“Cruisers' plans are written in the sand at low tide” - Unknown
Before we arrived in Antigua, the plan was to spend about a week there, go up to her sister island Barbuda for a week and then head for what will be our home base in St. Martin with brief stops in St. Kitts and/or St. Barts on the way. It was a good plan, but silly me, I forgot that all-important sailing rule in that the weather is king and always has the last word. Bottom line, we’ve been here for two weeks now because with the wind and swells that Barbuda has been getting, there is no way we could have a safe and comfortable anchorage there, nor are the conditions favorable for going to St. Kitts and Nevis That’s OK. Antigua is actually a lovely place to be stuck, so let me share a little of what we’ve seen and discovered about this island.
Antigua’s first inhabitants, the Amerindians date back to 2900 BC. As of 1200 AD, the agricultural Arawaks lived on the island and were displaced around 1500 by the Caribs--an aggressive people who ranged all over the Caribbean. Their ‘claim to fame’ in modern day history is a local beer which is named after them. Christopher Columbus named the island in 1493 after Santa Maria la Antigua, the miracle-working saint of Seville, but Europeans didn’t settle there for another century due to resistance from the Caribs and a lack of fresh water.
Antigua’s first inhabitants, the Amerindians date back to 2900 BC. As of 1200 AD, the agricultural Arawaks lived on the island and were displaced around 1500 by the Caribs--an aggressive people who ranged all over the Caribbean. Their ‘claim to fame’ in modern day history is a local beer which is named after them. Christopher Columbus named the island in 1493 after Santa Maria la Antigua, the miracle-working saint of Seville, but Europeans didn’t settle there for another century due to resistance from the Caribs and a lack of fresh water.
The English arrived in 1684 and established sugar plantations. To run their plantations, they brought in African slaves who eventually gained emancipation in 1834 and their descendants make up the bulk of the current population. The island became independent from the UK in 1981, but remains part of the Commonwealth. Due to its natural protected harbors, the British Navy developed it as its base under Horatio Nelson in 1784. His job was to construct what is now known as Nelson’s dockyard. Apparently he spent most of his time in the cramped quarters of his ship, declaring the island to be a “vile place and a “dreadful hole.”
We disagree. We found the island to be a lovely place with many beautiful natural beaches and coves, charming local houses gaily painted with gingerbread trim and a fine selection of cafes and eating establishments many of which are right on the beach. The island is expensive and there are a few too many all-inclusive resorts for our taste, but I guess both are necessary for the island’s economy which relies mainly on tourism.
We disagree. We found the island to be a lovely place with many beautiful natural beaches and coves, charming local houses gaily painted with gingerbread trim and a fine selection of cafes and eating establishments many of which are right on the beach. The island is expensive and there are a few too many all-inclusive resorts for our taste, but I guess both are necessary for the island’s economy which relies mainly on tourism.
St. John’s is the largest city on the island and hosts the cruise ship industry. The waterfront has been specifically developed for the cruise ship trade, but the city has retained a local flair and is a pleasant place to walk around and the people are friendly. The Lonely Planet describes it as follows: “Intriguingly shabby, St John's is worth a day's exploration. Good cafés, idiosyncratic shops, a grand cathedral, a cute little museum, a thriving market and more line the chaotic streets of the fairly compact center. There's a melange of buildings ranging form the 19th-century survivors to modern-day horrors." We concur.
We began our stay in Falmouth Harbour and spent an enjoyable week moored up at the Catamaran Marina. Shelagh commented to Alan in an e-mail before our arrival that there were a lot of ‘big boats’ at this marina. “Surely she’s forgotten how big Taka Trois is,” we thought. HA! The woman knows her boats. Upon arrival we were relegated to the pontoon equivalent of the ‘kids’ table at a wedding as we were one of the smallest boats there. Very humbling, but wonderful for boat lovers as there were some beautiful specimens to behold. The nearby Falmouth Marina had even larger specimens including the Maltese Falcon one of the largest privately owned sailing yachts in the world at 88 m (289 ft). Not a hint boat envy for us though, Taka Trois and her 45 feet are just about all we can handle.
We visited Nelson’s famous dockyard at English Harbour where many of the original buildings and structures are well-preserved/re-built and the site is charming. There are no naval ships here, just super-yachts competing for the distinction of biggest and shiniest. Over-looking English harbor is Shirley Heights, the site of the a military look-out where we joined locals and tourists for an evening of steel pan, reggae, barbecue and rum and were treated to a dazzling view of Falmouth and English harbors as well as a spectacular sunset over the island.
After a week’s stay in Falmouth Harbour and Alan and Shelagh’s last day, we decided to sail with them up the coast to Jolly Harbour where, we planned to stay for just a day or two to take advantage of its excellent ship chandlery and facilities before moving on to Barbuda. Falmouth Harbour didn’t let go of us easily however, and talk about getting stuck, we ran aground just a few feet away from our berth! We had been concerned that depth might be a problem for us when leaving from our assigned berth before leaving, but when we raised the question to the the harbor master (mistress, actually) she assured us that there would be no problem as the bottom was soft mud. She was wrong.
Although the harbor floor was indeed soft mud with some gravel, as Patrice saw when he dove down to check, the keel got somehow completely wedged into that mud and would not budge! The harbor officials offered little assistance, but thankfully our pontoon neighbors all came out to us on their dinghies to lend a hand and their advice. This ready willingness to help it is one of the things I love about this lifestyle. After two hours (!) of trying various ideas and combinations of pushing and pulling, while trying not to panic a local fishing boat came to the rescue and pulled us out. Whew!
Although the harbor floor was indeed soft mud with some gravel, as Patrice saw when he dove down to check, the keel got somehow completely wedged into that mud and would not budge! The harbor officials offered little assistance, but thankfully our pontoon neighbors all came out to us on their dinghies to lend a hand and their advice. This ready willingness to help it is one of the things I love about this lifestyle. After two hours (!) of trying various ideas and combinations of pushing and pulling, while trying not to panic a local fishing boat came to the rescue and pulled us out. Whew!
Taka Trois suffered a few scratches and our sailor’s pride got a bit bruised, but otherwise we came out of it unscathed. We got to Jolly Harbour in good time, dropped anchor before the marina to have a swim off the boat and then got ourselves a berth in the marina before having a last meal with Shelagh and Alan and saying farewell to them. We have been here for almost a week enjoying a lively marina complete with a swimming pool, several bars and restaurants and a beautiful mile-long beach to walk along while waiting for the weather to change so that we can continue northward. God and weather willing, maybe tomorrow...?
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