. BRH had the whole double bed to himself!! Captain Todd put up the genoa this morning to sail to Jost Van Dyke – about a 3-hour sail. It rained for most of the way, but being in an air-conditioned saloon isn’t all bad! It continued to rain all day, so we all sat around talking, reading and taking naps. We went to Foxy’s about 6:30 p.m. for dinner – great buffet, but too much food! Foxy sang and told jokes, since his band did not show up. We got back on board and to bed around 11:30 p.m. We kept the port holes open and had a nice breeze, so we slept pretty well.

3/29/98, Sunday.            
We got up around 7:30 a.m. We had coffee and fruit, and Chloe made muffins for breakfast on board. Kendells & BRH went ashore with Mark to dump garbage & take pictures of the one street on the island – sand! Because the windlass is broken, we pulled up the anchor the long way!! It takes about ½ hour because we are using one of the primary winches, with lots of chain and lines on the deck, leading aft to the winch. It is not a pretty sight!! When we were free of the bottom, we headed for Green Cay – a small island with beach all around and greenery in the middle. We took a picnic that Chloe had prepared, which was, as usual, marvellous. The weather was fantastic, and the food was great! We swam, snorkelled, rested and shot the bull on the island, and returned to Pegasus at about 3:30 p.m. to get ready for happy hour and dinner on board. Since Mark was not responsible for operating the boat, he took charge of the barbecue. The wind veered dramatically around 6 p.m. and we started to drift down on another boat, so the crew started to pull up the anchor to move to another sheltered area (remember the drill that I reported above!). By the time we had the anchor up the wind was howling and we were in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm. It absolutely bucketed down, with the boat rocking back and forth. Visibility was zero, with the rain coming horizontal to the boat. The barbecue went out before the meat was cooked, and when I asked Mark, who was barbecuing in his bathing suit, if he thought everything was OK, he said “How do I know, I’m just the cook!!”. It was clear that we had to find a sheltered harbour, but without a working radar, and solely with charts and GPS we were somewhat blind. We stayed in the channel north of Tortola during the worst of it, then headed east towards White Bay. We rescued the meat from the barbecue and Mark & Chloe finished it off in the frying pan in the galley, and we had a great “birthday” dinner for Mark in the saloon. We finally got to White Bay after a couple of hours in the storm, and everyone was relieved that we were once again able to see the stars, and calm started to abound!

3/30/98, Monday.         
We tried to sail, and got 3 sails up, but no wind! We finally motored around and anchored in Trellis Bay. We had lunch on board – sandwiches with home-made bread, thanks to Chloe. The Fire Brigade representatives then came out and asked us to move Pegasus because we were anchored in line with the runway of the airport, and ‘planes could not land without flying directly over our mast. Daaah! The Kendells, Evans, Halls & M&C went onto the Beef Island to the Loose Mongoose for dinner while Todd and the crew took Pegasus around the island to Road Town for the night. The eight of us then went back to Road Town via cab to rejoin Pegasus. It was a hot, sticky night, and we did not sleep very well.

3/31/98, Tuesday.         
Got up at 6:30 a.m., and the Kendells left at 7 to return to Bermuda. The Evans leave this evening, and the Hymans arrive at 2:15 this afternoon. Susan called us at 9:30 a.m. to let us know that she & Alan had arrived in Bristol, Tennessee after a 15 hour drive from Florida. Mark & Chloe left Pegasus in Road Town to get Forever Young set up because we did not think that we wanted to take Pegasus to St. Martin as originally planned. Too much was wrong with the boat! However we took Pegasus around Beef Island and picked up the Hymans at about 3 p.m. Pegasus did not drop anchor for “obvious” reasons. She just “floated” while we went ashore, got Al and Louisa, and re-boarded. We then motored around Beef Island into the Francis Drake Channel, with Al & Louisa, Ron & Gerry on board, only to be besieged with “Pegasus problems yet again Captain Todd called a “Pan Pan – suspected engine room fire” in the middle of the Francis Drake Channel!! We certainly attracted the Virgin Island Search & Rescue squad – and everyone else!! Chloe heard us on the radio, and Mark was of two minds to come out and rescue us from the clutches of the Pegasus demons! It turned out that we had thrown a water pump belt and the engine had overheated. We were able to replace the belt and finally get on our way to Nanny Cay where we had a berth. When we got there we had to have Mark use his dinghy to act as our bow thruster to get into the dock – no hydraulics!! When I finally jumped ashore I went running up the dock shouting “ I’m free!!!”. Pegasus is not the type of boat for me! Ron & Gerry left for the airport that evening, and we took the Hymans, M&C and Todd to an Italian restaurant in town, then to Pussers for a night cap. Thank heavens we were free of Pegasus. Sell the */**@# boat!

4/1/98, Wednesday.      
Happy Birthday, Mark!  Though we slept on Pegasus, we transferred to Forever Young in the morning. Took a cab with the Hymans to Soper's Hole for lunch, shop and walk about. We returned  to FY at 2:30 p.m. and cast off about 4 p.m. for Cooper Island. We passed Pegasus “sulking” on the way out!! We arrived at Coopers, anchored and went ashore for an early dinner so that we could leave for St. Maarten by 8 p.m. We actually got underway by 8:30 p.m., after a wonderful sunset. We were able to get all sails up and depart on a beam reach. Mark gave us all safety instructions since we were doing a night time crossing of about 80+ miles, out of sight of land. We were to wear safety harnesses when up top, and attach personal safety strobe lights. We were told what to do in a man overboard situation, and Mark showed us where all through hull fittings were, in case of any sudden flooding being experienced. This was FJH & my first crossing out of sight of land, so it was quite an exciting experience. FJH stayed on deck most of the night, because that way she could have the wind blowing in her face. Neither of us got seasick, but Al got ill early in the morning. FJH had taken 2 Stugeron at the beginning of the trip, and one after 8 hours, and that seemed to do the trick. I went below and slept a couple of hours, and FJH slept some in the cockpit.

4/2/98, Thursday.          
The trip took 12 hours under sail and 2 hours motoring at the end to arrive in Philipsburg Harbour, on the Dutch side of St. Maarten (the French side is St. Martin). When we arrived we had a short nap, and then had lunch before going into town. We went ashore and cleared customs and immigration, then rented an 8 seater van to drive to the French side of the island. Because the driving is on the right, we appointed Al to do the driving and Mark was elected navigator since he had been here before. We saw many seriously damaged boats as we drove around Simpson Sound, obviously from a hurricane several seasons ago. We also then came across a derelict resort, Mullet Bay, and golf course – obviously closed after the hurricane. It did not appear that any work was being done to reinstate it, however there were several of the units occupied. Maybe they had been rented to the locals. We went around to Marigot and went to a wharf area for dinner at a restaurant called “Bistrot des Arts”. Afterwards we drove back to the boat and crashed for the night. We were all dead tired from lack of sleep the night before.

4/3/98, Friday.                
We had breakfast on the boat and went ashore mid-morning. Things are very cheap in St. Maarten, so Mark wanted to stock up with items from the chandlery. We went to several and bought several things for FY and for Thetis. We then headed for the French side (again!) and continued our tour through Marigot to Orient Beach – which was supposed to be a nudey beach. There was not much worth looking at! Unfortunately, turning the van around, Al backed the van into a large rock at the edge of the beach, and the cost of the car rental went up $500 (the deductible!) We had lunch at one of the small bar/restaurants on Orient Bay, and then went to a small marina, Oyster Pond, in the afternoon. This was an interesting area, being right out on a point at the end of a pretty barren road. The return trip, heading back towards Philipsburg was even worse, on an unpaved road for about 5 miles. We stopped to buy groceries and liquor (lots) to stock the boat at the cheap prices (CC was about $8 a litre vs. $25 in Bermuda!). We then returned to the boat (after drinks at the Greenhouse), but then went ashore for dinner at Chesterfields. We went back to the Greenhouse and then went to the casino. Mark lost the $10 that Chloe allowed him to have. Al was ahead at the end of the evening, and we were down about $100. We got back on board by about midnight.

