Sorry for our delay but as most people know we arrived safely in Rodney Bay Marina on Monday 14^th December just as it got dark.  We anchored immediately after crossing the finishing line and had a quick swim and underwater check and were met by the Bullens (another Dauntsey family) before berthing next to Falbala on Pier J12.  The champagne cork popped as our first line hit the dock.  We finished and berthed under emergency steering with Andrew doing an excellent job down in the aft cabin. 

Since arrival we have been very busy partying and repairing – our heavy spinnaker and cruising chute are back in one piece (OK two pieces), Alwin the engineer we had emailed arrived on the first day and has done a fantastic job for us – he soon narrowed down the steering problem to a shattered roll pin inside the gearbox, now fully repaired and stronger than before.  The water-maker/generator water leak was also quickly repaired and repairs to the alternator pulley wheel and attached fan (which were falling off) have taken a little longer – he is also fixing our spinnaker pole track on the mast as we speak which was getting jammed.

Ed left yesterday to head home for Christmas via friends in Antigua – he has been a fantastic first mate and will be sorely missed.  The remainder of the crew are variously recovering from one party or preparing for the next….  Thanks to Anna’s skills tonight’s beach fancy dress night will see the Gulliver crew attending as Rasta Jelly-Fish…  Tomorrow afternoon we relocate (with Falbala) to the Marina at Marigot Bay where Gulliver will remain over Christmas – take a look at the website – you will be jealous.

We are still awaiting Regis to check out Autopilot and main computer screen but photos should be attached to this later today – watch this space

All in all a slightly more challenging and ultimately rewarding trip than we had planned – we were tested in times of crisis and everyone reacted admirably – although a crew of mixed sailing abilities there were no weak links and everyone pulled their weight and worked as a team.

Next time I really must arrive with less diesel (still full with about 100 litres in cans) and run the fridge a lot more.

All the best Mark, Ed, Lis, Andy, Anna and Zoe