HIHO race 2 and 3

This blog is sponsored by Caribbean Real Estate.

On Race Day 3 there appeared to be some good wind and it was this day that we were scheduled to race across the Anegada Passage ending up on the white sands of Anegada. Reluctantly we checked out of the Bitter End at 7 am and rushed through a quick b’fast before joining up with JD and Tone on the Eco boat for a quick ride down to the starting area. JD had to take the helm on the yacht he was skippering at that point too. Mykl joined him and once they had gotten rid of the last of their windsurfers they nervously set off for Anegada under sail. You see Captain J-Dog has a million hours at sea, but almost all have been under power. Last year he skippered a sailing yacht at HIHO and did very well, but since then hadn’t done much sailing. Anyway, as is usual he did better than he thought he was going to do and the two of them had a nice sail. Mykl took this pic as proof.


On the other hand I was nervous as well because I didn’t think this race would be that good for my bad knee. One reach all the way across to Anegada with pressure on that back leg the whole 12 miles without a rest was tough on a good leg. I decided to spend some time before the race tuning my gear so that I would be as comfortable as possible. I played with the boom height, adjusted the universal position on the board and also lengthened the harness lines. I did quite a few dummy runs out on the course to see how I felt and was surprisingly comfortable. The race was about to begin and I was as ready as I was going to be. The winds had picked up a bit and as the red flag went up signaling 6 minutes I was struggling to put more downhaul on my sail so that it would spill some of the air. Since I wasn’t in great shape I didn’t want to be overpowered. Minutes later I glanced at my watch and saw the seconds dropping fast. Five, four, three, two, one, and the horn sounded as the green flag went up. We were off and I had a good start with only a few guys near me. For the next 12 miles Ricardi and I battled towards Anegada. Although the open class “formula” boards were faster than the one design boards on all points of sail except beam reaching which is what we were doing. On a beam reach with good wind I think we were fairly equal unless the person on the formula was a powerhouse of muscle (like Ricardi). You see the formula boards just want to launch out of the water with all the lift that their massive fins produce and I could see that Ricardi was having a hard time with all that power. He was definitely a fraction faster than I was but just couldn’t hold the speed for long enough to get ahead. We exchanged leads a few times coming within a few board lengths of each other several times. It was exciting but as the winds picked up close to Anegada I got about 100 meters ahead of him. As is usual on this race, we were instructed by the race director to look our for a HIHO yacht flying the Highland Spring flag from its mast and the finish flag would be right there on the beach. The brilliant white beach and haze made all of this pretty difficult to see and the yacht was blocking the view of the finish flags. Anyway, with Ricardi close behind me I finally made out the beach flags and two highland spring tents. Usually there are one or two women at the finish flag recording people’s names as they finish. On the beach I didn’t see them and as I got closer I saw two guys trying to put a flag up. One of them pointed at me and I figured that they were not ready for us and I had to finish at their flag. As it happened, the ladies who were usually at the flag decided to sit under one of the tents where they could easily see who finished. I went to the one with that was being manned by two guys and didn’t go to their flag. When I figured out my mistake I watched Ricardi hit the beach 30 meters from me and casually walk to the finish flag. I was about to curse myself out loud when a little voice said “don’t worry eli, you finished 1st yesterday”. It was Josh Morrell, the organizers optimistic young son. I had to smile and agree that since Ricardi and I were not even in the same division I still had just won the Techno One Design class. I sat down in the shade of the tent where Ricardi immediately joined me. We were both very tired and were very appreciative of the Highland Spring waters that the young Mr. Morrell brought us. As we sat there panting and re-hydrating we witnessed the tight finishes of all the other racers. Tony arrived towards the end single handedly running the Adventure Antigua “Arawak Odyssey” across an unfamiliar channel.

Tony’s short career as a skipper on our boat has been one filled with a rapid learning curve, and this was the first time that he had done anything quite as challenging. Apart from having his VHF radio on the wrong channel J, he did a fine job. That afternoon we decided to do an island tour together and once we got to the Anegada Reef hotel which was to be the dinner spot later that night, we tried looking for a tour guide. With a total population of 600 it seems as though there were not prepared for the influx of yachts. In the end I rented an old Ford pickup which had two cushioned bench seats in the back. Tony, JD, Ricardi, Jean-Marc, Jean-Michelle, Mykl and I all piled in and off we went. The island’s coastline is beautiful and reminded us of Barbuda and Anguilla which all have similar geographical makeup.

That being said, the most exciting thing we saw was the beach bar on the windward coast.

