Boxing Day 2025

That’s it. Christmas is over and a return to situation normal, ie housework and boat jobs. David was back in the engine room to check on the new fuel pump he’d fitted on the genset yesterday afternoon and I defrosted the fridge and got a haircut.

Here in Guadeloupe shops are open as normal today. In the UK they would have shut before Christmas Eve and not be back until after New Year. I’m happy, neither of us are suited for a life of sloth.

Walking back along the dock after my haircut I heard a cheery ‘hello’ coming from our neighbours boat and there was David on board Humerus having a chat with Geoff and Karen. It would have been rude not to join them for a glass of wine and a most convivial chat. Humerus is a new Oyster 56 and Geoff and Karen are preparing to join the Oyster World rally which starts in Antigua in a couple of weeks. We wished them well and look forward to following their adventures though they’ll do the trip in 15 months compared to our 10 years.

Christmas Day 2025

When it’s just the two of us and the cat there are no rules, no ‘must do’s’, except for me it was a no boat jobs, no housework day. Not quite for David.

We’d decorated Jackster with our small Christmas tree (which Polly views as a toy to attack), coloured lights strung around the salon and, new this year, a string of white solar powered lights for the cockpit. Finally we have solar power!

We eat our Christmas dinner in the evening when it’s cooler. This years’ menu was a bottle of champagne and fois gras and then a pork wellington, aka a posh sausage roll. Of course this left David with a free afternoon to change the fuel pump on the generator which had a slight leak. 

genset fuel pump

Today’s job, the fuel pump, is a small generic item which he felt would be improve the performance of the genset by replacing with the spare which he had in stock. Once that was done we went the traditional post, or in our case, pre dinner walk. Polly did her own thing today.

Let's begin

a happy Christmas day

21 December New running rigging

When we had the issue of the main sail halyard snapping back in July we replaced all the sail halyards and some of the most used lines. Since then we’ve been looking at the old lines and thinking ‘we ought to replace these too’.

With five chandleries all carrying a stock of lines in Bas du Fort we were sure we’d find everything we needed...and we did.

We bought 40m x 14mm for two genoa sheets, 22m of 12mm for the main sheet, 20m x 10mm low stretch high performance rope for the two genoa car travellers and 11.5m x 10mm of the same for the main sheet car traveller. For the rest of the lines we could have regular standard 10mm and in different colours; two x 16m in light blue for the whisker pole lifts, 10.5m of green for the mizzen out haul, 12m of blue black marl for the mizzen control sheet and 16.5m of red black marl for the passerelle line.

In all we replaced164m of old lines with new. What happened to the line we discarded? the dock master took it for the January carnival. He explained that there’s a tradition on the island of making carnival whips and by giving our old lines and it stops them stealing ropes.

out with the old

genoa sheets & grey non stretch

old on left, new on right

19 December Boat jobs Part II

For a while we’ve had a slight diesel leak on one of the injectors on the engine. This became the next job for David while we’re here in the marina. Removing and opening the injector he reseated the copper washer and added a grease known Coppa Slip that he used to use on his rally car engines. We visited all the marine stores and found nothing like it, but in a small engine repair shop in the boat yard there was a pot of the exact grease that had been sitting on the shelf for more than 12 years. The chap gave us a small amount and now no leak on the injector!

We’ve also had a small oil leak on the generator which David suspected to be the front crank shaft seal. This was fixed with a second cycle ride to SKIF in the industrial zone of Jarry who, again, had the right size in stock. David fitted it and ticked off another niggling issue.

There are still plenty more jobs and problems to keep us busy, such as the puncture on David’s back tyre picked up on the way to the seal shop. Luckily it was a slow puncture and we had the tyre pump with us and we swapped bikes for the ride home (smaller person riding the slow puncture). The supermarket didn’t have the correct size inner tube in stock and we’ve run out of puncture patches so time to get creative. With rubber from an old seal and 2 part dinghy repair glue David fixed it...until we rent a car and can get to a bike shop to buy a new stock on inner tubes. We need our bikes!

13 December Boat jobs Part I

On the sail from Antigua to Guadeloupe we noticed that the headsail furler motor was running slower than normal. A year ago when we were in Antigua it stopped all together and when David opened it up he found a seized bearing. Because a replacement wasn’t available to buy at the time he managed to free and it has worked for a year. Guadeloupe is a much bigger island with more industries and the opportunity to buy replacement parts. For this job there is a seals and bearing supplier who if you ask ‘do you have…’ almost always say ‘yes’. And it’s only a thirty minute bicycle ride, much on cycle routes, to the shop. David was able to buy new bearings and seals and now the furler motor is fully functional.

