Whales in the Caribbean later than normal
Two weeks ago we were out on the first day of Antigua Sailing Week 2008. It was a day that Xtreme wasn't working and the Eco Tour boat was doing a private charter. Greg from Caribbean Helicopters, Ian from Acqua Films and several other friends came out with me to watch some of the racing starts off Falmouth Harbour. That was fun and we followed the racing for a while watching the fantastic yachts do some very close roundings at the Curtain Bluff gybe mark. Anyway, later we had planned to go on to the finish where there was going to be a beach party at Ft. James. This year the Antigua Hotel Association which owns and runs sailing week decided to move the regatta from Dickenson Bay on this day for a number of reasons. Anyway, it turned out to be a big problem with waves breaking on the shore causing many upsets for water taxis and their guests. 
The coast guard with machine guns at hand were there to help (aka watch).
Amazingly there were no major injuries. The four photos above were taken by Kevin Johnson and lifted from facebook. Anyway, on our way to Ft. James we were passing in close to Hawksbill as we normally do on the west coast when off to my I noticed something big and black break the surface about a 1/4 mile from us.
It didn't spout as i normally expect whales to do when they surfaced. There was a big fast powerboat coming up behind me and we told them to slow down just after i saw the tell tale humped back come out of the water again. These whales were half way between Sandy Island and Hawksbill rock.
I told the guys in the other boat to follow me and we went along to check the whales out. So many Antiguans who own boats somehow manage to miss whales every year. Gilbert Boustani a classmate of mine was driving the boat and said that it was his first time seeing them. Anyway, these whales usually move on my this time and i was surprised to see them in so close. The kept surfacing nearby and at one time when we were drifting with engines off trying to figure where they were...they passed right under our bow. It was such an amazing experience. As you know from reading my blogs if you are a "regular" reader, our country's leaders support Japanese whaling so in my opinion its always a good idea to show as many Antiguas as possible these amazing creatures. If someone is lucky enough to be up close to them and see them interact with their calves then they couldn't possible support whaling. Anyway, the mother and calf in this case just kept cruising around the boats without seeming to be bothered by us. Usually they keep swimming into deeper waters not wanting to be bothered by boats, but this time they didn't seem to mind that much. I called my dad on the VHF radio. He was so excited as he had just been alongside some super fast tri-maran which was passing all the other boats at speeds of about 28 knots he said. Anyway, i knew he would be more excited to hear about these relaxed whales. Many other boats had listened in to our conversation and before long there were five or six other small boats hanging around the whales. I told them to turn their motors off if they were going to stick around. 
At one time the whales got so close to us as we were just drifting that i just jumped in with my snorkeling gear. 
Several of the guys on the boat followed me and we were lucky enough to see the massive momma protecting her calf up close. 
IT was an amazing experience for all of us that day. The crazy thing was that it happened to be the busiest day of boating for the year and many sailing yachts as well as powerboats got a good look at the whales in the calm shallow waters. 
I was a bit worried though as they didn't move much over the next 24 hours. The eco boat had a good look that first day with all their local guests too. Many of them had never seen whales and all agreed that our government needed to stop supporting Japan. The next day JD and crew on the regular eco tour managed to see them not too far from the place we had been the day before. Wow! How lucky we all were!! That being said, i was very worried about the whales as i had never seen them stick around for that long in one place. My girlfriend and I made calls all over the world trying to find info on this situation. Were we about to see a stranding? I hoped not. All that boat traffic could have been problematic, and after all the phone calls we didn't seem to have any more answers. Then i remembered that a whale watching boat from Dominica was here helping Sailing Week by doing starts. One of our regular fishing crew "Big John" managed to hook up with the skipper of the whale watcher and explained the situation. The skipper told John that he had seen this sort of behaviour many times and said that when a whale and her calf have been in stressful situations out at see they often will come into a calm sheltered bay to relax and feed. 
When we are speaking of feeding we are only talking about the calf as the parents don't feed during the six month period that they are away from the nutrient rich waters of the North Atlantic. Anyway, possibly a big shark out in the Atlantic had bothered the calf enough for the mother not to have been able to feed it. Who knows but sure enough after 2 days they were gone again. We were all so relieved and happy to have seen them in the calm waters. Usually when we see them the whales are in the rough Atlantic and sitting around drifting in those waves is never that enjoyable for our guests. I was also surprised at how late these guys were staying around this year. Little did i know i would see way more in the days to come......
posted by AdventureAntigua.com at 8:56 AM
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Finally we were under power and catching the slower boats while keeping up with the two leaders. At times it looked as though we were gaining on the two guys up front while reaching out to the gybe mark. From here i was sure we would pass them as our new downwind "flying jib" was supposed to be very powerful according to the designer. Needless to say, we rounded the mark, hoisted the sail and saw the leading boats pull away even more from us. 
