Saturday we decided not to sail up the east coast. We visited two anchorages around from Falmouth harbour & found them very windy due to the trade winds & not particularly protected. We headed along the south coast – beautiful bays here – Carlisle Bay & Morris Bay in particular.
We decided to drop anchor off the beach at Lignum Vitae Bay – a picture perfect beach with blue, blue water, white sand & palm trees – exactly how you picture the Caribbean to be. We noticed a large catamaran anchored as we motored in & soon realised it was HAVACHAT with the Maslen family aboard. We hadn’t seen them since Rodney Bay & had a great time chatting with Pete & Martina as they took us for an afternoon cruise in their tender drinking beer & having a look at the beautiful resorts that line the beach & the boats that fill Jolly Harbour Marina next door. We didn’t head out of our anchorage here until Monday. We had a great time swimming & doing lots of walking on the beautiful beach.
Monday we headed north again just a short distance to Pinching Bay where we dropped the anchor & spent some time snorkelling. We attempted to catch a lobster or two but they were very small & got away from us very quickly! Jeremy & Susie joined us later in the afternoon after spending some more time at English Harbour repairing their water maker. Beers as the sun went down & then an early night.
Tuesday we motored to Deep Bay – again a very short distance – and anchored off the beach. We had a walk along the beach & climbed a steep hill to have a look at the ruins of Fort Barrington at the entrance to St John’s Harbour. In the afternoon we had a snorkel over a wreck at the entrance to the bay. It was great with plenty to see but the visibility wasn’t all that great. Still it is a beautiful to swim & enjoy the beautiful Antigua.
Wednesday we spent anchored in the harbour of St John’s – the capital of Antigua. We had wander around town which is totally geared for tourists as plenty of cruise ships dock here. We managed to find a new oven seal & a battery hydrometer without too much heartbreak (& money!). We’ve been having problems with our batteries for a while – not charging as well as they should & also losing charge very quickly. Unfortunately the hydrometer confirmed our fears – batteries are probably kaput! Ange had a nice browse around the Duty Free shops at Heritage & Redcliffe Quays in the afternoon & another walk through town. Another quiet night on PANNIKIN watching “The Inbetweeners” – those guys need help!
Thursday morning we headed to the 1st Choice supermarket to stock up on fresh meat & bits & pieces. This is a great supermarket a good 25 minute walk out of town along Anchorage Road. There are no footpaths here so you just walk along the road with everyone else! We saw a great sign for 3 One Day International cricket matches between West Indies & England at the Sir Vivian Richard Cricket Ground. We would love to go, but will be in the BVIs picking up our visitors by then. Lunch time we headed out of St John’s & back south to Jolly Harbour marina. We will stay here for 2 nights plugged into shore power to see what our batteries do. If they charge up we will be extremely happy. If not, new batteries for PANNIKIN. Not happy Jan!
Today we will do odd jobs on the boat & probably go to the beach! Another hard day in the beautiful Caribbean!