My day in the sun...

“TAC, TAC, TAC’”, the captain yelled from the bow of the boat. The crew began to pull and grind. I scurried up to the top of the boat scraping my knees on the non-slip surface, scrambled to the other side, ducking under the boom and skipping over lines as they whizzed past my feet. The stay sail folded down and snapped as it was pulled to other side and then pulled taught again as it caught the wind. I fell down on my ass and threw my feet over the edge as the boat began to keel. “Rail Candy”, that was my position, adding weight to the keeling side of the yacht as we fought our way into 3^rd place in the “Bare Boat” class for the 27^th Annual Heineken Regatta in St. Martin.

If you’ve ever seen a racing yacht and seen all the people sitting on one side and hanging their feet over, that was me and 11 others on Sunday aboard a Swan 43’ in the final race of the Regatta – and it was a blast! The wind was blowing like crazy, between 15 and 22 knots, the best wind the Regatta has had in a few years. Last years races were cancelled because the sea was too calm, a mere 3 and 4 knots. But this year was great, and everyone was excited to be racing. I sat on the railing, waiting for the captain’s command to scurry to the other side. Waiting and watching, as beautiful sailing yachts, spinnakers out breezed past us. We were in a class of boats called “bare boats” because we only had a main sheet and a stay sail. The boat was a rental through Sunsail and the crew were a group of really lovely gentlemen from British Columbia who sail up in BC and make the Regatta a yearly habit.

Our crew shirts were fluorescent green and painted with tropical scenery of palm trees and beaches. They were an eyesore, and you could spot us from a mile away – which was perfect. I have pictures and will post them as soon as I get settled onto my new boat…

So, having gotten into the mood of sailing during the Regatta – I decided to accept a freelance position aboard a 40meter Parini Navi (that’s the build, it’s a gorgeous sailing yacht). I’ll be working a charter in the BVI’s for the next two weeks, with a chance of staying aboard for the month. The chef aboard severely injured his back and they aren’t sure if he’ll be making it back to finish off the season… We’ll see where the future leads…

Either way, in the next two months I’ll be heading to the Mediterranean, either by sea or by air – but I WILL be there for the season…

Gotta run, time to start provisioning for the charter! I’ll write all about it as time permits…