The guys up front in control of the "flying jib" said it looked funny, and finally i left the helm to have a look. It looked terrible and told them to take it down. Immediately we could feel the boat starting to do better. With only two sails we were no match for the guys up front who had heaps of power more than we did. We managed to finish the race over the line third and got a second on corrected time (corrected according to a formulae to do with finishing time multiplied by your yachts rating. Ratings are calculated according to the weights and measurements of the yacht.) Second wasn't bad for our first race ever. We still had several more to do which meant we'd certainly to better. The sail maker got the weird sail ten minutes after we got back to the dock and could immediately see the problem. He went and checked his emails and noticed that he had made a typo when sending the measurements of the sail to South Africa where it was made. 
He had mistakenly said 8 meters instead of 3 meters for a particular part of the sail. Anyway, he had to spend most of the night while the boats rested on Antigua Yacht Club Marina cutting it in order for us to be able to use it in the next race. He said although it would now be way smaller than our competitors' sails it would work better than it had done the day before. He also said he'd replace it later with a new one from South Africa free of charge. The next day we did better and although we were slower when we had the down wind sail up than the rest of them, we managed to catch the leaders upwind where we were way faster than them. In fact my crew estimated that we were about a 1/2 mile behind the leader at the down wind mark and managed to finish something like 6 seconds behind them at the finish. We were second over the line behind Genesis, and second on corrected time too. The race had taken over three hours too. There was only one other race due to the lack of wind on the final day. Todd, who had commissioned Ocean Nomad originally, took over as captain on the third race and managed to beat Genesis over the line. Although Genesis and one other yacht managed to beat Ocean Nomad on corrected time in that race, it was a great achievement for the guys to at last have beaten Alexis' yacht over the line. I didn't race that day and slept after 7:30 am for the first time in months. Later on their way into port i took photos of the yacht and the happy crew seen here at the "parade" past Antigua Slipway. 
Overall Ocean Nomad finished second in the Traditional Class during the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta of 2008 and with the problems we had and all the drama we had to get her this far, we were delighted to have done so well. If you pick up a copy of Classic Yacht Magazine for last month you will read about Peter Dasavery's yacht "Savy" which was finished just before ours down in the Grenadines. We thrashed them badly which made Alwyn and his sons very happy. All the boat builders in the Grenadines are very competitive. First second and third in the class were build by Alwyn and his sons on the beach in Carriacou traditionally as they have been doing for hundreds of years. The next regatta we will do much better. 
The day after we arrived in from our 300+ mile trip we were on the boat cleaning, sanding, and painting. More metal work had to be done at A1 Marine so that we could use the gaff rig racing sails in the regatta, and Carl Mitchell and his boys rushed to have us finished in time. What looked like a Haitian refugee boat the day before was starting to look beautiful. I think my sister Fran took this photo in between coats of paint. 
Stevie and Olly would be amazed when they saw her at the party. 
For all those interested in photography, wooden boats, the Caribbean and its traditions you should get the book. Go to 
I made a slight course adjustment to make sure we were well off St. Lucia which i knew was very high. The winds were extremely strong the next morning and Stevie and I stayed on deck worried about how much this new boat could take. I think the winds were above somewhere around 35 knots in the squalls and the sea looked and acted angry. 
The Ocean Nomad kept trucking along as if happy to finally be at sea and oblivious to the concerns of those who sailed her. In the strongest gusts i have to admit was very worried about the rig. 
What if the rush had led some part of it not to be strong enough for this punishment. The photo above was taken by stevie who had to goto the top of the mast to fix something we had missed jusat before we sailed her for the first time. I hoped it was all ok now! IT was very windy and rough and we had no port to pull into...well sort of. At some 15 miles west of Martinique the winds finally died down as the shadow of the islands' largest mountain started to becalm us again. 
This time i was happy for the rest even if it did rain. It didn't last as long. Unlike the youngest person on the boat who seemed to have no problem nodding off anywhere (check photo below), I hadn't slept much in the past week and i fell in and out of sleep. 
