Antigua and Barbuda

Kathy scrabbling up river

 Jeremy made a full recovery from the jellyfish sting. We enjoyed Pigeon Island in Guadeloupe snorkelling in the Jaques Cousteau National Park. We saw the underwater statue of the great diver, which was rather disappointing. We’d expected something grand. Perhaps it is more impressive if you see it underwater. From the surface, it appeared to be little more than a bust, which could easily have been mistaken for the base of a boat mooring.

Deep Bay to the right, the lagoon to the left

Deshaies in the north west of Guadeloupe was our last port of call. We decided to hike up a river and return by road. Our cruising guide told us a five year old had hiked this with no problems. The child must have been unusually tall and strong because I found the two hour trek quite strenuous as I stepped from rock to rock, sometimes scrambling and slipping. It was a lovely, shady experience with many waterfalls and pools. Next time, I’ll take a spare pair of socks!

St Johns Harbour, capital of Antigua

The passage from Guadeloupe to Antigua is about 40 miles. We motored all the way in almost calm seas. We couldn’t believe it after all the extra strong trade winds we’ve had. We checked in at Jolly Harbour where we met up with our Canadian friends, Ann and Barry, from Cat’s Paw IV, last seen at St Helena in February 2013. It was great to catch up with them, exchange news and play bridge. Then we had to move on to St Johns to meet my sister, Pat. We took her to nearby Deep Bay, which has a quiet, sandy beach and an inner lagoon. The Grand Royal Antiguan Resort takes up only a small corner of the beach. In contrast, Dickenson Bay, our next stop, was a mile or so of resorts, sunbeds and sunshades stretching along the sand. It was a good starting point for the 25 mile passage to Barbuda. The wind and swell were near perfect for a good sail. Pat helped with the steering and hauling the lines. We had a lunch stop at Cocoa Point, where there is an exclusive resort with a private airport. No yachties allowed.

Off snorkelling on the south of Barbuda

We eyeballed our way through the reefs on the south coast and spent two wonderful days snorkelling in clear water, going ashore only once to walk in a wilderness of old dry scrubland, finding empty beach huts and shelters. One of them had two upholstered sofas and picnic tables made from pallets giving the impression that the owners would be returning soon.

Jeremy and Pat on Barbuda's 11 mile beach

We needed some provisions, so we motored round to Louis Mouth, the nearest anchorage to the only town on Barbuda, Codrington. The next day we could not safely go ashore as a ground swell was crashing on the beach and the breaking surf was 10ft high. After 24 hours the swell had abated and we went ashore prepared to get wet.

The sea, sand bar, lagoon and Codrington in the distance

We hauled the dinghy over a narrow sand bar to the inner lagoon, jumped in and motored into the wind for 2 miles. Pat and I changed in the toilets at Codrington; Jeremy dried out in the sun. We found the well-stocked supermarket and had lunch in a local restaurant. Soon it was time to depart, so Pat and I put our wet clothes on and we returned to Sal Darago without incident. It is possible to call a water taxi for the lagoon crossing. We chose not to pay the 50USD charge for this service.

Two great birds on an island

 On return to Antigua, we spent a night at Great Bird Island, protected from the Atlantic by a reef. The snorkelling was good and a short walk on the island led to two deep sink holes. A few small tourist boats call here and some enterprising locals have set up clothing and jewellery stalls on the beach. The next day we went to a massive boat haul-out facility at Crabbs Point to fill up with drinking water. There is a shortage of water on Antigua at the moment. We were able to fill up with non-potable water but had to go to a shop to buy bottled drinking water. After a bar lunch in Parham, we returned to Deep Bay for the night and Jolly Harbour the following day. Here, we took on diesel at the fuel dock and water. A rusty looking brown liquid filled our containers and we were not charged for this “water”. Fortunately, the supermarket had plenty of bottled water.

Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua

After a night in Carlisle Bay on the south coast, we anchored in Falmouth Harbour. We spent an hour or two looking round the historic Nelson’s Dockyard, which is the only remaining working 17^th century dockyard in the Eastern Caribbean. After a steep walk over the hill to Pigeon Beach, we refreshed ourselves at the beach bar before walking back to Falmouth on the road. Just a few yards from the dinghy dock Pat slipped on the dirt track and fell full length, twisting her ankle badly. With support, she made it to the dinghy dock, placing her foot in the sea as we motored gently back to SD. Soon she was resting on deck with an ice pack on her ankle having taken pain killers. The accident did not prevent her from thrashing us at Trivial Pursuit that night! Today, her ankle is much better, but she is staying on board to rest it. She returns to the UK on Thursday, so we all hope she will be walking all right by then.

Walking to the beach from Fort Berkeley