Nauticat at the Heinekin Regatta, March 2009

Nauticat competed in the Heineken Regatta in St Martin again this year. We entered in the Cruising Multihull division which had a total of 10 entries, but only 7 showed for the start of the first race. The competition was a very well sailed and prepared Nautitech 43 cat who won last year by a large margin, a Lagoon 55 who had raced the other two previous years, 2 Lagoon 410’s from the charter fleet, and an extended seawind 1000 that had hull extensions making it 36 ft long. It was very well equipped and outfitted for cruising and racing, and lastly, a very quick, nice open Geminga 28 that had entered last year.

                                              Nauticat at the Heineken Regatta 2009


I had a good crew this year, Mike Nusbaum again from Victoria. Paul Nicholson from Victoria, Maureen Fenner from Rossland sailing in her first sailboat race, and Nigel Martin and Heather Brazier, also RVYC members and from Victoria. I sometimes race with them back home on their very well sailed Olson 911, Magic Bullet.

                                            2009 crew,  Paul , Maureen Mike, David, Nigel,  Heather

The winds for the first race were not as expected. The prevailing easterly winds shifted to NNE and blew quite strong. The first course was supposed to be a windward leeward course of 11 miles along the south coast of St Martin. It turned out to be a close reach upwind that all the multihulls could point on one tack and a reach to broad reach on the other leg. The winds were strong, steadily over 25 kn and mostly around 30 with gusts to 35 kn. We started with a reef in the main but just after the start the reef line broke so we had to sail with a full main for the race. After getting a good start and then recovering from the broken reef line we found ourselves in 5th place with the larger Lagoon 55 moving fast with its long waterline. We did some good sailing and trimming to keep the other boats close. It was a very fast race and we hit speeds of 13.5 knots without surfing or wave assistance. It took us 66 minutes to cover the 11 miles, a very fast race. Close to the finish line we got hit by a strong gust entering Philipsburg Bay and the main tore right down a panel. Consequently we limped into the finish line under headsail alone but still finished 3rd across the line. We were close to the 2 boats ahead of us but lost too much time with our problems to catch them on corrected time. The little Geminga cat was also caught in the gust and did some damage and didn’t show up for the next day racing.

                                          The largest boat in the regatta,  beautiful isnt it

The lagoon 55 had a good rating and we actually owed him time, about 6 minutes a mile. And he is the fastest boat in the division. Not fair to the rest of us but that’s the way racing goes.
It was a tough windy day for all the boats. Only 2 of the 5 gunboats managed to finish their race and there was major carnage in the bareboat fleet with a lot of damage and boats not finishing. A few boat had collisions and one boat was holed and almost sank. Lots of damaged sails. The winds and seas were bad enough that the charter companies required all their boats to have a reef in the main the next day and from then on. Having finished early we were the first boat into the sail loft and they repaired my main by 5:00 that night so I was ready to go again in the morning

                                          One of the Gunboats from the racing division


Day 2 had the same wind conditions as the previous day. The course this time was changed from the original plan to sail to Marigot as the seas were too big to have the fleet anchor in Marigot Bay so we sailed around the western tip of St Martin and to a mark off of Anguilla. It was a short windward leg with a close reach along the south coast of St Martin and then a beat up to the mark off Anguilla. The seas were big and short and steep with winds between 25 and 35 Kn. Very tough sailing. Lots of water over the boat. Some hatches were left unlocked so some people had very wet bunks but everything got dried out when we got back. Got a bit buried at the start and had to play catch up. Did a good job on the windward leg but did a poor job of picking the last lay line to the mark and had to throw in an extra 2 tacks. That was the difference between 3rd and 4th place. We finished in 4th. A good race and we didn’t do any damage. Sailed with a reefed main and a reef in the headsail for the upwind legs and unfurled the headsail for the downwind. Finished 2 minutes behind the 3rd place boat. The seawind 1000 Cover Shot beat us for 3rd place. they did fly their screacher again even though the division rules dont allow screachers and spinakers.

