Ian wears new boardshorts

After a few complaints from relatives about Ian wearing the same board shorts every day Thursday, February 17 brought a day of change. Coincidently Ian also discovered that camouflage shorts were banned in Antigua and it probably wasn't a good idea to continue wearing them while he was here. We went for a walk in the new shorts up to the fort at the entrance of English Harbour and had a few beers to watch the sun set. The cannons were still in their original condition and all the markings were legible. After the sunset we watched the moon rise over the bay which was really pretty especially after a few beers. When we returned to the boat we were invited for more drinks with Laura and John on the neighbouring yacht called 'Jovita'. They were a lovely couple but we drank way too much rum (well Ian did).

The Deck

Whilst in the marina we decided it was a good chance to get our teak decking re-varnished. A very labour intensive job that Ian and I had intended to do ourselves but probably would never get around to. James a local guy gave us a good quotation and convinced us to go ahead with the work. O'Neill, one of the boat boys that helped us with our lines made sure that other boats stayed off our port and starboard so the work could be done.

Nelsons Dockyard English Harbour

On Tuesday, February 15 we sailed around to Nelsons Dockyard in English Harbour. An amazing historic harbour complete with original buildings and the odd cannon mounted around the marina. We had come in to get repairs done on our headsail and pick up more supplies. We had a stern to berth which was a little tricky to get into but the boat boys were great in assisting us. Ironically we were berthed next to another Island Packet 485 called 'Pelekan'. It was hull number 23 from the factory and our yacht was hull number 22. The owners Tom and Jocelyn were a lovely couple and we went to their well equipped yacht for drinks that evening. It was great to get some tips from them and ask questions about the little problems that we had been having on our yacht. They seemed to have been going through the same ordeals so it made us feel a lot better.

Deep Bay Antigua

We spent two nights in Deep Bay relaxing and trying to catch up on sleep. The weather wasn't the best for snorkelling but we went out in our dinghy and checked out Shipstern Wreck. I took the dinghy for a spin as well trying to find some sheltered snorkelling. In the afternoon we decided to go ashore and check out the view from the fort. It was pretty incredible and obviously wind swept! I was driving the dinghy onto the beach but unfortunately Ian jumped out a little too early and made a huge splash in the water. Completely saturated he was telling me off as resort couples glared at us in the distance. One fellow yachtsmen came over to intervene and help pull the dinghy ashore. I think Ian was madder about the public humiliation of falling in the water fully clothed rather then my coordination of a perfect commando style beach landing.

Antigua

On Wednesday February 8 we woke up early and decided to sail to Antigua. The swell was so bad in the bay that we hadn't really slept all night and even rolled out of bed a few times. I discovered two more words that don't really go together 'sailing' and 'sleeping'. It was another rough journey with no improvement in the weather. As we left Montserrat and scaled the huge swells we discussed the option of turning back. After some thought we decided to press on arriving in Fryers Bay Antigua just before sunset. We could see the 5 islands and Jolly Harbour as the sun set. We had a better nights sleep this time and a good rinse off in the ocean. The next morning we got up early to check in at Jolly Harbour. The name suited the place well and the harbour was really cute with a lovely marina, residential estate and golf course resort development. We did a few of the usual shore chores including dropping off rubbish and buying fresh food supplies. After the visit to land we picked up anchor and sailed up to Deep Bay. This was a lovely little anchorage that was in fact quite shallow and had it's own shipwreck for diving and snorkelling.

Rendevouz Bay

We anchored in a beautiful bay with one lonely house on it. The bay was also a local dive site so we took off in the afternoon to do some snorkelling. The underwater terrain was similar to Saba's volcanic sea floor and very interesting. I wanted to try out the diving but due to the weather we had to leave Montserrat earlier than expected. That evening we had a surprise visit from a yachtsman called Glen and two of his friends Anne and Cal. He was sailing his Catamaran called 'Rocketeer' to Guadeloupe and called in to the anchorage for the night. They invited us over for drinks that evening. The Catamaran was huge with a big open lounge and it was much more stable in the swell than our yacht. Going to another yacht for drinks sounds easy but not in the dark holding a torch and a bottle of wine in a rolling ocean. All my pants got wet getting in and out of our dinghy. Luckily I managed to hold on to the wine which was the most important bit. We really enjoyed chatting to Glen and his crew that night.

Montserrat

The swells and wind on our sail to Montserrat were even bigger than expected. Ian had to go below a few times to secure things and I drove clinging on to the wheel as the boat seemed to climb the waves and then bash down the other side of them while rocking and rolling to the port and starboard. Water was everywhere and sometimes I couldn't tell if it was from the sea or the rain. I gave up wiping my sunglasses in the end. We saw fisherman out in their little boats pulling up lobster pots. Talk about being more insane than us. They were bobbing around on the ocean like corks. As we approached Montserrat we could see the cone of the still active volcano hidden behind the clouds. Unfortunately the island had suffered with most of the population leaving after the last volcanic eruption never to return. The calmer seas welcomed us to the only anchorage available now. All other areas of the islands coastline were unfortunately closed. Ian went on shore to complete immigration procedures but there was a lot of security to get through and we were a bit worried about leaving our yacht.