We're Alive and Well in the BVI's

We had a beautiful day sailing into the islands today. I (Dawn) spotted land first at around 8:00 this morning. We dropped the anchor in Trellis Bay on Beef Island at around 4:30 pm.

We're enjoying a nice little beverage before heading off to the Loose Mongoose for a "Burger in Paradise"!

Cheers,
Dawn and Crew of Cat Tales

36 Miles To Go

Only 36 more miles to go in perfec weather N19 05 W84 36. !0 Kts wind from the East.Dawn will update the Blog Later today. They should be in Tortola By Herb time this afternoon. All well aboard. Posted by JOHN

Crew of Cat Tales is living easy

Dawn here:
There has been no wind, and we have been motoring for near 48 hours through 27C heat. Last night, our watches started with Grant staying up until midnight. Laurie got up a little late and relieved Grant at 12:30 and I relieved Laurie at 3:30. When Grant woke up this morning at 6:00, I told him to go back to bed, however, the sun was just coming up, we had a ship about 13 miles off our starboard side and had about 4 large squalls developing and dumping rain on their areas. He had no intentions
of missing all the excitement! We wished we could be in such a squall to clean off the boat, however it wasn't to be. Laurie didn't get up until he was needed on the Ham Radio at 8:15 so he was able to get a couple more winks.

We would have put this blog together earlier but we had a big domino game started last night to finish. Grant was winning big time when we went to bed and he was anxious to get the game over so he could gloat over his winning. Laurie pulled up from the rear and beat the pants off both Grant and I!! Can you imagine...so little wind way out here that we were able to play dominoes and not have them fall over!! A far cry from when Kent and Brian were aboard from Newport. I still recall Kent vowing
not to eat Lasagna for a while, after seeing the same meal more than once (the one he ate).

Laurie here:

Jeeze, Dawn makes it sound so idyllic. In actual fact, we're run ragged under this blistering heat. Yesterday, we found that flying fish, and, not one to be wasteful with bait, we fished most of the morning and some of the afternoon. Takes a lot out of you, watching that line troll behind. Then today, we had the morning Ham net, washed some of the salt off the boat, and did a fuel transfer. Then we... well I guess that was it, unless you count taking the time to eat, drink, chat, read a book.
Truly, the hell here never ends.

Grant here:

Laurie made me carry two jerry cans of fuel from the bow locker to the tank at the stern. I wish he'd leave me alone!

Cat Tales 26 16 N 64 22 W 168 To Go

This morning Cat Tales was in very lite winds from the SW. Passage
weather predicts 10 NE by 2:00 this afternoon. All well aboard.If
conditions hold they will be in Tortola after 8:00PM on Saturday. The
wind change is filling in from the west so Laurie is going to shift back
to the Rhum line at W 64 30...Posted by John

A note directly from the crew of Cat Tales

Hi. Laurie here: The bouncing has quieted down on board, and even if it hadn't, I think we'd all cut ourselves off the sea-sickness meds. We came around big-time yesterday: appetites (we had two big meals), sleep (we're reasonably caught up and feeling rested), and spirits (not just morale, Dawn and I had a beer). We had to run on motors overnight, even though the seas are still rolly. We pushed through a front overnight, but did not get enough rain to rid us of any of the salt. Right now, we've
shut off one motor, and are using sails to keep the boat running around 6 knots. Wind is around 9 knots, and would do just fine on flat water. The sun is shining, the air is clear, and the temp is 26C - a beautiful day.

Grant has taken a 6" flying fish, which landed on our boat overnight, and has baited the hook for fish. We really believe that he jumped onboard for just this purpose! We expect John shared the fact that we caught a 3 foot Mahi Mahi yesterday morning. It was quite exciting. We'll post a picture when we get back to an internet provider. It provided around 9 servings after the butchering, but Dawn insists the refrigerator can hold more. I worry about landing a 4 footer. There is another yacht
about 20 miles to the west of us, and we'd have to tack over to get rid of most of it. Oh well, it is all the stress we have for today.

Here's Grant: We slipped out through the cut of St. Georges' Harbour last Sunday morning, reminded Laurie to turn right and have been heading south ever since. I'm on board for this passage by virtue of being asked to crew on Cat Tales for a portion of her trip south this fall; having an extremely giving and loving wife and by shear luck. Luck because Laurie and Dawn's other chosen crew picked the passage from Newport to Bermuda (see earlier postings for explanation). All is good onboard, honestly,
and the skipper is not forcing me to say that. Laurie and Dawn have become experienced and knowledgeable open water sailors and it has been a delight to be aboard. I hope the whipping scars heal soon!

Dawn here: Finally, sailing like it should feel. Although it's still a bit rolly, we are sitting outside in light wind and lots of sun, taking showers, eating and eating, reading and we even watched a BBC documentary DVD last night through dinner. We have worked out nice night watches. Because it gets dark really early (almost the same as home)I tend to be able to fall asleep as early as 7:00 pm. Because of that, Laurie and Grant have taken turns doing the dark to midnight watch while the other
one and I sleep. Whoever didn't do that long watch shares the rest of the night with me. We divided it into 12:00 to 3:00 and another 3:00 until 6:00, at which time the one who did the first shift comes up and sits around until the other 2 wake up. This means that we all are enjoying a good 7 to 8 hours of sleep!! Doesn't even feel like we're being deprived!

