Back to the Boatyard...already?
09 May 2009 | Underway...Antigua to Curacao
Well, we can't put it off any longer - it's time to head back to the boatyard to put Scappatella away for the season. Before taking off we met up with our kiteboard instructors for an espresso and emptied our bank accounts buying some kiting gear. (Holy crap, this is an expensive sport!) We left Antigua with moderate winds and seas, but by that night the wind had completely died. We were out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight, yet the Caribbean Sea was as smooth as glass - we've never seen it like this! The next afternoon we stopped along the way for a swim, cooling ourselves off from the sweltering heat. I jumped in first, before our momentum had completely stopped. What a strange feeling watching Scappatella continue on without me, no land in sight...anywhere. Later that afternoon, we were joined by 2 pods of dolphins playing on our bow wake - very cool! That evening we barbequed up some pork ribs for dinner as we slowly and gently made our way to Curacao. So far this has been a pretty incredible - albeit slow - downwind sail!
But it was too good to be true: by the last day the dreaded sea enema started: the winds died, the seas were up, and the pitching and rolling began. The mainsail vigorously luffed creating a deafening noise below as the slapping reverberated through the mast into the boat's salon. Cooking became a Class 5 affair as a pot of boiling water rolled this way and that on the gimbaled stove. Sleep was difficult as our muscles tensed with each roll to keep us from falling off the bed. And we were bored: I'd listened to almost every song on my IPOD, watched 2 movies, and even read part of my book underway...all of this with no seasick meds! Louis played guitar and stared off into space, proclaiming about halfway through, "crossings are sooooooo boring"! I guess we won't be heading to the South Pacific any time soon (that's a 20 - 30 day crossing).
With nothing to occupy our minds but the horrendous sail-slapping and boom-bashing, we finally gave up on the sailing plan, took down our sails and turned on the motor. Arriving in Bonaire at 4:00am on a windless night, we picked up a mooring and fell to bed, exhausted and relieved to finally be here!