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Can not believe we have been here a month, time has just flown by.  We will depart tomorrow for St Martins (about 90 miles to the North west.  We have met so many lovely folk here – but now that Race Week is finished everyone is bugging out.

Classic week was all about partying and watching some great looking boats (some old and some replicas of old, some big and some not so big).  We went out on a RIB to see the finish on a couple of days with Steve from “Christina Pearl” then on the last day we went out on the start line – he said get me close and I had him right in the middle of the start dodging the boats as they charged across the line – then we chased them and actually got airbourne at one stage – but got some great close ups.  3 other boats went out with us for my birthday meal, which was free for me as the resturant (The Mad Mongoose) doesnt charge on your birthday.

Race Week we were helping on Committee boat A.  Mandy was the recorder and I did the start flags and blew the horn as they finished the race.  We saw lots of exciting action (again close up)

We went to see Bob Marleys son (Ky-Mani Marley) and also we had VIP tickets to the final award ceremony.  During the week we managed to get 5 free t-shirts and 3 free hats each.

After the races the weather was pretty grim.  No wind and it drizzled the first day.  Spent the day scrubbing the boat and minor jobs ready for the off.  The next day the heavens opened up – we filled our trug buckets up twice and filtered them in to the water tank (I recon about 100 litres worth) the dinghy got pretty full as well so I had to bail it then lift it and pull the bung to stop it sinking.

The rain fall coming off the hills made a brown slick in the anchorage and as it approached us we saw 2 great big fish (about the size of me – OK maybe half the size of me, but they were whompers) No more swimming to clean the boat for a while!!!

We decided to book out from Jolly Harbour as you do not pay the National park fees from there and we are heading North West anyway towards St Martin.  We are all booked out and provisioned and ready for the off but will leave between 11 and 12:00hrs to ensure getting there in daylight after an overnight sail.

When we got back from our trip back to the UK we needed to move out of the marina and go and anchor.  We were visited by Steve (Christina Pearl) and Sam and Adrian (Blue Moon) and decided the anchorage was just too roly.  A 2-3 hour sail would put us in Falmouth harbour which was better sheltered.
Falmouth is very nice and we have met a whole bunch of people here.  Our direct neighbours are John and Joanne from South Africa (Out of Africa).

We have taken the bus in to St Johns to see where we need to be for when Janet and Mick arrive on their cruise ship.  We have decided that St Johns is just too built up and commercial for showing them around, so I will collect them on the bus and bring them back to Falmouth Harbour which is far nicer.

Wednesday night was a jammin’ session in English harbour where I played my soprano saxophone with a variety of people playing different instruments.  During the night Mandy and Steve managed to agree to hike up to Shirley heights to see the views.  To say it was a steep climb best left to Billy goats would not be far wrong.  However, the views at the top were just amazing and a must see (If only once in your life).

“Out of Africa”, “Christina Pearl” and “Secret Smile” hired a car and went out and about exploring all over Antigua.  We also filled up gas bottles (as John kept saying – it pays for the car the price you save) and did a monthly shop at a hypermarket.  We saw devils bridge and the blow whole and a whole heap of stuff.

Well now we are back in the sunny Caribbean it seems like we visited another world far away – a land of hussle and bussle!  We did – we travelled back to the UK for the wedding of Richard and Ann-marie and to cram 6 months of visiting, shopping and catching up (in just 2 weeks).

We had a superb time catching up with folks bouncing from family to friends and back to family like a shiny ball in a pinball machine (I can here pinball wizard in my minds eye – or should I say ear)

Thank you everyone who hosted us – and put up with stories of our adventures and faking impressedness of our tans (Rapidly vanishing in the UK weather – but now back on the mend)

The wedding was superb and the weather was sunny (If not quite as warm as we have been use to) and an opportunity to meet up with family and friends who we have not seen for years in some cases.

As if on cue as we were due to leave the weather turned to snow blizzards in Scotland and a cold snap down south – helping us once again head for sunnier climes.

We decided to set off bright and early from Guadeloupe and was under sail by 0630hrs.  We decided that “Bob” our Hydrovane could earn his keep and steer us to Antigua.  Once we had settled in to the course he kept us going in a straight line between 6 and a half and 7 knots.  We settled down to do the normal cruisers thing – read books!  Just before I settled down in to it I decided to deploy “Marvin” – our pink squid lure – Marvin because if it was left to him we would be hank marvin.
I take it all back, half way across Mandy noticed we had caught a fish.  I pulled him in and got her to get the gaff (we have only ever used it for mooring.  It was not clear what we had caught but as it got nearer it looked bigger than our usual tiddlers.)  I reached out with the gaff and caught him nearly first time.  Pulled him on board and the lure fell out of his mouth.  They say kill your fish by putting alcohol in to his gills.  Well he deserves my finest rum as he is my finest fish.  He seems to like rum as he wiggles about with pleasure.  We identify him as a Wahoo – which is a coincidence because we were both shouting wahoo when we landed him.  We were very brave and gutted and chopped him immediately so he would fit in the fridge.  10 buckets of sea water and a scrubbing brush later and you would never have known our cock pit had turned in to a fish abattoir.  
Jolly harbour is turquoise blue, very shallow and beautiful.  Once booked in and anchored we went a shore to see the facilities and the supermarket is brill, and the showers and toilets seem to be open to one and all.

We set sail at 0300hrs and after an uneventful night sail arrived at Deshaies and were anchored by 0900hrs.  We had porridge on route and each had a further hours sleep so arrived fairly fresh.

The town is a quaint 2 street affair that gave us fresh bagettes and pastries.  We mavelled at the diving pelicans fishing in their kamakazi style.

I repaired the dodger which had come off when we broached coming up the leeward side of Dominica.  Katabatic or tumbling winds hit us at 33 knots and over powered our genoa until we were tipped on our side.  Although we then spun into wind and rigvhted immediately.  The force of water on the dodger broke the cable ties.  Soon fixed and now as good as new.

We set sail at 0630hrs.  We motor sailed around the headland and then favourable winds dragged us away from Martinique.  Our top speed was 8.6 knots but we maintained an average of just under 7 knots.  Half way up Dominica we saw whales and captured them on camera.  We decided to push on to Guadeloupe with an option of diverting to Les Saintes which would be 2 hours shorter.  Near the top end of Dominica we had Katabatic winds that made us broach and our dodger came half off.  Once clear of the land we maintained high end of 7 knots and soon arrived at Anse Defideling which is a small cul-de-sac of an anchorage which is a bit swelly.  Christina Pearl caught up with us and anchored opposite us on the other side of the bay.

It was the worst anchorage to date with more rolling than a roller coaster ride.  At 0230hrs the next morning we said “enough” got up and prepared the boat for a night sail.  We were sailing off by 0300hrs.

This is a pleasant town consisting of two streets.  We decided not to bother getting the engine on to the dinghy because we anchored 100 meters from the pontoon.  Having rowed ashore we visited the supermarket and had a coke in a pleasant restaurant overlooking the beach front.  We got prepared for an early start as we hoped to miss out Dominica altogether depending on the wind.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and could not book in until the Monday morning.  By the time we went in to town the shops were all shut apart from one supermarket.  We had met Steve from Christina Pearl en-route and the three of us went a shore for a beer.  Sunday all the shutters stayed down.  We walked around town and then bumped in to Barbara and Stephano from Tiny dancer.  We had a good look around but again the town seemed closed at the weekends.  We did see a kite festival on the seafront.  Monday was book in day and the town seemed to come alive.  Shops were actually open and we spent some time in the chandlery the same place you have to book in.