Our sail from St Barths to Barbuda was not the calm and easy passage we had been looking forward to; we had a few mishaps along the way. We had left at 2am to try and arrive at Barbuda with the sun above us (for better ability to spot coral heads). The first problem we encountered was that the wind was much stronger than predicted and, from about 5am, started swinging around to the east (predicted to be north) - the wrong direction so we were literally pounding into 3-4 meter waves and, eventually were on a heading for Antigua rather than Barbuda. Flexibility is key, so we just decided to stay on the course for Antigua rather than pound to windward for many many more hours!
Heart stop episode 1: I (Megan) went downstairs to check on everything only to find myself in ankle high water in our master bathroom - fearing we had a hole somewhere and were taking on water quickly. I then realized that we had left the side hatch window open so every time we hit a wave water was pouring into the bathroom. A much better situation than previously thought, my breathing returned to normal.
Heart stop episode 2: After closing the window and starting an attempt to siphon the water into the shower drain I heard the man overboard alarm go off. This is a system we installed - both of us wear a bracelet, which acts as an alarm if the button is pressed or if we get 10 meters away from the boat. Now it's 3am and dark. I only have a headlamp on for light so as not to ruin my night vision and we're well offshore and in high seas. My heart literally stops for the second time in 5 minutes. I scream and run upstairs thinking that Mike who has been outside and on watch has been washed overboard....
It turns out that in my clamoring around to soak up the water I had activated my man overboard alarm button, so good news - Mike was safe and sound but my nerves were absolutely shot.
After 12 hours of squalls, big seas and little sleep, we arrived in Antigua, both of us hoping this wasn't going to be a typical passage.
We enjoyed a couple beautiful (and well deserved) days recuperating in an anchorage on the west coast called Mosquito Cove
Carlisle Bay - another great anchorage on the south coast where we met some lovely new friends - Judith and Ty from the USA and Vickie and Mike from Canada! It was fun hiking and hanging out with them!
The views of Willoughby Bay on the east coast
Famous - English Harbour
Our hike over 'Middle Ground'
Falmouth Harbour
A refreshing swim at Pigeon Beach
The BEST chicken roti @ Grace Before Meals. Cheap and cheerful, Caribbean style!
Historic Nelson's Dockyard - this is the island's main port of entry for yachts and dates back to 1745. It was beautifully restored in the 1950s and continues to be a working marina
The view from the fort at Shirley Heights overlooking Falmouth and English Harbours.
Enjoying a few sunset libations along with the view
Thanks for a great week Antigua - up next is Barbuda!
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