We sailed for Montserrat in tandem with Mi Dushi and arrived in Little Bay with a fairly lively wind coming over the mountains. It took three attempts to get the anchor to hold, by which time Mi Dushi were also there. After waiting a while to ensure we were well dug in we collected Angela and went ashore where we found the customs and immigration officers really friendly and welcoming - a refreshing change after the surly and officious manner of some of the Antiguan officials. We managed to get a lift to a supermarket for a few provisions and then walked back to the bay, unfortunately at a time when the construction site workers were driving home at breakneck speeds and using some dangerous driving tactics!

There is a lot of redevelopment around the area of Little Bay as it is fast becoming the new capital of Montserrat after the old capital, Plymouth, was completely destroyed in the volcanic eruption of 1995. We saw the effects of this on a tour with a local taxi driver Joe who, despite being mentioned in our cruising guide, was unfortunately full of self-importance, lacked a sense of humour, and was not particularly forthcoming with general information on the island. Nonetheless, we were extremely interested in the various sites showing the devastation caused by the erruption and also the visit to the volcano observatory where we saw a film showing dramatic footage of various stages of the eruption.

We visited the new cultrural centre, funded by George Martin, a former Beatles manager who used to have a recording studio on Montserrat where the famous could come and record without being in the public eye. He was helped in the campaign by numerous musicians who performed at a fund-raising concert, including Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits and Elton John.

We were given a talk with visual displays at an information centre showing how Montserrat and it's people (only half of the 11,000 population remained on the island after the erruption), are rebuilding their Country. The redevelopment will certainly give them a fresh start as well as a much-needed marina and new commercial dock. At present, the only means of landing freight is alongside an inadequate dock that can only be used at certain tide and weather conditions. As Montserrat is a British colony funding comes from the UK so it's refreshing to see our tax money doing something worthwhile for a change!

That evening Henk and Angela had a farewell supper with us onboard as they were headed north to St Martin's before crossing back over the Atlantic and home to Holland whilst we were heading south to Guadeloupe. It was very sad saying goodbye to them but we hope one day to take up their offer of visiting them.