HEADING HOME

Mike Grubb

Last June Mike returned from a classic Atlantic circuit aboard his Warrior 38' Tilos, 'and wrote a very entertaining account of the whole voyage which won the Royal Cornwall Yacht Club's Cruising Log award. Being far too long to reproduce in full, we join Mike and his crew in March as they arrive in the British Virgin Islands.

We sailed on to the British Virgin Islands and another crew change. This part of the Caribbean is very different to the rest as it caters mainly for the charter yachtsmen -- particularly the larger American yachts. At 38ft we were VERY small by comparison! Thus the anchorages tend to be somewhat crowded and it pays to arrive early, which is not difficult as there are so many delightful spots all within a short distance of each other. Even the names are exotic -- Jost van Dyke (named after a Dutch pirate), The Baths at Virgin Gorda, and so on. The Virgin Islands are split between the American and the British but it does seem as though most yachts prefer the British to the American Islands (the latter have a poor crime record). They are also very expensive compared with the rest of the Caribbean, with even fresh water costing up to lOp per gallon!

One highlight of the visit was an evening at the Last Resort on the tiny island of Bellamy Cay near Tortola. There was the unlikely scene of a Londoner, Tony Snell, who lives on the island with his wife and donkey, and in their restaurant provided an evening of quite hilarious entertainment. After performing in the Windmill theatre he travelled the States in a mobile home and eventually settled in Tortola. Another special visit was to the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda -- a favourite of most yachtsmen in the area. Nearby we also found Saba Rock, the home of a couple from Kilbride and now converted to the Pirate's Pub.

By this time the boat had 'been afloat since the previous March and our progress was lethargic due to a heavy growth of weed. Thus a lift-out was organised at a yard at Nanny Cay in Tortola. Before we were lifted out on the travel-hoist I wanted to be sure the slings would be placed clear of the propeller, so I produced a photograph of 'Tilos' lying alongside the wall at the Royal Cornwall at low water. This generated a lot of interest as the local staff had no idea at all of the range of tide in home waters* and they kept asking me how I got the boat alongside when there was no crane to do it. The concept of just `waiting for the tide to go out' was beyond their comprehension! The work, though, was super and the difference when we sailed off again quite dramatic.

I returned to the UK for a spell while 'Tilos' was in the BVI, having left the boat with friends. The arrangement was to collect her at Nanny Cay, so I returned to Tortola in mid April and started to prepare for the passage home. We decided we would like to see Bermuda again and so headed for the islands direct from Tortola, a distance of some 900 miles.

We left Tortola on 28 April, having stocked up for the expected eight or nine day passage. Conditions were fresh! We started with a 25 knot breeze from the east, so had a good beam reach. Although very lumpy we made good progress at about 6 to 7 knots and with pleasant warm conditions. In three days we covered about 450 miles -- excellent progress -- until the wind dropped and we only had light airs until our arrival at St George's, Bermuda. One consolation was that we were able to swim during the latter stages, though keeping a sharp lookout for the delightful but dangerous Portuguese Men 'o War. These pretty little sail-like objects have a particularly poisonous sting.

Local regulations require you to identify yourself on radio when arriving from abroad. Bermuda Harbour Radio at St George's was particularly helpful giving plenty of local advice on where to go. Our passage had taken just under seven days so we were very content with progress, but we were still happy to enter harbour with another ocean passage completed. I also had friends locally who were crewing aboard 'Fleurtje', a splendid 42m three masted yacht, and we just bumped into them in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, where we were made very welcome. We had last seen them in Falmouth where they were having a œ3 million refit! We were taken by high speed launch from 'Fleurtje' to the very well restored former Royal Naval Dockyard on Ireland Island at the southwest end of Bermuda. Apart from the restoration, the dockyard is now used as a marina with repair facilities. However, we were berthed alongside in St George's and decided to remain there.

Whilst in St George's we met up with several yachts also planning the passage to the Azores, so arranged a local SSB net between ourselves. Forecasts were provided by a well known character called Herb who at one time lived in Bermuda but now lives in Canada. He calls from his boat 'Southbound' ~on an International Ship to Ship channel (12C) and provides a super, personalised service and gives routeing advice to any yacht crossing the Atlantic in those latitudes.

