After several very excited emails from the lucky prize winners Fiona and Chris, we met them at The True Blue Bay Resort, Grenada and transported them out to Oboe in our trusty dinghy – now firmly named Power Ranger, due to its straining and sluggish 5hp outboard motor.

Fiona and Chris’s winning ticket was pulled out of a hat at The Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth on 14 March, following a campaign to raise money for Meningitis UK, an excellent and worthy charity and one close to the heart of The Castle.

Oboe bobbed gently at anchor in the bay, sparkling after a deep clean and looking splendid with pennants and battle flag flying in the breeze.  No sooner aboard than we slipped out of the bay and headed north for The Grenadines.  Everything was perfect.  The winds were light but useable; the water was glassy smooth; the sun shone and the fish were biting!  Not renowned for our fishing prowess, I wouldn’t want to boast and should be honest that all we managed was a small barracuda that we dropped back to live another day!

A rare sight, recorded by Fiona on camera, was a “sun bow”, a sort of rainbow forming a complete circle around the sun.  It lasted for hours and we speculated that the end of the world was nigh or that the second coming of Christ was due.  But a Googled query revealed that it was no more than ice crystals in the upper atmosphere refracting the sunlight – GCSE physics, no more no less!  Despite the scientific explanation it was a most beautiful sight and therefore I will try to include it in a future blog for all to see.  In the meantime here is a picture of the lucky prize winners.

After 2 day sails we are in Bequia to say goodbye to our favourite Caribbean Island.  Fiona and Chris are off in a taxi to the turtle sanctuary, Ryan is ashore performing rather meaningless bureaucratic acts in the offices of Customs and Immigration – “five carbon copies and the instruction to press hard!”  I am writing this blog entry at the chart table and contemplating a cappuccino and chocolate cake at Gingerbread, probably the best waterfront cafe ever!  Later we’ll sail for Mustique, watch the sunset from the Firefly Bar and Restaurant before settling down for yet another bright starry night.

Nigel