1 January 1995 Bourg des Saintes to Iles a Cabrit
Ceris went into town for a stroll around while we did school work. We motored over to Iles a Cabrit and anchored in 20 metres depth. Glenys and I went for a dive while Ceris and the boys stayed on board making a cardboard “Thomas the Tank” engine set.
2 January 1995 Iles a Cabrit
I’d planned on this being a windsurfing day, but it wasn’t very windy in the morning, so I did some accounting while Ceris and Glenys did school work. A Swedish couple called by and wanted to do a dive – as soon as I agreed, the wind picked up!
Ceris, Glenys and the children walked up to the top of the island while I did the dive. It was very hard work because it was his first Open Water dive and she hadn’t dived for 2 years.
3 January 1995 Iles a Cabrit to Bourg des Saintes
We went over to the town anchorage. We all walked up to Fort Napoleon to look at the very interesting Nautical museum. There are some good model displays of the Battle of the Saintes, which took place nearby in 1782 .
On 12th April, the two fleets engaged at close broadside range on parallel opposite courses near Les Iles des Saintes. As the lead French ships approached the British rearmost ships, the French Commander “De Grasse” signaled his fleet to reverse course so that the action could continue on parallel courses, but the command was not carried out by all of his ships’ captains.
The disobeyed order to reverse course together with a sudden change in the wind caused gaps in the French battle line. Seizing this opportunity, the British Commander, Admiral Rodney then executed a maneuver never before seen in a major naval battle. He turned his ships ninety degrees and sailed through the broken French line of battle, splitting the French line into four segments. In doing this, the guns on each side of the British ships were brought to bear on the French with little risk of return fire.
De Grasse could not reform his battle line and as the day went on, six heavily damaged French ships hauled down their flags. Finally, De Grasse’s 130-gun flagship, struck her colors and De Grasse surrendered his ship and his sword to the British. Overall, the French were soundly beaten. The invasion fleet was decimated. The French ships were either sunk or captured and more than 6,000 men perished.
The Battle of the Saintes, firmly established Britain as the dominant sea force entering the Nineteenth Century and the coming Napoleonic Wars. The successful tactic employed by Rodney became known as “Crossing the Tee”. The Battle of Surigao Strait, history’s last and final Battleship-to-Battleship engagement, in October 1944, was won by the U.S. Navy employing this very same tactic.
We then had lunch in a restaurant which was filling but pretty ordinary. Glenys and Ceris walked around town while I took the boys snorkelling – another guy came over and asked about doing a dive but I said ‘No’ because we’re leaving tomorrow.
4 January 1995 Bourg des Saintes to Pigeon Island, Guadeloupe
We sailed 20 miles over to Guadeloupe and anchored outside the marina. I went to clear in and out of customs and buy some petrol. We then motored up to Pigeon Island where Glenys and I did a dive while Ceris went to the beach with the boys.
We’ve been having second thoughts about going through Panama. The biggest worry is money – will we have enough to last three years? Especially because we will have to buy some more gear for the boat and I’m worried about the house. Our thoughts at the moment are back to going to the States and then Belize and cross to Portugal in May ’96.
We will have been out of the UK for three complete tax years by April ’96, so I should be able to shut down my Jersey Trust, which will be a plus. I filled 4 tanks.
5 January 1995 Pigeon Island, Guadeloupe
Glenys and I got up early, went for a walk at half past seven and hired a car. We all went on a tour of some of the island – we went for a walk in the rain forest in the National Park and visited a small waterfall. We then walked up to the Chutes Des Carbet which are a series of large waterfalls. It is a 30 minute walk through the rain forest to the second waterfall, which is very spectacular at 110 metres high. The other two waterfalls were two hours walk away so we didn’t bother! There was a natural hot spring by the waterfall, so we spent a pleasant 30 minutes recovering.
We took advantage of the convenience of a car and went shopping. It was half past seven in the evening before we got back onto the boat – shattered!
6 January 1995 Pigeon Island to Deshaies, Guadeloupe
I did a Discover Scuba Dive with Caroline from a Belgian boat “Bellatrice”. Ceris and Glenys did school work with the boys. We then motored around to Deshaies. The others went into town while I played the clarinet for an hour. Sarah and Dave from “Morning Flight” came over for a beer or two.
7 January 1995 Deshaies to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua
We got up early to strong winds (gusting 30-35 knots). After a bit of indecision, we set off for Antigua and had a very unpleasant bash upwind for 4 hours - we could only just lay the course for English Harbour. Thankfully, the wind eased off and veered, so the last 3 hours were OK. We anchored in Falmouth among the mega yachts – a stark reminder of what a scruffy little boat we have! Glenys took Ceris and the boys out while I slept.
