We left Barbuda at 8:00am on May 4th to return to Antigua. There was a strange vibration around our starboard motor, so for half the trip we ran just using the port motor. Once we got into the calm waters inside Boone Reef on the north side of Antigua, we started the starboard motor again, because the vibration was only happening when we were slewing to the left during a roll over a swell, and the water inside the reef was flat. Dave later discovered that the vibration is due to something minor related to how the external pieces abut each other. It can wait to be fixed once we’re on the hard in St. Kitt’s.
We were anchored in Parham Bay, on the north shore, just before 4:00pm and shortly thereafter dinghied ashore to pick up a few items at the local market. We asked one of the fishermen where the market was and he gave us directions. It closed about 20 minutes before we got there. Bummer! There was supposed to be another market around the other side of town, but we decided not to walk that far lest it also be closed, being Sunday, after all. Plus, we were exhausted from our seven-hour cruise down from Barbuda, and it was hot. We’d come back in the morning.
It was a good thing we decided not to seek out that second market Sunday evening, because when we went in search of it the next morning, it was not where Google Maps and our cruising guide (which also had the wrong market name) had it marked. We did find it, however, thanks to the directions of another local, and procured the handful of items we sought. We went back to Lady and moved about three miles east to anchor off Great Bird Island. It was a much prettier and quieter anchorage than Parham Bay, which hosted a boatyard and a power plant, the latter emitting a low, persistent, rumbling sound. In addition, we could see the bottom at Great Bird. After lunch, we snorkeled some bits of reef in the shallow water off Great Bird. It was both depressing and a bit hopeful. We anchored dinghy in sand, but her stern was floating over an immense stand of dead staghorn coral. So sad. Looking closely, however, I noticed that there is new staghorn growth coming off the ends of some of the old, dead base. These bits were 6” long or less, but it’s a sign of rebirth. Coral grows very slowly; perhaps in the not too distant future this reef will thrive again (she says, hopefully, not really believing the words she types). At other parts of this shallow reef, there were also some soft and encrusting corals, also signs of hope.
The following morning started with rain and solid overcast, but by early afternoon the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking out occasionally, so we decided to snorkel again. This time we took dinghy to Whelk Rock, about ¾ of a mile from Great Bird. This reef is immense! It was at spots breaking the surface and got down as much as 15-20 feet in other spots. The base coral structure was, again, dead, but there was a lot of regrowth of soft and encrusting corals, and there were some fish, the usual suspects. Again, this reef system must have been amazingly beautiful in the not too distant past. 😔
We’d had enough of mostly dead reefs, so the following morning we headed to the south coast to anchor in Freeman Bay, just outside of English Harbor, home of the historic Nelson’s Dockyard. Conditions were quite calm, so we were able to take the shorter route through a channel at the north end of the reef system, then cruised down the east coast of Antigua. It only took about three hours, so we were anchored in plenty of time to snorkel the Pillars of Hercules. The snorkeling, as expected, was pathetic, although we did see some good-sized fish, as well as scattered corals and sponges, the latter of which we had not seen on the other Antiguan and Barbudan reefs. The Pillars, however, are quite impressive. These limestone structures were carved out of the cliff by thousands of years of erosion by wind, rain and crashing waves.
We swam directly from Lady to the Pillars and back. Once we dried off, we made ourselves presentable and went ashore to the Port Authority to pay the requisite fees for staying in this anchorage. Both English and neighboring Falmouth Harbors, plus the land immediately surrounding both, are part of the Nelson’s Dockyard National Park, thus the fees. We paid a one-time per person entry fee for the park, a daily per person garbage and environmental fee, and a per-foot/per night boat length anchoring fee. Our 5-day/4-night total for three people was under $100 US. Not too bad.
