Antigua Anchorages
The end of March and beginning of April gave us a brief window to sail 12 miles south to Falmouth Harbor, again. We arrived to anchor amid a multitude of boats readying for the Antigua Classic Boat Regatta – a yearly springtime event - and a plethora of cruising boats waiting for the races and festivities to begin. The anchorage and docks were packed. We met up with friends we hadn't seen and became acquainted with new friends just arriving. The weather turned "too windy" again so we tucked in, did boat chores, read copious amounts of books, did some sewing and caught a good assortment of fish. Looking back on the calendar I can't believe we spent 30 days anchored in Falmouth Harbor.
The Antigua Classic Boat race welcomes classic boats from all over the world. These exquisite beauties, traditional or vintage, are divided into three classes: classic, spirit of tradition, and tall ships. They range in size from 30' "Meggie" from Ontario, CA to 136', J-class (1930's America's Cup racers) "Ranger" from Europe, sailing against others in their classes. The week-long regatta begins with the "Concourse d'Elegance" a dockside look at all the boats entered in the regatta, with flags flying, teak shining glass-like in the Caribbean sun, brass glistening beacon-like from the decks, stripped of "modern" equipment, crew cleaning, polishing and readying, these ladies are an impressive gathering. Race week is a crazy time with four days of racing (about 25 miles each day), "rum company" sponsored parties most every night, festivities of one kind or another occurring daily and nightly. We watched the races, met up with friends we hadn't seen in months, drank the rum, ate the food and danced to the music. And what races they were – all boats at the starting line area on staggered starts each competing for the ideal place to begin the race. In the end our favorites "Meggie," "Kate," and "Ranger" each took second place in their class. When it was all over we were ready to move on.
By the beginning of May we were settled in at the north end of Antigua near "Redhead" and "Rabbit" islands in a secluded, remote anchorage with "Conchd Out" and "Nancy Dawson". We shared memories of our times in the North Channel, except for the WARM water and conch hunts. I've dubbed this crew as the "Conch Hunters Extraordinaire" having found 17 in a matter of less than an hour, they deserve honor. We feasted on conch everything: fritters, salad, chowder, curry, cracked, sauteed and whatever else we could think of. Good thing we all liked conch.
A quick trip back to Jolly Harbor for provisions then we sailed back north to beautiful Barbuda. We love this place. The beaches and water the best most pristine we've experienced in the Caribbean. At one point we were one of three boats at our favorite anchorage near Coco Point. Dream Catcher of Jersey, friends we hadn't seen since June 2007 in Trinidad, was anchored just off the beach, waiting for us making our arrival even sweeter. After five glorious days another swell was headed our way so, quite disappointed, we cut our stay short and headed back to Jolly, but catching a nice tuna on the way helped ease the pain. The swell passed, nothing like the 17 footer in early spring, and we had another week or so before we needed to get serious about hauling Kyeta for the summer. Green Island on the east coach of Antigua was the next destination. This group of anchorages is only a morning's sail from English Harbor but feels as remote as the outer islands of the Grenadines. One anchors on the west side of a reef where the next land is Africa or in small coves protected by small, mountainous islands. There are probably 15 or so anchorages in a five mile local making it very inviting to spend lots of time exploring the area. Snorkeling, swimming, dinghying, and socializing filled the week chockablock full, ending all too quickly. We HAD to get back to Jolly – June was fast approaching.
So, at this time, "Kyeta" is high and dry in the yard at Jolly Harbor. We've been okayed, insurance wise, to spend the season in Antigua. She's stripped of all gear from the decks, cleaned inside and out, debugged, vinegared for mildew, and foiled on windows. All clothes, food, books, dishes and utensils are bagged and stored. Somehow it takes a good ten days to get things in order but we manage and have about 36 hours before our flight home to transition our brains and bodies to northern Michigan and living in more a 250 square foot space. We're always happy to be home among family and friends, to catch up on the happenings, to be a part of the on-going daily doings. It doesn't take long to fit back in.
We've seen family and friends, settled into our mom's homes, had our daughter's wedding, begun many projects and made plans for the rest of the summer/fall. We've already said to ourselves it doesn't seem possible that we really were in Antigua just two weeks ago. Four months will fly by before we head back to "Kyeta" in October.