This didn’t stop the guys in the back from consuming a large quantity of beer and making almost as much noise. IT was fun. Since this was a holiday, I decided once again to get a room and Chad’s brother Jerry Emmanuel fixed me up with a good rate there. The dinner party that night was a blast. Anegada is famous for their lobster and we were shocked to find out from the fishermen there that all our lobster that night had actually been imported from our sister island Barbuda. It seems as though the BVI are forward thinking enough to have a lobster season in an effort to try to save their diminishing stocks. Anyway, that night the Barbudan lobster however rare they may be back home, were delicious. Tony was the main man during the after party sometimes leading a raucous “Congo line” around the sandy dance floor.

I think he was having more fun than I had ever seen him have. Well almost…..nothing is more fun for him than catching big marlin.
The next day was filled solid with all sorts of things going on. First was prezzie opening for Mykl as it was her birthday. All the racers were taking part in a yacht race back to Prickly Pear Island just below Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island. As soon as all the windsurfers finished racing over on their yachts, they had to quickly rig their sails and get ready for a race around Necker finishing on Branson’s main beach. We were also going to have the pleasure of being his guests for a long lunch there. This was the part I was looking forward too. I decided to sit out the race as I was feeling some knee pain and would use the extra time to chill with Mykl on her birthday. I was banking on the fact that after 5 races there would be a discard of my worst result which would be the DNS (did not start) that day. Ricardi won the race with Jean Mark finishing second. He had placed 3rd the day before too so our little team was doing very well so far. Necker Island is beautiful and I think well worth the US $47 thousand dollars a day to stay there. The pool is one of the biggest I have ever been in and is designed and constructed to be as natural looking as possible with even the typical beach vegetation around it. We all played way too much in the lovely pool. JD and Tony were in heaven.

The lunch was lovely and Tony, JD and Ricardi managed to meet Sir Richard.

He was actually vacationing there with his whole family. After lunch,

we were given a private tour of the island and managed to see the flamingos and Galapagos turtles too. It did feel a bit strange walking through the main house while the Branson family chilled at their private pool. We met a nice young family member in the kitchen who seemed so friendly and hospitable that I just was shocked. We were being given a tour by Charlie who was racing in the HIHO and worked the rest of the time there at Necker. IT didn’t seem to be something that wasn’t done either which was very odd to me. Just having a tour though the Branson home while they were there relaxing wasn’t something I had ever expected to do (or wanted to do for that matter). These people are cool though and welcomed us. Strange but true. In fact by the time we got back to the beach, Richard and his son were out kitesurfing in front of the eco boat. He was pretty good too. It was time for us to move on to the next anchorage down at Trellis Bay on Beef Island.

That night was the famous Pirate Party and everyone was excited. Mykl and I were tired and opted out settling on an exceptional dinner at Eclipse. What a day! Thank Sir Richard!

windsurf Race number one at HIHO

Blog sponsored by JHR Caribbean.

OK, I am not as fast to write my blog as I should have been and now the racing news is on the web for all to see. Usually at the HIHO windsurfing regatta there are 2 races the first day one every other day except the last day when there are two races. This means that there are usually a minimum of 7 races. When the winds are strong there can be more. Two years ago when I was the race director there I ran 9 races which was good fun for everyone as it gave more chance for people to catch up if they had made mistakes in the early races. Another important thing is that there is usually one “discard” after 5 races which means your overall score would consist of the best 4 of the five races.
Anyway, after having a nice b’fast at the Bitter End it was time to rig up my one and only sail, a 10 square meter race sail made by North Sails, and pass some 600 grit sand paper over the bottom of my old board before heading out to the start. The winds had died down and it took me forever to get to the start line a mile up the coast from the hotel. The winds were very light and after some time they decided to send us to the nearest beach for lunch.

It was here that Tony and JD got a chance to captain something other than the Adventure Antigua boats. We gave them windsurfing lessons and they were immediately hooked. Both of them did very well and almost didn’t want to give Mykl back her intermediate windsurfing equipment.


After lunch there was another skippers meeting and they decided to cancel races for the day due to the light winds.


This was perfect for JD, Tony, and Mykl who spent the afternoon sharpening their own windsurfing skills. The waters were so warm there on the almost deserted Eustacia Island and it was plenty of fun coaching the newbie windsurfers.


It was another chilled night for some of us at Bitter End while others including members of the Adventure Antigua crew partied until the wee hours. The winds picked up a bit the next morning and things looked good for a race. You see, knowing that my knee was still in very bad shape after three operations, I was planning on only giving the whole race thing a try. All the doctors I had been to would have shaken their heads at the thought of me taking part in the 100 mile HIHO windsurfing regatta, and to tell you the truth…..I had no intention on doing it either.
The red flag went up on the start line which signaled that we had 6 minutes before the start. A tiny shot of adrenalin pulsed through my veins and I smiled remembering how common that feeling was when I had first started to race in these waters back in the summer of 1985. By the time I went to the Olympics the adrenalin had stopped pumping out on the start line so it was almost a nice feeling.


