Apparently Antigua has something called the Wobbly Club, and once in a while they get together and hold a BYOB (Build Your Own Boat) Competition. Tara and Stewart (on Mange Tout) thought it would be a good idea to enter a team, so they did, and then they told us that we were on the team, along with Axel, our German single-handed friend (and I've never properly seen the name on his boat, but it's Blue Something); and Dean and Jill (aka Jean and Dill) on Delilah.

We had a couple of preliminary planning meetings to go over the plans. We would be given a sheet and a half of thin plywood, 40 feet of 1" x 1", a bag of nails, a tube of Mastic, a roll of duct tape, and a bunch of garbage bags. Randy came up with a simple design, and we sorted out details like the figurehead (duct tape mermaid), the sail (blue tarp), the mast (Delilah's boat hook), the boat name (Lady Roger Ring), and the team name. Tara and I made a shopping trip to St. John's for tshirts, and she and Stewart turned them into team uniforms, complete with new names and job titles for all members. I was in charge of Marketing and Media Relations. We also had "Security (Goon)," "Tool Monitor and Test Pilot," "Hands-on Senior Director of Hospitality," etc, etc....

On Friday, the team of Bodge It, Cock up and Sink Boatbuilders (Every Job a Floater!) showed up early on the dock to nab a good building space. Building started at 2pm, and wound up at 4:30. Randy's design would have worked just great if we'd got 1/4 inch ply, but it really was the flimsiest stuff I've ever seen -- about 3mm, or 1/8th of an inch. We persevered, slathered on the 5200 (which takes 7 days to set up, and we had a couple of hours, so mostly we just got it all over ourselves), and truly bodged it together with rigging wire and duct tape, working feverishly to the end. Some of the other builders were cheating outrageously. Screws! Fiberglassing! The dirty dogs! We were too busy for fistocuffs. Good thing, cause most of the other teams were young nubile/well muscled crew from the mega yachts.

Tara was our designated driver -- she has lots of experience sailing small boats, and admits that as an only child, she's absolutely driven to beat the competition to a bloody pulp. It was a Lemans start, but there was no gun, just a lot of shouting and floundering and we were caught trying to attach the lee board as everyone else took off. After a minute or two of fumbling, we just said bugger it, and pushed her off. Paddling furiously, with the main sheet in her teeth, Tara swept past the sinking fleet, and with just a few pauses to man the bilge pump (a fortuitous addition to the boat gear), she made it past the finish line with grace and elegance. Soaking wet, but the boat was upright. Probably something like fourth or fifth across the line.

After passing the champagne bottle around, it was on to the prize-giving. Everyone got a prize (including one for Worst Cheaters) and we got the prize for Best Team Spirit. A bit like getting the Miss Congeniality Award when what you really wanted was first place, but we did have the very best team outfits after all. There was a case of beer, a bottle of 5 year old English Harbour rum, Wobbly Club tshirts for the designer and the driver, and a few other bits and pieces that I missed out on cause I went to the bathroom (beers were two fer one all afternoon). After lots of laughing with the big crowd on the dock, we got invited onto one of the BIG boats for a drink. I won't mention the name of the boat, so's the crew doesn't get in trouble, but it was gorgeous, we didn't spill anything or make a mess, and we felt very posh. Thanks S and C for your hospitality!

Another exciting day in the Caribbean. And today? Randy's changing the oil, and I'm off to clean the head, do the dishes and scrub the grotty boat in preparation for company! See below for more pictures of the competition (click on the pics to make them bigger).