After many narrow escapes from winter storms in the United States, we were all relieved to have our full complement of shipmates on board when we cast the lines and left the port of Bridgetown in Barbados. 80 degrees with a tropical sunset was more like it, but would we really sail?
No sooner had we finished the drills and briefings when Captain Komakin sent the crew to sail stations. Three mast teams scampered up the ratlines into the rigging and prepared the sails, then returned to the decks in a flurry of lines and blocks and suddenly the engines were off and we were off for an overnight sail. Winds were unusually strong for this time of year at 25 knots, so we made an impressive 90 miles overnight on topsails alone. We had time to get our sea legs as we made our way toward the volcanic island arc of the Windward Islands.
Exuberant in the high winds and seas were also the flying fish, skimming and sailing across the wave crests. Brown boobies and masked boobies plunged after them using their finely tuned binocular vision and depth perception, while the occasional frigate bird would try to scoop one in flight or steal the catch of a booby.
The winds were too strong to add more sail, so we raced between the islands of St. Lucia and Martinique in the morning, passing the historic volcanic plug of Diamond Rock at the south end of Martinique. This strategic 600 foot rock had actually been taken from the French by the English and commissioned as a frigate, with 18 pound cannon hauled to the top to prevent the French from provisioning their harbor at Martinique. It is an impressive story, and an impressive site.
We then braced the yardarms square and sailed west for the rest of the afternoon, with historian Tom Heffernan giving an overview talk on the sugar and slave trade that was the foundation of the colonization and mixed culture of the region: “Cane, Cane, Dat Bloody Cane.” The deck crew clewed up the sails at sunset and we turned for the lee of Martinique, ready to meet the ship’s officers and enjoy the Captain’s Welcome Dinner.
