Maltese Falcon

As I was approaching the beach the other day for yet another day of operations under the palms I had a sharp intake of air as I noticed the Maltese Falcon. I had followed the construction of this yacht in Latitude38 which is a San Francisco Bay area sailing rag. Its owner, Tom Perkins is a Bay Area guy and very well known Venture Capitalist. Maltese Falcon is an engineering marvel. Perkins who has an engineering degree from MIT had the ship built in Turkey. She is 289 feet with 3 free standing masts that rotate and carries more than 27,000 square feet of sail area. If my memory services correctly, the ships size was limited so Perkins could get the ship under the Golden Gate Bridge. Anyway, please take a second and click on the yachts homepage as it is amazing.

How time flies. I've been in St Martin almost ten days now. I have done little touring around the island as the traffic seems horrendous. So a trip to the next town over, Phillipsburg would be an all day saga. I am a simple chap and everything I desire is right here in Simpson Bay. I have been enjoying the really good cafe's and amazingly enough the prices are reasonable. Substantially less than St Thomas. Although I am paying a $30.00 a week anchoring fee on the Dutch side of the Lagoon. If I were to move to the French side which is really two football fields away, I would pay a $8 fee and that is it. So why not move? Well if I were staying I surely would move. But my anchor is so well dug in now that the peace of mind is worth it to me. Plus when the wind is cranking a dingy ride back to the French side would be a little more than damp.

I am eyeing the weather closely and think I will set sail this Saturday morning if the forecast holds. I believe I will sail on a close reach in 15 knots and under for about 24 hours to the NW coast of Guadeloupe. Depending on actual conditions I could make Antigua, not likely unless the wind is north of east. If Guadeloupe is a stretch and I'm getting headed, I'll ease the sheets and make for St Kitts and Nevis. But I hope to make Guadeloupe, get some rest and then head to the Isle Des Saints just off the south coast of Guadeloupe. So that is it from my side of the planet!

Capt Chris

Nice Picture of Christa at Anchor in St Thomas

A fellow sailor shot this picture of Christa while swing on the hook at Water Island and forwarded it to me. What a great shot! Thanks Glenn!

Capt Chris

Man is it Windy!

Capt Chris, 80 degree's and windy!
St Maarten Leeward Islands

Thus far my initial impression of St Martin it is a very busy place. Some folks can't stand a place like this. I prefer both really. When I get sick of the chaos I move to a more tranquil setting. I will try and give you a accurate impression. First off the airport flight path goes right over the anchorage. So thundering aircraft take off with full thrust to clear the mountain to the east. Could rattle someone. I happen to love planes so it doesn't bother me and I love watching the Gulfstream GV's take off. The island has two sides, one French and One Dutch with separate everything. Including governments, language and regulations. The fee schedule is different as well. The French side you pay an 8 dollar entrance fee and that is it. This is why the French side of the lagoon has many more cruisers. The Dutch side charges $30 a week to anchor. The lagoon is ringed with marina complexes that mostly cater to the mega yachts that cram this island. Along with all the wealth comes the casinos, shops and cafe's that are very very nice and is something I have really missed.

Something that I have also missed is all the cruisers that I pretty much have been separated from since I stopped in Puerto Rico almost a year ago. Other than a handful of boats I haven't seen a whole lot of people on the move. But now in St Martin, the whole anchorage is cruisers. As an American I clearly am in the minority. Boats from all over the globe abound. I checked into the morning radio net this morning which I haven't done since Luperon Dominican Republic. Here is a typical broadcast. A net person greets all the boats on Ch 14 and asks for any emergency traffic. Then he or she reads the weather. All new arrivals or departures chime in with commentary and questions and then it is onto safety and security issues. Then a radio swap meet takes place. Boat X is looking for part Y and boat Charlie may have a outboard for sale. Those folks move to a working channel to make a deal. Then announcements of activities such as drunken bashes, yoga and library hours. By this time folks have "net fatigue" and any long winded people are being cursed unbeknown to them. And that is a typical net broadcast. It is the best way to get information about everything.

