Rescue etc at cat-race around SXM

Around St. Maarten - St. Martin Multihull Regatta 2011 (= site + pictures cumming up soon)

I was asked to put in startline and 1st top mark, then be driver of support/rescue boat and assist sailors if requested/nesasary,
I asked Jan Bart of the Victory to join me..


here his report: 26 februari 2011 Simpson Bay « Victory At Sea



Round SXM record 2.36.02 (2003, Steve Fosset's Playstation, 40m long, 46m high with Ridchard Brandson at helm/wheal)

winner 2011 KARIBUNI needs 2.42.17... not bad, JUST 6MIN AND A BIT SHORT



O ja, there was nothing to be rescued, first we checked on the smallest participant, a 2.5m 'long' trimaran' (with mainsail, gib, and 2m2 genaker.. Luckeyly it stoped at Marigot, so we could catch up with the Hobie Cat which was last now. We held him in sight and did our own trick. If you ever try it your self, go 'sort of ' fast up wind against a lot of waves (blue/tuquoise collored)...

U need a throttle man to take back gas going up the wave (so u do not flip the boat) and throttle up on top of the wave when the bow is down to horizontal again. If you do not do this, or to late, the bow will burry it's self in the next wave..

And there was no other way, if you slow down the boat does not plane anymore, slow down and the waight of the engine wil make the bow point up and the waves and wind will push you back. U will not make it upwind.

Was fun. But no chance of staying dry, fully soked we were... Afterwards we filled up the tank, needed 60l (80us$) gas, not to bad.


Pizza afterwards with Monique and Jan Bart

Arrived tuesday 1500 Simpson Bay SXM

I called ahead and Peter (day-sails charters) came to take some picktures when I sailed into de Bay..

Anchored in front of the Victory (Jan Bart en Monique), drop dighy, get the 15Hp of the rail, lower in dinghy, get is on the mount of dinghy, have beer on the Victory, Checked in with Customs at 1645 and was at 1715 at the bar of Lagonies where also came later the Crew of the X NIX, Nico, Letty Cortlever with Gijs who jsut landed 45 min ago on the island, Henk (Island WaterWorld), Jan Bart, Michael (German I run into snice Las Palmas) with without Angie, Elly, etc etc. Today the crew of the 'Annie' German Sabine and Dutch dingges

I'm anchored in Simpson Bay, next to the Bridge, with behind 'us small boats anchored) the big Mega crusers 'A' of the Russian Banker, the 'Eclips' of Abramoviets, on big Cruser with big sailboat ON BOARD with mast (4 zalingen dus grote mast), the Trimaran of Nelson Piquet, many more

Inside the Lagoon all places for big expensive motor and sail boats are taken, very imperssive quality, loads of personel on moost boats and decadence sumtimes.

RIP

Shit happens on my way to St Maarten.

The good news is I get a new main sail. The bad news is that at 1400, just under Monserat (the island with the active vulcano, altho no smoke shows as did last year) my main sail riped when I tacked for the last strech of 80 miles to SXM. Rest In Peace for the remains...

It was a long riiiiiiiiiip, perfect conditions, 27C blue fully clear skies and 25 knots of wind. It was a good sail, did its best although the 'curve' in the sail had since long ago moved backwards in the sail, but still did its job from 0-40 knots. Since april 2004 it has always been on the boom except for the winters of 04/05/06/07, after those winters we moved to better 'winters' so the sail stayed on 365 days.

It is beyond repair.

So, what to do? Still 12 hrs upwind sailing to do at 20+ knots.

I put on the orange try sail, small and ment for survival and brand new, never used. It works great at this much wind,

I'll get to St Maarten with this somewhere tomorrow by daylight I suppose..

An other RIP-eye Angus steak from the vrieser for dinner I think, had to do some work today, got very wet, only in my undies btw, no problems there.
It is now 17.44, sun will be down in an hour, pitch black for the next 2 hours and then the partly full moon will suddenly be there again and it will be very light again for the rest of the night.

