As you know I have been in Dominica since the day before yesterday. The route to here has been quite tough. Although it is a short distance there were many squalls, and it have been dry for about ten minutes out of the four hours of sailing it took to get here. So along with the rain, there came hard blasts from time to time, and since I sailed with only the Genoa sail up, the water filled in the cockpit. I already was all wet because I had to go to the foredeck when the dinghy became loose and I had to tie it up again. But with the foredeck under water all the time, I could not see anything. So wearing a diving mask I went to the foredeck for a second time and secured the dinghy for good. Actually, I expected a much calmer crossing, so I had tied the dinghy with only one line. Not too clever. When I dropped anchor in Dominica, it felt like I had been sailing in a Laser [ a dinghy or small open cockpit sailboat]. I was soaking wet and as I was standing in the cockpit to relax, the first local boat offering fruits and vegetables came to me. I cleared customs and then I took a rest. There are two other Dutch yachts lying in the bay and I went on a walking tour with them. As I just sat on a cannon at the fort up on the mountain, the Stad Amsterdam sailed into the bay. Yesterday I went over for a visit, and it was nice to meet everyone again. However, there has been a major change in crew since my stay and so there were many new crewmembers.

Laura