4/4/98, Saturday.            
We set sail fairly early for St. Bartholomey (St. Barths), a French island, 9 sq. miles in size, about 15 miles away from St. Maarten. We arrived in Gustavia, the main port & town about noon time. It was very quiet because France stands still between 12 to 3p.m., and it appeared that St. Barths closes on Saturday afternoon. We wanted to rent a car, but all the rental companies in town were closed. We therefore got a taxi to give us a tour. In Gustavia, we noted that “Starr Trail” (Rob Mulderig’s boat) was tied up, and Mark hoped to catch up with her skipper, Blair Simmons, later. We had also anchored next to “No Rehearsal”, the Oyster 70 that had won the ’97 ARC, and we had visited her in St. Lucia. We started our tour by going over the hill where the ‘planes come in for their landing on the tiny air-strip.  They have been known to touch the top of trucks and buses on their final approach, and it was interesting to note the number of tourists waiting at the top of the hill to witness the next “near miss”. We went around Baie St. Jean and over to Cul de Sac and the southern end of the island. It was obvious that we were taken the “taxi tour” route, but the scenery was fabulous, as was the island.

FJH and I talked about returning and staying ashore sometime. We stopped at La Salines Bay for a picnic and swim. This is a beach that permits topless, bottomless, all over sunbathing, so it was quite an interesting visit. We had our picnic, and as I was walking into the water for a swim (in my bathing suit!), I recognised the person coming out, not 10 feet away. It was Ricky Faries, from Bermuda, (in his bathing suit)! He and his wife had been in St. Barths for a week, and had hoped that they would not see anyone they knew. These Bermudians get everywhere! Later, in Gustavia, we saw Rob Mulderig and his wife, Jane, at the dock alongside their boat. Rob recommended that we try “La Sapotillier” for dinner. We were certainly not disappointed. It is a small courtyard restaurant, with only about 10 – 12 tables, and the owner, Adam, makes a big fuss over you, and the food was out of this world. We returned to FY at about 10 p.m. passing the huge mega-yachts tied up, stern to, at the dock. We have a ver early start tomorrow!

4/5/98, Sunday.             
We pulled up anchor at 1 a.m. and headed on a direct bearing for Virgin Gorda. Unfortunately we had to motor-sail the whole way since the winds were so light (~ 5-6 kts.). It was a long trip back, and we arrive at Round Rock ( I think) at about 3:30p.m. We returned to Nanny Cay (and Pegasus) and tied up for the night. We went into Road Town for dinner at the Captains’ Table and to watch the fireworks celebrating the end of the BVI Regatta. We returned to FY at about 10 p.m., absolutely exhausted from our crossing.

4/6/98, Monday.            
I had a meeting with BVIers. in the morning, but we were able to leave Nanny Cay around noon. Due to the wind direction, we were able to moor off the northern side of Norman Island (unusual), and we spent the afternoon snorkelling, swimming and sunning. “Last day blues” were setting in! We left Norman Island around 4:30 p.m. to sail to Trellis Bay. We were fortunate that the wind was in a perfect position for us to fly our new cruising chute. It was outstanding, and the sail down the Sir Francis Drake Channel was fantastic. At one point I climbed in the dinghy and drifted way behind to try to get a reasonable picture of this wonderful red, white and blue spinnaker. We got to Trellis Bay around 6 p.m., anchored and got cleaned up, then went ashore to the Loose Mongoose for dinner. Sure do hate to leave in the morning!

4/7/98, Tuesday.            
We returned to Bermuda with our diary. En route back to BVI at the end of April, BRH travelled to San Diego to attend a conference. Unfortunately my suit bag, and our diary, went “walk about” and were not recovered until the end of June. Therefore additional FY adventures until July will have to be from memory.

5/1/98, Friday.                
I arrived in the evening from San Diego to meet up with FY for the crossing to Bermuda. Andrew Marshall and Mark’s dad, Dukie, joined us for the crossing.

5/2/98, Saturday.            
We did a shake-down cruise to Little Harbour on Peter Island to allow the crew to get to know the boat. We swam and snorkelled during the afternoon, then returned to Nanny Cay in the evening. We were ready!

5/3/98, Sunday.             
The weather was still not co-operating with us, so we were grounded for another day! We therefore took a tour around Tortola, visiting all of the “usual” spots, then drove up Mt. Sage, hiking to the very top. The views were spectacular since this is the highest point of the island.

5/4/98, Monday.            
At noon we left Nanny Cay for Bermuda. It was drizzling, no breeze and we motor-sailed from Nanny Cay, through Soper's Hole and the Thatch Islands into the North Channel of Tortola. We went to the East of Jost van Dyke and set a direct course for Bermuda, some 860 miles away. We actually set “Fred” to take us to the second channel mark off St. George’s Town Cut. Nothing particularly exciting happened during the first night. We were all getting used to watch keeping, and each other. I realised that the true definition of watches is that I must watch my partner who must watch me! That way neither of us sleep during our watch!!

5/5/98, Tuesday.            
We caught a fair sized dolphin this morning. Unfortunately I was sleeping down below at the time, so all of this clatter and banging takes place over my head. By the time I get up and go see what happened, the fillets were all in plastic bags and the carcass was overboard! Boy! Andrew works fast!! We had the fish between rolls for lunch, with mayonnaise. It was probably the best fish sandwich I’ve ever tasted. The winds ranged between 15 – 20 kts. During the day and night, and we had covered 240 miles by midnight.

5/6/98, Wednesday.      
Light breezes all day. Uneventful. Engine on the whole time!!

5/7/98, Thursday.          
The morning was monotonous, with “No wind, no ships” in the log. We had about 4-5 kts. Of wind. At 5 a.m. I wrote “Excitement! Changed way-point for Bermuda” – we’d done 421 miles. By noon, the winds had come up and we were clocking along at 7 – 8 kts. with winds of 25 – 33 kts. Unfortunately the wind died again in the evening.

5/8/98, Friday.                
We continued to motor-sail, but we are getting closer to Bermuda. We saw some shipping, and sail boats heading in the same and opposite directions to us. There were lots of stars at night. It is amazing on the ocean, the sunrises, sunsets and night skies are absolutely overwhelmingly beautiful – at least when it’s relatively cloudless and calm!

5/9/98, Saturday.            
We ended up motor-sailing the rest of the way to Bermuda. If we had not turned “Fred” off in time, we would have hit the channel marker, which was our way point. Not bad for ~860 miles! We tightened up the lines, and were fortunate that the wind was on our beam so that we could sail through Town Cut. There was a gallery of well-wishers, family and friends assembled at Gates Fort, so we entertained them by playing “Forever Young” over the loud speaker system as we arrived home. We cleared customs and immigration with no problems, and it was good to get in. We had time to get around to Hamilton and tie up at the RBYC before dark.

5/10 – 6/30/98                
BERMUDA – “fastened” to the RBYC dock at the pleasure and direction of HM Customs. Visiting Bermuda yachts are not allowed to be used if customs duty is not paid on them!! DUMB!

6/30/98, Tuesday.         
Departed Bermuda at 6 a.m. headed for Newport. Apart from Mark, Chloe and me, we took along Steve Kendell, Mike Ternent and Nick Pettit. We split into 3 watches: Forward – Mark & Chloe; Middle – Mike & Nick; Aft – Steve & me. Though we left so early, we motored until 6 p.m. when the wind came up to ~ 15kts. During the night we recorded 15 – 26 kts. of wind and early on the morning of the 1st. we averaged 7.3 kts. over a 3 hour period.

