Redemption Song

The acapella version of Redemption Song by Bob Marley & The Wailers, as sung by the staff at The Fig Tree Restaurant on Bequia Island played in my head throughout our passage to Culebra.  I couldn’t have asked for a better soundtrack.  It came complete with the memory of our hike to Peggy’s Rock that same morning.

Supposedly, Peggy hiked the rock daily, gazed over the harbor below, and notified the fisherman where to cast their lines.  Peggy must’ve been a badass because let me tell you, that’s no rock.  It’s a bonafide mountain and goat roti never tasted better than after that steep six mile hike! 

This was our much anticipated downwind passage.  I was doubtful that it would be as easy as other sailors claimed it would be.  After all, our most recent sails had been far from smooth.  Our trip from Mayreau to Union was squally with gusts as strong as 35 knots.  Michael stood behind the helm shivering as the temperature dropped and the rain soaked him through.  Our voyage from Canouan to Bequia turned out to be much longer than expected, as we had to beat upwind and fight a relentless 1.75 knot current.  I felt seasick and turned the color of a brussel sprout.  Even though Gerty is happy no matter the conditions, it was hard for me to believe there could be a consistently comfortable passage from our perspective.

I’m a believer now!  For two days (instead of our planned three) a 12 to 18 knot SE wind pushed Gerty on her starboard aft corner as steady as a new mother pushing her pram.  Our happy sail (asymmetrical spinnaker) was up so long that the halyard chafed, and Michael polled out the jib so that all the sails could play together in the breeze!

The weather was so good that it would be boring to write about, so we took down the bimini at night to look at the stars.  The stars were too beautiful to put into words.  Heading towards Culebra, Puerto Rico, we talked about what we missed most about the United States.  The answer? People, pretzels, and Diet Coke!

There were minor problems.  As I mentioned, the halyard chafed, but Michael has already repaired it by putting a dyneema sleeve over the damaged section. 

I woke the captain during my nightwatch when a 900 foot tanker came a little too close, a squeak in the starboard rudder caused us to change over the autopilot, suicidal flying fish massacred themselves on Gerty’s deck, and last, but not least we ate popcorn.

NEVER eat popcorn in the cockpit when the wind is ripe to snatch it away!  Unless you don’t mind paying the clean up price for a hell of a good laugh.  It was well worth it to us!

Our only major problem was that we sailed too fast and arrived at Ensanada Honda eight hours ahead of schedule!  It was nighttime, so we had to navigate cautiously into the dark harbor.  Imagine our surprise when the sun came up and our friends Antje and Beat on SV San Giulio were anchored off our stern ready to introduce us to Flamenco Beach, empanadas, and Diet Coke!