                                Nauticat in the lee of St Martin before the wind blew up to 35k



Day 3 started with lighter winds but still from the NE. But they were gusty going from 10 kn to 28 kn at the start. We started with full sails and had a good start and were close to the leaders at the windward mark but got rolled by the lagoon 55 and ended up trailing the fleet. Cover Shot got the best start and were first to the windward mark. The reach to Plum Point was a drag race with the longer boats going faster. Cover Shot flew a screecher which wasn’t allowed in our division and managed to stay up with the leaders. The beat to the windward mark was in big seas and 23 to 28 kn of wind. We hung in with our full sails and gained back a couple of boats and had a good rounding at the windward mark. It was a good windward leg for us. On the downwind run Cover Shot flew a spinaker, again not allowed under the rules, but it allowed them to stay with the leaders. They finished in 2nd place and we finished in 4th. But the 2 leaders protested Cover Shot for using illegal sails and won the protest. Cover Shot was accessed a penalty and we ended up in 3rd place for the regatta. It was a fun regatta with good heavy wind sailing, the toughest I’ve been in for racing and we sailed well. We had very good crew work this year.

                                          Paul and the Nozone crew shirts

1st place in the division went to the Lagoon 55 , Dreamcatcher and they sailed well. it’s a fast boat and likes the heavy weather. 2nd place went to the Nautitech 43 Polo and he always sails well. He is very hard to beat. We got 3rd place again this year.

          Nigel, Heather, Mike, Maureen



On the 3rd day all the bareboat divisions raced the same course as the multihulls and it’s the first chance we had to compare their times around the course with our own. I would have finished at the bottom of bareboat 1, the fastest of the bareboats and comprised mainly of Beneteau and Jeuneau 51 ft boats. All the bareboat fleet comprising mainly of Beneteau 473’s were faster around the course than we were but we were very close in time to the slowest of them. Bareboat 4 consisting of beneteau and jeauneau 43’s were also faster but we would have beat the slowest of them on elapsed time. We did catch up to the slowest bareboat fleet that had the new Jeauneau 393’s in it and pass most of them even though they are a nice performance cruiser/racer boat. But a few of the faster ones beat us around the course. I love my multihull.

Writers Block and lack of Inspiration

I havent felt inspired to write anything so far this year unfortunately. Just havent found something that fits my twisted sense of humour. but one of my crew has written a nice blog about the travels we have done on the Nauticat and it is quite detailed and has some good photos. It was written by Bev and the title of her blog is

http://bevscaribbeanadventure.blogspot.com/

she writes better than me and actually conveys some good information so enjoy.

As a side I met the offspring of Adrift Nelly in Grenada and had Xmas dinner with her and her husband Joe. They are both chefs and very good at it. Her name is Anna and she is just as charming as her mother. So thank you joe for marrying her and taking her out of commission as she might just have been a bigger Scourge of the Seven Seas as her mom. Congradulations Nell you did very well

Back at the Nauticat

Well this cruising season has started off quite different from the start of last year. There are no Ratzovas inhabiting the boat this year. No mess downstaires like last year. Its actually starting off more like the end of last year. Nauticat continues to be a Chick Magnet of a boat. There are chicks crawling all over the place down here. And i mean major good looking chicks. And they are hanging around the Nauticat just like last year. And these are nice chicks. Not the local black chubby chicks you see so often. But a nice chocolate brown and svelt and skinny. fancy free and adventourous. Also gracefull and agile. These chick know how to live life, they like to fly free and soar to their hearts content. Adventourous, just like i like them. And they do like boats and to hang around boats. And they like the Nauticat. But they are also quite considerate as they dont hang around during the day when i have work to do. They dont disturb me at all. They come around after i have finished my work and most times want to sleep over. Who am I to say no.
Unfortunately these are real chicks with feathers or as others would say, chickens. And they can fly down here. Instead of roosting in a tree, these lovely little chicks have taken to roosting on the Nauticat. Right at the drivers seat. And they like to shit as they sleep. And there was shit all over the place. Does that mean the skipper likes to attract shit? Or is he just a shitty skipper? So while i wont be cooking Ratatooie or Ratolini this year i will switch my diet to Chicken catch a torie or chicken catch it any way you can. There is a good local recipie for Jerk (their necks) Chicken thay will come in handy. Thank goodness I had a chicken coop and am used to cleaning it.