7/1/98, Wednesday.      
We encountered a “confused” sea during the day, with winds up to 30 kts. We could really barrel along under sail, however that night it calmed down again and the engine was turned on by 9:30 p.m.  Steve and  I were on watch in the late evening and watched lightening and thunder heads building behind us, but we were sailing out of the bad weather.

7/2/98, Thursday.          
The seas have settled down. At about 10:30 a.m. we entered the Gulf Stream, but we encountered no undue turbulence – apparently sometimes it is like running into a 3 – 4 ft. wall, depending upon the strength of the current. By 2 p.m. Mike recorded that “seas settled, reviewed past life, vowed not to sin again”. We saw whales, spouting in the distance, and the seas calmed even further, with a “spectacular sunset” – at least BRH saw the “green flash” and knows the secret!

7/3/98, Friday.                
Calm, to flat calm, seas. We are now seeing several long-line fishing boats, and buoys marking the lines strung out 70 ft. below. A school of 20 – 30 dolphin adopted us for a while, and great photo opportunities abound. They are so quick and agile as they pass through the water with minimal effort. As they swim alongside the boat, they roll onto their sides to “check us out”. We also saw more whales, turtles, and a rare sun fish, sunning itself on the surface. Chloe recorded “birds doing donuts above us”. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. we kept hearing loud gunfire, which could only be naval ships firing, but we saw nothing. We were moving along so well – albeit under motor – that we decided to slow down to avoid arriving in Newport in the dark. We drifted for 2 hours during "happy hour”, watching videos, then slowly getting under way to finish our passage to Newport. During the night, we could see lights in the distance but not land due to fog (we discovered later).

7/4/98, Saturday.            
At about 5 a.m. Mike & Nick called Mark up because “something big” was in front of us. It turned out to be an aircraft carrier, which politely moved to one side out of our way as we approached. We entered Newport Harbour just after dawn in a damp sea fog. Everything was shroud in moisture and white. We picked up a mooring at Cananticut Marina at 7 a.m. With all the Independence Day celebrations, and our own reason to celebrate, we hit Newport before lunch, went to the Brick Alley Pub for lunch, then found Christie’s dock after lunch where the crew (not me!) dived into the Heinekens. We stayed there through the afternoon and evening – having dinner there before moving on at about 10:30 p.m. Unfortunately, the fireworks that had been promised were a disappointment because of misty, foggy conditions. We ended up at the bar overlooking the street at the Clarke Cooke House for a night cap before returning to the boat around midnight!

7/5 – 7/8/98                     
The rest of the time in Newport was somewhat a blur, but on the 6th. We all went out to Mystic Seaport for the day, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were many displays of whaling, trades and crafts, and rebuilt ships. I really liked the gallery, which had some great paintings and models for sale. I made a mental note to return with FJH to buy one next time.

7/8/98, Wednesday.      
Returned to Bermuda.    

8/14/98, Friday.            
FJH & I flew to Boston, rented a car and drove to Newport. FY was in the Newport Harbour Marina, all polished and clean, waiting for us. We had invited Don Illingworth to join us, and he and Mark were already waiting for us. We went to the Candy Store for dinner – part of the Clarke Cooke House, and Paul Hubbard arrived from Boston and joined us there. Don had been visiting his mother in Connecticut, and Paul was laying over after a business trip before going home.

8/15/98, Saturday.         
We left early for Block Island – the “Bermuda of the North East”! We got there about lunchtime. At least we didn’t have to clear customs & immigration!! We went ashore and spent the afternoon wandering around the town. We had dinner ashore, then walked back to the boat in the dark – about 1 ½ miles.

8/16/98, Sunday.            
We rented a car and DWI, PBH, FJH & I took a tour of the island. We found that it had a lot of interesting history, with Indian invasions, the lot, and was very scenic. But not Bermuda!! In the afternoon we sailed back to Newport, and PBH left in the evening for his return to Boston to catch the flight in the morning.

8/17/98, Monday.         
DWI left this morning and Tom & Liz Kelsey arrived around noontime. The weather was so bad that we decided not to go anywhere in the afternoon. We just wandered around Newport, and more particularly Thames Street. We stayed at Newport Harbour Marina again for the night.

8/18/98, Tuesday.         
We departed Newport early a.m. and sailed to Martha’s Vineyard. It was an all day sail, and we arrived at Edgartown at about 4 p.m. We didn’t realise how popular M.V. was and we had to go round, past Edgartown and anchor deep inside the bay – really an inland lake! To go back to Edgartown we had to get an open harbour launch to pick us up, and it took 15 – 20 minutes to get into town. We went to a restaurant that Tom Trimingham’s relatives operate. It was a very old inn, with a “secret door” – which we found we were sitting next to. We had a wonderful meal, and then walked around the town. On the way back in the launch the heavens opened up and it literally “lashed down” with rain for the 15 – 20 minute crossing back to the boat. The thunder and lightning was fierce. We all got back to FY drenched and cold. It was the same night that Bill Clinton and family arrived (after Willy had said to America “I did it, and I’m sorry!”. We figured that God was punishing him because the thunder and lightning continued for a long time into the night.

8/19/98, Wednesday.    
We went back into Edgartown and toured the sights. We didn’t see Bill, but the town itself was a very backswoodsy type New England town, with beautiful homes and gardens. We did a bit of souvenir shopping then returned to the boat in time for lunch. We left for Woods Hole at lunchtime and got there by around 5:30 p.m. Woods Hole is nothing but a town built up around various ocean research institutions, such as NOAA, and SEA (Sail Education Association). The folks at BUEI had given me the name of the President of SEA, Rafe Parker, but I called and left a message, but he didn’t call back. (I found out afterwards that I had been given his home number, and he had set everything up for me in his office!!) As we sailed in, both of SEA’s schooners were leaving port. What a wonderful sight they were. We got a mooring from Woods Hole Yacht Club, and cleaned up and went into the town for dinner. We found a great little waterfront pub/restaurant, Captain Kidd restaurant, and sat overlooking the water and had a great meal.

8/20/98, Thursday.         
We left early for the sail back to Newport, since the Kelseys needed to get back as early as possible to start the drive back to their home in New Hampshire. We had an uneventful return, unfortunately having to motor-sail all of the way. We dropped the Kelseys back at Newport Harbour Marina, then crossed the harbour to Conanticut Marina where we had booked a berth. We cleaned up, then went up the Oyster Bar in Jamestown for dinner. This is a nice little, noisy restaurant, with good food and great looking waitresses. They were nice to us because they knew Mark!!

8/21/98, Friday.            
Mark, FJH & I rented a car and went back to Mystic Seaport. I was anxious to show FJH around and we spent a very nice day touring all of the exhibits. At the end of the day, gradually sidling towards the art gallery, I took Frankie in, and got to buy “the painting”. A bit more expensive than planned, but it will surely complement the paintings of Bermuda fitted dinghies that I have at home.

8/22/98, Saturday.

8/23/98, Sunday.            
Both days we toured Newport and spent money, and relaxed.

8/24/98, Monday.         
In the morning FJH & I left and went back to Boston. During the afternoon we visited the Titanic exhibition, and the Boston market. We had dinner at the Union Oyster House before returning to our hotel at the airport.

8/25/98, Tuesday.         
We flew back to Bermuda.

