Captain's Log Jan-Mar 2007

March 19, 2007. Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
Since July 21, 2006 when I departed Bundaberg, Australia for Darwin, I've log 14,750 miles in eight months - a little over half the distance around the world.

The passages where without sustained severe weather as we stayed within the southeasterly trade winds. However, there was the occasional squall or calm that made the passages interesting. With the exception of the passage from Richards Bay to Cape Town, the passages were long because there wasn't anywhere along the route to stop. Equipment failure was a common occurrence due to wear on the long passages. Dream Catcher was not unique in this regard. Most of the boats I encountered had to make repairs along the way.

Russell Furlong, First Mate, on the passages from East London to Cape Town invited me to celebrate Christmas with him and his family, Roddy and Jenny Furlong, who live in Port Elizabeth, S. Africa, and Jenny's family living in England who came to Port Elizabeth for the holidays. It was a wonderful celebration, very similar in the way we celebrate Christmas in the United States. Jenny Furlong made a wonderful Christmas pudding. She gave me the recipe and I will make it next Christmas. It will bring back delightful memories of the wonderful Christmas shared with the Furlong family.

Between Christmas and New Years we all went to dinner at a restaurant that served Spring Buck, a S. African antelope. It was better than the best beef steak I've every had. Later in the week Roddy and Jenny took all of us to a wild animal park. Roddy and Jenny are keen bird watches and they pointed out a wide variety of S. African birds - which was as interesting as seeing the elephants and other large animals in the park.

We celebrated New Year's Eve at the marina in East London just like millions of people all over the world, dinner and a tasting of the grape - well perhaps it was a bit more than a tasting. Lots of music, and good times.

The passage to Cape Town was uneventful, thanks to Fred Meyer, the weather router in Durban, and Russell Furlong who did an outstanding job as First Mate. Russell now has his Captain's license and is pursuing a career as a Charter Captain.

Cape Town is a first class world city that is prosperous and growing. S. Africa is the best hope for Africa and could be the template for other African countries. However, according to those living there who I talked with, there is still much to be sorted out politically and economically and the outcome is still uncertain. S. Africa is a country of great promise and opportunity and I hope that the critical issues can be resolved peacefully and in the best interests of the country and its continued growth.

While in Cape Town we had two days of a Southwesterly that produced winds up to 62 miles per hour. I doubled up the dock lines because chafing of the lines was a serious threat. On the morning of the second day one of the lines did chaff and I put out another line. Needless to say, no boat moved during the two days, including commercial fishing boats.

John Torgersen joined the boat in Cape Town and we departed for Jamestown, St. Helena. The passage was uneventful although we had several days of calm seas and very little wind that required us to motor sail. St. Helena is a remote island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, 700 miles southeast of Ascension Island. Entering James Bay, St. Helena appears to be nothing but a huge volcanic deposit of lava. However, the interior of the island is covered with lush vegetation providing breath taking scenes of St. Helena's valleys and mountains.

St. Helena is the island where Napoleon was exiled in 1815 and where he died in 1821. We visited his home and the site of his tomb, chosen by Napoleon, in which he was originally buried. In 1840 his body was exhumed and returned to Paris.

Prior to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, St. Helena was an important port of call for sailing ships going to or coming from around Cape Town. However, the opening of the Suez Canal significantly diminished its importance as a port of call for boats bound to or from Europe.

St. Helena is the home for approximately 6,000 English citizens. On Sunday we visited St. James' Church and had a delightful conversation with the bishop of the church who reviewed a lot of the history of the church - which is the oldest Anglican Church south of the Equator. On arrival to the island the first reaction is, "How can anyone find this an attractive place to live or visit." On the third day, I thought it was a beautiful island with friendly people on which I could spend a week. However, it was time to leave in order to participate in the last two days of Carnival in Recife, Brazil.

The passage to Recife had its exciting moments. Crossing over the Equator at 0200 hours we celebrated the occasion with a glass of red wine and toasted King Neptune. Siren, one of the boats that we were anchored with in St. Helena, departed for Recife a day earlier than we did. On the fifth day out of St. Helena we talked with them on the radio and learned that they had worn out several fan belts and were without engine power. We agreed to meet them and transfer two belts to them. (We both have Perkins 4108 engines.) It was all very exciting coming up on another boat in the middle of the ocean and transferring the belts to them. They were one of only five boats we saw on the entire 2150 mile passage. We both arrived in Recife within a day of each other and spent the next three days celebrating Carnival with them and two other boats.

Carnival in Recife was magical. Within the city, in an area less than one mile square, there had to be one million happy, dancing, marching, singing, people eating and drinking all kinds of interesting local foods and beverages. At times it was so crowded that if you stumbled it would be impossible to fall down - but if you did, you would be trampled by the surging crowd. Everyone was happy and of good will.

