Greetings from Dominica

[AdriftAtSea]

Norm sent me an e-mail.  I thought you guys would want to see it and the accompanying photos...so here it is.

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I am in Prince Rupert Bay, Dominica on charter.  Most of the boats are big.  My 45 foot Jeanneau is one of the smaller boats here.  I am always on the lookout for the small cruisers.  The other day we were in the Isles des Saintes south of Guadeloupe.  I was pleased to see a nice collection of sloops in the 30 to 35 foot range.  Usually, they are flagged from Northern Europe or Scandanavia.  There are not too many multi hulls.  I don't understand why that is.  One would think that the reaching conditions and legs of about 100nm would be perfect for a cat or tri.  Most of the cats (Lagoon 380 and 440 models) are charter boats.

One of the big joys to cruising here, as opposed to the BVI, is that there are few charter boats and many private yachts.  Looking around the harbor is interesting all day long.

The interesting story for Team SailFar is this little Pogo 8.50 with a French family of five aboard.  They said I could take their picture.  Here it is.  Maybe it could make it onto the site?  The family say that they sailed across the pond last Fall and have been cruising the islands all winter.  Today, they are leaving Dominica for Guadeloupe, Antigua, St Martin before they jump up to Bermuda and then over to Brest, Fr.  I did not have time to talk more.  They were getting under way and I am working.  Such is life.





I think a picture like these is all the story one needs to know it can be done on little boats.

It is enough to know that families are sailing and doing so in small boats.  I wonder if they have a blog?

We are/were both anchored off this little beach bar.  The locals are called boat-boys.  They run errands for yachties.  We use Albert.  But if you like... Raymond Ravioli Lover or Respect Spaghetti or Laurence of Arabia will handle your account.



We needed water.  Big Pappa's is reported to have lots for not much cash.  We secured to a mooring/fresh water spigot and got a load of about 100 gallons for US$13.  I think the cost is more a function of the mooring and plumbing services than the actual cost of water.  Dominica is a wet island.



The guy who runs Big Pappa's (pictured) is anything but a big pappa.  He is, in fact a very skinny German with a very seagoing 10 meter boat.  He's been here three years.  I asked if he was going anywhere else on his cruise.  I got a blank look and the question, "where else is there?"  We both know there are more places.  But, he's found his.  For the longest time, there was no fresh water supply for yachts in the Bay.  Jan figured it out with a garden hose and a lobster buoy.  As we filled up, he said please don't crimp the hose or turn off the water spigot.  "We have more water than hoses."  Protect the hose!  (Note to self:  bring a supply of sturdy water hoses to Dominica next time.)

I don't get to the internet all that often.  I did get enough time to look into Sail Far today and saw the BILLNH posting: Naysayers, etc...  He should encourage those Negative Guys to keep on deciding NOT to go!  The real cruisers are an amazing collection of people who think, "I can do that." is a perfectly natural response to the "should we go sailing?" question.

Hope this makes it to you and you find it amusing.  If you think some of the stories and images are suitable, post them to SailFar.

Norm

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I edited it a tiny bit... but it's always good to hear from Norm and good to see that the small boat philosophy is alive and well.  Five people on a boat 8.5 meters in length...that's a pretty tight fit.

p.s.  There are four photos in this post, but they don't seem to be loading properly for me at the moment. :( 

p.p.s  Changed which server the photos were on, now they seem to be loading.

[Gus]

wow... envy over-flowing about to take me over... must resist the impulses....

great post!!

Gus

[Captain Smollett]

Very cool.  Nice images of local flavor.  That's what I like about traveling off the beaten path.

Keep 'em coming, Norm (c/o Dan).   ;)

[Zen]

close family!  ;D

[AdriftAtSea]

I personally like the floating fresh water faucet...

[Oldrig]

Thanks for posting those images! At least the snow is mostly melted in my yard!

[Norm]

Norm to Team SailFar:
Back in the BVI for a day and then off on charter again.  This one will be interesting:  four young british women on holiday for some learn-to-cruise.  I bet I have to cook for them, too.  More to follow.

Many thanks to Dan for handling the relay.  I must figure out how to do this on my own.

Best to all, Norman

[AdriftAtSea]

Glad to help Norm, anytime. :) Any pix of the british ladies??? :)  Photos of deck fluff or boat bunnies are always welcome.... photos of lady sailors are even more welcome. :)

[Tamboo]

I think a picture like these is all the story one needs to know it can be done on little boats.

It is enough to know that families are sailing and doing so in small boats.  I wonder if they have a blog?

They have a website at http://tyrando.wordpress.com/.
If (like me) your French is a bit rusty, there's a link on the right of the page for an automatic translation of the site to either English or German (uses Google).

There are quite a few people, places and boat photos, including one of 5 youngsters in the compact cabin!

I also like the mothers comment re. the children whilst on passage: "children sleep or make the Ds or the Game Boy".

[Norm]

hey:
Thanks for the lead on the web site for the family.  It was really something to see them all.  It is hard not to notice a group of kids at play in an otherwise sedate harbor. 

My training cruise with the four British ladies.  No deck fluff as I saw it.  Yes, I wound up cooking again.  And... the ladies spent a huge amount of time with the binoculars checking out all the yachts for "pretty boys."  So, that's what women want:  pretty boys on sailboats?  I must ask Cubemonkey about this.

