Rodney Bay, St Lucia. On Friday afternoon we had both good news and bad. The good news was that the parts for the Furlex were at Castries but the bad news was that they would not be cleared by customs until tomorrow (Monday). In the big scheme of things the delay is not at all significant, and to make the most of the facilities available to us we spent the most part of yesterday going over some of the manoeuvres on the boat that Ian will be expected to demonstrate on his Yachtmaster Offshore exam next month. Poor Louise had to endure a safety brief given by Ian but she indicated that it had been worthwhile!

Today has been a bit of a lazy day. I did some canvas and rope work this morning whilst Ian and Louise took the dinghy and disappeared for a few hours.

This evening, our next door neighbour is coming for supper. Roy is a ‘Scouser’ and has been in the merchant navy for many years. Now retired, he spends his time on his wooden, double-ended sloop and has an anecdote for every occasion, as would be expected of someone from Liverpool.

We should start heading north on Tuesday at the latest.