Happy New Year to one and all. Have been receiving lots of lovely photos of snow covered Scotland. Clearly lots of fun being had by many of you be it climbing, skiing or sailing in dinghies (and you think we are mad!)

Unfortunately we had a call from Robert on 27th to say that they had ben to hospital with Liz and that she has broken her arm. She fell when she slipped in a puddle of vomit which had been deposited on the path in the resort. She hadn’t seen it as the area was shaded and she lost her footing and landed on her elbow on the marble floor. The hotel were not very helpful about getting her to a hospital and they had had to call Isaac (a great taxi driver we had met and had been using) who got up out of his bed and came from Castries to get them. He took her to the private hospital in Castries where she was X rayed and plastered after they diagnosed a clean break to her radius just below the elbow joint. He was a gem and stayed with them the whole time before bringing them safe back to the hotel. Anyway poor Liz has been slab plastered and covered in thick elastane bandaging. It is her right hand so she is needing help with everything and of course is very uncomfortable in the intense heat.

It was a real downer for all concerned as the hotel was geared to lots of activities, all of which she would have gotten involved in.

We had a trip to Marigot Bay on 29th in order to get the generator vents checked out under the boat. Dawn and Richard both dive and they were down there and had offered to check it put for us. It was a beautiful spot and the water was good for snorkelling. We saw lots of little shoals og white and yellow fish and black and white striped fish. There was quite a lot of different types of coral as well. A very pleasant interlude before heading back up to Rodney Bay for New Year.

We have spent this week in a beautiful town house with the same friends and their parents. They very kindly offered us the spare room. The prospect of air conditioning, comfy beds and clean showers not to mention a fully fitted kitchen. comfy lounge seat and good company were just too much to resist. It has been great and we have thoroughly enjoyed the rest. Of course John has had us back at the boat most days doing various chores.

The biggest one was oiling the tek inside the boat. It is amazing how dry it has become in a short time. It normally gets done once a year at home. It was done when we left for the UK in Portugal and judging by how much was absorbed was definitely needing it again. Being of the boat has meant that we haven’t had to suffer the fumes and get sore heads from it. Glad to report she is now glowing inside again. Doing this job meant clearing all the surfaces etc and as a result we have had another major tidyup and throwing away session. Just like home really for this time of year. So the place is spick and span for our visitors who arrive hopefully on Friday (provided of course they don’t get snowbound somewhere!).

The build up for the World ARC is underway in the marina. David and Susan from Voyageur are doing this for the second time. They are keen to get started and organised for the trip now their water maker is sorted. We shall miss our coffees with them. It will be April 2011 before they return here. We wish them God speed and happy sailing and hope to be here to greet them when they get back.

We are also ready to move on. Linocat has been posting some fabby pictures of Tobago Keys and other places they are currently visiting so hopefully we shall shortly be following in their wake once we take our new crew aboard.

We still have problems with the generator which is going to limit the amount of anchoring we can do. We will head for MArtinique and hope we can find and engineer there who knows about Panda Fischers.
The deck chartplotter has given up the ghost. It is so infuriating given all the hassle and expense we had with Bluewater in Portimao to get it all working. The man who came to see it yesterday suggests we send it back to the UK (bad words, bad words) to get it updated!!!
Anyway we can get by without it – so we will for the present.

The weather has been quite unsettled over the holiday period which is a shame for the locals who would normally enjoy beach time with their families. John and I walked to Pigeon Island and back on Hogmanny and got absolutely soaked through as it was a torrential downpour that lasted for half an hour or so. It was hilarious as it was just like walking under a warm shower. The street were awash and running like a river. We walked through the local village of Gros Islet and all the kids were out jumping in the water havign great fun.

Pigeon Island is a famous landmark here as it played a huge part in the wars between France and Britain in Nelson’s time. Rodney Bay gets its name from the Admiral who was in charge of the area at that time. It was also used during the 2nd World War by the Americans – the Lucians lent the island to them apparently.

We had a cuppa in a little shack on the beach and drank coconut water (very good for the internal systems according to the locals).

Liz and Robert head home tomorrow and I think they will be glad to go.
We haven’t seen a lot of them as the hotel is all inclusive and quite a ways out of the town. However we have managed a few trips up to them. Liz had the plaster taken of her arm yesterday and they told her she actually had a break in her ulnar as well!! The arm is still in a sling and will need to see her doctor once she gets home but she says she is much more comfortable now her arm is moveable again. It has been an unfortunate end to their trip and has taken the gloss of all that went before. She certainly won’t be going out and about once she gets home until the paths and roads are cleared that’s for sure.

We are heading south to pick up Joy and Cliff who arrive Friday. Hopefully we will get anchored in Vieux Fort which is close to the airport. It will be good to be on the move as we have been resident here since the 13th December and now want to see a bit more of the area. Hopefully we will head back towards Martinique with them, providing the weather stays o.k.