Antigua Slipway, back again
Scot Free III
Frank & Anne
Wed 1 Nov 2017 06:00
Day 1 Back Again
Back on board!! Well not quite, we are doing this the easy way and staying at the Copper & Lumber Store Hotel, Nelson's Dockyard, for a week, whilst we do a hasty fit-out, during daylight hours, and back to the comfort of the hotel in the evening. Not like the hardy souls in the boats surrounding us. One couple have been on board for a few weeks waiting for engine repairs and fighting off the very hungry mosquitos at night. Another chap seems to be on his own and has been there all during the hurricane season. Another (they all seem to be slightly batty Brits.) is keeping a low profile, he is on-board, I only hear him playing his tin whistle in the morning and evenings but have never actually met him.
First problem, how to get to the other side of the harbour for the first time. It's a 100 metre row in the dinghy, but that's tied down on the deck of Scot Free III. A young lady, in a smart RIB, keeps popping across to the shop and back to the boatyard. So, after a bit of Mr Bean style stalking, I accost her in the shop and ask for a lift. Boaty people are usually willing to help and she does. It turns out that she is the skipper of Ocean Star, a huge steel charter yacht which lost its rig and had another boat blown onto her deck, in Tortola, causing massive damage. She had been brought to Antigua Slipway for repairs because of the size of the hoist there.
The frequent shopping trips? They are for ice cream and cold drinks to keep the crew happy working in the bowels of a steel boat in 30 odd degrees.