9/15 – 20/98.                  
I flew up to Newport from Virginia to meet with representatives of Easgate – Ken & Manoli, and Jon Borrill. We had meetings, but Jon & I stayed on the boat. After our meetings, Jon and I stayed on to attend the Newport Boat Show. Boy, the number of boats on display! In amongst them all was a brand new Oyster 56, Gosling, which was the show boat for Oyster. Visiting it made me start to look forward to the new Forever Young next year. During our visit to the show good decisions were made for the new one.

9/25/98, Friday.            
Steve Kendell, Rob and I went to Boston to join FY in Newport to take her to Annapolis. We drove down to Newport & got there late in the afternoon. Roger Gillett also came down, after a business trip, with plans to go as far as Chesapeake City in the C&D Canal, Maryland, then jump ship and catch a ‘plane on Monday morning from BWI.  We all ate at the Oyster Bar in Jamestown – a “last” supper! Unfortunately, Rob decided that this truly was his “last supper” and ate oysters, then surf & turf. He really “carbo-loaded”. We left at 8 p.m. with a favourable tide, and, as we headed out we were confronted with a steep sea, which was directly on the nose. We had a short, sharp chop through the evening, with spray coming into the cockpit. I am sorry to say that Rob lost his supper and FY was artfully painted with it!

9/26/98, Saturday.         
He disappeared down below and “passed out”. I am proud to say, however, that when he was asked whether he felt well enough to stand his watch at 3 a.m., he appeared on deck within 5 minutes – more dead than alive, but he was there! At 6:15 a.m., after his watch, he wrote in the log: “Out at sea – I feel like crap!”. The sea settled down during the morning as we cleared the land, but all day the wind was dead on the nose. The reason that we had had such a bad night, of course, was that the sea was funnelling into Newport Bay, between Block Island and Montauk, Long Island. It also shelves up quite dramatically, so the ocean swells built to quite dramatic proportions.

9/27/98, Sunday.            
Early in the a.m. we entered the Delaware Bay, turning to starboard we were able to hoist sails and had a great sail up the Delaware River. A few tankers and cargo ships passed us going up, or coming down the river. We kept clear of them! The weather was clear and cool, and very pleasant. We entered the C&D Canal at 5 p.m., and Rob entered in the log “Happy hour just begun – Gotta go.”  He had survived. We came into Chesapeake City Marina and, as we approached the dock we found that the engine kept stalling when we changed gears. We finally got in with some difficulty, and skipper Mark had to go overboard and clear a piece of polypropylene rope from our prop. I guess that, during our ocean crossing we had gone over a fish pot, and cut the buoy away, wrapping some of the pick-up line around the prop. We had a great dinner at the Bayard House in Chesapeake City, and were thankful to get a good nights sleep at the dock.

9/28/98, Monday.         
Roger left really early to get to Baltimore for his flight to Bermuda. We departed and had a very peaceful passage, passing beautiful homes, with magnificent lawns and boathouse, on the Chesapeake. There was some early morning mist, which cleared as the sun came up. We motored down the Chesapeake, passing Baltimore to starboard, going under the Bay Bridge and getting to Annapolis Landings Marina in early afternoon. FJH had come up from Wintergreen via Hagerstown, so she had booked rooms at the Annapolis Marriott for herself and Peter & Cindy. We all got together that evening, and I was persuaded to stay ashore in the hotel that night.

9/29/98, Tuesday.         
We took Peter & Cindy out in the boat to give them a real experience. Unfortunately the wind was very light so, yet again, we motor-sailed. We went down the river for a distance, towards St. Michael’s Harbour, then came back the same way. I think they really enjoyed it. Rob left to pick up Libby & Ellie at BWI, then came back to Annapolis so that we could all have dinner at the Chart House together. Rob & Libby then left to go down to the Eastern Shore to visit Betsy for the night.

9/30/98, Wednesday.    
Peter & Cindy left in the morning, and we left FY in the afternoon and went to Washington (McLean) for dinner with Owen Bubell and his boss. We then drove up to BWI and stayed in the Marriott overnight to be able to catch our flight back to Bermuda in the a.m.

SUBSEQUENT TO THESE ACTIVITIES, MARK & CHLOE, AND CREW (INCLUDING JONATHAN SAUL & ELLYANN) BROUGHT FY FROM ANNAPOLIS, AFTER THE BOAT SHOW (WE SOLD THE BOAT!), DOWN THE CHESAPEAKE, AND TO BERMUDA. THEY DEPARTED ANNAPOLIS ON 10/15/98 AND ARRIVED IN BERMUDA 10/20/98. FY STAYED IN BERMUDA, AGAIN AT THE DIRECTION OF HM CUSTOMS, THEN LEFT FOR ANTIGUA ON 11/14/98. THE CREW INCLUDED STEVE KENDELL, WHO HAS REALLY TAKEN TO THIS WAY OF LIFE. THEY ARIVED IN ANTIGUA ON 11/20/98. BOTH CROSSINGS WERE RELATIVELY UNEVENTFUL.

11/28/98, Saturday.       
BRH & FJH arrived in Antigua at about 7:30 p.m. and went straight to the Mill Reef Club to the home of Joe & Mary Jane Platt. We did not realise until we got there that it really was their home. They were in the middle of closing on it that day. We met up with Mark & Chloe at the Platts, and we all had dinner at their home. The entire Platt family and friends were there, and we offered to take them sailing the following day. Joe took us to FY, which was berthed at the MR Yacht Club, and we turned in fairly early.

11/29/98, Sunday.         
We breakfasted on board, and at about 10 a.m. the Platt family arrived. Because Joe & Mary Jane were in the middle of closing on their home, they did not join us, but the children and friends came along for a sail. Because Nonsuch Bay (where MRYC is) is only accessed from the north east, we soon got into the Atlantic chop and it was clear that at least one passenger was not going to make it!! We returned to the shelter of the Bay, and dropped anchor in the shelter of Green Island. We had a fabulous “Chloe” lunch then we all went snorkelling and swimming around the island. We returned in the late afternoon and were again hosted by the Platts that evening for dinner. Their house comes with live-in staff, and so the meal was cooked for them. Joe showed us around the house and asked for me to come up with some renovation ideas.

11/30/98, Monday.       
We left MRYC and sailed along the east, southeast coast of Antigua, past Willoughby Bay, into English Harbour (Nelson’s Dockyard). The weather was somewhat squally and choppy, but we rounded Shirley Heights and arrived late in the morning. Nelson’s Dockyard was still showing much damage from the recent hurricane, with boarding up, and roofs hanging at strange angles. We took on a load of water, then left and went around to Falmouth Harbour, had lunch on board, then went to the Antigua Yacht Club where we saw them preparing for a Charter Yacht Brokers’ Show. The billions of dollars of boats tied up in the harbour was just staggering. Of course we went on an “Oyster Hunt” and saw several. “No Rehearsal” was there, as was a new 61 footer, and an older 45’ Oyster. While on land, we walked back to Nelson’s Dockyard to clear immigration and customs. We returned to the boat, then sailed to Dickenson Bay on the north western side of Antigua to give us a clear shot at Nevis in the morning. We got there before dark, and put ashore on the beach in the dinghy. We were thrown out of Sandals when we went there looking for dinner – not properly dressed to their standard – even though we were wearing sandals!!! We finally ate at the Coconut Grove, which could not have been better. They were very friendly people and served great food.

12/1/98, Tuesday.                        
We left early to make our crossing to Nevis. The seas were rolling with the wind over our starboard aft quarter. There were squalls all around, and all in all it was a tiring crossing. We got to Nevis in the early afternoon and anchored off Charlestown so that Mark, with Chloe, could go in and clear Customs and Immigration. It was obvious that Nevis had suffered from a hurricane a few months before, with a small freighter washed up on the beach – I wonder whether it will be pulled off, or just left to rust out? Once we cleared, we went along the coast to an anchorage off Pinneys Beach for the night. We stayed on board over night, and went to bed early.

