12 - 16 January 2013
14:05.24N 060:57.68W A busy few days in St Maarten choosing not just a new dingy but a new anchor chain as well. A real relief as the old one had reached the end of its’ life and was so rusty it simply sprayed the foredeck with brown water and rusty flecks every time we anchored. We had done quite a lot of boat jobs and it was all beginning to tell on Mike who had been nursing an inguinal hernia for a few weeks by now. A GP in the British Virgin Islands had confirmed the diagnosis at the beginning of January but also reported that the one surgeon on the island who could repair it using modern techniques had just gone on holiday for two weeks. We needed to keep moving south and some extensive research and telephoning by Carol revealed that the first island where the op would be done as we (she!) would wish was St Lucia. We thought we would call in on various islands on the way down but by now Mike simply wanted to get there and get the job done so we set off. We chose calm conditions and decided to go in the lee of the islands to reduce the wind further, preferring to use the engine if necessary rather than battle with too much wind. This meant going past Montserrat directly under the ash cloud which can make a real mess of the boat in some conditions. Fortunately the ash cloud stayed as an ash cloud and apart from an interesting view and the smell of sulphur we passed by without incident.
|