Best to all. Norm

[Toucantook]

Dominica was one of my favorite islands down there when I went down there in 96-97.  Great people.  Fabulous island.  Virtually unspoiled due to the fact that cruise ships don't go there and the airport is, well, difficult to get into.  It would help to have fighter experience  :o
I was was on a chartered Lagoon 440 in St. Lucia a few years ago.  In beam seas that boat had such an uncomfortable quick motion that everybody on the boat got nauseous or seasick.  I think that's why you don't see that many multis down there.

[Manannan]

sorry to spoil your nice memories of Dominica Toucantook.  Last time for me there was in 1991 and it was paradise.. But there is now at least Norwegian Cruise Line, Princess Cruise, Carnival Cruise and Royal Carribean stopping at Roseau now. So I just hope the still beautiful unspoiled places I have been and seen are still there, and not only memories.... :(

[CapnK]

Hey Norm -

You wondered if the "Ty Rando" had a blog? They do, it is written in French, we are mentioned in it here:

http://tyrando.wordpress.com/2008/04/08/les-amis-de-ty-rando/

Un forum de navigateurs Sailfar.net, où, miracle de la technologie, l'on peut voir des photos de TyRando et de la Family au complet.

I could translate that, but it would be ugly and likely inaccurate. I'll just let one of our more experienced French language speakers do so... :D

[AdriftAtSea]

CapnK-

Tamboo posted the blog four posts ago. :)  LOL...

[CapnK]

In the words of the immortal Homer:

"D'oh!"






(Homer Simpson, that is..)

Too funny - I saw traffic from the link there in our site stats - maybe they did the same.  :D

[Norm]

Hi All:
Still back and forth with the BVI and Boston sailing instruction business.  In Boston for a few days and then off to BVI and USVI for a catamaran cruising course.  Hmm...  I bet I have to cook again.  The students are three guys.  At least, I have my own cabin and head.

Dominica:  There is a bit of tourism there.  Some cruise ships.  On my flight home I met some Carnival cruisers who visited the island, felt so uncomfortable they returned early to the ship.  Aggressive begging.  Mostly the tourists are of the eco-variety, hiking, flora and fauna watching, etc. 

The place is terribly poor.  An annoying feature is beggars coming by the boat.  At least they offer to take the garbage away for EC$5 per bag or bring you fresh tomatoes for EC$10.  You get the idea.  It goes on all day.  In the evening, they come by during cocktail time and beg a beer or rum and coke.  Kind of takes the romance out of it all.

Our Waterman-of-Choice, Albert, is a good guy and eco-guide.  I recently found out he needed some new fishing lures.  Seems such are not for sale in stores on the island.  (amazing, but true)  I bought a half dozen at Budget Marine in Jolly Harbour, Antigua before the last trip.  It is a real pleasure to gift someone with something they need but never asked for.  Albert, ever the gentleman, offered to buy them.  "No," I said, "these are a gift from Elizabeth and me.  I hope the fish like them."  He grinned and thanked us.

Give a man a fish... etc.

I have a picture of a world champion small boat cruiser taken in Antigua.  I will try to get it sized for Sailfar.  Also, I saw the Albin 27 Vega crew on Whisper again.  This time in Falmouth Antigua.  Darn those small boats, they seem to get around!

Best regards,
Norman

[nick]

Having just come from Dominica a few days ago, I agree the begging can be a bit over the top... But then again, if I were in their position, I'd be doing the same thing, so I try to keep calm, even if lying in your bunk some guy seems to be constantly knocking on the boat trying to sell something from a broken surfboard... That all being said, Dominica is absolutely beautiful

Norm, I'd be interested to hear who the world champion small boat cruiser was? Is there a name or a website?

n!

[Norm]

Hi:
I do have some pictures of small boats and couple of them compete for world champion status.  Elizabeth has the software that sizes pics for sailfar.  I must wait till we are the the same room together for a while.

Anybody read about the "around in ten" regatta?  Sail around the world via certain points in under 500 days.  Yikes!  I can imagine the Jester Trans Atlantic caper.  But a ten footer on the ocean.

Cruisers I saw were in boats about 18-20 feet, perfectly set up, worn but tidy.  A minor regret is not getting time to chat with them.  I am always working.

I promise some pictures soon.

[nmwarren]

http://www.aroundinten.com/

Some pretty interesting designs on there.  It starts in the Bahamas in January 2009 - would be very cool to see them start and then come back to see someone finish

[AdriftAtSea]

Norm--

you can always upload photos to your .Mac account usung iPhoto and the link to them here.

Hi:
I do have some pictures of small boats and couple of them compete for world champion status.  Elizabeth has the software that sizes pics for sailfar.  I must wait till we are the the same room together for a while.

Anybody read about the "around in ten" regatta?  Sail around the world via certain points in under 500 days.  Yikes!  I can imagine the Jester Trans Atlantic caper.  But a ten footer on the ocean.

Cruisers I saw were in boats about 18-20 feet, perfectly set up, worn but tidy.  A minor regret is not getting time to chat with them.  I am always working.

I promise some pictures soon.