The TOT party

On Friday evening, Mount Gay Rum sponsored an all fall down party for the Oyster Rally Participants.

The TOT club of Antigua and Barbuda gathered at the flagpole at Nelson's dockyard and proceeded to educate the Oyster fleet in the tradition of toasting the queen at the end of a hard days work on board...

This tradition was continued throughout the history of the British navy and was only discontinued in the 1970's when people started getting more politically correct and 1 and a half litres of rum were no longer considered a suitable part of the daily rations of a British sailor.

Heaven knows their lives must have been miserable enough in Nelson's day to warrant being totally plastered day in and day out...the heat here is must have made even the slightest chores difficult... I confess that I retire to the aft cabin for a brief rest after running the dust buster around the boat for longer than 10 minutes....  even with the air conditioning on!

I must digress here and put it out there that Alan has turned into the air conditioning Nazi (as per our favourite episode of Seinfeld.."the soup Nazi") He rations the air con as if he is saving it for  somewhere hotter...or a rainy day!

The poor kids get to bed with a nice fresh blast of air in their cabins and in the middle of the night...Alan decides they have had enough of the soft life and turns it off...Leaving them gasping for breath and lurching into the saloon to put it back on at 4 in the morning... Manuela and Ryan are no doubt looking forward to  the icy blasts of Edinburgh!

Back to the TOT party...after the traditional reading from the navy log of the day and a toast to "a valiant foe and plenty of sea room" or words to that effect...we all knocked back a huge glass of neat Mount Gay Rum...

Mount Gay then sponsored rum punches all around which were supposed to be gentler versions of the TOT but my word...a little fruit juice sprinkled over 3 quarters of a glass of rum disguises its lethal intent but not its deadly kick!!

One of the disapproving youngsters demonstrates the Mount Gay Cap.

Alan and Nic at the scene of the TOT

Alan and I eventually lurched back to the boat and somehow made it across the gang plank..leaving the more sensible youngsters to cook dinner and  disapprove of our condition!

Needless to say...I will have more respect for her Majesty's seamen in future...and will avoid the TOT ceremony forever more...As far as the rum punches are concerned...I think the sooner one gets back in the saddle the better...

Caribbean Christmas

We have arrived in Antigua after a  14 hour overnight passage during which the boat performed like a Greyhound. The crew were less performance oriented and poor Al was up for most of the night making sure we avoided being knocked flat by passing squalls or cruise ships to get us safely to Nelson's Dockyard at first light.

The Oyster fleet is beginning to gather here for the start of the rally on the 6th Jan. As I write, its  lunch time on Christmas Day and the noise level on the dock behind our boat is reaching a crescendo as the West Indian DJ exhorts the crowd to "raise your glass.......there's gonna be a party all over the world tonight!"

I hope all of our friends and family all over the world and had a wonderful and slightly quieter Christmas. We miss you all but are settling into the island lifestyle with great ease..you will however be pleased to know that there are no dreadlocks involved as yet !

Nelson's dockyard is a lovely spot which used to be  Lord Nelson's headquarters in the Carribean . The harbour is littered with artifacts from the glory days of the English Navy...today however, Lord Nelson would be horrified at the English tourists who follow cruise ship guides around his canons and sail lofts, pale and hot ...and wondering when it will be time to get back to the ship for lunch!

Nelson would however be very impressed with some of the magnificent yachts and power boats that are moored here...all very impressive and beautifully kept by squadrons of crew who clean non stop...

We are off to have lunch at the Admirals Inn..Turkey and all the trimmings...It will be the first time I haven't done lunch at home in almost 10 years...something I volunteer for with enthusiasm in October every year and end up swearing I will never do again as the last bowl of Christmas pudding hits the table in December!

Christmas Morning on board Legend

The internet is slow here so photos are taking forever to down load...I have found my post with a series of good shots and will publish them once I find somewhere with  faster whatever....technical difficulties still continue but are being addressed...

Admiral's Inn -Old pillars for sail lofts

St Barths

A difficult 12 hour sail for the uninitiated on board...involving some green faces and some slamming into big seas and headwinds has led us to a Francophiles paradise...St Barths..

The accents are tres chic but these suntans are all real...Ryan and Manuela are loving the celebrity filled beaches..Kimora and Machine Gun Kelly were cavorting for the paparazzi at St Jean yesterday...If that means anything to anyone under 30..

Nicole is window shopping happily..beautiful clothing and jewelry but Dad is keeping close ties on the budget..the only big expenses are at the Marine stores and chandleries.

A big rolly swell is coming in from the Caribbean Sea throwing the boat about at anchor so we come into town regularly to sip on coffee and delightful croissants while I get to grips with the blog...have just lost one full of lovely photos because I forgot to click save ..but am going to get the hang of this if it kills me so just be patient out there!

Beautiful Dorado caught by intrepid fisherman on the way to St Barths

So before I lose this pain raisin fuelled episosde ..I will click post and will look for the photos lost in the ether yesterday after several Mojitos. (Note to other amateur bloggers out there...leave the rum until after you get the darn thing out!)

Legend IV Online at last?

With a little luck and a little help from the youngsters on board..Legend IV is finally going live!

Due to technical difficulties...mainly mine.... Alan is involved with the technicalities of sailing and has left the blog to me....Sailing is going swimmingly but blogging has been a little delayed.

We are moored at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda.. a tropical paradise alongside Richard Branson's Nekker Island where construction on the new homestead is well underway..we sailed past a cargo vessel carrying no fewer than 4 cement mixing trucks to the island yesterday...

On board Legend, life is a little less cumbersome...
Alan has hauled out his aggressively loud Carribean shirt, Nicole lazes in the hammock on the foredeck with her iphone constantly seeking wifi and I baked our first loaf of bread yesterday o great acclaim.

Ryan and Manuela joined us a few days ago in Tortola and are acclimatising to the sun and sea after a brief sojourn in the Christmas shopping rush of New York.

The motley crew are on the way to Antigua via St Barts to join up with the Oyster World Rally participants in time for Christmas and New Year.

We are waiting for a weather window to take the 12 hour trip to St Barts ...could be a little bit of a baptism of fire for the ladies on board to face a rough sea and a strong head wind  when we have only just packed our hairdryers and curling tongs away!

Nicole fresh from New York on the dock in St Thomas