Mayreau Pig Roast....

From last Wednesday thru Saturday, Persephone was moored at Saltwhistle Bay, Mayreau for Mark and Willie's First Annual Pig Roast.  More than 18 boats were anchored in the bay with over 40 party-goers enjoying the extended weekend.  Here is the venue.....

The beach at Saltwhistle Bay...Persephone is anchored to the left

Caribbean Sea left, and Saltwhistle Bay right

Colors of a beach vendor

Mayreau.....

No, The Blog has not sailed off the edge of the earth (again). It is a connectivity issue. On Wednesday, Persephone had a "spirited" sail the twenty miles from Bequia to Mayreau. The weather
acted as predicted...20 knot winds, gusting 27 kts with 10 foot seas. The reason we left in these conditions was the forecast for Thursday and Friday was worse as a tropical wave passed over! Persephone  did great; and we arrived without issue, although 'lightly salted'.

Why was it important to get to Saltwhistle Bay on Mayreau ? A pig roast !! Mark and Willie of 'Liahona' are hosting a pig roast on Saturday afternoon at Blackboy's Beach Bar. Mark is expecting about 20 boats to attend the event. A local boat boy brought two pigs across from Union Island, thus the guests of honor arrived this morning. It should be a blast !!

Mayreau is a remote island in the Grenadines; without much infrastructure. There is no wifi here, but there is limited cell phone service. So, I am unable to use the internet to upload postings to the Blog. In fact, this posting is being sent via old fashion amateur (ham) radio. (As ham radio public service adds say..."when all else fails, there is always amateur radio"). So, you will have to wait until early next week for pictures....

Gotta go and deal with some pigs.....Later

Breathtaking Barbuda....

Barbuda is so beautiful, I am going to let this pictures tell the story...this is 'Two Foot Bay' on the east side of Barbuda.  I asked our guide: "Why do they call it 'Two Foot Bay" ?  " Cuz in the old days you needed your two foots to get here"! (Note the appoaching squall on the horizon)

In a cave, we were shown these  drawing left by the Carib Indians, the original inhabitants of the island.

Today is the fifth birthday of a cute, little French girl who was aboard a boat  in the anchorage.  She was concerned that if she had a party, no one would come. WRONG !  All the cruisers showed up with presents, and joined in singing Happy Birthday (in French) around a "bon" fire. I am sure it is a birthday she will never forget !!  

APRIL = ANTIGUA

    As in 2011, Persephone spent the month of April in the country of Antigua-Barbuda.  Most of the cruising community assembled in Antigua for the annual Classic Regatta.  The race is only a five day event, but the partying starts the week before.  The Classic is co-sponsored by the Mt Gay Rum Company, which supplied copious amounts of rum at nightly 'Red Hat Parties'. 

Mark and I 'relax' the morning after a 'Red Hat Party'

The Classic is a race among beautifully restored antique yachts (or modern replicas) of all sizes.  The yachts have so much highly varnished teak, they look like floating pieces of furniture.

The starting line for the Classic Regatta

  
We all had a blasts during the two weeks of camaraderie...  Many of the cruisers have made reservations at the Betty Ford Clinic !  But not the crew of Persephone....we were off to Barbuda for  more adventure.....

PS....I am trying to catch up with the past couple of months when the Blog was in suspension (Red Hat Parties ??)   Persephone arrived in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia yesterday and will be here for the next several days.  Sould get caught up in the next couple of postings......

Blog is Back.....

It has been nearly three months since I posted a blog.  In the past three months,  a lot has happened aboard Persephone.  In the next several postings, I will bring you up to date.   Most importantly, my Dad (age 88) pasted away after a relatively short illness.  In early May, Persephone was docked at Jolly Harbor,  Antigua while I flew back to the States to attend the funeral. 

It has been 18 months since I visited the States (or driven a car...Yikes !!).  Attending the funeral was important; not only to say 'good bye' to my father, but to get re-acquaint with family and friends.  

A couple folks in the Blog-o-Sphere wrote and asked if I had lost my appetite for cruising.  Another friend wrote and was worried that I was spending too much time at anchor and may have lost my spirit for adventure.  Bob on 'Pride' figured I just drank too much rum and fell into oblivion.   Let me assure you all that none of these scenarios are true.  Any fleeting thought about giving up the cruising life (and there haven't been any) would be quickly crushed by the following:

This is Connecticut's famous Mystic Seaport   May, 2012



This is one of the 360 beaches on Antigua  May, 2012

This is Ian's Sabre 452 (a big sister to Persephone) at
her dock in Mystic, CT   May,  2012

The is Persephone anchored at Jolly Harbor
Antigua   May, 2012



Pictures sure speak a thousand words.....   !!