8 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Brett had the runs, so I stayed with him, while Glenys, Ceris and Craig went around English Harbour and up to Shirley Heights. Brett and I rigged up a swing, which he is delighted with – I should have done it two years ago!
9 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Ceris went into St Johns while we motored over to the Catamaran Club (a marina) to get water and fuel. Glenys and Brett went into St Johns to meet Ceris while Craig and I lounged about on the boat. Glenys and I went out for a meal in the evening. We had a great time and decided that we definitely won’t go through Panama.
10 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
I did some administration in the morning, while Glenys and Ceris went for a stroll. I sent a fax to Gareth offering our services while Fiona has the baby – we’ll see what they want to do. It will only be worth our while if we can earn some money, because we will end up stuck in the West Indies. We went to the beach in the afternoon. We all went out for a meal in the evening. I’m afraid that Glenys and I got a little drunk.
11 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Ceris left in the morning – we nursed our hangovers in the afternoon and lounged about. Glenys took the boys to the beach in the afternoon.
12 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
We all went into St Johns to visit the dentist. Brett and I had our teeth polished and the dentist decided that Glenys should have a small wisdom tooth removed. He promptly did it there and then.
The dentist looked at Craig’s teeth and told us that he would recommend that Craig have four teeth extracted – 3 molars and the front incisor which has been dead for 2 years. We expected to only have one of his molars extracted, so it was a bit of a shock. We made an appointment for the next day.
When we got back to Glencora, we had a another look at Craig’s teeth and thought that two of the molars could be filled. I walked to the telephone box, cancelled the appointment and made an appointment with another dentist. We all went to “Ocean Ridge” in the evening and had a drink with Sally, Nigel, Jessica (2) and Harriet (4).
13 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Friday the 13th. I didn’t sleep well at all last night because I was worrying about Craig’s teeth.
I took Craig into town to see the new dentist , Dr S.V. Raj. The bus ride into St Johns seemed endless with a growing feeling of doom - was my son going to be hurt?
The dentist suggested that he should put a temporary filling in the really bad molar to see if Craig has any discomfort over the next month. The other 2 molars needed fillings and he recommended small preventative fillings on 3 molars. The front tooth could be left. I could have kissed him!
Craig was on the chair for about an hour and the dentist was brilliant. He used white fillings and seemed to do a good job. I was so impressed (and relieved) that, when I got back, I wrote a “thank you” letter to him and pinned recommendation notes on the various notice boards in English Harbour.
14 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
My mum and dad arrive tomorrow – we think! I’ve not actually managed to talk to them on the phone. I tried at seven o’clock this morning and got no answer. I tried again at ten o’clock without any joy, so I rang Eddie and Kath. Kath told me that Eddie was on his way to the airport with them and gave me their flight details. They arrive at half past three tomorrow afternoon, but they don’t know that we know, which will keep them guessing until we get to the airport!
I found out from Carol that our damn tenants are in arrears again so I’ve got that to sort out now. We spent the rest of the day on administration, school work and tidying up.
It’s Brett’s birthday today, but we’ve quietly postponed it until Grandma and Grandad arrive. Brett’s excited because he thinks that it’s his birthday in two sleeps time!
15 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
School work in the morning. Craig, Brett and I went to the airport and met Grandma and Grandad. We went back to the boat, had a bottle of champagne, dinner and bed.
16 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Brett’s official birthday. We opened presents in the morning and went to the shops. At lunchtime we went to the beach for a party. The only other children were Harriett and Jessica from “Ocean Ridge”, but we all had a nice time. I took Dad snorkelling and he was suitably impressed even though it was a poor site.
17 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour
Mum, Dad and I went for a walk around Nelson’s Dockyard and out to the fort. We went back to the boat for lunch and then had an afternoon in - going up to Shirley Heights for dinner was declared to be too expensive (and too much trouble).
I started training Dad to dive and did Theory Sessions 1 and 2 with him.
18 January 1995 Falmouth Harbour to Five Island Bay
We went shopping first thing. My dad brought out a pilot book for Polynesia which I managed to swap for a pilot book for Cuba. I’m determined to go there!
We motored around to Cades Reef and anchored off the inner reef. Dad, Mum, Brett and I went snorkelling on the outer reef which was nice with lots of black Durgeon. We had lunch and went around to Five Island Bay and anchored in a nice bay off Stoney Horn.
The others went to the beach while Dad and I did his Confined Water 1 and 2 sessions. He did well but struggled with the steel tank I gave him. We moved over to Maiden Island in the evening.
19 January 1995 Five Island Bay
We spent the morning on schoolwork - Maths, English and Science for the boys and PADI Open Water Theory 3 for my dad.
After lunch, the others went for a walk and I filled 6 tanks. I think that I’ve found out the problem with the compressor engine. It was set up too lean and I think that exhaust fumes are being sucked into the air intake – I used a body board as a wind deflector and it ran for 1½ hours. I’ll fit the exhaust deflector back on.
