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 FULMOUTH
HARBOR
January 9, 2011
We followed the marks into Fulmouth Harbour, seeing a few 8.5 foot depths on
the way in. The bay is strewn with reefs, not the place you would want to enter
at night. |
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We dropped the hook behind Djarrka, amazed at the
massive luxury yachts surrounding us. Inside the adjacent marina, superyachts lined the docks
including Mirabella V, the largest sailing sloop in the world with its 240
feet high mast. Alongside was the famous three-masted square rigged Maltese Falcon,
designed to be sailed by computer single handed. |
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ENGLISH HARBOUR
Checking required a walk over to the adjacent
bay of English Harbor, where we strolled through
the old Georgian Naval Base. Although there was lots of paperwork, the check-in
process was efficient and painless. To anchor in English or
Fulmouth Harbour, you have to pay a daily fee. |
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Fort Berkley
We walked out to the point where Fort Berkley overlooked English Harbor.
The anchorage at English Harbor was not as flat calm as Fulmouth and much more
crowded, but very pretty tucked into the mangroves. |
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On our dinghy trip back to our boat, we passed
Eric Clapton's yacht tied in the marina. And there on
the deck...Hisself!! Running on the treadmill, towel draped over
his shoulders. |
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English Harbour |
Fort Berkley |
Rocky Coastline |
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Remnants of Fort Berkley |
Canon from the 1800s |
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 Back at the boat we had
a visit from a baby whale shark, a rare sight. Whale
sharks grow to 60 feet long but this little fellow was only about 20 inches. A
mother and baby dolphin also swam by the boat.
At night, the scene of the tall
masts totally lit up with their red mast lights to warn aircraft was a stunning
sight. |
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January 10
We spent the day ordering parts for the boat. A new depth sounder head from
West Marine; a transducer from Blue Heron; high pressure hose from Little Wonder;
and a bearing for our water maker from Volvo.
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Definition of Cruising...Fixing Your Boat
in Exotic Places |
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The following days were spent pounded the streets packing our alternator, which was toasted when
sprayed with salt water when the high pressure hose split. We finally located a
shop that said they would send it to St. James to be rewound.
For a change of pace we dingied over to a lovely sandy beach
with Bob & Becky to have a swim and a snorkel.
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Reunion with Friends
January 12
A large group of us went to supper at a little restaurant in English
Harbor. We
met many boats that we had been hearing on the radio or seeing in anchorages but
never connected with before - Bare Feet, Aquilla and Wings, whom we hadn't seen
since Thailand.
Stardust and Gone with the Wind
arrived and we had a wonderful reunion. It
had been 1 1/2 years since we traveled together. We had a terrific time catching
up on news and enjoying each other's company. Happy hours, meals together and
fun, fun, fun.
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Our favorite hike was the walk over the hill
behind English Harbor. The rugged trail was bordered by many
varieties of cactus, clinging to the solid granite rock. |
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Along the trail we caught glimpses of the
anchorage, including an original "zebra" boat.
We rested at a view point and were joined by
Kati and Kurt, from Interlude. Also L to R: Becky, Bob, Ginny, Sarah and GB |
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Shirley Heights
January 23
A dinghy ride across English Harbour brought us to
the beautiful sandy beach, where the trail to Shirley Heights began.
It was a strenuous climb up but the sights at the summit were well
worth the effort. That evening, a lively local band offered
entertainment for dancing. We all had a wonderful meal, and of
course, drinks. |
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Amazing views of the bays below, especially when
the sun sank into the sea. |
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We walked up to the Fort to watch the start
of the mega yacht race. Although not many boats
participated, the ones that did were huge and loaded with
crew. |
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We kept ourselves busy while we waited for
all our parts to arrive. One night, a group of us had a
potluck party entertained with guitar playing by Kurt and
Katie. Liam played a set, which rewarded him a bucket full
of pennies in jest from the yachties!
Every night the anchorage awarded us with
magnificent sunsets.
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February 1
Conditions in the anchorage continued to be
windy, blowing 30 knots, rocky nights and waves slapping
against the hull constantly. Very disconcerting with the
gusts causing Ascension to yank hard on the
chain, with no engine to save us if we dragged out to sea or
onto a reef. It seemed that the Caribbean weather is windy
and rainy a lot, with a 1 or 2 day "weather window" every 2
weeks.
Our parts started to arrive slowly, each one
costing more in freight than the item was worth! Gord proceeded to repair the engine, only to
find they sent the wrong parts for the pump and no seal! We
made the long dingy trip to shore and emailed Volvo to have
parts sent again, but of course, it was the weekend so we
had to wait til Monday. More days of being unable to charge
batteries to keep the frig running.
Feb 6
If Antigua is a magnet, we are a piece of
steel. Parts finally arrived but our bill was a fright.
"Caribbean Current," arranged to consolidate our shipment of
4 parts in Florida to avoid a $77 per item charge in
Antigua. They said paying the shipping twice (once to
Florida, once to Antigua|) would still save us money
overall. However, our parts (all small boxes that weigh
nothing) got shoved into a huge container with tons of other
stuff. When it arrived in Antigua, customs had to wade
through the whole container (among thousands of others)
before our stuff turned up. Then it went to a broker anyway.
In the end, after immense paperwork and trips back and forth
to the shipping agent and broker, we were presented with a
$590 US bill!!!!! plus the cost of parts and shipping!
Caribbean Current wouldn't go to bat for us, although they
had originally arranged all the shipping.
Feb 8
Finally....our second set of replacement
parts arrived and Gord was able to borrow a press at a
machine shop to put the water pump together. It was
wonderful to have power and water again! Luckily the wind
and sun have kept the frig running and lights working for
most of the time.
While waiting a month for parts, we had
missed our weather window. But our visa was up so we
attempted to sail to Barbuda anyway. However, the wind was
too strong and the waves were too high. One wave came over
the deck and almost took off the dodger. It did rip the tie
down straps on the dinghy, which we could easily have lost.
We were soaked and even the computer got wet due to some of
the waves we took over the bow. So we headed back to Antigua
and anchored down in Jolly Harbour. We could smell
antifreeze so Gord investigated and found that it was
spewing from the engine, all over our brand new alternator
again!! There was no water or coolant left at all in the
engine, which was why the overheat gauge did not come on.
Gord was waiting until we could be at a dock to change the
bearing in the waterpump but it looked like that job would
be forced upon him in the anchorage.
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JOLLY HARBOR
We checked in and out of the Customs office
at the head of the bay. Jolly Harbour is a community of
condominiums separated by canals. Each house has a dock in
front or a deck over the water. Surrounding the anchorage,
the long beach beckoned us for a leisurely walk. |
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February 9
Over the hill and beyond Jolly Harbor,
we discovered a fabulous soft sandy beach, blanketed
with tourists on rented beach chairs. |
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<<<View of entrance to inner Jolly Harbor
lagoon. |
February 15
We managed to make the repairs on the
waterpump but decided that our time window had run out for
visiting Barbuda. So we set sail straight for St. Barts
instead.
next
>>>>
St.
Barts
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