As Laurie said earlier, he has stopped taking his meds 1 1/2 days ago and after watching him, I have skipped my last 2 pills. I feel we'll be okay and will start back up the minute I feel anything nasty going on! Stugeron is a great med, however, all meds come with side affects and it will be nice to be a little less dehydrated! It's 31.5 degrees inside and I'm heading out into the wind to cool off!!

It's great to see Laurie and Grant outside fishing, listening to music and laughing! We've been told that our wind will remain light for the next 2 days but should clock around to a better direction (E or NE) which will push us all the way to Tortolla.

All the best...from the Crew of Cat Tales and a special thanks to John Fallon for posting for us until now! If conditions continue, we'll try to post again tomorrow.

N 23 20 W 64 18 5.9 All well aboard averaging 5.9 on both motors

The Cat Tales was in lite air 10 kts from the ESE. this morning. They have 2 days and 289 nm to go. Dawn will be posting the blog later today with her take of the crossing so far.I will talk to them later today after Herb. JOHN

They caught a 3 foot Maui Maui ( dolfin fish ) and averaged 5.5 kts since this AM 372 to go

At 4:30 this afternoon Cat Tales was at 24 43 N and 64 15 W . They were getting about 5 kts of wind on the nose and at this time they were motor sailing on one engine and making about 3 kts. Laurie was planning to start the other engine and he furled the head sail to get the speed back to 6 kts. They were expecting an area of squals this evening. Winds on Thursday should be 15 kts from the East . The fish will be 9 servings or 3 meals for the 3 of them. It is enough food so they stopped fishing. I delivered Grant's travel itinery from the agency and will investigate his leaving a day earlier and give them the results tomorrow. Posted by JOHN

Half way there

At 8:22 ast this morning Cat Tales was at 25 26 N 64 25 W with 416 nm to go. I passed messages from home to Grant and gave him the results of the Grey Cup and Jets Titans games on last week end. All crew were up and taking breakfast. As predicted conditions had moderated wind was 12 kts from the East. though the seas were still more than usual. Laurie was following Herb's advice and putting more East in their direction. I will talk to them after Herb this afternoon. Posted by JOHN

Cat Tales 27 07 N 64 35 W All well aboard 517 nm to go

At 16:30 AST after talking to Herb Laurie contacted me on 14.1225MHZ. I had heard his transmissions to Herb but Herb was lite here He was getting 12 to 18 kts of wind from the ENE and the seas were still a bit high max 10 ft.All crew were eating and medicated and no one was having MDM . Laurie was making a slight shift to the East at Herb's suggestion. They planed to have soup for supper as conditions were a little rough for anything more complicated. Conditions should ease by morning. Again all crew were up and taking nourishment. Posted by JOHN

Cat Tales at 64 39 W 27 59 N All well aboard averaging 6.2 in last 24 hrs

I talked to Laurie at 8:25 this AM. All well aboard. Grant was sleeping and Dawn and Laurie were having breakfast. The Wind and waves have clocked around to the east and are predicted to deminish to 10 to 15. The sea state is still a bit confused and uncomfortable. They have 565 nm to go to Tortola. Laurie says he wouldn't mind motoring a few days. Posted by JOHN

Cat Tales at 16: 20 this afternoon at 29 41 N 64 41 W 668 NM to Go

I talked to Laurie at 16:20 after Herb and he reported all crew were feeling much better with Meds working and seas better organized. Since this AM report they have averaged 5.7kts and remain reefed for overnight. All crew have had proper nourishment and they have received a very favourable weather report for the remainder of the trip from Herb. They will remain in 15 to 20 kts of North wind until wednesday and then finish the trip in 10 to 15 kt winds from the NE and E . All well aboard and they will split the watches overnight in 3 hour shifts.
Posted by JOHN

Cat Tales 30 27 N 64 40 W all well aboard

At 8:20 this AM I talked to both Laurie and Grant and both seemed in good health and spirits. The sea state was confused and the wind was directly behind them at 15 kts. They had some higher wind gusts during the night but were reefed down and made about 8 kts average speed. Dawn was having an after watch sleep. They used 3 hr watches during the night and no MDM. Grant had a banana this morning and Laurie was considering a banana and peanut butter sandwich. I will talk to them again this
afternoon after they talk to Herb. Posted by JOHN

Under way south All well aboard

Cat Tails at 16:00 AST was at 31 58 N 64 37 W. Having just talked to Herb. The seas were a bit unsettled and the wind was NNE 20. Plans were made to reef down a bit for the night due to some forcasted squalls. The crew were contemplating supper. Being they were just out I suspect they were anxious not to upset nature and become mal de mere. I will be speaking with them again at net time tomorrow 8:30 AST. Posted by John

Heading out of Berumda for the BVI's today!!

Well, the time has come. Grant Sinclair is here, and he has already gone around the island by bus and by ferry to both Hamilton and the Dockyard Military Museum. I know he could have enjoyed many days on this beautiful island, but hey he'll also enjoy a couple of days with warmer weather on the other end of the trip, when we arrive in the British Virgin Islands!

