17:04.17N 61:53.04W

2 April 2012

So at 07:00 we weighed anchor at Deshaies.  With the wind shift during the night I was not sure if we fouled chains but no problem.  First we headed toward the Canadian boat that was there already when we came.  But a few meters before it we turned west as our rode was brought onboard.  The Brits did not lay their chain across us as I guessed when they arrived.  So no issues and we secured the boat for the short passage to Antigua.

We motored the entire way since winds were almost nothing till we got close to Antigua.  Sailing between these islands is very different than the Med.  The depths are huge very quickly away from the island.  Then sometimes, as the case with Antigua, there are shoals surrounding the island that can be shocking as the depth meter races toward the surface.  In Antigua’s case the shoal to the west are about 15 meters deep.  Big change from over 1,000 meters just a bit off.  We stayed well offshore on our approach.  Many of the charts still use depth information from the Royal Navy survey in the 1800’s performed by lead line.  Best to keep to the deep water until you know the area.  Once we were due west of the entrance to Jolly Harbour we turned east.  Of course now the wind grew and we took a few waves over the bow.

The entrance to the marina is marked but the colors of the piles in the water have faded.  Red-right return is now the proper marking, just the opposite of the rest of the world.  We found the entrance markers ok and headed in.  According to the pilot guide the entrance was dredged to 17 feet but has silted.  We found 3.2 meters (11 feet) at the actual entrance, no problem as we draw 2.7 meters.

Once inside we hailed the immigration office on Channel 16 as the pilot guide says and the posting at the entrance.  Several hails had no response.  We could see people in the office so we knew they were open.  I called the marina and asked about Immigration.  They told me that they no longer have a radio so just go in and register.  The customs dock is too short for us so we used the Marina super yacht berth.  No issue to side to with moderate winds.  Pat just lassoed the bollard for the spring line and we worked it out from there.

Immigration, customs and Port Authority are in the same building but different doors.  Kinda funny but whatever,s I went from door to door with forms.  Each got stamped and I moved forward and backward to fulfill all the requirements.  Nice people but really inefficient system unless you are looking for full employment.  Actually compared to places like Greece these people really do their jobs well and are pleasant.  Not true in Greece all the time.  Italy, France and Spain are much easier as it really requires no visits to the office if you are traveling between EU countries.

So once that was done William from the marina was at the Port Authority office telling me what to do next to get to the berth.  Really helpful guy.  Berthing was a mix of Med moor and East Coast USA.  Stern to berthing with two piles to take the bow lines.  Stern lines to the quay.  William helped all the way.  Pilings look stout but shipworms have done their work so they are not as good as the look from the surface.

The marina is very nice, not crowded, great supermarket and the usual shops and restaurants around.  Staff in the office were very good and Wi-Fi is free to berth holders, works most days but not all.

Bad side is electricity is 60 cycle not 50 cycle like Europe and many of the southern islands.  Theis means that the air conditioning, microwave and a couple of other items will not work properly.  But for our stern berth air con we can shut down shore power and run off the batteries for about 5 hours.  Then turn the shore power back on and recharge the batteries for a few hours.  Similar for the microwave.  We have run the salon air con on 60 cycle for hours without issue so far.  A better solution will arrive once we hit the States.

Entrance to Jolly Harbour.  Wind from the east as shown by the boat direction and the tern on the post.  Note the “green” marking of the post to indicate it is the port side of the channel.

This is the beach at Jolly.  Pure white sand (coral derived), 80+ degrees (25 C) and colorful is turbid.  Off in the distance is the island of Montserrat with its steaming volcano still spewing some ash.  Look like a place to visit in the future but there are no real protected anchorages.  In calm weather it would be fine.

This is the marina.  Dead calm place with plenty of mosquitoes once the sun sets.  Very similar to Corfu in Greece where the mosquitoes took over at night.  This marina is part of a large resort type village.  Built in the 1980’s it is a little tired in places.  There are over one hundred apartments/condos along the water’s edge.  More being built.  It is nice however and the prices are reasonable for a second house.  I am sure there is a large British community to make thing active each week.  It is possible to keep your sailboat at the apartment so life can be easy.