Christmas Greetings

From the Fosbery House

St Kitts and Nevis

Christmas Blooms at Upper Spooners Estate – St Kitts

Our year has been eventful one way and another.

‘The Gallipot’ which opened just over a year ago – [see the article below] - continues to do well under the capable hands of Julian and Tracy Rigby, ably assisted by the senior Rigby’s -

Derek - at the bar

and Jeannie - who is really

‘Genie of the Dessert’

The ‘Gallipot’

Tamarind Bay, Nevis

A New Watering Hole for Cruisers in the Eastern Caribbean.

As the 2002 Atlantic Hurricane Season drew to a peaceful end, a terrific NEW LOCATION for cruising visitors opened on the Beautiful Island of Nevis - Queen of the Caribees.

The ‘Gallipot’ - pronounced the same as it looks - (except to a Frenchman maybe – Faites attention mes Amis!) - is located at 17^o 11’ N 62^o 38’ W on the leeward coast of the island of Nevis in the E. Caribbean - West Indies.

It was the brainchild of longtime St. Kitts-Nevis surgeon and former cruising yachtsman
Desmond Fosbery and his wife, the beautiful Catherine Hitchins-Fosbery,
ably assisted by her daughter Tracy Hitchins Rigby and son-in- law,
that well known Englishman, Mariner and Sports-fisherman extraordinaire,
Julian Rigby of Nevis Water-Sports Ltd.

Catherine and ‘Doc’ Fosbery

A well-stocked Octagonal Bar with ample seating,
looks out onto the best sunsets around
and up into the verdant slopes of Mount Nevis.
It is continued over onto a shady dining area,
just the place for a cool ‘lime’ and choice from a menu
that lists the freshest fish around
brought to us direct from the charter fleet of Nevis Water Sports.

The shady Gallipot Bar

Catherine & Tracy await ‘opening night’

Destined to fill a current void in facilities within
the St. Kitts-Nevis cruising waters, this new Beachfront Bar and Restaurant
on Nevis seeks to provide services, not only to our landed visitors
and locals alike, but to cruising visitors who come in
either from St Kitts just across the Narrows,
or from beyond the horizons of the Federation.

Tamarind Bay provides deep water, well sheltered at most times
from the prevailing wind and current - see
Chris Doyle’s “Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands”
and now, with the establishing of some deep dead-weight moorings
to protect the sea-bed from dragging anchor chains,
keel-boat visitors will also be able to enjoy
the superb snorkelling to be found around the base of the cliffs
at the eastern side of the bay, come ashore easily to the warm hospitality
of the Eastern Caribbean’s newest shady watering-hole
a few feet from the water’s edge and then
head out to explore all that Nevis has to offer,
knowing their vessels may be left safely secured.

While shallow draught boats can come in even closer,
eventually a dinghy docking facility should enable
the most elegant of keel-boat cruising visitors
to come ashore dry-shod before heading out
to dine at any other of the Island’s top feeding troughs.

Call us up on VHF ch 16 and we can even arrange your taxi pickup
to save you time and hassle once you come ashore,
while land-lubbers can always reach us by phone at [869] 469 8230

Tracy and Julian

look forward to welcoming you ashore.

Just plot in your ‘waypoints’ on GPS and come on over to see us.
The beers are cold already
and
the fish will be fresh when you arrive.

A Typical Sunset ‘scene’ from

‘The Gallipot’ bar

After a good start to 2003 aboard “Nomad”

Ship’s Cat & Doc

we were beset a couple of months later when the main-mast
broke as we were beating up to our mooring in Tamarind Bay one Saturday
lunch-time in a southerly breeze. That led to a rather ignominious,
not to say un-seamanlike, arrival.
Fortunately we were within soundings with the hook laid out on deck,
and, most important of all, we were not seen from the bar;
all our patrons being otherwise engaged in ‘noshing’ over in the
restaurant, while Julian was busy as ever in the kitchen
turning out another dozen plates or so.

This unfortunate debacle led to us having to sail
back to St Kitts under ‘jury-rig’ to rebuild the mast.

‘The bosun’ – Gerry - and I did this over the next several weeks

It’s something like working

‘square pegs into round holes’

Some months later, we were ready to head back to Port Zante

The rigged mast is on the dock behind us

so..…a little light refreshment,

and tomorrow we’ll…..

……Re-step the Mast

The whole ‘project’ took rather a long time, as in the middle of it all Catherine and I went

‘Off to London to look at the Queen’

