Where Is The Far Reach--Part III

[John Stone]

Got the shifter installed. Took about an hour. Works great.

I received an email from Paul D who frequents the forum. He is in St John and asked if we could link up. So, this morning I slipped my mooring at 0750 and beat up the coast, across Pillsbury Sound, and into Francis Bay where picked up a National Park mooring 4.5 hours later. It was windy and I must have made 25 tacks. Double reefed main and working jib. Wind east 20 G 25 kts.

I have always enjoyed hanging out here. It's scenic. Warm. Great breeze. Very relaxing.

Might be able to link up tomorrow. Looking forward to meeting a fellow Cape Dorian.

[John Stone]

I had a really neat visit with fellow Cape Dorian Paul Danicic aboard the Far Reach yesterday. Paul owns the CD 33 Femme and sails on the Great Lakes. We spent a couple hours in the cockpit chatting about boats and sailing. We had a great time. He is a very cool guy. For some reason I had not connected CD 36 owner John Danicic and he are brothers and keep their boats in the same marina. Who knew? John makes and sells the fabulous Schooner Bay screens made for CD portlights, which we carry aboard the FR. I highly recommend them to anyone with Spartan portlights. Anyway, it was great having Paul aboard and I hope the memories of his family vacation on St John keeps him warm after he returns to the frozen tundra of Minnesota!

Yesterday afternoon I was rowing through the anchorage and was invited aboard the Compact 35 Alpha Crucis skippered by Tom and Megs Agnew. They have a very neat boat and have been actively sailing each winter in the West Indies for the last 10 years. What a wealth of knowledge they have. They spend the spring, summer, and fall working their substantial farm in Wisconsin. They insisted I stay for supper and we had a great time chatting about a wide range of topics until late in the evening.

I'd say meeting new sailors and hearing their stories, or getting reacquainted with sailors you have not seen in awhile is the best part of extended sailing. It's hard to beat the voyaging life.

Who knows what tomorrow will bring!

[Jim Walsh]

Those screens that Paul makes are just great. I’ve had a full set since 07 or 08. The cool thing is when they are brand new the bronze screens are untarnished so they are a wonderful rose gold color for the first season. It’s cool that you guys were able to meet up. Only a fellow CD owner can fully appreciate the work done on a standard hull and the accomplishment of a singlehanded Caribbean passage.

[Cathy Monaghan]

In case you’re interested, Steve Laume is currently in St. Croix aboard his CD30 Raven. He’s having some issues with the transmission and is looking for a mechanic. And Bob and Becky Dugan, aboard Emerald, are currently in Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe.

Enjoying your posts. Keep ‘em coming.

[John Stone]

Thanks Cathy. Steve L and I texted a few time when he was sailing down from NE. I have been looking forward to possible link up with Steve at some point. Sorry to hear he has transmission troubles, something I never thought about till I installed an engine. But, let's not go down that rabbit hole.... LOL

I was invited aboard a big Beneteau last night for a cruiser gathering. Crews from four boats gathered in the cockpit. All interesting people with great stories. Someone had a guitar and there was singing, humor, and much laughter. Plans for a hike across St John but I will pass on that for now.

Once again I was invited to the gathering when I rowed past the Beneteau the day before. This is not something that happens often in dinghies racing past at 20 kts. I remember a time when most people had rowing dinghies. There was a lot more gatherings originating through happy chance.

I continue to make progress with my bread making efforts. Recently I began working on sourdough. I'm not there yet but getting closer. The starter is the key and since I don't have a scale and unlimited supply of flour I am using a recipe for small batches that measures by volume. Just tablespoons of ingredients. I don't have any interest in making hard crusty artisan sourdough via clay pots and all that stuff. It has to be simple to make. Most of the info on-line about sourdough starters makes my eyes glaze over. The loaf I made yesterday was the best yet. Very soft inside. Not the big air holes the pros achieve but the most I have had so far. Pretty light actually. Just a hint of sourdough smell and flavor so more work to be done there. I think my starter was just not active enough. But it was quite tasty with homemade raspberry-blackberry jam and outstanding with olive oil and cracked black pepper. I usually make a loaf once per week so progress is slow but tasty.

It's great to just slow life down.

