Some of our more avid blog readers (well one anyway) wanted to know why there had been no updates since before Xmas!

Well there are a few reasons

·         After the discipline of the daily updates during the ARC crossing I needed a bit of a break from it

·         We wanted to make the most of the time that we had with our kids when they came over for Xmas and New Year

·         The Blog was never meant to be a diary of what we do on a daily basis, more a travelog of the things and places that we find interesting.

A quick update:-

·         We are still in Antigua

·         Our first Xmas afloat was really strange, no turkey or Xmas pud and due to a misunderstanding we missed the Xmas day party in Nelson’s Dockyard

·         New Year with Chris, Bethan, Katie and Yann was great although Chris had brought the flu bug with him that seems to be still sweeping through the UK, so he was not at his best. Unfortunately Trish has come down with it and has been really poorly for over a week now, hence our extended stay here in Antigua. (It just goes to show why so many islanders the world over were decimated by a wide variety of diseases brought over by the first sailors to arrive.)

·         On our way from St John’s back to Falmouth, Trish and I “rescued” 4 people in a power boat that had broken down over a mile offshore and towed them back to land.

·         Curious has been out of the water for 4 days to have the bow thrusters leg changed that had decided to freewheel when the boat was heeled on either tack. At the same time we had her bum cleaned and anti fouled together with some other minor jobs that should help see us through the next twelve months.

·         The weather has been really mixed, warm but with frequent if short rainfall.

·         The Volcano on Montserrat decided to belch sulphurous clouds of smoke and ash all over Antigua when the wind changed, covering the boat inside and out with very fine acidic volcanic ash. We are still trying to get the boat clean. This was apparently the worst ever such incident and necessitated diverting flights to other islands.

·         The people here on Antigua are really nice and friendly, much more so in our opinion than the folks on St Lucia. A generalisation I know and we did meet some really nice people in St Lucia but the contrast is marked.

·         The guys here wear some amazing hats of all shapes, sizes and colours to cover their dreadlocks. My hair has grown longer than usual and I am threatening Trish that I will grow dreads and wear a weird hat if she doesn’t cut my hair soon.

·         Many of the islands are boosted by the daily arrival of the many cruise ships that ply these waters. 3 a day is the norm in St John’s. They arrive early in the morning and disgorge their prisoners (sorry passengers) who are then either taken off to participate in various excursions/activities or are set upon by the locals offering to sell them just about anything by way of making a living. A strange twist to the times when sailors arrived with shiny beads and trinkets as presents for the locals!!!!!! The ships then leave as night falls to travel overnight to the next island when the whole process begins again. Some of these ships are enormous with incredible facilities including a wave machine (on a ship????) climbing walls as well as theatres, cinemas, etc, etc.

Once Trish shakes off her bug we hope to sail south to Guadeloupe for a couple of weeks before returning to meet friends arriving from the UK.

      New Crew learning the ropes -  Nelson Dockyard, English Harbour, Antigua

New Year’s Eve afloat

Montserrat’s very active volcano