After a truly wonderful family Christmas and New Year (14 of us!) we flew back to Antigua and "Irony" on Wednesday. The long journey went smoothly until we arrived at the airport and queued for nearly an hour to clear immigration. We were at the back of a long queue from our 777 and the officials were slow and pedantic, unfair after a 9 hour flight. The boat was still afloat on its mooring ball in Falmouth Harbour, well looked after by John Bentley (+1 268 464 3164). We feel very small amongst the superyachts, Maltese Falcon and Mirabella are still here.
In our haste leaving I had forgotten a bag of cheeses intended for London. Nic turned off the fridge/freezer while we were away and they spent 3 1/2 weeks festering in 30 degree heat. It was quite a welcome home gift to clean out the freezer compartment but I was lucky they weren't left out in the saloon!
Yesterday afternoon we motored around to Green Island on the south east coast for a few days before we head west. As we headed out of the mouth of Falmouth Harbour we were joined by3 dolphins for a short while, always a joy to see. On the way the engine kept overheating which slowed us down and meant we were navigating the reefs as the sun was setting (not a comfortable feeling despite having a previous GPS track to follow in). We also had some trouble dropping the anchor as the anchor chain has rusted and seized. It looks like we might have to purchase some new chain in St Martin.
The warm sun and crystal-clear turquoise waters here are good for the soul and remind us how lucky we are to live such a special life. We are looking forward to an exciting year exploring new places and meeting new people.