Antigua
Bondi Tram
Peter Colquhoun and Sandra Colquhoun
Fri 28 Jan 2011 04:36
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After a rough overnight passage from St. Maarten, we arrived in
Antigua on a Sunday morning.
It was great to catch up with a number of cruisers we knew.. Some we had
crossed the Atlantic with
and others we had not seen since The Indian Ocean. Sunday is Rum Punch
night on Shirley Heights,
so a large group of us climbed the mountain to watch the sun set over
English Harbour......
 To listen to the wonderful steel pan band and reggae bands. If you've never
heard a steel pan band,
you wouldn't believe how good the sound is...at times they sounded like a
symphony orchestra!
 We really felt like we had arrived at last in The Caribbean
  We anchored in Falmouth Harbour and this is a wonderful yacht
anchorage
 The history of Antigua reflects the rich heritage of British colonialism
and naval history. Nelsons Dockyard area
has been beautifully preserved.
  Horatio Nelson was Commander and stationed here 1784-1787. This building
houses the museum
      We walked to the fort at the entrance To English Harbour with our good
friends from Stardust.
 and had a good view up to Shirly Heights.
   St John is the Capital and here was an interesting statue of one of the
Prime Ministers.
 But it was The Sir Viv Richards Satdium - the local hero - that really
impressed me
 Here I am on Australia Day practising my technique
  and sitting in the VIP stand. Shame there were no cricket matches on.
 That night The Australian Cruisers and ...and cruiser friends who had
visited Australia celabrated
Australia Day.
 The yacht here is Ranger, a J-Class replica....
 ...with Northbridge Sailing Club's Simon Hill as first mate!
 We hadn't seen Simon for 3 or more years. Ranger is 120 feet
long,
with a 16 foot beam - 2 and a half times longer than Bondi Tram, but
only a foot or so wider!
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