March 25, 2000- Saturday- a 7 AM departure to the airport and then get ready for the flights. There must be extra time and then some built into each flight. Our three flights ranged from 15 to 30 minutes late departing, but all arrived early or on time. The delay at DFW was interesting- caused by the pilot not having the current charts for the flight. On the last leg, from San Juan to St. Lucia, we were on an ATR. This twin-engined turboprop plane took a fair amount of time loading- from the tail stairs. Unloading took more time- with the first 10 rows required to stay in their seats until the back of the plane was offloaded. Why? - Because of weight and balance, if everyone went to the rear, the nose would rise up and we'd be sitting on the tail. Arrived at midnight with Susan and Karen waiting for us, and there were light rain showers. Our food on the three flights was less then fulfilling- and at midnight- everything was sealed shut. So, I raided the sailing provisions and did some Cheerios at 1 AM.
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March 26, 2000, Sunday- after a 45 minutes curvy, hilly, taxi ride from the Rainbow Hotel on the north side of the island, to Marigot Harbor halfway down of the west side, I was a little queasy from being squashed into the back corner of the van. Arriving in the dock, all of the rental sailboats had their diesel engines running. It did little to settle my stomach. Everyone said that the local fishing was excellent- so I rented a deep sea rod that came with a guaranteed to catch them lure.
After a boat checkout and an hour and a half chart checkout, it was about 2 PM and we cruised north to the Rodney Bay Harbor. During our cruise northwards, we paralleled a group of humpbacked whales. Quite a sight to see these the monster sized animals up close and personal. After our whale bout, we got to practice our man overboard procedures to recover the Colorado courtesy flag that went overboard.
Our boat, a brand new design by Dufour, provided many pluses and a few minuses verses the traditional 43 or 44 foot boat. The four staterooms and two heads were below deck, but all of the rest of the common areas were on the same level. With an open plan, a sliding hard sunroof, and lots of folding clear plastic walls we could be protected from both the sun and the rain. And, it's a good thing since it started raining just before dinner. With our weather protection up, we could still sit the 13 of us, the crews of the two boats, for dinner.
It poured all evening, and by the time it came for descending to the suites, many of the windows were dripping. It was a soggy night for many of us on each boat.
Oh, for clarity, the boats consisted of Karen and Phil, us, Phil's mom Ruth, and Karen's sister Hanni. On the other boat was Karen's sisters Gretchen and Patty, her husband Mark, their kids Morgan and Matthew, Karen's' Mom Lu, Hanni's daughter Portia. During the travels, Hanni, Portia, and Morgan switched boats several times.
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March 27, 2000, Monday- the rain continued all night and finally petered out at midmorning. So, we started north from St. Lucia, with an English heritage, to Martinique, part of France. A crossing of 22 miles of open water was needed, and once we left the protected leeward west side of the island, the seas rose to 7 to 9 feet, tolerable, but noticeable. With rolling seas from behind, our dingy was doing a dive up to the boat on a regular basis. During this crossing we got to see the dolphins playing. As the winds increased we started to raise the sails. While helping Phil, I was sure that he was going into the drink. The last people on the boat, and we were only the fourth rental of this vessel, hadn't put all of the lines back properly, and the next thing I knew, a line was airborne and wrapping around Phil's neck. Fortunately he saw it coming, and was able to free himself. What a moment!
Two thirds of the way across the open water passage, with east to west seas and winds, AKA the trade winds, almost everyone on each boat was getting "under the weather". I was trying to get the energy up to reel in the rod, when, we noticed a group of low flying birds cross our path, and zing, a strike. A beautiful turquoise blue/green streak was getting closer to the boat. Next, I landed a 4 foot dolphin fish, also known as a Dorado. Decision time- to keep him or set him free. With everyone marginal at best on the boat, and not wanting to stop in open water to kill and gut the fish in front of everyone, and having three defrosted meat meals in the refrigerator, let's set him free. After the other boat heard that we let it go, they were upset that a few good meals were gone. They said we should have thrown him into the dinghy and put in some water. They had a hard shelled dingy. Ours was an inflatable. Not a place for a 30# or so thrashing fish to play.
