English Harbour
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17:00.5N 61:45.9W We slept late after the long crossing back from St Kitts.
When I got up Ian was already studying in case I gave him an exam at the end of
the fortnight.
Lynne wanted to go to Nelson’s Dockyard in
The left hand entrance used to be guarded by
Another view of the entrance to the
harbour.
We finally docked in Nelson’s Dockyard right in the heart
of
Here’s a chart showing just how well protected yachts are
from the sea. We were tied up by the almost horizontal black line just at the
base of the top left stretch of water.
Nelson’s Dockyard has been restored to its former glory
with many of the buildings now used for boat maintenance of some sort. It also
has a museum dedicated to Nelson. Very nice, but it’s crawling with hundreds of
cruise ship passengers who have been bussed in from In the old days they used to repair the underwater
profile of the ships by hauling them over sideways until one half of the
underside was out of the water – fix whatever needed doing - then repeat on the
other side. That was called careening and they used big old capstans on the
shore to exert the leverage.
They used to be superstitious. Women were not welcome on
board but they were reckoned to be the best navigators. So instead they often
used figureheads of bare breasted women and they used to model them on their
wives or other notable women. The bare breasts represented the power of women.
It was said that the figurehead would see them through troubled waters and guide
them safely home when they got lost.
They also used big cannons to guard the harbour from the
French and assorted others.
They also used to miss their gardens back
home
We arrived at a good time as the Atlantic rowers had just
completed their Atlantic crossing. Hat’s off to them – they make my achievements
seem pathetic in comparison.
After Lynne and Ian left we went back to the peace and
quiet of
Pat said to me - you know they were very brave sailing
across to Brave or not – they came to learn about sailing – and
without realising – they learned a lot. They now know how to put up the mainsail and how to
reduce it’s area when it gets too windy. They can do the same with the
headsail. They are experts at anchoring – feeling the chain to make
sure the anchor is fixed in place - taking transits to make sure the boat is not
dragging its anchor – rigging a snubber to take the strain off the windlass –
recovering the anchor with lots of hand signals to the helmsman – they could do
it in their sleep. They learned all about winching and still have all their
fingers – well done. Customs and immigration procedures and the various flag
etiquettes – no problem. Different points of sail – downwind fast and quiet and
the boat stays upright – upwind slow and wet and the boat leans over – guess
which is Lynne’s favourite. Navigation – no problem – Antigua, Montserrat, Redonda,
Nevis, St Kitts, Provisioning the boat – you need lots of beer and rum.
Simple really! And finally – Ian passed his exam – he can now tie a
bowline. Well done guys. I hope I haven’t put you off sailing for
ever! Here’s a few more random memories for
you.
So what were the highlights of the 2 weeks for
everyone. For Ian it was the colour of the
water For Lynne it was the temperature of the
water For Pat it was sports day on And for me -
it was watching Ian manage to swim a lap of the
boat. Next we head off to St Martin/St Maarten – the half
French half Dutch
island. |
