Farewells and The Oyster Regatta

Yesterday, 17^th April, we went on our final jaunt as a crew to Carlisle Bay, half an hour’s motoring west of Falmouth Harbor. Our crew, Louis, Rob, Giles, George, and I, have been a team since Mauritius, with short stints at home or off the boat for each of us, except Giles. We took Hal and Nick from Serendipity along with us, one of the last OWR boats remaining in Antigua. It was a glorious lazy day of relishing the beautiful Antiguan coastline and swimming in the crystal-clear waters of Carlisle Bay with turtles, star fish, and needle fish. A languorous lunch followed, then a slightly bumpier upwind trip home to the Catamaran Club Marina, culminating in a dock side hamburger barbecue for any OWR crew still around. The last night aboard for Giles and George ended with a few rousing games of pool in Garrisons pub in Falmouth. Giles will start his new job as engineer on Mexican Wave, an Oyster 745, a few hours after he lands in London! He trundled home with all his precious kite surfing gear. He hopes to perfect his kite surfing, engineering, and sailing skills while crewing on Mexican Wave for the next Oyster World Rally, which starts right here in Antigua in January 2024. We are sad to see him go he has been a fabulous asset to the Irene IV crew and wish him all the very best. George returns to boarding school on the 24^th April a few days ahead of his 16^th birthday, which may be a bit of a shock! He has been working on a school presentation of his 17,000+ mile journey aboard Irene IV and Serendipity. He has grown both in height and maturity in immense amounts. We shall miss his youth, his energy, and his wild hair! Good luck with your reentry to land life George, we miss you already!

As previously mentioned, our arrival in Antigua on the 2^nd April was a momentous day. The OWR had run its course and we had landed back where we had started 16 months previously. However, instead of sitting back and decompressing and reflecting on our achievement, we, in true Goor style, were flung head long into Oyster Regatta preparation mode! Let me pause for a moment to define the difference between a Rally and a Regatta. A rally is a group of yachts travelling together for comradery, safety, and adventure. A regatta is a group of yachts racing. It is true that while on the rally many races were competed, totally illegally!! However, this was a real race and we wanted to win. Rob and Louis were in their element. Fuel and water tanks were at their lowest possible levels. Stacks of “stuff” was unearthed and removed from the boat to reduce weight, including 5 car batteries, and an enormous Fisherman’s anchor! This was a massive declutter event that would have made Marie Kondo proud! Irene IV rose higher in the water each day and we were able to gift many happy people all sorts of lost treasures. For racing the Bimini and Spray Hood are always removed so that the sails are totally visible as well as for ease of movement around the boat. So now we were completely exposed to the Caribbean sun. Fortunately, two new crew members joined us to help in this herculean task, Angus Miller, and Mike Kearney. They were greeted with a few brief niceties and immediately thrown into the furor. Irene IV was exhausted from hauling us all over the world and now she had a new lease of life, light as a feather and champing at the bit to enter the steeplechase fray across the salty waves. 

Rob and Louis had been recruiting crew over the past few weeks and assigning specific jobs to each. We were a crew of 11 eager bodies. Our Irene IV crew of 5 were joined by Angus, Mike, Calum, Kirsty, Charlie-May, with Gail, and Laura alternating. On the 3^rd April we were assembled for a practice session. After a pep talk from Louis and Rob, we set sail, each at his or her post. The stern, helming, and tactical crew behind the binnacles, trimming the main sail, steering and overviewing timings and tacking or gybing; the cockpit crew trimming foresails, always at the ready to jump on the high side of the boat dangling legs over the side, heads jutting through the rails adding weight to help balance the heal; and the bow crew, raising the spinnaker, and the pole, adjusting lines, and generally leaping about. We honed our skills. The next day we repeated the exercise. We were getting good. The Regatta started on the 5^th with meetings, briefings and generally rules and regulations updates, and ended on the 8^th. Day 1 dawned overcast, rainy, with winds topping 28 knots.  We had a morning race, a short break at anchor for lunch, and a second race in the afternoon. The 20 or so Oyster yachts in the regatta were separated into classes according to length, we were in class 2, along with 4 other boats. In the morning we came first in our class, and in the afternoon 3^rd. The afternoon brought us our first taste of drama. Our not too friendly neighbor in Nelson’s Dockyard, Sotto Vente, an Oyster 655 like Irene IV, almost rammed us. They came towards us on a port tack (we were on starboard tack, which has precedence) at full tilt looking like they would T-bone us and cut us in half. They had lost control of their steering because they had not released the pressure on their main sheet in time. The intension had been to swing below us but at the last minute after a few seconds stunned silence onboard Irene IV, they tacked and came within a whisper of our port side. We all yelled in relief! Not an apologetic word was ever uttered from skipper or crew of Sotto Vente. Less than half an hour later there was a loud snap, the portside genoa sheet broke. Giles leapt straight into action, moved the starboard sheet to the port side, tied it on to the sail with a bowline knot, then undid the frayed sheet, and we were off again. Giles moves around the boat like a cheetah - quick, focused and determined. That night we partied until late at the Oyster 50^th anniversary dinner at the Admiral’s Inn. Trevor Hill, owner of Intrepid, gave a rousing speech on behalf of all of us on the Oyster World Rally. 

Day 2 dawned too early! The sky had brightened, the wind lessened a knot or two. We were bound for Nunsuch Bay, beside gorgeous Green Island for a day of upwind sailing, with less tacking than the day before. The cockpit crew spent more time on the rail balancing the boat, being constantly drenched by huge warm water waves. One particularly big wave pushed me over on top of Angus, both of us completely submerged causing my life jacket to activate, left me gasping for breath, and looking like the Michelin (wo)man! The day before, Giles, on the bow, had had a similar soaking with a similar life jacket outcome! We anchored for the night in the bay, dinghied ashore to the fabulous Rokuni Asian inspired restaurant for that night’s festivities, which included the daily prizegiving and delicious dinner and cocktails.

Day 3 saw us exhausted but excited for the downwind leg back to English Harbor. The spinnaker was deployed for about an hour and a half. The lift that the spinnaker gives the boat is like the moment of lift off on an airplane. We flew through the water at an average of 9.5 knots, soaring. Irene IV was in her element. This race was a class regatta race but also a pursuit race. A pursuit race has boats of different sizes and speeds starting at different times, to give all participants a sporting chance at winning. So, all classes are racing each other. We came a very close third at the finish line, with the 2 boats ahead of us a mere couple of boat lengths in front. At the prizegiving that night we came third overall, we were delighted. It had been a very successful 3 days of racing and our crew had gelled perfectly. The day ended with hugs all around and many a celebratory drink.

We were sad to say goodbye to Angus and Mike so soon, but I think they really enjoyed their short but exhilarating stay.