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Finally we reach the Cul de Sac Marin harbor, did customs, and decided to stay docked at the Moorings dock overnight. A walk through the little town and dinner on the dockside restaurant, provided everyone with a chance to get their land legs back.
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March 28, 2000, Tuesday- after a pleasant protected sail up to the quiet noir beach harbor, we docked and watch native kids jump 60 to 70 feet into the water. Not for me! Everyone got cool by snorkeling along the harbor wall, over the coral area, and the rave reviews of what they saw only told us again how beautiful the diving in Bonaire truly is, far and above what we saw today. Since Sunday we've been trying to reach Les and Maureen, our Vail friends that were supposed to meet us in St. Lucia on their brand new luxury sailboat. After three days of trying to hail them we thought it was all over, but we always leave on the marine radio, and this evening, Susan heard the call. They were two miles north in the next harbor- so we set up a morning meeting, and a big smile was on Susan's face.
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March 29, 2000, Wednesday- we met Les and Maureen at 9 and boarded their magnificent floating home, the Shekhinah, (Bride of God). The woodwork, electronics, high-end toys and finish were second to none. Both of our crews had the opportunity to compare the differences between a rental boat and a custom finished vessel. After a cruise through the little town, we headed to a protected harbor for dinner. The choice was the Grande or Petite harbors. After passing the bigger anchorage, Phil said there were too many boats. So, let's check out the smaller place- with only two sailboats anchored- we headed back to the larger place. The masts on the smaller harbor were doing the big time sway, while the former anchorage, was pretty still.
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Tonight was the birthday party for Lu, Karen's Mom- her 85th birthday, and for Matt- his 20th. The girls trimmed the boat with appropriate decorations, a rum cake was purchased from a local French bakery, and a good time was had by all.
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March 30, 2000, Thursday- the second boat headed south- because they had to have Morgan ready for an early morning flight on Friday morning out of St. Lucia. We sailed north to a little town of St. Pierre. This was the Martinique capital with 30,000 people in 1900. Income was from sugar cane, rum, and pineapples. In 1902, 29,000 people died instantaneously from a volcanic eruption. Preceding weeks had shown the volcano rising some 600 feet in elevation. 1000 people took the warnings and left. A poisonous gas ball asphyxiated everyone, and a following 1000-degree fireball burned all that would burn. One man, a convicted murderer, hidden in a stone cell below ground, survived, and went on to show his burns with the Barnum & Bailey Circus until his death in 1955. Some of us decided to dinghy into the town dock and check out the stores and museum. The dingy dock was under repair and a challenge to cover since it was missing many of the slats. But, we all did well, and got to see the town of 5000 people. The museum displayed many before and after photos and maps, but also had the one-inch thick cast church bell- now a melted piece of metal!
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Back to the sailboats, some relaxing, and back to the dinghy for a good French restaurant that was near the dock. Again, there were no ladders, but we climbed up and were proceeding to the town when I looked down and was startled to see two native men just at my right foot. It was dark and I didn't see them until I was almost on top of them. My head turned to say good evening, bon soir, but my body was still moving forward. The next thing I knew, I'm going down. My right foot caught the edge of the plank beyond the open section, and my right leg is dangling below the dock. I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started all over again. But, my leg hurt a little, and twice I had to stop and sit for a moment due to being lightheaded. In the restaurant I had to get my hands washed- the palms and a few elbows was scrapped. After a great dinner, I limped back to the dock, hopped into the dinghy, and Phil assessed the damages. Since I could weight bear, and had sore spots that weren't too sensitive, we figured that I only sprained my ankle. A painkiller kept me rested for a good part of the night.