Now I know I do an awful lot of complaining about the wind and for non sailors it can be confusing. But I just would like enough wind from the correct direction when I need. That happens rarely. If you were to log onto Windfinder.com and check out the wind in the Caribbean basin you would understand. The whole Caribbean is really really windy. The anchorage here in St Martin is totally enclose so no swells of any sort will get through. But the wind is in the mid 20 knot range with occasional gusts that come powering out of the mountains. The bottom is mud and grass and other than the older couple who dragged yesterday, no other boats have moved. The longer Christa is exposed to these gusts without movement the more confident I become. But I like most people I worry about dragging. About 4 this morning a squall came through and with it an extra 10 knots of wind piled onto the gradient wind. Cumulative wind was about 35 knots. I was up checking my bearings and relative position to other vessels. I was proud to see several other boats with cabin lights on checking things out. One boat dragging can create chaos.

So today will be some more exploring around the island. I plan on working on my resume to drop off at one of the yacht crew agencies. Back in St Thomas I met a mega yacht skipper who has been in the business for 30 years. He invited me over to the big ship for some training on my resume. I learned a great deal from him about the industry and what I may be qualified to do. So I am may be interested in being hired on a yacht as part of a delivery crew. Generally these monsters will head across the Atlantic to the Med in May or June. Many ships give there crews vacation time during the transit and hire delivery crews. So we'll shall see. I am not hell bent on working on one of these yachts but I certainly would do it given the right circumstance. Plus it could be a hoot.

Capt Chris

Bound For St Martin Leeward Islands

Currently in the Anegada Pass

With the weather window holding and with great anticipation I weighted anchor and departed St Thomas this morning just after 7am. Once again with heavy heart I had to leave Wandering Dolphin waving. They did video my departure and maybe they have uploaded the clip. Check out Wandering Dolphins blog under my sidelinks. So the first 3 hours of the trip were more than I had anticipated. 15 knots straight on the nose with a 4 to 6 foot chop. I hate punching into slop, so I tacked back and forth and by the time I was south of St John the wind as predicted eased right up to about 8 knots out of the southeast. Today has been downright beautiful. Crystal clear skies with light winds and a sea that is smoothing out the further east I go. I motored sailed along the south coast of the British Virgin Islands and left Virgin Gorda to port and now am on a rum line for Simpson Bay on the Dutch side of St Martin. Doesn't look like I'm be getting much sailing in. Winds are forecast to stay light all night. At present Christa is motor sailing between 4 and 5 knots. The Yanmar is running perfectly and all systems are G. I anticipate to be near the south coast of St Martin between 8 am and noon time. Late tomorrow afternoon the cold front will be approaching with 10 to 15 knots SW breeze which would be a perfect broad reach. However once the front passes the winds will clock to the NNE at 16 to 22 knots with a 9 to 11 foot sea rapidly following. That would be nearly straight downwind which is a real pain and the wind velocity predictions have varied amongst several sources. So I think instead of soldiering on to Antigua I'll make a stop. So I have a couple of other sailboats on the horizon and I would think a gaggle of boats will take advantage of the current calm conditions to move east. I'm getting close to being done with easting. Bout time, I've been easting since September of 2007!

Capt Chris

New Canvas!

Capt Chris, 80's, winds ENE 10 to 19 knots
02/13/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

Check out Christa's belated Christmas presents! Hale and Susan from SV Cayuga finished up said project this morning. My is Christa happy. You can see that I have a new mainsail cover made with "Christa" stitched in with 7 inch letters and I've now changed most of the outside canvas to white. Also that is new dodger canvas as well. Notice the canvas spray shield just forward of the stern anchor. Since Christa is a wet sailing boat this will help protect me more in the cockpit while beating to windward. Not that I plan on ever doing that again. But just in case. You may also note I fashioned up a piece of mahagony, sanded it and put multiple coats of Cetol that soaked right into the wood. You can see it is used as a fuel jug rack. While at sea and hard on the wind with water gushing down the side of the boat the last thing one would want is fuel jugs breaking loose.

So the lastest sailing plan is still up in the air. Although I will be moving. My latest plan is to wait and depart early Monday morning. The winds are going to be very light and variable to 10 knots. Where I land is unknown and I really won't make the call until I'm at sea. I am giving serious thought to motoring the 125 nm toward St Maartin arriving sometime on Tuesday morning. If the forecast holds, the winds should be clocking to the north. If this occurs and the timing is right I would then broach reach another 100 nm to Jolly Harbor Antigua. However, all of this is up in the air and is incumbant on how tired I get and the conditions. The forecast really appears to be wonderful and now it really is just a matter of timing the clocking of the wind. Mid week next week a large north swell will be spilling into the Caribbean basin which limits some of the places I can safely put into. If I were to bet, I would say Christa and company will make either Antigua or The Saints just south of Guadeloupe in the Leeward Islands.

