Antigua opening slowly to travellers

June 21, 2020

After being 3 months in Dominica, it is a great feeling to be able to travel and change scenery and have a bit more freedom. There is still a curfew here from 11pm to 5am everyday.

Antigua claim to have a beach for everyday of the year. We don’t intend to stay that long to visit them all but for the past couple of weeks we have been busy checking up on this theory. Most of them are perfect postcard pictures, white sand and turquoise waters. In Antigua & Barbuda the main economic activity is tourism. Therefore, COVID 19 has hit them really hard, specially as it felt on high peak season. Although, there are only 18 cases the main regatas and the classic sailing week, which we were planing to come and see, was canceled this year. On the other hand, it is probably also the main reason they are opening their borders before all other Caribbean islands. They are accepting foreigners to come under an strict healthy protocole, so after long time we can hear airplanes again

So the Antigua that we found looks very deserted, most restaurants, bars, shops are still closed. Not to mentioned huge resorts hotels and plenty of accomodations. Nonetheless, we have spend great days around the island, visiting and enjoying the nature.

Jolly Harbour

From St John’s to Jolly Harbour is only like 8nm and on a calm day I could even stay in front of the deck even with both sails up!

Jolly Harbour had maybe 20 boats anchored and lots more on the docks, especially lots of charter boats just there not being used. We spend couple of days there, it didn’t took us long to discovered there is not much, not even a town. It is just a harbour with marina, some accomodations and services. However, two mandatory stops for yachties. The ship-chandler and the supermarket. Ship chandlers can always surprised you and have specific parts that are in the repairs list of any boat and of course the supermarket can always have unexpected things. This one had “Harina PAN” which is great we can have more arepas now.

Never Forever (Brian & Lori) arrived the night before we left. Their boat is another Hanse, actually the only other Hanse we have seen around. We met them in Dominica and they will be in Antigua for a couple of weeks to get some repairs done before they go south. They came onboard and it was a perfect opportunity for french dinner menu, pate, salmon quiche and crepes for dessert!! great night.

Fallmouth Harbour

We left early on Saturday for Fallmouth Harbour as we were told we must visit Shirley Highs on a Sunday afternoon. So we wanted to give it a try. Normally they have huge BBQ with live music to enjoy the sunset and party later into the night.

This time the sailing was not easy and calm. It was a bit surprising for me to have such big seas being so close to the coast. Well they were not that big, waves of 1.5 m, but short ones and also my first time going upwind with Happy Days. So they “looked” pretty big. We had full sails 15knots of wind and average speed of 6knots and the boat handled so well, although it moves a lot more it is still confortable. And as sailors will know when going up wind you do double the distance and three times the time.

Nelson’s dockyard is a must visit as it is a marina in operation since 1745 and was made a Unesco World Heritage site in 2016. Today its restored buildings house restaurants, hotels and businesses. Just a couple of big superyatchs are still there which was a bit disappointed as I was looking forward to tour around and see them.

Driving around

We rented a car and when to visit some of the famous sites on the island.

First stop was on Half Moon Beach, is supposed to be one of the most espectacular beaches in Antigua and even the Caribbean or the world. We had seen some beautiful pictures and were very excited to see it. The bad surprised was that when we got there the beach had a terrible smell and was full of sargass. This weeds have been affecting these coasts for a few years and when they get to the beach they start to decompose and released H2S

Sadly, we couldn’t swim and stay there as the smell was really strong.

So we keep going to the Devil’s Bridge which is a natural arch carved by the sea from soft and hard limestone ledges of the Antigua formation, a geological division of the flat north-eastern part of Antigua. A bridge was created when a soft part of the limestone eroded away by action of Atlantic breakers over countless centuries. 

We continued the drive to Long Bay beach, stunning and all for us, the snorkel is highly recommended there and although there was quite different range of corals the fish were probably on siesta, because we didn’t see much.

Few more stops brought us to the pink church and another great beach for sunset!!

Green Island

We spend couple of days anchored in different places around the paradise to kitesurfers!!!

Green island is a private property but no one lives there, it has a small place for the kitesurf school and the rest is inhabited. So we spend some time walking all the surroundings, at night the kite surfers leave so we had a perfect place for a night BBQ.

From Green Island next stop will be Barbuda which is only 30nm but with the forecast will probably not be an easy sail, we still have to go up wind.