12/2/98, Wednesday.    
Left for Charlestown early and rented a 4-wheel drive Isuzu. We first went to the gas “works” to recharge our bottled gas. This entailed us travelling down a deep pot-holed, muddy and wet road, making a real mess of our clean exterior in no time. Afterwards we started a counter-clockwise tour of Nevis, stopping at several resorts, including Hermitage and Nisbet Plantations en route. We went along some very rough, mountain roads that had obviously been washed out by the recent hurricane and a lot of rain in the recent month. At one point the road was washed out to a depth of about 3 feet, in a gully that was probably 6 feet across. While we stopped here to look at wild monkeys in the trees, we ended up pulling rocks out of the sides of the road to fill in the gully and make it passable for us! We ended up on the East Coast of Nevis on an open plain and had lunch at a limekiln on the shore. The poor car was forced to go over major rough terrain during the day! We called on the home of friends of Mark & Chloe – Steve and Eileen. They were not home, but their house was all built by Steve, and is powered just like a boat, with a 12-volt battery system. We planned to revisit later. After several rum punches, we ended up at “Sunshine’s” on Pinneys Beach for another rum punch before returning to the boat. Sunshine’s is another Bomba Shack type establishment, of clapboard, painted in gaudy colours. It sits on the boundary of the Four Seasons. Whereas the hotel had $15 million of damage from the hurricane and was yet to reopen, Sunshine’s was demolished and rebuilt in 4 days! We returned to land that evening, called on Steve and Eileen for a quick drink – boy, there house is interesting, with very much a nautical design and theme. We travelled down further extremely rough roads, and ate dinner ate the Hermitage Plantation. A British TV crew was filming the evening to air on a travel programme in the UK. We got back to FY fairly late.

12/3/98, Thursday.         
We deliberated whether to go to St. Kitts today, but the weather was predicted to be fairly rough, so we decided to stay where we were in the lee of Nevis and “chill”. Though Mark & Chloe went into Charlestown, Frankie and I stayed on FY for the day. We watched Steve take “Star”, his charter boat out for the day, and sat around reading and relaxing. Nevis is 3,232 feet high, and culminates in Mt. Nevis, which is most often covered in cloud. It is a very damp island, and therefore very lush. There are many ruined sugar mills dotted around the island, with existing machinery still in place in the windmills. They have wild monkeys, goats and donkeys that roam the island, and are often captured as pets.

12/4/98, Friday.                           
Happy Birthday, Michael! We left early this a.m. to head back to Antigua. We had hoped that the weather would improve over night, but were disappointed. We were driving into the wind and seas for about 10 hours, and it was quite uncomfortable. The boat functioned perfectly, and with its weight was relatively stable. I was honoured to receive a call from Bermuda’s Governor in the afternoon advising that he had received a fax from HM the Queen asking for me to consider accepting the OBE. It was memorable, with us crashing into rough seas, and trying to act aloof in accepting the honour. We finally returned to Falmouth Harbour at 5 p.m. and unfortunately, in approaching the Catamaran Club Marina, we ran aground on a sand/mud bar. Mark quickly got us off, but was very embarrassed about it! We finally tied up at the “Cat Club” and had dinner at the restaurant there in the evening.

12/5/98, Saturday.         
We had arranged for Mandrill (Joe Platt’s handyman cum taxi driver) to give Frankie and me a tour of Antigua today. Unfortunately, we visited “Curtain Bluffs” Hotel, and in looking around, were thrown off the premises by a most unpleasant person who turned out to be the owner. Though we “qualified” to be accommodated there, we were dressed like “yotties”, which apparently are second class citizens in Antigua!! We went to St. John’s, the capital of Antigua, and the hustle & bustle in the street were overwhelming. Pedestrians, cyclists, cars, taxis, buses and trucks all were mingling together! Mandrill dropped us off to have lunch at Hemingways, a restaurant on the second floor, overlooking the street. We could continue to watch all of the activity below. After lunch, we saw the RC Cathedral, which stands above the town, and then we went to a restored windmill and ruins of a sugar plantation, Betty’s Hope, which had only closed down in the 1950/60s. The weather continued to be a bit squally, with rain showers rolling through from time to time. We got back to FY at about 4 p.m. – in time for “Happy Hour”. We went over to Nelson’s Harbour for dinner at the Antigua Yacht Club, which was most enjoyable, particularly since this was the last night alone with Mark & Chloe.

12/6/98, Sunday.                         
We lounged about the boat in the morning waiting for the Nestors (the purchasers of FY) to arrive. I had agreed for them to use the boat after us, to get used to it, and get instruction from Mark & Chloe. They arrived at about 12:30, and we all had lunch on the boat. We all got to know each other. They are from Idaho, and their interests to date have been driving fast boats (over 100 mph!), flying a stunt plane, flying a twin engine Beechcraft, and a helicopter! What do they want with a boat that does 8-9 kts. max??  They are “hard living”, drinking beer through the p.m., then we all went to dinner in Nelson’s Dockyard that evening. There is a Charter Yacht Brokers’ convention in town and Falmouth Harbour is filled with enormous motor yachts and sailboats on show. We conservatively estimated that there was more than $1.5 billion in yacht values on show! Frankie and I left after dinner to spend a night at a resort hotel, before leaving for Bermuda the following morning.

1/14/99, Thursday.         Frankie and I joined FY & Mark & Chloe at Marigot Bay in St. Lucia at about 10:45 p.m. after a long trip from Bermuda. Mark & Chloe had left Antigua early in the New Year to come to St. Lucia. They left in foul weather, 12 – 15 ft. seas with 25-30 kts. of winds. They were towing the dinghy (without the engine) and, off Antigua, it flipped over, went under water and all three towing patches ripped out instantly – just shows the power of water!! Anyhow, they stowed it on deck after a miraculous recovery (Chloe would not let Mark jump overboard to rescue it!).  As usual, the boat looks great, and after a “night cap”, we turned in for an early start tomorrow.

1/15/99, Friday.                           
We left Marigot at about 7 a.m. heading down the western coast of St. Lucia. We passed Soufriere mid-morning – this is where the sulphur springs bubble up, and there are dramatic waterfalls. We could smell the sulphur strongly from the water!  The two Pitons – Petit & Gros, both over 2,000 ft. – are on the south west corner of St. Lucia, and we left them astern by about 10 a.m. On the crossing to the west coast of St. Vincent quite a sea was running from our port aft quarter, with strong trade winds around 20kts. rolling us along. We saw a pilot whale, which came up quite close to us, then we were accompanied by a school of dolphins for about 10 minutes. We also saw a turtle raise its head and examine us.

We got to the lee of St. Vincent just after noon, and the weather calmed so we had to motor-sail down the lee shore. St. Vincent is an extremely rugged volcanic island with towering peaks and deep valleys. It appeared that much of the island was uninhabited, yet we could see tarpaulin “shacks” high up on the mountain-side, with plantings on the hills & banks which were at least at 45 degrees! Story has it that St. Vincent is where a lot of marijuana is grown, and drugs are transhipped to the US. The St. Vincent Government has been co-operating with the US DEA to attempt to improve its reputation. We wondered whether the plantings on the mountains were legit, or whether they were the weed. The only access was from small beaches at the mouths of riverbeds, with a tremendous hike up the rivers to the mountains. We passed several towns on the coast, and by about 3:30 p.m. we left Kingstown, the capital, behind to port as we made the crossing to Bequia. Tony Goodfellow had given me a contact in the area, Doug Leese, and I was able to call him and he offered to introduce me to the PM of St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sir James Mitchell. Sir James owns the Frangipani Hotel & Restaurant, and the Gingerbread Restaurant, in Bequia, and apparently week-ends there. 

