For the last 9 days we have been tied up in Nelson’s Dockyard, English Harbor. It’s a fascinating place, with well maintained naval buildings from the 18th and 19th century, boats everywhere, people coming and going, and numerous restaurants all around here and Falmouth Harbor. The Salty Dawgs have been active, with social events almost every night, and also several great hikes up local hills. Some of the highlights included: A cultural welcome evening sponsored by the ministry of tourism; reggae night at Shirley Heights; swimming in clear warm water at local beaches; and generally making friends with other cruisers.

We’ve had a fair amount to fix unfortunately, although that’s not surprising after a hard ocean passage. Jeremy has been doing fantastic work, rewiring our fridge, installing our StarLink antenna, bolting down our table and trouble-shooting a problem with our auto-pilot. Unfortunately the auto-pilot is a bigger fix as the bolts holding it down sheered straight through crossing the Gulf Stream. We will be moving to Jolly Harbor tomorrow and hope to find someone there who can fix it for us – and hope that it’s not going to involve a long wait for parts.

Today our rally is dispersing as there is a charter boat show of large yachts moving in and we are being surrounded by huge catamarans! We will continue to see our fellow cruisers as we move around the islands over the coming months, and look forward to hearing what everyone has been up to.

Salty Dawgs tied up in Nelson’s Dockyard

Sunset from Shirley Heights, with Montserrat in the distance

Traditional local dancers at our Cultural evening.

Old buildings in Nelson’s Dockyard

Squalls, rainbow, butterflies and a ruined sugar-cane mill: Images from local hikes

Very large boat backing into a tight spot!