Family Time

Derek wakeboarding

Time with my Kids

Gillian and Derek came to St Lucia for 3 weeks of sailing from April 24 till May 15. This is Gillian's 3rd trip on the Nauticat and Derek's second. Their flights went well except Gill arrived without her luggage and it took 2 days to get it. However Rodney Bay is a nice place to be. Unfortunately the wakeboard was one of the missing pieces.

                                               Derek getting ready to start

The first trip was to the Pitons. We attempted to climb the Petite Piton (2800 ft) but it was too strenuous for Gill and myself so we only made it half way. Derek made it to the top.

                                         The Petire Piton that Derek made it to the top

 Next stop was Wallilabou Bay as Gill really likes the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and it was filmed there. On the way we were escorted by a school of dolphins. Got a video of them and will attempt to include it. A nice addition to their first good sail of the year. Next stop was Bequia for a couple of days. Some snorkelling and wakeboarding.

Then off to Canouan. A couple of days in the Tobago Keys for some good snorkelling. Dove with the turtles.

The weather was good, sunny and not too windy. It was calm enough to snorkel at the reef and also you could snorkel outside the reef. Saw a small shark. Then off to Petite St Vincent and Petite Martinique with a stop at Mopion for some snorkelling.

Gill snorkelling

A stop at Palm Island and then to Mayereu. Next was a nice sail up to Mustique to hob nob with the rich and famous. Gill and I did some hiking around Mustique.

                                                        Gillian


An easy sail to Bequia for a night and then off to Young Island on St Vincent. A day trip to Kingston town. Quite a busy place. Then a sail to Cumberland Bay for a nice stop. Gill managed to buy some nice local jewlery for some gifts for friends back home. A nice easy sail brought us back to Soufriere in t Lucia and an anchorage back in the Pitons.

                                      Gillian on the wakeboard


Some more wakeboarding and then a good sail back to Rodney Bay for some beach time. A nice trip into Castries fora look around the town. There is a good market place for local crafts, touristy stuff and local food and vegetables and a nice fresh fish market.

                                                   Derek learning a new skill

Joy on the Nauticat

The holiday started with a bad day
Instead of Vieux Fort she ended up in Rodney Bay
But she organized herself and collected her wits
And early next day she had found the ship
She hopped on to the Nauticat and met the crew
Captain Dave and Edith and Paul came too.

Now Joy was not used to boats, this was all new to her
And the Caribbean weather was unsettled, it was very windy this year
The first trip was long, from St Lucia to Bequia
And it was rough and rolly all the way.
She didnt do much, just took it easy
But both her and Paul really got queasy

A couple of days in Bequia to help mend her ways
With no rocking boat, they were very good days
And two new people came and joined the crew
Isabelle from last year and Anita, who was new
Then we headed of south to the isle of Canouan
But this year the wind was really blowan
With all the rocking and rollin she was seen
Joy was starting to look a little green

The trip to Mayereau was not much better
Infact it got even wetter.
Nauticat then went to the Tobago keys for a day or two.
Joy ( in pink) with Anita

And day and night it blew and blew
Day and night the boat was a rockin and a boppin
Said Joy " when is this motion going to be stoppin"
Gravol and others didn't do the trick
Joys tummy was always a little bit sick

So a quick but rough trip to Palm and Union Isle
And a day on land brought back Joy's smile
But pretty soon it became plain to see
As Joy said" This nautical life isnt for me
I need something without any motion
Not a small boat on an rough old ocean"

