Velsheda and Ranger collide - Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta

It's been an exciting week in Antigua - 55 beautiful yachts competing in a variety of races on the south coast of the island and the socialising to go with it! Nic went racing for 2 days on a lovely 64' yacht called Petrana (see picture below). Tina and I were in the chase boat for Petrana on the last day and witnessed the unbelievable sight of 2 J-class yachts colliding. We saw Velsheda on port tack and Ranger on starboard tack and thought we would get a great photo of them crossing. Before we knew it they were on a collision course. Their rigging hit first, then bow, then midship, then stern. We saw 4 crew leap into the water from Velsheda. It was a terrifying sight and we are only glad that no one was injured. We backed off as the chase boats rushed in to rescue the crew in the water. After all the boats had moved on we collected several large pieces of Velsheda from the water! It seems to have been a week of close encounters with Velsheda! Further information on http://www.dockwalk.com/MyDockwalk/Blogs.aspx?id=24372&blogid=46084&LoggedIn=true

We have now escaped up to Deep Bay to chill out and enjoy some more snorkelling on the wreck here.

Tina's visit

Tina arrived last weekend and we spent a few days around Falmouth and English Harbour. On Easter monday we sailed around to Green Island and had a fantastic few days snorkelling on the reefs there. We returned to Falmouth Harbour this morning and hove to outside to watch the first race of Antigua Classic Race Week. We had an amazing view of the yachts positioning for the start. J-class yacht, Velsheda tacked a few metres away from us.

Arrived in Antigua

We sailed past Dominica and Guadaloupe arriving in Falmouth Harbour, Antigua yesterday. We are anchored off Pigeon Beach and the water is turquoise and crystal clear. All the classic yachts are beginning to arrive for Classic Race Week on 16th April.

Martinique

After a week in St Lucia repairing the dinghy and the generator, among other tasks, we sailed up to Martinique. We had a provisioning stop in Marin which was fantastic for French supermarkets stocked with delicious cheeses and pates! Our next stop was at the north of the island - Ste Pierre nestled under the Mt Pelee volcano. This erupted in 1902 killing nearly 30,000 people. It is a dramatic location and made for a spectacular sunset. We are now sailing north past Dominica to Guadaloupe and plan to be in Antigua for Tina's arrival on 10th April.

Anna's Visit

We sailed down to Vieux Fort, at the southern tip of the island, to pick Anna up from the airport on Thursday. Friday we made our way around to the Pitons and since then have been enjoying some fantastic snorkelling. There are loads of fish from barracuda to little box fish and a great landscape of coral. Yesterday we had a long hike uphill (2 hours) to the Ladera Resort (check out the open air bedrooms - www.ladera.com/) which has the most spectacular view from its ridge between the Pitons. We also bought a lobster off the fishermen yesterday, nicknamed him Oscar, and barbequed him last night.

Rodney Bay

We had a lovely time anchored in Rodney Bay sorting out the boat and enjoying the beautiful Caribbean colours and warm weather. We spent 3 nights in the marina catching up on laundry - 26 loads - I haven't been able to use the washing machine since we left Tenerife at New Year!

We have arrived!

We have arrived in the Caribbean and are now anchored off Pigeon Island, Rodney Bay, St Lucia. We sailed 2656 miles in just under 18 days dropping anchor this morning at 0530 GMT. The sun is shining, the water is turquoise and the temperature is a delightful 27 degrees. More to follow when we have checked in and get on the internet.