Saturday 14 April - Tuesday 1 May
After a glorious 7 hour sail, in an
almost cloudless sky with the calmest of seas, we arrive at the
customs dock in Jolly Harbour, Antigua at 2:30 Saturday afternoon.
Wild Thing who had an earlier start and took the short cut through
the river back in Guadeloupe was just finishing up with customs so
the helped us tie off at the dock as we helped them cast off. Steve
had filled out the EZ clear form that is supposed to be used here in
Antigua but the customs guy just smiled and shrugged as he handed
Steve the forms to fill out. To the customs, immigration & port
authority personnel it is job security not to use the easy form to
clear in, to us it is just a matter of filling out multiple forms
asking the same information. Luckily here at Jolly Harbour they are
all located in the same little building right at the end of the
customs dock so within 30 minutes we are cleared in and heading out
to the anchorage. A beautiful anchorage, surrounded by low hills
and sandy beaches. After a short rest and showers we head into the
marina at sunset for a drink and to find a restaurant for dinner.
Since it is dark and we do not know the lay of the town we stop by 2
places right by the dock. Sunday the predicted front comes in and it
starts to rain at 4 am and continues through the
day, during one break we make a run to shore but get caught in a
little shower. Winds have also picked up and it continues to blow
for the next few days, luckily the rain stops and we just have partly
cloudy skies,making for some cooler temps. Monday and Tuesday
morning are spent checking out the area and of course a visit to
Budget Marine and the grocery store both very conveniently located
next to the marina. Internet wifi is available we have managed to
get a signal on the boat, but it is painfully slow. We hear from
a friend who is interested in a boat located in Jolly Harbour so
Tuesday we stop by to see it. We are going in for lunch with our
computers for a faster connection, but the owner of the boat is not
there. After lunch with a fast internet connection we stop back by
the boat. This time the owner is there, he is Italian and speaks
pretty good English so we manage to tell him we want to look at the
boat for a friend back in the states. He loves his boat and is happy
to show us all around, his wife does not love the boat so he is
selling her. The boat just got hauled out and he is in the process
of getting it ready to leave but we still get a good feel of her
condition and report back to Rick about her. Back to our boat and
check with Wild Thing and we are ready to go check out another
anchorage, up at Deep Bay. We get there by 4 Tuesday afternoon by
which time it has clouded up. Wednesday started a little cloudy with
a shower but cleared up so we go to shore to walk up on the headland
to the remains of Fort Barrington, great views of our bay and into
the the capital of St. Johns, the next bay north. Back to the boats
for lunch, then out to snorkel the wreck in the middle of the bay.
The water is not very clear, a lot of very fine sand stirred up in
the water, too bad as it would have been really neat to see in clear
water. This bay is also internet challenged but we can get a signal,
but we decide to check out Five Islands Harbour for a change of
scenery and to see if we can get a better internet signal. This is
a huge bay with very little development, so not much to see or do.
But the Hermitage Hotel is on the south side, and has a great
internet connection we can pick up out at anchor, hard to beat that.
Thursday morning we are under way by 8:30 after cleaning off about 50
lbs of clay/sand mixture from the anchor, makes for great holding.
We take 4 hours to do the 2 hour trip as we are sailing very slow so
we can make water wanting to go into Falmouth Harbour with full water
tanks. As we are approaching Falmouth Harbour we see some of the
boats out practicing. We are arriving just in time for the Antigua
Classic Yacht Regatta,
and the day before my sister comes to visit. Entering the harbour
what a sight it is, full of boats anchored and at the marinas. A
big difference form last time we were here back in mid June, maybe 10
boats at the marina and maybe 10 anchored out, everyone already
south. Most of the shops and restaurants were also closed, not so
this time. We find a place to anchor and it is right next to friends
Barb & Stew on La
Luna.