The next day the weather was windy and rough
Everyone knew the sailing would be tough
So when Nauticat left Union Isle
Nobody on board was wearing a smile
There was no joy on the beat to Mustique to see Mick
And everyone was feeling a bit sad and a bit sick
Because SHE had changed her mind
Joy had chosen to stay behind



Edith  , JUy (in pink)  , Anita,  and Paul

Edith and the Runaway Dingy

Now Edith was an artist. A soft, gentle, creative person. If you can call a little Dutch girl who was raised in South Africa and married a biker hood soft and gentle. Being artistic, Edi was not good with mechanical things. Practicality eluded her. The abstract and colours were her thing. Making something out of nothing wasn't difficult for her. But trying to deal with something you couldn't change or mold, now that really left her challenged. Sort of like her men. She did like a project.
Now the Nauticat had a new dingy this year. A young dingy fresh from the showroom, a high spirited dingy that hadn't been properly broken in. A thoroughbred, born to move. Light(barely100 lbs) and with a highly tuned 18 hp motor. Nothing to trifle with. Not for the faint of heart. Skittish at speeds and raring to go. One that needed a tight rein to keep under control.
Now Edi had driven the previous dingy from the Nauticat. A broken in , worn out old dingy held together with contact cement and old patches. Old, overweight, and sluggish, a worn out old war horse destined for the glue recycle factory. She had also driven other dingies and was an accomplished Kayaker. But kayaks and thoroughbred dingies are a different fish, sort of like parrot fish and barracudas. And this one could bite.
One day in the crowded harbour at the Isles de Saintes Dave and Edi were loading the dingy to go ashore and fetch Dave and Linda, who were sightseeing. Edi got in the dingy first which was unusual. And she untied it which was strange because she wasn't good with knots or cleats, having not mastered the art of tying a cleat. And before david could get into the dingy, she had let go of the Nauticat and drifted a few feet away from the boat. Attempts to throw the bow line to David failed. The dingy oars were attached with Velcro straps and she had difficulty undoing them so gave up. That's when Captain Dave made his first big mistake. "just start the motor and motor back to the boat. Its only 10 feet" Captain Dave, you are an idiot.
So Edi turned around and grabbed the starting rope, and being a strong stubborn Dutch girl, gave it a pull. Now the dingy had been tied up all night, just chaffing at the painter. It needed exercise. Wanted to kick up its heels and run wild.So it started on the first pull and emitted a low rumble of purring cylinders, just waiting for a little gas to let loose.
Now instead of sitting down properly and and getting a good firm grip on the dingy and showing him who is boss, Edi put the motor in gear while facing backwards at the motor and still standing. Sensing a weakness, the dingy was ready.
And using all her Dutch girl subtleness and strength ( and she is strong) Edi gave the throttle a twist. A big twist. Full wrist movement. High torque. And that's what that high strung dingy had been waiting for. It through up its bow high in the air and leaped forward almost out of the water. A prop walk to start off and it was gone. Edi got thrown into the back of the dingy but still retained a grip on the throttle. She cranked it hard left and that saved her momentarily. the dingy spun hard right and started to pirouette. It found a bit of open space between the boats and did the spinning buck to try and rid itself of Edi. But she is strong and hung on. Its amazing what fear will do for you.
