Regatta

When we came back to Ruyam II, it was after 5:00 pm. All around us and beyond were swarming with hundreds of racing boats finished for the day. On Thursday, an official looking guy had come to our boat and told me (Al was busy with something) to change our sheltered spot to make way for the regatta boats for the week-end. Al was not happy, but I insisted that we should listen. We had to take water from the marina on Friday, so I made him anchor at the far end of the bay, closer to the western side and the bridge to the lagoon. That was the reason for the two nights of rolling like crazy. Whenever I complained, Al reminded me that it was my idea, and some other boats had not complied. However, Saturday morning we saw that all the sheltered area was cleared, so he believed me at last. Then we had left for Anguilla.

Anyway, I sat at the aft to watch the different sized and shaped boats. Then I saw two almost knocking heads, people on both trying to keep them apart, sticking fenders in between. I told Al, and his first reaction was to go and help, since their anchors seemed to have tangled. The racing boats did not have dinghies, and were having a hard time getting their anchor up. So he went, and I sat to watch. Poor Al was trying to steer the dinghy over the high waves, while holding the anchor in his hand to pass over the other boat’s chain. By the way, the owner of the other boat was not there. All the people were from the racing team. After some minutes of shouting instructions from above, one of the crew decided to join Al in his dinghy to help. The two of them were able to swing the anchor twice around the stationary chain, and release the boat. Al brought the crew member to the aft to get him back on. I took some pictures of the struggle but it seems that they were too far away.

After he came back, Al said that he was afraid of puncturing the dinghy with the sharp edges of the forty pound spade anchor, and he strained his wrist trying to position it around the chain. When everything was over, each member of the crew came to the aft and shook his hand to show their appreciation.
Then, we prepared dinner and sat at the cock-pit. I was facing another catamaran from the regatta. All of a sudden a crew member came out to deck, and started to whistle and wave his arms, to attract the attention of the volunteers going around in dinghies, carrying the racing people to the dock, where some festivities had already started. During our dinner, the poor guy kept on trying until it became pitch black. So he started waving his small light, but could not get any response. I urged Al to take him and his buddies to shore in our dinghy. When I almost convinced him, we saw him calling somebody on his cell phone, so Al stayed put. I felt so sorry for the young people, because they missed all the festivities by the time they were able to catch the eye of a volunteer. After they were picked up, the crew of the boat (rented from Sunsail), whom Al had helped earlier, started whistling and shouting to the volunteers. We thought that the business of transporting the racers was not going smoothly, but I am sure after some eating and drinking, all would be all forgiven.

Between 10:00 pm and 2:00 am, we had to endure really bad singing by a woman and a man taking turns on shore as part of the festivities. We were too far away to hear the full music, what we heard was the beat at the background, which was the loudest and it became almost painful. In order to sleep, I listened to my Walkman through earphones in bed. Al got busy with his wonder telephone for a while. We were tired from our day in Anguilla anyway, so did not complain much.

The next morning Al was adamant that we should be alert and catch a good spot in the sheltered area as soon as the racers would vacate the bay. So we were looking if they would start early in the morning. After partying all night, nobody stirred until 9:00 am, after which time slowly started to trail out. We saw one young looking mature lady, going around with a volunteer couple, trying to find her boat. They passed several times, went around in circles, but could not find the boat. A guy from another boat tried to help her to no avail. Al speculated that he husband must have gotten tired of waiting for her return, and took off without her to go on with the race. What a pity.