Heading Back to Antigua 

We left the dock of Nanny Cay in BVI at 8 am in the scorching hot sun, and little breeze.  Pirate had ‘done her business’ - twice.  It was as though she knew she would not be able to go over the next 26 hours.  Maybe it was the preparation for the trip... 

• Deveaux, the local BVI government veterinarian, dropped by with a health certificate for Pirate.  He charges $10 for this, which is 1/10 of what most islands charge. Pirate gave him a ‘rasta’ which is the command she learned to provide a traditional Caribbean fist pump rather than a typical paw shake. Fortunately for him, but unfortunately for boaters, Deveaux is retiring this year, so we are unlikely to meet up with this lovely gentleman again.
• I made some egg bites, banana bread and baked chicken for grab as you go meals and snacks.  
• Meanwhile, Roger filled the diesel cans, propane tank and topped up the water tanks.  
• We also bought some jugs of water as unfortunately our watermaker decided to pack it in about a week before the crossing.  The watermaker itself is still functional but there was a leak in a high pressure intake hose that subsequently flooded the circuitboard.  Roger called up his electrician buddy Chip from Sunsail, and he came over and confirmed it was pooched.  Fortunately, a new circuitboard will solve the problem but that will not arrive until after we finish our cruise.

All ready to go, Roger set the course to Falmouth Harbour, Antigua.  The 180 nautical mile trip would land us there between 9 and 10 am the next day.  We exited BVI by a new route - between Norman and Peter islands.  Adventure I passed by a few lovely, quiet anchorages that are off the typical BVI beaten path.  We will need to explore them on our next trip.

As we motored into the open ocean, we had only 5 knots of breeze and 1 to 2 ft swells. While we could have waited a few more days for wind, we were keen to get to Antigua.  Also, because of the low winds we were using this as an opportunity to do a longer overnight passage on our own.  The longest passage we had previously done was with our friends Neil and Carole on their 57 ft Wauqiez sailboat.  We joined them last year to help with the 30 hr crossing from Sardinia, Italy (south of Corsica) to Ponza, off the Amalfi Coast.  That too was a windless crossing, but it was well worth it to catch up with our friends and see Sardinia and Ponza, 2 beautiful islands we had never travelled to before.

It is quite a feeling to look 360 degrees and see nothing but ocean, sky and the slight round of the earth that you notice on the distant horizon - the same slight curve that must have kept Christopher Columbus from being overly worried. There was very little boat traffic for the first part of the trip.  However, while Roger was napping, a cargo ship appeared on radar.  It was 7 nm out when I first saw him as an AIS blip on our navigational instruments.  The ship was travelling at 13 kts and eventually passed 1 nm in front of us.  

By 6pm, the sun was headed low in the sky behind us, while in front of us, we could see Saba, a small island of just 5 miles but 3000 feet high.  During our previous passages between BVI and Antigua, we stopped in St Maarten.  However, on this trip, we decided to skip that island and our new track brought us right by Saba.

It took another 2.5 hrs before we actually reached Saba, even though it looked much closer.  As we were passing by, through the dark we could see the lights of multiple cruise ships which appeared to be headed from St Maarten to St Kitts. The ship traffic between St. Maarten and Saba got quite heavy around midnight. At one point we had 4 massive cruise ships and a huge freighter showing up in the 12 NM safety perimeter on our radar and AIS.  At night, a cruise ship looks like a very bright island and has so many lights of different colours.  Without doppler instruments, it is often hard to tell which way they are headed.  Roger ended up using the VHF radio to hail one of the huge 5000 passenger vessels that seemed to be headed directly towards us. The captain answered immediately. Roger ask if he was comfortable with our course or if he needed us to alter. The captain answered back on channel 16 that he had us on radar and we could maintain our course. The massive ship passed a mile to port. Phew! 

