Antigua to Cancun 1996
Fantome Repositioning Cruise.
Antigua to Cancun
October, 1996
Tony Sibol
The following is a trip report on the relocation of Fantome from Antigua to
Cancun, Mexico. (10/13 – 10/26)
When I first heard about the opportunity to sail on the relocation of
Fantome to Mexico, I had mixed feelings about going. I got out my charts
and “did” the voyage about seven times in my head … assuming all kinds of
weather conditions. It looked like fun so I booked 72 hours later. (These
mental/prophetic trips are documented in a trip report under the subject
WJ-FANTOME – MEX. posted about 10/1/96. I will refer to this as the PTR
in the rest of this report)
After a pleasant flight to Antigua and passing customs and immigration,
I met some old friends, Valerie and Jeremy whom I had sailed with on Flying
Cloud a few years before. We took a cab to the dock. We quickly found some
other shipmates and a bar. In the two hours before we boarded, I consumed 2
1/2 days normal ration of beer and had a great time meeting new friends. At
five, the ship was not ready for boarding and snacks and swizzles were
served on Amazing Grace. There I quickly found Steve, Blanca, Dale and
Connie, who I knew from this BB and whose company I enjoyed very much
during the next two weeks. I ran into a number of people I had sailed with
before. I had no idea what kind of a group I would be sailing with, but
within a few hours of landing on the island, I could see it was going to be
a good time.
We got our cabin assignments and dinner sometime after dark … too much
to drink to really care. My assigned cabin mate was Joe, we got along
really well and seldom were in the cabin at the same time during the day. I
must admit I had too much to drink … I don’t do that very often. I was
told by people the next day, as I introduced myself, that we had long
conversations the night before! I have no Idea when we set sail or if I was
on deck at the time. However, I am sure it was just like I said in my PTR.
The next morning (10/14) we arrived at St. Barts (81 miles, avg. speed
14 knots) The distance was short, but the engines were required to get us
there early in the morning. The first story time gave an idea of how
experienced most of the pax. were on this trip (Sea Dogs, people who had
sailed 5 weeks or more were given first opportunity to book and made up the
majority of the pax.). It went something like this:
Captain Sean’s remarks are in lower case letters.
Pax. spontaneous response are in caps.
“We have arrived at the island of … ST. BARTS! Its’ original inhabitants
were the … THE ARAWAK INDIANS! They were later eaten by … THE CARIB
INDIANS! The island was discovered by … CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS! Why am I
doing this? Most of you have been sailing WJ’ers longer than anyone
presently working for the company has been with the company!”
While some explored the island using taxis or rental cars, I felt like
walking and did quite a bit. The usual Wine and Cheese party was to be held
at 5pm. I bought a bottle and sent it back to the ship. I am a barbarian
when it comes to wine … buy it in 5 liter boxes and drink it over crushed
ice. Four of us got together to have lunch in a little restaurant near the
dock (Across the street from Le Select, where Jimmy Buffett DID NOT write
Cheeseburger in Paradise!). The crab sandwiches appealed to all of us …
we were going to order four, until we saw how huge they were as the next
table got their’s. We quickly decided to order two and split them. They
were very good.
During the wine party, a launch from Polynesia came over and Popeye
(Chief Steward), Curtis (Bartender), and Annie (I think.) came over for a
visit … Curtis stayed with us till we reached Jamaica. Good to see them
all again.
That evening we sailed for Tortola (105 miles, avg. speed 8.8 knots) The
next morning, as we sailed into the British Virgin Island through “Round
Rock Passage”, I felt like I was coming home. I sighted Flying Cloud at
Cooper Island and talked to Captain Adrian on VHF radio … sorry we didn’t
have a chance to visit.
My BVI drivers license was still current so Steve, Blanca, and another
pax. rented a car ($24 per day from Budget.). I told them they could get in
some shopping and I would pick up the car and meet them at Pusser’s pub. I
joined them at Pusser’s, after greeting all the people in the pub … they
all know me at Pusser’s. I had just ordered my beer when I got a phone
call!!! … I guess I spend too much time in the BVI’s.<G> As I said in my
PTP, we had lunch up on Mt. Sage, good food – great view … beached at
Cane garden bay, then did an island tour and stopped a Bomba’s Shack for a
beer and a visit with Bomba. A very good day.
