Antigua

5 January to 18 January 2023

Anchorages: Mosquito Cove Antigua, Hermitage Bay Antigua

Marinas: Jolly Harbour Antigua

Reading time: 6 and a half minutes

Song of choice: Bob Marley – Two little birds

We finished our previous blog (Crossing the Atlantic), wondering whether or not our dream of sailing around the world would continue. After spending some downtime in Antigua and experiencing the perks of sailing, we have decided to continue circumnavigating. So here goes, the continuation of our sailing journey. 

The Caribbean consists of over 7000 islands, with Antigua and Barbuda hosting 54 of those islands. Antigua and Barbuda are self-governing and have a history of sugar cane plantation and dabbling in slavery…luckily this was abolished in 1807.

The weather is something else. It is humid and warm, and you’ll lose at least 2 litres of sweat daily. The air smells sweet, and the vegetation is lush and green. Pelicans dive into the water like torpedoes, and Frigatebirds fly like prehistoric raptors across blue skies. 

While entering the bay towards to marina, you move from turquoise-colored water to a murky green. There are tons of American-looking villas surrounding the bay, and with this, some waste…thus the green. In addition, sailors know to avoid entering the marina water for a swim as many nasty little surprises come from the seacocks of boats. 

Since departing the UK, the check-in process in the European Union has been pretty straightforward. This would be the first place where the check-in process is a little more complicated. Due to the various islands governed by different countries, you must check in and out of every island and ensure the paperwork states that you have checked out from the last place. As the Canaries did not provide or require any check-out process, Sander had to write an essay for the official checking us into Antigua to explain why we had no check-out documentation.

The marina itself is a pleasant experience. The harbour master comes to your boat in waiting and leads you to your mooring. Then they take the time to help you tie off. The marina staff are friendly, and hearing the Caribbean accents and occasional pidgin is a delight.

After a marina tour, it was time for a Rum Punch. We head down to the beach, and after a 10 min walk, you have a postcard view across another bay. I always needed clarification about the actual color of the sea and sand. I imagined people had over-edited images to make each holiday picture seem more than what it actually is…but in all honesty…it is precisely that. Turquoise water, soft white sand, and lush green palm and coconut trees all around.

If you decide to splurge a little…a rum punch from one of the many restaurants would set you back about 20 Eastern Caribbean Dollars (EC). Still, if you are smart, you’ll head to the spots that do not facilitate wearing white dresses and shorts and sit on a simple garden chair surrounded by the cheap plastic decor and servers with the biggest smiles you have ever seen. Suddenly a rum punch costs you 5EC and tastes more authentic than the pre-made to tourist palate rum punches served at the tiki-styled bars across the road. 

We had been warned that the Caribbean would be expensive, particularly Antigua. To put things into perspective for those of you familiar with Iceland in the UK, we all know the quality could be better (for those who do not, this is a uber-cheap grocery store that sells food at below-average prices). Anyhow, here we are in the Epicurean at Jolly Harbour Marina setting our sights on a pizza, I kid you not, from Iceland, for 29 EC. That would make it 10 pounds for a basic margarita pizza from Iceland. The shelves are stocked with American and European branded goods, and item prices are about four times what you would pay back in Europe. 

Luckily for us, we had stocked Susie Jane up to the brim, and there was no need to stock up on pantry basics, but we would have to stock up on fresh foods.

Once you depart the doors of Epicurean with its Miami beach vibe clientele rolling around the area in their golf carts, some local ladies sell fresh produce from the back of their vans. Items are weighed in pounds; generally, a pound of anything (tomatoes, onions, courgette, etc.) costs 5EC. Once you become a regular, she will start giving you freebies.   

Our UK sim cards do not allow for internet in Antigua, and we purchase a Digicel sim valid for one month and only in Antigua. The reception could be better, and we can barely use it. If this is what we are to expect from the mobile providers in the Caribbean, we will be back in the dark ages in no time. We opt for the Starlink Roam option at 90 euros a month. The initial kit costs about 450 euros, but once you have this, you have unlimited internet. Sending the equipment to Antigua meant we would have to pay import taxes, so we opted to send it to Guadeloupe. Guadeloupe is a French territory and thus is still considered part of the European Union. For this reason, there are only a few import taxes to pay.   

Due to the location and no islands obscuring, sunsets are a burst of color, and most end with a ‘Green Flash.’ ‘The green flash is the name of a rare and interesting optical phenomenon where a green spot or flash is visible at the sun’s top edge at sunrise or sunset.‘ Never have we seen so many ‘Green Flash’ sunsets or heard this many conch shells being blown to end the day. 

We spend the next two weeks between Jolly Harbour Marina, Mosquito Bay Anchorage, and Hermitage Bay Anchorage. Hermitage Bay, in particular, has idyllic villas scattered around the bay that average 1700 Euros a night. One of the perks of sailing is to experience the views of these luxury resorts without the price tag. In addition, Susie Jane and our drying washing feature in many holiday pictures. 

We have been recommended to go to Freyer’s bay and spend the afternoon playing in the water. We meet two ladies who have moved to Antigua from the UK 9 years ago. They house-sit mansions surrounding the bay, which leads to a rent-free lifestyle. I later read that many people travel the world by house- and pet-sitting.   

Time to head back, but there is a rain shower (at least one every day), and I walk over to a gentleman directing tourists to various taxis. He asks how many we are, leading us to a car suddenly appearing out of nowhere with no official taxi sign. We haggle the price down from 50EC to 30 for a 2.9 km drive. Our taxi driver is his wife, with their two toddlers and 1-month-old baby. Her baby is seated next to me in her car seat. The kids are in the back, and Sander is in the passenger seat. No one wears a seat belt, and the car seat is not secured. This is all new to us. The 5 min drive is exceptionally entertaining with a baby crying for her mom, two toddlers dead scared of these people invading their space, and a chatty mom who explains that she and her husband have never left the island of Antigua. Once we arrived at the marina, it was a cash payment only. Island life, hey.

Most of the Islands have a cruiser’s net run by Americans on various islands. Antigua’s net is on VHF channel 9 and starts at 08:30 every morning. They announce the area’s general weather forecast, including the swell height and direction…obviously useful for anchoring cruisers. Next, a call for cruisers to introduce themselves if they have arrived around the island or are leaving. Then any announcements for the area, i.e., specials at a restaurant, chandlery, or get-togethers. Next, treasures of the bilge…you can announce that you want to sell, swap, or need something for your boat. And then the announcement we have been yearning for…there will be a get-together for all the cruisers in the area. 

That evening we met about 30 cruisers from different walks and ages. The sense of community is strong among these cruisers; everyone is open and happy to share information.  

In the two weeks spent here, we meet many more cruisers and enjoy beach BBQs and spectacular sunsets. The air is filled with pan drums and many Bob Marley tracks. 

We hear that our Starlink has been delivered to Guadeloupe, and in a fit of pure excitement, we get the boat ready to sail the 9 hours South East to the butterfly island. We would have loved to explore more of Antigua, but this will have to wait until next season. And so, I bid you farewell and until next time. 

Learnings

Currency: Carry the local currency and hide it somewhere on your boat. There were so many spots we got to where there was no ATM, and we would not be able to eat or drink otherwise.

Scamming: Now, this is a sneaky little trick some locals employ. If the price for a drink is in EC, pay in EC and do not accept your change in American Dollars, as this will nick about 30% off of the amount you should get.

After an Ocean Crossing: Give yourself the time to chill. Book into a marina, and recharge for a week or two without big expectations of what you will see or need to do. Just relax and embrace the fact that you have sailed safely across an ocean.