Back in the BVI

Having left Antigua very early on Tuesday morning we sailed to St Maarten where we anchored for the night in a very swelly and rolly Simpson Bay. Needless to say not much sleep that night but at least we had a rest. The following morning we then left very early to sail back to the BVI. On our final approach to the BVi we were unlucky enough to snag a fishing pot but fortunately Peter was able to free this off and we carried on our way.Arrived around 1am this morning and dropped anchor outside the Marina. Now on the dock in The Moorings Marina and back with our old friends. Everyone has welcomed us back and we love it here! Looks like we have some temporary work in June doing charters in the USVI for a change. Full time work depends on getting us work permits but the Manager thinks there should not be a problem for us to start again on 1 October. We have even been offered our old boat Heartbeat as she is staying in the fleet for another year. The question now remains as to what do we do with Trompeta? She is beautifully equipped for ocean sailing but I doubt Peter will be in a hurry to do more of this for a while! It has been fun but hard work at times. Going back to work as charter crew will feel like having a holiday again!!

English Harbour Antigua

We have had a lovely time here so far. Yesterday we had a Parade of Sail of the Antugua Classic Yachts Regatta who have been racing this week. Trompeta was in prime position on the dock and Peter rigged up the hammock chair so we could watch from the foredeck. The champagne tent was pitched right by the side of us so lots of people were gathered on the dock to watch the procession of yachts some of which fired cannons as they toured the harbour. It was all very well done and provided a good spectacle. The official Antigua Race Week starts next Sunday but we will be back in the BVI by then so will not be here to watch. Dinner last night was excellent at a French restaurant called Le Cap Horn and quite reasonable in price too. We both opted for the special which was Mahi Mahi with scallops cooked in ginger and coconut milk for EC$75 or around £18. The food generally here we have found to be excellent. Saturday we ate at the Admirals Inn and had the chefs special tasting menu which was 5 courses for EC$110 (£27.50). There is a really good Museum here of the Dockyard giving lots of information about the history of the Dockyard from the time it was first used as a British Naval Base up to the time of the official reopening after restoration in 1961. There is no charge to look around the museum so we did make some purchases at the gift shop. Today will be our chance to do some boat shopping as the Chandlery will be open and as usual we have some things to look out for. Nothing too major so if they do not have the bits it will not matter too much. Last night we actually walked to Falmouth Harbour and back as the Restaurant was on the road between the two harbours. It is not far!

Dominica then Antigua

Have just spent two nights in Prince Rupert Bay Portsmouth on the island of Dominica. This island is very green and lush because it rains a lot!! We were anchored on a mooring close to Zoe and the four of us spent a busy day on Thursday doing a trip up the Indian River then after lunch we had a tour of the island by taxi and Sam the driver was very informative about all the fruits and trees and wildlife. He took us to the Carib territory where the local Carib Indians were selling their baskets and handicrafts so we had to stop and buy some - naturally! The evening we arrived in Dominica we went to the local BBQ hosted by the PAYS (Professional Association of Yacht Security) which is a group of boat boys who assist yachts finding moorings/space to anchor and acting as water taxis and supplying anything you might need here otr helping to source items for you. A very worthwhile group. The BBQ cost us EC$50 each (£12.50) and was good value with some tasty fish chicken salad and rice plus the obligatory rum punches!! So after our busy day of tours we had an early night. The plan was to leave the following day and visit Les Saintes and Guadeloupe next. However when Peter read in our cruising guide that these countries are actually part of France we decided it was not worth risking a bill for VAT on the boat so plan abandoned. Instead we left Dominica Friday afternoon and sailed overnight to arrive here in Antigua in English Harbour around 9am this morning. The first part of our journey was good but the wind and sea kicked up whilst we were sailing up past Guadeloupe so we had to motor sail to keep a course and it was rough. So glad to be here tied up in Nelsons Dockyard Marina which is full of history as all the old buildings have been maintained and now house various businesses. we are booked in here for 3 nights and will leave on Tuesday to sail up to the BVIs which is around 200 miles so another overnight passage. Should arrive in the BVI Thursday all being well!

World ARC comes to an end

Yesterday was our final day of the Rally. We left Marigot Bay in the morning and formed a Parade of Sail with all the boats in the fleet smallest to largest. We were 5th in line leaving the marina to head up to Rodney Bay calling in at Castries on the way to motor around the bay for the benefit of the local press and holiday makers. There were two big cruise ships in the bay and we waved at the passengers standing on the decks who were all lined up watching us. The fleet then made it's way up to Rodney Bay for the final farewell party. Once in the marina plenty of staff were on hand to take our lines and there was also a guy holding a huge bouquet of flowers and a bottle of chilled champagne!! This was a lovely surprise for us and thank you Jenny and Bill from Yorkshire who were kind enough to send us the flowers and champers! Once all the boats were docked it was time to head up to the marina swimming pool where rum punches and food were waiting. There was a lot of jolility and some frolicking in the pool too. Later that evening we were transported off to the Royal St Lucian Hotel for a farewell dinner followed by speeches and gifts. We came away with a lovely souvenir album of the trip plus a bottle of St Lucian rum and a plaque to mark our achievement. It was an emotional event with a lot of messages from former yacht crews conveyed and the fleet gave their own personal thanks to Paul and Suzana our rally control who have done a brilliant job keeping us informed and helping with docking in port and numerous other things including dealing with all the formalities entering and leaving each country. So today Peter is doing routine maintenance on the engine and generator and I am cleaning and doing laundry. We have 3 nights free berthing here so will leave on Tuesday to island hop up to the BVI along with several other rally boats including Zoe our sailing buddy boat. We rendezvous in Nanny Cay Marina (BVI) on 1 May which is where ARC Europe actually depart so we will be waving off the boats Dreamcatcher, Peat Smoke and Working on a Dream. Peter and Phil from Anastasia both have birthdays on 2nd and 3rd May respectively so a party is organised for 1 May to celebrate. We could not hold our party on 2 May as that is when ARC Europe have their event. It will be great to see a few rally boats in the BVI.

