Feeling ready for more sailing, we departed Antigua next morning in a stiff breeze. With all our skills to the fore, the skipper nudged Trilogy out of the tight berth, the crew releasing lines under instruction from the marina staff, as the lines were looped onto pylons to which adjacent yachts were also secured. Once out beyond the extensive shoals that surround southern Antigua , we hoisted the mainsail to the 2nd reef and set the staysail for a beam reach to Montserrat.
The pictures and descriptions of Montserrat Island were all quite enticing, but when we arrived at our anchorage at Little Bay, we wondered if we had the right island! Often ports are not attractive, but most islands offer some immediate charm with golden sand and palm trees swaying. What greeted us was a concrete jetty, a pink and white painted customs building, and a strange looking collection of Caribbean style huts. We were tired and hungry, so after a nourishing lunch, we started to read the books more closely to see what else was available.
Christopher Columbus in 1493 named the island after the countryside around the Catalan monastery of Montserrat, not far from Barcelona. From 1632 the island became the refuge of Irish Catholics suffering from English persecution during Cromwell's time. Given its strategic position, it was one of the centres of the struggles between the French and English during the 18th century. It became definitively English following the Treaty of Versailles in 1783.
Before its lower half became devastated by cataclysmic eruptions of the Soufrière Hills Volcano in 1995, Montserrat was a carefree island paradise, famous as the birthplace of the late Alphonsus Cassell, creator of the soca hit 'Hot, Hot, Hot' and as the home of Air Montserrat, the famous recording studio founded by Beatles producer Sir George Martin. Sting and Eric Clapton were among the many stars who recorded here. Sir George died earlier this year and the studio is no more.
Life changed drastically on 18 July 1995 when a series of ash falls, pyroclastic flows and mud flows buried the capital Plymouth and other smaller settlements, farmland and forests. The volcano, which had been dormant for 400 years, began shooting a steam plume into the air and roaring like a jet engine. The flow of debris was slower and more viscous than lava and it was not until April 1996 that the final occupation of Plymouth and all other areas to the south and east ended. Around 11,000 residents were evacuated and resettled in the north of Montserrat or emigrated to Britain. Today travelling to Montserrat still has an element of risk and there is a permanent land and maritime exclusion zone in place, which can only be entered by the scientists who closely monitor all activity.
The Doyle's pilotage recommended Joe Phillip as the guide of choice. He was described as 'fearless, entertaining and knowledgeable tour guide and taxi driver'. Somehow, we got off to a bad start with Joe, when we were negotiating the price for the tour. We asked to visit both Garibaldi Hill and Richmond Hill and Joe seemed to think that was not what he could manage in 2 hours and that he did not normally combine these two destinations. A price was agreed and off we went, with Joe's young grandson in the rear of the van.
We visited both our requested sites to view the devastation that the volcanic debris had caused. Joe had an iPad which he regularly used to make comparisons between what we were looking at and how it had been originally. There had been massive destruction which was hard to fully appreciate. We learnt how bridges became buried under more than 40 foot of mud flow, the once prestigious Montserrat Golf Club had been completely buried and saw whole townships that had been abandoned, as the risk was too high to remain. The jungle vegetation has since made its way into the buildings and virtually consumed the town. The problem with Joe seemed to escalate when we asked questions he didn't want to answer or he felt we hadn't listened to him. Peter was told 'your ears are in your pockets'! The young grandson was very polite but he copped a lashing from Joe when he interrupted his grandfather. The finale was when Joe told Peter he had not paid him enough for the tour, even though the payment was the agreed amount plus a small tip, which was all the US currency Peter had. Joe did not hold back in letting us know and we concluded it was Basil Fawlty we had been dealing with!
We now understood that the new capital for the island is slowly being established at Little Bay. There are new buildings for island administration away from the port area and the current population of 5,000 inhabitants are able to sustain themselves with cotton growing, fishing and market gardening. There were some very scenic parts of the island, especially where the expats mansions were located! One of the pilot book pictures was of a well known cafe called 'Green Monkey' with golden sand on Little Bay. That sand is now black and the 'Green Monkey' has left for the US, according to Joe...how things change!
At the jetty, we talked to a couple of young men who were cleaning their catch of lobsters and sizeable fish, which they had caught by free diving to around 30 feet. Back on board, we enjoyed spaghetti bolognaise with a lovely bottle of red wine or two, before crawling off to bed. We'd laughed a lot about Joe Fawlty and how rude he had been!