Throwing the towel at work, going sailing!

[Zanshin]

After a couple of weeks of almost nonstop work and living in hotels, I'm throwing in the towel here and headi´ng for islands! If Air France confirms my flights I'll be sipping a painkiller on deck in the BVI this Friday night. The flights are horrendously expensive, but all the cheapo flights go to the BVI via the USA and all of them are over 25 hours to get there, and 36 to get back.

I hope that the weather is going to be good! If my guests don't arrive I'll head off to St. Martin and from there down-island to Trinidad & Tobago in order to get out of the hurricane zone; I've been lucky 2 summers in a row ni the BVI and don't really want to push my luck.

[FarCry]

I'll be in Nanny Cay Thursday-Sunday and would like to say hello if you've got the time. You wouldn't be interested in racing on J-27 would you? My friend is looking for crew, just got off the phone with him.

[Zanshin]

FarCry - I forgot about the races. I wonder if they have slips available from Friday onwards (I need 2 nights to get sorted out and hopefully get my 2 lady friends aboard) before departing for sandier shores!
I've never raced before and would probably be a handicap on a J-27 but if your friend were looking for an inexperienced racer who carries a lot of builtin ballast then I volunteer! How many crew does he need, the 2 ladies would probably volunteer as well (provided they don't have to stay sober)

Just to remind you: http://www.sailnet.com/photogallery/...le=1639&size=1

[buckeyesailor]

That's not fair Zanshin!........(I took a peek at the photo)

Sort of like taking a kid to a candy store and telling him, "This is where I'm going Friday and I can have ALL of this candy I want." and "Oh Yeah....YOU can't have any!"

the least you can do is keep us posted w/pictures.........(pretty please?)

[Zanshin]

I wonder if they will be accepted as crew. It depends if the J-27 owner is (a) married, (b) almost married, (c) wishes to win the race. I've never even been on a J-27... do they have electric winches and roller-furling mains? Icemakers?

[TrueBlue]

Zanshin . . . you are the man! Very Nice ladies.

[trantor12020]

Farcry, your friend will win races if he put the 2 ladies at stern of the boat. I believe alot of Alpha male skippers will want to see the stern of your friend's J-27.

[FarCry]

I leave this site for a while to get some work done and this thread suddenly got much better. Nice photos Z.

I have sailed with him before and they would for sure be accepted as crew. Last time I was on his boat the winches were not electric, however there maybe an increase of winch handles if the guys are not concentrating on the race.

In all honesty the conditions are forecast to be rough. Unless your friends have spent a fair amount of time on small boats they stand a very good chance of getting hurt or falling overboard.

Good luck on a slip I would guess they will be full.

[FarCry]

Trant, that very thought crossed my mind. In fact I was reconsidering my commitment to my team for just a moment and then the fog cleared after I recalled all the Saturday morning practices I had invested. The J-27 broke a spinaker pole in the Rolex on Friday which was apparently followed by a mutiny. The pole was repaired. He used mainly pickup crew on Sat and Sun and called me at 7AM this morning to see if I knew of anybody that would like to race with him at BVI. I think he is looking for 3-5 people. Anybody want to race? Lodging will be the biggest problem unless Zan is renting out berths.

[Zanshin]

I think I will still be flying in - the ladies will NOT race but will be willing cheerleaders as they consider a sailboat to be close to "tipping over" when the angle of heel approaches the double-digits. If the ladies don't make it for the races I can convert the cabins and will have 3 doubles spare. I'm waiting on Nanny Cay to tell me whether or not they have a slip for me. That will decide whether or not I head away this weekend.