Good morning everyone from the Caribbean Sea,

It has been a very busy few days since we returned to Cleone in St Lucia for the start of World ARC, and we have finally made it to the start line and beyond.

Cleone was safe and sound in the Rodney Bay yard, having been under the beady eye of the venerable owners of an equally venerable but magnificently kept Nicholson 43 parked just near her. They are a redoubtable couple. They met during the war in Eastney, at which time he was a French matelot-come-marine serving with de Gaul's forces in England, and she was a local Hampshire girl. Seven children and six Atlantic crossings later (all in the Nic) at the ages of 88 and 83 they are still living aboard their yacht. But although they are still working on the boat, they have been in the yard now for 18 months now (either this or an old peoples' home, she told me) and I doubt they will be putting to sea again. My bottle of malt was well received, but she is as voluble as he is taciturn, and getting back to work was difficult!

Norfy was on the same plane as I, and Elizabeth was already there when we arrived, minus my luggage (which turned up safe and sound a couple of days later). Whilst out of the water we put on a couple of coats of anti fouling (hideously expensive and very hard work for all three of us), filled a small hole in the dead-wood, changed the propeller anode (adding a second to the shaft) and replace the re-welded and strengthened Pulpit and strong-points. Back in the marina, if anything the pace of work increased. Installing the new Iridium was relatively straightforward (if fiddly), but the new dedicated engine battery required a lot of work on the electrics. And Admiral Insurance's rigging inspector found two more shrouds with fractured strands. This extra task was very unwelcome, although luckily I had two spare shrouds and the bits and pieces to modify them to fit, and I was so absorbed in it that I missed an important briefing, much to my chagrin. I also spent some time collecting the new (and magnificent) Avon inflatable, which hopefully won't be a repeat of the Honda Saga. This was not straightforward either, as the cost of delivering it suddenly rose by US$200. What a nasty shock. Meanwhile Norfy tackled the victualling in his usual magnificent fashion – it is a time-consuming, vital, exacting, expensive and frustrating job. Elizabeth rapidly established herself, holding on to spanners as required (for me) and lugging heavy bags around (for Chris) whilst sorting out ours and several others' computers on demand.

And of course we socialized and partied. Old friends were greeted and toasted – our main ones being those from ARC 2005, Quasar, Kasuje and Asolare – and new friends were made. I made the Skippers' briefing and the farewell party on time, but in between we visited Spinnakers and Scuttlebutts and had a great curry party on Kasuje.

Before getting away there was the usual bureaucracy to surmount. Thanks to World Cruising, clearing customs and immigration was a doddle, but paying at the Marina office took ages. We slipped early to refuel, and missed the noisy, friendly send off. Wherever we went, people wished us well, and I finally felt we were off when we left the fuel dock and set off down the Cut and into Rodney Bay proper. Here the excitement started. With a fresh breeze behind us, I was idling gently down the Cut at about 4 knots when just behind us, there was some urgent shouting. There was the wicked-looking trimaran, potentially the fastest boat on the Rally (and this despite the several 72 footers, and one 82!). Without brakes there was no way this light-weight flyer could keep down to Cleone's pace (we are handicapped as the slowest boat on the Rally) so we rapidly applied full throttle and cleared the way as quickly as possible. But the Cut had not finished – one boat ran aground, blocking the way before all our flotilla were clear, delaying the start, luckily only by 10 minutes. Out in the Bay the committee managed to find a clear line amongst the many anchored yachts, and a flotilla of small and large boats that had come to see us off made life even more difficult and noisy. At the start of such a voyage, we were all naturally cautious, and I was able to hover above the line near the windward end in a way which would have been impossible anywhere else. So Cleone got away cleanly (at our speed, we need all the help we can get) with Elizabeth at the helm, Norfy calling the line and keeping us clear of the others, and me frantically heaving and hauling at halyards and sheets. But the rest of the fleet rapidly caught us, and the first mark between a rock and a hard place (actually another lump of rock) was exciting and exacting.

So here we are on day two, already 100 miles down the track in perfect Caribbean sailing weather, with sunshine, moon and stars to taste and 20-25 knots of wind behind us. This is what it's all about.

Very many thanks to all of you (especially Rosie) for your help and support, without which we would never have been able to get this far.

James, Chris (Norfy) and Elizabeth,

Yacht Cleone
13.30N 63.08W