The Sailing Club, Inc.

Windjammer April 2006

Sunday, April 23 Thirty three members of The Sailing Club (15 new members joined for this trip) made the journey to Sint Maarten (Dutch) and commandeered the S/V Polynesia from Windjammer Barefoot Cruises, Miami, FL, a 248 foot four-masted schooner with a crew of 45 and berths for 112 passengers. A little history of the ‘Poly’ is in order: Built in 1938, ARGUS was one of the last of the great Portuguese Grand Banks fleet. Polynesia was featured in the May 1952 edition of National Geographic magazine and in the late maritime writer, Allen Villers’ book, “The Quest for the Schooner Argus.” This legendary 248-foot schooner was acquired by Windjammer in 1975 and christened POLYNESIA. Our journey started from all corners of North America. Laura and Gary Webster from Fassett, Pennsylvania, George Sargent from Liberty, Maine, Doug Kerr from Larkspur, California and Gloria & Perry Basden from Windsor, Ontario, Canada, managed to meet the New Jersey contingent in St. Maarten without a hitch.yes". Vic Oburg, our trip leader arranged group airfare with Continental for 24 including the Canadians, plus 5 others on frequent flier points. We left Newark airport at 8:55AM and arrived in St Maartin at 1:30PM. Gary Webster watched some of the in-flight movie on the wrong channel (French). He wondered why he couldn’t understand a word!   On arrival in St. Maarten, Vic had a bus reserved (included) for our group for the 20 minute trip to Phillipsburg where our ship was anchored. The bus took us through the carnival crowds to the Green House Restaurant in Phillipsburg.  There, we had lunch and talked to our waitress Michele. She let us know we had missed the aircraft carrier Harry Truman and its 6000 sailors and airmen by a week and Michele was taking a week off to recover. Gary ordered a Pine Float – toothpick in water. We and all our luggage was ferried by launch/tender (several trips) to the Poly, starting at 5:00. Those of us in the front of the launch were welcomed to the West Indies when we buried the bow into a wave – protect the cameras! After being welcomed aboard with Rum Swizzles, we settled into our cabins and checked out our personalized Windjammer beach towels, paid for by the Club Trip kitty. At sunset, Vic played “Amazing Grace” on his bagpipes – an event that was repeated like clockwork for the rest of our voyage. Other selections on various evenings included “Scotland the Brave” and “The Blue Bells of Scotland” in tribute to our Scottish captain. Dinner was at 8:00PM followed by a DJ with music of an island flavor. That evening, the ship rocked us to sleep, fine with most of us, but there were a few that did not expect such movement. Monday, April 24 This day, we met Captain Neil – “Good Morning Captain Sir” to us! He dressed casually – loose white casual pull-over shirt, shorts and bare feet with a short billed seaman’s hat - much like the sailors at the turn of the century, but with an earring in his left ear.  The occasion was “story hour”, a daily morning ritual where he would explain the island we were visiting that day and what he thought of it. He was the funniest guy I had ever met! The main event of Monday morning was the 10:00AM 12 meter regatta between the Stars and Stripes - US-55 (winner of the 1987 America’s Cup with Dennis Conner) and Canada’s True North - KC87. Eighteen of the Sailing Club’s sailors under the guidance of Team Leader Joy Rocklin (Montgomery) in Stars & Stripes was pitted against a very good Canadian boat, having our two Canadian members in their crew, under Team Leader Gloria Basden. The Canadians got the better start. The lead changed several times in the five leg race, and True North, on the last leg, lagged and crossed the finish line a half-boat length behind. It was a close win by Stars and Stripes. True North was “burdened with equipment failure” says Gloria (that’s the story & she is sticking with it). The victorious crew, with Stars and Stripes Crew T-shirts sporting the Sailing Club logo, returned to the Poly, greeted by rousing cheers from the rest of the spectators who appreciated the close race. Around 3:00PM, we assisted the crew in raising sails and set course for Statia (St. Eustatius. We encountered moderate seas (Laura Webster called it a little rough) and dropped anchor at Oranjestad’s harbor before 7:00PM. That evening, there was a sex trivia game, which we were told was nearly always won by the women. This time, the guys prevailed 7 to 5. Tuesday, April 25 On Statia (Dutch), there were swells from the west, which made it extremely difficult to load the launch from the port side. George Sargent, our senior member from Maine made it aboard with Julio & Pam Menendez, but then waited while the gangway on the starboard side had some quick welding repairs so the rest of us and our gear could off load in the shelter of the ship. Some of the club decided to take the ‘moderate’ hike to the Quill, a volcano crater, and its rainforest covered terrain. The hike was definitely more than moderate – narrow, steep with roots across the trail and the temperature was hot. Water was used up quickly and there was one incident of near heat exhaustion. Our Cindy Peterson slipped on the down-slope colliding with the hiker below her; she had her glasses rammed into her eyelid which then caused her to sport a black eye for the rest of the week. The group got separated from the guide and took a wrong turn.The guide found the wayward travelers and set them on the right track. Others took a morning and afternoon kayak and snorkel tour. The third tour choice was a guided tour of Phillipsburg while others also hiked up the hill on their own to walk around the upper town. Lunch was supplied by the Poly at the Golden Era Hotel. The saltwater swimming pool overlooked the harbor and the Poly. Some of us looked at the threatening weather and decided to skip the afternoon snorkel and spend time in the pool. That evening, we played LRC – Left, Center, Right – involving a fee of $3 each and three dice. Thirty three played until $99 was won by a young couple. A costume party followed. Many veteran windjammers expected this and went way overboard. Belva became a patient with hospital gown and fake butt to win 1st and her husband Carl as Popeye won 2nd place.  