We spent a few nights at Rod Hook in American Yacht Harbour Marina. The shops, restaurants and other buildings here ware not so damaged, or been mostly repaired so it was quite nice. After that we sailed with Sundowner to a few bays around St John Island, Rendevous and Little Lameshur that was beautiful and quiet with turtles popping their heads up everywhere. Most of St Johns is National Parks and they have put mooring buoys everywhere. In the past you paid for these at a floating kiosk but the hurricanes blew the kiosks all away so effectively they are free! We said goodbye to Howard and Sue, they are off to the Bahamas on their way to America for hurricane season. Pete and I went off to Watermelon Bay via Coral Harbour where we snorkelled round a little island that prior to the hurricanes must have been the most lovely coral gardens. Still some fans and brain corals left but there is damage everywhere and dead coral broken off all around. The dive industry here will be wrecked for many many years. Makes you think about all the fuss re humans impacting on the reefs when something like Irma can take them all out in 10 hours! There are next to no boats around. Mooring fields of 20 plus buoys are empty except for us and usually only one or two other boats. Nice for us. We are now bobbing around on a free Parks buoy in Hawksnest Bay with good internet via AT&T getting some communication going. Even with all the repair work and 6 months on most landlines are still out and wifi patchy where normally it would have been readily available and good.
We have a couple from Pesacola joining us for the ARC Europe. Bobbie and Neil. They are looking for some blue water experience before buying a boat and setting off round the world. My nieces boyfriend is set to come as well so with 5 of us the night watches will be doddle! We leave on 5 May for the first leg up to Bermuda.