JON’S SAIL REPAIR TECHNIQUES

Before we had time to lower Guinevere from the davits, other yachtsmen had read the ‘Sailmaker’ signs and tenders were queuing up to beg him to fix sails. So many other boats had experienced the rough conditions over the past six weeks there was huge demand.

When presented with ripped seams, Jon would use large push pins to spread the sail on the foredeck then apply quarter inch wide double-sided tape to hold the seams together. Then he would roll the sail to fit into the machine before carefully completing two rows of zigzag stitching, one each side of the sticky tape. He had a selection of different weights of spare Dacron sail cloth if necessary.

The little Read sewing machine was set up in the cockpit and the decks were Jon’s work benches. It was better for him if I took the boys ashore while he worked. So leaving him with fruit and sandwiches we would go to the beach or spend time exploring inland. It looked like we would be there for many weeks.

There was a slaughter yard beside the harbour. I watched from the aft deck one morning to see a horse being slaughtered there, which I managed to distract the boys from seeing. The horse’s scull was thrown into the harbour! I would think about that frequently when I saw steak on the menu ashore.

As Saint Barths was a free port , there were some delightful designer shops in the town. The aroma of fresh coffee filled the air. I took the boys into pavement cafes for delicious hot chocolate. In the patisserie we could buy eclairs, exquisite fruit tartlets and pain au raisin. There were lovely beaches within easy walking distance.

The little infant school at the top of the harbour took schoolchildren out for sailing lessons in Optomist dinghies as part of the curriculum. Jethro said he would like to go there. I took him along to ask La Maitresse.

“Bien sure Madame,” she said with a smile. “Comme vous voulez.”

They would let him attend the Ecole Maternelle class mornings only for as long as were in Gustavia. He learned enough vocabulary to get by and enjoyed the experience, especially the sailing.

Marguerite T

The anchorage became very crowded in the run up to St Barths regatta week. Anchored astern of us was a classic Bristol Pilot Cutter with an enormous bowsprit. One night we realised that bowsprit was threatening our transom as our anchor dragged. We jumped up to motor forward, raise the anchor and move well away. The next day in the dinghy we went to see the crew. Alone onboard we met Les Windley, the owner of Marguerite T. He had sailed her from The Solent to South Africa, crossed to South America and then up to the Caribbean.

Les had a very easy going attitude. He sailed mainly single handed. There was no shortage of volunteers to help him on long passages, but they usually had to pay him for the privilege. He used to sing for his supper by offering his guitar music accompanied by a harmonica in exchange for a decent meal and free drinks all evening. Then he would pass his hat round. Thus he made a handsome living. When he listened our plans for selling Camelot to return to England, he reminded us of a John Lennon quote “Life is what is happening to you while you are busy making plans.”

One of the most interesting repair jobs Jon performed was to re-cover all the top deck cushions off a 120 foot gin palace for damage caused by the down draft from their on board helicopter.

Our bank down island was a large Coffeemate jar we kept in the galley. We soon needed a second one! One satisfied customer gave us his old Vagabond 47 mainsail which Jon managed to cut down and make a new mizzen for Camelot. He was able to patch up our own staysail and repair the Genoa, so our own sail inventory was as good as ever.

On the day of the single handed Round The Island Race it was entertaining to watch an Englishman in a Panama hat sitting with legs through the lifelines of his 70 foot Swan using a remote control gadget to trim the sails. He was beaten on handicap by Dr Robin Tattershall from Tortola in his Galatea II.

There were Mardi Gras celebrations in Gustavia which included a fancy dress parade for children. The two children off Ariel came along with Jethro and Oliver and all were dressed a pirates. Wearing striped T-shirts and and bandanas for head gear they joined in the parade. They had their faces painted with moustaches and beards and carried sabres made from broken battens I made and painted with aluminium primer. There were no prizes but they all had a wonderful time.

Although we had originally intended to take part in the gaffers race, we chose not to after all. The weather was blustery with north westerly winds so the course would have been all beating and running in short steep seas. So instead we walked up to the lighthouse and watched other yachts retiring and breaking things. On the order side of the island was one of the most difficult airports for pilots. The runway was very short, the approaches very steep. Aircraft passed very low over the road and there had been many accidents.

Having recovered from the dreadful crossing we enjoyed our time in Gustavia very much indeed. Soon we would have to continue to Antigua as Jon had agreed to sail on a Freedom 33 in Race Week there in April. In the meantime, there was still plenty of work to be done so Jon carried on sail repairing as long as possible.