Carnival in Recife was an evening event. Carnival in Olinda, which is 15 miles north of Recife, was a day event, so we went to Recife in the evening and Olinda, on the second day. In Olinda, there seemed to be more people in a smaller area than in Recife. In Recife and Olinda, there were bands marching in the streets followed by citizens dancing to the beat of the music, parades of costumed dancers from outlying villages, or local organizations, followed by citizens dancing and clapping hands to create a beat to which they could dance. And all the time lots of food vendors along the street selling all kinds of local food and drink. Everyone was having a great time. I was delighted to participate in the celebration, but two days is about all one can take of organized mayhem. It was time to depart for St. Lucia.

The passage to St. Lucia was an exciting 13 ½ day passage. In our fastest 24 hour passage we covered 181 miles with most days exceeding 150 miles per day. Fishing was excellent and we caught four dolphin fish, one measured 4 feet long. We also hooked a 6 foot long Great White Shark - or what I believe was a Great White Shark. After dragging it behind the boat for about an hour we brought it close enough to the boat to cut the wire leader and release it.

St. Lucia is one of the islands in the chain of Windward Islands and is an independent nation - previously an English territory. I stopped here on the way to Panama 3 years ago and I'm delighted to be back. For the next three weeks I'll be working on the boat and preparing for the passage to Perth Amboy via Bermuda - a distance of approximately 1,700 miles. I hope to depart St. Lucia no later than April 15.

March 25, 2007. Rodney Bay, St. Lucia
I am in Rodney Bay Marina varnishing the teak, cleaning the boat and making minor repairs in preparation for the final passage to Perth Amboy, NJ with one stop in Bermuda. The passage to Bermuda is approximately 1100 miles and from Bermuda to NJ is approximately 650 miles. The total passage time will be about 17 days - including a three or four day layover in Bermuda. I hope to arrive in Raritan Bay on May 12, at about 3:00 PM.

St. Lucia is the largest of the English speaking Windward Islands. Originally an English territory, it is now an independent nation. The island is mountainous and covered with lush vegetation. Bananas are the island's major crop. While touring the island I bought 10 lbs. of bananas from a roadside vendor. There is nothing like tree ripened St. Lucia bananas. They are sweet and flavorful.

Three and one-half years ago I stopped in St. Lucia on the way south to the Panama Canal. Ray Clark, who is the webmaster for the Dream Catcher web site, joined the boat at that time, and we had such a good time I decided to stop here on the passage from Brazil to New Jersey. The people on St. Lucia are extremely friendly, the island is beautiful, the economy is strong and Rodney Bay has one of the best marinas in the Caribbean. It is a stop that many of the cruising yachtees make on their passages in the Caribbean.

I had an unexpected surprise the day I arrived in Rodney Bay. Hanna and Guy DeTomasso, friends who I have been sailing with for about five years in New Jersey waters, arrived in Rodney Bay on their sailboat and were docked 10 boats away from where I docked. They have been sailing the Caribbean for the past two years and we had a great time getting caught up on their adventures. Four days later, Rod and Maryann Simrad arrived in Rodney Bay. In 2001, I helped them sail their boat from Norfolk, Virginia to the British Virgin Islands and I hadn't seen them since then. They heard I was docked at the marina and came by to visit. We had breakfast at a local restaurant giving us a wonderful opportunity to get caught up with their adventures and to recall the great time we had on our passage to the BVI's in 2001. They are headed back next year to Ohio after spending seven years cruising the Caribbean.

Three days later Anthony and Janice Thorpe and their two children arrived in their sailboat in Rodney Bay. I met them in Cocos Keeling in September, 2006 and have been meeting at different islands and countries along the way since Cocos Keeling. They will complete their circumnavigation when they reach Florida. We've had several sundowners and dinners together here in Rodney Bay. They are wonderful friends and we have had great times together in the 14,000 miles we have sailed during these past six months.

Two days ago I met Tracy and Max McDonald who are sailing their boat from the Caribbean to their home in Australia. We had dinner on their boat and spent almost five hours talking about our respective adventures. Ten years ago they flew to Katmandu and started hiking to Base Camp on Mt. Everest - a dream and a goal they had held for many years. At about 18,000 feet on Mt. Everest Max had such severe headaches due to altitude sickness they decided to turn back and return to a lower elevation. (The summit of Mt. Everest is over 29,000 feet above sea level.) They explained that it takes a longer time to adjust to the higher elevations and the lack of oxygen than they had planned for. They felt, had they had more time to adjust to the higher altitudes, they could have gone much higher up the mountain. I asked them if they were disappointed that they had not reached Base Camp. They said, "Absolutely not. The trip and hike was the highlight of all the trips we have ever taken. The hike to the point where we turned around was wonderful. Crossing a crocodile infested river, suddenly meeting a rhino on the path at a lower elevation, over coming the anxiety of walking on a two foot wide mountain path with a steep mountain on one side and a sheer drop off of several thousand feet on the other side of the path, meeting other hikers along the way, eating and sleeping in tea houses on the way up Mt. Everest were as important and enriching as reaching Base Camp. Reaching Base Camp would have been very gratifying, but it would have been only one of many great experiences of our entire trip."

Seeing old friends here in Rodney Bay and recalling some of my adventures has created a flood of wonderful memories of experiences and friends I've made along the way -many who I may never see again, but will never forget.