Norman No Mates
UHURU
Steve Powell
Wed 22 Apr 2009 19:25
Well here I am again, back in Nelson’s Dockyard on my own. Bean’s and the girls left on Sunday and Bottie and Jess left yesterday. I can now enjoy the delights of Nelson’s Dockyard all to myself, well not quite. Unlike when I arrived here a little over a month ago, it is now packed. Everyone getting ready for Antigua Race Week, which seems to be going ahead despite the problems, Global Recession and the arrest of their main sponsor, Stanford, for fraud on a massive scale.
But all that means nothing to ‘Norman No Mates’, my goals for the day are to find a like minded, scotch drinking, cigar smoking, red blooded male to while the time away, and BS long and hard about what great adventurers we are!! Well I have found one, second day into Nelson’s Dockyard I was doing the sundowner thing, G & T plus cigar, when my neighbour in a beautiful boat called ‘Indaba’, meeting place in KwaZulu, announced his desire to join me on the grounds that any man that smoked cigars on a 62ft Oyster was worth talking too. Well, John Burnie, from SA and Lymington, and I have since become strong drinking buddies. Which has included at least three ten hour lunches, and I do not exaggerate, I promise. John and I had settled into a nice little domestic regime of long lunches and bags of ‘Bull shit’ when our respective other half’s turned up from the UK. Well they soon put an end to all that :-). And our next lunch at Catherine’s, the best restaurant in Antigua, believe me, ended up as another ten hour job, with Beans and the girls, all ending at the ‘jump up’ (steel band and rum party) on Shirley Heights.
Beans on fine form at Catherine’s, and John strutting his stuff with the owner.
The legendary view from the ’jump up’ on Shirley Heights. English Harbour and Nelson’ Dockyard in the foreground and Falmouth Harbour in the background.
Well we weren’t here just to party we had planned to sail a little.....
So we set off for Barbuda, a beautiful coral island about 30 miles north of Antigua. With my very, very glamorous crew of Beans, Willie, Lucie, Bemma, Jess and Laura plus one ‘old git’, Bottie.
We had a fantastic week which included threading our way through multiple reefs and coral heads with Lucie up in the spreaders guiding us through and a spectacular whale sighting that included a full breach that I missed getting the picture of, some photographer I turned out to be, lots of fresh Tuna and long empty beaches.
Fun as our trip was it’s main purpose was to train up this motley crew into a lean mean racing machine so it involved lots intense training and ‘full English’ breakfasts. When we got back to Nelson’s Dockyard the Oyster Fleet was ready and waiting for the 2009 Oyster Antigua Regatta.
Thirty Oysters were entered into the regatta, from 43ft to 82ft. We were the smallest, and slowest, in Class One.
My ‘top team’ of girlies jumping into action on Day one.
Bottie, on the bow, found his true calling as bow man and supreme poser!
And although we came last in Class, again, we had some of the finest sailing any sailor could wish for........
The fleet coming around Sandy Island, where two Oysters went aground on Day Three.
Well I have just watched the Budget online and have realised how inappropriate this blog is.....
However, it is comforting to know that our dear Labour Government is resorting to type by once again trying to solve all their incompetent economic management by taxing the so called rich “until the pips squeak”. Nothing really changes. I am reminded of one of Maggie Thatcher’s greatest quote’s:
“ The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money to spend”.
Well Gordon seems to have done that, with spades, but he’s still going to try and squeeze a bit more out of us.
Never mind take few moments to open this link and sing along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo
Remember someone out there is having fun, despite Gordon’s best efforts!! :-) (Mind you he still might get me yet)
Luv to all from ‘Norman No Mates’, on the Good Ship UHURU.
Steve
PS. And finally a worthy contribution to NABS.........
Steve Powell (Owner/Skipper)
UHURU of Lymington
steve {CHANGE TO AT} uhuru {DOT} mailasail {DOT} com
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The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money