17.00.213N   061.45.615W

 

We had planned to stay a couple of days but the gap between Guadaloupe and Antigua is 40 miles of open water which can be awful so with a good forecast we decided to make the best of it and head for English Harbour which we made on a cracking close reach with 43 miles logged in just over 6 hours.

 

While other Caribbean islands have abandoned the computerised “Eseaclear” check in system it has been taken up by Antigua so all the info was filled in online and I went to Customs and Immigration with the passcode and then had to sign 10 separate forms all of which were stamped and countersigned by the authorities! In the French islands you visit a cafe and use the computer to print off your own declaration which is stamped by the waitress- nobody looks at passports or ships papers!  In 2004 on a Sunsail charter the customs in Deshaies confiscated our photocopied ships papers so they could fine Sunsail 200 Euro! -how things have changed!

 

Back in English Harbour the night is lit by the mast lights of many Superyachts with the “Superyacht Cup” taking place next weekend- meanwhile we will be busy polishing ship for our next visitors!