Around Nelsons Dockyard

On Tuesday Ian was busy with the generator engineer for 7 hours so I had time to have a walk around the Dockyard and take a few photos. There was a cruise ship due in so traditional costumes were worn by some of the staff and a band was playing outside one of the cafes which created a very different atmosphere. The photo of the pillars is interesting because in the past ships sailed up to the small canal and had repairs done to their sails in the wooden building which once sat on top of the pillars. There is now a hotel in the Admirals House overlooking the pillars and this makes for a great place to have a drink.

Race Day RORC Caribbean 600

Monday, February 21 was the RORC yacht race in Antigua. We watched the start of the race from the hill at the top of Nelson's Dockyard. Rambler shown in this photo was the first yacht across the line and also broke a monohull race record. A few of the people from local businesses that we had met at the Dockyard were also in the race which made the event more interesting for us. Of course we were not in the race and nowhere near qualified!

Dinner on SV Vimy

Sunday was another work day and scorching hot. The workers were still finishing off our deck teak and Ian and I did odd jobs. In the afternoon we jumped in the dinghy and headed over to the beach for a cool off. When we got back to Faraway we washed her down in our swimsuits then had unexpected visitors Dave and Lynn from Moonbeam of Argyle and Darryl and Denise from Vimy. It was a lovely sundowners with drinks and good company. The next day we were invited over for dinner on Vimy and Denise made us a lovely dinner while Darryl tended to our drinks. This is a photo of Darryl and Denise just after sunset.

Devils Bridge Antigua

We came across an interesting rock formation called 'Devils Bridge'. The Atlantic Ocean is carving out a bridge like formation in the limestone. The seaspray was amazing when the waves rolled in and under the rocks you could hear a strange gurgling noise as the water tried to rush out again. Ian also took the opportunity to model his new 'crew wear'. Due to the excessive heat of the Caribbean Ian had decided to start wearing the white t-shirts he had brought with him rather than donate them to the islanders further south. It was a good move because his cotton polo shirts had proved to be too hot and heavy to wear during the day. Interestingly enough it seemed to be the fashion for men around most of the island and we kept seeing guys in khaki shorts and white t-shirts. Ian had hit the big time in fashion.

Half Moon Bay Antigua

For all the Saudi readers we couldn't resist the temptation of visiting Half Moon Bay in Antigua for a cool off. The visibility was about 20 metres, the water temperature around 27 degrees and the salinity was very low in this aquamarine bay that faced the Atlantic Ocean. There were crashing waves, a long white sandy beach, palm trees and a bar at the entrance to the car park. Here bikinis were allowed but surprisingly no nudity permitted in Antigua.

Antigua Island Tour by car

On Saturday, February 19 we still had the hire car and decided to go for an island tour. We drove up to Shirley Heights and got a wonderful view of the island from the visitors centre. The view down to English Harbour and Falmouth was very impressive and we could just see Faraway moored at the dockyard outside the 'Hot Hot Spot Coffee Shop'. We saw a schooner heading out of the harbour and tried to imagine what life would have been like in Nelson's days.

Seafood Night

We woke up a little later than usual to the sound of Jovita leaving the dock. Ian still had a bit of a headache from the rum but it was wearing off. John was proudly wearing his favourite t-shirt 'Got Rum' to tease Ian as they sailed off. We got a hire car and headed to St. John's to do some business for the day. In the evening we went over for the seafood night which had come highly recommended. We saw the main lobster guests being delivered to the restaurant early in the morning. The lobsters were grilled on an open BBQ and served with salad and garlic bread. Delicious. We sat at an outdoor table with Dave and Lynn who had sailed from Scotland on their yacht called 'Moonbeam of Argyle'. Yes they were Scottish if anyone was wondering and very knowledgeable about sailing. There was also an outdoor beer tent and the barman said he wanted us to visit often which was no problem. We sampled the local Antigua beer and found that to be pretty good. The beer label even had a map of the island on it to help you remember the location of where you were actually drinking from!