And Captain Davy, fearing for the safety of his new dingy, stood on the back of the Nauticat and yelled helpful instructions to Edi. "Turn the throttle" he kept yelling repeatedly. A total hush fell over the anchorage. Sailors dropped the work and watched. First mates dropped their cleaning rags and watched. Other dingies, being driven more sedately, took cover behind boats. But still the dingy kept leaping and spinning.
Captain Davey was frantic with worry about his new dingy. Would she damage it? Would she flip it over and drown it? Would she break its spirit? "Don't hurt the dingy" he screamed. But being a stubborn Dutch girl, Edi wasn't listening to Captain Davey. So he upped the instruction level with a more precise' "Turn the F%#&*@g throttle " as loud as he could. Because we all know that loud yelling works. Its a Captain thing and we are good at it.
But with a last ditch effort, Edi straightened up the motor. With the reins let loose, the dingy reared on its motor, reached its bow to the sky and took off at high speed right towards a beautiful dark hulled J Boat. It was ready to try to leap over the deck. Edi was having nothing to do with dingy steeple chase antics so she slammed the motor hard left and the dingy spun again, trying to throw her out. but by that time she was lying in the bottom of the dingy with only her head showing. and wasn't moving. the dingy spun a couple of more times and then she straightened out the motor again and it reared and took off as Captain Davey screamed "don't hurt the dingy. Turn the f#%$&*@G thing off!" Edi recovered enough to grab the kill switch (and we all know she wanted to kill the dingy by now), and pulled with all her Dutch might. And the dingy died right there in the harbour. It came to a complete stop, totally exhausted and docile. It lay there dead in the water with Edi melted in the bottom of the dingy, just her head showing.
" Is the dingy all right?" a concerned and sensitive Captain Davey yelled. "I'll swim out and get you. Look after the dingy till i get there." And as Captain Davey prepared to rescue his precious dingy, Simon, A fellow Canadian from Sidney and also a member of the Canadian Coast Guard, just passing through the Caribbean and looking for good deeds to do, motored out and came to Edith rescue. He grabbed the painter and proceeded to tow the dingy at Slow speed back to the Nauticat where Captain Davey was still frantic with worry should any harm have befallen his new dingy. handing Davey the painter he said " Its time for Dingy 101 lessons."
Thankfully the dingy was all right and no damage had been done. Its spirit wasn't broken. Once the kill switch was replaced it was just like new and ready to go again.
But Edi was a different story. Did she ever overcome her fear of the dingy? Did she ever take the throtte back in her strong hands and show him who is boss. Did she get back in the seat and face her wildest fears? Did she tame that wild and spirited dingy? Alas she did not. from there on in she never got in the dingy alone or first and never touched the motor. And she always packed a rat tailed comb with her whenever she had to go ashore, just in case the dingy got frisky again. Because she hated that dingy from then on and would have been very happy to leap on one of the tubes and bury that comb repeatedly in the tubes until they became soft and empty.
And the moral of this story? Like all good Captains this reinforced Captain Davey's notion that screaming loud instructions mixed with the appropriate profanity really works.