By the way, there has been no work done below decks yet and we slept on bags of sand ballast. Speak about roughing it! The whole next day was much of the same with mostly cloudy, rough and windy conditions when we were not being becalmed. We spent most of our time wet and tired and i couldn't say it was nice sailing at all. I don't remember if it was Dominica or Martinique, but during the night some 15 miles off shore becalmed again i walked up to the front of the boat to stretch my legs and gazed into the water. For the whole trip we had been seeing huge amounts of phosphorescence at night and even in the calm while hardly moving the water would light up whenever a wave would wash against the side of the boat. All of a sudden a large glowing trail of phosphorescence zoomed past the boat and for a second i thought my tiredness had gotten the better of me. Did i imagine what i had just seen? It happened again and this time immediately i knew what was going on out here in the darkness. One of the dolphins exhaled loudly as i called for Olly and Stevie who were on the back. For the next five minutes a pod of about eight dolphins zoomed around the boat leaving glowing trails that could only be recreated in some kind of Pixel animated movie. It was wonderful and i heard one of the boys exclaim "This made the trip for me". Just then a dolphin launched itself about eight feet into the air and almost looked straight at us. They were showing off and checking our quiet dark vessel out. As suddenly as they flashed onto the scene, they were gone and the winds were back. Twice during our trip we had the lacing around the main sail burst which made for quite a fixing mission out there in the rough. I would have stayed 20 miles off from Guadeloupe, but with Antigua just fifty miles away at a tight reach i didn't want to go too low and have to end up tacking back upwind to home. Dad had warned me that i wouldn't be able to make Antigua on one tack if it was very windy and although i knew he was wrong at the time, i didn't need to hear "i told you" from him either. I maintained a course that kept us 10-15 miles west of Guadeloupe and once again we were becalmed. This time it seemed that for any foreword movement we made the currents would take us backwards to the starting point. I think we were at a standstill on GPS while seemingly making speed though the water. The currents were bad and we stayed almost six hours in the same place under Guadeloupe watching the same bits of land to our right. Two vast pods of dolphins past us fishing aggressively. With birds around too it was obvious that some major feeding was taking place and they hardly noticed us sitting there this time. Just before the winds filled back in i saw a whale spouting a good distance away from us. I hoped it would come closer, but it wasn't to be. Finally we were moving again and with the volcanic island of Montserrat passing below us Antigua was bound to be visible soon. I was uncomfortable numb with tiredness and had a headache to match which retired me to the "comfort" of the lumpy sandbags below. 
Olly seemed to be enjoying the see more and more and took the helm while soaked to the gills as only a tough Englishman could do. The rest of the crew laughed at how he managed to sit there struggling with the tiller, waves washing over him and still maintaining a wide grin. I don't think i have ever had a headache like the one that was bending me up down below and only managed to surface when we were a few miles from shore. Alexis on Genesis with some friends had sailed out in the hope of meeting us, but by the time we were in mobile phone range we were not in sailing range. We wanted to be in Jolly Harbour immediately and told Alexis we would sail together soon. JD who had just come in from an Xtreme Circumnav said he'd help bring us into port and as we zoomed past the lee of Cades reef the crew spotted probably a dozen sea turtles. Our welcome party of endangered species brought smiles to all aboard. 
The sun peeked out and Antigua never looked more beautiful. Mykl waved from Darkwood Beach and the boat kept zooming. Stevie said that this was more like it and that this would be a lovely boat for this kind of sailing. 
"Tourists are going to love it" he said. Anyone would in the lovely calm seas and brisk trades that flow on the south and west coast of Antigua. 
JD, Martin and Mykl met us outside Jolly Harbour's channel and towed us onto the customs dock inside. Family and friends came to welcome us and the Ocean Nomad home. It was a lovely afternoon and we were all happy to be there. 
Work and lots of painting would have to continue tomorrow Tuesday in order to make the party on the book launch on Thursday and Antigua Classics on Friday.
It was rough windy and grey as you can see in this shot taken by Olly shortly after we left. We were still inside the barrier reef but you can see that it wasn't looking like nice sailing weather. 
It was the first time we had seen the sun all day and was the last time we would see it for 24 hours. 
The sun was setting and we were going to sail all the way back up the coast to Windward. Once we had pulled in the massive anchor we were off quietly. 
Many yachts in the bay knew this was the first time Ocean Nomad was sailing and they took photos and cheered for us. Frankie who had been helping the last few days and who had towed our mast out to the yacht was going to follow us. After all, this was the first time she was sailing. Alwyn son Cal took the helm to get us up the coast and we proudly sailed along at a good rate. 