Herb told us yesterday that we will have a lumpy sea state because of the wind we have received over the past few days, and will have 15 to 20 knot winds from the north for the first day or two. At this point, he predicts day 2, 3, and 4, to be light to variable winds until we get south enough to pick up the easterly trade winds of the Caribbean. So, if he's right, we'll have a great 6 to 7 day sail!

Our dear friend, John Fallon will post to the blog while we're underway, but you might find that we're able to do the job ourselves with a bit more detail if we have nice quiet days...we'll wait and see. Thanks John for your assistance in this.

Laurie and Grant headed in by dinghy to pick up a few groceries and clear customs. Our departure time will be around 11:00 am this morning.

Stay warm everyone!

Dawn

Heading South

Well, the time has come. We've played long and hard here in Bermuda with both locals and other sailors, exercising our bus passes and seeing every canon on the island! Grant has arrived today to help us get the boat to the BVI's. We'll be heading over to the White Horse Tavern, a definite must do for all sailors coming and going! He lucked out with the weather today, because we've had gale force winds for most of the week and we'll get another blast later tonight and all day tomorrow. I had
garbage bags all set for his luggage, however, no need today!

Herb Hilgenburg told us yesterday that we should stay here until the storm on Saturday passes. That means, we'll either leave on Saturday evening, or wait until the morning. There are several boats here that have been awaiting this weather window, so I think we'll have some company. We'll certainly be lined up at the customs office to clear out! The buzz is that we'll have light winds and may have to motor a fair bit. Well, am I unhappy about that...not a bit!

Laundry hangs all over the boat on this sunny day, which believe me is an uplifting feeling! We'll be packing much of it away as we won't need much of this down south.

We've been invited to dinner on a local's boat this evening. Uptown is a friendly local who loves to cook and entertain sailors who arrive here. A couple of weeks ago Uptown took Walter and his wife Dana from the boat "Madness" sailing from here to the other side of the island, stopping at all his favourite spots. They kept wondering what they would be owing him, but he does it for the pure kindness and generosity. We will go there tonight in the high winds, getting soaked as usual in our dinghies...so
much for clean clothes! Kristen and Dave from "Sayonara" and Pam and Bill from "Songbird" will also be going. Uptown said he'd cook fresh fish and chicken, and we all volunteered to fill in the rest of the meal with salads, and snacks. If you go to the "Madness" blog - link on the left of this page, you can read about their time with Uptown.

What a great time we're having. It's almost difficult to leave, but everyone will be following us south, one by one! Pam and Bill arrived with a totally blown out main sail and will stay on for 4 or 5 weeks while they wait for a sail to be made. Kristen and Dave have one more week to await her dad who is coming here to help crew the boat to Antigua.

Bermuda News, Cultural Tours, and a Birthday Party

I've been given the job of updating you folks, while Dawn rushes in to catch the bus for a day of shopping in Hamilton. She left with Kristen of Sayonara and Betsy of Lorien, all bundled in ponchos or foulies, as we are experiencing another windy day in the Harbour. It has been blowing from 15 to 40 knots since sundown last night, and we're still catching the odd 30 knot breeze even though the wind has clocked such that it must climb over Fort George before it swoops down to visit us. We took
down our windshield and other deck materials to decrease the effect of the wind, and the wind generator is continuing to let off some awful howls. I dare say this is the strongest wind Cat Tales has seen under my command, and I'm just as glad it is at a mooring. We slept rather well; indeed we felt a little guilty after hearing that some were planning to maintain an anchor watch over the expected 24 hour period of high wind.

A blistering, horizontal rain just started, but I am hopeful that the girls are already on the bus.

We continue to listen to Bermuda Radio's broadcasts. A regular feature is a list of warnings to mariners. Right now, there are three abandoned vessels in the Bermuda area, bobbing around. We got forwarded an email from one of the crews, saying they have been dumped in a resort here after being dropped from the helicopter that rescued them. They arrived with foul weather gear and passports, and are asking for friends to send them some clothes and shoes. They have a 4-year old girl with them,
who apparently took the trouble and the rescue in stride - obviously too young to feel mortal. The events that lead up to abandoning a vessel can be referred to as "even cascade" or "failure cascade", where one thing goes wrong, then another, then the situation becomes rather hopeless. In some cases, I assume, the first event may involve ignoring or misunderstanding the weather. Typically problems with sails and rigging are then followed by engine trouble or loss of steering. At any rate, we
now have to look out for abandoned vessels when we leave.

Monday, a cold and dreary day, brought flat water, and an opportunity to get off the boat without salt-contaminated clothing. We took the bus to Hamilton, and toured the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute. Two floors of interactive exhibits, most donated by Bermudian collectors and divers. It was pretty amazing and informative. I am convinced that the average diver would not recognize a treasure if he were to swim over it in perfect conditions - the sea soon changes things. We got back
to the anchorage just in time to go over to Derek's 60th birthday party aboard Lorien, a 48' Canada-registered Catana cat. Tim, from another Canadian cat, the Somerset 33, arrived with a guitar, sound system, and magnificent electronics. His guitar ability is amazing, while the electronics allowed him and his guitar to mimic the styles of all the greats: Clapton, Hendrix, Santana, Leadbelly, Chet Atkins, etc. It was truly amazing.

