So we only went to St Martin to get a couple of bits of work done on the boat.

Our first impressions were not great and we didn’t plan to stay long. But it seems there is a bit of a forcefield surrounding the place! St Martin is so well set up for yachts, anything can be bought, fitted or repaired there. After her first 5,000 miles Escapade was ready for a pit stop. We met so many capable technicians and learned a lot about the boat. Every time we thought we were ready to leave there was always one more job to do, one more person to see, one more reason to stay another day.  Along the way we also found some great places and started to enjoy St Martin. Restaurants, beaches, surf spots, good music and fun people.

Finally the last job was done, the cellar was stocked with French wine and it was time to leave. On 26th February we sailed away in the dark at 04.30 with a 20kt breeze. At daybreak the fishing lines came out and we settled in to a swift 90 mile sail downwind, arriving in Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda in time to clear Customs and Irritations at 3pm and order a couple of Painkillers before the end of happy hour.

Since then we have been starting to explore the BVI. So far we have touched at: Beef Island, Peter Island, Cooper Island, Tortola, Prickly Pear Island, Saba Rock, Gorda Sound, oh and JP windsurfed over to Necker and got rinsed over Branson’s reef (still picking the urchin spines out of his buttocks…).  Still dozens of islands to explore, this could take a while…