Part
1 – St. Thomas
May
10, 2016
Lincolnville
Beach, Maine -
It
was November, 1968 and I was in St. Thomas USVI and after a few weeks
sleeping on the deck of the Tontine II, a 76 foot John Alden
schooner, drinking 30 cent Heinekens at Fearless Freds while my
laundry rolled along behind the bar, I was ready for a change of
scenery. This big Australian sitting next
to me was telling me his
plans to sail to South America with his wife and hinting that I
should join them. Sounded good to me and better than staying on land
for even one more day.
We
drained our beers, checked the laundry, and then walked over to his
boat to meet his wife and check it out. Hmmmmm. Not much of a boat.
26 foot long and it looks homemade. I took a few pictures later but
now I can't find them. Too bad. She was ugly but she was going to be
my first “command”. I think her name was SPRAY but maybe I was
projecting an image of me as a younger Joshua Slocum.
I
met the wife. What can I say? Honestly, she was a beast. Short,
fat, curly black hair, frumpy in an irritating aunt-type way. Bad
teeth, poorly capped and a suspicious, probing and disapproving look.
However, she liked me and we sat down in the cramped cockpit to
discuss their plans and how I might fit in. Our knees touched and
despite my homeless/boatless status, I was embarrassed to even be
aboard this thing.
The
Australian (I have forgotten his name now but he called me “Kid”)
pulled out some lukewarm beers and we started the negotiations. They
wanted me to be the Captain and teach them to sail as we cruised down
the islands to South America. No problem there. How much were they
going to pay me?
“Well,
actually Kid, we sort of thought you could kick in $5 bucks a day for
food and we could see how things go from there..” .(this attractive
offer was delivered in a strangely familiar, Cary Grant type accent
that cracks me up even today)
“What??!!”
No way. I need money more than I need a job so forget it!”
“Now
wait a minute Kid, me and the missus need your help just to get
started and you're stuck here in Yacht Haven and told me you wanted
to get on down island. Right?...So this way you can join us, help us
out, get some sea-time and jump off at any island down the chain like
Tortola, Anguilla, St. Marten or even wait until we reach Antigua.
What do you say?”
What
COULD I say? It WAS 1968, I had just flunked out of Penn State and
lost my 2-S deferment status and would soon be re-classed “1-A”
and have to go back to the states to serve somewhere. Probably the
Navy but that was somewhere out there in future-land. This was NOW.
“OK.
Lets do it. When do you want to get going?”
“Thats
the way, Kid! Lets drink to a new adventure!”
To
be continued….stopped here at 6:38 am on Sunday, January 17, 2016.
Almost 48 years later. Bummer, I am so freaking old that I can't
believe it! By February 5th
I will be back in Tortola, with my faithful. Long-suffering, still
beautiful wife, Nelle, and her brother Jake, his wife Valerie, and
their two amazing kids; Mae & Bo. We will bareboat a 47 foot
Leopard catamaran and, once again, sail the BVI. The adventures
continue!
Tom
Crowley, Man of Action!
(aka;
“Bad Captain”)
RESTARTED
THIS IN 2022 --
The
Aussie never needed any event or encouragement to drain a few and I
was glad to join him and...her. We loaded up the little boat, tied
on a 12 foot sailing dinghy and cast off from the Yacht Haven dock,
waving to our sad, land-stuck drunk friends at Fearless Freds. The
wind was pretty strong, even in the harbor but we drove along nicely
as we headed for open water and an adventure that could not have been
imagined by even me, an imaginative, optimistic, Cuban-Irish sailing
flunkout.
As
we rounded the point of land called Point Knoll and where Morningstar
Beach is today, the wind hit us hard, almost knocking us over.
Luckily...the frayed line holding the bottom front corner of the jib
down, gave way with a snap and the jib flew up the forestay and
wrapped around the top of the mast. Not a good start but perhaps a
foreshadowing that should not be ignored. I ignored it and we headed
back to a sheltered area behind the point and I re-attached the jib
so we could get underway again. By this time, it was past noon and
we had not even left St. Thomas. I was definitely not interested in
going back in and have to share this hapless pre-adventure with the
gang at Freds so we sailed on and made it as far as the island of
Great Saint James and Christmas Cove where we dropped anchor just
before sunset.
To
be continued - stopped here on
March
10, 2022,
Gulfport,
Mississippi
I
had no idea, nor could ever imagine, that just a few weeks from that
day, after being stranded on the customs dock in Road Town (Sitting
on The Dock – Part 2) , I would be trying to sail a 12 foot dinghy,
with all my gear stuffed under a green canvas tent, from Road Town,
Tortola back to Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas to find another boat!
Part
2 – Underway for South America (via Tortola)
Loaded
up
Left
St. Thomas – strong winds
Tack
on Jib broke! - back to port
Underway
again
Christmas
Cove
Snorkeling
Ax
in Hand w threat
Underway
again to Tortola
Dock
Scene
Threat
of police
Offer
I refused
He
owns the dinghy
Part
3 – Underway – Back to St Thomas!