Yellow flag………3 minutes before the start. Some windsurfers were racing up and down jostling for position and others just sat still waiting to burst through the line between the committee boat and the start buoy. The winds were still light and although it wasn’t going to put too much stress on my knee, it would on my unconditioned body. In light winds you have to “pump” the sail and exert so much energy of your own to keep “planning” or going fast. Yellow flag down…….one minute to go.
I had borrowed a proper sailing start watch and the big digital numbers showed only seconds to go. As it was the first race everyone was a bit nervous and windsurfers were packed like sardines near the committee boat. There was going to be a crash for sure. At 20 seconds I started racing towards the line hoping to cross it with space and speed. Five seconds before the red flag, someone cut right across my path. He had right of way and I had to do a sharp turn around him and back to the line. I was sure I was going to clip him, but managed to just miss and come out on the other side with an unobstructed view of the line and clear winds above me. Red flag…..GO! We were off and I was immediately surprised to be ahead. The two best places to be ahead are at the start and at the finish. I had half covered and just had to get to the finish in the same position. The race was long and difficult and one of the juniors caught me up half way and gave me a hard time for quite a part of the remainder. Luckily he made a mistake and all of a sudden there was another racer there challenging for the lead. He was in the open class which means he is permitted to use any kind of equipment whatsoever and I was in the One Design class using a 4 year old race design which was being used by most of the people in the event. It wasn’t as fast in the light winds as the Open class gear and I was passed easily on the downwind leg towards the finish. The winds got very fluky between the islands and we both “fell off the plane” which means stopped going fast. There was a squall coming behind us which was sucking up all the winds, and we both knew that once it got closer the winds would be much stronger than they had been for the day. My competition at this point was Nat Ford from St. John, USVI. I had raced with him in Puerto Rico about 6 years before and I knew he was good enough to easily beat me if I didn’t sail smart. In the light winds with islands on either side of us we exchanged the lead several times with only one mile to go before the finish flag on Prickly Pear Island. The squall finally pushed some winds our way and we were off again making quick gybes between the islands. Somehow I managed to edge him out and make it to the flag first. Phheeeuuw! I was tired and happy to have finished 1st in the 1st race I had done in years and years. I had probably only been on windsurf race gear 6 times since 2003 and was stoked to have done well. Maybe I would have to try another race the next day, but that one would be very tough on my knee. Sailing on starboard tack 12 miles across the Atlantic channel between Virgin Gorda and Anegada would be very tough indeed. I wasn’t sure about it and would see how the knee felt in the morning. For now it was time to go chill in the lovely room of Bitter End once again where we could see Anegada off on the horizon beyond Eustacia and Ncker islands. The first photo was mine, the ones in the middle were from my racing friend Ricardi and the last was done by MDC. Hope you enjoyed

The Bitter End

now I am gonna have to update this blog entry with photos once I am back home with photos loaded, but I will just say that there are few things I love doing more than having boating adventures. The Caribbean is on of those ideal places on this planet for doing just that. As I said in my last blog, after a 200 mile run downwind to the BVI from Antigua with a brief stop in st Martin Team Adventure Antigua was cleared into the BVI and ready for a week of windsurf racing and adventure with the HIHO windsurfing regatta. My good buddy Chad sorted us out with a room at the Bitter End Yacht Club and Mykl and I were in luxury while the others enjoyed the gentle rocking of the calm waters inside the North Sound. The Bitter End Yacht Club as seen above from a photo i took a few years ago is located on the North Eastern side of Virgin Gorda and was a special retreat to a big family until they opened it to the general public as a lovely resort years and years ago. Most people would love the hotel with its focus on the marine side of things. Lush mangrove habitats nestle the sandy waterfront protected resort. A friendly staff looks after your every need as you relax and unwind in wooden rooms almost hidden in the steep hillside above. Without any roads attaching it to the other areas of Virgin Gorda, it is almost as if on a deserted island. I think that there are many people from Antigua and other islands in the Caribbean who would benefit from taking the family on a boating Odyssey to the Bitter End Yacht Club. With several restaurants and bars to choose from we were never bored and the activities and mild nightlife made the 3 nights there quite a start to our week in the BVI. One early morning form my room I saw a small "puppy" shark, bonefish, and an eagle ray cruising along the flats system below. IT was also a good vantage point to see the racing (if I wasn't racing) or to see the conditions in the Eustachia Sound before I raced there on the first morning. I will talk about the racing again later.

