As the 80NMs from Gustavia, St Bart's to Ffryes Bay, Antigua was expected to take 12 hours and the skipper wanted to make landfall in daylight, the alarm was set for 04:30, in order to cast off the lines by 05:00. This we managed to achieve, with first light helping us get the deck work done with some sense of order. The garbage truck crew were working adjacent to the pier and they all looked a bit startled when Trilogy exited sideways, once all lines were off.
By 05:30 we were at the harbour entrance, having navigated a long series of marker buoys defining the channel. The skipper was happy with the good getaway! Once in clear water we raised the main to the first reef and motor sailed to the first waypoint at the end of St Bart's. From there we settled into the 15-20 knot stiff easterly breeze, hard into the wind on a port tack. The skipper did the first watch, followed by Steven and Ros on a three hour rotation throughout the day. We had expected from the grib file reports that the wind would abate around midday but although it eased for a short period it soon freshened and then increased to over 20 knots. We had anticipated the wind to back to the north, but this never happened, as it was an east or ENE wind most of the way. A rain squall missed Trilogy by about 50 metres, followed by a brief spell of no wind and then the wind hit hard, gusting over 20 knots. The skipper had anticipated the squall would descend on Trilogy and had changed the sails by putting up the staysail, along with a number two reef in the main. To complicate the decision making, there was also rev limiting happening with the engine,  This meant we started sailing effectively, with minimum input from the engine, in order to take the load off the engine and surprisingly we were still able to not only maintain the rhum line but improve our speed. What's more, we actually achieved our goal of dropping an anchor in Ffryes Bay, Antigua right on sunset, and what a sunset welcome it was! We were all done in by the trip and so it was a tired threesome that got straight into GNTs, Chilli Con Carne and to bed for a well earned rest.
Ffryes Bay is a beautiful long bay that we visited last year. We have fond memories of chatting with Dennis, the owner of the restaurant on the beach and so we were keen to see if we could catch up with Dennis to say hello. After a late breakfast, we plunged Into the deep blue and swam the couple of hundred metres ashore in search of Dennis. We walked the beach, remembering the driftwood from last year that now lay quite submerged by the sand, and coming across some locals coolin' and limin' in the water.  We wandered in to the restaurant and asked after Dennis, who appeared later in his chef's gear, explaining that he was busy because he was expecting 60 guests for lunch. Courteous as ever, he wished us well with our cruising and disappeared back to his galley. Back on board, we sailed a few bays around to Jolly Harbour, to register our presence in Antiguan waters with Customs. The officials were in triplicate in the office and the boys were pleased with the helpfulness of staff.
We sailed back out of the harbour to drop an anchor at Hawksbill Bay, another nearby beach we have fond memories of from last year....but it is a nudist beach! It looks odd because there are a series of two blue chairs spaced at intervals about a hundred metres apart along the length of the beach. Does this mean that nudists like their privacy?? Garth and Ros swam across to the nearby reef and then along the shoreline before realising that Steven was signalling them back to Trilogy. Steven had been checking the rocky bombies below the surface and felt Trilogy would be in close proximity on the swing, factoring wind and tide changes. The skipper agreed and Trilogy was repositioned further out from the shore. The rest of the evening was gloriously peaceful.
And so, another season of cruising concludes. We sailed Trilogy into Jolly Harbour Marina for the week of preparations to get her ready to be lifted from the water for the hurricane season. This is always a busy week....payback you might view it as... because Trilogy has given us so much pleasure yet again, but that is only because she needs to have all her multiple systems regularly attended. Additionally, every locker is cleaned out, all the sails washed and folded, all the lines washed, the decks scrubbed and down below cleaned thoroughly. 
Thank you to all who have sailed on Trilogy over the 2016-2017 season, especially to those who have worked hard to keep the generator purring and the toilets flushing! We've eaten well, drank too well and had the time of our lives experiencing the best of what is both above and below the waterline. Until next season, thank you Trilogy!