Seasonally, we arrived this time officially during “tourist season”. But we were very surprised at the lack of tourists. It seems the world economy has been seriously affected as well. Beachfront hotels with glorious beaches, normally swarming with tourists, are shuttered and empty, looking like they are waiting for an incoming hurricane. Sailing around the island we estimated about one in five hotels to be open with any sizeable clientele. The locals are putting on their best, bravest faces, yet it is evident in discussing the realities of the economy that this means a huge drop in their income for the year. Being from a resort community, we can certainly sympathize with their plight.
A few days following the Shirley Heights BBQ party, we sailed around the island to a beautiful anchorage called Green Island. A large reef surrounded the anchorage, which afforded some terrific snorkeling, much like in the Tobago Cays further down at the Grenadine Islands. We enjoyed a couple of delightful days there with our friends from Magic and Matsu and stayed a few days before returning to the anchorage at English Harbor.
Suz and I had been to English Harbour before and wished to return to another of our favorite Antiguan spots, Jolly Harbuor. The others were first timers to this neat place and wished to continue their exploration of that area so, a few days before Christmas, we sailed off alone up and around the west side of Antigua. We anchored in a familiar spot and enjoyed some time alone there before returning to the group on Christmas Eve day. We had planned a Christmas feast to include the six couples, which had done the most traveling together and had purchased some turkeys in Martinique a few weeks prior in anticipation of the holiday party.
As one might expect, the festivities actually began Christmas Eve and lasted well through Boxing Day, which is celebrated the day after Christmas in many of these former British islands. The actual Christmas day festivities started with an afternoon at the famous Nelson’s Dockyard with a live band supplying surprisingly good reggae music and various qualities of Champagne, donated by the cruising community. The champagne was available by the bottle, to be purchased out of a huge bathtub affair to benefit the local Antiguan charities. The local folks all come to share this celebration with the boaters and the party really is going full blast by suppertime. They have a big grill going where various meats are being BBQ’d for purchase as well.
Our actual Christmas feast was a thing we’ll recall for years to come as each couple brought something either assigned or chosen from their holiday “family favorites”. We brought a special cranberry relish. It is always well received and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Other dishes included: 2 medium sized whole turkeys, English-style roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, fresh ambrosia citrus salad, Waldorf salad, roasted Brussel sprouts with parmesan cheese, steamed broccoli, two styles of stuffing, candied Caribbean style yams, and two delicious pies, one a traditional mincemeat, the other a Canadian maple syrup tart similar to what we know as pecan pie without the pecans. All in all, everyone pushed away from the tables over-stuffed and ready to dance off a few of these newly consumed calories.
The next morning, the group reconvened at the dockyard to recall the previous night’s fun and some to continue the party. Since it was Carol’s birthday, Jake suggested a Bloody Mary might be just the elixir for the morning-after palate. We joined them for “just one” and after a short pub-crawl style afternoon, we quietly slipped off to our boat for a night of quiet.
The next day, several of us relocated to Jolly Harbor in preparation to move on from Antigua early next week. The weather seems to be favorable for a mid-week move, so most are planning on a jump either to Barbuda (30 miles away) or St. Martin (45 miles away). We have planned to see Barbuda as it is reported to be quite a special place with unique bird habitat and outstanding reefs for snorkeling. From there we will head over to St. Martin for a quick layover before continuing to the Virgins where we need to be in time to meet our friends Joe and MK Ghiglia on January 7. They will be with us for 10 days. Then, a few days later, daughter Nancy will arrive for her week aboard.
Some of you know we have accepted a sale contract on our boat and will be delivering her for survey and sea trial in Tortola in mid-January. If all proves acceptable (and what’s not to like about this beautiful boat?!?!) she will be handed over to her new owners February 10 at Tortola, BVI. So our next month will be especially meaningful as we prepare to leave one adventure to begin another.
We have a busy month coming up, which sadly will see the parting of several of our cruising friends. Keesje II (Peter and Wendy), Daniell Storey (Dave and Michelle), and Matsu (Tim and Linda) will all be off on their own from the rest of us as they either start back south or stay behind for whatever desired reason. It will be a bittersweet goodbye as we part, but the memories we’ve made together will remain life long.
The next day, several of us relocated to Jolly Harbor in preparation to move on from Antigua early next week. The weather seems to be favorable for a mid-week move, so most are planning on a jump either to Barbuda (30 miles away) or St. Martin (45 miles away). We have planned to see Barbuda as it is reported to be quite a special place with unique bird habitat and outstanding reefs for snorkeling. From there we will head over to St. Martin for a quick layover before continuing to the Virgins where we need to be in time to meet our friends Joe and MK Ghiglia on January 7. They will be with us for 10 days. Then, a few days later, daughter Nancy will arrive for her week aboard.
Some of you know we have accepted a sale contract on our boat and will be delivering her for survey and sea trial in Tortola in mid-January. If all proves acceptable (and what’s not to like about this beautiful boat?!?!) she will be handed over to her new owners February 10 at Tortola, BVI. So our next month will be especially meaningful as we prepare to leave one adventure to begin another.
We have a busy month coming up, which sadly will see the parting of several of our cruising friends. Keesje II (Peter and Wendy), Daniell Storey (Dave and Michelle), and Matsu (Tim and Linda) will all be off on their own from the rest of us as they either start back south or stay behind for whatever desired reason. It will be a bittersweet goodbye as we part, but the memories we’ve made together will remain life long.
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