After paying our fees, we bopped around Nelson’s Dockyard a bit so Ian could see it. Then, we walked the short distance to Falmouth and found a restaurant for dinner. Just as we were leaving the restaurant, it started to sprinkle. By the time we got back to dinghy, tied up at Nelson’s Dockyard, it was raining. By the time we got back to Lady, we were soaked to the point where we had to wring out our clothes. Then we had to make room for our wet clothes and ourselves inside, which we managed. It could have been much worse, because there were thunderstorms around us, but they, and their associated lightning, stayed away as we passed the wet evening inside playing cards.
The Freeman Bay anchorage is small and very close to land, and therefore bugs, so we moved over to Falmouth Harbor the next morning, right after breakfast. There was a better breeze and we were further from land, but still only a short ride to a dinghy dock. Shortly after anchoring, we dinghied ashore to pick up our rental car, then we set off to tool around the island for the day. First we followed a largely coastal route across the south coast and up the west coast, stopping at a little place in the town of Five Islands for lunch. We inadvertently drove right through the busy heart of St. John’s after our attempts to circumnavigate it failed (thanks, Google Maps 🙄), then headed east/southeast stopping at Betty’s Hope Sugar Factory ruins to explore those. They had a concise, informative display about its history and that of the sugar industry on Antigua, and the remaining ruins are clustered nearby. It was worth the $2 US donation per person, even though we only got 30 minutes to tour it before they closed for the day. We continued back toward English Harbor to Shirley Heights Lookout for Reggae night, stopping to look at some of the Shirley Heights Fort ruins first. Dave and I had gone a few weeks earlier to their Sunday night music event, but didn’t eat because the line was hours long. This time, there were far fewer people and no line for the food, so we had a nice dinner, listed to the introductory steel drum band, and left before the Reggae even started. We were all tired, and our early departure got us back to Lady before it was fully dark.
Yesterday we spent another day with the rental car exploring Antigua. We started by going to Clarence House which has served as home to British Navy Commissioners and later to Governors of the Leeward Islands. Sadly, they only do private tours on certain days, and Fridays was not one of them. So, we headed over to the Dow Interpretation Center to look at the limited remains of Fort Dow, and to watch the 15-minute audio-visual presentation about the history of Antigua and English Harbor. It was a good overview, but Dave and I had already learned the content when we visited the museum in St. John’s shortly after arriving here.
With our history lesson finished, we continued our driving exploration of the island by heading up to Devil’s Bridge National Park at the northeast corner of the island, stopping for lunch in Long Cove first. Devil’s Bridge is a low, natural limestone rock arch and surrounding blowholes, carved out by the crashing waves from the open Atlantic- nothing between it and Africa other than ocean. It was interesting enough. The seas weren’t that big, so the wave crashing was less impressive than I would imagine it is when the Trade Winds are higher. I took some photos, but our timing was bad for sun position, so they don’t really show the bridge well. Alas!
After Devil’s Bridge, we just tooled around the island a bit longer on the speed-bump and pothole-riddled roads. We attempted to reach Body Ponds Nature Park, but our attempts were foiled, at both its entrances, because Google Maps, at least on this island, does not distinguish between paved roads and unpaved/heavily rutted/almost washed out roads/cow paths. (Thanks again, Google Maps!) We gave up and headed back to Falmouth, stopping for a beer at a little craft beer brewery before heading back to Lady. (The boys report that the beer was “okay.”)
This morning we gassed up and returned the rental car after making a stop at Budget Marine for a couple of replacement blower fans and a cabin fan. We also popped over to Port Authority to see about renewing our cruising permit, which expires today. We learned that (a) cruising permits can only be renewed in Jolly Harbor, where we are not, and (b) if we stay anchored where we are until we leave the country, we don’t need to renew the permit at all.
Ian leaves us tomorrow. We want to head to Montserrat for a few days before heading up to St. Kitt’s. We’ll probably choose option “b” from above, since we’ll probably head to Montserrat early this coming week.
My next post will either be from Montserrat or St. Kitt’s & Nevis. Until then, stay safe, and take care of each other!
Life on Lady 