Nelson's Dockyard, Antigua
Aurora_b
Mike and Liz Downing
Sat 7 Mar 2009 14:00
 We really like the Dockyard. Although the anchorage and quay
are full of boats the Dockyard is still a very quiet and a peaceful place to
stroll, looking at the boats or the buildings and wondering what it must
have been like in Nelson's time. The pictures of the Dockyard were
taken mid afternoon and there were very few people about.
  These capstans were used to haul the old ships over on their
sides to scrape off the weed, barnacles and other marine growth - they didn't
have scuba gear in those days! They did use a form of antifouling paint. Don't
know what was in it, but I suspect it was quite lethal.
 Yachts anchor stern to the quay in front of the dockyard
buildings. This entails letting out their bow anchor 2 boat lengths from
the dock, reversing up and tying the stern to the quay, then tightening up on
the anchor to keep them off the quay. It's quite a spectator sport watching them
do it, especially if there's a cross wind!
  The pillars are the supports of what used to be the sail
loft. Small boats carrying sails from ships would come up this small
channel and the sails would be lifted up by pulley into the loft for
repair.
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