04-30-2011: Antigua

So here we are in old Antigua - who'da thunk!

We had a nice sail down from Barbuda - beam reach - cool.

Pulled into Nonsuch Bay on the east coast of Antigua.

Got a free mooring ball North of Green Island.

Nice protection from the Atlantic, behind a reef.

Here's a shot of our anchorage (click photo to zoom in):

Spent a couple of nights here -mainly relaxing.

Toured Harmony Hall - an old sugar mill now restaurant, guest house, art gallery.

Very nice, peaceful - here's the old sugar mill:

Here's the outside of the art gallery:

The restaurant:



And their beach:

After 2 nights, we moved on to English Harbor - famous for Nelson's Dockyard.

As we approached English Harbor, we encountered the beginning of the first race of Antigua Sailing Week - a huge event in this neck of the woods. 

We were well located to watch the racers, although we had to motor like crazy to keep from getting in their way:

Here we are pulling into Freemans Bay (one of several bays in English Harbor):

The English navy made good use of the protected harbor in the 1700's, 

Here's a shot of the restored pillars of the boat house & sail loft, where repairs were made:

Remnants of old "hurricane chains" & anchors can be a hazard to anchoring today.

Here's an old anchor on Galleon Beach, Freemans Bay:

This is the place to see some fabulous yachts:

And of course to see the racers at the end of the day:

Not to mention the crazy party-goers:



We took a walk into nearby Falmouth Harbor.  Here's the queen en route:

Then we took a hike up to Shirley Heights, overlooking the harbor.

Excellent trail, fantastic views.

Here's the queen going up:

And just as pretty coming down:

Check out the view!

The larger body of water in the distance is Falmouth Harbor.

The rest is English Harbor.

The 3 main bays of English Harbor are visible.

Freemans Bay (where we anchored) in the foreground,

Ordinance Bay on the right & Tank Bay on the left:



Here's Freemans Bay, with Dance Aweigh near the beach (trust me):

Now for the wild part.  These anchorages are quite tight at the best of times.

During Antigua Sailing Week it's crazy crowded!

The wind also curls around the hill, causing the boats to point in different directions.

The first night, we were hit by a huge catamaran who anchored too close.

It was 2 am.

I had a hard time waking them, but convinced them to leave.

Every night there were close calls.

Then on awards night, a racer (#133) anchored too close & went to the banquet.

His boat started slapping us around.

Our buddies Bill & Joanne from Ultra (more later) loaned us more fenders,

then had the MC at the banquet announce that boat #133 was dragging through the harbor.

Two guys came back to move the boat - forgot to tie on their dinghy & drove off without it.

We enjoyed watching them drive around the anchorage for 40 minutes searching for their dinghy.

Not sure if they found it - don't really care!

So how about Ultra?

Yes indeed, our buddy boats Solmate, Ultra & Sabbaticus showed up in English Harbor just after we anchored.

It was great to see them all again!

Happy hour that night was aboard Dance Aweigh.

We had a great time partying with them.

But when they went up to Shirley Heights for the Maxi Priest concert, we cried uncle.

Walked around Fort Berkley, overlooking the anchorage:

The queen gets queezy when she sees anyone near the edge of a cliff.

So here's Connor from Sabbaticus:

And Joanne from Ultra:

The queen was having "collywobbles".

We were especially happy to have Solmate back in the flock.

Carryn & Brandon have had a rough month or 2.

Their beautiful Portugese Water dog, Bella broke her leg in the BVI.

She's looking good now though - after plate & screw surgery in Puerto Rico:

Well, we hate to leave our buddy boats again, but tonight we have moved over to Falmouth Harbor.

It's less crowded here, so maybe we'll sleep better - no bumps in the night.

Tomorrow we take off for the French Island of Guadeloupe.

Baguettes & cheese, s'il vous plait!

Ultra, Sabbaticus & Solmate will be in Antigua a while, but we'll see them again "down island".