The next day was our first day at sea without a stop. We had a number of
days like this and they were pretty much the same. The Activities Mate gave
out word/logic games … one per day. A prize from sea chest was given to
the person turning in the first correct answer sheet or the most correct by
late PM. The games/puzzles were very hard and we formed groups to work on
them. It was a pleasant morning/afternoon diversion. We had an inflatable
wading pool filled with sea water … great photo op! Since we sailed over
1500 miles without tacking, the location of the sun and shade were
predictable. I followed the shade, others followed the sun by moving our
deck pads around as the sun headed west. After lunch I completely avoided
the sun by taking a 1 – 2 hour nap. By the time evening rolled around, most
were ready for partying and dancing. I was pleasantly surprised at how fast
the days at sea went.
Our next stop was La Romana, Dominican Republic (287 miles, avg. speed
7.4 knots). I overheard Capt’n Sean’s conversation with the local pilot.
Sean asked how deep the water was in the port (which was just up a small
river). The pilot didn’t know. Was there enough room to turn around if the
water wasn’t deep enough … the pilot didn’t know! So we anchored near the
mouth of the river and Steve, Blanca, and I were aboard the first launch
into the port. We wandered around the river looking for a suitable place to
dock. Most of the docks were 10 – 15 ft. above the water. After about 30
minutes we landed at a small boat dock. There was only about 10 feet of
space at the dock, so we had to jump down from the bow onto the dock.
Everybody took this adventure in stride and Blanca, who speaks very fast
Spanish (I guess it’s perfect too, but how would I know<G>) arranged for
two vans to take us were we wanted to go and wait for us, all for $9 per
person for most of the day. The place I wanted to see was Altos de Charon
(see the PTR). It was a famous reproduction
of an Italian village. I took pictures of the streets and vine covered
walkways leading into the village … I thought this would be the most
beautiful part of the village. Next I came upon a group of shops, set
inside walkways covered with stone arches supported by stone columns. The
heavy wood doors with wrought iron hardware were fantastic and I took more
pictures. Around the next corner was a huge public square with a stone
church at one end … the scope and beauty of this place was ever
increasing! At the other end of the square was a breathtaking scene of a
river and rain forest several hundred feet below … more photos. Around
the next corner was another square with beautiful fountains. The fountain
area was almost 5,000 ft. square and contained stone carved sea creatures
spouting water in all directions. Here I ran out of film and didn’t get any
photos of the stone coliseum or the outdoor restaurant
where I had a great lobster dinner. I can’t remember ever being so
impressed with the beauty of a city before.
The cabs returned us to the exclusive resort, Casa del Campo, which had
made it facilities available to us. Spent a little time on the beach and
then headed back to the ship.
Friday, the 18th, was another day at sea. We discovered three stowaways
had joined the ship at La Romana. They were very small birds, a woman
knowledgeable in such things identified them as Honey Creepers. They were
almost tame as they walked around the deck looking for crumbs. They would
fly off into the distance and we would think they were gone for good …
but they returned an hour or two later and stayed with us all the way to
Mexico. There they left the ship … visiting relatives? We never saw them again.
Saturday, was another day at sea and to change the routine that evening,
a BINGO game was held in the saloon. The crew loved it! When I looked in,
almost all the crew not on duty was playing. The bar was a lively place
every night with conversation and dancing … more to my liking than Bingo.
We reached Ocho Rios, Jamaica (514 miles, avg. speed 12.4 knots) on
Sunday (10/20) morning. we tied up to a dock and took on fuel and water.
Unfortunately a break in the filler line allowed diesel oil to leak into
cabin 64 (My friends Valerie and Jeremy’s cabin). The entire lower cabin
level smelled pretty bad. [Thanks to all you people who helped me get cabin
47, it was one level up and directly amidships. No problems there at all
during the whole trip.]
It was sad to see Jamaica hadn’t changed in the 15 years I had stayed
away. Within the sight of all kinds of uniformed officers, drugs were being
offered as soon as you left the dock. The cab drivers were out to get you
for all they could … ours kept asking questions and if we didn’t know the
answer he said we needed a tour of the island. We kept repeating what we
had agreed to; “$2 per person to the center of town.”
Jamaica is a beautiful island, but totally out of control! I never saw
so many people walking and laying around, obviously drunk, on drugs or
both. We went to the beach at the Renaissance Grand Jamaican Hotel. The man
at the door asked for $10 to use the beach. I asked if there was a charge
to use the bar. He said no, I would find it on the beach! So I enjoyed a
pleasant few hours at the beach/bar.
When I was ready to leave, I did a dumb thing. I asked if it was OK to
walk on the street with a beer in my hand … answer: No problem! I decided
to walk back to the ship (about one mile). I could walk a lot of it on the
beach … then out to the street. I guess a guy walking down the street
with a beer in hand looked like someone looking to buy some thing! So
anything and every thing was offered. I didn’t feel in any danger, but I
have done smarter things. A simple “no” wasn’t enough for many prospective
suppliers … but a repeated firm no after hearing more details than I
needed to hear, did the trick.