More later as the forecast becomes solid....well as solid as weather forecast go.

Could Have A Weather Window on the Horizon

Capt Chris, winds NE 24 KTS GUSTING HIGHER
02/11/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

I'm watching the weather closely as a major pattern change envelops the Caribbean basin. This week the trades are cranking driving ENE winds at 25 knots and 13 foot ENE swell are being generated. I'm happy to be safely anchored here in Honey Moon Bay. But toward the weekend the trades are going to start easing and the wind may come around to the north north east to 10 knots throughout the entire Caribbean. It is amazing to watch the GRIB FILES display the predicted changing conditions as the computer models chew on the latest runs. I am excited.

So at this early juncture I tenatively will be leaving the Virgin Islands on Sunday with a forecast of northeast wind 8 to 13 knots. The plan is to put Christa on a comfortable sailing course with the wind about 60 degrees off the port bow and sail toward the southern Caribbean. Where I make landfall will depend on the weather conditions I experience. Generally I think I may make landfall somewhere near Dominica in 3 days. But if I run into any dead calms, which is possible, i could simply motor east toward the closest island. In any event I really am looking forward to doing some open ocean passagemaking. I'll blog as the weather conditions become clearer so I can make a good choice in terms of departure time and date.

Later,

Capt Chris

An Oldie But A Goodie

Capt Chris, 80's, winds East 10 to 19 knots, 82 degrees and sunny
02/05/2009, St Thomas USVI

Here is an old shot of Christa rafted to Sandpiper in Horseshoe Cove San Francisco Bay circa 2000. Now many of you know about Tom and Amy aboard Sandpiper from reading there cool blog. Team Sandpiper and Team Christa have some history. Tom and I originally met at the docks pictured here at the Presidio Yacht Club in 1999. Tom was living aboard Sandpiper and I had just bought Christa the year before and moved aboard. Tom and I were basically in the same situation, same age, pretty much same everything. If fact Tom and I had several conversations before it was ever revealed that we were both in the Coast Guard and of the same paygrade and rating! And then a few years down the track we ended up on the same ship, the USCGC Morgenthau , leading two separate divisions but sharing the same stateroom. Crazy coincidence. In the same month, July 2005 Tom retired and I put Christa on a truck and off she went to the east coast via the Rockies. Tom and Amy bailed not long after, headed south to Mexico and then westabout. They are now in the southern Carribean and I am very much looking forward to the reunion. So anyway Tom and I both could write a book about the adventures that took place in that little cove under the Golden Gate Bridge over the years we lived their. Hell maybe some day we will!

Capt Chris

Last Nights Sunset As Viewed From Christa

Capt Chris, SE 10 KNOTS, SUNNY, 82 DEGREES
01/31/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

I snapped this gem last night!

Enjoy!

Capt Chris

A Short Move Inside

Capt Chris
01/29/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

Honeymoon Bay is not all that big and can get crowed so when I arrived a week or two ago I set the hook on the outside. The outside has some advantages such as not being on the inside and the wind blows more steady giving max support of the wind gen. But the outside does have some downsides. For starters it is not the inside, it is pretty deep at 32 feet, you can be subject to some swell and the buzz of many dingys going into and out of Crown Bay Marina. So yesterday when some room opened up I fired the Yanmar and hauled up on my 160 feet of chain/rode to stake my claim on the inside. As I approached my spot I could see the Burton's on Wandering Dolphin "hanging out" watching all the comings and goings. I got the anchor down in a relatively tight spot and moments later a squall came ripping through. I quickly acknowledged that it's "just a little squall" and hunkered down. The nice thing is now I know my anchor is well set after a couple of 30 plus knot gusts. Thus far I'm liking it on the inside. Just a tad less roll and a tad less wind. To top it all off, Susan and Hale from SV Cayuga delivered my new canvas splash shields for the cockpit. They look great! They now will start working on my new dodger and mainsail cover. I am changing all the canvas to an off white color and will have "Christa" sewed into the mainsail cover. Pics to follow upon delivery.

