Chris Monk

Expected strong winds, got strong winds!! Set up with 3 reefs in the main and weren’t disappointed, 5 rolls in the jib and sailing mostly just off the wind with building seas and increasing winds till it was consistently 30-35 kts in the last 7 miles down to the N tip of Grenada, hitting a top speed of 9.2 kts but mostly 6 kts SOG. Stopped a few miles out of Port Louis to snorkel on the underwater statue park - somewhat surreal but at least that’s now ticked off the list. Moored up for a couple of nights, berth G57 at Camper & Nicholsons, thankfully our berthing manoeuvre avoided the bullet gusts of wind that were occasionally screaming through the marina! Back where the Caribbean adventure began back in early December after making landfall on crossing the Atlantic.

After an energetic previous day, capped off with a stunning sunset over the Isles de Saintes, set off at first light for a long day heading down past Dominica and on to Martinique. Wind was forward of the beam all day, mostly 13-18 kts so had the engine on for much of the time to ensure a pre-dark arrival. Unsurprisingly fluky in the lee of Dominica but made it into the northern mooring field just in time for an anchor beer and a not so impressive sunset.