SV Sundance - Dave Tuninga
Background information, Spring 2010
What do you do when are sitting in the car in the garage on any given Monday morning about to jump on to the clogged DVP to go to work hands tight on the steering wheel thinking you might, or do have, some sort of cancer and the hamster wheel keeps spinning with you inside it.Fast forward to Spring 2011
You have quit the job, given all your business clothes to the Value Village, relieved yourself of all the toys motorcycles etc. you acquired, fought the cancer battle and won for now. What’s next? How about go to the Virgin Islands and buy a boat to sail in the winter. That sounds like a good idea. Can you say Yacht World? No shortage of boats for sale there. Fly to St Thomas USVI get on de ferry boat and go to Tortola BVI and drink lots of rum at Mulligan’s Bush Bar, walk through the boat yard in the moonlight and find yourself something nice. What could be easier than that? So there she was Sundance, a Bavaria 41 foot sloop waiting to go so I gave a small bucket of cash to the old owners and became the new owner.November, 2011
So after packing enough stuff for a world expedition flying in big planes and small planes where you are sitting beside the pilot and he says please watch the radar to make sure we do not fly into one those thunder clouds ahead of us. Really!!! You are racing through the dark, the prop engine beside you is glowing in the dark bright red and all you can see are the lights of the plane reflecting off the clouds!!! Through all of this you know that they do not have all your luggage. Please fill out de forms and we will bring de bags to you soon.So there she sits waiting for you to make her come alive. It’s like seeing your boat in the spring at AYC only we are not in Kansas any more. What have I done I am so out of my league here. The average boat is 50 feet plus Catamarans and Trimarans rule the waters here. They are bigger than my house. Obviously the bigger your boat the better you will sail? My todo list grows by the minute but luckily I am in one of the best yards in the BVI’s, Nanny Cay, which has everything money can buy within walking distance. I had the boat waxed by others because when she is sitting on the ground and the hull is 10 feet off the ground so unless you brought your scaffolding with you its better to watch the job, not actually do the job. Now at least we look good.
My timetable was 5 days to get the boat ready and launch on day 6. Did I mention it’s the rainy season and the wind is blowing 25 knots, the yard is muddy and full of noisy 2 legged creatures feathered and non-feathered. Not sure sometimes who are the smartest ones. The beer is cold and the rum is cheap here so no problem mon. I had 2 friends of mine show up to help and we managed to get the boat ready for launch. Amazing what the prospect of rum beer and 85 F weather and lots of wind can do to stimulate the crew.
Throw in more buckets of cash and they drop the boat in the water. Everyone is watching as I push the button to start the engine and of course she no start. No problem mon dis happen all the time. One new starting battery and 4 house batteries later only my pride and my cash supply is damaged.
Boat comes alive as we light up all the systems and what does not work we fix. I have never had instruments for wind speed and depth that actually work, very scary, but nice. It is good to have a depth sounder when you need 6’ 8” to float but really do I need to now that is blowing 35 knots, yikes?
The BVI’s are great to sail because the anchorages are 2-3 hours away max and the weather perfect other than the odd 25 knot squall. Its kind of like the thousand islands with palm trees. Oh, did I mention that at each anchorage a delicious cold beverage is always waiting in de bar ashore on the beach.
January 12, 2012
So now we are in St Thomas in the USVI waiting for the next crew to arrive and continue the adventure. Hopefully the wind will calm a bit. I thought I would try to explore the south shore of St John, USVI, as Is worked my way out into the sea. 27 knots of wind and huge waves let me know who is in charge and that wind was a little too much for me to handle on my own so back to the anchorage and hide out to sail another day.All the best to all of you at AYC and I hope all of you are healthy. I am flying my AYC burgee and the Canadian flag which has brought lots of good fortune so far. Will keep you posted on my adventures going forward. I have lots of pictures but I am not sure how to get them out of my "I touch" thing but once I do I will forward them on.
Fair Winds from SV Sundance
Dave Tuninga, St. Thomas, USVI