Antigua to the BVI - 200 miles

blog sponsored by:
Andy Morrell of Ocean Promotions and the HIHO windsurfing adventure in the British Virgin Islands chartered my eco boat for 9 days. There were several reasons for the long charter. The first being to bring windsurfing equipment from Antigua and St. Martin as there were several competitors in each country that needed to get their equipment to the BVI. You see, the local airlines couldn’t carry the windsurfing gear as it was all too big. We also had to bring down 3 yacht skippers and 4 competitors for the event. Once there we had to follow the event as it took place at various places across the BVI. What usually happens is that there is a windsurfing race from island to island and the yachts which are where everyone is accommodated follow up behind. Anyway, another reason for us to go was that it would be a great holiday for Tony, JD, me and Mykl. Actually JD was hired by the event organizer through me to be one of the yacht skippers as well. We left Antigua at 4:30 am on Saturday with me as skipper and 6 crew bound for St. Martin. Once there we cleared in and out with 4 additional crew bound for Spanish Town, BVI. Before leaving we had to have a great dinner and picked Bamboo Bernie’s for “sushi, sun and sex” as their slogan goes. We had a few hours sleep and then were off again before light hoping to get to Virgin Gorda at about 9 am in time for customs and immigration.
I always love being at sea at night and this was no exception…..everyone quickly fell asleep to try to hide from sea sickness or something. The stars were lovely and with the wind on our back the ride wasn’t too difficult. We made good time and were finished with the notorious BVI customs and immigration before 11 am. Of course we had to fill out enough forms to deplete a small rain forest, but we didn’t care that much. After all we were off to swim at the famous Baths at Virgin Gorda. As usual they were awesome and the snorkeling and rock formations were breathtaking.

Mykl and Tony who hadn’t been there before were blown away, but the rest of us were equally amazed with the beauty of the natural formations almost thrown on the beach. What a lovely spot to see.
After some lunch we were off cruising up the coast towards the Gorda Sound and The Bitter End Yacht Club where I had a room reserved through my friend Chad Emanuel.

All the other people taking part in the HIHO windsurfing adventure were now in Road Town for registration and the opening party. We on the other hand were having an extra night at the beautiful Bitter End. Racing would begin the next morning and after the past few nights at sea, the fantastic 5 star rooms at the bitter end were just what I needed. Without the “hook up” from Chad I wouldn’t have been able to stay there so I was very appreciative of the luxury. JD, Tony, Ricardi and Jean-Marc were asleep by 6 pm on the boat.

IT had been a long two days.

getting set for more adventure

After taking some photos of my friend’s wedding in Dominica it was a quick flight back to Antigua where we had a busy week ahead. Monday we had both boats out doing tours which was pretty good as this time of year can be pretty slow. Tuesday we used the Xtreme boat to do an eco tour so that we could do some maintenance on the eco boat. She had some slippery spots on the floors and we had to put down some new non skid as well as do a little engine maintenance too. We had both boats out again on Wednesday and today more work on the Eco boat.

July looks like it will be a very busy month so we need to get all the little jobs out of the way before then. Actually starting this weekend we have an unusual week long charter by a company in the BVI. We are being hired to transport some windsurfing equipment from Antigua and St. Martin to the BVI and be a base for this equipment for the week. It sounds kinda crazy I know, but I will explain more soon. Anyway, Tony and JD will be joining me on the trip which should be some good fun. I will also try to take photos and keep a journal of our adventure.

A day of adventure in Dominica

There are many places that a person can go from Antigua for just one day or just a day and night. Of course I love going to Barbuda for the day or the night and always get excited when we get a private charter for Barbuda. Last year we did quite a few charters to Barbuda and I loved every one. In September and October the Adventure Antigua crew and I did several day trips to our other sister island, Redonda. That wild uninhabited island is definitely a crazy place to see and it’s a place that I want to explore once again this year. Of course, I have been to St. Martin several times and like Barbuda a trip to St. Martin is very doable as a day trip, but is much better as an over night trip from Antigua. I did this several times this year and the shopping and dining makes it a trip that I enjoy doing. Over the past year I did one other overnight trip to an island nearby. The good people at JHR Caribbean took me to their lovely hotel Silks in Dominica a few months ago and I knew I had to return soon.

