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| Nelson's Dockyard. |
I mentioned in our previous blog entry that we were hoping to anchor in Freeman’s Bay/English Harbour as we had not anchored there in our previous sailing visit to Antigua. When we arrived in
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| Falmouth Harbour. |
Antiguan waters from St Barths, we headed straight to Freeman’s Bay. We had read various reviews on the few sailing apps, that anchoring in Freeman’s Bay can be a challenge due to the shifting winds and rocky floor bed. We thought it was a much bigger anchorage than what it was when we arrived there. What we soon realised was that the main channel had been extended out into the anchorage, a holiday resort had been established along part of the beach area, thus reducing the anchorage area even more. We tried anchoring in a vacant spot twice but soon realised why it was vacant. The seabed was rocky, so the anchor did not hold. After our second attempt of anchoring and motoring around the anchorage, we concluded that we would have to anchor in Falmouth Harbour, like in our previous visit to Antigua.
Arriving at Falmouth Harbour was
also a bit of a surprise. Where we once were allowed to anchor, there are
mooring balls. In Falmouth Harbour, there are also patches of coral and rocky
spots. We also knew that being close to the opening of the harbour can lead to
a bit of a swell, but we eventually found a place to anchor after our anchor
dragged a bit until it found a nice sandy spot to dig itself in.
When we were last here in August 2014, there was only the Antigua yacht club and the Falmouth yacht club. They were quite small and hardly had any docks. There were a few shops along the water’s edge
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| English Harbour and Falmouth Harbour from Shirley Heights |
and the main dinghy dock but nothing major. Quite simple and rustic. Well now there are docks for mega yachts and powerboats. We now must pay a daily fee for anchoring and if you take a mooring ball, it can cost you $30/40 US a day. The whole of English Harbour and Nelsons Dockyard is beautiful and still has a wonderful charm but so are the prices. As Mel and I say, we must remember the good old days and suck it in if we want to be here.
It is wonderful to see how clean
and tidy the place is and that small businesses are thriving. We just hope that
all the fees we pay, go to the correct people and places.
A ‘must experience while in
Antigua’ is Shirley Heights. We had been there on our previous visits but
decided to go again, taking Dave, and Monica on the boat Evy with us. (We met
Dave and Monica in St Martin). Sunday and Thursday afternoons/evenings are the
days to visit Shirley Heights, when there is a steel drum band, live music, food and drink in plentiful supply. The food
is done on open fires. You can catch a taxi up to Shirley Heights or be more
adventurous and walk up. There are two trails. We have been on both trails, but
this time decided to take the quickest (and steepest) trail up. We had a
wonderful time, enjoying the lively music and of course, the rum punches. The
views of the whole of Falmouth and English Harbour are breathtaking.
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| Dave, Monica, Mel and I walking up to Shirley Heights. It was HOT! |
Here is a website for Shirley
Heights:
Best Restaurant & Bar in Antigua
& Barbuda – Shirley Heights Lookout
As mentioned at the start of this
blog entry, the weather has not been great. For over five days, we had winds
averaging 24/25 knots with gusts of over 30 knots. Thankfully, our anchor has
been holding firmly in these gusts. We have also spent quite a few days on the
boat, making sure Passages was okay in these weather conditions. At times like
this, we do odd jobs around the boat. Mel does some maintenance, and I tend to
do lots of cleaning and polishing. I have also been busy making an Australian
flag for Passages. Our current one cannot be fixed anymore. I have tried several times, but I have now run out of
material for the flag to sew with. We bought a British Ensign flag – it’s red
with the Union Jack in the top left corner. I then put the 6 white stars onto
the red portion. It was a challenge cutting material for the four 7 pointed
stars for the Southern cross and then the bigger 7-pointed star for under the
Union Jack. However, it came out well, although much smaller than we would have
liked. Courtesy flags are expensive, sometimes close to $70US – that’s why if I
can make them, I will.
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| Julie and Alan |
conversation with them and introduced ourselves. Their names are Julie and Alan Marsh from the U.K. Over the next few days, we bumped into them in a few coffee shops/cafes here in Falmouth Harbour. They had not been up to Shirley Heights, so we arranged to take them, so they could experience the wonderful entertainment and food. So, Mel and I went to Shirley Heights, two Sundays in a row and in total, four times now.
Mel and I were also keen to visit
St John’s, the capital city of Antigua. We had been a few times in our previous
visits to Antigua but of course that was 11 years ago. We found the details of the
main minibus schedule and mentioned this to Julie and Alan. They were keen to
tag along with us, so on Wednesday 19th early we were on our way to
St John’s. Let’s just say that we were relieved to arrive at the main bus
station in St John’s in one piece as the mini van’s suspension was not sound. It
is all part of the experience.
For the past week and for the
next week (end of February) there has been lots of activity in and around
Nelsons Dockyard and Falmouth with the RORC Nelson’s Cup Series, Class Globe
5.80’s and the RORC Caribbean 600.
Blistering
Start to the RORC Nelson’s Cup Series - MySailing
On Sunday 23 February 2025, the
5.80 Mini’s set off on the around the world race, which starts here in Antigua
on Sunday and finishes back here next year. All the boats and participants are
currently at the Antigua Sailing Academy, waiting for the start. We have seen
many of these fragile looking boats, sailing around the anchorage over the past
two weeks.
Class
Globe 5.80 - Class Globe 5.80 Mini in 23 Countries!
Then on Monday 24 February 2025
is the start of the RORC Caribbean 600. These are the HUGE Maxi yachts that can
go at incredible speeds. We have seen a few sailing past the opening of
Falmouth Harbour. It is an amazing sight to see.
Another amazing race that
finished here in English Harbour, over the past two weeks, has been the world’s
toughest row. The final boat came in on Friday evening. We would here hooters
and horns going off, every time one of the boats arrived in English Harbour.
What some people would do for a challenge. Crazy or amazing - I don’t know.
worldstoughestrow.com – The World’s
Toughest Row
As far as our plans are
concerned, we have decided to stay where we are and watch as many of the
sailing events as possible. The weather has improved over the past few days
although the direction has not – the wind is not true east or north of east
unfortunately, but more south of east and we will be heading south to
Guadeloupe. We are hoping that by the end of next week (28 February) we will be
making plans to leave Antigua for the very last time in Passages and make our
way south towards Guadeloupe.
BTW – for anyone who watches the
T.V. series ‘Death in Paradise,’ this is set in Deshaies, Guadeloupe, where we
will be heading to.
Until next time – take care and
keep safe.
Best wishes always.
Mel and Caryn
P.S. If you are interested in the Class Globe 5.80, there are many clips on YouTube. Here is one clip - of the start of the race. Mel and our friend, Alan, feature a few times in the clip. (2:10 mins)
"Round the World Mini Globe Race: Start Day Highlights" on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/IyDxdVbq5WA?si=69FRGGGn2suqH6yt
