Jolly Harbour was a welcome respite from being out at anchor during challenging weather conditions.  We were there for five days.  I got the salt off of the boat while Steve worked on the engines.  While we were there, a couple stopped by.  They are from Hopkinton, NH and were very nice.  We ended up having drinks with them, and their niece/husband, one night. 

On 2/17/24, we left the marina and sailed down to Falmouth Harbour.  The water had calmed down a bit and was a little clearer.  We anchored off of Pigeon Beach in Falmouth Harbour and had a very enjoyable weekend.  On Saturday, the restaurant in front of us had a very good live band playing all afternoon.  We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy the music from our boat. 

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. 

The wind waves at Rabbit Island became uncomfortable so we decided to head to Maiden Island, which is usually protected.  After anchoring and sitting for an hour or two, we decided to move back to our original anchorage, just north of the boatyard in North Sound.  We pulled up close to the mangroves and received some protection from the waves and wind.  We ended up staying there for two nights before heading to Jolly Harbour on 2/12/24.

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. 

We were up early and released Spring Tradition from its mooring ball by 6:30a.  We had to wait until the sun was up so that we could see while we were leaving.  When we are close to any island, we are on fish-pot alert.  This means that we are scanning in front of the boat to avoid little floating buoys in the water.  We don’t want the nets/lines to get wrapped around our propellers.  We were about an hour off of the coast of Nevis when we suddenly encountered a fish pot field.  We were only sailing in 50 feet of water in this area and a fishing boat had put out many fish pots.   We were trying to navigate through the field with both of us on high alert trying to spot the buoys.  There were a couple of times where Steve had to put the motors in neutral so that the propellers wouldn’t move.  Somehow we made it through and back into deep water.  This was probably the most challenging fishing area that we have ever gone through.

The sail was much more pleasant that we expected.  The wind was coming from the south, which is not typical.  That meant that we were able to put our sails up and turn the motors off for much of the crossing.  It was a really good sail. 

We decided to visit Sunshine’s Beach Bar for dinner.  We had fun there last year and wanted to return.  They are known for their “Killer Bee” rum punches.  We remembered from last year that the Killer Bee was quite strong, so we ordered smalls.  Even these small drinks were powerful.  This is a farm-to-table beach bar so we ordered a “Sunshine Salad,” which was delicious.  Steve had lobster and I had a fish sandwich.  The beach bar next to Sunshine’s had a loud band playing.  Vendors were selling their wares under palm trees while smoking Gange.  Mostly locals were on the beach and it was a mix of tourists and locals at Sunshine’s. 

While there, I had to go out to our dinghy, as some teens decided that they wanted to have a party in it.  I chased them away while Steve paid the bill.  There was a lot going on at Sunshine’s, and it was fun.  As usual, I forgot to bring a flashlight so we slowly motored back to our boat.  We had to go through the mooring field and avoid fish pots.  Luckily, we were able to see just enough to make it back without incident.  We went to bed early for a 6:30a departure.

As we were pulling into Nevis, the police or port authority were there to greet us.  There were only two other yachts our size in the anchorage and the police visited each.  They also visited at least one of the cruise ships anchored in the bay.  They just wanted to be sure that we checked in (and paid our fees).  It is unusual to have authorities visit us at our boat.  At least they didn’t ask to board.

The anchorage in Nevis was a little eerie.  Last year when we visited, the anchorage was full of boats and all mooring balls were filled.  This year it is unbelievably empty. 

We cleared out of the country and then walked approximately a mile to provision for the next week or so.  It felt good to walk and we were happy to have a good selection of food onboard again.

On 2/2/24 we decided to beach our dinghy and walk over to the marina.  Steve would like to buy a sling to catch lobsters with in Antigua.  The shop was closed, so we walked a little way down the road before returning to the marina.  The marina has big plans for the area, including a golf course and many private residences.  We saw one location where some private residences were being built.  Otherwise, we didn’t see any building progress since our visit last year.  The wind had changed directions so that it was blowing from offshore.  This meant that the waves had a lot of room to form and our boat was rocking.  So, it was really nice to walk around on land.  We spent most of the morning ashore.  Unfortunately the shop was out of slings.  This means that we most likely will not be catching lobsters for dinner in Antigua

The highlight of the day was when we went snorkeling from the boat.  There are rocks and coral lining the shoreline and many different kinds of fish inhabit the area.  There were large sea fans and we saw a bottlenose fish, which was the first for this sailing season.  The best part of the snorkel was that we saw a turtle swim right in front of us.  I love watching the turtles, as you can almost see the gears in their minds working.  They are slow, nervous animals.  Often they pop their head above water to breathe, see our boat, get a panicked look in their eyes, and dive again.  This turtle simply flapped its legs and glided through the sea ahead of us.  While keeping our distance, we did follow it for a short time before exploring a different part of the underwater sea world.  On our way back to the boat Steve said that he saw a spotted stingray.  Unfortunately, I didn’t see it.

After returning from our snorkeling adventure, we took the dinghy along the coast to one of our favorite Caribbean beach bars called the Shipwreck Beach Bar.  If you take on look at the building, you’ll agree that it was aptly named.  We both ordered Funky Monkey drinks, which are frozen and contain chocolate, among other things.  They are so good. 

Wild monkeys frequent the restaurant and are always fun to see.

We slept well last night, as the wind and sea state were fairly calm.  White House Bay is quite pretty, in my opinion, with green shrubs and grasses surrounding us in an oval shape, with a couple of mountains in the background.  When the sky is blue and the sun is shining, it is beautiful, and tranquil.  The superyacht masts and antennas peek out from behind a hill and a small, luxurious beach bar is in the center of the bay. 

The beach bar belongs to the marina but hasn’t been open when we visited last year or this year.  Only a handful of boats are spread out in the bay, so it is quite peaceful. (When the wind dies down in this bay, boats swing so they need to either pick up a mooring ball or anchor so that they can swing 360 degrees.)