Tristan and Cathy sitting down to breakfast at anchor off Vieques in Spanish Virgin Islands. Vieques used to be a US Navy firing range. Tristan wanted to find some of the unexploded ordnance that the signs kept warning us about. We did find what looked like it might have been a shell partially buried in the shallows, but left it undisturbed – much to T’s frustration!

We are anchored in North Sound, Virgin Gorda, BVIs. One of our favourite spots. Just taking a pause to tighten the trampoline nets before we head across the Anegada Passage that night to St. Maartens. The tighter they are the less chance that the fastenings will break when the nets are submerged as the boat pounds through waves going to windward. And the bows do completely submerge at times!

Thought maybe we should change the name of Idyll Island. A tanker heading in to the oil transhipment facility on St. Eustatia (‘Statia). Having left St. Maartens that morning, we had planned to spend the night in the anchorage, but when we realized it was right under the oil facility we changed our minds and kept going to St. Kitts, where we arrived after dark in Ballast Bay and slept soundly after a great meal that Cathy had prepared as we approached.

Sunset after the squall. Between Statia and St. Kitts. Not bad – winds to 25. Single reef and we scooted along at 9 knots.

Approaching St. Pierre on Martinique. Have had a good day’s sailing from Isles des Saintes in Guadeloupe, which we really enjoyed. Isles des Saintes was only place where we took an extra day on our sail down from St. Maartens to St. Lucia to meet our friend Dave. St. Pierre is a great little town where we spent a delightful evening and had a good meal ashore. People were friendly and accommodated our very rusty attempts “a parle francais”.