Wednesday 11 may 2005.
Hello!
It's time for an update again and this time it will be all about Antigua where we have been almost 3 months now. Elvina is anchored by a little beach very close to the entrance to English Harbour and it's a lovely spot! If the weather is clear we can see the island/country Montserrat with it's fuming volcano. On Thursdays and Sundays we hear the tunes from a steelband from the height above us and we have neighbors that come and go. Not all of them keep the safety distance when anchoring but so far so good.. We had a close encounter a couple of weeks ago when a rain and windsquall went right through the anchorage. The wind came from the west which is very rare. Our neighbors got a big boat in their bow that got caught on their chain and it took them 40 minutes to break loose. Kris went over and helped them and Gunilla stood prepared on Elvina to motor away from them if they should drag down to us. Everything went fine and 2 hours after the squall everything was back to normal again...
 Krilla is fixing a brooken windscreen. |
We have lived a life in the fast lane here. Kris has been working for a carpentry which he has enjoyed very much. He's been around many of the big boats and repaired things broken or invented new things needed. Sometimes it's been working with glassfiber as well as wood but as a boatowner you are used to all kinds of materials!
Gunilla has worked as a dayworker which means she does what she is ordered to do! The megayachts have a busy schedule sometimes with guests leaving the boats the same day new guests are arriving and then they need to be cleaned, make the beds up etc. On one boat she did officework for 8 days and on another she was a relief stewardess while the permanent crew had some days off. Serving breakfast on silvertray and coffee from a silver coffeepot. A variety of works as you can see and fun to see different boats from the inside.
We have been in constant touch with both sailors and land based friends. It feels like the cruising community has moved up on land here and it's easy to make new friends. Many people are seasonal and goes home or onwards when the season ends mid-May.
 30-year old Terry at a beachparty. |
We have been to one party on the beach celebrating a 30-year old guy where we got food and music in abundance. Another of our newly made friends works on Endeavor and we were invited onboard one day after work. That felt splendid! (For those of you who doesn't know her, Endeavor is a J-boat built 1934 who's been remodeled to a fantastically beautiful classic sailyacht).
 Gunilla onboard the Endevour. |
On the docks we have seen Anemos, up till now the biggest Svan-boat (112ft) and Mirabella V, the world's biggest sloop and many Alloys, Perini Navis etc. All of them in an extraordinary condition.
 J-boats Velsheda och Windrose in action. |
The Classic Week Regatta mid april was a great experience. Our friend Helen was responsible for several events so in between all the work we squeezed in some voluntary work as well. Finding people for voluntary work here is the same as home... Gunilla helped decorating for both the skippers briefing and the Owners party and served rumpunch during both evenings meeting a lot of happy people!
Another day it was Afternoon Tea in a very British Manner with long flowery frocks and hats on meanwhile there was a gigrace in the nearby bay.
 Sea Diamond's crew during Classic Week. |
Kris went out sailing on a motorsailor, Sea Diamond from the USA during the weekend races. He got the confidence to be the tactician but had great difficulties in getting the jovial owner to steer the right track... But on the other hand they weren't allowed to win since they could and did use their engine when tacking.(They came third in their class). He was happy with his days onboard anyway! (Read more on: www.antiguaclassics.com)
 ACYR Lucy. |
We have bought a new dinghy to the Elvina family. It proved to hard to organize all the transports to and from land with our different working schedules. The old Avon dinghy is still alive but not very healthy. We are thinking about storing it here until next season when we think to be back. Elvina cannot fit 2 dinghies and 2 outborders on deck...
 Nelson´s Dockyard an evening in april. |
Next week we are getting another visit from Gunilla's parents and we have a new a list of things for them to bring from Sweden. They will be staying in a house and we hope to do some sightseeing around and on the island together. After that we will pack it up here and sail south for the coming hurricane season and more about that in the next letter. We wish all of you a nice spring and a good summer!
All the best from Gunilla och Krilla