[Randy Capstick]

Hi John,

You may be interested in this book by Kim Ode (John Danicic's partner) on baking bread.

https://www.amazon.com/Baking-St-Paul-B ... C62&sr=1-2

Really enjoying your posts from warmer waters. Man, its been cold in Nova Scotia!

Randy

[John Stone]

Sailed off the mooring in Francis Bay at 0810. Beating up the Drake Channel between Tortola and St John.

[Paul D.]

Jim, while I would love to take credit for them and I have worked on a few in the making, my brother of CD 36 Mariah is the one who crafts those bronze screens for Spartan portlights. I have his original prototypes, (a tradition of testing stuff on the younger brother going back decades) and I've used them for years against the Megalodon like Isle Royale mosquitos on our 33. I can attest to their robust quality and durability.

And indeed, had a great visit with John Stone aboard Far Reach in Francis Bay. If any of you had any doubts that John really did all that stuff to his boat and thought it was all just an online charade, I can attest it is all true. I've even had my hands on the four quarter black walnut cabin sole boards! Far Reach looked superb and I got some great ideas for future projects. Especially for stowage options - always a challenge on our CD's. Thanks John for an enjoyable morning and smooth sailing to you and Far Reach for the rest of your trip!

Now, It's back to snow shoveling in below zero temps while Femme du Nord sits and waits, frozen, but safe under wraps...

[John Stone]

Hi John,

You may be interested in this book by Kim Ode (John Danicic's partner) on baking bread.

https://www.amazon.com/Baking-St-Paul-B ... C62&sr=1-2

Really enjoying your posts from warmer waters. Man, its been cold in Nova Scotia!

Randy

Randy, that looks like an interesting book. I'll check it out. Thanks for the tip.

[John Stone]

Jim, while I would love to take credit for them and I have worked on a few in the making, my brother of CD 36 Mariah is the one who crafts those bronze screens for Spartan portlights. I have his original prototypes, (a tradition of testing stuff on the younger brother going back decades) and I've used them for years against the Megalodon like Isle Royale mosquitos on our 33. I can attest to their robust quality and durability.

And indeed, had a great visit with John Stone aboard Far Reach in Francis Bay. If any of you had any doubts that John really did all that stuff to his boat and thought it was all just an online charade, I can attest it is all true. I've even had my hands on the four quarter black walnut cabin sole boards! Far Reach looked superb and I got some great ideas for future projects. Especially for stowage options - always a challenge on our CD's. Thanks John for an enjoyable morning and smooth sailing to you and Far Reach for the rest of your trip!

Now, It's back to snow shoveling in below zero temps while Femme du Nord sits and waits, frozen, but safe under wraps...

It was a great visit amigo. Stay warm up there.

[John Stone]

Sailed into Coral Bay yesterday to get some ice. Picked up 50 lbs. Not great ice. Between cube snd shaved. Probably won't last long. Spent the night on the hook. Not a fan of Coral Bay. In much better shape though than it was the last time I was here in 2019.

Weighed anchor at 0950 and sailed to the east tip of St John. Found a nice spot in Round Bay. Anchored on a sandy bottom in 17' of clear blue water. Excellent snorkeling. Very peaceful. Gorgeous views. Delightful breeze through the boat.

I'm never going back....

[John Stone]

I had a really nice time snorkeling. Got washed up. The big crewed charter power yacht left. The day boat with a group of snorkelers left. I had the anchorage all to myself. Fantastic. But, wait...a big white bareboat cat came powering into to my little paradise. Couldn't get anchored. It was obvious that while the skipper had some experience it was not enough. Lots of people on the boat. College age. They were having fun while he was ripping the anchor out of the bottom because he was impatient and over zealous. I called over, "Want some advice?" "Sure" came the reply. I gave them some tips. Still no luck. I rowed over. They were on a rocky bottom. I chatted with them. Normal pleasantries. Where y'all from. Etc etc. "Go over to my starboard side. There is sand. Take your time. Let out more scope." Blah blah blah. They were very appreciative. Maybe a dozen coeds. "Come over for a beer" they yelled. Not for a million dollars I am thinking.

I settled in to make supper and they swam and snorkeled. Everything going good. It got dark. Then the music started. Very loud. Did I mentioned it was loud...as in booming across the anchorage and reverberating off the cliffs. Hard core gangsta rap. I am thinking who raised these kids. This is not cool. This is not the place. It looked like they were having a rave.