Enroute Bonaire to St Maarten

Morning

Report from the Caribean Sea, the place I thought always to be windy... Well, except when I'm sailing around I suppose.

I finally left Bonaire monday 14th and the first 3 days were nice sailing with plenty of wind, 20-30+ knots, but also slow parts but fith full moon, so very light at night. I had a nice Angus steak with Irish Coffey as desert on my birthday and at 2200 a visit of a realy mother focking big tanker.
While passing close in front of me.

The guy on the bridge must have thought that everybody was sound asleep onboard, because I heard on the VHF:
'Sailboat, you can continue on your course..'
But I had seen what happened, but I had no wind, nothing I could do and everything went ok, so I immediate replied:
'This is the Condor, I see You, good evening. And by the way, I do not see you on the AIS, I suppose that is my problem?'

I could realy hear him fall from his chair, and some other lafther in the backround.
'You have AIS he asked'? (With AIS I can see from once even 90 miles all things of a vessel, name, call sign, speed and direction, size, where it is going).
'Yes, I have AIS and you do not show'.
Silence
'Yes, he awnsered, it is your problem'. .... OK, so be it, but I know mine works so I leave it at that.

'And I have very little wind down here'. ... He is standing very high above me on his bridge, 20m or may be even higher, so he does not have good feeling for wind etc.
'Ah, what is your speed' he asks
'1.7 knots' I awnser, and btw he is doing 20 knots I think, I can not see, since his tanker still does not show.

Now he understands there was not much I could have done, and i saw it was close but ok. Other people would have tripped, I showed a cool cuwcumber or something like that. I also wanted to ad that as a petroleum engineer I aleays like to stay close to the murchendice but I left that out.

I ended with: 'OK, thank you and have a nice trip' and he reacted the same but with a different tone.
I understand that he with his 400 or 500m of very big ship can not do to much..

BTW, I could have called him on the VHF to warn him of my precense, and or start my engin (6 knots speed) but I did not.

Sailing up to Puerto Rico took 3 days, 100 nm a day and then the wind was finished, so I mototed untill the tank was empty. I had a last 20 liter in a jerrycan and that is what is in the tank now, enough for 4 hours or 20 miles, so sail the last 90nm upwind.

But wind never showed, even now, 3 days later, and 75 nm south east of St Croix (where I drifted around for 1 day).
Finaly now since 3 hours I have 8 knots, slowly moving, but I still have to tack after 40 more miles and then 70nm up to SXM.

Life on board is good btw, plenty of things in the fridge, plenty water, 13146 songs on the I-POD which I can all hear now over the peakers, and plenty of movies.
On top of that I'm not in a hurry, the weather is perfect and the moon full, no problems. The generator uses little diesel.

I hope to get to SXM in 2 days with this wind, we will see...

Cheers

Having fun in Bonaire.. leaving monday

https://picasaweb.google.com/HandeBruynKops/BonaireFeb2011#



Bonaire is very nice, have been snorkeling with Rob Taal and family at Klein Bonaire, etcetcetc.

So, will try to leave again monday, and be in SXM in 7 day's, so 21st or a little later.

Just spoke to Egbert L, he is on Grenada now (on a 53m Perini, (? google it)), moving to BVI shortly and in april to France I understand.

Cheers

Bonaire

Very nice here on Kralendijk, moving north tomorrow or satureday, so do not bather(..) to call me for my 48th the 16th, I'll be in the middle of the Caribean Sea sailing upwind in perfect conditions. I expect dolphins will be my guests on my birthday.

Toedeloe

Moving on, to St Maarten..

Was nice here in Curacao, but go and have a look else where. Gone have beer with Rob Taal on the way at Bonaire and then NE with 20knots East/NE wind, 500nM straight line distance with some curent running west...

Can take some days, Condor is not well knows for high pointing capabillities so far but will do it well and I just got an other 8 books to read from local charterboat Insulinde so books enough for nice reading while Condor does here work..

Laser on deck and dinghy in davids, new havier dinghy as before, hope the davids will hold it with some extra support.

cheers