One week in Antigua! The days roll by… I have been catching up on sleep, sleeping about 9 hours every night. I must have been quite exhausted on arrival. Have spent quite a bit of time talking to people, many of whom are a mine of useful information.

The necessary work to the boat is ongoing. The problem with the boom is fixed. I had the rigging company do an overall rigging check too. The rigging is in good shape, with the exception of a few ropes that are old and sun-decayed. These are being replaced – there’s no point leaving them until they break, which could happen in an out-of-the-way place, most likely at sea. The most serious are the two reefing lines, which allow you to reduce sail in strong wind.

The windlass problem is resolved. The chap who came this morning, an American, has been in Antigua for 48 years. He must be at least 75, and still runs the business, helped by his son. I have asked him to install controls for the windlass adjacent to the wheel. At present, there is a control on a spiral wire which comes out of the fore cabin and is operated close to the windlass, which is situated in the bow. This setup is all very well if there are two of you. Not particularly good if you are alone – it means that you have to leave the wheel and go up to the bow, making it very difficult to then get the boat moving slowly backwards as you lay out the chain – you are relying on there being some tide or current. Controls by the wheel will make a huge difference – I can slowly edge the boat forward, watching the depth gauge, then drop the anchor and manoeuvre the boat in whatever direction I choose.

I had one piece of good news. Two sailors I spoke to asked what the make of the windlass was, and when I said Quick (an Italian company), they laughed and said “Quick to break!”. I related this to my veteran technician and he said that’s rubbish, that Quick are an old, well-established and decent company, and their products are fine. Which goes to show that one cannot take on trust everything one hears… Indeed, there are often huge differences of opinion. I suppose the solution is to talk to as many people as possible – at least then you are aware that the view you are getting is just that: one point of view.