Unfortunately there are no pictures of this episode

Update (the last)
Edi left the Nauticat (after three months of coexisting with that dastardly dingy) and returned to her home on lovely Vancouver Island. But Trap Line Edi had been doing her homework and she has hooked up with a nice gentleman with a new and luxureous 49 ft Hunter sailboat and she has been cruising around the Gulf Islands and having a good time. She is planning to set sail with him in 2009 for a trip down the coast to South America and possibly around the horn.
Good luck Edi and i hope the new boat has a large and sedate dingy with a GPS guided autopilot. The Nauticat will miss you.

The Sad and Sordid Tale of Isabella Ratzova

A long time ago in the land of Romania there lived a young Gypsy named Mario Ratzov. Mario was a handsome and charming man who used his charms well.He had a way with the women and could capture hearts when ever the need arised. Mario became a travelling salesman selling gypsy arifacts, beads and trinkets in all corners of the world.He travelled to Canada where he met and married a lovely french woman whose name was Celine. They had 4 lovely children , 2 daughters whose names were Dinarah and Isabella Ratzova. Dinarah was the older sister with the beautiful eyes. Beautiful smiling eyes. Eyes full of expression. Eyes so deep you got lost in them. Eyes so dark they were like the deep blue of the caribbean ocean and you wanted to dive into them and stay forever. Eyes that a sailor could swim in for the rest of his life. Sorry I got sidetracked. This story is about Isabella.
Mario also had wives and mistresses and children in many other countries, Holland, England, The USA, and most other european countries. These came to light when he passed away suddenly in a moment of passion with his last and youngest wife, 25 yr old Imelda who lived in Belize. Then all his extended family and step children learned about each other.
This is the story of mainly Isabella Ratzova from Montreal, a lovely young lady with Gypsy blood, a good heart , and her search for the ideal skipper.
Isabelle started her sailing life and found a captain named Raul. Raul was a swarthy lad, a mans man. A sailor, diver, fisherman, rugged and handsome. Isabella had a wonderfull life with Raul and spent many happy years cruising the wonderful countries of Central America. Sampling their foods, culture and all the wonderful things they had to offer. However like most sailors, Raul had a wandering eye, The grass is greener syndrome. The next port is better type. And so the broken hearted Isabelle said goodby to Captain Raul Unfaithfull and his boat the Fool Around and set off in search a real Captain with a true heart, a pure soul, and handsome and romantic. And we all know that you call captains like this a rumour.
She met Captain Paul and sailed with him, diving and sailing in the Turks and Caicos Islands. But Paul was a stern taskmaster and worked Isabelle to the bone cleaning and sanding and cooking. She had no time for herself and life wasnt good. So Isabella left Captain Paulish Everything and his beautiful yacht the Bright and Shiny and returned to Montreal and went back to work and continued her search for the perfect Captain.
She went to the Bahamas to meet Captain John. She had corresponded with John for many months before making the move to join him. He seemed like a nice ,interesting fellow. But after 3 days it turn out he was really Captain Johnny Walker and she left the boat and hid in a monastery and practised yoga to ease her broken dreams.
The 2007/8 sailing season started with Captain Poot. She had talked with him for many months and he wanted her to help with some deliveries and charters he hoped to do. But Captain Stay Poot was in love with his anchor and it never seemed to leave the bottom so the dissapointed Isabella left his boat, the S/V Didnt Moove and went looking for a boat to sail on that moved.
Next came Captain Don Juan, a military man who ran his ship to strict rules and a strict regime. A nice man but no Captain charming. She had to leave the ship and it was then that she fell into the clutches of Captain Dave.
Now Captain Dave was a weak man whom had fallen under the spell of a woman who was known as Evil Edi Ratzova. Yes she was a stepsister of Isabella. A sister from the same mister. Now when Evil Edi met her step sister she became jealous of the beautiful Isabella and went out of her way to make her life miserable. But because she had no choice and no place to stay, Isabella was forced to join The Nauticat. On the boat there were other crew, her other stepsister and a real sister of Evil Edi , the miserable Joyless Ratzova. There was another lady aboard who turned out to also be a long lost 2nd cousin, Anita Ratzova from Seattle. Other crew were also aboard, Pirate Paul and Mad Mike, the Mouth of Juan de Fuca. They also treated poor Isabelle poorly.
Anita took care of the lovely Isabella as best she could and tried to protect her from Captain Dave and her jealous stepsisters. Isabella was forced to clean and scrub the boat and clean the head. She was forced to wear only rags and small itty bitty clothes, which Captain Dave really liked. Always cold and working all the time, Isabella had a bad life. But she never gave up her search for the Perfect Captain.
