Frenzied sailing.

Pelekan
Tom & Jos Hollway
Fri 19 Apr 2013 20:13

17:01.00N 61:46.00W
Friday 19th April 2013

I imagined Sue would want to spend 10 days on the beach - but no. She emerged from the plane last Saturday with a big grin across her pale, sun starved face, eager to get the boat moving.

Hardly time to recover from the journey we set out for Montserrat at about 8.30am on Monday. The sail there was good and we arrived about 2.0pm. I have been to Montserrat only once before, Tom several times, Sue not at all.

It never ceases to be an extraordinary experience. Over half the island is uninhabitable. The volcano, which erupted in 1997, is still active. At the moment, relatively quiet, it emits a sulphurous gas that fills the air downwind with a noxious smell, and volcanic ash is blown over the landscape as well as being washed down the hills causing grey swathes of compacted ash, combined with previous pyroclastic flows, which has almost totally buried the previously vibrant capital of Plymouth, and it's surrounds. Our taxi driver on Tuesday morning took us on a really great tour, including the now derelict "Air" recording studios owned by George Martin. He showed us footage from the days when artists including the Rolling Stones used to visit the island and record in what must have been the most idyllic studio on the planet.

We decided to launch the boat at Guadeloupe after the morning tour and had a splendid sail to Deshaies arriving at 7.0pm.
After a windy night the early morning gusts almost blew us out of the anchorage and we decided to head straight for Antigua, without even a journey ashore for a baguette. Not too impressed with the weather forecasts of 17- 20 knots. The sail was spent reefing in and out with winds mainly over 20 knots and gusts over 30. No gin spills this time, just a few books that hurtled across the saloon having broken through their " sea safe" shelf. The upside was that we arrived by lunchtime having batted along at 7 and 8 knots so were able to have a leisurely afternoon before a fine meal ashore.
Antigua Classics week has now begun and, predictably, the weather has gone pear shaped with clouds and squalls and forecasts of further deterioration.

Goodbye for now from Tom, Sue, and me.