Guadeloupe & Antigua
Talulah's Web Diary
Paul & Anette Morris
Wed 18 Apr 2007 14:17
position "17:02.115N
061:40.698W"
Saturday
14th April
2007
Guadeloupe was
good, and after, we set sail for English Harbour in Antigua. The
sail over the 42 miles it took was excellent, with the wind at 25 knots was on
the beam all the way. The waves kicked up a bit, and we got a
good slamming when we crossed the tidal conversion areas, but the sun shone so
we didn't care.
Arriving in
Antigua was eventful, with the usual tour of 3 different offices to cleared in
to the country. But it was all very civilised, and despite the fact
that it took me and others a good hour to clear in through customs, nobody
complained. A wander ashore to see the old dockyard was called for,
and it was incredible to see all the same sort of buildings, here in the West
Indies, as I had seen in the UK during my own time in the Forces. I
passed the Guardroom, and remembered how I'd also stood outside just such a
building doing guard duty all those years ago! talk about deja
vu....!!
Antigua was
quite expensive compared to the other islands further south, so Anette and I
decided we' get the bus into St Johns, the capital, to shop for fruit and
veg. This was a great experience as it is elsewhere in the Caribbean, and
we chatted to all manner of people about all manner to things from their
families, to what they liked to eat and when the next rain would
come! What an education - everyone must take at least a couple of
bus rides on a Caribbean island at some time. It seemed that
everyone knew everyone else, and that it was yesterday that they had spoken to
you last.
Today we sailed
on round to the reef that lies just between Green Island and
Antigua. Can't say that the sail was up to much, just banging into a
north easterly for the most part, but it was worth it because the waters here
are crystal clear and turquoise, and the beaches great. After
anchoring in 2 metres of water, Anette and I took the dinghy right to the
edge of the reef and dived in to photograph and snorkel amongst the coral
heads. There were not many fish to see, but the coral was
spectacular.
We're planning
on a barbeque tonight, and then maybe sail further north to Barbuda tomorrow
before turning south again and heading for our haul-out in
Grenada.
English
Harbour,
Antigua
Nelson's dockyard (the old sail loft),
Antigua
Vegetable
seller, St John's,
Antigua
Coral reef at Green Island,
Antigua
Anchored behind
the reef at Green Island,
Antigua
The reef at Green Island,
Antigua