Adam and Eden came too

H.M looked lovely, even from the back

During our time in England we had an opportunity to see several old friends. We visited Ian Mintrim, now landlord of one of England’s oldest hostelries, in Oxfordshire - a mediaeval monastic hospice converted by Henry VIII’s men into a ‘pub’ – Since it had neither enough ‘plate’ nor any lead on the roof to warrant ‘dissolving’ it with all the other monasteries and abbeys, they sold the building intact to one of the Oxford Colleges who decided it would make a better Inn - bringing in some cash - than students ‘dorm’ – with just as much drinking, but no financial return - Smart fellows those Oxford Dons. That was when ‘Enery the Eighth’ had fellen out with ‘Il Papa’ in Rome. We then met and stayed with distant cousins of mine - the Fergusons in Cheshire – Keith and I spent an enjoyable afternoon poring over old family records – mainly his side - and had a wonderful evening meeting all his ‘clan’. They were most hospitable. We then sped out to the Isle of Anglesey to stay with Catherine’s soul-buddy Sian and her new husband Patrick, then proceded northwards to Cumbria and stayed with ‘Prinderellas’ Charlie and her delightful mother Adele Howard at Greystoke for ‘catch-up’ and ‘top-up’ - before heading north to Scotland – and coincidentally ‘en passant’ near the border having my credit card ‘seized’ at a filling station! - and that’s a whole ’nother story for later. On Speyside we spent time with the ‘other’ Charles and Diane (Morison) at Aberlour, and got blown along the banks of the Spey watching intrepid fly-fishermen and their ladies wading chest-deep in the mighty rushing icy waters - at that, Catherine and I agreed we preferred our salmon ready-smoked and chilled upon a plate - with an appropriately chilled bottle. We also went and saw Di’s parents, my dear old-friends, ‘Bus’ and Yvonne Morison at Mountblairy in Banffshire and some time thereafter, fortified by a tour round ‘The Glenlivet’ Distillery, we headed back south to stay once more with Catherine’s son Gregory and Sharon in Milton Keynes. Travelling further south again we saw - yet another - Charles (Dr. Hill) together with the one and only other George - ‘the big Offord’ – with them we had time to reminisce, between the bottles, on the passing of 40 years since those days of May 1963 before we knew we’d qualified.

‘Groupies’
- Des, George & Charles -
- May 1963 -

‘Grouchers’
- Des, George and Charles -
- May 2003 -

‘Young Gropers’
- May 1963 -

‘Old Gropers’
- May 2003 -

The only difference – that is between then and now –
seemed to be the cost of the drinks,
plus a couple of hundred-weight in ‘Avoirdupois’.

We subsequently spent a night with Margaret (Dr. Spittle)
and her husband David (Mr. Hare) in Surrey – more catch-up -
and finally left from Gatwick after a speedy visit
to the South Coast to see the ‘Boonies’ and my eldest son
– ‘Nick – the Woodsman’ -
with whom we climbed one of Sussex’s ancient stone hill-forts.

The ‘Avis’ rental people at Gatwick thought our
mileage was wrong for the time we’d had our Diesel Peugeot …….

‘26-hundred miles, sir?’ -

‘Reckon that’s about right’ said I…..

A few minutes later I realized I’d left them with the wrong credit card - the one that had been ‘cancelled’ while we were in the North - due apparently, so said the bank, to some ‘bulk thievery’ of card numbers somewhere out there in the ‘aethers’.
Catherine made me go back and get them to swipe the new one!!

Once more home in St Kitts, and the ‘Nomad’ re-rigged,
we were soon able to get back to sailing her again.
By then we had redone the spars & rails in varnish.

‘Sail On!’ -
Oh, the joys of no longer being ‘Surgeon on-Call’.

Spot the essential difference in these two pictures....?

That’s right, …The Gin and Tonic

set to windward !

We've recently added a pair of magnificent hand-carved
and gilded traditional Cape Cod mahogany Quarterboards
by 'CapeCraft' which really set her off.

So, England won the Rugby World Cup!

I was a House Physician when we won the Soccer World Cup !!

Now Charles and Zoe’s daughter plays rugger for Reading University
and one of George’s daughters is playing too !! - Bb-G’s
What’s it all coming to chaps??

Not to mention diminutive girls sailing
Solo Round the World and winning.

Made me pull out some old photo memories,
playing with the Tin-miners and Policemen for Camborne RFC
in the ’60s.

One of these policemen got sent to Anguilla
to help quell ‘the Rebellion’!

Camborne playing in the White with Cherry Hoop.
Falmouth were in Black with a White Chevron.
We beat ’em, of course. .

Those days I used to get write-ups
in the ‘Western Morning News’ on Mondays

Excuse me while I go and cry into some beer!

And what will 2004 hold for us all?
This Christmas we sadly remember our dear friend Annelle - gone before her time one would have thought - big C - in 2003.

Annelle with ‘Cats’

with Des

With George when he came to St Kitts

Thank heavens we were spared Hurricanes this year,
though the season started early - in April with T.S. Ana -and ended late - in December with Hurricane Peter.

So now, Charlie, George, John and spouses - Pip and Caroline, Hitchins’s and Fosbery’s – no matter how you spell it – and friends all, when are you coming to see us and sail the ‘Nomad’???

George is no stranger - here he is…..

…with Tracy – waiting for the big bite

….with Julian and a modest ‘biter’

…& with Des pondering the enormities

- Note the ‘physick’ bottle -

Neither is Charlie a stranger to these shores, he came here years ago too…..

But I can no longer find the picture
of the two of us together trying to split this
Greenheart Tree

Nag’s Head St Kitts - off the starboard bow

Anyway, unless or until we see any of you over here or
over there, we send you this montage of captured moments -
mainly of this new century - some will mean something to someone - if we’ve left anyone out or you don’t recognize some of those seen here
please bear with us and know that ALL of you mean a lot to us
and also that all this comes with love and best wishes for Christmas and the coming Year …..

from

Catherine and Desmond xxx

In St. Kitts and Nevis

Eastern Caribbean

December 2003