Spring trip from Antigua to St. Lucia
April 2008
Antigua to Dominica
Arrived in Antigua on Friday, April 4th
Colin picked us up at the airport. It took an hour to clear customs because of a really long line. We got back to the boat in English Harbor, on a mooring. We took the dingy out and brought Morgan back into the dock where Colin had a spot reserved. The place was called Nelson's dockyard, named after the British Admiral who ran the place in the 1800's. It is a historic place with plenty of old brick buildings and rusty cannons all around.
We were cleaned up in time to make the Tot club meeting @ 6:00 PM. This is a historical (drinking) club. There are a few chapters and members include retired British military officers. Colin found this club and passed their stringent membership test. The test included showing up at 10 meetings (10 tots of rum) and passing a an oral historical examination. Each night, members meet at the specified location, tonight it was at the Antigua Yacht Club, at 6:00 PM. A small glass of water and a shot of rum is passed around to all. Since Scott and I were visitors, we were given a "tot" of rum, which is like a triple shot, or 1/8 of a pint. The event starts with a sip of water to cleanse the pallet. Then there is a reading from the British Naval History book, what happened on this day in 1854, or whatever date. Then the traditional Royal Navy Toast. For Friday, the toast was "A willing foe and sea room, and the Queen, God bless her" We had dinner at a waterfront restaurant near the boat after a few more drinks.
Sweethearts and wives, may they never meet, and the Queen, God bless her
Saturday we went shopping, provisioned the boat, and rented a special plug to connect up the electric to the boat. Unfortunately for us the plug was wired wrong and when we touched anything metal in the boat, and if we were grounded, we would get a shock. Checked it out with the volt meter Colin had, and once I figured that out, I confirmed my suspicion that the ground wire was switched a hot. I fixed it and we were fine.
Absent friends and those at sea, and the Queen, God bless her
Sunday I hiked up to Shirley Point with Scott while Colin made 2 dinners, chili and beef curry. It took us 2 hours to walk up there; it was the lookout and gun battery protecting the British naval dockyard, run by Admiral Nelson. We walked back in about an hour, and ate dinner near by again.
Our ships at sea, and the Queen, God bless her
Monday morning the weather broke and we were off. The trade winds came down to 20 knots, from 30 which is what they were for the last few days. We checked out with customs and set a course straight south for Guadeloupe, a French territory. On the way we passed Montserrat, where the volcano erupted 10 years ago burying half the island in ash. It was a 40 mile sea passage that was a beam reach in 20-25 knots of wind. It took us a full 8 hours; we were underway by 10:00 am and dropped the anchor by 6:00 pm that night. Dinner was chili.
Our men, and the Queen, God bless her
Tuesday morning we took the dingy into town and checked in, and out with customs. Checking out gave us 72 hours to leave French waters. We picked up some bread and went back to the boat. The destination was Isle de Saints, still part of French Guadeloupe, but the next island over. It turned out to be a challenging trip down the lee side of the island. Winds were 20-25 knots, mostly off the port beam, but sometimes on the nose. On the 5th try dropping the anchor it caught. We rested up and went in for dinner around 7:30. Unfourtiounately for us, we had no plan, and couldn't find a waterside restaurant that was open. We wound up back on the boat and we ate the curry for dinner, our 2nd prepared meal.
Ourselves, as no one is likely to concern themselves, and the Queen, God bless her
Wednesday morning we went into town looking for an English breakfast, but there was none to be had until noon. Colin rented a scooter and we hiked up to Fort Napoleon. It’s on a hilltop and was turned into a Museum. We had barely a half hour before they closed at 12:30. After that we hiked back down and stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the water. It was a nice place and we wound up sitting 1 table over from 2 salty old men that had just single handed their sailboats over from the UK. After lunch, we met up with Colin and took the dink back to the boat. After a short rest and a cocktail, we came back into town for dinner.
A busy war and a quick promotion, and the Queen, God bless her
Thursday morning we were off to Dominica, a town called Portsmouth. It was a 5 hour sail with plenty of wind. The town is on a sandy cove. We dropped anchor off the beach in front of 2 restaurants. There was a wi-fi hot spot that was really fast. As soon as we pulled up, a guy on a surfboard paddled up and asked us what we wanted. We sent him away with a list including a coconut, bananas, oranges, and grapefruits. We also supplied him with a bag to bring the stuff back in. We agreed on a price of 25 EC dollars ($10 US) and off he went. Next, Martin in a boat called Providence pulled up and asked what we needed. Colin had to get to customs to check in (and out) and Martin took him. With Scott, the 2 of us put the dingy in the water and put the motor on, a daily task that we were getting very good at. Colin got back and he had made arrangements with Martin to take us up the Indian River at 4:00. We had a few hours so I went ashore with Scott and walked the beach to check out the scene. Martin was back as planned and took us to the mouth of the river. There we had to buy a pass to enter the park and Martin started the tour up the river rowing. He was extremely knowledgeable about the island history and flora and fauns. He claimed Christopher Columbus explored the same river in 1493. After some light rowing against a 2 knot flow, we came up to a small dock, tied up, and got off. There was a pavilion and a bar. We continued up the river on a trail alongside. At a deep spot in stream we stopped to take a little swim.
