Saturday 17th May. Four US navy vessels came in today for fuel, Sarah and Mark from Sailaway got a guided tour of one of the boats. Sarah was very impressed by the guns

Sunday 18th May. Dave had the day off today. We all went snorkeling Dave took Oakum for a row in the dinghy, but she jumped out and swam back to the boat and up the boarding ladders.

Monday 19th May. It is Whit Monday today and all the shops are closed. Dave finished the engine today, and fitted new fan belts. Everything is working except the oil pressure and temperature gauges. Dave thinks that the sensors have burnt out.

Tuesday 20th May. Lots of different boats came into the anchorage today. So now in this tiny harbour there are 3 American, one Australian, 1 Canadian 1 French, 1 British and 2 Swiss yachts. How do they find these out of the way places? Sarah and Mark went snorkeling and came back with 2 lobsters, so we had a delicious supper.

Wednesday 21st May. The weather is terrible; S.E. winds 25 knots of more and thunder storms. We still can't move. Sailaway has decided to accompany us to Jamaica.

Thursday 22nd May. We decided to sail today and got everything ready, but the wind picked up again and we had a tremendous thunderstorm, so we decided to sail in the morning instead.

Friday 23rd May. We set off at 06.00hours the water was really glassy and we could see the bottom clearly. We had to motor most of the day as there was not much wind. We finally approached Acklins Island at 22.30. The anchorage in Jamaica Bay is straight forward, just an open roadstead with no off lying dangers, and we have a full moon. Just as we reached the anchorage we had another thunderstorm, and the rain reduced visibility to nil, we just edged in to 10 metres and dropped the anchor. We got absolutely soaked.

Saturday 24th May. We decided to go to Hogsty Reef, instead of direct to Great Inagua. It is 35 miles and supposed to be very beautiful. You can only visit it in settled weather, as most of the reef is under water and gives no protection. We started to lift the Danforth kedge anchor at midnight but it would not budge, so we lifted the Bruce first then we kept trying to raise the kedge but it was well and truly stuck. Save didn't fancy diving in the dark with sharks about. We motored around and around in circles and finally at 02,00am it broke free and came up with a large piece of coral between its flukes. Sailaway also prepared to leave, then called us with the latest weather. A storm is forecast so we can't go to Hogsty. We decided to reanchor.

Sunday 25th May. It is still too unsettled for Hogsty so we have decided to go to Great Inagua. We lifted the anchor at 16.00 hrs without any trouble this time. The wind is force 5 from ESE so we can't point very well. We will have to tack. Dave caught a 3ft Barracuda, and yelled for us to help get it onboard, however Sarah and I didn't like its big snapping teeth so we didn't get too close. It was too big for our landing net so Dave tried to flip it onboard but it broke free. Dave spent the afternoon making a gaff hook. The next one won't get away. We put a tack in during the night, and then the wind turned more east and we managed to get all the way to Mathewtown without having to tack again.

Tuesday 27th May. Sarah met a local girl on the beach today and brought her back to the boat after school. We went for a walk to the city dock to see if it is worth going in as the anchorage is very rolly, but the entrance is fringed with reefs and inside there are mosquitoes as big as sparrows. Oakum must have fell overboard during the night as she crawled into bed with Sarah soaking wet at 2.00am.

Wednesday 28th May. Sailaway moved to an anchorage near the airport today, he said it is not so rolly. We went shopping. And tried to clear customs but they were closed. We moved to the airport anchorage, it is much better. There was a funny program on the BBC tonight; we started to roll again so Dave put out a stern anchor to hold us into the swells.

Thursday 29th May. The wind is still SE. It seems to know where we want to go and always blows from that direction. We spent the day looking at charts and reading sailing directions.

Friday 30th May. Another boat sailed into the anchorage today; he tried to anchor but kept dragging. Probably because his anchor was about as big as our dinghy anchor. He sailed by and shouted that he had no engine and could he tie to us. Dave floated him a line on a fender; they are in a right mess. The engine does not go, so they have no power, no petrol for the engine or generator, and an inflatable with only one paddle. They asked Dave to take them ashore so that they can get some fuel. They said that they are a delivery crew, delivering the boat to Miami. They don't seem very competent. They came back with some petrol and managed to get their engine going, they are moving to the municipal dock.