There were smiles all around to finally be at this stage. Nothing was going wrong except the fading light in the west. 
The fresh winds were something beautiful and as the sun's light diminished the moon's took over. There was a blanket of fine upper level clouds which seemed to help give us enough light to see what we were doing as we sailed up the coast. Coming into the small channel between Windward's barrier reef was pretty scary, but Cal said he had been doing it all his life and i trusted that we would be safe. There was plenty enough light to see all the coral heads and fans passing below us as we cruised over the shallow reef. I can only imagine we had a foot or two to spare under the hull and 
The reason for this trip was to come and see the early progress on my yacht...: 
as well as to officially take over another yacht which had sat unfinished on the beach for over a year. On February 20th I took these photos of the unfinished "Nomad" as she lay condemned by many on the island. 
The person who had commissioned her had for many reasons stopped sending money to have her finished. Alwyn hated to see the wood getting weathered and having his sons unemployed. Shortly after I commissioned my yacht the other yacht's owner contacted me from Europe where he was skippering luxury yacht. He was coming to Antigua and wanted to talk. Talk we did once he arrived in Antigua, and after many meetings we came up with a deal. I would pay to have his boat finished and take possession of the yacht for 5 years while he would use it during the Antigua Classic Yacht Regattas as well as for allotted days during the year. The deal worked for everyone and as Alwyn read the contract for the fist time inside Nomad's hull he smiled at the prospect of finally getting the vessel launched. 
Anyway, I blogged about finishing the boat as well as finally launching her. It was a mad rush getting metal fabricated here in Antigua, sails made, lead melted, wood purchased, shaped and attached. The work was manic and many of the guys on the job were exhausted by the time she was ready to have her mast attached. I made two more trips to Carriacou bringing bits and pieces and Stevie and Olly joined me a week before we set sail for the first time. We worked long hard days in the sun trying to get her ready only relaxing for an hour or two at sunset on the tiny island of Carriacou. 
We had to get going in order to have the boat sailing in the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta. Many local "experts" said the idea that we would sail this yacht in the regatta was absolutely insane. The naysayers fueled my determination. Someone told me that many times people's biggest strengths can also be their worst weakness and often their downfall. They were speaking about my seemingly irrational determination to have the yacht ready in Antigua, but I didn't have time to ponder their wise words. The only three people who knew of the project and who knew that it could be done were Alexis, Alwyn and me. Even his sons and the rest of the guys working on the job doubted the prospect of us being ready. This wasn't an alternative and I pushed everyone very hard. The biggest problem as I saw it was management and organization...... Alwyn and his gang were excellent boat builders and have skills that many all over the world had long forgotten about, but delegation and planning were things that they hadn't conquered. I could write thousands of words about the last week before our maiden sail, but let me just say it was a tough week. Luckily the measurements that Alexis gave me for the rigging which we had to get made in Grenada turned out to be exact. Richard the rigging specialist there helped us beyond my expectations and we were so lucky to have met him. We met many road blocks during the week which added to the difficulty at hand. For example, the freight ship that we were going to use to install the mast left for Trinidad the week before so we had to take "Ocean Nomad", as she was now called, over to the marina and dry dock on the west coast where there was a crane we could use. We had to tow her. 
On our way there I found out that the crane operator was on holiday in Europe, but that there was another crane being used to build another dock on the other side of Havey Vale harbour. For $300 EC they helped us get the mast up and into the vessel. A small price to pay too! Everything seemed to fit properly and as we tightened up the rigging Ocean Nomad actually started looking like a yacht. Now it was time to put in the rudder which wasn't finished by the time we were launching her 10 days before. 
Alwyn's son Terry and Stevie went over the side with the massive rudder and tried unsuccessfully for about an hour to fit the big shaft into the rudder well. Terry went over with an adz and tried to chop away some of the greenheart keel that was blocking the rudder. Seeing him chopping away wood underwater was something else! It wasn't to work though and as the afternoon came to an end we realized that we were going to have to get her taken out of the water the next morning for some last minute surgery. We also had to get some last minute metal fabrication. Welding was done at two places and some stainless steel cutting and welding was done at a floating machine shop out in the harbour run by a crazy Frenchman. The next day we spent the whole day out of the water working on the rudder and on final bits and pieces needed to ready her for sailing. I doubted we would be sailing before the next morning, but the gang saw the possibility of sailing for the first time before dark and feverishly worked to ready the sails on the dock after we were launched once again. As the sun lowered closer to the horizon it looked like the mad rush during the day may actually pay off. 