The children and I had a great time in the UK. My parents met me at Gatwick and drove us back to Cheshire. I took the boys to see Father Christmas in Manchester. We acquired some much needed winter clothing from charity shops. Olly was still only eight months old. He amused my family with his raspberry blowing tricks.
We were back in the BVI by mid December. Molly and Fads came out for their second visit and were installed in a the flat of one of my diving friends. Elsie had gone home for a Christmas so by paying her the rent for one month, they had a comfortable home overlooking Road Town and the use of her VW beetle. It was their Ruby Wedding anniversary. We were able to cook meals in that kitchen and ear outdoors on her balcony.
Jon, Oliver, Fads, Oliver and Molly on Elsie’s balcony in Road Town, Christmas 1981
Jon was working in the Hood Loft again now at a higher hourly rate now the work had picked up. By the end of January we were heading down again to Antigua where Jon had agreed to helm a Freedom 40 in the famous Race Week there. We waited for a series of UpperLevel troughs to pass through before setting off across the Anegada Passage to Saint Martin. He did more sail repairs at Marina Cay then crossed to Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour to top up fuel and water. We set off through Round Rock Passage at 6.30 pm on 25th January just as the sun was setting.
Both boys were tucked up in bed before we left the shallow shelf surrounding the Virgin Islands. They slept soundly for the next twelve hours. Steering 125 magnetic with no moon and brilliant stars, We were motor sailing on a close reach as our beamy hull and gaff rig could not sail close to the wind. On my first 2 hour watch I could steer by holding Beetlejuice in the Orion constellation on the port spreader. There was little shipping to be seen. I could make out two brightly lit cruise ships heading towards St Thomas.
On these long passages we wore our life jackets and clipped onto the life lines. The swells became much steeper once we progressed over deep water. Making coffee and sandwiches when changed watch was tricky. I even had to clip on in the galley. As the stars moved we had to select different ones to steer by to save peering at the compass. By dawn we could see the bright lights over 2000 high on the island of Saba. We shipped some water into the well decks in steep waves, but had all the leeboards in keeping the cockpit dry. We also had leeboards in the transom and quarter windows.
By 7.00 am the boys were awake and wanted to come out of their tightly recurred bunks. It was broad daylight so securing them in life jackets we put Oliver in the Britax seat on the taff rails and wedged Jethro between us on the aft seat. We could see the outline of St Martin but could not make out houses on shore until 11.00 and by 12.30 we were safely anchored in Philipsburg.
After a bowl of cereal for breakfast we lowered the dinghy from its davits and went ashore to clear into Dutch territory. Then Jon took us along the Main Street to buy us all a present for being such a good crew. There was a glycerine-filled teething ring for Olly, a new pair of shorts for Jethro and sandals for me. At a pizzeria overlooking the harbour where we could see Camelot, we shared a large Pepperoni and the boys had ice cream.
All in our bunks by 7pm for a good night’s sleep and I was just dropping off when Jon said,
“Is that water sloshing about or is it my imagination?”
But no, there was about a foot of water trapped in the compartment beneath our heads. That was the home of the radio/cassette player and our charts as well as games like Scrabble and Monopoly. It must have leaked in through the rudder glands during our rough 18 hour crossing. The limber holes which should have drained water from here into the bilges were blocked with sawdust. The radio was totally dead and the games looked beyond salvage. Jon drained the water out and sprayed with CRC similar to WD40 before we succumbed to sleep.
Next morning Jon used a 12 volt soldering iron once he had cleaned up all the plugs and contacts. The radio was working again once he made new connections to the power supply and aerial. I dried the charts out in the cockpit and re-glued the games boxes. We had to take all the clothes from our hanging locker into the laundry as they were all damp with salt water. I took the boys to the beach between supervising washers and dryers. Jon stayed on board to check out rudder fittings, engine room, exhaust cooling water but all was fine.
A yacht called Aeriel V was just anchoring with an English couple with two children on board. We had met them in Virgin Gorda. They left an hour after us and took two days longer under sail. We waved a greeting. Martin and Cheryl looked shattered. I offered to look after their kids on the beach whilst they went ashore to clear in.
Adverse weather forecasts kept us in St Martin for two weeks.