20 January 1995 Five Island Bay to Deep Bay
We went around to Jolly Harbour, filled up with water, cleared out of Customs and went around to Deep Bay. I did a Confined Water 3 session with Dad while the others went for a walk. The visibility was very bad - only about 6 ft! After lunch, we went for a snorkel on the wreck – disappointingly poor visibility compared with last May.
Then Craig couldn’t find Pilot Bear - his favourite teddy. We searched the boat from top to bottom, but couldn’t find it. He was distraught and crying, while we all tried to find the errant cuddly toy. After much questioning, he finally revealed that the last time that he saw Pilot Bear was when he put him (and two other teddies) into Grandma and Grandad’s suitcase. This was an old suitcase, which had been used to bring books and spares out to us. My dad had told me that he no longer needed it, so I had taken it ashore in Falmouth Harbour to throw it in the skip and ended up giving it to a local guy who was hanging around on the quay-side.
Oh God! I confessed to Craig that I had given the suitcase away. Through tears and pouting lips, he shouted “It’s your fault, Dad!”
When he went to bed, he seemed to have adopted “Parsley” the lion.
21 January 1995 Deep Bay to Charlestown, Nevis
We got up early and started motoring towards Nevis because there was no wind. We passed close to Sandy Island and the wreck of a ship on the reef next to it. There is a navigation light on Sandy Island but it is marked on the chart as being “unreliable!”
We motored for a couple of hours and then I decided to put the spinnaker up. Glenys was suitably surprised since we have never put up the spinnaker because it is quite frankly MASSIVE.
I rigged up a spinnaker pole to port and got everyone ready – Dad on the guy, Glenys on the sheet and me on the halyard. We’ve had problems with the halyard winch on the mast; it is very easy to get riding turns and jam the rope because the winch is slightly at the wrong angle. So I decided to start to pull the spinnaker up with only one turn of the halyard on the winch, expecting to throw a couple of wraps around when I’d got the spinnaker most of the way up.
Unfortunately, we had too much tension on the guy and sheet so before I’d got it half way up, the spinnaker inflated. The force was too strong to hold and I couldn’t get another turn around the winch. I didn’t want to let go in case the spinnaker went into the water and under the boat, so I had to let the halyard slip through my hands. Fortunately, the single turn that I had on the winch gave me enough friction that I managed to stop the spinnaker before it hit the water. My burnt hands were killing me, but I managed to winch the spinnaker into position. The spinnaker was flying for the first time in 2½ years!
I had to cool down my hands in a bucket of water for ½ hour and then coat them with Flamazine. Taking down the spinnaker went well and the rest of the sail was very nice.
We anchored off the idyllic Pinney’s Beach, had a couple of beers and then moved onto rum punches.
22 January 1995 Charlestown, Nevis
Got up late this morning. Glenys, Dad and I went to the supermarket first thing – fortunately they accepted US$ because we’ve only got $80EC between us. We took a taxi up to the Golden Rock Estate and went for a walk into the forest. We had lunch and watched the green back monkeys which come down to the hotel.
Mum, Dad, Brett and I walked back through town to Pinney’s Beach where Glenys picked us up.
On the way back, Brett picked up a coconut and insisted on carrying it back to open it for Grandma. I took over the idea and decided to make a Pina Colada from scratch. It was a bit of a mission to open the husk, get the nut out, shred the coconut flesh and make some rich coconut milk, but I managed to make enough for Grandma and a taste for the rest of us.
23 January 1995 Charlestown to Anse Columbier, St Barts
Another early start. We sailed most of the way; just having to motor during the lulls in the lee of St Kitts.
At one point, the hydrovane started to play up – I checked it and found that the rudder had fallen off! Fortunately, I’d put a retaining line on it so it was still hanging around. We hove to and I managed to put on a new pin with retaining rings on both sides – I’d been meaning to do it for ages.
We had a great sail between St Kitts and St Barts after a bouncy first hour. We had a nice view of “Endeavour” (a J-class yacht) which was sailing around outside Gustavia. We anchored in Anse Columbier just as it started to rain.
24 January 1995 Anse Columbier, St Barts
School work in the morning. Dad and I did Theory 4 and Confined Water 4. After lunch, Mum and the boys went to the beach while Dad, Glenys and I did his OW Dive No. 1. Nice relaxed dive, surprisingly pleasant with lots of fish. I then filled 4 tanks. I’ve put the exhaust deflector on the compressor engine and it runs fine!