Yesterday, before the high winds set in, Dawn and I got over to Fort St. Catherines and finally found it open to the public. We rushed through the displays and it still took us a couple of hours. Any military historian worth his salt would have to make trip to this establishment. The displays show the evolution of gunnery, with many amazing samples. One movie provided the history of the many forts on Bermuda. No matter what Dawn says, we have visited very few of them.

Well, with Dawn gone, I have a book to complete, and a list of chores to tackle, as Cat Tales bounces on her mooring.

Cheers.

Here is a view from Danny and Jo's balcony in St. Davids. Beautiful, don't you think?





Laurie and I were delighted to have an invitation the other night for conversation and pizza with Danny Little and his wife Jo. Danny works at Bermuda Radio, a government office that regulates, monitors, and assists the vessels coming and going to and from Bermuda. The office sits up on a high hill within the moat of the former Fort George, and is well equipped with radar and all the fancy equipment needed to do the job. Check them out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REIS17kLddY and/or at their website: http://www.rccbermuda.bm/portal/server.pt

We dinghied over to St. David’s Island, tied up to a small dock in front of their place where Danny helped us tie up. We had a wonderful evening with lots of food and conversation. Danny assembled his signature deep crust pizzas, with a variety of toppings, and an amazingly refreshing fruit punch. It’s always wonderful to see and hear how the Bermudians live, and it amazes us how friendly people on this sweet island are. Danny and Jo know how lucky they are to be living in Bermuda, and to have raised a family here, and are determined not to take it for granted. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to get together with them again before we leave.

Yesterday, we trekked over the hill to visit the St. Catherine’s Fort, but it was closed. It’s funny, because when we were here last time in 2004, we went there on a Sunday only to find it closed. We have mistakenly gone there twice during this stay, both times on a Sunday. Yesterday, we thought we’d finally get to see it, but I guess they’re closed on Saturdays as well! We’ll try again this week. It’s a nice easy walk, so it’s no big deal to get there and stretch our legs. Two beautiful beaches are along side of it as well, so it’s never a waste of time!

We enjoyed a walk along the northern shore, and were treated to a view, from a height of about 50’ of 5-6 colourful rainbow parrotfish, each between 2-3’ long. Although the books say they can grow to 4’, we had never seen these fish that big, and were amazed. The colours made them easy to spot: vibrant green and red body, orange tails and fins.

Walter, from s/v Madness is now all set with the arrival of his extra 4 man crew. He has 2 teams of father/son which is really neat! The weather, however, is not cooperating for a Monday morning departure. We’re experiencing a system today with has winds directly from the south at 25 and 30 knots. We’re bobbing around here on our mooring ball getting our sea legs back whether we want them or not! Hopefully they’ll get away within the next day or two.

Entertaining on Cat Tales

Here is a peek of what we see each day when we sip on coffee in the cockpit. Not a bad view from our place!






We’ve had a busy few days and it’s been mostly social! Yesterday, Laurie and I crossed the harbour in our dinghy and trekked to the “real” grocery store. So far, we’ve been picking up groceries in a little spot in town where the prices are inflated, much like corner stores at home. White’s is a significantly larger grocery store with anything we’d ever want or need.

Sometime yesterday morning, among many of the boats arriving, a single hander anchored between Sayonara and Cat Tales. After talking to him, we realized that he is a fellow who came directly from the hippie age. He told us of his past when he demonstrated against just about everything. His grey dread knots are indicative of his unique attitudes and style, and although he says he calms down, he admits his car is held together with stickered slogans.

We had a community feast on Cat Tales last night. I cooked up 2 pork tenderloins in a peanut slather in a look bag over a couple hours in our little “kenner’s easy bake” oven, along with a special rice recipe. Walter from “Madness” came with 2 types of squash and Kristen and David from Sayonara arrived with crackers, cheese and fresh broccoli. Bill and Bubbles, his Chihuahua, brought a beautiful red wine. We watched the sun set at 5:00 and ate by candlelight outside in the cockpit. Bill was very touched that we’d include him in our merriment after just meeting him. He did the 6 day passage from the US coast by himself and was exhausted! By 9:00 all that was left to do was the dishes, which Laurie took care of all by himself while I read in bed! I don’t think there was a pot that didn’t get used!

This morning, we need to get out and get fuel for our dinghy and I’d like to get into this little town to do a bit of shopping. Because Grant Sinclair, our crew for the second leg, will be here a week from today, it’s time to get all these little things done. The reason we’ve been here so long is that our insurance on the boat won’t allow for us to be in the Caribbean before December 1st, so we’ll head out sometime around November 23rd for the 7 day passage. We anticipate, nay we demand that this leg should be a smoother ride than the trip across the Gulf Stream.