Just Liming......

Francis Bay, St John looking west at St Thomas

One day melts into another here on St. John, USVI.  Life is an easy blend of lobstering, beaching, hiking, lunches ashore, minor boat projects and socializing with other cruisers. As this is the dry season, everyday is nearly the same with bright blue skies and puffy white clouds; with the obligatory afternoon spritz. The climate here during the winter months is ideal....daytime highs in the low 80s and night time temps is the low 70s.  (In contrast, the temps at night in Grenada don't drop below the mid 80s !)  If it were any easier here, I would be comatose !!  As Paul Simon sings, "we get all the news we need from the weather report".   As winds and sea swells change, boats are moved from the west side of the island to the southern anchorages and then back again.  As St John is a territory of the US, the postal service and rates are the same as in the continental US; making ordering supplies simple and inexpensive.  This respite in US waters has afforded me the opportunity to restock Persephone's inventory of spare pieces and parts. In addition, ATT provides cell phone service at the same rates as the US; including free nights and weekends. Being back in civilization is terrific...at least in the short term ! 

Simply, it is seductive to be on an upscale island with all the amenities of the US. It is going to be VERY difficult to peel away from this "Velcro Island" and return to the southern Caribbean; perhaps not returning to the VIs for 2+ years.  'Persephone' plans on remaining in the USVIs for about a month before starting the 500 mile trek south for hurricane season.... But, before heading south, the bottom paint must be renewed....more on that in the next posting.

Yup, plenty of cold beer aboard, looks like its going to be another great day !

Dave Goes Down with Mike......

The lobster in this story is the one
on top weighing 3 lbs 12 oz

So, there I am, Diver Dave, cruising along at 60 feet below the surface with my dive buddy, Mike. (Mike is a guest aboard s/v ‘Chimayo’). The lobster hunt wasn’t going very well on this dive….not a crustation was spotted (pun intended). We were both getting low on air, and our bottom time was limited. I was slightly ahead and below Mike when he poked me with his snare. I whirled around knowing that he must have seen something. Yup, it was a nice spiny lobster hanging out in his hidy-hole…unfortunately for him, he forgot to tuck in his antenna. Mike tried to get his snare into the hole and around the lobster’s tail. No luck, the hole was just too small and the lobster was firmly wedged in. So, in a macho move Mike grabbed the lobster’s antenna next to its head. The lobster went nuts !! A steel cage death match ensued ….mano-a-mano….it’s tail flapping wildly (the lobster’s that is), sharp spines slashing at exposed flesh, face to face, NO, eyeball to eyeball the brawl continued. Neither man nor beast blinked….then again, lobsters can’t blink… (just go with it, I’m on a roll here)… The lobster wriggled as far back into its hole as it could with Mike still holding it’s antenna. Mike was literally up to his shoulder in the hole. I was slightly above Mike and blinded by the bubbles from Mike’s SCUBA gear as the death match continued. Which one was going to emerge from the hole victorious ? At this moment it was dead even; or perhaps the lobster was slightly ahead on points. Finally, Mike is able to drag the agitated animal far enough from it’s hole for me grab it from behind. In the open, the lobster had more room to flail its tail in a last ditch effort to escape; Mike holding dinner from the front and me from behind. The lobster’s spines penetrated my gloves as the lobster drew first blood. Although it was two against one, the lobster was beginning to wiggle free. Instantly, Mike jumped him and wrapped himself in the fetal position around the pissed lobster. Picture a football player falling on the ball after a fumble in a protective curl…that was Mike. Immediately, I opened the catch bag and we stuffed the still battling bug inside. DONE !!

     With the few hundred pounds of air in our tanks, the three of us slowly made our way to the surface. Thankfully, the dinghy was only a few hundred feet away. Later, back on ‘Chimayo’, beer and bugs were served for dinner with friends. What could be better?!…

     “Excuse me, could you pass the drawn butter”….”another coldie, Dave” ? You bet !

NOTE:

((Geoff on "Beach House" asked if SCUBA gear is legal for catching lobsters in the USVI.  The answer is yes, as long as you are using snares and not spears.  Lobsters are plentiful here, so the restrictions are limited, even in the National Park.  Mike is in the US Coast Guard and was assigned to the station in St. Thomas; so we were careful to comply with all regulations.   So com' on up to America's paradise and snare yourself dinner !!  Geoff, we'll even let Canadians in !!))