Trip Report from
San Salvador
, the
Bahamas
to
Panama Canal
via
Havana
,
Cuba
.
23/11/98
THE FINISH LINE,
San Salvador
, the
Bahamas
. After
more than 3400 miles, 23 days and 7 hours and two ripped spinnakers the end is
near. We have comfortably beaten the
wossies of Chrysolite and had the quickest 24-hour run of any Clipper crossing
the
Atlantic
. The protective tape covering
at the end of the boom has been ripped off, see picture, a testamony to some
hair-raising boom dipping! Our
attire during starts and finishes is the Taeping Red T-shirt with white Taeping
Crew caps.
24/11/98
Wake
up with a mighty hangover. Partyed
hard at the Club Med until
04:00
, dancing and drinking with no one and everyone.
Up at
07:00
, have a one-way open ticket to
Nassau
to get our AP spinnaker to Larry Phillips, the
most reputable, and only, sailmaker in the
Bahamas
. Hopefully
he can get the AP back in fighting form. The
Clipper fleet, ex Antiope and Serica, leave the Rolling Rock Marina at
10:00
for a 190 mile journey to Nassau Yacht Haven.
I am left on the beach hoping
my flight isn’t full. The lady at
the primitive checkin counter looks on in disbelief as I haul the AP onto the
scale – stopping at 80 kg – hope they take credit cards!
She asks, “How many pieces?” “One
or a hundred, take your pick”, I reply. “You
should be paying excess luggage charges, but OK this time”, she says with a
smile, our lucky day. As I reach
cruising altitude doing 200 knots, I see five white specks on the ocean doing 8
knots, I tell the girl in the next seat, “That is my home down there,” and
I’m proud of it.
Hire
hatchback at the airport, barely big enough to fit the AP, and head into
Nassau
. Catch
Larry just before
closing. He has an Ernest Hemingway
look about him, well-trimmed and white-speckled beard.
I have come to the right, albeit slightly expensive, man.
He has great knowledge of the sea and sails and appreciates our
predicament. After a close look he
promises a fix in two days. What a
great feeling. After all the
adversity across the
Atlantic
it’s a feeling of being back in the race without a handicap.
Mission
accomplished, I check into the Red Carpet Inn,
followed by a delicious red snapper dinner at the Poopdeck washed down with cold
Kaliber beer – what a treat. Retire
early to a flat bed in an air-conditioned room, this is heaven.
25/11/98
Clipper fleet arrives at noon, flags flying.
Antiope had a little trouble with terra firma on the way in.
At least our AP is already on the mend before the other boats request
patchwork. We have kept quiet about
the fact that our lightweight spinnaker also needs work, so we slip it quietly
into the car and take it off to Larry’s shop.
He reviews the good work that Patrice, John and Charlotte have already
performed under arduous conditions, see picture from
22/11/98
.
Clipper crews have headed
for the Poopdeck and are soon on a slippery slope to liver destruction.
Lots of work remains before we can leave for
Havana
, but that will be another day.
26/11/98
Thanksgiving
Day with lots of American tourists in town.
Time to eat some good grub and try a diet that doesn’t contain tinned
food.
27/11/98
Larry has good news,
spinnakers are brought on board, both in fighting form. New
provisions are brought on board. Spend
the night at a local restaurant watching the movie that Nigel Barden and Yomi
Ayeni put together on the leg to Funchal.
Five new crew members join us: Kevyn
Doolan (pictured); Tom Harvey; James Tree; Bozer Yigit (partially hidden); and,
Monica Yunnie, we welcome the new blood. Three
leave us: John Graham; Steve Robinson; and, Gareth Venning, their contributions
will be missed.
