Back Aboard

We returned to Antigua and Django on January 8, 2011, after a lovely visit with family and friends, a groaning board at Christmas, and a fabulous New Year's stay at dear friend Lorna's house in Val Morin.

Django was in excellent shape and Peter reported no problems at all, except that the bimini had sagged badly under heavy rainfall. He'd just dumped the water and all was well. He'd attempted to pump the bilges but, as usual, they were bone dry.

We were soon back in the groove with our friends and neighbours. The day after our return we went to Keep Fit and helped clear the bottom part of the trail from Fort Charlotte to Shirley Heights. I was given a saw to work with—not my weapon of choice—and ended up using it on a rather large, obstructive cassie. Cassie is the local name for acacia, a low-growing tree with fearsome thorns. Word has it that this is the very plant from which the Crown of Thorns was built. The thorns vary from baby quarter-inch fiends to inch or longer diabolical spikes. They fall from dead branches and penetrate even the thickest shoe soles. If they don't prick you right away, they are happy to work their way through. I have taken to carrying needle-nose pliers so I can extract them early in their migration. Somehow, goats manage to eat cassie, despite its defenses.

So, there we were, my saw and I. I had to stand under a cassie bough, close to the trunk but in from the many smaller branches (all armed to the teeth), and saw through its two inches of diameter. I had gloves, so I carefully removed thorns to give myself a handhold. All fine except I was standing under a large, heavy, fully armed cassie branch which, once I sawed through it, would land on...well...me. Fortunately, a fellow tottie was nearby and we managed to extract the great thing without too much fuss. Bloodied but unbowed, I left the field of battle swearing never again to accept a saw at Keep Fit.

Nasty cassie...

We were still waiting for our new mainsail which, the sail loft assured us, would arrive as planned on or about January 26. We had guests arriving on the 29^th and a fairly packed schedule of events to keep them entertained, for which the sail would be essential. It was a nervewracking time.

In the meantime, we decided to take a short cruise to a place we'd once tried to go to, but had been foiled by wind, weather and, to add interest and excitement, volcanic activity.