At 1804 yesterday the good ship Mariposa rounded Pigeon Island  and crossed the finishing line in Rodney Bay, "Saint Loooshia".  Sunset comes quickly here and it was dark.  Out of the night came a launch full of people popping corks and cheering us in.  Initially we thought this was locals/ ARC staff but soon realised that it was a water taxi containing our wives and children!!  

Lovely and quite emotional - though in my case tears of joy are infinitely preferable to those associated with having various crew members stand on my dislocated toe.  Ow!




The last day had brought light winds and we, along with a phalanx of other vessels, were obliged to motor across the line - quite a fitting end to our adventure given the light airs we had been frustrated by for much of the journey.  With the lighter airs and moderating seas we spent the last two days cleaning and tidying Mariposa so that we could step off on arrival.   



We could see our destination from about 50 miles out and as we approached land were greeted by dolphins, a turtle and caught a nice Kingfish (below) - which provided our last meal aboard, delicious.    Our last supper was a splendid potato and butternut squash melt washed down by a nice Cava and marvellously smooth Ribera del Duero Reserva.




A marvellous evening followed with drinks on arrival, drinks on board and then dinner...and drinks ashore - generously sponsored by Sue and Colin - Mrs Kirsty Spiller's lovely parents with whom he was thankful to be reunited.


Of course a late night for all particularly the children but there were plenty of hands...



next morning we awoke in a paradisal beach resort and wandered down to breakfast on the beach...