Tim Ford

First visit to Herm, tender in to the beach for a stroll around the island and taking in the views across to Guernsey and out over the rapidly-appearing rocky outcrops, scattered all around the island. Lovely sail/ motorsail down to St Helier with some unexpected tide lines, more akin to exiting the Needles Channel on a roughed-up day. Tried to refuel at the floating dock but it’s out of order🙄! Berthed alongside G-Pontoon and paid up for 8 days.

Early morning start from Victoria Marina to get out before the sill closed. Motored round to Shell Bay, Herm, on the recommendation of the Customs Officer. Chose one of the less risky-looking routes round to the south of Jethou and up the east coast of Herm, watching out closely for rocks on both the chart and on Google Maps. Saw a tiny boulder 100m off our stbd bow which, 3 hours later was a huge rocky outcrop. Took the tender ashore for a look around, coffee in the cafe definitively NOT to be recommended.

A cracking PYRA race from Southampton to Poole. Light NE’ly wind yet sufficient for us to fly the bright red Gennaker from start to finish, despite the changes in course. Felt a little tight at times, especially negotiating a monstrous container ship leaving the docks under the control of three tugs, and a tanker that conveniently cast its lines at Fawley just as we passed close alongside. Heading further out into The Solent than the rest of the fleet, in the hope of picking up more tide appeared to pay off and as the fleet gradually strung out we approached Hurst Point with speed over the ground approaching 10 kts. With the wind easing slightly as we crossed Poole Bay the tussle with other boats in our class ebbed and flowed, finally crossing the Poole finish line just seconds behind one of our near rivals, who seemed to have stretched to a half-mile lead midway through the race. All in all a fun day out on the water!

Quick boulangerie visit into Deshaies then motored off south in next to no wind towards Isles des Saintes. Sadly never made it; engine warning alarm came in, engine shut itself down and we ended up dropping the kedge anchor outside the only marina on the west coast of Guadeloupe as the main anchor needed the engine running. Ended up being towed into the marina fuel dock where a mechanic and then the Volvo Penta specialist were unable to resolve the issue, whatever that was!! Finally, after 30 hours stuck where we were, Dream Yacht Charters took over the boat, taxi’d us to Pointe-a-Pitre and then put us on the ferry to Martinique the next day. Sadly not the end to the cruise that we had planned.

Mixed sail down to Guadeloupe, plenty of time in up to 17 kts of wind, punctuated with motor-sailing when the wind eased. Saw a couple of whales breaching in the distance. All going well till the wind dropped to nothing and the fuel tank ran dry. Spent 90 minutes drifting, trying to get useful technical support from Dream Yacht Charters until I figured the fuel supply from the second tank and the unusual isolation valve which had thoughtfully been left closed. Finally made it back to the “Death in Paradise” area of Deshaies in the dark, after a cracking sunset ready for a well-earned anchor beer!

Selected day from Antigua Sailing Week 2024. Fun time had all week by the crew sailing on “Braque”. Race Day 4 had apparent wind gusting into the 20’s. “Braque” was consistently at the front of the Bareboat 1 fleet from start to finish, gathering a series of 7 firsts and 3 seconds to finish first in class (of 9 boats) and first overall bareboat (21 boats). Fun sailing and some fun partying afterwards! Thanks to KH&P Yachting for facilitating the charter and special mention to skipper Tim for some outstanding helming and leadership skills!

Early morning start giving us a cracking sail up to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua. With wind gusting into the low 20 kts we were making up to 10 kts and arrived way earlier than expected. Berthed in the surrounds of the Unesco heritage dockyard and rendezvoused with the rest of our crew who arrived by plane yesterday. Checked into our villa rental with stunning views over the Dockyard., ready for Antigua Race Week 2024.

Motorsail in fluky winds from the lovely Isles des Saintes up to Deshaies in the NW corner of Guadeloupe. Passed through the Jaques Costeau Maritime Park and, for those in the know, ended up visiting the “Honore Police Station” and “Catherine’s Bar” from Death in Paradise TV series. Looks like they’ll be filming again before too long as we couldn’t access the station and the folk there were very tight-looped when asked.

Beautiful sail in 12-15kts of easterly trade winds between Dominica and Isle des Saintes, Guadeloupe. Very pretty setting in Terre de Haute and met up with old sailing friends who have been cruising in the Caribbean for the last 6 months.

Flat calm motor due to light winds. Unfurled the Genoa for a full 3 minutes until the gust disappeared. Well looked after by Eddison on arrival then took a road tour up to the impressive Syndicate Waterfall and then a rowing boat up the Indian River. What a fun day !