Fay and I were blissfully resting in bed, luxuriating in the idea that we would be departing the dock later in the day and no longer on someone else's schedule. We would sail to Green Island, check out the systems for a couple of days (while waiting for excessive wind and seas to pass), then head for points south and west.
Then the sound of the wind increased, I read 33 knots and climbing fast on the wind speed, the boat heeled, went "thump" and Fay said "we hit something". I came flying out of the forward cabin in a pair of shorts and saw we were pinned at about 45 degrees to the dock. Our anchor had pulled. It hadn't dragged in the usual sense because when we pulled it up there was about half a cubic yard of mud attached to the anchor. The bottom into which the anchor was buried had separated from the surrounding ground.
Everyone on the dock rallied to our assistance and within 20 minutes our anchor had been hauled out in a dinghy, it was set and holding us off the dock once again. Then a second line to a mooring (that we had not known about) was hauled in as a backup. But the damage was done. The port side of the swim platform, and a bit of the radar post, had been ground up by the concrete on the dock. Red fairing compound was exposed all over with a bit of fiberglass visible in spots.
Stan from Antigua Rigging contacted Steve at Precision Yacht Painting who arrived 10 minutes later (on a Saturday morning and dressed for a cricket match) and he quickly covered the damage with polyester to ensure there would be no water intrusion. After a conversation with Steve and Stan we concluded that it needed a proper repair with Awlfair fairing compound, primer and Awlgrip top coat.
With the wind and seas forecasted to increase, and the large fetch at the Catamaran Marina it was suggested that Nelson's Dockyard would be a better work environment. We packed up, said our goodbyes and moved to Nelson's Dockyard. Fortunately, in spite of the crosswind, we were much milder entertainment when backing into our berth at the dockyard!
Steve arrived at 8am this morning and began working so it looks like we'll be in Antigua for a few more days. As you can see, we're Med moored at Nelson's Dockyard where the buildings date back to the 16th century, and the local HotHotHot Coffee Spot sells the "Obama smoothie", half chocolate, half vanilla. Johnny Coconut's pizza and Italian food is just across the harbor; life in the trailer park.
