Heading south!  23/06/2021

Today we will leave Antigua, heading south. All going well (no hurricanes), this will be a gradual trip. My intention is simply to sail during daylight hours, doing about 50 nautical miles a day, and dropping anchor in suitable places for the night. (Should a hurricane develop, then we will just head to Grenada as fast as possible!).

My yellow Q flag will be the key. This will signal that I have not processed in through customs and immigration on the islands concerned. I will not go ashore. First stop will be on the west coast of Guadeloupe, second Dominica and third Martinique. Should reach St Lucia on Saturday, where I intend to stay for several days. Apart from being called beautiful by many people, St Lucia has the advantage that it classifies Antigua as low risk for Covid, so all that is needed is a PCR test done within the previous 5 days, and then you are free. 

I got a PCR test yesterday (Tuesday) in St John’s. This was an expensive business: US$200 – quite extortionate! My last PCR test, in Sint Maarten, cost $75. The problem in Antigua is that there is only one place you can get it, at the main hospital. So a classic monopoly situation (even an Antigen test costs $100). At least it’s just me. Spoke to an Australian guy on Monday who’s moored close by; he had just had his, with his wife and 2 kids: total cost $800. That’s a lot of money.

From St Lucia I will stop overnight in St Vincent and perhaps a second time in one of the Grenadines, before entering Grenada in Tyrell Bay on the island of Carriacou, which is about 20 miles north of the main island. By then it will be more than 14 days since my second Covid vaccine, which means simply a PCR test on arrival with results within 48 hours, and then freedom – avoiding 7 days’ quarantine. Carriacou is said to be lovely… we shall see.