18:27.15N 064:26.23W

 

So here we are!  We finally made it after me missing out last year, I’ve been looking forward to getting here for all of 2016!

 

It is proving to be well worth the wait.  The waters are crystal clear and turquoise blue.  We spent a few nights in St Thomas Bay before a lovely chilled sail to Great Harbour in Joss Van Dyke in plenty time to bagsy our position amongst the hundreds of yachts jostling for a space to be here for The mega New Years Eve party at Foxys.  We have had some great snorkelling, me with my new face mask and sea doo and James has been early morning SUP around the bay trying to flatten the Abs. Our first evening ashore on 30 December we walked the length of the bay side, sand road checking out the many mostly wooden bar shacks and dive shops etc, including a stop at James’ favourite ‘Biker Bar’ Corsairs with heavy music pumping out of their mega speaker road side, and of course the main event, Foxy’s.  They were setting up numerous other temporary bars ready for New Years Eve, with around 6,000 people expected!  We sat on a bench and were both slapping at our legs and ankles, we couldn't see the sand flies or midges but boy could we feel them, James even suggested that he could make some money by offering his services as a personal leg slapper for a dollar a go on NYE!. NYE we took the open backed benched seating taxi around the coast to the Soggy Dollar, I could not believe the sight that welcomed us.  There was hundreds if not thousands of young wroawdy wevellers on the beach with huge motor boats moored off the beach and smaller, yet still powerful motor yachts backed onto the shoreline, all with their own music pumping out.  The crown seemed to all be in competition with each other on the amount of pecks, boobs and buttocks on show in their skimpy cossies.  James grabbed us a couple of ‘Pain Killer’ cocktails from the beach bar and we took a stroll along the beach, soaking in the atmosphere (my cotton sun dress remained in place), we found an empty hammock and watched the spectacle around us, no doubt this was the party before the party.  We headed back to the boat at sun set to try and get a bit of a siesta in before going ashore and knowing that last year I only made it until 22.30! I must point out that by this point my legs, ankles and arms were covered in bites and driving me to distraction with their itching, I took all sorts of medication to try and ease them but nothing helped and it was really threatening to ruin my (and poor James’) New Years Eve.  We took the dingy in to join the party at 10ish, a few more beers and Pain Killers later and we made it until about 2.30, now, bearing in mind, the beach bar had a sand floor, was on a sandy beach, with a sand road running along the seafront, my legs were on FIRE!  I was up first on NY day trying to get a cool breeze on my legs, made us a coffee then we went ashore for a bit of wifi and Facetime home.  I had masses of huge itchy bums covering my legs so It was time for me to seek medical attention, no chemist or pharmacy so we wandered into the small but really friendly clinic, I have never been so pleased to see that the doctor was in and available to see me.  Turns out I had a severe reaction to the sand flies and ended up bent over the couch having two large injections in my butt!! It took less than half an hour for the pain and itch to subside and whilst we were there James also had the doctor look at his thumb.  He had picked up a can of coke and although there was no insect insight a sting barb went through his thumb, which she made sure was all out and bandaged it up for him.  So that was our New Year morning done! lol.