With an unreliable engine, having perused all the passes and looked at wind direction we decided to sail out of the reef by going in the wrong direction. We had a lovely sail, but obviously got nowhere.

Coming out of the reef we had to do a series of long slow tacks to get outside all the atolls and stay away from the reef. Hopefully, once we hit the current we can start to take some mileage off. The route is a total of 4793miles and the direct (impossible) straight line is 4402 to Falmouth. After a day sailing (daylight hours) we have taken nothing off the 4402 to Falmouth yet.

Then, just as night fell, we put in a tack and our aft bilge light came on; we were filling up with water – technically sinking. So our dreams of sailing back to the UK disappeared. We hove to for the night so as not to sail back in curfew hours and then returned to Placencia.

We have been to Placencia so many times it is starting to feel like home. At least hairdressers are open, restaurants (strict rules apply) and shops. Spas etc are not yet, neither are casinos (apparently a den of infections) or bars. You can drink with your meal, you can jog without a mask on, but the Attourney General was quite clear that if you are not a jogger, but pretend to be one when a policeman appears he will know whether you are ‘a jogger or a buffoon’. Buffoons will ‘go to jail’.

Having been told by the Prime Minister that gallivanting was illegal previously we are now allowed some gallivanting, swimming, snorkelling and diving are legal.

We have just found the hole was in a toilet hose and found the only 1.5” fitting in Placencia to fix it with. Murray has also carried out some other repairs and we are debating a new leaving date.

Unfortunately the Hurricane season which officially starts on June 1^st has already produced its first tropical storm, Arthur, which formed about where we would have been had we carried on.

Last night here we experienced winds in excess of 40knots for a while. One boat, Honey Ryder, went aground at Crawl Cay. In our anchorage there was a little bit of mayhem. A boat hit the local jetty, another slipped and had to motor to stay off. Thankfully one boat had passed on their Chris Parker weather forecast as this squall was not mentioned in any of our forecasts. A week of squalls is predicted and so we are reconsidering our plans all the time. We have to leave within the week or not at all.

The boat that hit the jetty showed that if you are white and wearing nothing but a head torch on the bow of your boat you will be visible in quite a lot of detail to other boaters.

Anyway, as always our sailing plans are carefully considered and we will reach a final decision soon.