When we first sighted Antigua we could tell that it was different than the other islands that we had been to recently. There was not a volcano towering above us as we arrived but lower rolling types of hills instead.
We arrived just after sunset and on the west side of the island and decided to anchor in Five Islands Bay because it was easy to enter in the dark. We enjoyed a well deserved wonderful calm night after our bumpy 12 hour voyage from Nevis. We were anchored along with a few mega-yachts in the bay. At first as always we were in awe of all of the mega-yachts here but after being here for a couple of weeks you just start to get used to them when you see them everywhere.
Antigua is full of inlets that have sheltered bays and wonderful beaches. Legend has it that there is a beach here for every day of the year, 365 beaches. The island once was Admiral Horatio Nelson’s base and as you can imagine the home of a variety of pirates.
Next morning we motored over to Jolly Harbour which was just a stone throw’s away on the other side of the hill that we were facing. We went ashore to clear in and to check check out the place. As we drove our dinghy through the inter-harbour we could not help but notice that it was a lot like being in south Florida (of course you have to take out the hills in the distance, not many hills this big in FL). The houses were all sitting on winding canals. If I did not know where I was I would have sworn that I had gone through some sort of time warp!
Clearing in was super easy using an online system and the customs agent had what he called his “assistant” which was a long stick that he used to point to the computer screen to show Brian what parts of the form he had to fill out. Once we completed the three room shuffle…Customs, Immigration and Port Captain we were set to enjoy Antigua.
Leaving Jolly Harbour heading towards Falmouth Harbour…windward side.
Jolly Harbour was a bustling place full boats, in the harbour, the marinas and the boat yard. Brian was excited to see a Budget Marine and spent way too much time in there gazing at all of the things that they had. Thankfully they had a couple of things that we needed too so no complaints from me. We found a large grocery store too which is always exciting. Up and down every isle we went amazed at all of the choices that we had. Oh boy, we could have really broke the budget in there but, we did not and still left with lots of new items for the galley. We grabbed a couple of beers and hung out on one of the benches in the marina watching the world go by where we had the company of about 15 wild cats surrounding us as we ate our snacks. Talk about an audience!
Entering Falmouth Harbour.
We enjoyed one more day in Jolly Harbour swimming and exploring Jolly Beach close by but the winds and seas were forecast to build so we decided to move on to Falmouth Harbour on the south coast.
Moon anchored in Falmouth Harbour
The most heavily trafficked and most often visited harbours in Antigua for cruising boats are Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour. There are many other places to drop the hook, but these are the main attractions and both are very protected harbours. We once again had to beat into the waves and winds to get there…. we sure will be glad when we no longer have to drive into these east winds! Thankfully there is not too much more east traveling that we have to do because we can’t go too much further east unless we plan on traveling to Africa! I don’t see that in the plans anytime soon, but you never know what Brian has in mind 🙂
Mega Yachts, Falmouth Harbour…If you look closely you can see that one has a helicopter on deck!
Maltese Falcon, the 3rd largest sailing yacht in the world!
As we rounded the corner to enter Falmouth Harbour we could see lots and lots of boats. Apparently this was the place to be! We motored around and found ourselves a nice spot.
Now Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour are very close to one another and this was also one of the reasons that we decided to anchor in Falmouth. For one it is larger than English Harbour so more anchoring room hence more soundly sleeping at night. But the great thing is that the land that connects the two harbours is so narrow that you can cross by foot from one harbour to the other in just a few minutes. English Harbour is the most interesting of the two harbours. It is full of history and where Nelson’s Dockyard is the center of attention. (Wow, a dockyard named just for us, who would have thunk it!) So we hunkered down to sit out the big winds and we had lots of places to explore.
Nelson’s Dockyard is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the eastern Caribbean’s biggest attractions and the major symbol of England’s former power in the West Indies. It is also the only working Georgian naval dockyard in the world! Think, Admiral Horatio Nelson and 18th-century Pirates of the Caribbean, close your eyes and you can imagine yourself there.
This boat was rowed across the Atlantic!
Check out the story at tinysalanticrow.com
English ships took refuge from the hurricanes in this harbour as early as 1671. The park’s centerpiece is the restored Georgian naval dockyard, which was used by admirals Nelson, Rodney, and Hood, and was the home of the British fleet during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1784 to 1787, Nelson commanded the British navy in the Leeward Islands and made his headquarters at English Harbour.
Captain Nelson himself.
This is a working marina and there is a certain energy that you feel as you look around and see all the different kinds of boats with all the people who work on them, own them, use them and otherwise spend their time and their money on them. Um, lots of time and money!! The boats here are awe inspiring and beyond amazing. Brian roamed the grounds like a kid in a candy store…look at this and wow, check this out as he pointed out all of the ships and their working parts to me.
Fort Berekeley
Glimpse of boats anchored in Freeman Bay.
We’ve been to the grounds at Nelson’s Dockyard four times so far and always find something new to discover. We’ve hiked to nearby Fort Berkeley and along the windward trails with amazing views and more ruins that lead to the popular Pigeon Beach.
I guess that we are lucky that the winds have been so strong because they have encouraged us to stay hunkered in one place longer than we might have other wise and we’ve seen so much.
Leave to Brian to find a place to nap!
Looks like things should be quieting down here in the next couple of days and we will be hauling anchor in search of new adventures…you never know what will be waiting for us around the next corner of the sea! Next stop for us will be Jolly Harbour to re-provision in that fabulous store and then off to North Sound or one of the many small islands that fringe Antigua. Can’t wait to share more stories of our adventures with you all!
Until next time –
Jennifer and Brian