I took on extra crew in Bermuda as one of my crew could only stay with 'Tilos' until the Azores, which would have left me with only two of us for the return passage to Falmouth. Ed arrived from the Marine Biological Station in Bermuda and was just `thumbing a lift' home. It is not normally considered good practice to take on crew in this manner, but we were very lucky and Ed proved to be a most useful and congenial addition to the crew.

Our previous Atlantic crossing, from the Canaries to St Lucia, had been pleasant with warm, steady winds -- perfect conditions -- but we came down to earth with a bump for this leg! We sailed from St George's on 9 May and the wind soon picked up to a fresh southerly, gradually increasing to a steady 25-30 knots with seas to match. This WAS different! Apart from the seas and the wind the temperature also forced us into UK type foulweather gear. However, we did make good headway and remained cheerful despite the conditions -- and we had a very keen amateur chef. Not surprisingly our sun-downer was taken below decks.

By 21 May were down to a storm size inner jib and three slabs in the main and were still making good progress of about 120 miles per day, but late that evening we were caught by a succession of extra large waves and suffered a knock-down. 'Tilos' righted herself, and on checking for damage we found the dodgers ripped, several stanchions bent and the mainsheet eye-plate torn off the deck. We soon made repairs and were on our way again. This was a different Atlantic!

Soon after the knock-down the seas began reducing, and we were delighted to see several whales and many dolphins playing in their traditional way in the bow wave. They were a delight to watch, although one whale did come a little close and blew just beneath us. An interesting moment, but we did not have time to be worried! Soon after we saw the whales I called another yacht within sight on VHF radio. She turned out to be 'Song of the Whale', funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and on whale watch in the Atlantic. During our afternoon SSB chat we were called by another OCC vessel, 'Mary Bryant', owned and skippered by Anna Stratton from our home port of Falmouth.

We finally made it to Horta, Faial by 25 May -- a passage of 1850 miles in sixteen days -- very respectable in the circumstances. It was comforting, too, to have frequent radio contacts with our friends 'en route'. Horta is well accustomed to welcoming yachts after an Atlantic crossing and we hear that about 700 boats make the passage each year. Naturally, the facilities are quite excellent. There are many well-known places, like Peter's Bar at the Caf' Sport. Another pleasant custom is that of leaving a painting on the seawall in Horta -- tradition has it that not to do so will bring bad luck. The collection now includes all the well known long distance yachts and it was very pleasing to add another painting to our last one of five years previous. We (or rather, Ed) managed to find space for our painting right next door to the first. Naturally, after many years, the lack of space forces a start over the very old ones where they have been gradually eroded with time.

From Horta we went on to Ponta Delgada, Sƒo Miguel to visit friends made during the organisation of the 1995 Azores and Back Race, run every four years by the Royal Cornwall YC. We were immediately made Honorary Members of the 'Clube Naval de Ponta Delgada' and spent several evenings there in pleasant company. I was impressed, too, with their facilities, and the encouragement they gave their junior members who were out most days, under instruction, in a variety of dinghies.

The departure date soon loomed up and we realised it would soon all be over. We left on 5 June in very favourable conditions with tail winds and our down-wind rig set. A highlight was catching a 20lb Bonito, which we killed with a shot of Mount Gay Rum in the gills rather than the traditional method of using a winch handle. It was cooked within a few minutes and we lived on fresh fish for three days -- by then we were almost glad to return to the more normal tinned diet! Shopping had been very good in the Azores and we had good stocks for this, and indeed all, our passages.

The wind failed us when we still had about 250 miles to go to Falmouth and the seas were so calm that, by night, we could see the reflection of the stars in the water. The vapour trails of the high flying transatlantic aircraft were clearly visible, heading for the VOR Radio Beacon at Land's End. As we had been jilling around for a couple of days we decided we would run parallel to the trails and head direct for Cornwall under power. The voyage ended at Falmouth early in the morning of 18 June -- a final passage of 1378 miles in thirteen days. We were home! A champagne reception in the harbour and the realisation we had `done it again'.

The vital statistics:

Total distance 10480 miles

Days at sea 154

Anchorages 79

Postcards sent 132

It was a truly wonderful experience with a superb crew to whom I am most grateful. We achieved what we set out to do but, more importantly, we enjoyed it and derived great satisfaction with a real sense of achievement. I am also grateful for such an understanding wife!

* Tidal range in our mutual home port reaches 5.8m or 19ft.

(1883 words)