Anyway, as I said yesterday I am in Dominica once again on a quick trip with my friend Ty. This time I have some responsibility though and tonight I will be taking photos of some friends wedding. Its pretty easy to get here from Antigua. You can fly one of three ways. One way is to come over with JHR’s private plane and stay at Silks. Another way is to come LIAT to Melville Hall and the way we came this time was on Carib Aviation to Cane Field near the capital. The landing was a little bumpy under the massive mountains on the leeward side, and the lady sitting up front said a few “lord save me’s”. Anyway, once we landed we took a short ride to our hotel, The Evergreen. Its a few miles down the road form the famous Fort Young hotel and a few miles less fancy. Although it’s less fancy it’s still as good for the money. The staff all is lovely and the rooms and beds are perfect. They helped us get a rental jeep and after a good b’fast we were off with guide book and map in our hands. We hit, Trafalgar Falls, Screw’s Sulphur Springs, and Titou Gorge. These major tourist sites were free of other tourists and it was just me and Ty. Trafalgar Falls I had been to three times before. The first I had cut my leg two days before and had to watch everyone swim in the Falls as I sat there keeping my stitches dry. The next time I had a cast on my ankle and couldn’t go in either. The third time I was sure to swim in these dam falls and what do you think happened. A big tropical wave was passing through and so much rain had fallen that the falls were too extreme to swim in. I sat there shaking my head looking at the natural but beautiful violence. This time I didn’t think anything could go wrong and I didn’t even think about the previous times. They were perfect! Totally perfect!!!! The sun was shining and although the waters were very cold it was exceptionally refreshing and within seconds I had forgotten about the cold. We played like little kids under the powerful falls until we realized how the time had flown by. On the way back we met two ladies half way along under a viewing platform. They said hello and offered us some fresh passion fruit juice and some acra and bakes which are local snacks. Obviously they were stationed there to sell to tourists as they made their way back from messing around in the falls and since it was just us I took the offer even though I wasn’t hungry or thirsty. The juice was so delicious and they told Ty when he remarked on how good it was that they had made it fresh this morning. We chatted about the falls and about mangoes which Ty had been going on about since we took of from Antigua. They were nice ladies and both did a double take when Ty asked how much we owed them for the juice and snacks. They laughed and said it was free. Free? Yes free since they were just taking a rest on their hike. What idiots Ty and I were. These nice ladies were doing just as we were doing….they were out for a bit of adventure and were just being nice by offering some of their own juice and snacks.

That’s something I always remark on when it comes to my previous travels to Dominica….the people are just so nice. We exchanged emails and I told them to make sure they came out on one of my tours when they were in Antigua next so that I could return the hospitality. Ty wasn’t just obsessed with Julie mangoes, but he was also into sulphur springs and close to Trafalgar was Screw’s Sulphur Spa and we made a stop in there. It was right next to Hotel Shangri-La which is where we sent my mom for her 60’th birthday present. She loved the hotel. Anyway, Ty also enjoyed the hot sulphur springs.

A super nice rastaman who we assumed was Screw offered us a bunch of fruits on the way out of his spa including the elusive Julie Mango which Ty had been so franticly searching for.

A little further down the road we stopped where they were mangos all over the roadside. A lady in the house beside said she had some Julie’s for Ty and he was smitten. We still had time for one more bit of adventure and the guide book said Titou Gorge was fairly close. Now I had never been here but had been told by many including my sister who had just been there about how lovely it was. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, and was surprised how awesome it was once we had found it and finished eating our obligatory dose of Julie Mangos. Titou Gorge seems to be an ancient pyroclastic volcanic flow which has been carved deep down into it by a river. You swim up the river inside the gorge towards a lovely waterfall. The water is very cold since you are up so high but again it was rejuvenating. The bottom of the gorge where we were swimming was wider than the top above us although it wasn’t dark there was no direct sunlight. It was something out of a Hollywood movie and a fantastic way to end our day’s adventures. On the way back to the hotel we passed by the market to find a few more mangos for ty.

Once we got back to the hotel we chilled for a few hours in the cold AC before making our way out to one of the few restaurants in Town..La Bell Creole or something like that. Anyway the food was much better than the service we received from a junior sort of waiter. A lady actually served the food and she was lovely. I found the food quite expensive for what it was but it was nice to be able to have a good meal close to our restaurant and close to the action. The action on Friday night is at Fort Young where they have a band for “happy hour” which lasts a hell of a lot longer than an hour. After one rum and coke it was time to go check back on the AC at our hotel. IT had been an action packed day and we had gotten our full.

a little trip across the water to dominica

A freind asked me to take some photos of her wedding and here i am in dominica. I came with my Antiguan friend Ty a day early to take some time to explore Dominica.

I will write more tomorrow before or after the wedding, but here are a few pics of The Nature Isle.