With just 10 days left in our adventure, we were using up all our provisions. Thus, in honour of Roger's British father, Johnny Walker, and the sailing trips we did with him on Georgian Bay 30 years ago, corned beef hash was on the dinner menu.  Lots of HP sauce and not a vegetable in sight - except the potatoes - Johnny would have been proud.  Johnny's claim to fame was that he never ate a vegetable in his life.  He also smoked a pack of cigarettes every day from the time he was 13 and ate bacon and eggs every single day for breakfast.  Yet Johnny lived to 90 in relatively good health.  Go figure.

At 1 in the morning, around St Kitts, the moon broke through the clouds.  What a glorious night for a sail.  

Roger also pulled out the jib to add .5 kts to our speed.  

Around 2:30 a.m., Roger laid down in the cockpit for a quick nap.  I woke him 3 hours later.  I had completed the dreaded "graveyard watch" all by myself. 😊

I took a quick nap and then made breakfast while Roger brought us in to Antigua.  We arrived in the beautiful but often busy Falmouth Harbour around 10 a.m. Fortunately we were able to get a good hold with our anchor on the second try.  With the boat secure, we headed in on the dinghy so we could let Pirate do her business.  We then walked over to English Harbour to complete the customs formalities with our favorite customs agent, Detrecia, and get Pirate checked in by the vet. Once again, all the women behind the thick glass at customs came out into the customs hall to pet Pirate.  With all the attention, Pirate thinks she's a celebrity now.

Over the next few days we relaxed and enjoyed Falmouth Harbour.  We ate out at our favourite restaurants and went back to Shirley Heights on Sunday to listen to the huge steel drum band and take in the spectacular view.  Over the weekend, we had front row seats from the stern of the boat to watch the Laser and Optimist National Championships.  They have some very talented young sailors in the islands.   Roger was watching closely hoping to get some tips for this year's Ryestone Cup regatta in Cognashene.

Throughout 2 days of very close racing, with boats missing each other by inches, we did not hear a single yell or curse from any of the competitors. Roger commented that he has never seen a more respectful group of sailors in his life. He was so impressed that he and Pirate went over to the closing ceremony of the regatta to talk with the young sailors and watch them receive their awards.  

There is always some kind of sailboat racing taking place in Falmouth Harbour, which I think is what draws us there.  One evening, the local Yacht Club boats were racing.  Despite participating in these weekly races, one of the local boats (with an older, more seasoned captain) managed to run aground on one of the many reefs in Falmouth Harbour.   Seeing the predicament they had landed in (or on), Roger raced off in the dinghy to provide assistance.  Shortly afterward, the yacht club inflatable arrived as well and with the efforts of 3 inflatables, they were able to get the keelboat back on its way again.

There were fewer SuperYachts in Falmouth Harbour during March than during our last visit. Our new friend Tommy, the club manager, mentioned that many of them have already set off for Europe where they will cruise the Mediterranean for the summer.  It also keeps them out of harm's way for the hurricane season which I imagine must help with their insurance.  However, Jeff Bezos' (Amazon) boat, Koru, arrived while we were there.  It is a 417 ft, 3-masted sailing yacht and is known to be the largest sailing yacht in the world, costing around $500 million.  Roger walked down the dock with Pirate to check it out, however, surprisingly, he was not invited on board. 😉 

The boats in the harbour create quite a magical vista at night.  This was our view from Indian Summer, our favourite curry restaurant in the islands.   Bezos' boat is the second from the right. Michael McCain's (Maple Leaf Foods) 'little' 130 ft sail boat is to the left. 

The night before heading out, we joined our friends Poli and Bryan from Joli, a beautiful restored 1974 C&C 61, on an excursion to the local pizza joint called Famous Mauro.  We had met them last in Ste Anne, Martinique almost 2 months before, so it was nice to catch up.  We were planning to stop by the local brewery, 2SIX8 Craft Brewery, on our way for pizza, but unfortunately it was closed. You never know in the Caribbean, so we'll try that next time.  