Another nice addition to my week is running. Susan from Cayuga is a runner as well and have gone together a couple of times. As I have mentioned before the hills in the Virgins are a killer. Water Island is no exceptions, but the route is beautiful and the quality of the workout is fantastic. I'll try and remember to bring the camera next time and get the money shot of the Honey Moon anchorage as seen through the eyes of runners. So as you can see I have been dreadfully busy since my arrival back in St Thomas. Boats tend to deliver an endless worklist and Christa is no exception. Each day I try to tackle something. Up coming projects include resurfacing the caprails with Cetol, drilling holes to mount the new (old oars for the dink) servicing the outboard, pickling the watermaker, mounting the tillerpilot for use with the monitor, changing the engine oil and it goes on and on. But that is how we roll!

Capt Chris

Update

Capt Chris, 80's, winds East 15 to 20 knots
01/26/2009, Honeymoon Beach Water Island St Thomas USVI

It has been a busy few days since my arrival back in St Thomas so I thought I might bore you with the mundane details of my life. I appreciate all the well wishes and medical advice I have been receiving about my fungal infection on my left index finger. The infection had taken a turn to negative town and had a serious eruption. I decided to dash back to the doctor and see what the deal was. The fungus in the nail was being treated properly with meds and is going away, but the skin portion was in horrible shape. So armed with my new prescription I jmped on the Safari which is the local taxi service and headed to Kmart. I am happy to report that my Tricare Insurance that I have via the military has pretty much worked as advertised. It is the usual government program that requires a substantial amount of patience and perseverance. I was able to walk out of Kmart with a 3 dollar copay for a 100 plus med. And most importantly within 24 hours the infection started a quick retreat. I'm am on the mend.

Another issue I've been working on is the Transportation Safety Workers Identification card or TWIC. From what I gather if you're a licensed mariner or work in any transportation field such as the railroad or TSA, your required to have this ID or the Masters License is voided. It is a post 911-security thing. So I went through all the hoops and made the application in person. Now a full FBI background check is done and once that is complete then they issue the card. I had to have fingerprints and palm prints done and pay the $132 fee. So it should be ready for pick up here in St Thomas in a month. So I will have to stay in St Thomas at least till then.

I also made contact with a company that is an employment placement service for the mega yacht industry. I put together my resume and all my documents from the service time and the company created a file for me. So apparently how it works is the Captain of you of these gigantic yachts go to the employment service and stipulates the position that needs filling. The service then hands over a few resumes fitting the description and then the captain decides based on the resume who he/she would like to interview. So I'm now out there and if something comes up I'll certainly look at.

In other business news I headed on over to the VA Clinic to get registered with the VA. I waited a year from retirement to register as they have a financial means test to determine cost shares to the patient. It is the dirty little secret that just because your were in the military does not mean you get free health care. They base the patient's portion on financial health. So they would have based my situation on my last year of active duty but now they will base it upon my retirement pay. So I have taking the time here in St Thomas to learn as much as I can about my health care situation so in case I get sick or injured I will have a clue as to what my options are.

In boat news, I have been equally as busy. I contracted with the nice folks on SV Cayuga to stretch out some new canvas for Christa. I'm having spray shields put in to help with protection in the cockpit. I also having estimates for a new dodger and mainsail cover done. If the price is right I'll have those items stitched up. I have a bunch of other nickel dime projects that need to be done and they all add up to a buck fifty. The new Yamaha 4hp 4 stroke in working like a champ and I'm very pleased. As soon as the break in period is done I'll take it back to offshore marine for its 10-hour servicing. As far as sailing south the only thing pushing me to leave sooner rather than later is the presence of Tom and Amy on Sandpiper who are now on their way to Bequia. I really want to meet up with them in the southern Caribbean. So current thoughts are to wait until I get my TWIC, wait for northeast wind, put Christa on a comfortable course and sail toward the southern Caribbean and land at whatever island allows a comfortable sail. Many people who spend a great deal of time in the Caribbean sail in that fashion. They don't plan on a destination they plan on a nice sail and land where the elements allow. For me I think I can fetch up in Martinique, Dominica or St Lucia without to much of a strain assuming a good weather window. Other than the Tom and Amy factor, I feel no rush to bolt and still have plenty of time till next hurricane season.

More Later

Capt Chris