Still in St Martin but we managed to get the new parts and the repairs are all done.  Nic measured our rigging ready to order replacements for installation this summer in Grenada.

We’re hoping to start heading south tomorrow.

We celebrated Nic’s birthday with a cake in the afternoon after racing.  We were then delighted to be part of a memorial dinner for Marie Colvin at Dana Nicholson’s house that night.  We met Marie, the foreign correspondent tragically killed in Syria, three years ago during Classic Week and she made a huge impression on us, as she did on everyone she met.  She had been coming to Antigua for many years to pursue her fervent love of sailing and the team this year were called The Bloody Marie in her honour.  The night ended in English Harbour with a concert by Bob Marley’s son, Ky-Mani.  His father’s old favourites brought the house down.

With a mounting list of small parts and repairs to deal with, we decided to head back to St Martin for a few days.  Unfortunately biblical-scale rains and lack of wind have delayed our departure until tomorrow morning when we hope the weather will finally cooperate.

Billed in an article in this year’s programme as “the life and soul of the regatta”, we were very lucky to be part of the crew ofOld Bob.  A ferro-cement copy of a Colin Archer LSI, she is not the fastest boat on the water but certainly the most fun.  Each day we had around 20 people onboard, and armed with horns and whistles, we cheered every yacht in the regatta as they passed.  For the Parade of Sail in English Harbour, one of our crew dressed up in a wig and candy pink dress to be our figurehead.  We came a respectable 3^rd in our class and, on the last day of racing, we were 1^st around the first mark and maintaining 2^nd around the second mark!  Wandering around the dock in Falmouth and at the parties, our t-shirts were instantly recognisable and elicited a warm welcome and often a chant of “Old Bob, Old Bob, Old Bob”.

And the fun wasn’t all on the water, as soon as we were moored each afternoon a bubble machine was in action attracting adults and kids alike.  On Monday night we had a memorable dock party with fantastic live music from a host of volunteer musicians.  A huge thank you to the owners, Dave and Emma, for making it such a special week.

A couple of days rest and on to the next madness…today is the Around the Island Race heralding the start of Antigua Race Week.  Nic is sailing with Bernie Wong again on High Tension.

The next day we made it up through the reefs and anchored in a beautiful spot off Rabbit Island and we had a very relaxed few days exploring before the start of Classic Week.

Easter Sunday we visited the St Bartholomew’s in Gustavia, reminiscing that the last time we were in church was on another tiny island – Fatu Hiva, in the Pacific last year.  A very different scene here, the service was followed by champagne and canapes in the garden. Only in St Barts!

Uncooperative winds had us sailing 108 miles to Antigua when the direct route was only 74 miles, a slow but pleasant 20 hour passage.  We are going to spend a few days up in Bird Island before making our way down to Falmouth Harbour for Classic Week.

Today it remains polarised between rich and poor.  We visited some of the old plantation houses, Montpelier, Golden Rock and Hermitage (reputedly the oldest wooden building in the Eastern Caribbean, built in 1640).  They have a wonderful atmosphere – cool and elegant with wraparound verandahs, perfect for a sunset cocktail.  While hiking through some of the beautiful countryside we were shocked by the poverty we saw.  Much of the population are living in tiny shacks and are certainly not benefiting from the influx of tourist dollars.

The capital, Charleston, has a very English feel to it with many stone buildings and an enticing selection of pretty “skirt and blouse” houses.  Exploring we encountered a demonstration making its way to the town square.  The vocal Nevisians were protesting against corruption in the government.  On the outskirts of town we visited the old Bath House and dipped in the pool of 40 degree water, not so appealing when it’s nearly 30 degrees outside, even for a serious hot bath fan such as Nic!

A visit to the annual Agricultural Show led us to meet Edis who was demonstrating how to make cassava bread.  She kindly offered to take us up to Saddle Hill for a walk the next morning recommending the spectacular views from the top.  Nevis-born, she had lived in England for most of her life and had returned here to retire.   We really enjoyed meeting her and were sorry not to have more of an opportunity to get to know her better.

Our check-in required 4 stops in 3 different buildings.  There is no proper dinghy dock in town and an anchor is very useful to keep off the pier.  You are now required to pay for moorings in the island’s anchorages; for our boat it was EC$27/day or EC$67/week.  We anchored off of Pinneys Beach, just north of town, a long stretch of sand and palm trees with some beach bars and a Four Seasons Resort but rather rolly, especially when the ferries pass by.

Fortunately the check-out only required one visit to customs on Saturday morning.  The town was again lively with a Triathlon and we could only admire the participants’ enthusiasm for such exercise in the sun and heat.  We stocked up on fruit and vegetables at the market, once again amazed at the extortionate cost and lack of variety of produce in the Caribbean.

Early Sunday morning we set off for St Barts, arriving after a fast downwind sail, in the late afternoon.  We’re now anchored in Gustavia and Nic is crewing on a boat in the Voiles de St Barths this week.

A couple of rolly nights chased us out of St Maarten and on Saturday we had a fast sail down to Nevis.  Anchored off Oualie Beach we were perfectly timed to watch 130 swimmers cross the channel from St Kitts this morning. The photo above is looking from our anchorage back to Cockleshell Bay where they started.  The youngest to finish the 2.5 mile swim was 11 and the oldest 81, pretty impressive!  We will stay around St Kitts & Nevis for about a week before sailing up to St Barts for Nic to race in the Voile de St Barts on Huey Too.