The next day we discovered that Pirate might need one last document before our departure - a government issued export health certificate within 10 days of departure.  Our primary contact in Antigua, Dr. Edwards, was out of the country and we still had not heard back yet from the government Veterinary and Livestock Division.  However, through one of the local vets we were able to get the direct number for Dr. Kellman who works for the government.  She was very accommodating and organized a time to meet at her office in St. John the next day.  

In the morning, we set off from Falmouth to St. John in a somewhat questionable taxi.  The trip provided a better look at the island.  The island is generally well kept and one of the cleanest islands we have experienced. The children all wear matching uniforms to school and there are many small local businesses that line the main roads.  Everyone seems happy and friendly, except perhaps the construction workers who were blocking the road our taxi driver wanted to take.  Given the relatively poor state of the roads, I think they are guaranteed unlimited work.  

After an $80 cab ride, 5 minutes with the vet, and $50 for the export health certificate, we were ready to go.  (As it turns out, this document would be checked twice during our departure at the Antigua airport, so the time and money was more than worth it.). 

With government document in hand, we boarded Adventure 1 and set out for Jolly Harbour, mid way up Antigua, where we would sit at anchor for a couple of days before heading into the marina for a few more days to prepare for haul-out.   Pirate and was very happy to get in the water for a much needed swim to cool off. 

Jolly Harbour anchorage is popular as it remains quite calm, even in high winds.  You also have a magnificent view of the sunset.   Although the mooring field is not as large, it reminds us somewhat of Ste Anne in Martinique.  

After enjoying a couple of nights at anchor, and a few refreshing swims, we headed into the Jolly Harbour Marina so that we could start the process of getting the boat ready to be hauled.  We also met with a gentleman who will regularly check on the boat while we are gone.

For the next couple of days we worked preparing the boat for the 9 months on the hard (on a cradle in the marina storage yard).  Roger and I took the jib off, but fortunately we were able to get some fellow Canadians on the dock to help with removing the main as it is unbelievably heavy.  We think this may have been a source of Roger's hernia last year.  It took 4 guys to haul the main to the dock and fold it up.   

Roger also removed the canvas dodger, awning and sail cover while I got the inside cleaned up. It is imperative to get rid of all traces of food so the boat does not attract unwanted little crawly guests over the summer months. This annual process involves getting rid of the left over food, cleaning out the fridge, freezer and pantry.  Fortunately our Canadian friends were able to take some things off our hands.  

One of Rogers favorite things to do is a random act of kindness. So he dropped some of our non-perishable supplies into the worst boat tied up at the dingy dock and then gave the rest to the workers in the haul-out yard. 

Below is a picture of the boat ready for haul-out the next day.  Stripped of the sails and canvas, it reminded us of the way the boat looked when we originally decided to purchase it from Sunsail 2.5 years ago.  

The sun is intense, so when sailing in the Caribbean you spend 90% of the time under the protection of the canvas awning. With the canvas packed away, Pirate still managed to find a little bit of shade while waiting for us to finish up. BTW, the publish date for this blog is April 4 which happens to be Pirates 7th birthday. Happy Birthday Pirate!  Who knew then that you would have sailed twice through the Caribbean islands by the time you were 7 ?  

Fortunately, after some searching, I managed to find a very nice hotel  that would take Pirate - The Tradewinds Hotel on the north coast of Antigua.  The people there were absolutely lovely and very accommodating.  We stayed there for a couple nights until the boat was hauled out and we were ready to fly out. It was a very fun way to end our time in Antigua and our time in Caribbean. 

At our final dinner we discussed our past 3.5 months during which we sailed 1000 ocean miles and visited 6 countries.  Now that the boat is optimized, and we are more knowledgeable on the ins and outs of travelling in the Caribbean, we decided we will just have to do it all again next year. Thank you for following our adventures and please stay tuned for a January 2026 update.