Monthly Archives: January 2013

26/01/2013

Dog days are over !

By hairygoose

Day 2 of the Antigua Superyacht Challenge  and the carnage continues.  Today we have managed to damage two sails.  One being the big spinnaker on the front, a huge huge sail, tore in half on race 1 this morning, then on race 2, the mizzen stay sail got tangled on the drop and we managed to put one of the VHF aerials through it.  To make matters worse, as we were trying to recover the sail, the skipper started a turn too early and we caught it again on the main rig – so up went Zayn with his knife to cut it free. So one torn in half, the other holed in two different places, and of course, it’s bloody hot here.

At a party the other night, I realised something obvious that I wish I knew years ago. Chicks like dancing, everyone knows that, and chicks like to dance with their men, and there lies the problem.  Men don’t like to dance unless of course,  they are good at it and very few are, especially the straight ones.  It dawned on me while watching the oldies having a good time on the dance floor that when men get to a certain age, they forget their inhibitions about their dancing skills and just have a go anyway, and they have a good time – better still, the chicks don’t give a toss what their men dance like anyway and have an even better time still.

Far from it for me not to have a good time so I slipped into what I lovingly refer to as ‘fuckabout mode’ and rocked the night away coaxing as many of the crew and guests to join me, I even tried the Dirty Dancing lift at one point but couldn’t lift her above my head – and she was far from big too.

I do sorely miss the live music culture that was England, and more specifically Cornwall.  Live bands in venues like Blue Bar -Porthtowan, The Driftwood in St Agnes or even Tricky Dickies so it was good to have a live band here in Nelsons Dockyard.  They weren’t too bad either.  As a final song, I heard the intro chords and thought ‘Florence’ – and I wasn’t wrong.  There is something strangely charming about windmilling or aero-planing your way around the dance floor with a dozen other crazy English fools.

To finish on a pleasant note – I treated myself to a rather spiffing Range Rover Sport last week.  Not that I was after a Sport but when I saw the photos, I loved it.  Steve-o checked it out for me and the transfer was made.  It is now sitting on the drive in England waiting for my return in March where it will stay for a couple of weeks before being whisked off to Belgium for a month and then road tripped to Mallorca for the rest of the year.

Expect more carnage tomorrow – the last day of racing

Antigua Superyacht Challenge

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20/01/2013

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

By hairygoose

A Johnny Depp masterpiece if I ever did see one.  This has to be one of the most twisted, confusing, mental mind banging film I have ever watched.

This morning at 6am, when I got to the rowing machine at the gym , I sat down and looked at the TV – Fear and Loathing was on.  Better still, they had sub titles. What language do you think they sub’d it with?

Rasta of course – for a film that is already a serious mind bender, you should try reading Rasta subtitles and maintain 28 strokes per minute.

I managed to sort my playlist too for my strength training route.  Of course at first, I ended up with nearly two hours of The Prodigy and Underworld but then I started to trim it down until I ended up with

1. Beat your heart out – The distillers (first 3 minutes of easing into it)

2. Breathe – The prodigy (for the two mother of all uphill climbs)

3. Born Slippy – Underworld (for the longest section which is also downhill)

4. Pretender – Foo Fighters (should get this just as I hit my last hill)

5. Sabotage – Beastie Boys (the last 3 minutes of sprint back to the boat)

That is 23 minutes and 7 seconds if you count the track overlap.  If the music finishes before I get back to the boat, I have lost.

Come back soon for a report on my success

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19/01/2013

Gérard Depardieu loves Brigitte Bardot

By hairygoose

Where was I watching TV the other day and saw big Gérard accepting his new Russian passport?  I don’t really remember where but I do remember watching him struggle to get into one of those traditional Russian gowns that had been made for him. Time hasn’t been good to him now has it?  I also saw Brigitte Bardot threatening to leave France – not for Tax reasons but to highlight the plight of two elephants with TB. Now it`s fair to say if time hasn’t been kind to Gérard, it has certainly beaten Bardot with the ugly stick.

