Antigua

We arrived in Jolly Harbour, Antigua on Thursday 6th December, 21 days after leaving Tenerife. We were very pleased to reach Antigua three days before our expected 24 days. That night, after long showers, we treated ourselves to a couple of juicy steaks in Peter's BBQ Steakhouse. These will probably be the most expensive steaks we will ever have, but they were superb! We ate very well during our crossing, but after three weeks, we needed to quell the cravings for steak and chips. The following night, we had a BBQ on the marina terrace. Antigua is very hot and humid, with just as much rain as in Scotland. The only difference is that you just stand in it as you dry off very quickly once it stops. Our emphasis is now on keeping the boat as cool as possible, so we are putting our awning, windscoop and numerous fans to good use. We have found that in rainshowers, the windscoop creates an interesting waterfall effect in the forecabin!

On Sunday night, we went to Shirley Heights, overlooking English Harbour, to watch the sunset and to listen to steel bands and reggae music. It was quite a cloudy day so we didn't see the famous green flash at sunset.On Monday, we went to the capital, St John's, on the local bus. When we asked the marina office what the times of the buses were, we were told periodically. The trip was full of amusement as the bus seemed to go and pick up people from their front door, the driver beeping the horn and shouting that they would be late for work. Apart from the new duty free shopping area near the cruise ship quay, St John's looks very run down. The Cathedral standing on the top of hill overlooking the town is incredible. It is in a very bad state of repair on the outside, having suffered significant hurricane damage, but inside is fantastic carved wood panelling.

We went to Falmouth Harbour to have a look round the super-yacht show at Antigua Yacht Club. We saw the most incredible yachts and power boats. These huge yachts had openings in their transoms, that lifted up much like those of a ro-ro ferry, revealing speed boats and jet skis. 'Tatoosh', the largest boat in the marina had a 40ft racing yacht, a 40ft fishing boat, a couple of speed boats, a helicopter and many other toys strapped to the decks. 'Blackwater', the largest Blue Water Rally yacht, looks very much like a dinghy in between these huge yachts.

We will be moving round to Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour on Saturday 16th December, and will be there until just after Christmas. In the meantime, we are enjoying relaxing now that we have the boat back to ourselves. We are fixing the various things that have broken on our way across. We have changed the wire main halyard for a rope since it had jumped off the pulley at the top of the mast twice since we left Gibralter. We also have ordered a new water pump for the engine as the water leak has gradually increased. We are also enjoying walking along Jolly Beach and swimming before breakfast at Coco's. There is also a lovely pool in the marina complex. The bird life is quite amazing. Frigate birds soar high above the trees and we had pelicans landing in the sea next to us. There are also plenty of hungry mosquitos. The various brands of repellent that we brought with us are practically useless, leaving Gillian with 17 bites on one leg and 13 on the other on the first night! We now have great supplies of 'OFF!', which seems to keep them at bay.

On Wednesday night, we had a beach BBQ and were entertained for hours by Bill from 'Matata'. On Thursday night, we went to a reception in Jolly Harbour Golf Club hosted by the Minister of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda. I'm not sure she really wanted to hear 50 yachties complaining about the price of everything. The weather blew up unexpectedly and we found ourselves soaking wet as the golf club bar is open to the elements. Everyone ended up dressed in tablecloths to keep warm. 1st Prize goes to Wolfgang from 'Robinson' for his Caesar outfit. The wind blew at 45 - 50 knots for a couple of hours. Unfortunately, we surged against the pontoon before we could get back from the golf club and slightly damaged our self-steering. We counted ourselves lucky, as 'Magic Dragon' dragged its mooring and ended up against the south mole at the entrance to the marina. It continued to rain for the next three days and with a strong wind warning in place, we used the time to fit a new salt water pump to our engine. Is this really what we sailed 5000 miles for?

On Monday 17th, we motored round to Nelson's Dockyard, using the Goat Head Channel inside Cade Reef. We sailed in company with 'Tudor Rose', 'Haecceia' and 'Robinson'. On the way into English Harbour, we passed the Pillars of Hercules on one side and Nelson's Fort on the other. That night, we attended a reception in the Antigua Yacht Club.

The area around Nelson's Dockyard is a national park and has lovely gardens. Most of the buildings from Nelson's time are still standing, although only the pillars of the sail loft remain. From the cockpit, we have a great view of the old warehouses that have been converted into bars and shops. This is the home of Antigua sailing week. Here, everything is geared around sailing, so much so that all yacht services, shops and restaurants use Channel 68 as a telephone. You can book a haircut (although today, I have cut Robin's hair!), order a pizza or hire a car on the VHF!

Christmas at Nelson's Dockyard

Preparations for Christmas were a little different to what we are used to at home. Sleighbells and snowflakes of reggae-style carols seemed a bit out of place in this heat! We decorated the saloon and cockpit with Christmas lights, and erected our 10 inch tree on top of the chart table. Marzipan fruits proved to be as popular here as at home. We went to a Christmas Eve service at the local Anglican Church. We have never heard carols sung with such feeling. Afterwards we joined Mike and Jeanette for our first Christmas drink. We returned to 'Sulmar' feeling much more like Christmas.

Christmas Day itself began at about 10am with Champagne around the old capstans, to the sound of a reggae band. Loud shirts and silly hats were the order of the day. We all went to the Admiral's Inn for a Christmas Buffet Lunch. A steel band played throughout, and those who hadn't over-indulged entertained us with their dancing. Later that evening, after we had a walk to work off our large lunch, we settled down to enjoy one of our Christmas presents - a DVD of 'Shrek'. We haven't missed TV at all since we have been away, but a Christmas Day film is a tradition we thought we should uphold.

Boxing Day Racing

On Boxing Day, a few of us crewed for 'Windfall', a Swan 61, in the Antigua Yacht Club race. It was a lovely sunny day with light winds. We came second last in our class, but it was great fun. 'Magic Dragon' got a bird's eye view of the start and finish as they were anchored close to one of the marks. In the evening we had a couple of rum punches to drown our sorrows. We then went to Bill and Jane on 'Hecla' for a curry.