We arrived in Admiralty Bay, Bequia, by about 5 p.m. (happy hour!) and stayed on board that night because we needed to clear immigration and customs the following day. Mark barbecued pork tenderloins, and we relaxed after a long sail. We also hoped that we could get a nice nights sleep. The town is Port Elizabeth, and appears to be very native. There are a lot of boats in the bay, including many Bequia built schooners, sloops, racing dinghies (double ended), and very fast runabouts whose occupants are continually trying to sell you everything. There are also fuel, water and trash barges circulating to service the visiting yachts.

1/16/99, Saturday                        
After breakfast, we went in by dinghy to the Frangipani dinghy dock. While there we asked for Sir James, but he had gone off for a stroll around town. We followed suit, and visited a chandlery, where Mark was over the moon to find a whole cache of Seagull parts. He plans to make an offer for the whole lot and ship them back to Bermuda. We visited a bookstore and bought a book on Bequia whaling dinghies. Bequia is known for continuing to practice the old methods of whaling, and is permitted to catch up to 3 whales annually (they caught 2 last year). We wandered along the waterfront where there were open stalls selling all kinds of vegetables. There were also small shops, and one that particularly took my eye was the boat model shop. Bequians are known for making beautiful models, generally of Bequian sailing dinghies, but also of more conventional sailboats, like the 12 metre yachts, etc. I vowed to buy a model while, here, but probably on the way back next week. Mark & Chloe had gone to immigration and customs and we met them and went back to the Frangipani. We met up with Sir James, and I had a pleasant chat with him – resulting in him sending me a huge package of information on St. Vincent laws! He recommended that we take a taxi tour of the island, and found “Pikie” to take us. We therefore climbed into the back of a pickup truck, which was covered with canvas, and wooden benches with a thin padding to sit on, and took off round the rough roads of Bequia. We visited a small French fort up on the bluffs of Admiralty Bay, overlooking to town. We then went to Spring Hill, where some foreign investors are looking to develop the area, and onward we went to a small turtle farm. The farm develops turtles for two years before releasing them to the sea. There were wild turkeys, chickens and various other birds wandering around the yard. The immediately took shelter under our taxi, and it was tough to get them out before we left! We then drove around to Friendship Bay, where there is a whaling museum. Aytheneal Oliverre, the chief whaler (following a long line of his family in the business) has converted his front porch into a “museum”. Though there was not much to see, the tales that he told of his experiences were fascinating. They still use hand harpoons, to catch the whales, then drag them up on the beach of an adjoining island where they skin off the blubber, and take all useful “bits” off the whale. We then finished our tour by looking at the airport, built by the “EC”, and the fish plant, built by the Japanese. These were both built at no cost to Bequia. Hmmm!!

              We returned to FY for lunch, and came back to the Frangipani for dinner that night. We met Sir James again, and he bought us a drink before dinner. The food was excellent, and the wine that we selected was “the PM’s favourite”. We returned to the boat at about 9:30 p.m. (Mark & Chloe like to go below by 10!!) Frankie and I sat on deck listening to the calypso sounds and soaking up the tropical airs. It was quite blustery at times, with the wind spiralling down from the mountains into the bay.

1/17/99, Sunday.                         
Left Bequia in the morning for Canouan, the site of the first boat-building in the Grenadines. The guide book says it has two hotels, numerous deserted coves, and nothing else!! Well, we approached into the bay over beautiful coral sand and reefs in crystal clear water. We could see the bottom clearly at 40 ft. down. We anchored off the Tamarind Beach Hotel, and dinghied into the dock. Canouan has only had electricity for the last four years, and the hotel is probably the reason for this. It is very attractive, and we went to the bar/restaurant and found it to be very Polynesian, with thatched high roofs and open beams and fans. We came this far to eat pizzas from the oven!! They were great! Afterwards, we met a guy called Wilbur on the dock who promised to supply us with two mid-sized lobsters at 9 a.m. the following morning. (Remember this!) We went back to the boat and spent the afternoon swimming and reading. Mark & Chloe took the dinghy and went snorkelling. Chloe prepared dinner on board, and again we had a relaxing evening. Unfortunately, before M&C went to bed they hoisted the dinghy out of the water. At about 10 p.m. the SOCA band struck up at the hotel and Frankie and I had to sit on the boat enjoying the music with no means of getting to shore to participate! It was great though.

1/18/99, Monday                        
We were up by about 7:30. In the water was an islander swimming around the boats, with face mask, flippers, and a spear. He called over “Captain, you want to buy lobsta?”. We replied “No. Wilbur is meeting us at the dock at nine with some.” He said OK and kept swimming. He was taken on board by another boat, and we found that, tied to his belt, he had a bag of live lobsters. Talk about fresh! Anyway he swam around all the boats selling his lobsters, and finally came back to us – still with lobsters in the bag, and said “Captain! Last night, Willie be drinkin’. He no come! You wanna buy lobstas?” We said no, we’d take our chances on Wilbur. As it turned out Wilbur did not have our lobsters at 9 o’clock, but he did show up. We departed from Canouan and went to Tobago Cays in the morning. This is a beautiful group of tiny islands and coral reefs which is very popular with the tour boats. The colours in the water were gorgeous, and the clarity of the water exceptional. Frankie, Mark and I climbed to the top of Jamesby Island, and I took pictures of the superb views. We swam and snorkelled off Jamesby, leaving Chloe on board to fix lunch. Poor Chloe!! After lunch we left for Mayreau. We got to a very popular anchorage, with a small resort, but the anchorage was full, so we went round to the southern side where a large expanse of beach fills a bay. Large cruise ships anchor off this beach for the day, and one was there today. The beach was a hive of activity, but it completely died after the ship sailed. We finally found a guy in a boat that dashed off and brought us a couple of lobsters ($55 + 2 beers = 2 lobsters + 2 bananas!) When we got them, kicking and screaming, on board, Mark had to admit that he did not know how to humanely kill a lobster! What a skipper!! I knew that they have a soft spot in the head, but as soon as we pushed a knife in there, the lobster went absolutely berserk (wouldn’t you?). We finally decided that the lobsters were still very much alive, so we cut their tails off, and then sent them back in the water to “recycle” their tails. Sorry, Chloe!! There are only about 100+ people on the island, and their electricity comes from many generators in the homes. In the evening, after “happy hour”, we climbed a huge hill to get to a little town, where we went to Dennis’ Hideaway for dinner. Not bad! It was pitch black when we returned to the boat later.

1/19/99, Tuesday.                        
We left Mayreau for Palm Island in the a.m.  John Caldwell and his family have developed Palm Island over the years. He made a name for himself after the war by attempting to sail a 29 ft. sloop from Panama to Sydney, Australia to meet up with his wife. He wasn’t a sailor when he left Panama! He was shipwrecked and ended up in Fiji, starving and marooned. He finally made it the rest of the way, but subsequently devoted his time looking for the perfect island to settle in. He and his wife were charter skippers in the Grenadines in the 60’s. & 70’s., and he noticed the total lack of palm trees. For 5-6 years he carried small palm trees on his boat, and wherever they stopped he would plant palm trees. Palm Island was called Prune Island at that time and was very swampy and mosquito infested. It was deserted. Caldwell did a deal with the St. Vincent Government to lease the island for 99 years, with a development plan. Today, there are over 2,000 palm trees on the island, and there is a very attractive resort on it. The swamps have all been filled in, and there are no mosquitoes left.  It is an idyllic place, and we got there in time for lunch. The beaches are white with coral sand, just like Bermuda, and the island is magical. Unfortunately John Caldwell has recently died, but he has left quite a legacy.