Tonight we’ll dinghy over to St. David’s Island as we’ve been invited to have dinner with one of the Bermuda Radio personnel, Danny Little and his wife Jo. We met Danny early on in our stay. He has some mooring balls which we were interested in renting from him. It turned out that he didn’t have exactly what we needed, but we chatted for most of that morning as he enlightened us on many aspects and history of the island. We’re looking forward to more interesting tidbits tonight!

Dawn

Smith's Island Adventure

Late yesterday afternoon, we visited Brenda and Urich Dale(friends of Anne Alaine) at their home on Smith's Island, and were treated with a tour of the Island.

Smith's Island is to one side of St. George's Harbour. It is 1.5 miles long x 1/2 mile wide, with the east third and the west third recently made protected parks with short but thick forest, and obviously a more varied and dense bird population than we have experienced in Bermuda. The middle third holds ~9 families, who must travel by boat to any road, and must float over anything necessary for domestic habitation. The houses are beautiful - some are historic, and most are pretty without being
ostentatious.

Most interesting was a little house owned by Fiona and Bob Doe. They had taken over a narrow wrecked coral/concrete cottage, turning it into a two storey, with a spiral staircase, and a large deck on the second floor. When Bob was excavating his back wall to check on the structural integrity, he decided the excavation could serve to hold a second water tank for a home in this water-starved archipelago. Well, things continued to evolve, and now this side of their living room has 3 large windows
into a concrete freshwater tank, housing an ecosystem that includes a dozen 14-16" colourful carp. The tank, which captures rainwater that can't be held by the primary water tank also serves the toilet and other non-kitchen uses after a less rigorous purification.

Fiona also showed us the 18' boat, stuck in the woods under a tarp, that Bob motored to and from Newport, with a 9.9 hp outboard in 2007. Bob built the boat, from plug through mold to the hull and deck, after being inspired to improve the famous dinghies of Bermuda. After suffering a heart attack in late 2006 and being helped by a Bermudian charity to acquire the necessary medical treatment, he decided to carry out the journey to raise money for the charity as "payback" short months later. An
amazing man. The trip is a world record claim, as the longest distance over open ocean, 1270 miles (two way) as the crow flies, in the smallest dinghy with the smallest outboard, least fuel used, single handed, unescorted, unassisted, etc. However, the Guinness Book of Records people declined their application as considered not interesting enough, among longest toenails, most voracious hotdog eaters, longest ball bouncing, etc. I enjoyed reviewing the boat, mold, construction, and design methods
and philosophy.

The rest of the Island was charming, and the visit with Brenda and her family more of the same, topped off with a gift of large fillets of Blue Runner, a lovely white fish. Half of that was cooked and eaten aboard Cat Tales before bed, and it was succulent.

A day out with our neighbors

I have just placed a new link on the left side bar of this blog to the blog of sailing vessel Madness. www.caribbeanmadness.blogspot.com



We first made contact with Walter from “Madness” while waiting for Herb Hilgenberg to come up on the afternoon weather frequency on the Ham Radio. Because we were located on the New England coast, we couldn’t pick Herb up on his regular frequency and we had to wait for a half hour or so for Herb to check on his second station. We had a few conversations with Walter during those days and we even listened to the “Herb Show” after we arrived just to hear how Madness was making out. Apparently, he listened to our progress too, as we had left about a week before he did, and continued to check in for a weather window. We gave the crew of Madness a big wave and welcome when they sailed into the harbour. Walter’s crew headed for home a couple days after they arrived and his wife came to visit for a few days before his new crew arrives. Smart lady…not wanting to be involved in the big crossings. Dana flies home today and Walt’s crew arrives in a couple of days. They’ll be heading for Antigua by the weekend. You can check out their version of the crossing, and see an entertaining video that one of their crew assembled if you follow the link. Their passage wasn’t like ours, they were able to sit outside and even enjoyed a couple of movies and a swim while travelling!

We’ve had some fun times with Madness, Sayonara and Nomad: sundowners, dinners, bus and ferry rides. We said goodbye to Buck from “Nomad” this morning as he headed out for him home in Florida and will say goodbye to Madness later this week.

Yesterday, Dave and Kristen from “Sayonara” decided to travel into Hamilton to get an extension on their visa. Because we had arrived the same time as they had, we decided that we may as well go in and do the same. The Bermuda gov’t only allows you to stay for 21 days upon your first arrival, but will extend the stay after a long wait in their offices and a little extra money! Walter and Dana decided to come along and spend some time in the boat stores and touring around. The new winter schedule has only one ferry out of St. George’s early in the morning and a returning one in at the end of the day. All 6 of us were on the ferry by 7:45 am. The month bus pass we purchased is also good for the ferry, so it’s extremely economical! After spending 2.5 hours in the customs office, we shopped for boating parts and went to a wonderful hardware store. Brian will remember that it’s the one we discovered when we were trying to escape from the torrential downpour a couple of weeks ago!