Get the boat settled and have a quick lunch before launching the
dinghy. Stop by to say hi to La
Luna, a
lot to catch up on so we make plans to do so later in the week. We
are out looking for a spot for Wild
Thing
to anchor, they are about an hour behind us having left later with a
stop at Jolly for fuel & water. We find them a good spot and as
we are going around in the dinghy are surprised to see how many boats
we know. After Wild Thing gets settled we arrange to meet on shore,
as I want to go in and get info on the weeks events and to confirm my
car rental reservation. This week and the following sailing race
week are two major events for Antigua and they do a good job putting
out magazines telling you of the weeks happenings. Walking the docks
in awe of the beautiful classic yachts, they are just amazing, but I
sure would not want to keep up with all the varnishing of the wood
work. Oh course not too many of the owners worry about it either, as
they have crew for that. Friday morning we go out on Wild Things
dinghy to watch the start of the days race. Even with it being
cloudy and a few sprinkles it is an awesome sight seeing these
beautiful boats under sail. Back to the boats for lunch then Steve &
I go get the rental car to pick up Carol, who arrives at 4. We gave
ourselves plenty of time not knowing how long it would take and
wanting to stop at a hardware store or any anyplace else that looked
interesting along the way. As cruisers, we are in the hunter/gather
class of humanity. Driving through St. John's the capital and a few
other areas on the way also. We still get there early and 1st
Steve goes to use the restroom with me parked out front, since I do
not have an Antigua drivers license which a policeman asked about.
Next since we did not think we could stay parked there we decided to
make the short circle around as I went to use the restroom. As Steve
is coming back around to pick me up, 2 cars stop in front of him
forcing him to stop, unknown to him in a crosswalk. He pulls forward
but the cars are still stopped in front of him so I walk to him to
get in the car. Next thing we know a police man is waving us over.
We are thinking maybe he wants to help the foreigners, and will tell
us where to wait for arriving passengers. NO he wants to give us a
ticket !!!! For stopping in a crosswalk that we did not even notice
since the crosswalk in front of us had big yellow stripes and was
raised like a speed bump, this one was just faded white lines on the
road, definitely a trap for those not familiar with the airport.
No warning, no have a nice visit, just we need money so here is where
you get to contribute. Carol arrives and so does all her luggage so
all is good. Back to Falmouth Harbour, it has been a long day of
travel for her so we have dinner on board giving Carol a chance to
unpack and unwind. Saturday Carol & I decide to get a little
exercise and walk up to a lookout point of an old fort to watch some
of the races. I had been told about this spot that a lot of people
were using to watch the races from, and that there was an easy trail
and a hard one. We found the hard one, passing the easy one thinking
it was not the way. Enjoy the beautiful views and visit with some
other people up there before heading down the easy way. Back to the
boat for lunch and get the kayaks out for a trip over to Pigeon
Beach. Going in early for dinner to once again walk the docks to
look at these multi million dollar boats, such a unique event to see
so many of these spectacular yachts in one place at the same time.
Sunday I convinced Carol that it would be fun going out on the dinghy
to watch the start of the races, it is a beautiful day and she is
glad to be able to see this amazing sight up close and personal.
Monday Jan & George join us to drive
around
the island hitting a few of the sights like Devils Bridge and
downtown St. John's. Tuesday since there are no cruise ships in we
go to do a Zip Line / obstacle course. This is Carol's first one and
she does fantastic considering her fear of heights. The zip lines
are the easy part, its the walking across suspended rope ladders and
tight ropes that gives her a challenge since she can not look down!
She makes it all the way through conquering her fear, not sure how
soon she will want to do another one, but she did this one. Time to
go to the beach for a nice lunch and a relaxing swim. Wednesday we
sail up to Five Islands Bay, do some snorkeling and swimming staying
there overnight and enjoy a nice morning Thursday relaxing, swimming
and reading before heading back to Falmouth Harbour. Friday morning
we take Carol to shore to get her taxi to the airport, a week sure
went by quick and I was sad to say goodby. Friday afternoon Steve &
George go out on a practice sail on a boat they are going to crew on
for the upcoming Antigua Sailing Week. Saturday they do the around
Antigua race and the boats traveler breaks. The boat has a few
maintenance problems as it is left alone most of the year. The owner
and his family and friends are not serious racers and are more here
for the vacation. Steve & George hang in there with them for a
few days being on the rail getting soaked. By Tuesday the winds
start to die down so they resigned Monday when they got back in and
we make plans to head south. Starting with us coming into one of the
marinas here in Falmouth to fuel up and equalize the batteries again
as it will be a while before we are near a marina again. We enjoyed
our time in Antigua, glad to see and explore a little more of the
island this time but only making a VERY small dent in seeing their
365 beaches.
Link to Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/103931849054358791487/Antigua2012?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNLewfC4hoCkfw&feat=directlink
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