The first weekend in September was Labour Day so a Monday off for Jon. We drove over to Alexandria in Virginia to visit Hilton and Suzy in their home. It was good to catch up and hear about their experiences at the carnival in Trinidad. Coming home they had done the offshore route using the…

The Last leg up to Annapolis. There were still some 200 miles to go to reach the city of Annapolis. Passing out through the Hampton Roads we covered 50 on the first day. We dropped the hook near Deltaville on the Rappahannock River which was a lovely tree lined deep estuary. We rowed ashore with…

Last section of Intra Coastal Waterway When we rejoined the Waterway after our overnight stay near Savannah, we calculated we had covered more than four hundred and thirty miles since leaving Fort Lauderdale. End of the Intra Coastal waterway for us at the lock in Norfolk, Virginia We were able to sail for long sections…

We were glad to leave down town Fort Lauderdale to set off under the Las Olas Boulevard Bascule Bridge after a few days. The sheer volume of people, boats, road traffic, chic shopping, waterfront bars and restaurants was quite overwhelming in Florida after so many weeks of glorious solitude and natural landscapes. Leaving Las Olas…

Crossing the Gulf Stream After our lonely night anchored where the Mackie Shoal beacon should have been we set off again at dawn. We spent two nights in Bimini enjoying our last swimming and beach time in the Bahamas. There was virtually no road traffic on the island, only dirt roads and rows of charming…

We deliberated about which route to take to the Bahamas. It all looked impossibly shallow. It was time to leave Puerto Plata which Olly insisted on calling “Porta Potty.” When another yachtsman had seen Jon mending Bernard’s sail, he asked if his mainsail could be re-stitched. He was happy to oblige. Turks and Caicos Settling…

Cruising in company with Kundalini There were several boats we knew in the anchorage off the big marina complex at Palmas Del Mar. A Dufour 35 “Kundalini” belonged to a young French Canadian called Bernard who sailed with his dog Bertine as first mate. He was an architect from Montreal. Jon had done some work…

Goodbye Road Town On Friday 29th April Jon completed his last day at the Hood Sail Loft. He was having farewell drinks with the lads from the loft at The Moorings. I had been ashore with both boys at Village Cay Marina to do a load of laundry. We returned to the dinghy dock. Whilst…

Jethro had his sixth birthday just before Christmas. A party for his friends was held on board in a slip at The Moorings so they could all have tea and cake on board then swim in the pool. He had a girlfriend by then called Scarlet, a school friend from Passea Kindergarden. Scarlet’s mother Jo…

Proceeds from so much sail repair work in Gustavia and the fees from filming on Camelot meant Jon could afford a trip back to Blighty the first time in two years. I flew back with the boys directly from Antigua. Jon wanted to take Camelot to the BVI to be safely hauled out for the…

Over the next few days in English Harbour most of the visiting yachts left for their home ports. Many would return to Northern USA or Europe before the Caribbean hurricane season. There was great excitement as Duran Duran were looking for boats to use in the video to promote their new album “Rio.” Camelot used…

Oliver’s first Birthday Oliver had a party for his first birthday. We had taken Camelot up into a slip at the head of Gustavia quite near Jethro’s school. It was the Easter holidays. Several little friends came along with their parents to a table set out in the grassy area near the boats. I served…

JON’S SAIL REPAIR TECHNIQUES Before we had time to lower Guinevere from the davits, other yachtsmen had read the ‘Sailmaker’ signs and tenders were queuing up to beg him to fix sails. So many other boats had experienced the rough conditions over the past six weeks there was huge demand. When presented with ripped seams,…