Enjoying English Harbour
18 February 2018 | English Harbour, Antigua
18th February 2018
We started the day in Carlisle Bay watching pelicans dive-bombing for food. You could watch them all day. The water was a lot clearer than the day before, which we think helps the pelicans see their targets better. Another pancake breakfast, then off round the corner towards Falmouth Harbour and English Harbour.
This is nearly the start of the Caribbean 600 yacht race, which looks to be one of the premier races in the regional calendar. There are a lot of very serious and very fast boats around with expensive looking (black) sails and lots of crew on board doing manly things. Quite exciting to watch. K also
We took a run into Falmouth Harbour to have a look at the superyachts. There are some fabulous specimens in there – both sail and power – including the famous vintage J-class Velsheda. As Duncan pointed out, most of them are a lot bigger than very big houses. Then we took a run into the much smaller, and very cute, English Harbour for more of the same.
We pushed on a couple of miles to the tiny Indian Creek, through fairly heavy Atlantic seas, in time for lunch and a swim. It was a very protected still-water lagoon that we could get into using the OVNI shallow draught freedom. Eric Clapton owns the large and low-lying villa on the Standfast Point headland on the way into the creek. The creek was surrounded by mangroves, and we were the only boat in there barring one lovely wooden gaff rigged boat on a mooring. Quite special.
Then back to English Harbour for the night. We moored at Nelson’s Dockyard – how cool is that! We are now tied to the very stonework that the great Norfolk man used to tread. They have created a super yacht marina in the grounds and buildings of the original dockyard.
Teeny weeny world – one of Kate’s university friends is sailing in the Carib 600 and is staying close by so he dropped in for a beer. Lovely to catch up after 35 years!
It’s quite a buzzy place and there are plenty of good places to eat, but also very full with all the hungry teams of racers telling their tales of derring-do. Finally the exhausted crew of Barracuda collapsed into their bunks, after another fun-packed day.