A relaxed sunday in Antigua

Thanks to the 41st Annual Sport Fishing Competition opening party held a few weeks ago, I managed to win some very nice prizes in their raffle. We did buy quite a few tickets as seen above. I won a zip line ride with Antigua Rainforest Company, a dinner for two at the Coast, a dinner for two at The Carlisle Bay and also a dinner for two at The Inn in English Harbour. Anyway, I have done the zipline tour as you know. Here is Iain’s little video clip:


Until yesterday I hadn’t used the other fine prizes. Yesterday we went for a nice drive in the afternoon to see some friends on the South side. We ended up at a fund pre school fund raiser on Galleon Beach and bumped into Alexis Andrews and his family there. He said his book is doing very well at the moment. Check it out. Anyway, afterwards we went for a nice swim at Windward beach which wasn’t very busy at all. There were over one hundred people on Pigeon Beach and like 4 on Windward so it was very nice indeed. The waves were quite big but the little tide pools were calm enough to relax in while little sergeant major fish swam around us. Tide pools are always interesting places to explore and with their abundance of interesting marine life it can be quite exciting too. After several mangos which we picked up on the way up Fig Tree drive I needed a drink. IT was Sunday afternoon and we were in English Harbour…..where could I get a drink? SHIRLEY HEIGHTS!!!! Woooo hoooo! I haven’t been there for ages and ages and we got there just for the last steel band set just as the sun set. There are few places in the Caribbean as beautiful as that place. The sweet sound of the steel drum music with the taste of a nice rum and coke is hard to beat. Add a nice sunset and some good company and you are loving life! I was too.
It wasn’t long before the rum in my belly needed company and at this time of the year in Antigua there isn’t much choice in English Harbour. Recently a classmate of mine had told me that the new chef at The Inn where she works was excellent, and I remembered that I had the “dinner for two” letter in my car. Why not? We met up with some friends there on the way down the hill and went into their lovely bar for a drink first.

There are few bars in Antigua as beautiful as this one and although I took a few photos last night they don’t do the place justice.

It is very lovely and full of atmosphere. After a drink we were seated indoors as there had just been a little shower and were given menus. The hotel was purchased a few years ago by an Italian group and although it maintains much of its British tradition it now has quite a bit of Italian flair. This was certainly evident on its lovely menu. The four of us all agreed that our meal was lovely.

My rack of Lamb was fantastic...........:

and the Papaya and Ginger Crème Brulee was out of this world and just slightly better than the passion fruit cheese cake.

I would tell you to go there for that desert if nothing else, but it was all good and worth a hell of a lot more than the EC $5 raffle ticket that got me there. Thanks to the Inn and the Antigua Sport Fishing Club! IF you are here this summer and want to have to try something different please go and have a nice meal at the Inn. Get there before sunset so you can see the fantastic view from the Bar too.

Jolly Harbour - And a category 5 hurricane (part 2)

Wow, three people today gave me a bollocking for not writing my blog more often and “on time”. I can only laugh.
Anyway, back to the hurricane Luis, my dad’s boat and Jolly Harbour.
As we rounded the point and saw Steven Mendes’ boat sitting there exactly as we had left it we must have forgot for a split second about dad’s boat. But as the second past we began to panic. Where the hell was it? There were several other boats that had come into that bay after we had left and none were there now. We sped up into the newly decimated mangrove habitat that was a magnificent display of the complex marine ecosystem 24 hours before. This is a photo of the boat i started the eco tour on in the mangroves, and it is the same one we were on that day.