Saturday 31st May. At midnight the wind really started to blow, and Sailaway dragged his anchor. He had trouble resetting it. Finally it held but the wind increased and our boats started plunging up and down and snatching at the anchor chain. This violent motion broke Sailaways bowsprit, and he called on the radio to say that he can't raise his anchor and his bowsprit is breaking up, so he is buoying his anchor, he was going into the municipal basin and asked us to join him, but Dave said if the weather gets worse we are heading out to sea. It is much safer. The entrance to the basin has only 6ft of water and is 20ft wide, fringed with reefs, he advised Wolfgang to head out to sea and hove-to, but he has set off around the headland to Man of War bay. We are keeping the radio on.

We decided to get the dinghy on deck as it doesn't look as if it will survive the buffeting. Dave jumped into the dinghy first and put a line around the seagull motor then hauled the engine on board. All three of us then manhandled the dinghy onboard; it was difficult, as it was full of water. We finally managed and collapsed in a heap. The wind is going SW and blowing directly into the bay and the waves are getting higher, and breaking before they reach us. We are preparing to go to sea, Dave started the engine and we have lifted the Danforth anchor. And stowed everything that could move. I hope the cat doesn't decide to go for a swim.

If the weather gets worse or the anchor drags we will go out to sea. We have the 20kg Bruce down and 120ft of chain in 18ft of water, it seems to be holding well. It is 04.00am and the wind seems to be dropping, although the seas are very big. A yacht sailed within 20ft of us with no lights on, just white sails, it was like a ghost ship sailing by. Dave shone the spotlight at it, then on us and the shore, we heard people shouting, and the boat went about and out to sea. Wolfgang on Sailaway called, he got into Man of War Bay and anchored near the salt works, he says it is still bad around there.

Sunday 1st June. When it got light Dave went to sleep and had a few hours there are still big swells and breakers on shore, we are bouncing all over the place. Sailaway called again, he has moved to the SE corner of the bay and is in calm water. There is a sandy bottom with no coral heads. We are still bucking about like a bronco, so we decided to join Sailaway. The waves are still 8ft or more and breaking, as we rounded Middle point the sea became calmer, and as we anchored, near Sailaway in 15ft of flat turquoise water, last night seemed like a nightmare. And now we have woken up in paradise, at a beautiful beach with palm trees and white sands. It is moments like this with all the pressure removed that make the unforgettable moments in passage making, all we need now is a fair wind for Jamaica. The weather stayed really bad for the next week although we were having fun diving and exploring.

Sunday 8th June. We headed for Jamaica with a fair wind as we sailed between Haiti and Cuba a US helicopter flew over us and took the name of our boat.

Tuesday 10th June. We arrived at Port Antonio at 14.00hrs and went into the marina to clear customs. We decided to stay at the marina for a treat. We did lots of repairs to the boat in between forays into the countryside. We visited the famous blue lagoon and went river rafting on one of the rivers. We spent several evenings in the local reggae bar until the early hours. For the next month the forecast was always 25 knots plus so finally we decided to leave. And head for Panama.

Wednesday 9th July. We left at 11.30am and had to tack all the way to the end of the island and were finally relieved to point our bows to Panama.

Thursday 10th July. The seas are bad and the wind is strong. It is my birthday and Sarah and I are really sick. No cake today then! The weather continued really heavy and we had to hove-to each day to eat

Monday 14th July. We finally arrived at San Christobal Panama today. Hurrah. We went ashore we were invited for drinks in the bar and then on to someones boat so we didn't arrive back at Blue Spurr until 11.45pm

Tuesday 15th July. We got a taxi to the supermarket and bought lots of food. We got a cruising permit and spent the rest of the week working on the boat. We took a train to Panama City to have the fuel injectors serviced it cost $93 quite a shock! We also volunteered to go as line handlers on another yacht so that we would know what to expect. It was great fun.

Sunday 20th July. The alternator has stopped working so Dave spent all day checking the wiring. He finally bought a new regulator and that cured the problem. We have stocked up with duty free and food and booked the transit, so Pacific here we come.

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