FALMOUTH HARBOR, ONE YEAR LATER...
We Altair's like to hobnob...doncha know...hehe


When we tell just about everyone we meet that we've taken a year to get here from Miami, they guffaw at the silly news! When we arrived here at English Harbor, that gorgeous blustery day early in December, 2008, there were boats pulling in Nelson's dockyard after the Nelson Pursuit Race renowned on this island for decades. The yachts were breathtaking! We had just sailed in from St. Barts the day before and were sitting at the dock licking our wounds. A gorgeous 60' Oyster, "Savage", pulled in behind us at the dock and just arrived from from the Canary Islands, all six crew! When they asked us where our trip originated they all but giggled and retored with "It took us 16 days", exclaimed the owner, "with some of them seasick, all exhausted, yet they were all exhilarated still "! Too right then. We were truly, thoroughly impressed. The elegance, beauty and stealth streaming by us that day was absolutely remarkable.

Back in St. Thomas (way back in June, 08) we learned of another Altair, this one a mega yacht and she's a l33' wooden, gaff,
rigged, 1931 William Fife & Sons, schooner. Simply gorgeous. See for yourself. The crews were calling to us reminding us of that mega yacht and they were addressing us as the "teeny Altair, itty bitty, Altair", you get the idea! Boat after boat passing us by, pumped with the excitement of their race, cheering another "Baby (not inflamatory in any way mind ya) Altair". They were describing our sloop as small, which it is! Bloody Well Right . We're in British territory, so I'm getting with program. Of course it was all in good humor and we were quite puffed up being all tied in close to the rich and famous! You can look up events like the Oyster Regatta, Stanford Antigua Sailing Week or the Superyacht Cup, just to name a few. To get a peak at the history and staggering wealth of Antigua Yachting look at the AYC Classic Regatta. Sailing is synonomous with Antigua, and various racing events have been annual traditions for over 40 years. The most recent addition to the racing calendar is the distinguished annual Caribben 600 that takes place in February out of English Harbor. This is a joint venture between the Royal Ocean Racing Club, (ROYC), and the Antigua Yacht Club. It's coming up in a couple of days actually and it would sure be cool to be on one of those boats! Check out the Antigua Yacht Club website to see the entire year of racing and just for the record ladies among you, AYC's commodore is a woman, Hip Hip, Bloody Righto, and all that. Jolly goodo! I'm really not on any committe promoting these races or regattas, you just can't bloody help getting caught up in all this Yachtdum, hehe!

We just happen to be very fond of our 'whittle Altair! Just for the
record, she's a beatiful, Tartan design, 34' sloop rig and sails like a
witch, when we have wind, of course.

Now that you're caught up with the "where" we are part, let's get caught up with our adventure on our humble cruiser. Soon come...I'm possessed now.