After checking into Antigua’s customs office, we decided to head to the Bird Island area.
This is one of our favorite places to anchor on Antigua. The challenge this time is that the wind is coming from the south and we needed to find a place to anchor that would protect us from the wind and the waves. I sat in a princess seat in the front of the boat looking for coral heads while Steve drove the boat. We have been to this anchorage several times before and we knew that we had to spot coral while going to a different location in the bay. We successfully navigated the area and found a calm place to drop our anchor. Last night, 2/6/24, the anchorage was calm.
Today, 2/7/24, we discussed the weather. The wind is going to shift in several different directions before settling in 48 hours. We decided that we would stay where we are and move within the bay as we need to. We are not quite ready to head into the Jolly Harbour marina, which will be our next stop. Unfortunately, the water is very cloudy and we haven’t gone swimming. It is too bad, as the water is usually clear in this area and the snorkeling is typically very good.
Well, our night on 2/7/24 was a little challenging. The sky started flickering around 2:30a. My first thought was that the northern lights were showing themselves and then I realized how far south we were. It was lightening and it was heading in our direction. We quickly put all of our electronics inside of the oven and the microwave. The theory is that the metal around the electronics will act as a bird cage and protect them. Hopefully we won’t ever have to find out if this works or not. As the lightening approached, Steve turned the motors on in case we needed them in the storm. The sky was dark and we couldn’t see what was coming our way. I pulled out the life jackets and harnesses. Even though we were within swimming distance of the mangroves, we wanted to be sure to have easy access to these life-saving items. We sat upstairs and reviewed where the four fire extinguishers were located on the boat. Then, we waited for the storm to pass. There was one flash of lightening and clap of thunder that was fairly close to us. Otherwise, the storm passed us. However, the rain continued all throughout the day on 2/8/24.
As I woke up and saw that it was raining, I did what anyone good boat owner does when it rains. I put my bathing suit on and washed the boat. With all of the rain, I didn’t have to rinse the boat at all and today, 2/9/24, it looks clean and white. We are planning to go into the marina next week and I was hoping to boat wash before going in there so that I could work on spots and the stainless while having access to the hose.