Jolly Harbour 2/12/24

We sailed past Prickly Pear Island off of Antigua’s northern shore.

The sail from North Sound to Jolly Harbour was nice.  We skirted the rain showers and kept in the sunshine most of the time.  We saw several rainbows in the distance as we sailed which always brings me happiness.  As we went past five islands, we only saw a handful of boats inside the bay.  I had read online that people were complaining that the water was brown in there.  As we rounded the corner, we decided to head to Valley Church bay to quickly anchor and prepare the boat before heading into the marina.  On our way we saw a ray jumping out of the water, playing.  Upon arrival, we noticed a play area in the water with slides and umbrellas.  Most unfortunately, the water was a sandy brown color, not the typical turquoise that Antigua is famed for.  There were also very large swells noticeably moving the boat way up out of the water.  So, we decided to head right into the marina.  Unfortunately they were not ready for us, so we picked up a mooring ball just outside of the marina and waited for a couple of hours.  That was fine because it allowed me to finish preparing the ropes and fenders for docking. 

Two Jolly Harbour yard workers met us and guided us to our spot.  We are on the T-head, across from the fuel docking station.  It is also the charter dock.  So far we have enjoyed quiet waters.  However, it makes us nervous having boats maneuver to get gas in an area that is so close to our boat.  Also, charter boats typically have inexperienced captains at the helm.  We placed fenders on both sides of our boat to try to protect it from bumps. 

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