February 2016

Date: 15th Feb 2016

Position:  Little Harbour, Peter Island, BVI

Hi Everybody,

Hard to believe it’s been almost 2 months since we sent Xmas wishes from Antigua! Lots has happened since and as we are anchored in this most beautiful bay with perfect protection, outside it’s a windy old day. But let me rewind a couple of months:

After spending Xmas in Antigua with the crews from Wild Bird and Hogfish, we set sail towards Barbuda starting our trip to the BVIs, where we were planning to meet Carla’s sister and husband in Feb.

Sadly, Chris and Rachel had to sail south, so we parted company and are hoping to see them later in the season – Tim and Gayle on Wild Bird were still with us (plus their two super sexy dogs Pip and Gem), so together we enjoyed the crazy beautiful  beach in Barbuda, just off the Coco Beach resort. Carla and Alex did some windsurfing on their new inflatable paddleboard and the days just flew by, complete with unscheduled boat maintenance, as the generator and autopilot both deserted their duties. As skipper, I had a word with both of them, and after a bit of TLC the autopilot returned to work but the genny remained on strike....good thing though that both worked all the way across the Atlantic and only quit after we had arrived!

The team went for beach walks, explored the island and walked past Maria Carey on the beach, just outside the resort Robert de Niro had bought. Talk about mixing it with the rich and famous!

But not even Maria could stop the explorers setting sail to St Martin, so off we sailed, having a brilliant crossing under perfect sailing conditions – when you leave Barbuda, the water stays a glorious turquoise for 20 miles or so – amazing at 30 meters depth!! Excellent fishing also and both boats filled their freezers with fresh tuna.

In St Martin the team got the required spares to fix the generator and went shopping on the tax free island – for days on end it seemed.  St Martin has a large lagoon, home to the super yacht fleet – unbelievable numbers of very large motor yachts occupy the harbour, as well as Roman Abramovich’s ship, the largest privately owned in the world at 165 meters and a crew of 70 – he has to park outside due to the size. Recommend you have a look on google to get an idea...

 Lots of time was spent doing jobs and boat maintenance, interrupted by trips on the island, dinner on Wild Bird, trips to the French side and so on – after a week, we hopped over to St Barts, anchored in Anse de Colombier and spent a few days exploring this very pretty island – great laid back feeling there.

It was then time to head over to Anguilla, but we cut the visit short, as the weather was good for the trip to the BVIs. Wild Bird spent a few more days in St Martin, waiting for some parts to arrive.

So Ari B did the 80 miles in 13 hours and arrived a few days before the family visit commenced. Last minute panic stations when the masthead unit stopped working and I sent Alex up the mast to check it. He found some broken rigging (D2 inters), despite the fact that the standing rigging was only 10 months old and should last 10 years. A bumpy dinghy ride into Road Town, a taxi ride to a rigger, a bit of luck that we was there, new rigging made, taxi ride again, another bumpy dinghy ride , another trip up the mast, fit new parts, bread and brioche baked, boat cleaned and rush over to airport and receive our guests Louise and Iain. Alex must be getting old, because he complained about being knackered ........

 Pick up at the airport was taken care of by Alex, complete with Ari B VIP sign J.

The following week we explored the BVIs, with sailing, snorkelling, swimming etc – NO boat jobs during this week – Ari B was in holiday mode.

The week flew by and soon it was time to return Louise and Iain to the airport. Carla really enjoyed spending time with her sister and was sad to see her go. Looking forward to next time.

The team headed to Peter island to chill out, and get the masthead unit fixed. Our friends Lasse and Vigdis on Polaris sailed over to join us and we are now enjoying drinks and dinners on each others boats. Carla even went over to do ’girlie stuff’ – a mud face mask apparently. Maybe she’s turning into a proper girl at last.

Next stop Saba, towards the end of the week, weather permitting. In the meantime we are staying put here and relaxing.

Ari  B out

Captain Bonzo

Barbuda