Our VHF radio has been dying slowly.   First the screen faded and then the sound went so when we knew I was going back to England we ordered new radio and a new remote handset for the cockpit.  This was one of those rare quick fits that work and it is an essential bit of kit.

Another job was to replace the up and down buttons on the windlass. Seawater has got in and corroded the connections. I’d brought new ones from home. The fix was a simple of out with the old, in with the new and improving the seal on the unit.

I’ve been working my way through the cupboards, pointy end to blunt end, sorting, chucking and rediscovering treasures I’d forgotten we had. And there’s the usual sewing repairs needed on the sunshade and a couple of zips to replace on the bimini. All good steps forward and essential to keep Jackster in top condition.

It hasn’t been all work and no play this week. We’ve been out more evenings than we’ve been in; dinner on Lumina with David and Carol from Canada, drinks with all the Amel owners on the dock; German Michael of Ripple hosted and French Roman of Coque en Re completed the party. Plus we went out for dinner a couple of times – with excellent French cuisine on offer it would be rude not to!

6 December Marina bas du Fort

Another December, another birthday and we are back in the marina in Pointe-a-Pitre. Dinner this evening was at our favourite restaurant which is conveniently next to the Capitainerie for my favourite meal of sushi. An excellent excuse to put on a dress, nice shoes and slap on the lippy!

Apart from birthday dinners over the next month we have plans to fit the boat presents that I brought back from the UK in November, replace the remainder of running rigging that we didn’t have time to do when we were here in July and I’ll do the annual check and chuck on every cupboard and storage space. With very good chandleries, shore power and water, rubbish and recycling available this is the perfect place to do our projects.

1 December Bouillante, Guadeloupe

Moving south and into position to go into the marina in Point a Pitre for Christmas we stopped for a couple of days in Bouillante on the west coast of Guadeloupe.

The key to the attraction of this bay in the name which translates to English as boiling; the only geothermal energy plant in the Caribbean. Once the hot water has passed through the turbine it is discharged into the sea making a perfect geothermal spa for bathers. The warmer you want your seawater bath the closer you should get to the discharge, though not too close because it is boiling water.

We went for a dip on Sunday afternoon and there were lots of people taking the waters. They had gingerly stepped over the stones that form the beach here. We swam / waded from the dinghy dock to avoid the stones. It was fantastic to be floating in the hot water and people around us heard our English and wanted to chat. One local lady and her husband who spoke as little English as I speak French invited us to visit them at their house. Two French ladies, one who had lived in Scotland, chatted for half an hour. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon – taking the waters and making new friends.

The only downside of the anchorage is the holding. We would hear the chain snatching so I took a swim and found we lying a few meters behind a coral head and as we swung the chain snagged. Where we were at 10m depth there is only old reef, I swam around and didn’t find any patches of sand to move to so because the wind is very light and we leave tomorrow we shortened our scope to avoid catching on the prominent coral head.

10 to 24 November England

For me the last couple of weeks have flown passed, busy everyday, my best friends retirement party, a week at our house in Greenwich and catching up with friends including Gary and Jackie King on Inspiration Lady. The same Inspiration Lady that we travelled most of the way around the world who are spending a second winter in St Katherine’s Dock next to the Tower of London. I warned Jackie about previous women who have gone into the tower with a head on their shoulders and came out without it. LOL!

For David and Polly it was a much quieter, and longer, time anchored in Jolly Harbour. They were happy to see me return and very happy with their Christmas presents and the Christmas pudding and mince pies.

London in winter...

The Shard

Cutty Sark, Greenwich

5 November Cleared in to Antigua

I’m pleased we took the advice of Chris Parker to leave Curacao on 1 November. Seeing the current long term forecast we were fortunate to get the south easterlies.

When I knew we were going to reach Antigua I booked a flight home – some business to do – and leave in 5 days’ time.

Today was officialdom, dropping off laundry and food shopping in anticipation of creating for David fourteen freezer to microwave meals. But the win of the day was finding Waitrose gin in the supermarket as 25% of the price it is in England.

2 November Rolling, rolling and escaping

We had only intended to stay one day in Statia but lively SE winds (gusts to high 20s) in the channel between Statia and St Kitts kept us there for one more, rolly day. The swell was reaching into the bay, coming from the opposite direction to the wind and it was uncomfortable.

Today the wind eased and we were able to escape to a more protected spot on the south east corner of St Kitts two islands south from Statia and closer to Antigua.