Antigua

A week ago we sailed from Guadaloupe to English Harbour, Antigua.  It was a rough sail for the Admiral as we were in 12 foot seas and winds in the 30 knot range but the Captain loved it as Jay Sea Dee takes off in those conditions.  We anchored in English Harbour which is on the South side of the island and there we stayed for quite a few days waiting for the “blow” to pass.  It was a fun place to be held up though as we could explore Nelsons Dockyard and we rented a car.  The island has some beautiful beaches but otherwise is lacking in the green rainforest and banana and coconut tree landscapes we were getting used to.  The beaches have changed from black sand to a beige color.  The water here ranges from emerald blue to turquoise to a light baby blue…really a sight to see.  We told them they didn’t need to roll out the red carpet for us but…

Admiral Horatio Nelson arrived in 1784 on HMS Boreas bringing the British Naval fleet to this protected “hurricane hole”.  The turnstile looking things are called  “capstan’s” and they were used to “careen” the ships up to shore and turn them over so they could do repairs to the bottom.  The pillars are all that’s left of the sail loft where ships would come to repair sails.

Instead of a turtle sanctuary, they have a donkey sanctuary and it’s free!