I will confess that we can get into a bit of a rut. Having been in the Caribbean for 6 years, bouncing up and down the islands every “winter”, we have got into the habit of going to favourite places, and doing the “well, if we don’t do it this year, it will still be there next year” rationalisation. It’s easy that way; we know where to get our groceries and I know where to run. It’s a simple life.
However, every once in a while we also realise that we aren’t doing ourselves any favours by doing the same old same old. Antigua has a lot more going for it than just Falmouth Harbour and Jolly Harbour for anchorages. This time, we have struck out to check some of them out.
The northeast corner of Antigua is protected by some great reefs and a bunch of islands… perfect for a boat to find places to drop the hook. On Monday morning, after giving ourselves a kick in our complacency, we headed out to the Boone Channel to go to, for us, unexplored waters. The trip was uneventful, and with the cruising guide close by and two chartplotters to eyeball, it was easy enough.
Our first anchorage is described by Chris Doyle as “pretty”. Jumby Bay is off Long Island, and enclave of private homes and villas. The anchorage only had one other cruising boat in it, and it was lovely. Reefs to the north protected us from swell, and the island to the east limited the fetch so that it was quite calm. The wakes of the waterski tow boat was a nuisance, and the tender to the residents was a minor annoyance. However, compared to some anchorages, it wasn’t bad at all. By the next morning, the wind had shifted to a much more northerly direction, and the conditions were less uncomfortable. It seemed like getting to another spot would be a good idea. On the south side of the island is Douglas Bay, with excellent protection from the more northerly winds that we are expecting over the next week. After a quick breakfast, we motored around, to enjoy our coffee in the much more protected bay.
Unfortunately, we are not welcome to wander the island, but beaches are considered public in Antigua, so we can’t be denied access to the sand. I’ve done some water running and workouts on the boat, but haven’t gone to shore yet for me to do some running, whether by swimming or rowing the dinghy.
Before we left Jolly Harbour, we had a few social interactions. Brad, one of the longtime readers of this blog, and someone we had corresponded with by email and Skype, is down here with his wife, enjoying the use of their boat for a couple of weeks. We had the opportunity to entertain them on ‘Silverheels III’. We also helped out a gorgeous 75’ yacht with classic lines and the matching brightwork who was dragging a very long line behind them. Sam and Adrian, the couple who crew the boat, had us over for drinks as thanks. Both crews enjoyed the Chairman’s Reserved Spiced Rum that we brought out.
Hopefully we will have more to say about the other anchorages. At least today we have sunshine again after a very cloudy and rainy day yesterday. But at least we don’t have to shovel it.