CRUISER PROFILES BY JOHN ROWLAND

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R.O.A.D.

The R.O.A.D. is a 40-foot sloop with an Angelo
Lavernos-designed hull, one of five made. Purchased
asa hull and deck, the boat took Taffy and Shirley four
years to complete. Her name, The R.O.A.D., is a conces-
sion to Taffy’s Welsh heritage, this crew's seemingly

 

bottomless sense of humor and the product of a boat
naming party that I'm sorry I missed. It is actually an
abbreviation for The Royal Order of Ancient Druids, the
abbreviation being far easier on a radio call. The
R.O.A.D. was launched in 1991, in South Africa.

Taffy took up sailing at the age of 40 when he real-
ized that cricket and rugby were best left to younger
men. After learning to sail on smaller boats on inland

waters of South Africa, Taffy earned his “captain’s
ticket”, allowing him to begin the cruising life and his
search for “something different”.

Shirley’s interest in sailing started when she met
Taffy. Her first voyage out of sight of land was from
Cape Town bound for St. Helena and on to Brazil in
2000, the beginning of their cruising odyssey. She
made the transition from neophyte to Admiral quickly
and naturally. The crew is completed by a 12-year-old
African Grey parrot, Rubbish, apparently named for
his ability to “trash talk”.

The R.O.A.D.’s journey started in April of 2000,
bringing them across to Brazil, up past French Guiana
and Guyana to Tobago, Trinidad and the ABCs.

Cruising, like any other part of life, has its adversi-
ties. Near the end of 2002, while sailing from Margarita
to Martinique, despite numerous attempts to contact
and avoid the oncoming vessel, The R.O.A.D. was run

down by a large fishing vessel in the middle of the
night. The damage to the smaller vessel was extensive.
The larger boat’s outriggers shredded her sails, the
deck was separated from the hull, the impact disabled
engine and generator, stanchions and lifelines were
ripped off... The R.O.A.D. was dead in the water. The
fishing vessel crew cut themselves free, turned off their
lights and left The R.O.A.D. disabled in the open

sea. Taffy and Shirley were able to jury-rig the sails
enough to get underway, and The R.O.A.D. limped
back to Margarita.

They were met by an armada of dinghies manned by
fellow cruisers who had been monitoring their prog-
ress via VHF. In the finest cruiser tradition, their
friends helped them through the next days, but the
damage was so severe that the boat was eventually
brought back to Trinidad and put on the hard for two
years while Taffy went back to his profession as a proj-
ect manager to earn the money to repair her. The
R.O.A.D. was launched, again, in July of 2005, restart-
ing the cruising journey.

 

Above: Shirley and Taffy like meeting a variety of peopie

Left: The R.O.A.D. is ready to head west

Aside from the encounter with the fishing vessel,
Taffy and Shirley have enjoyed cruising in the Eastern
Caribbean. Shirley is a superb cook and really likes
learning the use of the local ingredients and styles of
cooking. Taffy is still an avid cricket fan and has offici-
ated in some local matches. They enjoy interaction
with local folks on the islands as well as with other
cruisers. When asked what they enjoy most about the
cruising life, the response is, “The people we meet.
Sitting in one place all your life, you would never meet
the variety of people we've met out here.”

Back in prime condition, The R.O.A.D. is ready to
head west from Trinidad, through the ABCs and
Colombia, through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos,
through the Pacific islands and, in 18 to 24 months,
back to South Africa. For this journey, friends Barry
and Colin have signed on as crew, sharing the work of
this long voyage and what promises to be a continuing
great adventure.

 

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