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March 31, 2000, Friday- we had planned for a 60 or so mile sail- from northern Martinique to southern St. Lucia. So, by 7 AM we are under power and sail. I had a restful night, and was sore, but still able to stand and play captain while others set the anchors, sails, and other physical "stuff". Fortunately we had a smooth crossing- seas under 5 feet, and I sailed the 7 hours with my foot up, as a good patient. At Marigot we cleared customs and decided to take an x-ray of the right ankle, and would save the last 10 or 15 miles for latter. So, back north we sailed for an hour, the girls dropped anchor in the Castries Harbor, and we got a dinghy ride to a little beach below the private hospital. We had been warned to stay away from the big municipal facility. Castries has 60,000 residents, and the Tapion Hospital was our destination. So, over the edge of the dinghy, onto the beach, and fortunately their was a native fisherman that agreed to help me. So, one arm over Phil, one over this fellow's shoulder, and I'm being carried over the rocks and trenches and flopped into his pickup truck, for the three block uphill ride to the hospital. Without this fisherman, I couldn't have made it. A physician checks me out, and says- it's time for a x-ray. But, it was too late for one at his facility. So into a cab we go across town at rush hour on a Friday afternoon. Naturally the x-ray place is a second story walkup. So, up I go and we find three fractures, two in the ankle and one on the fibula head. Back into the cab, and back to the ER, where I get a fiberglass sled cast from the bottom of my foot to the back of the calf, and covered with an ace bandage. I also get a note that says I can't fly without having my leg level and extended. Meanwhile the girls had sailed the boat back to Marigo, and we taxied back to them in the dark. All of the charges were reasonable- $100 for x-rays, $170 for the doctor, etc., but when they had a charge of $330 for a pair of wooden crutches, it was crazy. Unfortunately the administration staff had gone home, and we had to pay if we didn't want to stay overnight. The good news was that there was no dislocation and if nothing changed, it wouldn't require surgery. While doing the medical history, the physician, who was a vascular surgeon, asked about personal habits, like smoking, drinking and drug use. With two negatives and the response of one to two drinks per month for alcohol, he replied, "I guess your not much of a sailor".
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April 1, 2000, Saturday- Susan & I left the boat in Marigot Harbor, and taxied back to the Rainbow Hotel. It didn't make sense to stay on the boat with crutches on moving, wet floors. Also, I had a few hours of phone calls to make and didn't want to hold up the rest of the group from their last full day at sea. Back to the hotel, and a few calls to the Hospital, and all agree the $330 crutches were a mistake. But, nobody is there that can make a decision. Next, we had taken out trip insurance- due to Phil and Karen's mom's being each in their 80's. The trip insurance covered emergency medical care and necessary evacuation. So I finally got an international operator, called collect, faxed the doctor's note, and got an upgrade to first class so that my leg could be extended during travel. $1000 for two legs of first class- outrageous! However, it was a good choice to stay on land, in a full room and bath. Susan went to beach and thought she saw Les and Maureen's boat, and after a radio call from a local restaurant/bar, raised them, and we did dinner at "The French Restaurant". A three hour relaxing dinner was what we all needed.
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April 2, 2000- Sunday- and easy day by the pool, in the shade, and by mid afternoon the rest of the crew arrived. After happy hour, we were getting ready for dinner, and Les and Maureen came over to join us.
April 3, 2000- Monday- Phil took Ruth, Lu and Gretchen to the airport for their 6 AM flight. Fortunately he also got on standby for the puddle jumper to San Juan, and kept the ladies moving forward. Lu, having some irregular heart beats, finished her trip in Denver, and check herself into the hospital. Mark, who had slipped getting into their dinghy, cracked a few ribs. I had my leg, and everyone else had a number of black and blue areas, affectionately known as boat bites.
Our flight was at 8 AM- so again an early start. We couldn't get the ticketing correct for the upgrades in St. Lucia, but San Juan was a full service operation. Today will be a full day of crutches and wheelchairs. As we landed in San Juan, the 18 year old girl behind us got sweaty and passed out. Her mother saw it, and she passed out twice. Hanni, a few rows in front, an Ob/Gyn physician, comforted the girl and got them off for further medical attention. Then I got the wheelchair loaded on the shuttle bus, and a personal guide through the customs maze.
At the service desk I got the first class ticketing set up, and even got a courtesy upgrade for Susan from San Juan to Dallas, a five hour flight. It's too bad that first class cost's such a ridiculous amount, because it sure was nice. After roughing it on the boat, having warmed nuts served in a ceramic bowl, and drinks, all before takeoff, was a good start. And these aren't peanuts- but the real high-end selections. Warmed towels, cloth napkins that fasten through the shirt buttons, premium brand liquors, etc., definitely not the cattle class. Two flight attendants for 24 passengers could provide the appropriate level of service. All in all, I did keep the leg elevated, and survived a long day.
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