After a fast downwind sail having to hand steer for the 185 miles we arrived after 31 hours and knackered. It's chaos, charter boats absolutely everywhere so we find a spot drop anchor and decide to clear customs in the morning. We get in there and say we arrived the evening before and he starts, why didn't you announce your arrival on the radio? Ok sorry sir it won't happen again, he keeps on and saying he will fine us $10000 and can confiscate our boat... Ok mate we are sorry won't happen again!!! He keeps on and takes us aside to read aloud the regulations from his big book, an absolute arsehole...keeps on and finally brings us out a declaration to sign basically saying we were idiots and didn't know. Then immigration, well she wasn't much friendlier but all good lets have a couple of beers and forget about it. After a couple it didn't seem to get much better so Julie says lets go....cool lets get outa here! Back to customs less than an hour later and they are like what's wrong???? Not for us this place!! We didn't really meet any friendly locals, I think they are just sick of the thousands of tourists but hey it's there job and what brings them their money right??? I don't know maybe the other islands are different, I hope so anyway. The Brits can keep these islands and the biggest Caribbean New Years party anyway!!
Back at the boat an Aussie fella came over and said g'day and we went for dinner with him and his Canadian partner and had a really fun night anyway. They had chartered a boat and were having a ball. They also introduced us to a drink at the help yourself bar called a "Painkiller" yea I need a couple of painkillers thank you this morning I can tell you. So now we are sailing for Puerto Rico to an island called Culebra to celebrate New Years tonight and hopefully customs will be a bit more friendly and and more our scene:)
Happy New Years to all our family and friends!
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