Back to Antigua!
We left Grand Case on Sunday and sailed back around the island to Simpson Bay on the Dutch side. Anchored just off the beach for 2 nights. Got a PCR test, for which I paid $75 (the price of PCR tests varies a lot – an alternative laboratory charged $125, while in Antigua it costs $200… a lot of profiteering going on).
Left Sint Maarten on Tuesday 25th. An overnight trip down to English Harbour in Antigua, 112 nautical miles. Initially the wind was strong, up to 26 knots, and made good progress. Strange wind effects around islands – although I passed St Barts more than 5 miles off, there was a strong wind tunnel effect due to its mountainous geography. But the wind was helpfully a bit north of east, making my 130 degree direction possible. However, by late evening the wind was shifting a bit south of east, making progress more difficult, plus as I passed St Kitts & Nevis and approached Antigua the current was also very adverse. So, in order to make reasonable time, motored the last 40 miles or so. It was not a comfortable trip. Large waves cutting across our course, Manuka constantly pitching and tossing into the rough sea. Lucky if I got 4 hours sleep, but felt perfectly fresh on arrival – and quite a relief because Antigua is such familiar territory. Lovely to come along the green and mountainous south coast, finally passing the wide entrance to Falmouth Harbour and then, around the headland, the narrow entry to English Harbour.
Sailed into Freeman Bay, the first part of English Harbour, and anchored. Not the easiest anchorage – it is sheltered by twin headlands but has strange little wind and current effects. I dropped anchor making myself parallel with an American yacht… but 5 minutes later Manuka had swung 90 degrees while the Americans hadn’t moved at all, bringing us about 5 metres apart. So upped anchor – and for some unknown reason the bloody anchor chain jumped out of its track. Ran forward and managed to physically yank the chain up and over… and then move. Only then did I discover that my left hand was covered in blood. Nothing serious – just a gash on my middle finger – absolutely typical of the yachting life. So many ways to injure yourself, it’s a truly regular occurrence. What’s funny is that when you’re at action stations you never feel anything – you suddenly see blood on something and say Where did that come from? Little chance of infection though – thanks to the waves that had broken over the boat on the trip, just wiped my good hand on the nearest surface and it was covered in salt crystals… Rubbed these into the cut, and once I’d shut everything down wiped the blood off with a salt water saturated piece of kitchen towel and stuck a plaster on it (fortunately I have loads of plasters!).
Instead of obeying the law and sitting waiting to be visited with my Q flag flying, I dinghied over to the dock and went ashore and searched out the dockyard manager. He greeted me happily by name – things are so much easier when you know what you’re doing. In general, rules are there to be broken…
That said, Covid regulations do make everything much more difficult. I had hoped to visit Saba and Saint Eustatius, but both now have quarantine requirements if you’re coming from Sint Maarten. It’s not worth going through any sort of quarantine unless you intend a lengthy stay in a place. In June we will head south to Grenada, and there it appears that 7 days’ quarantine will be needed, but that’s ok as will probably spend at least 3 weeks there – and hopefully get my second shot of the vaccine too. To make life more difficult, regulations have a habit of changing, information available is often poor or ambiguous, so it’s a constant – if minor – hassle.