Position at 11:25 BST 14.088,-67.723
ETA at 5 knts 05:18 8th Apr.  715 miles to go
Wind ESE 3/4.  GPS distance run since yesterday 158 miles.

I’m glad to say there is nothing to report.  A pretty sunset and a pretty sunrise.  Subtle changes in the wind and sea.  Excellent grapefruit for breakfast.

I think I will get out my book today.  I have been reading Kidnapped and Catriona by Robert Louis Stevenson.  We should be able to visit his house on Samoa where he wrote Catriona.  David Lunt gave me Pamela Stevenson’s (wife of Billy Connelly) book of following in the footsteps of RLS.  She did it in style on a 100ft boat – much the size that RLS used in the late 1800s.  Her book is called Treasure Islands.

David

Position 14.22,-64.978 at 11:25 BST
ETA at 5 knts 12:37 8th Apr.  873 miles to go
Wind E 5
167 miles by GPS since yesterday – a 0.5knot current helps.

I had quite forgotten how nice it is to be at sea on your own.  Atlantic was full of ARC boats etc.  Here we have the place to ourselves. The things that you worry about on the land go and you can just enjoy the moment.  No logic in worrying about the boat gear,  There will be a solution with what we have on board, may not be ideal but there is always a solution. Boat feels very good after all the bits we did in the Caribbean.  Excited by the prospect of visiting the Kuna indians in San Blas islands.

The weather is excellent not had to change sails yet.  Slightly lumpy sea.  Forecast is good as well.  Keeping to the north of the direct line route to avoid a gybe that would take us south.  More options if we keep north when we get to Columbian coast.

David

Position at 11:25 BST 14.174, -62.068
1064 miles to go.  ETA San Blas Islands (Porvenir) at 5knts 22:18 8th April
Wind ESE 4/5 with rain squalls to 6

We finally got away at 20:00 last night.  The anchorage had quite a few new arrivals yesterday that had anchored very close to existing boats so its good to be clear of the charter boat fleets now.   I think there is one base kept by the Moorings group in the Pacific otherwise it will be New Zealand when we next see charter boats.

Was pleased to come away from the Windward islands with no local money.  Stopped at the fuel dock used by the local pirogue fishing boats with their Yamaha 75HP outboards.  Its sells fishing gear at local prices so I put my change on the table and we adjust combinations of line and hooks until we had used up all the money!

The weather is excellent.  We can expect stronger winds off the Columbian coast at about 76 deg West – you can see details if you use the Passage Weather link on the right hand side of the blog site.  This week is the nearly the first time since Xmas that it has been pleasant sailing breezes in that area.  Often the wind sits at 30 to 35 knots.  Chris Parker of the Caribbean Weather Centre (www.caribwx.com) is on the radio at 12:35 GMT (08:35 local) with a really good summary of the weather.  So we will see what he thinks in a few minutes.  He is always keen you only move about when things are calm.

David

“What’s that dinghy doing in the middle of nowhere? It looks just like Benny Junior’s beaten out tender” We collect it and put back on a mooring as we leave Harmony beach. I wonder if Benny will use a different knot from now on! Will he get lessons from the children on the beach he had such confidence in? Halfway up to Rodney Bay the water temperature light comes on! [Read more →]

Just two again but not for long. Jane and Alisdair have agreed to go into the courier service and their first job is to St. Lucia, delivering parts to a yacht in transit. They have allowed themselves one week to find Giselle. However we know the arrival times of planes from London and they are picked up at the airport. On the road from the airport they are caught on camera, drinking, well Alisdair is, Jane keeps a low profile in the car.

It’s wonderful the arrivals area at the airport. Rebecca was on the flight and we had seen her come down the plane steps, now the wait till she was through customs etc. The beginning of her holiday. St Lucia south to Carriacou and back to St Lucia.

A few days on our own, a quiet hogmanay in Marin, and we take off walking around the bottom end of Martinique, great walk around the coast, passing some of the best beaches from the sheltered west coast to the great Atlantic side with all the swell rolling in.

You have seen the photos well now you can read the story.
• The story of January and the sail to Antigua,
• Rebecca’s visit and the sail south,
• Jane and Alisdair in strike ridden Martinique
• The last few days here in St Lucia
will appear in episodes spaced by about 3 days. May have the odd Roaming Taste in there as well

It is with much sadness that we announce the passing away of Mary’s Mum on Sunday March 1st. She has been getting weaker progressively over the year, so we had expected it but that doesn’t make it any less sad. She passed in dignity in her room in the home in Oban and with the company of her oldest daughter Barbara. She faded slowly in the last week and all those that made plans to see her were able to get to her bedside before she died. Mary knew she was saying her goodbye when she visited in January this year. [Read more →]

These are from the time between Andrew’s and Rebecca’s Visit. Much of the time when Giselle was in Antigua Mary was at home visiting Family.

The link in “where are we” is for Bourg in Les Saintes to the south of Guadeloupe. (15.8692,-61.5845)

Link to gallery