Good Friends and Fun in the Sun

Roger, Pirate and I had a leisurely 😉 5 hour sail north from Guadelope in relatively light 15 to 18 knot winds.  Upon arriving in Antigua, you quickly realize you have landed in a new and different world when you are greeted in English instead of French.  We were welcomed at Customs and Immigration in English Harbour by our favourite officer, Detrissia, who was very happy to see Pirate again.  As in the past, the official check in for Pirate happened a couple of days later, but nobody seemed very concerned that the vet was not available, so neither were we.

We docked in Falmouth Harbour next to all of the super yachts so that we could prepare for the arrival of our friends Al and Pierina.  The smiles on the faces said it all as we enjoyed some sushi together at the Antigua Yacht Club before heading on a dock walk to check out the Super Yachts.

The next day we headed to Shirley Heights to enjoy some steel drum music and the spectacular views over English and Falmouth Harbours. 

The next morning we enjoyed a cappuccino and quiche from the local French bakery, while looking out over the boats.

We then headed out and sailed around the south end of Antigua, finally stopping and anchoring in picturesque Carlisle Bay.  We enjoyed the sun and the sand while waiting a day for the winds to subside a bit before crossing to Barbuda, 30 miles north of Antigua.  

Barbuda is a small island only 125 feet above sea level at its highest point, so you don't see the island at all until you are 5 or 6 miles away.  It is also surrounded by treacherous reefs, so we were paying close attention to Navionics and the GPS chart plotter as we approached. 

We anchored at Cocoa Point and headed ashore for a beach walk.  There were only about 20 boats anchored in the entire bay.  

With its long, powdery sand beaches and turquoise waters, Barbuda is stunning.  Roger and I were last in Barbuda 15 or more years ago.  Since then, there has been significant development with large mansions dotting the coastline.  However, the beautiful beach remains with only a handful of people walking there.  

Pirate was ecstatic, running up and down the beach with abandon.

Not surprisingly, we found the perfect beach bar, Enoch's.  It had the greatest sign, "If you're not barefoot, you're overdressed". 

Enoch also serves lobster on the beach, so we made our reservation for the next evening.  Lobster is cooked up on the BBQ and served with garlic butter and baked potato at picnic tables, and everyone is barefoot of course.  

In our case, we were also soggy, as our arrival by dinghy was less than glamorous as we were hit by some surf just as we arrived.  The good news is that the crew and boat were all good, just a little salty 😉

After two beautiful days in Barbuda, we sailed to Great Bird Island on the Northern End of Antigua.  This was our first time there, and as you can see in the picture below, the navigation is a little tricky. Thus, we had multiples sets of eyes on the charts as we made our way in.  

Even though the winds were howling, the anchorage was calm as it is protected by a series of reefs.  Similar to the Tobago Cays, you look out over the open ocean.

  

Pirate and the boys headed in by dinghy on a reconnaissance mission. 

They found a little deserted beach that was perfect for the sunset. Thus we packed up the champagne that P & Al had brought for us, along with some cheese and crackers, placed the lawn chairs in the sand and balanced the cheese board on the brilliantly improvised beach table (the gas tank out of our dinghy) and sat down to await the sunset.

After some snorkeling the next day, we hiked up to the top of Bird Island to check out the spectacular view of the north shore of Antigua. Adventure 1 is the boat on the right side of the picture below. 

We then enjoyed a picnic of BBQ chicken sausage, peppers and onions on the beach, and relaxed in the beautiful warm waters. It took the boys a little longer than expected to get the BBQ going but they never give up on anything, so success was inevitable. 😉

On our final, full day, we had a beautiful downwind sail to Jolly Harbour.  This is the harbour where we will store our boat for the summer when we return to Antigua at the end of March.  Jolly Harbour beach is just a 10 minute walk from the marina, so the next day, taking full advantage of the remaining vacation time, we headed over to the beach for a swim in the warm, turquoise waters. 

Sadly, Al & P had to head home on Sunday, but a great time was had by all.