That evening Patrick the Chief Steward from Flying Cloud visited the
ship … what a surprise. Sam the Fantome’s chief Steward and Curtis the
bartender had to leave us in Jamaica because their Mexican working
documents had not come through. They joined up with us in Cancun the next week.
Our next destination was Georgetown, Cayman Islands (287 miles, avg.
speed 7.6 knots). After a day at sea (10/21), we arrived mid morning on
10/22. I did a little looking around in town, had lunch with Steve and
Blanca, and a few others in a nice English Pub. Most of the ship’s officers
were there eating and drinking also. As on most of the islands we visited,
there were tours offered by the ship. I had done many of the attractions on
earlier visits and really felt like walking after the days at sea; so I
walked out toward seven mile beach and later met up with Dale and Connie
for a drink in a second floor bar that looked very appealing. We left the
island in the late afternoon for our last leg to Mexico.
Our last day at sea was Wednesday 10/23. It was the first day that
things began to get cloudy. In the late afternoon we tacked for the first
time since we left Antigua. We sailed around the storm and arrived in
Cozumel, Mexico (320 miles, avg. speed 9.4 knots) early on 10/24.
We went to a dock and tied up opposite the huge “Sun Princes” (2,000 +
pax.). Their gangway was just opposite our bridge, so since we had been at
sea so long and really not fit to mix with humans yet, we (both male and
female pax.) made rude remarks about the Sun P. pax. coming down their
gangway. My, they were well dressed!
We were warned that the Mexican authorities would inspect the ship very
thoroughly, including our cabins … possibly with dogs. The ships pax.
were cleared almost immediately and we were free to explore the island.
Again it was a return trip to Cozumel for me. I had been there 18 years
earlier … what a difference, and all for the better. I could not get over
what a “tourist friendly” place it had become. I walked around and
exchanged some U.S. $’s for pesos 7.75 to 1 … a very good rate … the
peso crashed the day before we arrived. I had a wonderful lunch at Carlos
and Charlie’s with a group from the ship.
That evening I was invited to join a group, led by Chuck and Rhonda, to
a restaurant they knew. It was called “Prima” (See my report on my third
week). Rhonda took my picture with a parrot sitting on my shoulder while I
was eating. She sent me a copy and did I ever look happy! After dinner we
went to Carlos and Charlie’s for general fun, music, pop corn battles, and
lots of drinking. (Except for me, I always had a beer in my hand, but each
one lasted 1 1/2 hours.) We closed down that place and went to a disco up
the street; closed that place too. Finally got back to the ship 2:30am …
most in the group don’t know how they got to the ship, let alone what time
it was!
We sailed for Cancun, Mexico (55 miles, avg. speed 8.6 knots) at 3ish
am. and arrived early in the morning. I didn’t think we were there yet,
when the anchor let go … we were two miles from land! The water was
really shallow. A tender had been hire to ferry us to and from the dock;
but the first tender didn’t fit/match any of our gangways. So our launches
took us to the tender and the tender took us to the dock. Later the tender
service provided a smaller, high speed (two 150 hp outboards) which allowed
us to step from the deck of Fantome to the flying bridge of the tender …
we them climbed down a ladder into the seating area of the tender. This was
OK in calm seas, but with a little swell it could be dangerous …
particularly for pax. who were not too spry. (The next week a woman in her
80’s had to be carried in the arms of a crewmen, from the boat to the ship.)
I spent the day exploring Cancun. It was filled with huge hotels and
shopping malls. They had a wonderful bus service. A bus was always only
minuets away and the cost was 3 pesos. There were plenty of good
restaurants and of course a Carlos and Charlie’s and A Senor Frog for fun at
night.
That evening was the Farewell dinner and I was really going to miss all
these wonderful people I had spent the last two weeks with. Fortunately we
made up a list of addresses and I have been in contact with many. I hope to
sail with them again. Saturday morning was a little sad … finally we were
down to the ten of us that were staying for at least part of the next week
Saturday night I ate at the Guadalajara Grill. Fantastic Mexican food
… the waiter brought all the ingredients for the salsa to the table and
we prepared an extremely hot salsa at the table to my specs. I ate a half a
bowl of chips and so much salsa, I could hardly finish my crab enchilada
dinner. They also had live music. After dinner I went to Carlos and
Charlie’s and joined up with some crew and pax. who were staying in Cancun
for a few days. The next day was spent doing a little shopping, walking,
exploring, and beaching. At 5pm the next group of pax. came aboard and that
weeks adventures were covered in my report posted about two weeks ago. They
were written out of order because of the high level of interest in the
Mexican itinerary. The end of a great trip!