Trellis Bay, British Virgin Islands.

After spending Christmas and seeing in the New Year in England with family, we finally returned back to our boat in the BVI in mid January. We decided that rather than go off immediately exploring the islands, we would take the opportunity to do some boat maintenance and upgrades. The Nanny Cay Marina, located on Tortola just a few miles from the capital city Roadtown, is an ideal location for getting work done with its fully stocked yacht chandlery and various marine businesses. The marina complex also has a supermarket and various restaurants as well as an ice cream parlor where we spend many an afternoon break out of the hot sun.
We are trying to do most of the boat work ourselves as it is important to have a good understanding of how all the systems work. That way, when something goes wrong we have a better chance of getting them up and running again. This is especially important because when they fail, you are usually miles from the nearest point of land and there is no one to call for help.
Just to point out that living and cruising on a boat is not all fun and excitement...some of these maintenance tasks are not pleasant, and I am sure most people would avoid them if at all possible. Without getting into too much detail, the worst task was re-plumbing the head (toilet). Getting the old hoses out was a nightmare and installing new hoses into impossible locations behind cabinets etc. was not any easier. I sometimes think that one of a boat builder's requirements is to make maintenance as hard as possible. Maybe that's done so that you will buy a new boat rather than maintain the one you have. However we do find it very rewarding completing these tasks ourselves, especially knowing how much money we have saved in the process.
Before you start to feel too sorry for our lifestyle, I will point out that we do still make time to enjoy a swim off the beach or in the marina pool with the occasional Painkiller at the beach bar. We also missed out on that great winter weather that you experienced both in the US and England.
We have been asked many times what a Painkiller is so we thought we would mention that it is a Rum cocktail made famous in the BVI made as follows:

2oz Dark Rum
1oz Cream of Coconut
4oz Pineapple
1oz Orange Juice

Shake ingredients, and pour over ice in a tall glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top, and serve.

Cheers for now.