We made a whistle stop tour of UK to visit family, friends and Marks and Spencer (we can now be safely knocked down by cars as our underwear is once again up to scratch).
After landing at Gatwick in freezing weather we travelled through snow-covered landscapes for an hour before the thaw set in. It was not much fun without winter clothes, which were all neatly packed away at Mums, our next stop. We arrived to find John already waiting for us, having found the hidden key and Fi arrived soon after.

After the best take away curry ever, we chatted until we couldn’t keep our eyes open. We had a reasonably early night, as we needed to be on top form for the busy schedule that had been planned. Unfortunately, we had only been back a week when we heard that our house sitter had been robbed at knife point in our house and the thieves had taken her laptop, money, camera and phone. We hastily made our arrangements to return home as soon as possible to relieve her of her duties as she was clearly and quite rightly, shaken. Our faithful guard dogs were useless. Foxy didn’t even wake up and Obie did lots of barking and then peed himself as he ran away but he is excused, as he is still only a pup.

We were doing our last minute DIY shopping when Fi had a telephone call to say she had been accepted into the Air Force and is due to start at Cranwell to do her Officer training in March. She has opted to come back with us for a stay of 3 months and her plan is to get fit in the hotel gym and do her pre course reading. I accompany her to the gym, which is already having a good effect. Soon after we got back a friend of Fi’s joined us, Rachael, who is another one hoping to start with the Air Force in March. They are great company for each other and encourage each other with the studying.

Last week we had to sail to Martinique to get the transit status of the boat renewed. We had a good sail there but big seas, heavy rain and even more torrential rain marred the journey back, for the whole six hours. Our next sailing trip was last Sunday, which was to take part in a flotilla of yachts, which would mark the start of the ARC race in the Canaries, that ends in St Lucia in about three weeks time. Some friends of Fi’s are on a boat called Gulliver, so we shall be keeping an eye on their position so we can meet them when they sail into Rodney Bay. The flotilla itself was a great laugh; once again it was in the pouring rain. We had to be in Castries harbour to circle around for about an hour before a race back to Rodney Bay for a BBQ, rum, beer and steel band. The organization of the event was fluid, just like the celebrations.

A very wet sail from Martinique.

We are just starting to think about Christmas. The cards are written but not posted (after last years premature delivery I am holding off to the first of December). The Christmas cake fruit is soaking in brandy and the wines and champagne have been ordered after a very successful tasting night at the local hotel. We have both John and Fi here for the holidays so plan to be traditional with a bit of a Creole twist of grilled lobster and turkey.

Wine Down close hauled on the way to Rodney Bay

We even got a certificate for our endeavours.