The club’s own Cindy Petersen won 6th as a pirate girl. Many of us took advantage of the ship’s private collection of costumes and made do with some pretty funky looks. After the party, we weighed anchor and set the sails for our next port of call – Nevis and its Port of Charleston. We passed the lights of St. Kitts before turning in for the evening. Wednesday, April 26 Another very warm & sunny day greeted us at Nevis (British heritage). We had a choice of a wet or dry landing. For an Inn tour or shopping in the town, we would be dropped off at the dock – a long launch ride from our anchorage. For the beach and Sunshine’s bar, the launches would drop us off close to the surf line – carry your shoes. Some of us took an Inn our with Rita, our guide, in her new Toyota van. Many of the inns were old plantations. The town and some of the plantations had buildings dating back to the 1700’s. Old Manor Estate Hotel was a sugar cane plantation and was cleverly built using ruins and silos as an integral part of the architecture. Many goats, pigs and chickens seemed to have the run of the island. In the evening, they would return to their owners. Fences around some houses were designed to keep wandering livestock out. The beach bums of our crew, spent the day at ‘Sunshine ’s’ – a shack/bar next to the prestigious Four Seasons. The beach in front was beautiful and the sunbathers were never far from the “Killer Bees”, Sunshine’s infamous drink. The evening brought everyone to shore (wet landing) for a BBQ at Sunshine’s – food was brought ashore from the Poly and served by the ships crew. We met a group of British Sailors who were on their way to Antigua Race Week. Our ladies got a kick out of them and later that evening, they made a few passes around our ship in an over crowded launch, maybe to make a few passes at our women. The on-ship entertainment that night was a team scavenger hunt – more appropriate to a singles cruise.  There was a lot of acting skits involved and Julio Menendez was one of two judges. We bribed him a lot with Heineken and rewarded him in the end with multiple moons. He said he never saw so many white butts. We weighed anchor around 11:30PM for the night sail to St. Barthelemy (St Barts). Thursday, April 27 We dropped anchor off Gustavia, St. Barts (French heritage) around 8:00AM. The sail during the night was a little rougher and our old windjammer creaked a lot and the waves hitting the hull could be heard in every cabin. St Barts is much like the French Riviera, home and vacation spot for the rich & famous. It’s very expensive. At 10:00AM, we took the launch to the dock. The Sailing Club group had arranged to rent Jeeps & Suzukis for our unguided tour around the island. At the dock, the rental company picked up the drivers and took us to their office near the airport. My plan was to go cheap and rent a car with a stick shift, but the first switch-back on the first steep hill changed my mind. With a map in hand and a vague memory of how we left the harbor, we made it back to pick up our designated passengers. Gary, Vic and I had brought small ‘family talk’ radios and tuned them for inter-vehicle communication. This doesn’t work too well when your sister (Laura, the main reporter/documenter for this trip) insisted on putting the radio between her legs and kept the talk button on. Our jeep heard everything discussed in Gary’s jeep. Our tour took a circuit around the island – beautiful and mountainous with narrow curving roads. The French motorcycle and ATV drivers seemingly made their own lanes and followed their own rules. The map showed roads connecting various towns(?) but did not include route numbers. That was OK since the roads and streets did not seem to have any names. I was glad I was driving, leaving new SC member Hank Labudzki to guess where we were and where we were going. If we got lost, it was his fault! The highlight of the tour is St. Barts airport. Pilots need a special certification and special aircraft to land here, since it has an approach over a hill upon which there is a car traffic circle and four converging roads, The runway starting at the base of the hill is short with the its far end terminating at a beach and lagoon. The pilot comes in low over the hilltop just clearing the heads (it seems) and cars of tourists (the road here is usually packed – quite a photo op), then drops down to the runway, applying his brakes and reversing prop pitch seconds after his wheels hit. We rendezvoused (French of course) for lunch at Le Select made famous by Jimmy Buffet’s “Cheeseburger in Paradise”. After lunch, we went back to the airport and its runway ending St. Jean’s beach to chill out and watch the planes take off over our heads. Being French, most beaches are topless with one truly nude beach on St. Barts (Salina Beach). We played the part of prudish Americans and decided to keep our suits (and tops) on and just casually observe the bathers out of the corners of our eyes. That evening, we had a wine & cheese party on board. The wine was picked up in town by everyone and the cheese, French bread & pâtés were furnished by the Poly. There was plenty of wine and it flowed, and flowed. At sunset, Vic played “Going Home” on his bagpipes – a few goofs due to the wine, but the listeners never noticed, also due to the abundance of wine. Later, dinner was available on board or anyone could take a launch ashore to eat at any of the trendy restaurants. Many of us went in later for some music and dancing at Le Select. Gustavia took on a different flavor at