Antigua - Jolly Harbour
10 June 2014
Stewart Regan
20/04/2014
I have had enough of the windless mangrove swamp and we up anchor managing to break the windlass as the anchor is deep in the ooze and unwilling to budge. I had to resort to manually taking in a couple of inches of chain at a time and wait for the slight swell to overcome the Rocna’s reticence to move. After successful extraction we set sail for jolly harbour in a brisk wind.
The classics were out racing and this was an impressive sight though no photos as the spray flying around would be detrimental to Mr Nikon. I must look into getting some sort of waterproof cover for it as I seem to miss lots of photo opportunities as the camera is triple wrapped in its locker.
I get a vicious take on the large Rapala trolled at about 80 yards but not a successful hook up, this is encouraging as we have not had many takes on the fishing lures for months. I retrieve the precious lure to find it has been soundly mauled by some toothy aquatic bully.
We get another take on the stand up fishing outfit but again no hook up, I must get some pro advice!
The route to jolly harbour is shallow and the last couple of miles you can see the bottom between 3 and 8 meters which is slightly disconcerting, we pick up the bouyage to the anchorage and drop anchor in 3 meters of water. Once settled we take the dinghy in to explore, finding a Waitrose supermarket we each choose a first class rib eye steak, this takes time, each of us deliberating on the ideal thickness and balance between marbling and fat content. On the way in we spotted some buoys’ and wondered what the cost was to take one of these. Karen enquired and was told 20US so we decided that the next day we would move into Jolly harbour, this is because there is a slight roll in the anchorage and the dinghy ride is wet and takes time at sub planning speeds. If we ever do a trip like this again we will get a small rib and an outboard of at least 10hp. In the UK we were mainly in marinas and anchoring was rare, but out here we are at anchor most of the time and a wet dinghy ride away from the action. It would be hard to part with the money for this setup back home but out here it is your car and seems much more important.
Evening arrives and I sear the steaks on a very hot grill, that seductive sizzle never ceases to raise a smile and make the stomach rumble. Tonight we have ice so rum punches taste that bit better, a perfect evening!
I manage to fix the windlass, it was the solenoid and this was rectified by the generous attention of the Birmingham spanner we carry aboard. The anchor comes up and we pick up the buoy inside Jolly Harbour.
We meet another couple of cruisers and headed out to an Italian restaurant, we settled for the all you can eat pasta buffet which had great variety and was very tasty, so often these dishes can be bland. The live entertainment was good a very talented female singer shuttled between Katie Mellua and Adele numbers, managing to do justice to both. A Jolly evening was had by all!
Talking about our dinghy, we were just climbing into it from an excursion ashore when a young voice piped up “is that your boat”. I replied that it was, explaining to the young lad, that if I was going to steal a dinghy I would pick a better one. He silently nodded his agreement then asked with a frown why our engine was so small. Kids of that age are always so honest and speak their mind, if only our politicians could be programmed thus.
Our next port of call is St Martin which is about 90 miles away, this is awkward as it is over a day sail but only just. We decide to move out to Deep Bay to the north which would be easy to leave at 3am the only hazard being a wreck in the middle which actually breaks the surface at low tide, this would definitely ruin you day.
We checked out at Jolly which seemed a complicated affair going back between customs, immigration and the port authority. This does not bother me anymore, just disengage brain put down what they want you to, and go to the next place they point you toward until you are dismissed with a “what you still standin dere for, you finished” as if it is obvious the bureaucratic appetite has been satisfied!