Matilda - End of the World (ARC) as we know it

It has been another three week break since our last blog, and now it's all over.We handed back our Yellowbrick tracker yesterday and Rally Control flew out today.It feels a little strange that it is all over, but we are quite looking forward to getting back to reality now.Our last blog was just after we arrived in Grenada which seems like months ago now.It was nice to be the first boat in the marina for a change, welcoming all the fast boats in and helping to tie up.The prize giving there was the last of the Rally; it made us wish we had participated in the Brazil leg, but not for long.Hearing the stories of Brazil mostly made us happy we'd missed it and headed straight for Barbados.Dreamcatcher organised a big BBQ for the fleet in Tobago Cays which was very well attended and a lovely. read more...

Matilda - Union Island, Carriacou and Grenada for the Meet Up

Its an unforgivable gap since the last blog, but a combination of not the best of internet connections and meeting back up with the fleet has meant it got rather forgotten. So, to continue our story.... After Saltwhistle Bay we checked out of the Grenadines in Union Island. As we were coming in we heard some familiar voices over the VHF, At Last and Dreamcatcher were leaving just as we were coming in. What a shame to miss them.Union Island is a funny little place, it even has a restaurant on an island in the bay made up of a huge pile of discarded conch shells (a delicacy here). As it was a Sunday we waited until Monday to check in, so we had a very pleasant evening at the Anchorage YC watching the nursing sharks they have in their pond at the front. As per usual the checking in/out. read more...

Matilda - Mustique, Bequia, Tobago Cays and Saltwhistle Bay

9 MarchThe last night on Mustique was very special. We stayed on for the Sunday night jazz at Basil's, which turned out to be Jan, a very down to earth lady from Yorkshire and her partner, Louis. She had once come to Bequia on holiday, ended up staying and becoming a diving instructor and then landed the job of Social Director for Mustique (what a job!). Jan also played a pretty mean jazz saxophone with Louis on the keyboards. We got to Basil's early and ended up helping them set up after we were really taken with her dog called Stump (due to having not a lot of tail). Stump was a real character she clearly felt she was overseeing operations and I took it as a joke when she was described as the singer with the band. It turned out not to be joke at all because as soon as Jan played the. read more...

Matilda - Farewell Barbados, Hello Bequia, St Vincent and Mustique

The last few days in Barbados were quite interesting. The MacBook developed a problem and the only authorised fixer was on the other side of the island. As we no longer had a hire car we decided to take the local buses. There are 3 kinds of bus in Barbados, the official blue 'Government busses', the yellow private busses and the white private minivan-type busses. All fares going anywhere cost 2 Barbadian dollars (around 1 US). By far my favourite were the private yellow busses as, although they are noisy, the interiors and choice of music reflect the taste of the owners and they will pretty much stop for you and let you off anywhere you want to along the way. The government buses are fine, but a bit staid and officious, and the minivan ones are way too tightly packed for any sane person. read more...

Matilda - Beautiful Barbados - Rum and Polo

We arrived safely in Barbados late afternoon on Tuesday 19th after 4 weeks to the day of sailing. We were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves until a few hours later a boat arrived with a group of 6 Brits and New Zealanders who had just ROWED across the Atlantic - certainly put our efforts in the shade. It was great sharing in their celebrations though. There is no mistaking where we are, the best rum punches ever and Rihanna on the radio 24/7.We spent the first night in a temporary berth surrounded by super-yachts, in fact one of them, Salute, had probably the largest mast and boom furler we have ever seen. We were told that the mainsail alone cost half a million US dollars - jeez! If we had arrived a few weeks earlier we would have apparently been parked next to Brangelina's yacht.. read more...