My push for 90 kilos starts in earnest on 3rd Feb.  I signed on to a fat burning programme for two months via Runkeeper. I will be boring you with my progress as I aim for my ultimate target.  Luckily for me, I have February here in Antigua and March between England and Belgium so I will be having fun.  Running or doing anything here in the heat of the Caribbean is a challenge, the cooler climes of Europe will be a welcome change. I am looking forward to running in the forest in Belgium, hopefully in the rain too.

I need some help.  I have a little running route here in Antigua that I use for strength training.  With the skipper and his missus the other week we managed a time of 22’30” but the closest I can get to that on my own is 45” slower. My theory is to use some raging beats to help me improve.  Naturally I am swinging toward the Prodigy but there must be others out there too, I need 24 minutes of uplifting tunes but not so uplifting that I blow my heart apart. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

The final preparations are beginning for the Super Yacht Racing here in Antigua this week.  The boss arrives tomorrow and the race crew are slowly emerging over the next few days.  I have seen the Jams World shirts that arrived in the post this week – the loudest Hawaiian shirts money can buy – and proper Jams too  – I will be proudly sporting mine when the time is right.

Tomorrow morning I will be sneaking into the hotel gym again to get a 45 minute session on their rowing machine.  I didn’t get busted last time so fingers crossed I can get away with it again.

There is a yank on the boat right now, she has been here for maybe three hours and talked non stop – of course being American, she is not quiet.  I am convinced that she hasn’t drawn a breath since arriving yet the drivel that is coming out of her mouth is a complete waste of everyone’s time. It’s like, so, whatever, you know ! I have had to come to my cabin and close the door to get away from it – and I am not the only one!  The United States of Whatever!

That said, it does look like a trip back to Europe is on the cards in April and we should be there until the end of the year.  I did offer my support to the boss during her last visit for a trip to Asia – that would be very cool if it came off but we will have to wait and see, most likely will just spend the summer on Nantucket once more.

Anyway – I am bored now, lets see whats on TV – BBC iplayer is a nice tool to have

 

 

 

 

 

 

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03/01/2013

Spazpecker, Florence Welch and Paloma Faith

By hairygoose

Frankly, I am bored.

The boss has been on for 10 days now and the furthest single trip we have done is less than 10 miles in a day.  Sitting in a bay just off the local resort where her daughter and ever so wimpy son in law are staying is not much fun – and they hijack the boat at every opportunity for their socialite gatherings.

I am looking forward to getting back on the dock which could happen tomorrow afternoon – at least then I can get off twice a day for some exercise.  I think I might hide away in my ER tomorrow and get the bike cleaned up a bit, ready for my next sortie into Rasta ganja land.

I was impressed to see young Florence taking to the stage recently with the Stones. Sometimes in life, some people make some great choices, and for Flo to sing on ‘Gimme Shelter’ was one of those gems.  Not sure what I mean? Think back to ‘Little Britain’, after having watched it, can you think of anyone better than Tom Baker to have narrated it – or Seann William Scott along side Johnny Knoxville in the Dukes of Hazard or that wonderous collaboration with Bryan Adams and Mel Chisholm (the better looking one from the Spice Girls) singing ‘when you’re gone’ – I rest my case.

Goats have been amusing me still.  On my morning walk last week I must have just missed a goat giving birth to two kidds. I was so close to the action that the little critters were still trying to get to their feet and the soil was wet with birth matter after just having popped out – five minutes earlier and I would have seen it all.

But there’s more

A little further on, close to the spot where I helped free the goat the week before, I heard the cry of a young goat.  I listened for a few seconds but couldn’t hear the mothers return cry – so had to investigate.  Another recent born that had lost his mother was standing atop a rock crying his heart out.  I went closer to check him out and then to my surprise he came walking towards me.  I stopped and let him come close until he was close enough that I could kick his little fucking head in – nah, that was a joke – he came up and sniffed me and then retreated back to his rock.  As I walked away, he started to follow me.  This is how I knew it was a new born, not yet got the fear of humans and willing to follow me thinking I was his mother.  I mean, come on – do I really look like a goat ?

Thankfully he realised his mistake and went back to his rock.

So that’s about all of my adventures for now although more will follow soon as the bird lands on the 10th for a week of Antigua sunshine and some good old fashioned English lovin’.

I haven’t started this years photo album yet, but it will come – keep checking in.

For Connor

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