It looked like it had been burned……the whole island did. Not a green thing was left on the island. As we got deeper into the inlet we spotted two of the other boats which had dragged their anchors and were now high and dry up on top of the mangrove wreckage. The first thing we saw of my Dad’s “Blue Rapid” was its taught anchor rope coming out of the water going behind of some rocks. Our hearts sank at the sight but as we got closer the Blue Rapid started coming into view. The big anchor had dragged and the little one had burst its line allowing the boat to get washed inland towards the rocks. Somehow with rocks on either side of her, she managed to squeeze between and get washed about 15 feet back onto land and over the mangroves. They had to be about 4 feet above sea level too. We tied up my little boat to some of the red mangrove roots that still managed to be secure in the mud and piled out to inspect the damage to Blue Rapid. As we were doing that, Eddie Barreto came along to inspect his Carriacou yacht that was also sitting high up on some mangroves. There was one other yacht belonging to my friend Kevin Gomez’s dad, and that was also up on land tilted sickly on its side. As we walked around below Blue Rapid we started to realize that the stains from the mangroves were just stains and actually there was no damage at all to the boat. Dad was elated for a few minutes until he realized how far the boat actually was out of the water. We were in the middle of nowhere and there was no way a crane could get in there. Pulling it back into the sea would be quite a job and would possibly damage the rudders props and shafts. Anyway, it was still intact as were all the other boats in that bay. Many around Antigua hadn’t fared as well. Many were lost. The next day we got Uncle Nick (Dr. Fuller) to come up with his salvage boat “Nicole” which had survived the storm in some other mangroves down the coast. He is probably the best salvage guy in the Eastern Caribbean with all the gear and no how. We took off the props and he started pulling. While he was doing that I went looking for my dad’s anchor with my scuba tank. Not only did I find his but found two others from the other boats which had busted off. Anyway, after about 2 hours of pulling Uncle Nick and “Nicole” finally managed to bring The Blue Rapid back to a more dignified resting position…afloat on the water. This pic is of my Dad in the middle below with some of the other "antiguan olympic team" after a fishing trip years later on Blue Rapid. Good thing she wasn't wrecked.Anyway,....finally we could go back to Jolly Harbour. Oh ya……JOLLY HARBOUR!!!
We had heard that some of the buildings had lost tiles from their roofs and that two boats had sunk. One had fallen which was in the part of the boat yard which didn’t have a concrete floor, but it sounded like Jolly Harbour and all of the 500 or so villas was still standing. So we finally get back to the little dock with Steve’s boat on one side and Dad’s on the other and notice quite a bit of damage to the dock. We do a little investigating and find out that just a few hours before the storm was about to detonate over Antigua and Barbuda “Lobster King” and his glass bottom boat pulled into Jolly Harbour looking for refuge. The first available dock he found was Dad and Steve’s so he pulled up and tied off. And wouldn’t you know it………the next morning he came down to find that his boat, like most others tied to docks in jolly Harbour, was as secure as he had left it. My Dad and Steve probably could have done the same without any trouble!!!! Jolly Harbour had made it through the storm like no other place in Antigua. The electricity and water was running the day after the storm even though it took three months where I lived to get electricity back. The vast majority of boats were fine as were the villas, and the next week villa sales and rentals picked up. A few years later there were still many villas unsold and prices were still hovering fairly low without anyone making any money on their original real estate prospecting on villas. All of a sudden the US dollar started a downward slide against the pound and Euro and people from Great Britain and Europe started buying. In fact, they bought at such a manic rate that by the time local people realized what was going on there were no villas left in Jolly Harbour. There were only re-sales and the prices on them were going through the roof. Right now it is not unheard of for a simple villa in need of some work to go for US $300K. Even after Luis they were being sold for about $140. How things can change so quickly is surprising for some people. Not for others…..I bet old Dr. Erhart R.I.P wasn’t surprised at all.

Jolly Harbour - And a category 5 hurricane (part 1)

Despite only having one direct hit from a hurricane between 1954 and 1995, on the last day of August in that year we all knew things were about to turn sour. The horrific looking Hurricane Luis was traveling very slowly on a track straight for Antigua.

The satellite maps showed the massive storm churning slowly across the Atlantic. All reports indicated that we wouldn't escape, and people across the island and other islands nearby were frantically doing last minute preparations.

Things didn’t look good at all and my dad was extremely worried about his most prized possession…his boat.

