We, that is to say Nigel (skipper), Marcus (first mate), James (deck hand), Trev (Bolton Wanders fan) and Mike (owner of the ugly stick) are in Antigua.  A new year, a new crew and a new cruising ground.

Oboe D’Amore is back to her sparkling self after weeks of tender loving care, following ARC2008 and the subsequent cruise from St Lucia north to Antigua via Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe.

Christmas and New Year was family time for Nigel with his daughter Sian, son-in-law James and the two apples of his eye Tommy and Emily, the grandchildren.  It was wonderful to seethe little ones swimming in the sea, building sand castles, burying daddy up to his neck on the beach and exhausting themselves with fun and sun.  Some things never change.

Yesterday we motored from Jolly Harbour, the modern marina on the west coast of Antigua where Oboe spent Christmas and New Year, down south to Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbour.  This is a very historic natural harbour where British naval and merchant ships of the fleet have been coming for centuries plying their trade.  There are renovated brick buildings now housing modern day sail lofts, chandlers and the inevitable souvenir shops but it is not difficult to imagine what it looked like when teeming with soldiers, sailors and merchants in Admiral Nelson’s time.  From the sublime to the ridiculous, just across a tiny peninsular in Falmouth harbour there are some of the world’s most extravagant mega yachts, including Maltese Falcon and Athena both the size of a couple of football pitches.

It is Sunday and apart from the exertion required early this morning to bend on the main sail following minor repairs we are all relaxing and looking forward to cruising up to the British Virgin Islands early next week and revisiting old haunts.

Nigel