Regatta
11 August 2008
I must begin by saying that it is hotter than the hinges of hell here. I am blasted out of bed by the sun around 7:00 and the day digresses until around 4:30 when it starts to cool down somewhat. The heat makes me irritable (although I am sure there are a few other choice words some could volunteer) and impatient. During the hours of 10-2 forget about asking me to do anything because it's not happening. All I do is complain about the heat. Currently we are in an anchorage in Grenada that is hot AND there are loads of flies. They seem to invade the boat around sunrise and leave at sunset but we are totally overrun during the day and it makes me crazy. We are moving tomorrow...hopefully without the flies.
The kids normally nap after a morning beach run and I sit in the shade fantasizing about living in an air conditioned house with a tv remote firmly embedded in my hand....ahhhh....the good life. Living in the caribbean in August without a/c is NOT the path to calm. Of that I can assure you.
However, the evenings are beautiful and boat living seems much more manageable. I even start to like my family again
Anyway......the regatta.
I have mixed feeling about the Carriacou regatta.
On the one hand, I thought it was cool because it was truly a local event. Most of the sailboats were made down here by hand and crewed almost entirely by local people. The boats were beautiful wooden boats with sleek low lines and very fast. It was nice to see the sailing being done by the local people. Lots of times regattas are geared toward the expat community and the locals work at the events. There were people competing from all the neighboring islands and some from as far as Antigua. It was refreshing to see the pride amongst the people as they showed off their sailing accumen without being overshadowed by the big sponsored racing machines usually found in regattas. Everyone was in a festive mood and it seemed to be a family affair.
The downside of the regatta was the HEAT, loud music and disorganization of land events.
We took the kids ashore at 2:30 for the egg race, dizzy contest, greasy pole events. When we stopped at the regatta office to ask where they were being held nobody knew. We were then told that the games were to take place infront of the building. Ok , but there are THREE 12ft x12ft speakers there PUMPING loud reggae with a slight hip hop beat so loud that it restarted your heart just standing next to them. I said to O "ok...Ben may win but he will be deaf for the rest of his life". The kids were sweating and just wanted to get back to the boat for a swim. We decided to forgo the games which was good because I don;t think they ever happened. So, I was disappointed that some of the events were not better laid out or organized.
Not to mention the music continued to pump FULL BLAST until 4:00am. It was so loud the boat felt like it was vibrating in the harbor. I guess I am just getting old.
Our friends on The Lady were there with us. However, they all had terrible colds so were out of commission for most of the races. We continue to travel closely with them. It will be sad parting with them.
Some friends of ours from Antigua had chartered a boat for the week so we caught up with them for the regatta. Ben and their son played together quite a bit in Antigua so it was a festive reunion for them. We anchored right next to the start/finish line and we all just hung out for the day on Indy watching the races and catching up. It was a great day.
Tuesday am we left for Grenada.
We have been tossing back and forth where we are going to haul the boat. We made some phone calls to yards in Grenada, Trinidad and Venezuela trying to get a quotes and haul dates. It seems that Grenada is the best place for us to haul. So, we are going to haul Indy out here in 8/18 for a week to get the bottom painted and a few things fixed before going south. I am looking into a place for the kids and I to stay while Indy is hauled.
Next Blog Grenada
I have pictures to post but my internet connection is terrible so will have to post later.
Capt. Chris: great to hear from you....untie those dock lines and get down here! We all miss you..just not the same without you!