Hi Everyone.
So a LOT has been going on since our last catch up.
Sorry it’s been a while but we had some technical issues but it looks like we are now back!
We are now in Falmouth Harbour in Antigua. We arrived in English Harbour last Saturday and I must say making landfall in Antigua was quite the experience and one thing to cross off my bucket list.
Our sail from Terre de Haut in the Saintes to Deshaies on the NW of Guadeloupe was uneventful. We had a very fast passage for the Open Atlantic part of the journey where we were hitting 9 knots and then as expected the wind dropped when we got into the lee of Guadeloupe. We motor sailed some of the way to keep the speed up and we got into Deshaies around 1pm.
The one obstacle when approaching ports is the amount of lobster pots scattered around the entrance. Those of you who are sailors will know that this is always a challenge when sailing close to land but usually they are clearly marked. In the Caribbean they use tiny water bottles as floats so they are really hard to see. This really means that making landfall in the dark is not a viable option so we have been working our sailing plan to arrive by 5pm latest. This allows us time to have the crew dive the anchor and make sure we are well dug in for the night!
Deshaies as well as being a very pretty little fishing village is a clearing port for Guadeloupe – We found a customs computer in a little shop called the pelican and we completed all the paperwork to clear out the boat and crew. Our next challenge was the health check for Antigua. We read online that the only requirement for fully vaccinated people was to complete an antigen test. We naively thought we could self administer this and we all took the test on the Saturday morning that we planned to set sail for Antigua. However we realised quickly that we had no proof of taking the test and that we should have had this done in a health centre. We realised this too late and we would have missed our weather window for the sail to Antigua so we decided to set sail and take our chances.
We left Deshaies at 9:30 Saturday morning and once we cleared the NW tip of Guadeloupe we experienced the full Atlantic sailing conditions with big seas and winds of 20 + knots. We put a rule in place that anyone leaving the cockpit needed to wear a life jacket and a harness. There is a 1-2 knot current that runs east to west so it was really important to sail above the rhumb line to stay on course.
We shared the helming and arrived in English harbour around 4:30pm. We were advised by the port authority that we needed to anchor in Freeman bay until we were health cleared. We dropped the anchor and hoisted the yellow Q flag which indicates that we are waiting to be cleared in. Shortly after, a rib zoomed out to us and gave us a bunch of papers to fill out. Now was the moment of reckoning – How could we convince them to accept our self administered antigen test! We waited for about 15 minutes while they went through our papers by torch light and we were very relieved when they stamped everything and announced that we had cleared the health check. As is the norm as captain, I was told I could go ashore to English harbour on Sunday morning and clear customs. I got all the passports and boat registration documents together and went ashore on our dinghy.
One thing we’ve learned is that the islands take their independence seriously and checking in is definitely a process – I went from customs to immigration, then back to customs and then finally cleared by the port authority.
What a relief. Then back to the boat where we lowered our Q flag.
Once cleared we brought the boat into Nelson’s dock and spent two night in the harbour stern side to the dock. We managed to open a wee tab in the galley inn where we became their best customers🙂
We did a fabulous hike out to fort Berkeley and onto pidgeon beach. English Harbour and Falmouth are two separate bays but only separated by a tiny isthmus that takes 10 minutes to walk. English harbour is steeped in history and Falmouth is a beautiful natural harbour and the defacto home for the world’s super yachts!
We moved the boat around the corner to Falmouth and anchored betweeen pidgeon beach and Antigua yacht club. For me, this has been the highlight of the trip so far. It’s a beautiful anchorage and we can oogle at all the super yachts as they pass by. Great vibe ashore – Lots of sailors hanging out – lots of American yachts which didn’t surprise me but lots of Canadian flagged boats as well which did surprise me little. Overall a very international vibe going on.
And then there’s a story within a story.
My good buddy Louis is embarking on an adventure to sail around the world on his oyster 65 – Irene IV. Irene IV started the journey in kinsale ireland and then via the canaries crossed the Atlantic and guess where she is berthed? Falmouth harbour! Louis has a full time skipper – Stuart – on board so we hooked up with him and Louis’s cousin Raymond who gave us a tour of the boat – she’s a beaut. An amazing part of Louis’s story is his family’s connection with Antigua. His grand uncle Vernon Nicholson sailed from Ireland to Antigua in 1949 and the Nicholson family were the pioneers who set up the Yachting industry in Antigua which is now a world class setup. Louis is embarking on the Oyster world rally which kicks off on 10th January. As a first stop they will be heading south to Grenada so we plan to rendezvous with Irene IV as we head back North. You can follow Louis’s story on Linkedin under ChartingIreneVoyage and I’ll link in the blog. https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/chartingirenevoyage/
So what’s next for us?
Well we plan to sail Bermuda East to Green Island today which is off Antigua’s eastern most tip. It is a short passage of 10 miles upwind and is quite remote. One of the anchorages there is solely protected by a coral reef and the reef is the only thing protecting you from the Atlantic Ocean and the waves rolling in unbroken from Africa.
We’ll spend a day or two there and then back to Falmouth to get an antigen test which is a new requirement for entry back into Guadeloupe. Then we will sail back down to Deshaies in Guadeloupe where we clear customs into Guadeloupe and onto Terre de Haut in the Saintes where we can clear out and head to our next adventure in Dominica.
Catch up with you in a a couple of days.
Thanks for watching.
Follow our boat Bermuda on https://www.noforeignland.com/boat/4967280230268928