We hopped on a bus to Horseshoe Bay where many were lounging, reading, swimming and playing soccer. The Bay was beautiful, even if the sand wasn’t quite pink, as advertised. It boasts the horseshoe shape and lots of sand, with another beach among towering coral outcrops to the side of it. After a wonderful (but expensive) lunch, we caught the next bus to the Dock Yard. Dana and Walter had never seen the Military Museum and the compound around it, and because we had been there twice before, they headed in, while we visited the little shops. We knew just where to go…straight for the famous Bermuda Rum Cake shop. Not because we were going to buy a cake, but instead, we needed to sample all 12 kinds of cakes again! We discovered a neat little restaurant “The Frog and Onion” where we’ll come back to sample their various kinds of beers with Sayonara’s crew (who had to return early to St. George)! We didn’t want to do everything all in one day!

We caught a ferry to Hamilton, and then another from there to St. George’s. We finished off the evening with “dark and stormies” aboard Cat Tales with Walter, Dana and Buck.

So, nice little adventures, and no mishaps.

Today, Laurie is rebedding the little starboard hatch that dripped onto Kent during the crossing, and I’m catching up on correspondence. This morning, the town began Armistice Day celebrations with cannon fire; causing Laurie to jump up and insist to our neighbouring boats that he was surrendering. The sun has followed a rain, making it beautiful but hot.

A beautiful red 55+’ sloop has been circling the harbour with its quarantine flag up, and with a man at the top of an amazingly high mast, attempting to free the top 20% of their torn mainsail, so not everybody is having a lovely day. The boat is part of a large group arriving today, who probably jumped off the continent as soon as Hurricane Paloma began to fizzle.

Cheers for now,

Dawn (& Laurie)

Crystal Caves and Fireworks!

Last week St. George Harbour had been on the boil for 3 days, and rain had been either in the forecast or coming down in buckets; making sleep difficult, leaving the boat a wet and dirty affair, and most maintenance chores impossible. We have enjoyed books, music, and Sudoku; and missed our regular exercise. The heavy winds finally abated Friday morning, and, after our scheduled communication with the Mississauga Maritime Ham Net, the two of us scurried off the boat and caught a bus for the long but crazy bus ride to Hamilton. We got some shopping in – including visits to two chandleries where some boat equipment was acquired for us and other boats – and had a nice little lunch beside a beautiful park. The day slipped by rather fast, although I had time after our bus ride back to St. George to assist Buck on s/v Nomad with a repair of his wind generator. We discovered what was required before dark, but saved the repair for Saturday. Saturday night, we slept on flat water; such a pleasure after the days of bouncing at the mooring.

Saturday was fabulous. The sun gave us a beautifully warm day and provided 16 amps at times through our solar panels. Dawn dropped me off at Nomad, while she carried on to the Dinghy Club with a full bag of laundry. Buck and I had great success with the wind generator (broken electrical connections, with some complications related to lack of slack wire, height, and trying to solder in the wind) and Dawn had the boat festooned with drying laundry by noon.

At 1:30, Buck gave Dawn and I a tour of Nomad. It is a 38’ custom-built aluminum sloop, with everything well thought out for long-distance, cold-water cruising. So many interesting ideas, all arranged to allow single-handing success. As previously reported, he is returning to Florida from Newfoundland, and intends to get to Greenland next summer. The rest of us, trying to escape the cold, can’t truly understand this man who wants to spend his summers in long johns and 4 other layers, always in sight of a glacier. We’re aiming to convince him to visit beautiful Grand Lake the summer after his Greenland visit, where his wife Caroline can fly and meet up with him.

After the tour, we gathered with Buck, David and Kristin of “Sayonara” and Walter and Danna of “Madness” (1978, 42’ Peason ketch, hull #1) to go to the bus stop. We got off at the entrance to the “Crystal Cave”. After descending about 100’ down, we walked along a walkway on floating pontoons in an amazing and large cave of stalagtites and stalagmites. Hopefully Dawn can post a picture.

From there we walked to a place called the Swizzle Inn for supper. Great food, but we stuck to pitchers of the special “Rum Swizzles”, which ultimately we agreed included very little rum at $44.00 a round. The place was decorated with Canadian flags, as they were being visited by a Canadian rugby team. I tried to find out what team it was, but all they knew was the country. They didn’t show up while we were there. Regardless of the libations, we had fun; then took the bus back to St. George, and walked to St. Catherine’s Beach. We joined a large crowd with a giant beach bonfire and a bar selling libations.

At the beach, beside the towering east wall of Fort St Catherine, we were treated to the best fireworks show Dawn or I had ever witnessed. Likely the biggest part of it was how close we were. They were fired over our head from the high bluff in front of nearby Fort Albert. It was absolutely beautiful, and the crowd was most appreciative.

We walked back to St. George, enjoyed a tour of the sailboat “Madness”, then toddled off to bed. Tonight, we are having a party aboard “Sayonara”, who have too much food and not enough refrigerator. We’ll potluck all the items missing from the menu!

Slide show Rhode Island to Bermuda

Hi folks,
Check out some of our latest pics I have put together for you. I especially like the John Fallon/Laurie Corbett hug after the crew delivery in Newport!

http://www.flowers-cove.ca/CatTales/RItoBermudaphotos/album/index.html

We're meeting lots of people and a large group of us are heading by bus to see the Crystal Caves and then on to the famous Swizzle Inn for beverages!

Dawn

So, We Do Have an Audience!

Dawn and I have received some email from you folks confessing your loyal readership. Well, we'll write with you folks in mind.