              After lunch, we left for Union Island, and sailed around her southern coast. Again, there is an area of development on Union Island, Clifton being the main town on the south eastern side. As we motor-sailed around the coast however it became very barren, and when we entered Chatham Bay, on the south western side, it was totally deserted except for a small fishing(?) shack at the northern edge of the beach. This is where we finally got our surf & turf, with Mark barbecuing both tenderloins and our lobster tails. Again it was a quiet, peaceful night, with only a few boats in the anchorage.

1/20/99, Wednesday.    
We left Union Island to return to Bequia this morning. Unfortunately we have to start back, since we need to be back in St. Lucia on Friday. It was a fairly relaxing sail back to Bequia, and we got there in the early afternoon. I definitely wanted to go to the model boat shop, and we ended up going to a workshop where they made the boats. It was amazing, there were no power tools of any kind, and the only sophisticated piece of equipment was a blacksmith’s vice screwed to a tree trunk. The master craftsman was shaping the keel of a large model with a machete! But the workmanship and finished products are outstanding. So I bought a Bequia whaling boat, with model harpoons and oars. They even made me a box to carry it in, while I waited! We got back to the boat, and freshened up before going back to the Gingerbread Restaurant for dinner. We felt that the food here was actually better than the Frangipani, plus they had a steel drum/bass/drum trio entertaining us while we ate. We got back to the boat relatively early because we have to leave at 6 a.m. for St. Lucia.

1/21/99, Thursday.         
The sound of the engine starting and the anchor coming up woke us at 6. We were motoring out of Admiralty Bay by the time it was getting light. We did the reverse crossing of last Friday, except that the wind was on our starboard quarter. It was quite bumpy, but we had a good day, and arrived at Rodney Bay Marina, St. Lucia about 5 p.m. (Happy hour! It’s strange how that happens!). We cleaned up the boat (We! M&C don’t want us to help!!), and were pleased that we could finally take a shower without a guilty conscience. We had been down to our last 10 gallons of water, so we had not showered in the morning. Boy was it good to really take a shower. We went to an Italian Restaurant close by that night, and returned realising that this was our last night on board.

1/22/99, Friday.                           
We helped Mark & Chloe, as best they would let us, in the morning, cleaning up the boat. In the bad weather off Antigua, Mark had broken the mast fitting for the boom vang, and Oyster had forwarded a new piece, which was waiting for us at Rodney Bay. I helped Mark strip the old fitting, and install the new. Meanwhile, Chloe went through the boat from top to bottom cleaning it for the arrival of the Doyles & Klines who arrive on board tomorrow. They plan to take the same tour that we have just finished. We ate at the marina for lunch, then Mark rented a car to reprovision the boat, so dropped us at our hotel, The Bay Gardens Hotel, close to the marina. We tried to get a nap in the afternoon, but I guess we were too hyped up from the past week. We were picked up by Mark later, then met the Doyles and took them to the boat. After drinks, we took them to the Mortar & Pestle for dinner, which again was excellent. We got back to the hotel by about 10:30 p.m.

1/23/99, Saturday.         
Charlie Brown met us at the hotel at 6 a.m., and we flew out of Vigie Airport at 7:20. We were envious of the Doyles and Klines because their week was just starting, but were, as always, very grateful to Mark & Chloe for the wonderful time that we had had. We are looking forward to returning to FY on February 10th. in St. Martin.

2/10/99, Wednesday.    
Well, we arrived in St. Maarten about 4:30p.m. this afternoon. Because of the American Airlines’ pilot strike (sick outs), the Kendells & Halls left Bermuda on Continental yesterday afternoon to go to Newark and connect with a Continental flight to San Juan. The flight arrived in San Juan just before 2a.m. this morning, and we then had to take a cab ride for about 45 minutes to our hotel – a Westin resort hotel. Unfortunately our air conditioner was not working, but it was sure good to get to bed at 2:30 a.m. We had a leisurely breakfast, then got a cab back to the airport to catch a LIAT flight to St. Maarten. Fortunately we left the hotel early because we had to get American Eagle to endorse our tickets over to LIAT. What a performance!! San Juan was a mess. Anyway, we are now on the boat at Simpson’s Bay Yacht Club, and we arrived just in time for “happy hour”!! We went to Saratoga Restaurant for dinner, and I was introduced to Mediterranean Fish Soup, with croutons, a spicy mayo sauce and grated cheese. It was fantastic. I must get the recipe! We turned in about 10:30 p.m. and took advantage of the air conditioning in the aft cabin!!

2/11/99, Thursday.         
When we got up, Mark had left to clear us out of Immigration. Simpson’s Bay is an inland sound with a bridge which opens 3 times a day to let boats in and out. We left and got through the bridge at 10 a.m. on our way to Anguilla. We motor sailed up the south western side of St. Maarten, then sailed around the western end across the straits to Anguilla. We then sailed up the northern side of Anguilla to Road Bay. We passed Sandy Island on the way. This is a little sandy island, which, before last year’s hurricane, had 11 palm trees and a bar. It now has 3 palm trees, several stumps, and appears to have 2 bars. So much for competition!! Road Bay is the harbour for entry into Anguilla, and has a commercial dock. We could see the effects of the hurricane with a cargo ship and a large boat washed up on the rocks. The town in the bay is Sandy Ground. The Kendells and Halls accompanied Mark to shore so that he could clear us in, and we found a little bar (Johnno’s) where we were able to get liquid refreshment. We then wandered the beach, and made a reservation at the Barrel Stay restaurant. We returned to the boat for happy hour, but then went to keep our reservation. The owner, Bob, is from New York, but has settled in Anguilla for the last 19 years. The food was exquisite, and again I enjoyed fish soup! We ended up back on the boat so that Mark & Chloe could make their “bed time” of 10 p.m.

2/12/99, Friday.            
We moved the boat to Crocus Bay, which was just a bit further east of Road Bay. At the very end of the bay there are some fantastic caves and tiny beaches which proved great for snorkelling. We toured this area and swam during the morning. Unfortunately, one enterprising Anguillan was transporting as many tourists as possible from the outpost in Crocus Bay (Roy’s Bar) onto a little beach in the cliffs at the end of the bay. Where we had a tranquil beginning, we ultimately become overwhelmed by the number of people cramming into a relatively small patch of sand! We got back to the boat for lunch, then went to shore for 3 p.m. to meet “Harry’s Taxi” for a tour of the island. It is clear that Anguilla is developing dramatically, with some luxurious hotels (Sonesta, for one, which is very Moorish in style.) There are quite a few beach condos, and the quality of these areas is very good. The people seemed quite happy, and are proud to be still part of the British Commonwealth. Through no fault of theirs they had been aligned, by the British Colonial office, with St. Kitts and Nevis for a couple of centuries, and when Britain “disposed of their Caribbean colonies, they spun off St. Kitts, Nevis & Anguilla as one package, with oversight from St. Kitts. The Anguillans finally revolted, through out the St. Kitts police force and declared themselves independent of St. Kitts. Their aim was to return to British rule. They made such a noise around the world that the British, who thought they had been influenced by “Mafia” types, invaded Anguilla with over 300 Paratroopers, Marines and London Policemen! The invading force was met by a most enthusiastic population!!

The island is quite flat, and like Bermuda is a coral island rather than volcanic. It is still very native, but some notable, like Chuck Norris, own homes here. We visited art galleries, and Frankie and I bought several prints to frame and hang in Virginia. We got back to Crocus Bay at 5:30 p.m. and met Mark & Chloe at Roy’s Bar for happy hour. We then returned to the boat for dinner, and settled down, again, around 10:30p.m.