On the Nauticat Isabella was forced to cook gormet meals for the captain and crew. And she did cook gormet. She is a fabulous cook. And she made lunches even in the worst weather. And they were good lunches. And she always did it with a smile on her face. No mater how bad she was treated, Isabelle was always happy and cheerful. This really bothered Evil Edi and Joyless. They forced her to clean the boat, scrub the head, and do all their jobs on the Nauticat. These she did and still she smiled. She is just happy to be on a boat, Even if it is a boat like the Nastycat.
While sailing on the slave ship The Nauticat Isabella met Captain Lefty in Bequia. Lefty was a handsome man and captivated the suseptible Isabella. He was swarthy and swaggering but he also had a dark side. So one night Captain Lefty Behind upped anchor and, with the good ship Gotta Go slipped out of Bequia before Issabella could escape from The Nastycat. She was devastated. "Are all Captains unfaithful, lying scoundrels?" she sobbed. We all know the answer to that.
At a nice quiet anchorage Isabella met Captain Rom. He was a charter boat captain and could only spare a little time for the lovely Isabella. But they met at a couple of other anchorages and he plied her with gifts of fresh fish, Mahi Mahi and Bonitto that Captain Dave and the Evil Edi quickly took from her and kept for themselves and forced her to eat Blue Tang and Parrot fish instead. Isabella met up with Captin Rom again in Martinique and he plied her with dinner and wine and chocolates. But the next morning when Isabella had to get up early to scrub the bottom of the Dirticat she noticed that Captain Romantic Evening and his good ship The Escape had left. Rom had left the boat and flown to Spain where he had a better job waiting for him. Isabella was crushed. He had seemed so wonderful and she had fallen deeply in love, but alas it was not to be.
Isabella was forced to provide food for the Nauticat also. With only the barest of fishing gear, a hand line and a piece of plastic bag for a lure, Isabelle fished for the Nauticat. And she was a good fisherman. She was forced to clean her catch and then clean the boat afterwards. All this she did and still smiled and was happy. Nothing gets this girl down.
Later on Isabella met Captain March. Now March was a very dedicated and athletic man. He loved to sail and dive, but most of all he loved to hike. He wooed the lovely Isabella and asked her to go on a hike with him. Poor Isabella. She didnt have any good hiking shoes as Evil Edi had taken all her shoes to add to her already exorbitant shoe collection. Poor Isabella had just an old pair of flip flops. After trying her best to keep up, she returned to the Nauticat, her feet covered in cuts and blisters. She knew then that Captain Forced March and his boat the Double Time were not for her.
The Nauticat went to St Martin to race in the Heinekin Regatta. Isabella was forced to work the fordeck on the Nauticat. And Captain Dave wouldn't let Isabella wear proper clothes to race in. She was forced to wear a skimpy bikinni on fordeck, out in the cold wind and blazing sun. Nothing to shield her lovely body from the elements. And it is a gorgeous body. A firm, subtle body. Golden brown tanned skin. Toned and flexible muscles. Lithe and sinuey. Ready to spring to action at any moment. Pardon me, again I digress. This is supposed to be about Isabella. Actually it is.
At the Heinekin Regatta she met Captain Al. Now captain Al was a happy-go-lucky fellow. He had a nice big catamaran that he was also racing in the Heinekin. Al and Isabella hit it off instantly. Al played the guitar and sang and before the regatta Al would come over to the Nauticat and ply Captain Davy and Evil Edi with drinks so that He and Isabella could play the guitar and sing together. They got along well and sang in perfect harmony and soon Isabella was falling for Captain Al. But during the Regatta she found out that Captain Al was really Captain Already Taken and his boat was the Unavailable. After the regatta Al went home to his wife of many years and Isabella was left to search some more. It must be noted that the Nauticat beat the Unavailable in the regatta and that didnt help Isabellas chances. We all know that sailors dont loose well.
After the regatta , down in the Islands that touch the Sky, Captain Needsa came a courting. Now Captain Needsa was from Puerto Rico and had sailed alone for many years throughout the Windward and Leeward Islands. He spoke fluent Spanish, a language that Isabella loves. an he seemed to know everything about everything, I think that comes with being a Captain. He even knew that there were no manatees in Puerto Rico. So i guess my friends were actually swimming with mermaids in Salinas. So would this very knowledgeable and available skipper be the one? Alas no he wasnt. He had sailed alone for too long and was not the Captain Charming she was looking for. So Captain Needsa Bath and the good ship Neverbeen Scrubbed were soon dispatched.
So the lovely Isabella is still in the clutches of Captain Dave and Evil Edi on the Nauticat. Is she destined to remain a prisoner forever or will a dashing young captain come sailing out of 7Knots to wisk her away? Or will it be a noble sailor from Cruiserlog.com that comes to her rescue. Only time will tell. Stay tuned for the further adventures of Isabella Ratzova. I hope we have a happy ending for this story.