It didn't take long. The shouts started coming down from the multi million dollar houses on the shore. I think maybe the guy was using a megaphone. Like the voice of Zeus booming down from Olympus. Loud, slow, and forceful. "HEY ON THE CAT! YES YOU. TURN YOUR MUSIC DOWN. RESPECT OUR PRIVACY. TURN YOUR MUSIC DOWN. DOWN. DOWN. YOU ON THE CAT! I'M TALKING TO YOU, YOU, YOU. SHUT UP!!!" This went back and forth for maybe 45 minutes. "The Voice" to his credit never use profanity. But, neither do the kids. Good on everyone. "The Voice" would boom. The music would go down. Then back up and "the Voice" would boom down again in the same slow forceful tone. Total darkness ink black no moon. Same message as before. The music would stop. Five minutes later it would start again. I'm thinking I should row over there and chat with them and explain this is not the place, etc. But it was obvious there was a helluva lot of drinking going on. I learned a long time ago you can't explain or reason with drunks. This was not my fight. I am 200' out of the combat zone watching battle between a scallawag ship and a shore battery. I just hope when the SWAT team shows up they get the right boat.

I issue cutlasses and double shot the carronades. Just in case. Eventually, everything settles down. They have their interior lights on. A big 50' Lagoon cat. I hate those things--like a floating Winnebago. Anyway, I can see they have are having a huddle on board. Looks like some males are trying to reason with the drunken agitators. The girls go sit on the gun'ales while the boys sort themselves out and try to gain control. I am sure, at least I hope, their parents would be mortified. There is an opportunity here for disparaging commentary but I am not doing that. This is not unique to the current generation of college students or twenty somethings (although they certainly have their own challenges). Alcibiades, a young Greek aristocrat, behaved in similar manner in Athens in about 40 BC. It was quite a scandal. Timeless youthful drunken immature stupidity. The trouble here though is it reflects on all sailboats. But, I suspect the people living ashore have seen this from charter boats before.

Anyway, the Voice seems to have gotten the upper hand. It's quiet at 2320. Let's hope it stays that way till at least daylight. Maybe they will sleep in till 1100 and then motor on their way.

[John Stone]

Well, all was quiet last night after the music was shut down by the booming voice in the dark. This morning our poorly behaved but hopefully somewhat wiser pack of youngsters slinked out of the anchorage with one more parting shot from up on high--"DON'T COME BACK!!"

Today I am lollygagging in the anchorage. It's gorgeous here. My sourdough starter is booming. Since it has been 5 days since the last loaf and I am out of bread I mixed up the dough, covered it, and set it in warm dry spot for the first rise. This batch of starter boomed at every feeding. I'm still making a hybrid loaf by using active yeast. It seems the only practical way in the limited space and limited interest I have in this endeavor.

Some may say bread making is not sailing but I beg to differ. It is a timeless activity of life aboard ship. For those that have not tried it I recommend you give it a go. The trick I think is to keep it a simple affair and not get seduced by the intricate and overly complicated methods espoused by the internet dirt dwellers. I use Lin Pardey's recipe contained in her book Care snd Feeding of Sailing Crew as the foundation but have incorporated a few different steps I have learned to get a bread to our liking, though we are still experimenting.

Anyway, let's see what today brings....

[Jim Walsh]

The pic of the remora is very cool. I’ve never seen one in the wild. Far Reach must appear “sharky” underwater.

[John Stone]

Rigged Sweet Pea this morning and went for a sail. Took 20 min from the time I started rigging till I was ready to hoist the mains'l. About the same to de-rig. Went out for a long snorkel this afternoon. Ran across a small nurse shark but not fast enough with the GoPro. There was a big remora under the hull with a hook in its mouth snd I got some film of that. I'll see if I can screen grab and up-load an image later.

This is an lovely anchorage. I could stay here for another week easy. Alas, I need to start back towards St Thomas as Gayle is due in next week. My bachelor sabbatical is, thankfully, coming to a close. I think we will have been apart for 62 days. A short deployment as compared to our many long separations on active duty.

I plan to sail west down the south coast of St John and if the opportunity presents itself and the wx holds spend a night or two in Lampsure Bay.