17:00.678N 061:46.628W
From St Bart's we
have moved on down to Antigua with a quick overnight stop in Nevis. We are
anchored in Falmouth Harbour which along with neighboring English Harbour is the
home of Antigua's well known yachting fraternity. It is four years since
we were here with Savoir Vivre and it is just as wonderful as last time.
Antigua has had a rough year in the news starting with the awful murder of a
young English honeymoon couple in their hotel room and continuing with the
shooting of a super-yacht captain during a street robbery which drove away a
number of the big spending yachts. In addition although obviously not as serious
the Island was then dragged back into the headlines by the Sir Allen Stamford
bank collapse and embarrassingly the test match at the new Viv Richards ground
had to be stopped after the first over because of the appalling state of the
pitch. Despite all this most the people we have met so far are as friendly
and relaxed as ever, possibly even more so as the busy season is drawing to a
close. This is not a place to get things done in a hurry but if you want
anything with a smile this is the spot!
We will probably only be here a
few more days. Our mainsail is having a bit of work done to sort out the leach
tape which had suffered a bit of damage during our uphill leg to Bermuda.
The sail makers loft is in one of the beautifully restored old buildings in
Nelson's Dockyard, a 18th century British naval base where Nelson spent some
time early in his career. It is great to see the old stone wharfs back in use
with gleaming modern and classic yachts lying along the same dockside that was
once home to part of the Royal Navy's presence in the Caribbean, and
the buildings, many of which were derelict until recent decades, now house not
only the normal plague of tourist shops but also active rigging and sail making
businesses that provide a more tangible link to its history.
It is
lucky there are a few interesting things to do on land as I am banned from the
water at present following a particularly nasty ear infection. It is also
keeping me off the rum punch! My symptoms (a head that felt like it was
about to explode) provided a fantastic opportunity for a bit of self diagnosis
with the Ship Captain's Medical guide. I am now on a course of fairly
meaningful anti-biotics which finally seem to have got the problem under
control. Not only is my head feeling better but on reading the full
drug information sheet I have discovered that the Amoxicillin is also used
to treat dental abscesses, endocartitis, typhoid, gynaecological infections and
gonorrhea. Frankly I am now feeling better all round!
