This was Antigua Race week.  The 27th was the Round Island Race.  We waited for the racing yachts to pass North of Non Such Bay before we made our way to Falmouth Harbour.

Not surprisingly Falmouth was busy and we were lucky to find a free mooring fairly close to the marina complex.  It was quite tight picking up the mooring amongst other yachts in quite strong wind with relatively little room for manoeuvre!  We were greeted by Kevin and Ben from Kailani who we later invited for a sun downer aboard Safena.

Unfortunately Carl’s foot was getting worse.  We determined that this was almost certainly a “burn” from Manchioneel leaf sap.  Carl thinks he stepped on some leaves in Barbuda when he walked along the beach to find someone with a lighter at the small security hut.  It looks like “Poison Ivy” rash, very swollen red and blistered skin.  We put him on antibiotics, antihistamines and applied topical corticosteroid, to cover all the bases!

That evening we went for a Pizza at the restaurant one back from the corner (Paparazzi) near the dinghy dock.  These were superb.

The following morning Julia, Nina and I met Kevin ashore for a hike up to Middle Ground to watch the start of the first yacht race.  Carl could barely stand on his foot and stayed behind to rest.  It was an amazing view and very exciting to watch the fleet starting in various classes.

We returned to Safena and had lunch on board.  Late afternoon, having doped Carl up with analgesics we all made our way to Shirley Heights by taxi for the Sunday Party and live bands.

Shirley Heights was absolutely fantastic! An amazing view and an amazing vibe there.  The steel band was excellent.  There we met Martin and Mark from Como, friends from the ARC.  Undoubtedly we had a few too many Rum Punches that night!  The steel band was followed by reggae and dancing.  Nina and I had delicious BBQ chicken and ribs!

When we eventually got back to the dinghy dock feeling worse for wear, Martin and Mark had misplaced their dinghy keys.  So we gave them a lift back to Como.  Initially, we couldn’t find Como or Safena amongst all the moored yachts and it took a while before we did!  Rum Punch had nothing to do with it!

Simon