November 12, 2023

Antigua, Sweet Wadadli!

“Down the way

Where the nights are gay

And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached [Antigua] I made a stop”

- Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), Jamaica Farewell

Land, ho!  English Harbour, Antigua. It’s wonderful to be back.

Home to Nelson’s Dockyard - this was the Caribbean shipyard to the Royal British Navy through the 18th and 19th centuries, conveniently located where they could keep a close eye on French operations around the nearby island of Guadeloupe. 

For us it means a bit of rest, relaxation, rum drinks, clean laundry, and a chance to celebrate a challenging, 1500nm passage with other sailors.

We left the Chesapeake at noon on November 2 and tied up here almost exactly 10 days later - a bit longer than we  expected, but all good.  Heading east initially in order to avoid several low pressure systems in our path, we turned south after two days.  Of course, as those systems moved out, calm conditions followed and we found ourselves motoring off and on for almost 4 days.  As we approached the trade winds we set the spinnaker and barreled south in a nice strong breeze, finishing the last 500 miles with a “sporty” beam reach.  A fun time all around and everything on the boat worked out really well.  Well, until the very end, but that’s a different story. 

Many fine highlights:

- Great sailing once the weather stabilized

- Watching Andy back on the bow after 20+ years (all video evidence tragically lost)

- Fresh-caught MahiMahi for a few lunches and dinners

- Lots of good food, including first attempt making jambalaya in a pressure cooker - not ready for prime time, but promising

- Incredible stars and a few meteors

- Warm weather, eventually

- And great company - a big thanks to Jim Demarest and Barry Salter for joining us on our first leg!

As they would say at the Beaumont Enterprise & Journal, “A good time was had by all.”

The boat will remain here until late December and then we’re off for St. Lucia.