night, the restaurants were crowded, but street traffic was nonexistent, making walks around the town very pleasant (and not life threatening). We all had to be back at 11:00. Many left wake-up calls for a 5:00AM sunrise before beginning the sail to our last stop, Anguilla before returning to St. Maarten. Friday, April 28 Anguilla (British) is best known for its beaches – and shoal water. As Captain Neil was giving his usual morning talk, we were approaching Anguilla. He casually looked up, and told a member of the crew to run to the helmsman and have him change course to avoid Casey’s Reef. When the crewman hesitated, thinking it was part of his entertaining the audience, he let it be known he was serious – we were heading directly for it. It seems that Captain Casey, a Windjammer captain, had gone aground here – probably while giving his morning story hour to the passengers. The island refused independence with St. Kitts and Nevis – confusing the British.It is not volcanic and has been under water about 5 times in its history. The shore was littered with a few wrecks from past hurricanes and the low lying buildings appeared abandoned. The island is not known for shopping or tourism and is very quiet; we did not see too many people. While some of us went ashore to go to the beach (no tours) before lunch, the others had lunch aboard – delicious toasted cheese sandwiches. After lunch, many of the remaining passengers took a 2nd bus to Shoal Beach – no nudity, it’s a British island. The coral and quantity of fish here were not impressive. The coral appeared bleached or dead and there were no large schools of fish. The bus was a full size coach and seemed out of place on what appeared to be a deserted island. The ‘plank’ or diving board was rigged and upon returning from the beach, some of us ‘walked’ the plank. The water was very refreshing and there was only a minimal current running. It was the Captain’s Dinner this night – steak and fish and we had Champaign. The floor show consisted of the head steward making his Caesar salad – asking us what should go into it and how much.  More anchovies? There was lots of noise when the rum bottle came out.  At the bar, starting during the first seating, and lasting well into the night, Jack T. Shepherd played the guitar and sang Irish songs and sea shanties. Jack, a friend of Captain Neil and a fellow Scotsman, had married a local girl and has lived on St. Maarten for over 20 years. This evening was probably the most relaxing and entertaining one we had – very enjoyable.  During the evening, I must have had a few too many Rum Swizzles and managed to soak Pam Culligan’s lap while talking with my hands – too crowded, no elbow room. Pam and her sister Stephanie Tat, both new members, spent the rest of the trip making sure I did not approach too close if I was carrying a drink. That was all the encouragement I needed to single them out for special attention. We all enjoyed the game. The crew gathered together and subjected themselves to countless photos. They returned the favor and used our cameras to take group photos of us passengers. The big disappointment was that Dario, normally the ships photographer, had to fill in as activity/entertainment coordinator. He had no time to take pictures of this cruise and we had to settle for some of his best photos of the islands we had visited, rather than personal photos of our trip. Later in the evening, it was time to weigh anchor and set sail for St. Maarten. Saturday, April 29 We awoke to view the commercial shore line of St. Maarten. We had packed and put the luggage out in the hallway for the crew to take up to the bar. There, the luggage would be transferred to the launches, depending on when your flight left Phillipsburg. The Sailing Club group got the 9:30 launch to take us to our chartered bus. Last minute shopping by a few of our number made some of us anxious about getting to the airport in time. It was a good thing that we started 3 hours ahead of our flight. It was still carnival time and the traffic was very heavy. The trip took long enough for some of us with weak bladders to want to abandon the bus for a secluded alleyway. At the airport, those in the aisle on jump seats were encouraged to get off quickly – no accidents were reported. The airport was also jammed and all our luggage was searched by hand – some more thoroughly than others. Our flight to Newark took off at 1:15PM under sunny skies and a temperature in the 80’s. We were heading to a Newark that was experiencing 62 degrees. In summary, the experience of our cruise on the Polynesia was a positive one. Our Sailing Club group got a chance to socialize with each other and we also met most of the other passengers (thirty-three in our group, with 97 passengers total). The crew was friendly and easy to talk to. Captain Neil, with Windjammer for over 30 years, was competent, friendly and very entertaining. Dario, our activities mate, worked very hard to make the land excursions work and the evening activities entertaining. As far as the ship went, it has seen better days and probably won’t be in the fleet after a few more years. Perhaps we did our trip just in time. New regulations may force a lot of Windjammer’s fleet out of business and they are actively looking for newer boats. The sails were patched, some of the decking was springy and there were some areas where calking (tar?) was oozing out between the planks. All metal parts and turnbuckles appeared to have many coats of paint on them. At times, hot water for the showers was scarce. There was more movement and ships noise (squeak/groan) while under way, which sometimes made sleeping at night a little difficult for some, but perhaps soothing to others. Our thanks to Vic Oburg, our trip leader, for doing an outstanding job in bringing everything together. This log was compiled by Larry Sherwood using notes from his twin sister, Laura Webster.