There’s no doubt that any big swell can be a problem, especially with a monohull boat. It can become a recipe for damaging your sails and rig.; or what makes a good anchorage slightly unpleasant or make a dinghy landing difficult.
If you take your eye off the ball it’s easy to come to grief. Years ago, I saw this happen to few pals in the Caribbean. A catamaran got wrecked by a very big swell from a tropical wave…they’d left to go for to party on Barbuda over Christmas and New Year. Just a small group of five good friends. Two couples and Tim Wright. With a 30ft. James Warram designed catamaran and Tim’s 30 ft. GRP yacht.
I’d stayed behind to wait for my lady Janet; she was flying into Antigua. Unfortunately, her bag was lost during the flight, and she had to start by wearing my underwear; which probably wasn’t very salubrious after almost eighteen months cruising on my 22 ft. boat. But we had a fun Christmas in English Harbour.
Then, we set off to join my pals. with quite a bumpy sail north in quite large waves; bit more than normal trade wind strength. Between these two islands. This made it quick but uncomfortable sail using a couple of reefs and the No.4 jib.
We arrived just before dusk anchoring on the westside of this lovely island with a big rollie ground swell. Close to my pal Tim’s boat rocking around in the swell. Anchoring in this type of condition mostly relies on having enough weight of chain with the size of anchor for size of yacht.
Discretion being the better part of valor we stayed there for the night; leaving a couple of cables distance away from Tim’s Elizabethan 30. Looking through my night glasses, I couldn’t see my pal’s Warram Cat. on shore. After blowing up our flubber just after dawn I rowed ashore to see them; realizing after coming closer that there were piles of drift wood that had been his catamaran on the beach. They were still all quite up-beat and still pissed.
They’d landed here safely on Christmas Eve but hadn’t worried too much about Simon’s cat. Made a barbe and started partying immediately as the swell increased during that night. Although they’d tried to pull his boat further up the beach. It was too late and she began to break up.
I offered some of them a lift back to Antigua immediately spread between Tim’s boat and mine; but they were all happy going back with Tim. Janet and I went back to meet them with some victuals and more drink; then we wanted to sail on to Codrington, the capital. This proved to be completely untenable for us under sail. My boat had no engine and it’s quite a coral headed harbour. Being totally untenable with some 6-8ft swell; even though it had died down slightly now.
Barbuda’s a lovely low flat island which had to be completely abandoned I 2017 due to Hurricane ‘Irma’. Most of the infrastructure had been destroyed and the small (approx. 1,500) population moved to Antigua to the Vivian Richards stadium. They are a hardy folks though, two years later over 75% had returned. Many of them are very tall friendly people; due to slaving policies back in the 18 th . Century. Which possibly we’d like to forget nowadays.
The carelessness in losing a fine craft made me more cautious; about just how easy it is to wreck a small boat. We found another slightly swell-less bay further north and started diving for conch which hadn’t been overfished too much at that time. Then sailed back to Antigua going SE to Green Island where Janet could see more coral fish before her holiday ran out.
After landing at Gatwick in UK, she told some men had dug out her car from the long-term carpark, about the snow in East Sussex after with large icicle’s hanging from roofs. But made it back for her two small children okay.
This whole Christmas and Hogmanay felt a bit surreal to me at that time; added to Simon’s boat loss. I’d started working in Antigua maintaining, delivering and racing on other much larger yachts, mostly very big Schooners.
Perhaps, you’re wondering why any swell can be a friend. Well, quite a few months before that Chrimbo. I’d helped when deliver a 50ft yacht from Antigua to Connecticut as the mate. Then the owner Jerry asked me to stay on as his skipper. It would help boast my cruising budget as my tiny boat had been left in the mangroves with four anchors during the Hurricane season. With a great pal Taff looking after her.
Perhaps being far too arrogant whilst cruising with Jerry (he was a New York lawyer). I’d nearly lost his boat when we were coming into Westport Marina one night. I’d cocked up with my nav. This was well before GPS.
I thought we might get her off. After dropping her jib and then hoisting her full mainsail sheeted in hard. If she would turn into the wind with her engine running full bore and well-heeled over. We slowly bumped off.
It was another salutary learning curve for me. Luckily, we didn’t hit any rocks. And, a decent swell helped her lift and get off. But after lifting her next day I’d bent her rudder shaft. Jerry was kindness himself, because he didn’t sack me! Being rather impressed by my way of doing my not giving up. And our season ended okay in NE America which is an excellent yachting mecca.
About this Chrimbo group of UK yachtsmen: I met Tim Wright again by surprise in Lymington a few years whilst I was shopping. He told me he’d bought a Roberts 34 which he was re-fitting in the town marina there and planned to go back to the Caribbean. We’d kept in touch vaguely, but he’d set up a great way of making good money. By taking fine photos of mostly American yachtsmen when they were racing at Race week in Antigua or other events. Which he then expanded between the Carib. and the south of France at Antibes. He used to use his dinghy to go round their yachts and then sell them directly, or by using the early internet. He became very well-known due to quality of his photos.
The other couple that I didn’t know that well from this Christmas. Took Tim’s boat which he’d sold to them. They went south to cruise in Venezuela which is a wonderful cruising ground. But unfortunately, Tim told me that they lost her when approaching Dry Tortuga. It was their honeymoon. It’s a very easy thing to do approaching an unlit island anywhere. Because coastal cruising is much more difficult than crossing an Ocean. We read about it all the time now, when people lose their boats.
It’s why am planning to cross the north Atlantic again. Just using the ‘lady’s route!’ (the NE trades). Perhaps I’ll be able to manage again single-handed on my tiny 24ft boat with no engine. BTW: I’m not a great expert at this having only done it before singlehanded with my Hurley 22. three times; but many years ago; in the boat which is described whilst writing this very old yarn.
