Antigua
Fleck
Sun 18 May 2014 19:55
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Sunday, 18th May, 2014
Freeman Bay Anchorage, English Harbour,
Antigua.17:0.2N 61:45.62W
A good conclusion to this first 'serious' leg of
the trip home: 300 miles due north, with the wind just forward of the beam: a
beat so far as 'Fleck' is concerned! Arrived early ysterday afternoon after a
tiring final 36 hours, all the result of Guadeloupe being in the wrong place.
I'll try to explain. By keeping well in the lee of the Windward Islands I
was initially able to enjoy fairly settled winds (although I have already
complained in this blog about the very long wind shadows that the islands cast).
Guadelopupe, the first of the Leeward Islands, is directly beneath (due
south of) Antigua, and to stand a chance of sailing across to Antigua without a
protracted beat against both wind and current, I needed to set off from the
Northern tip of Guadeloupe, and not from 20 miles downwind, in its lee.
Therefore I had to motor up the lee coast of Guadeloupe in the middle of the
night. That close to shore I couldn't stay off watch, but it was so difficult to
stay awake. Anyway we were rewarded by a good final beat , about 40 miles,
across the channel in glorious conditions, and without tacking, we fell just a
mile short (downwind) of the entrance to English Harbour. So, the game plan
executed almost to perfection; and if the wind holds up for a few days we should
be able to hold a northerly course towards Bermuda for the first few
days.
English and Falmouth Harbours are almost deserted,
it is the onset of the hurricane season, and so the boats that were here two
weeks ago for the prestigious Antigua week have all departed. Quite a lot of
charter boats around, all enjoying the reduced rates! And all anchoring far too
close to my home in this notoriously tricky anchorage where the boats tend
to lie all over the place in the middle of the night, with curious wind over
tide effects. I feel particularly threatened by a French registered catamaran,
rather battlescarred, and with four big German blokes on board. Cats don't swing
around their anchors like other boats, but at least the winds in here are not
strong, so any comings together will hopefully be fairly gentle.
Several nice Americans here are headed south, where
I have just come from, to lay up in Prickly Bay, and then fly back up to the
States. Others have been tying their boats into the mangrove swamp at the head
of the Harbour: the time honoured way of seeing out a moderate hurricane. Most
of the yachtie shops and bars seem to have closed down, but perhaps there
will be more signs of activity tomorrow. I only need some food for the journey,
and hopefully will leave sooner rather than later; I find that I am not in a
holiday mood at all, and the 'job' of driving the boat back to England is at
least a focus for my wandering old brain. The Ice Cream War ended in melancholic style, with most people dead,
and no one any the wiser. A lovely piece of writing though.
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