Another day of wind and rain here (the noise of rain is drowning out the music of the radio), with promises of it abating tomorrow. However, the weather is still the big issue here, as Tropical Storm Paloma is interfering with the plans of many who look for a window to the Caribbean and as the storm could possibly head towards Bermuda itself. We have decided that the short 300 metres to the dock isn't worth the soaking, and we'll have another day aboard.

Tuesday, Dawn and I hiked up the tallest hill in St. George, to Fort George, now rebuilt with Bermuda Radio as it's tenant. The view was spectacular, and it boasted two 11" bore canon in the best shape on the island. The view assists the people of Bermuda Radio to control traffic to, from, and around the island and its reef system. The promontory is covered with antennae and radar systems. We often turn on our VHF just to hear traffic information. They quizz boats coming to Bermuda about their
safety gear, ports of call, etc., and also quizz any boat that comes within ~50 miles of the island and reef, even if they do not intend to stop in.

Our reason for being there was not just the hike nor was it limited to that and the view. We were asked by the Mississauga Maritime Ham Net (MMN)to investigate the disappearance of a single-hander. Jakob Fenger, an Icelandic man of 56 years of age, was last heard from near Bermuda on an Iridium phone on June 3rd of this year. He was sailing his 35' white sloop "Dyscotia" supposedly towards Newfoundland, when all knowledge of him ended. Even the phone service provider said all contact with the
phone ended soon after that last call. His family has been communicating with the cruising community and its service groups since then, attempting to track him down. My inquiry proved fruitless, and Bermuda Radio said that Canadian officials had already made the appropriate inquiries with them. What happened? I have no idea. At present, I have no information on his last port of call, on his last location, or the weather in the area at the time of the disappearance. A theory suggested by a member
of the MMN is that he could have hit a containor recently knocked off the many ships in the Atlantic, and went down before he could save himself or respond.

Could that happen to us? Less likely, as Cat Tales would stay afloat after such a collision, and we should be able to set off our EPIRB and arrange a rescue. Even if the boat became uninhabitable, we could sit in the liferaft (not the dinghy) with the EPIRB continuing to direct rescue efforts to our location. I still intend to get to Customs and Immigration, and ask if the boat had recently been in the vicinity.

Another mystery is intriguing us, as well, and we hope to investigate it when we get some internet service ashore. Bermuda Radio broadcast to mariners that there was an abandoned trimaran between here and the New England area, and provided the last known lat. and long. No information has been provided regarding the fate of the passengers, or the final fate of the trimaran. Anybody want to do a search? The calamity must have happened within the last 7 days.

Well, I ought to do some wiring - I can stay dry doing that, and the bouncing no longer affects my stomach.

Laurie (& Dawn)

Slow Time

Hi. Laurie here. Things are slowing down for us. I've been up the mast, along bulkheads, and into the engines, and Cat Tales is none the worse for the banging on the way over here. We are likely to continue spending time with ham nets, touring, hiking, and reading. We are getting into the groove, and are enjoying Bermuda. We've had it pretty nice since we got here, with many days of warm sunshine and calm winds. Today it is overcast, windy to gale force, and rather cool, and after our walk
and a nice lunch ashore, we're back at the boat and have switched to long sleeves and pants. Not much else to say, and it may be tough to keep up a weblog, unless we include book reports!

Two nights ago, we attended a fish fry at the Dinghy Club with many American yachties. Nice people, and we have much in common with them. However, many of this group arrived in very large boats, and made the crossing with little thought to the weather. There was a lot of testosterone bragging about what they put their boats through. Many of them are now getting repairs done, thanks to all the payments people make to insurance. I'm a bit annoyed with that. The meal was great, though, and the
company wasn't bad at all.

There are about 25 boats in St. George Harbour now at any one time. A few arrive through the cut, and a few more leave each day. Most are massive, some are beautiful, and some are truly intriguing - with any number of freestanding and fixed spars, bow sprits, and stern sprits and pushpits to manage big mizzens. Yesterday there were only 3 Canadian vessels, and they were all catamarans (ours was by far the smallest, of course). Today, two more Canadian boats, monohulls, are in port.

We met a single hander, Buck, with a boat called "Nomad. Nomad is a 38 foot aluminum hulled sloop, and because his wife really doesn't do the boat thing, he chooses not to miss out and travels alone enjoying a brief visit from her here and there. His home is Florida and in May of this year, he headed north to go around Newfoundland and along his way, enjoyed Miscou Island and Baddeck. He had great stories to tell of the people he met along the way. He told us that never in his life did he wear
long johns for then entire summer! He headed straight from NS south to Bermuda which took him 10 days. He described rough weather, but didn't seem to be overly upset by it all. He was great company at the Fish Fry, and yesterday, he dropped by a bag of his favourite books as loaners.

Cheers for now,

Laurie

Brian's take on the trip to Bermuda!