Marigot Bay St Lucia

So at last back in St Lucia! We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and picked up a buoy for the night as dock space was booked from Wednesday. Tuesday night we had dinner with Ed & Zoe in Rainforest Hideaway Restaurant which was a beautiful setting nestling in amongst the trees on the opposite side of the Bay to the Marina. The food was delicious and beautifully presented. Peter thought the portions could have been bigger but it was just right for me. Anyway we both need to lose some weight now as we have done too much eating and drinking lately with very little exercise so it is good there is a swimming pool here at the Discovery Hotel which we can use. We moved Trompeta onto the dock next to Zoe yesterday lunchtime and were all ready and handy for the arrival party which was a Barbaoke. It was a good opportunity to get together with all the crews we had not seen since Grenada as everyone has been free cruising. There is a Moorings Base here and there was a brand new 4800 Catamaran on the dock and the chef on board was known to us from the BVIs so we had a good time catching up on news from Debs who is originally from New Zealand. Debs is actually leaving the boat today as she has work in France with The Moorings working with another friend of ours Paul Sowman who is also from New Zealand. Paul & Carmel (his partner) actually came to see us whilst we were living in Harrogate! Anyway it is a small world and it is amazing who you bump into!! Also whilst we were here we got an e mail from the Crewed Yacht Manager in the BVI offering us work for May & June so at least we will earn money again which is good. Now Peter and I are trying to organise our Hurricane plan for the boat as we get hauled out in Grenada but will keep the boat in St Lucia June and November. The Marina Manager Bob has agreed we can stay on the dock here for June and November which is good and he is also offering us 20% discount on normal berthing fees as we are part of the World ARC rally! Now it is just a question of logistics and making sure the boat is in the right place at the right time. So today we finish cleaning the boat and get prepared for the Parade of Sail on Saturday by putting our flags up. The MD of World ARC Andrew Bishop is also here and he wants to talk to all the Skippers about their rally experience so he is coming to see Peter this morning. It is a good feedback opportunity for him. Tonight there is another party up the hill at Glenn's house. Glenn is a friend of one of the rally skippers and he has kindly invited all World ARC crews to a BBQ at his house which has a swimming pool so we have to take swimsuits and towels and there is a fantastic view of the sunset so we need to be up there no later than 6pm which is when the sunset is here. Marigot Bay is where Dr Doolittle was filmed so it is very pretty and the Marina complex has lots of small shops and arty crafty places to visit. The supermarket here on site is not too bad with a good stock but pricey.

Mayreau - Tobago Cays

The last two days were pretty busy as we left Hillsborough in Carriacou to clear out of Grenada and sailed up to Union Island to check into the Grenadines. The main port in Union Island is Clifton and it is a very busy anchorage with not a lot of room to anchor. It did take us a while to find a good anchoring spot. We arrived at lunchtime so had to pay customs extra fees as it was between 12 and 1pm!! Immigration was up at the airport (a 10 minute walk away) and a very kind lady looked at our passports and papers and no fees to pay here. It was about 2pm by the time we left Union island and made our way up to Mayreau which is part of the Tobago Cays and anchored in Saline Bay a lovely wide sweeping bay with a long sandy beach. Last night we were so tired we just ate dinner on the boat but tonight we are booked into Dennis's Hideaway for dinner ashore. We did venture around the corner this morning to Saltwhistle Bay but it was rolly and very crowded so we came back to Saline. Peter is in the dinghy now playing with his new toy - a hand held depth sounder so we know where it is safe to anchor and how close to the beach it is possible to be. Tomorrow we will sail up to Bequia ready to check out with customs on Monday morning before heading back up to St Lucia for the end of rally events.

Carriacou

A very pleasant sail up the Western coast of Grenada thursday and we anchored in Tyrell Bay Carriacou which is an island but still part of Grenada. We booked for dinner in the Slipway Restaurant which is full of old boat things as it did use to be a boat slipway! Dinner was very good and cheap too with 3 courses plus wine for EC$257 including tip so around £64 for the two of us. Friday we are moving around to Hillsborough to clear out with customs as we leave the country today to check in to the Grenadines at Union Island. Carriacou seems quite rustic compared to Grenada and the anchorage in Tyrrel Bay has some old rusty boats in that look as if they have never been used for ages. There are also a couple of wrecks on the rocks which we assume were from the last hurricanes here in 2004/5.

Secret Harbour

We are re living old times as we are anchored just outside Secret Harbour Marina which is where we stayed nearly 20 years ago as we took a cottage for 4 days and a cruise on a yacht for 3 days. The place has a new owner now and he closed the main restaurant so there is just a yachties snack bar which is OK for lunch but not really dinner. The place is still as pretty as we remembered though with beautiful flowers everywhere. This morning we took a hike over the hill to Prickly Bay which is where the Budget Marine chandlery is located and Peter was able to buy some more dinghy repair kit (just in case!) although his repair seems to be holding for now which is why we were able to come ashore this morning and explore. Now we are checking weather forecasts to see when will be the best day to leave and so far Thursday is looking good!