Just When You Thought It Couldn't Get Any Better

This summer, we are storing our boat in Nanny Cay, BVI.  We had a few more weeks before haul out, so we headed back to Peter Island for a few days to chill, and then to Cooper Island for a wonderful dinner as the sun set.   Our good friends, Glen and Heather, got engaged there while cruising with us, so it has always been a special place to visit.

The MAXI Regatta was being hosted by Bitter End Yacht Club, so we decided to head there for a few days.   As we got close to North Sound, the MAXI's were out for a practice race. Some have over 20 crew, all of them hiking out on the rail during the upwind sections of the course.  

Little did we know that Roger would be racing on this boat above in a few days time. 

It was quite a sight to see the boats lined up stern to the dock at BEYC.  

Look closely at the pic below.  I certainly wouldn't want to be the guy being hauled up the mast on the boat four from the left. It is over 150' high.

Not surprisingly, our first business ashore, after Pirate did her business, was to head out to the dock to check out the yachts.  Some of them, like Bella Monte, are more than 22 ft across! 

The owner's super yachts were anchored out in the bay and their helicopters in the sky for the regatta. Many also rented entire fleets of Moorings charter catamarans to act as hotel rooms for the pro crews. 

The next day, Roger decided to try his hand at wing foiling.  After a short beach lesson, he headed out on the board.  The 22 year old Bitter End instructors were pretty impressed by the 65 year old first timer, especially given the multiple boats and ferries that he had to  dodge. They told him to just kneel on the board and they would come out and retrieve him as it was impossible to make it back to the beach where he left. Of course he stood up immediately and sailed back to the beach 3 times.  Sam the 22 year old instructor said, " Whoa dude! Sick. No one has ever done that before and you didn't even get wet". Roger then proceeded to sail right to the other side of North Sound. 

Over the next couple of days chatty Roger talked with many of the pro sailing crews from the MAXI boats.  With Pirate by his side, there were lots of folks coming up to get their 'dog therapy'.  Roger said to one gentlemen that if he ever needed crew, Roger would be happy to jump on board.  And like that, Roger was invited to sail the next day on Ammonite, the largest boat in the fleet. It is a 103 ft Southern Wind MAXI yacht with 22'9'' beam, twin rudders and 18 ft of draft.  

The next morning, Roger hopped on board this high-performance racer/cruiser.  While some of the boats have full time professionals, Ammonite has a full time captain and 1st mate. They hired a team of 8 pros from North Sails who they flew in from the UK, US and Spain. In addition, they hired some local crew and thus the opportunity for Roger to get on board one of these massive yachts. While the pros are paid for being there, Roger was working for an occasional sandwich. 

In addition to being rail meat (sitting on the side of the boat upwind to stabilize it), Roger's jobs on the boat included operating the stopper for the spinnaker halyard and tailing the spinnaker and staysail halyards. He was also there as muscle to help pull the massive spinnaker on board during the douse. Truth be told, he was just happy to be part of the crew and experience it all.  

One of the things that became readily apparent is the crazy loads created by the massive sails.  Instead of 4 wraps on a winch, there would be 8 wraps.  With incredibly powerful electric winches and unforgiving hydraulics a crew of one of these machines can face serious injury if great care is not taken. At the end of the day the team was pretty pumped as Ammonite won the time trials in their class.  They called Roger their good luck charm.

As part of being crew, we were now invited to the regatta festivities.  What great timing, because that night they were heading to Necker, Sir Richard Branson's 74-acre private island! The race organizers had rented the land for our post race party. 

At 2:30, we hopped on the private launch (4 x 350 HP outboards) that would whisk us over to the island.  Once ashore, we were handed a drink and invited to wander around.  We were told to look out for the kangaroos, mini horses, monkeys, pink flamingos, parrots and other exotic animals in residence. The place is beautiful and truly a Never Never Land. 

First off we checked out the Crocodile Pavillion which has a custom made 50 ft solid teak table carved into the shape of a crocodile. Roger was imagining the massive dinner/dance party we could have with that.  

We did not see the kangaroos but we did see the friendly lemurs, many with little babies hanging on their backs.

After exploring a bit, we headed back to the regatta party to hang out. 

A big highlight for us was meeting Richard Branson who interacted with everyone there. 

Sir Richard spent some time playing 'jungle tennis' with the participants and had also been part of the action sailing one day on Galateia. He too was "rail meat". 

After a couple of hours we were invited over to the other side of Necker where Richard said he had a surprise for us. We were thinking, are you kidding, how could our day get any better.....  

Then as the warm-up band finished, Richard Branson introduced the Wailers Band (some of the original member of Bob Marley band). Ever the story teller, Richard also regaled a story about his early days in the music industry (Virgin Records) and Keith Richards. He told us that a guy showed up at his door with a shotgun. When Richard asked what he wanted, the man told him he was there to kill Keith Richards. Branson asked why and the man said it was because Keith was in the house and sleeping with his wife. Richard knew that to be true but just then, over the man's shoulder, he saw a naked Keith Richards and a naked wife running out across the front yard. Richard then assured the man there was no Keith Richards in the house and no wife. He told the man that if he put the gun down, he was welcome to come in and search the house for himself. The man did exactly that, thanked Richard, picked up his gun and left. Crazy rock star story completed, it was time for some full on reggae! 

Not one to give up a marketing opportunity a little while later, the band paused and Richard Branson invited everyone to head over to the beach for what he called a "big surprise".  Although we have sailed Adventure 1 through this very passage on our way to Antigua, the waters around Necker Island are known to be a little treacherous. Yet as we assembled on the beach there appeared a massive Virgin Cruise Ship making its way slowly between Virgin Gorda and Necker Island.  The cruise ship sounded its fog horn multiple times for the sailors on the beach, and the side of the ship displayed this message ...

...Richard Loves You All.

And the band played on....

It was an unforgettable evening, and we were so fortunate to be part of it.

Apparently Roger passed the audition as the captain of Ammonite invited him back to race the remaining 2 days of the regatta.  Here is the owner welcoming Roger onto the boat the next day - perhaps with a bit of a reggae hangover. 😉

The boats did two upwind/downwind races, but unfortunately the Ammonite crew did not have their best day.  On the final day, the boats had a 24 mile race around Virgin Gorda Island.  Here are a couple of the spectacular shots that were captured by the multiple drones that followed the boats around the island.  Roger was on the boat at the bottom of the first (upwind) pic, and the top of the second (downwind) pic.  Ammonite just missed a second place finish in their class.  While they were 2.5 miles ahead of the second place boat, they lost by a minute and a half on corrected time.

The final party and prize-giving took place on the beach at Bitter End Yacht Club, with dancers, drummers and guys walking on stilts.  It was an amazing finish to yet another epic adventure.

During our time there, Pirate became somewhat of a celebrity, greeting the sailors as they headed out for racing and when they arrived back.  She even met Lauren, the owner of Bitter End at the cappuccino bar one morning. Everywhere we went, people called out Pirate's name.  Even several days later when we went down island to Spanish Town to extend our entry permit, someone called out Pirate's name as they drove along the main road. So Pirate has now taken to wearing dark sun glasses, like all the celebs. 

As we relaxed the next morning in the cockpit of Adventure 1, all Roger could say was, "life is good". Then after a pause, "what is our next adventure"?....Oh dear!