12th - 19th January 2008 Dominica - Portsmouth We anchored in Portsmouth on 12th January and cleared customs which was not too bureaucratic but we did have to pay overtime for arriving on Saturday. We were met on the way in by a small boat offering yacht services (boat boy). It is customary to hire a boat boy in Dominica. The man we met went by the name of 'Laurence of Arabia' and was one of the ones recommended in our yachting guide. Laurence took us...

9th - 11th January The Saints We have anchored again in The Saints, a group of islands at the southern end of Guadeloupe. Very strange these islands are inhabited by people originating in Brittany rather than Africa. The men have gone back to beer and wine as there preferred tipple, a French beer called Desperados, which is flavoured with tequila is the current favourite. We have been for a walk round the main island and up to an old fort on the highest...

7th - 9th January Guadaloupe - Basse-Terre Another short hop to Basse-Terre the capital of Guadeloupe. Again we anchored just down the coast about 2 miles away. Basse-Terre itself was not very exciting and we couldn't get internet access, hence the delay in updating the web site. We hired a car and did a lightening tour of the island. We went to the national park up in the mountains, the car really struggled to get up the steep road then broke down at th...

We are anchored in Freeman's bay in English harbour, just outside Nelson's Dockyard and are staying until after Christmas. There is a champagne reception in Nelson's dockyard Christmas morning in aid of charity and we have been invited for drinks and nibbles on one of the big luxury yachts which a friend of ours is crewing on. Then William and I are booked into a restaurant for a traditional Christmas dinner with most of the rally people. It will probably be our ...

Dry land at last thank goodness!! We arrived in Jolly harbour on 11th December in the morning in the pouring rain. We had to clear customs before going into the marina. There were a mega number of forms to fill in, a task which fell to me. I was dripping all over the customs office and was given a loo roll to dry on, to prevent dripping on the paperwork. It was nice to be met by familiar faces, participants and the organisers of the Blue Water Rally (BWR)...