Craig has been driving us mad for the last few days because he keeps getting out of bed to go to the toilet before he goes to sleep – about 4 times on average! This evening he started crying and I managed to get him to tell me that he didn’t want to turn the light off. After further probing he revealed that he misses Pilot Bear and burst into tears. I tried to tell him that Pilot Bear has gone to another nice boy or girl but he is still desperately unhappy about it. He’ll get over it but I wish that I had looked inside the suitcase!
25 January 1995 Anse Columbier, St Barts
We motored over to Gustavia and cleared in customs. Glenys went and did some shopping, made some sandwiches and dinghied around to Shell Beach to meet the rest of us. We had a picnic, did some snorkelling and then it rained for ¾ hour. We gave up, went back to Glencora and motored back around to Anse Columbier.
Glenys, Mum and the boys went for a walk. Dad and I read books.
26 January 1995 Anse Columbier to Simpson Bay Lagoon, St Martin
We motored over to Ile Fourche and saw a turtle as we anchored. Glenys, Dad and I did a nice dive at the north point of the bay – Dad’s OW Dive No. 2.
We then motored over to Philipsburg where Glenys and I went ashore to do a big shop. We then went around to Simpson Bay and caught the six o’clock bridge.
Glenys and I went out for a beer or ten with “Chintoo” at a party to celebrate Australia Day. Mike and Marina from “Columbine” were there – nice to see them again. Mike is running “Outfitters” in St Martin. We met Alan and Sharon on “Gringo 2” (UK).
27 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon
Major hangover this morning. We all went into Philipsburg and mooched about. Dad bought a diving watch but Glenys didn’t like the look of any. We ate out at Burger King which the kids loved, but Grandad hated.
We stopped off at the bar at Lagoon Marina because “Mood Indigo” was practicing there. We stopped by at “Sahara Blue” and picked up a fax from Gareth.
28 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon
Glenys talked to Gareth on the phone first thing in the morning. He wants Glenys to help him out, but is only going to pay $350 US/ week. Glenys said that it wouldn’t be worth our stopping around. Fi stops on the 10 April and flies back to England to have her baby. “Dabulamanzi” will be based around Antigua and Gareth will have to stay behind and miss the birth. He will be able to pick up a cook for the charters quite easily.
Mum, Dad and I went into Marigot by dinghy and I bought a new pressure gauge for my regulator. In the evening, Mum and Dad went out by themselves for a meal at La Palappa. We went to watch “Mood Indigo” perform and saw a lot of friends. I’m fascinated by watching jazz musicians now that I know a little bit about music.
29 January 1995 Simpson Bay Lagoon to Grand Case, St Martin
Up at seven o’clock and round to the fuel dock to fill up with fuel and water. We motored through the dredged channel to the French bridge. There are red buoys at the start of the channel which you have to leave to starboard. There is a wiggly bend at the start which I read wrong and we nearly went aground. We arrived at the bridge at half past eight, but still had to wait 45 minutes before it opened. I think they had a problem with the bridge controls.
We motored around to Grande Case Beach. The boys, Mum and Glenys went to the beach while Dad and I did OW Theory 5.
Grande Case is quite famous for its restaurants and bars. They specialise in barbequed ribs, but you can get fish , conch, chicken as well. There’s a wide range of restaurants, from expensive to small local bars. We opted for a small bar and had wonderful barbequed ribs and chicken. The others stayed on the beach while I came back to the boat to fill 4 tanks. I’ve gone t-total for a while because I’m tired of feeling dull all the time.
30 January 1995 Grand Case to Crocus Bay, Anguilla
We had a very nice three hour sail to Anguilla and anchored in Road Bay. We had lunch and then I went to clear in. It didn’t cost anything for Police and Customs, but it costs $15 US per day to visit the off-lying islands. They have designated the areas as National Park so we can’t anchor and have to pick up their moorings. I’m not used to paying to anchor, so I decided that I would only pay for one day! I also asked about diving and was told that I would have to pay $4 US/tank to dive – I told them that I wouldn’t bother.
We had a quick walk around Road Bay, but there’s nothing apart from restaurants, hotels and one supermarket. We motored around to Crocus Bay and went snorkelling.
31 January 1995 Crocus Bay to Road Bay, Anguilla
We left Crocus Bay at half past eight, motored over to Prickly Pear Cays and picked up our allocated mooring (No. P2). The anchorage and island was completely deserted - it is a very pretty island with lovely white sand and turquoise water.
Unfortunately, by eleven o’clock about 10 boats had arrived, most being day charter boats discharging their punters. We went back to Glencora and had lunch. Glenys and I went for a snorkel to the east of the anchorage which has interesting rock gullies.
In the afternoon, we motored around to Sandy Island hoping to find for the perfect desert island. Well, it would be if the hoards of Day Trippers weren’t there. We went to ashore and had a walk around. It is a beautiful little island with a small bar which does food. We left late afternoon and motored across to Road Bay for the night.