11 December 1994 Rodney Bay
We had a quiet morning and then went out for lunch. We stumbled right into the thick of the “ARC Rally” party, full of loud people who have just crossed the Atlantic. We managed to get something to eat and chatted to Suzie and Stan from “Corby”.
12 December 1994 Rodney Bay
I went into town and had my clarinet looked at. The guy said that my mouthpiece has too small a gap between it and the reed. I tried a new mouthpiece with a 2½ strength reed and sounded very much better. I therefore had to buy a new mouthpiece and some 2½ and 3 reeds. He said that my embouchure and stance were OK, but my timing and breathing were poor. He suggests that I concentrate on scales and sustained notes, but all in all I’m fairly pleased and I have a new surge of confidence.
Glenys did school work and remodelled part of the spray hood which looks a lot better. We had some “Dive Glencora” hats made by Suzie on “Corby”, which are fun.
13 December 1994 Rodney Bay
School work in the morning. It was blowing 20 knots, so I put up the windsurfer and guess what - the wind dropped to 10 knots. Oh well! Glenys had some Dutch courage at lunchtime and then went around the boats at anchor, selling her wares. She went to one boat, got £45 of business and came back! Some people from “Morning Flight” called and bought a flag kit. We went to the beach to watch the “ARC” people party again.
14 December 1994 Rodney Bay
We filled up with water. I then filled 6 tanks which was a bit of a struggle because the engine kept cutting out on me after it had been running for 20 minutes. I changed the oil on the petrol engine and cleaned the air filter. It then ran OK for 45 minutes, so I assume that it was the oil level? We met Dennis and Shirley from “Spoiler II” (NZ) and Jim from “Reiger” (UK).
15 December 1994 Rodney Bay
We spent all day tidying up. “Spoiler II” and “Reiger” came for a beer.
16 December 1994 Rodney Bay to Marigot
We went around to Castries and Glenys went shopping. We saw Jimmy and Marion from “Moby Dick” who we last saw in El Castillo, Fuerteventura last November. They shouted hello as they motored past us on their way to Rodney Bay, so we’ll catch up with them in a couple of days. We motored round to Marigot and picked up Ceris. We got loads of mail but thankfully no tax demands.
17 December 1994 Marigot to Rodney Bay
We motored around to Castries. Glenys, Ceris and Brett went into town while I played the clarinet. We then motored around to Rodney Bay, where Ceris and the boys went to the beach while Glenys and I went to the marina. Glenys sold some flags for £45 and we stopped off at “Moby Dick” for a quick chat.
We all then went to the St Lucia Yacht Club to see Santa. We didn’t know, but parents had to bring a present for their own kids. Glenys rushed back to the boat and wrapped two presents, arriving back just as Santa arrived on a dinghy – phew! Santa zoomed past and then disappeared off towards Pigeon Island to the total bewilderment of the children. Apparently, it wasn’t the yacht club’s Santa! The “proper” Santa arrived in the back of a pickup truck and a good time was had by all. It was wonderful to watch the anticipation on the childrens’ faces as Santa handed out the presents.
18 December 1994 Rodney Bay
We pottered around in the morning and went out to a bar for lunch. We stayed around the pool in the afternoon. Jimmy and Marion from “Moby Dick” came for a drink.
19 December 1994 Rodney Bay
Glenys went to help Jimmy make a canvas cover for his dinghy - the strong sunshine tends to make the rubber perish quickly. Ceris went into town and I played on the computer all day. The boys entertained themselves. In the evening we made a paper Christmas tree.
20 December 1994 Rodney Bay to Pigeon Island
Filled up with fuel. Motored over to Pigeon Island and spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering around the National Park, looking at the old British Fort. We saw “Metani” but only had a quick chat because they had charter guests.