It was back to English Harbour again today – couldn’t resist it. The run is 6km each way (back pack of water bottles, obviously) but it’s the sights along the way, as well as the historical ones at the destination, which make it so interesting and compelling.

Even more ‘super yachts’ had arrived overnight and the local shack/bar/restaurants were prepping for a profitable few days. By 10;00am the smell of barbecued chicken and pork ribs was filling the air while the crew on the big boats were swabbing down the decks and making things right.
On one yacht, the ‘Odessa,’ there were no fewer than five separate WiFi codes – including ‘staff1’ and ‘staff2’. Apparently there are 21 full-time crew on board at any given time. More for longer journeys. Five kitchen staff is a good place to start.

One of the haunts gearing up for a profitable few days is a Che Guevara styled bar which plays rolling audio of Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela speeches instead of music. It also has a variety of life mottoes daubed around the scene, some of which are more profound than others.

The benches may be wooden but they are lavished with cushions and there are beanbags and hammocks, too. When people disembark from their boats and head to “Che’s”, they are, generally, there for a good time, not a short time.

Mark Wood spoke to the media today. He was honest – no point being otherwise. The bowlers have done their job, the batsmen haven’t. They need to stand up and be counted. Well said. If the sharks are circling metaphorically around the England team, they were doing so literally in English Harbour this morning. Or are they even sharks? And if they are, what were they doing swimming in just one metre of water in the harbour?