Antigua –R & R May 10th

So all the racing is over and we can’t seriously leave until I have some use of my left wrist.  However I can manage small things like finger typing!
 We visited the Antigua Yacht Club to take part in a local Quiz. We now know that Antigua has 365 beaches!!! Our friends Andrew and Susan (S/Y Andromeda) were on the last winning team so had to prepare the quiz for this month.  I hate quizzes but there being no alternative I had to make up the numbers.  So we had a team of four Malcolm myself, Judy from S/Y Wings and Karel from S/Y Tahani-li.  We played against three other local teams and to cut a gripping evening short we WON.

Judy , (S/Y 'Wings), Karel ,(S/Y Tahani-li ) and Sailor Sue with the prizes.

 Mostly due to Karels vast knowledge of Courtesy flags and their countries but with help from all members of the team showing their own specialist knowledge.  Malcolm even managed to calculate the time it takes for light from the sun to reach us on Earth—5000 seconds!  So with 30/42 marks we gained first place and a bottle of 5 year aged Antiguan Rum and the onerous task of preparing a quiz for the next evening of fun.  I have already done my share and need to email it to our co-ordinator so that it can be sent to the Yacht Club Secretary in time.
  The following evening we all met again in the same place to have aperatives, namely the Aged Rum before setting of to the Admirals Inn to have our last supper as a team.  Yes! Fred managed to fail getting the last Lobster but everyone else shared yet another wonderful meal.
    The weather has been cooler inter-spaced with grey days of warm rain.  We returned to Jolly Harbour to do some shopping, fill our water tanks.  Judy and Fred came over for a final sundowners before we leave them to sail South.  They will be travelling towards the ABC’s and Columbia. Another day around at Five Islands Bay for Malcolm to do a spot of hull cleaning– namely the propeller and intake pipes, which seem to have barnacle growth due to being in one place too long.  Needless to say it rained even more now that our tanks are full!
So we set off for Green Island on Sunday 12th May.  Stopping to pick up my computer stick from S/Y Quicksilver.  Coffee en route and we were just saying “What a brilliant sail…” when a peculiar noise was heard and the steering felt ‘funny’.  Ooops what now? The speed dropped and as I looked over the stern I see a couple of yellow things with a rope attached…’Piano’ had snagged another set of buoys! ( What a Girl ehh?) The air around the Captain was ‘blue’ but we managed to get a line around the offending tether and lead it forward.

 Malcolm cut it free and we managed to free the rudder sufficiently to sail back to Five Island Bay.  The new Knife he had bought was a casualty– not tied on he dropped it into 20 m of turbid water. Lunch first , then Malcolm donned the scuba gear once again and removed the remaining line. Note to self don’t say that the sail is brilliant of ‘Piano’ will look for a buoy!



The Eastern End of Antigua. 13th May.

  The second sail to Green Island / Non Such Bay was in fact just as brilliant.  ‘Piano’ definitely sails faster on Starboard tack, probably due to the extra weight on that side.  6 Knots against 4 knots on Port tack. Of course when we tacked we did find a) we were trailing a fender, b) the piano stool had not been screwed down and c) one of the clothes storage cupboards had flown open.  We all know that ‘things’ happen in 3’s!
  OK I’ll set the scene here with a look at the charts for the area,  Google maps possibly won’t have the historical detail.  First of all Non Such Bay was named after the first visiting ‘Yacht’ in 1647.  They must have been blown in downwind to have survived the variable depths, heads of emergent coral and semi submerged rocks.  The entrance is barely 50 m wide with shallow water either side.  Once in, the Bay is 2 miles deep by 1/2 wide, and has about 12, really sturdy buoys to tie up too.  Once settled we could see the reef ahead which protects the Bay from all weathers.  The spot is idyllic with kite boards skimming the surface and the occasional turtles popping their heads up.
Tuesday we take a day off! Well in this world that means mundane jobs like cleaning the weed growth from the tender, hoovering and washing the cabin floor of all the salt taken down during the recent escapades and checking out the life jacket which was used as a safety line the other day.
  Wednesday we made a tour in the newly cleaned tender of the whole bay.  From the entrance at ’Cork Point’ round to Nanny Island is owned by the Mill Reef Club, who are anti Yacht people.  They make money from rich tourists ‘in season’ who pay top whack for the privilege (tee hee). Evidence here is that times are hard, with other restaurants defunct nearby.
   Passing Nanny Island the next Bay is Browns Bay right up close to the head of the bay.  Next comes Hughes Bay, home of the Non Such Bay Resort which is Yacht friendly—and still making money !  The other side of the hill is Ayres Creek and Clover Leaf Bay.  This is called Guyanais Cove by the locals and is a deep mangrove lined bay in just the shape of a clover leaf! (Excellent shelter in a hurricane)
Finally the channel which some yachts leave by is called Spithead Channel (? Where have I heard that ?)