Hard tack for Christmas
Oriole
Sun 18 Dec 2005 19:23
|
It has been a really hectic fortnight, firstly
finishing our refit in
Trinidad and secondly a mad dash up to Antigua to meet Andrew for Christmas. Our sanity during the refit would have been severely tested without the hospitality of Don and Cathryn Kelshall for which we are very grateful.  The parang band at the marina pre-Christmas Dinner in Trinidad
Oriole now looks extremely smart and not looking at all like a yacht approaching her tenth birthday. The only minor snag is the outboard motor for the dinghy which is considerably better after Simon Julian spent an afternoon as mechanic's consultant (also from Newton Ferrers and an ex RN engineer) We finally left Trinidad on Tuesday morning and began a 360 mile windward slog in brisk tradewinds. We have stopped off briefly in Grenada, Bequia, St Lucia, Dominica and tonight we will be in Deshaies, Guadaloupe before the final windward leg to Antigua. (6 islands in 6 days). Only when we got to St Lucia after 200 miles were we able to ease sheets even a touch but we have achieved this all on the starboard tack. 360 miles to windward may be small beer to the world girdling fraternity but not bad for us little chaps.  The St Lucia Pitons lit by the late
afternoon sun on Friday
Andrew is now in Antiqua after arriving in St
Maarten on Thursday in his 50 metre
motor yacht from Majorca having diverted to the Cape Verdes to avoid Hurricane Epsilon. As we were sailing through the Grenadines on
Thursday en
route for Bequia the communications systems on board were working overtime. Mobile phone, email and satellite phone to Peter P in Bosham who was arranging some spares for the outboard to be sent to Antigua, phone from Andrew arriving in St Maarten, email and phone to the Nuffield Hospital in Plymouth to make sure that Robert was appropriately looked after for his minor operation (quite unnecessary as the eagle eyed theatre staff had sussed him out), and radio chit chat with various friends in their yachts in various anchorages in the Grenadines. A far cry from Christmas1971 when John waited all day in vain trying to make a phone call home from the only phone in English Harbour. Here we are while working up the lee side of Guadaloupe with two laptop computers on the chart table, one for the web diary and one for the chart plotting system which is telling us exactly where we are without going on deck where Chris is currently having a brief freshwater shower from skywards. We have had lots of emailed Christmas greetings which is really great so thanks very much to those who have not forgotten us. We hope that you all have a very happy Christmas and New Year - if anyone is actually reading this rubbish. |