Hi folks. We just received this rendition of Brian's experience out at sea. Thanks Brian for sending it to us:

First of all guys I'd like to express my appreciation for the opportunity to experience "blue water sailing". I'd like you to know I was never concerned about our safety during the trip for two reasons: one, the word of God says "be anxious for nothing" and I take Him at His word and secondly, I know Laurie had prepared the boat to the best of his ability. The pre-departure safety talk was well thought out and proved to me we were ready (new life raft, EPIRB, man overboard gear, cockpit and foredeck
rules...). Were there things that could be done differently? You betcha! I'd start administering motion sickness meds about eight hours prior to leaving. After the fact they just don't work! Word of advice to any who might read this...if you're out there and are already or just about sick...use a suppository! You'll keep it working for you. Get over the icky part of it! Enough of dwelling on the somewhat negative and dramatic parts of the trip. Some really notable things happened. I'll
try to itemize them rather than go into expansive details (not necessarily in chronological order):

The trip down from East Greenwich to Norfolk was a beautiful run on a clear day cool but not cold. Passing some magnificent homes and resorts, the trees a quilt of fall colours;
Passing under the suspension bridge past a large cruise ship and taking a mooring ball in Newport harbour where we mingled with a couple of classic 12 metre boats and admired the schooner that sailed out of the anchorage;
The euphoria of making the big decision to leave and going for it;
Dodging fishing pots and the first sunset.

My first watch was at 1:00 A.M. Kent woke me something like "time for your duty". Alone in the dark, the engines off as I sat in the captain's chair letting the wind blow over me and listening to the sound of the wind the waves and the wind generator. I think that was after I had a good look at the lasagne for the second time. Amazed how little it digested. Just as Kent went to his bunk he mentioned a light on the horizon. It turned out to be a returning fishing boat that had passed us on the
way out of Newport. They light up the back of their boats like a variety store parking lot. To look at them you lose your night vision. I had to move us a couple of points off course to avoid him. There were a couple of other lights on the horizon that night but they never materialized into anything. Interestingly those lights were not visible from inside the cabin.

The sky was clear and at one point I saw a shooting star out of the corner of my eye so large I thought it might have been a flare.
That was my last time outside the cabin until Bermuda!

What about the Dolphins?! Laurie was out by the mast adjusting the main sail and saw three dolphins between the hull (unconfirmed sighting). Later Dawn Kent and I witnessed the dolphins between the hulls and frolicking in the waves beside us. Kind of freaky when you are looking up into a wave and seeing them. We only saw them one time and relatively briefly. Unfortunately I couldn't get a decent picture.

The confused sea state really was the most distressing aspect of the trip, the slamming and shaking, side slipping and dropping into holes. At one point I was lying in bed in my nylon sleeping bag and suddenly went skidding to the other side of the bunk! Some of the noises were disturbing as well. The cabin I was in was directly over the port engine and under the wind generator. There were times the hull was vibrating in such a manner that I thought the engine was on! The wind generator would
suddenly drop from a high pitched whirl to a low evil sounding guttural groan when the wind speed topped @ 30 knots! Then there was this creaking. I believe it was coming from the wooden headliner. There may be a couple of screws that need tightening. How did I sleep? Apparently quite well! Dawn came to wake me for my watch. She knocked on the door, she opened the door and called my name, she finally reached in and shook me calling my name and I woke up saying " I thought I was awake"!

Crossing the Gulf Stream. To me it was almost a non-event. It seemed to me that the sea state moderated somewhat, One thing for certain was I didn't need my toque any more and I didn't need to wear socks to bed.

After getting my sea legs, I managed to read two novels and several magazine articles.

Second to last day out there the lasagne was served again. Laurie and I managed to keep it down. Kent passed up the opportunity to even try.
Coming into Bermuda at night with Bermuda Radio urging us on so we could get to customs before midnight. When it became apparent we wouldn't make it to the office before closing, it seemed to be a bit of resignation in the tone of voice when we were instructed to anchor in Powder Hole. They had us on radar I would have thought our rate of progress was obvious. Coming into Bermuda is just a confusion of lights. With the swells we were riding it was difficult to determine a flashing from a steady
and there was a sense of looking downhill at them. Bad enough it was dark and we had to negotiate a narrow cut through a kaleidoscope of lights, there were the large unlit can buoys that weren't particularly reflective! Anchor down @ 1:30 or was it 12:30? I kept my watch on Eastern Daylight time where Bermuda is on Atlantic. Whatever, the wind was still blowing but the water was smooth, Dawn cooked up some rice and chili and it was time for libations.

Morning broke on a beautiful sunny day. We did not rush over to customs. Coffee and a real breakfast first.

Bermuda, what a beautiful island. A bit expensive yes, but they are in the middle of the Atlantic. Lots of history (real forts). Clean, even the guys who were loitering in the park all day picked up their garbage before they left! Very friendly and happy people. Colourful and quaint. The transportation system of ferries and busses is to be experienced, one pass can get all over the island. No need to rent scooters. (You need your head examined if you do!)

Would I do it over again? Absolutely!
Will I return to Bermuda? Hopefully with Lorna!

All the best to Kent. It was great crewing with you. The position update from the SPOT unit were appreciated. John F. and John S., thanks for adding colour to our send off. John F. thanks for keeping the home bodies at ease with you updates to the blog. I have been told that they were glad they didn't know what was really going on!

Thanks for the memories!

Brian
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