Of course he had workmen doing work on his house putting in extra nails, screws and hurricane clips but the boat was a major worry. It was being kept alongside a dock in Jolly Harbour outside a property that he shared with Steve Mendes. Steve’s boat was there too. The problem was that Jolly Harbour had never been tested by a hurricane and nobody wanted to see what a category 4 or 5 storm would do. Some feared that nothing at all would be left. After all, the place was on the water and the seawall was only about 2 feet above regular tide level. On the day before the storm was due to hit which I think was September 2nd 1995 my dad and Steve decided to move the boats up into a traditional sort of hiding place for boats during storms. The mangrove inlets scattered around Antigua have been very good historically and they both felt that the boats would be safer tied up close inside a mangrove inlet. The one they chose was in Seatons up near Pineapple hotel. I remember taking the small boat from where I live to meet up with them in Seatons that day. We had loaded a massive anchor which probably weighed about 300 lbs into my boat as an extra for my dad’s boat. Together with the massive chain we were sure that there was no possible way for the boat to drag. Steve secured his boat and then helped us get this massive anchor into the water for Dad’s boat. Once we were all comfortable with how the boats sat in that little mangrove inlet we took off back towards home. There was no doubt that Jolly Harbour wouldn’t be safe during a category five hurricane. The storm came and as we sat locked down on the ground floor of my dad’s house listening to all sorts of crashing and scary noises outside. I secretly started feeling sorry for Dad. No boat could make it through those winds. Officially Hurricane Luis was a Category four hurricane when it hit Antigua, but the measurement was taken after it had passed over. The US Naval Base here at the time recorded a gust of 190 knots 218 mph, so I think we had a cat 5 storm. Anyway, people here knew it was a cat 5. The island was a total mess and although we had Hurricane Hugo hit us in 1989 giving us some idea of what a bad storm would be like, the island took the Louis hit hard. Concrete houses were destroyed all over the place and we saw things that we had never dreamed of. The funny thing is that many wooden houses still stood….testament to good design and construction. My dad’s wooden house was one of them. Apart from the garden which his wife cried over upon seeing it, the house wasn’t harmed at all. Plants and trees were down all around the house and the sight of dead birds made it even more awful. After making sure that all friends and family were ok, it was time to go and check on the boat. Of course the entire island looked different and we were able to see things that we had never seen before. Imagine your home town without a single leaf on any tree….imagine most of the trees being down. Things come into view that were hidden before. The coast looked different. Beaches had disappeared and some had been moved. As we got closer to Seatons Harbour I worried more and more. Coming around the last point Steve’s boat came into View as if it had left the planet the night before the storm and had just returned. It was in perfect shape and even looked better with the water blasting it had taken. Immediately we recognized that my Dad’s boat was missing!!!!

Read part two tomorrow to find out about the old man's boat and what happened in Jolly Harbour.

Jolly Harbour - one man's dream

Over the past year we have been trying to buy a piece of land in Jolly Harbour where we can keep our boats in the future. Last month I started renting a villa here as well. It’s an interesting place. Jolly Harbour is really more than just a big marina. It’s a story, a town, and an unusual man’s dream. There is now way that I can come close to touching the full story that is Jolly Harbour, but this blog entry today will give some general info about the place which at the end of the day is the main base of Adventure Antigua and is also the place where we plan to expand into new areas.
Back when I was a youngster, my father, uncle and some of their friends would hunt wild ducks in the winter at several places around Antigua. One of the best spots in Antigua was exactly where Jolly Harbour is now. It was a huge mangrove salt pond filled with wildlife and nothing else. Tourism in Antigua was on a high point at the time and when the owner of the largest hotel on the island told the Prime Minister about his dream to turn the “mosquito ridden swamp” into the largest Marina in the Eastern Caribbean, the idea was welcomed. Environmental concerns were worse than they are now, and now they are not that good either. Jolly Beach located next door to the swamp, was owned by the Swiss hotel tycoon, Dr. Alfred Erhart who had made squillions with his hotel and real estate deals in the Mediterranean. I think his company was called Universal. I always thought he was a unusual man because of his fishing habits. When he was here in Antigua he loved to go fishing, but not the type of fishing that most of the other multi millionaires did. Dr. Erhart would go out on a tiny aluminum skiff by himself with a little net. He would set the net and catch small fish off Jolly Harbour. People on yachts would wonder who this poor white fisherman was. Most other men with his kind of money had 65 foot Bertram sportfishing boats with full time crew. His idea of fishing was more simple. His mega marina idea wasn't. One day after Jolly Harbour had been finished and was hosting a stop during the Antigua Sailing Week event here, I sat next to him as he chatted with my Dad. You see, my Dad was his lawyer here at the time. Anyway, my Dad looking around him at the thousands of people and hundreds of yachts said, “Doc, are you happy with all of this”. Dr. Earhart said with a smile and a scratchy voice, “You know I only did it originally to stop the mosquitoes from biting my Jolly Beach guests”. I thought that was such a funny thing to hear. Anyway, he went on to describe how the idea had developed while running his Jolly Beach Hotel into something much bigger and meaningful to him. Some say that between the two developments he spent US $400 million. It was quite obvious that Jolly Harbour was a passion of his, and despite criticism from a great many people, he pushed on with the development. He loved Antigua and wanted to prove all his advisors wrong about the Jolly Harbor concept. Even as we sat there, Jolly Harbour was still not self sufficient and in fact was far from being the success that he had envisioned. At that time back in the mid 90s most of the 500 or so villas remained unoccupied. Villa sales had been terrible and some people thought that the entire project would end up being a white elephant. The funny thing is that they were not that bad looking. The blocks of two bedroom waterfront villas that had seawall ready for dock space and were going for as little as US $140K. Many Antiguans (who are kicking themselves now) were sure that it would all be knocked down in a hurricane.

They also never dreamed that the prices would go so high. They were so wrong. Will write more tomorrow.