Antigua

We arrived in Falmouth Harbor, Antigua just in time for the annual forty-seventh Antigua Classic Yacht and Sailing week regattas.  Yachts flying the flags of twenty-three different nations were drawn to the the Carribean's most prestigous regatta. Hey why wouldn't sailors come from all over the world to enjoy fantastic weather, extremely competitive sailing and great entertainment?

The Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta takes place every April just before Antigua Sailing week.  On the day prior to three days of racing about fifty classic boats anchor near or dock at the Antigua Yacht Club for the "Boat International Concours D'elegance" judging event. Jeff and I walked the docks at the yacht club prior to the judging and were awed by the majesty of these classicly designed boats that were maintained in state of the art condition.

Classic yacht arriving under sail in this jam packed harbor!

This gentleman built this boat by himself in England keeping all the classic specifications in tact. Incredibly, he completed this project in twelve months and was very proud that much of the boat was built with English oak.  Upon completion he sailed it to Antigua with his wife and baby. 

The crews of these boats take their roles very seriously in both maintenance and racing.

Scuba diver scrubbing the hull bottom to get that last eighth of a knot of speed!

We've noticed throughout the Caribbean that the locals put on a weekly party or "Lime" almost always including a barbecue, libations and music. Antigua is no exception. Every Sunday a sunset lime takes place at Shirley Heights. I'm sure this lime is pretty crowded most of the time with locals, tourists and cruisers since: 1) it's located in a National park and offers spectacular views of English and Falmouth harbors along with the islands of Guadeloupe and Montserrat 2) has a great barbecue 3) a fully stocked bar and 4) two bands, one being all steel drums. However, it being the Regatta weeks this lime included not only tourists and cruisers but racers as well.

Here we have video clips of the Steel band and a panoramic view of the harbor.

We walked through the historic Nelson's Dockyard,

then on up to Berkeley fort,

 nestled cozily on top of this treacherous cliff,

Nice view though!

On the hike to and from the fort we enjoyed a diversity of flora and fauna.

A rather phallic looking cactus don't ya' think?!

 Hummingbirds which we rarely see in the States were prolific! Apparently they  just love this gigantic flowering plant because every time we saw this plant we saw a hummingbird.

Here is another variety of Hummingbird feasting on a tree that was bare of leaves except for these delicate flowers.

We left Falmouth Harbor just as the racing began and sailed back north to anchor in Deep Bay

Apparently some hardcore Beatles fans live here!

and then Jolly Harbor where we had initially checked into customs. We had noticed the water was such a crystal clear turquoise we came back a few days earlier than our intended customs checkout to explore the area and enjoy the quiet after the Sailing Week gala. Or so we thought..

In Jolly harbor, there was only one anchorage area available that could accommodate our draft and it just happened to be right next to this mega party boat. Thankfully there was only one night where the rather raucous goings on went on and on and on and on and on... The Caribbean locals take their weekly liming very seriously!

It's all good...

A wondrous journey to all,

Pam