UPDATED 14th FEB 2012: See the end of the blog.

We had gotten to know two other boat crews quite well at this time and on Monday we sailed down the west coast of St. Lucia and picked up a mooring buoy in between the two Pitons. - the two highest peaks on St Lucia, which made a stunning backdrop for the evening.We stayed there on Tuesday and some of us went for a scuba dive, which was amazing. In the afternoon we chilled out and decided to stay there that night and head off the next morning.I proceeded to hit my head badly on a large bit of wood in my cabin - hopefullythat will knock some sense into me, so missed out of cocktails on the other boats but did enjoy their version of a spanish caserole.

On Wednesday we sailed south to the island of Bequay and then on Thursday we went to a turtle sanctuary on the island and then carried on south to Tobago Cays.The hype about the Cays (pronounced keys) is huge, but I could not see what the fuss was about.We arrived shortly befeore dusk,, had a little swim and that was it.The Cays are four islands surrounded by a reef and you can constantly see the Atlantic swell breaking on it. The islands were wooded but all the islands around here are.Nothing spectacular.That evening we had lobster on the beach.It was some locals cooking on barbeques with some rice and fried peppers and it was delicious.They had gone around all the visiting yachts so we met other like-minded people.That was a special, unique experience.Then pm Friday we went round the corner in the dinghy to some swimming and snorkelling and there was "the white sandy beach with the solitary palm tree" idea of the Caribbean.I have been in search of it and it is here at the Tobago Cays.Beautiful place, beautiful sea, hot sun and at least 5 turtles to swim with. The water was only 3 metres deep max, so you could easily keep up with them and watch them chomping on sea grass or coming up for air.Very cool.In the afternoon we motored to Union island to check out of St. Vincent's part of the Grenadines and tomorrow we head south for 40 miles to Grenada!

The wind was back up and we shot south downwind to Grenada.We then enjyed about two hours being directed and misdirected to find customs and immigtationas, it being a Saturday afternoon, it was out of hours so the usual place was shut.But, we managed to check in and out as we were carrying on south to Trinidad early the next morning.The passage to Trinidad is 80 miles and, although Sam is a day skipper, we both tentatively let him skipper the passage to sign it off in his logbook, if he intends going further on in sailing.So Sam told us to get up at 3am ready to set off at half past 3.I grumbled of course, so Sam said I could get up at 2.30 to make the tea!I duly did that, at 2.45am, and off we set into the darkness.I was the first off watch but asked to be woken up for dawn, which was beautiful.We were making an excellent 8 knots so were tied up in Trinidad by 4pm.We were visited by two sets of dolphins on the way too.My first impressions of Trinidad are - very woody, very cheap (£1 is about $7 Trinidad dollars) and beers cost $14.The guide book mentions long sandy beaches and waterfalls and the most diverse wildlife in the Caribbean.It also mentioned that there is a lot of crime on the island so I can't wait to explore.The reason we have come here is that one of Simon's friend's father-in-law lives here and has offered to watch over the boat until Easter when Simon is coming back.He also has a two bedroom apartmet he has offered to put us up in till we leave on Friday!Thanks, Dr. Mohammed.

Update on Boxing Day:

Trinidad is an experience.We put the boat to bed successfully and then moved to Dr. Mohammed's flat on Wednesday afternoon.On Thursday I went for a walk around the capital, Port of Spain, and got a taxi for $30 or about 30 pence back.It is much like all the other caribbean islands in terms of the local food and culture, but unlike other islands there is no trust in the general public.All the shop counters are behind bars, and no honesty.You have to pay before you can pick up certain goods such as a bottle of soft drink, for example.The news is absolutely full of crimes and disasters.Last week there was an argument in a block of flats, someone threw a burning missile at another flat and it burned down the whole apartment.The tragedy was that there were no fire escapes and at least 4 young children lost their lives.On Thursday Dr Mohammed and I drove to a department store so he could buy a new vacuum cleaner, and afterwards he drove me round the rest of the city and through a very dodgy suburb.The guide book says to avoid these areas and even Dr Mohammed said he would not come here at night, but drove through without incident.I admit I was nervous, but probably more because of his driving than anything else!I was glad when we got back to his flat.Trinidad is one of the biggest islands in the Caribbean and Port of Spain could be in any country.It had its financial district, big parks and zoo, and poorer areas which were flooded with cars and tourists doing their christmas shopping.As I said, it was an experience, and I was happy at least to see it all from the relative safety of a car.I am flying to St Lucia early tomorrow morning then back to England on a Virgin Atlantic flight, and I will land in the morning of Christmas eve.

Till the next time…

UPDATE 14th Feb 2012:

The first mate onboard the yacht has put together a 7 minute film about their adventure across the Atlantic, and posted it on YouTube. It includes a few photos of St Lucia at the end. I am in the photo at 5:44 in the film, just to prove I was there!

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bonkQPT0C4&feature=youtu.be

Will