Position           13:00.41N 61:14.43W

Date                1600 UTC - 24 December 2010

(All times in this entry refer to local time, UTC -4 unless stated as UTC)

A prompt start on the 23^rd and a steady 15 knots aft the beam took us at a good speed down the windward, east, side of St Vincent and only died as we entered the Bequia channel where the absence of the dreaded Bequia Blast meant that we motored the last hour into Admiralty Bay, Port Elizabeth.

Elizabeth magic’d some sausages from the freezer and with fried onions made wonderful hot dogs for lunch.

Through our friends Derek and Liz Hayes who live in Bequia a local boatman Tony had been organised to provide a mooring, hard to come by at this time of year, and after a phone call to alert him he met us at the entrance to the bay and escorted us to an excellent mooring close into the town.

We were just in time to book in through customs and immigration, always a game but made easier by the on-line pre-entry possible using eseaclear.com.  A quick EC150 cruising permit fee paid we were free to reacquaint ourselves with the Frangipani Bar and rum punch before retiring to the boat for marlin steaks courtesy of our successful fishing friends aboard the ARC Oyster 56 Sulana.

Onto Christmas Eve and we are looking forward to Christmas and some Caribbean flavoured festivities.  The Christmas tree is on the saloon table decorated in style and we are off to have lunch with some fellow ARC yachties followed this evening by an invitation with Derek and Liz to an ex-pats party in a house overlooking the anchorage.

I am trying to find the music for “I’m dreaming of a wet Christmas” but we must not complain.  The rain is warm.