We all know that this is life and there are no happy endings because life goes on and the only way it ends is not happy for anybody. So there are only chapters in life and all we can hope for are a few good chapters to keep us going. And that is what is happening in the tale of Isabella Ratzova. Her tale doesnt end , it just keeps on going. There will be many more chapters. However, it has taken a happy twist. The charming Isabella has finally won over her Evil Stepsister, the notorious Evil Edi Ratzova, and they have become friends and get along well. No longer does Evil Edi treat her mean and cruel. They started sharing cooking duties on the Nauticat. They clean and do dishes together. They share makeup and advise each other what to wear and what looks good on them. They even suntan naked together on the trampoline (they don't invite Captain Davey) and share books. And discuss and share future captain charmings and how to find them. But Evil Edi draws the line at helping Isabella clean the fish, Isabella still has to do that by herself. They are not that good of friends. So they have organized a revolt on the Nauticat and now Captain Davy has to cook and clean and do all the repair work while they lie around and suntan. It was the breadfuit for dinner that sparked the revolt. You would have thought I had read Mutiny on the Bounty and know what happens when you bring breadfruit on board. But no, that breadfruit is so good to look at and the trees are so lovely, tall, slim, like a woman, a gorgeous green like the eyes of a sulty harem girl and it entices you. Before you know it you have brought one on board. It sucks you in, like gorgeous eyes and a lovely naked body. Sort of like women, good looking on the outside and we all know Captains are shallow people and only look at the shiny exterior of crew and boats. And then all hell breaks loose. And thats what happened on the Nauticat. Breadfruit. The holding tank got plugged. The sticky gooy vegetable stuck to the insides and everyone ended up constipated. And a constipated woman is worse than one with PMS. So there was a revolt on the Nauticat. And one nasty Captain cant stand up to two women with plugged bowels and win.
So Isabella and Evil Edi started looking and checking the traplines for another boat. And Isabella has found a charming and learned new skipper from the land of good chocholates and cheeses. He's tall, well educated ( if you can call being an engineer educated), brave, bold, sensitive, caring, and with a lovely boat. And he wants to go where she does. (Even if he didn't she would soon fix that).
So Isabella is off to join this new boat and its nice skipper. And she has taken Evil Edi to meet him before Evil Edi flies back to her home in the lovely Pacific Northwest where she will finally get rid of a nasty motorcycle hood that has been causing her grief for the last 4 years. And she will tend to her trap lines for next season. Meanwhile Isabella is going to skope out a future captain for her on the island of oil and reggae music. And poor Captain Davey is all by himself on the Nauticat with just canned corned beef and breadfruit to eat. Ah the life of a lonely single captain, but that is another story. So wish good luck to Isabella and her continuing search. May the lucky captain come forward and get his rewards.
Good luck and best wishes Isabella. We are all hoping that this is THE ONE. Stay tuned for an update.

Update
Unfortunately as nice a fellow as he was he is not THE ONE and so Isabella continues her search for Captain Right

Update no.2
Well finally Isabella has found the perfect skipper, at least in her mind. However all us skippers know we are far from perfect but we can fool somepeople sometimes. And where did this lucky fellow come from? Was it 7knots? cruiser log? Neither, it was find a crew. he contacted her and flew her from montreal to trinidad where they me and the rest is history, or soon will be. And the lucky man is Captain Brian. And he has a lovely boat, and Oyster 56 that he plans to sail into the Pacific Ocean right where she wants to go. So Isabella is really in love. And the world is her oyster, or should we say an Oyster is her world. The Nauticat will miss you but we are very happy for you. Enclosed are some pictures.