peter heath
Peter Heath

Sailing off St Barth's


Aldebaran just sat in her groove. Nothing could stop her. Yes, she was like a train on rails as she cut through the salt. She went up and down from New York through the triangle to the Caribbean Sea, time and time again, year after year. She sailed Venezuela, from Isle de Maguerita to Isle La Blanquilla, to Gran Roque, Puerta La Cruz and back up the chain again. What a trip. I sometimes wonder why I ever sold her - but then there was the split. During a passage a bulkhead anchoring the chainplates split and caused a dimple in the hull. I limped into St Martin and repaired her there. I bolted some stainless steel track over the split. It worked. Since then she's completed a circumnavigation.
But not with me.