2/13/99, Saturday.         
We pulled up anchor at about 9:30a.m. and retraced our route back to St. Maarten, passed Simpson’s Bay, then set course for St. Bartholomey. Once we left the lee of St. Maarten the seas became quite choppy, and Rosemary thought we had misled her by promising that we would not expose her to bad weather and open seas. She bravely hung on, but unfortunately within 20 minutes of getting into the lee of St. Barths. she got sick. She felt bad, and we all felt bad that she had succumbed to sea-sickness since we were concerned about her desire to return the same way that we had come! We anchored in Gustavia about 3:30p.m. and Steve, Chloe and I went with Mark to land to clear immigration, and to make dinner reservations. This harbour is always full of ginormous boats, and this time is no exception. Huge motor yachts as well as sailboats were tied up along the dockside. I went and rented a car from Avis at the airport, and made reservations at La Sapotilliere, our favourite restaurant from last year. We wandered around a bit and then returned to the boat for what??? Happy hour!! There are so many boats at anchor that we are quite a way out of the harbour with a rolling swell. We were concerned that Rosie might feel uncomfortable, but she had settled quite well. We returned to the town in the evening, kept our reservation, had an outstanding meal and came back to the boat to settle down for the night.

2/14/99, Sunday.            
Happy Valentine’s Day. As expected we found the swell a little disturbing during the night, but we awoke and got going in the morning with enthusiasm. Though we tried everything, Mark & Chloe insisted on staying on board, and the Kendells and Halls left to get our “jeep” to do a circuit of the island, and have a picnic on the beach – La Saline of course!  St. Barths is quite spectacular, with very scenic views, beautiful bays, and waters. The only problem is that the roads are very narrow, and in some places don’t have any walls on the edge before a sheer drop over the cliffs into the ocean!! I would hate to drive these roads at night! Fortunately, though the car rental company’s all have thriving businesses, there is not a whole lot of traffic – all of the rental cars are parked at the beaches!! We drove in sunlight, cloud and rain within an hour as we circumnavigated the island, and we got to Saline Beach just after noon. Chloe had prepared a fantastic picnic – fried chicken, potato salad, pasta salad, cheese ‘n everything. We had a cooler with sodas, beer and wine. Steve and I found a pallet and set it up as a table, and we really pigged out. Frankie and I went in the water a couple of times – it was cold getting in, but once in, it was wonderful. The beach includes those that are topless, and also those with no clothes. It’s French after all!! Steve and I went walk about, but most of the nudists were male, and most of the ladies would have looked better covered up!! We drove back to the airport and waited to film a ‘plane landing which is a hair-raising event. In the lowest range of the mountain (volcanic) the road from one side of the island to the other passes through. At the same time, the approach to the runway is through this “notch”. It has been known for ‘plane wheels to touch the tops of trucks and buses! When the ‘plane clears the “notch” it has to power dive at the runway below, then straighten out before hitting. We got good approach and landing shots and were convinced that visiting by water was far less nerve-racking. We then went to Governeur Beach, and then wandered round an artist’s studio before returning to Gustavia. We had a drink at L’Ocean, on the harbour side, and made reservations there for dinner. We returned to the boat for “happy hour” then went back to L’Ocean for a dinner which took forever to serve. Several complaints were made to management from the diners, but the food was extremely good nonetheless.

2/15/99, Monday.         
We all took a run into Gustavia in the morning, with the ladies wandering around the shops. The town is full of French boutiques, and all of the stores are very attractive, but the prices are fairly high. Steve and I returned the rental car, then we all headed back to the boat, with stick bread (broken by Chloe!),  and had lunch. Afterwards we pulled up anchor and headed back for St. Maarten. Fortunately for “some” the wind had almost died out, and we had to motor sail all the way in relatively calm seas and 5 kts. of wind. We got back to Simpson’s Bay bridge before “happy hour” (strange how much of our timing revolves around this!), and re-entered the Sound at the 5:30p.m. bridge opening. We returned to a berth in Simpson’s Bay Yacht Club, surrounded by huge mega-yachts (we later discovered that this is not the most desirable spot  because all of these guys seem to run their generators all night and keep very bright lights on!). We cleaned off the boat (i.e. Mark & Chloe cleaned the boat!) and, since this was the last night for Mark & Chloe, we went back to Saratoga for dinner. More fish soup!

2/16/99, Tuesday.         
We rented a “jeep” from Adventure Car Rental, which is close to the marina, and took Mark into Philipsburg to clear into St. Maarten. Once done, we returned to the boat and took everyone to a little Italian restaurant on the dock for lunch. We took Mark & Chloe to the airport at about 2:00p.m. – thank goodness American Airlines were back in business! The Kendells and Halls then went into Philipsburg and toured the shops. The prices in St. Maarten are extremely low, and good bargains are available. We bought a few odds and ends, and killed the whole afternoon walking up and down Front Street. We ended up at the Greenhouse for, guess what, "happy hour"      - 2 for the price of one drink. Steve and I had a “bucket” of beers, Frankie had 2 Pina Coladas, and Rosie had 2 lemonades – she was the smart one! We then wandered up the street to Chesterfields for a great dinner on the waterfront. We got back to the boat relatively early, but of course, when Steve is on board, we have to have a night cap. It seems to help us sleep!!

2/17/99, Wednesday.    
Where’s Chloe?? We had to fix our own breakfast!! Leftovers! Mid-morning we left to tour both sides of the island – St. Maarten (Dutch) on the south side, and St. Martin (French) to the north. We went the long way around the Sound and got to Marigot around 12:30p.m. Lunchtime! Marigot has a great little harbour area, Marina Port La Royale, which is full of little boutiques and French restaurants – naturalment! We wandered around for a while and decided on a little, very French, restaurant – the waiter told us they specialised in French Fries – I said “surely they are pommes frit?” He said “No! French Fries!!” Well we had to have an aperitif – white wine – and then a most scrumptious meal. I had snapper carpaccio and salmon tartare, and, you guessed it, French Fries! After lunch we got back on the road and drove through Grand Case, and then stopped at Orient Beach. This is a long beach, which is bordered by shacks, surf shops, bars and beach restaurants. The further you walk along it the “nudier” it becomes, and in fact at the very end there is a naturalist resort and beach. Of course we walked all the way to the end and back. Still not much to look at, but Rosie and Frankie did some comparison shopping! We stopped at a beach bar on the way back, then got back in the car and went to Oyster Pond. This is a very scenic area, and there is a marina, a couple of hotels and restaurant. We intended to have dinner there, but we arrived too early and driving back to Philipsburg and the boat (we were going to freshen up & return) we found the access to Oyster Pond pretty rough, and decided we did not want to do it at night. Because of our timing we ended up in the “rush hour” traffic, and it took us almost an hour to get back to the boat, primarily because we had to go through Philipsburg. We therefore made a reservation at a restaurant, Pelican Reef, very close to the marina. The restaurant was not too bad, but certainly had the aura of being a hotel’s coffee shop. The food was good, and we left fairly early knowing that it would be an early start in the morning, and we would have to close up the boat in Mark & Chloe’s absence.

2/18/99, Thursday.         
Left the boat at 6a.m., dropped off the car keys and the residual contents of our ‘fridge to the car rental lady who lives on a boat at the marina. We got our cab to the airport with some anxiety that our flight connections might not work due to American Airlines problems. As it was, American Eagle left on time and took us to San Juan, then American Airlines took us to New York where we had to wait 4 hours for the flight to Bermuda. As it turned out, the Bermuda flight was cancelled due to a cracked windshield, however they put another ‘plane on and we only arrived back one hour later than schedule. It was still an extremely long day, however. Looking forward to the BVI on March 15th.