It has been an interesting if not slow week for the Joysters.  Our new V link belt arrived from Fenner Drives in the USA on Tuesday, and we successfully fitted a belt to the generator the following day.  We first of all made up the belt length based on the dimensions of our spare one, but then had to add a couple more links to get it to fit as the alternator cannot be loosened very far due to the positioning of the unit in our engine room.  The belt is a very clever piece of kit, quite fiddly to get on in such a tight space but now our generator is up and running again without the need for all the extra work and special tools to remove the hydraulic attachment. We bought a big enough reel of the stuff to have some in stock too.  It’s bliss to be able to use the washing machine again!

We have had daily visits from a horse and an osprey, not together of course.  I had noticed a strange snorting sound early one morning, it took me a while to realise it wasn’t the Captain snoring, and looking out of the hatch I could see a horse swimming right behind the boat with a man hanging off his back.

They have a wonderful daily routine of swimming in a large arc out from the shore and behind Joy, when they get close back to shore the man splashes him with water and the horse swims around him in circles a few times before they return to dry land.

My Caribbean Bird Book says that Osprey have not been successful nesting on St Croix.  We see this beautiful bird every day as he circles around over the shoreline behind us, one day as light was fading he landed on an unoccupied boat nearby and sat on the pulpit rails cleaning himself.

Yesterday was St Croix’s version of boat carnival, dozens of local boats dressed themselves up with lights and Christmas decorations and as soon as darkness fell they paraded around the harbour, each one blaring out their own music and one even had a live band playing on the foredeck.  Then came a spectacular firework display, almost over Joy, so we had first row seats for the entertainment.  I felt very sorry for the poor dog on a neighbouring boat as the occupants had gone out earlier and left him running around on deck.