This and That From Antigua

Looking East into Jolly Harbor

It’s been about a week since Diane left Sinbad at anchor just outside of Jolly Harbor, Antigua. In her absence a decision was made by the skipper and crew (Randy) to add to the blog before she gets back ( in about a week).  So let’s take this Blog back to St. Martin.

In our previous blog story we talked about how much we love the island. The people are so friendly, the food is great, the provisioning just simply fantastic and you've got to love the deals on boat parts. The deals on boat parts are the main reason for mentioning St Martin again or to be more precise “Sint Maarten”, the Dutch side of the island. Most sailors who cruise the Eastern Caribbean who have ordered boat parts from the two marine stores, Island Water World and Budget Marine, know that there will be a 15 percent charge because the parts have to be sent from Sint Maarten . So sailors wait until they get to the island to purchase their parts. Smart on their part, but after talking to cruisers on three other boats, I realize that not everybody knows that there are more savings to be had! All a sailor has to do ( in both stores) is to bring in their customs and immigration papers, open an account (15 minutes worth of paperwork)and enjoy a additional 10 percent off all purchases and not have to pay a 5 percent sales tax! So you save 15 percent on top of the 15 percent you thought you were saving! Maybe a few sailors will read this and save some money……hope so.

Jimmy Buffet's boat next to the big (bigger) dogs, Sint Maarten

So let's head back to Antigua. We spent a month there last year, and back in the 80's Diane lived here for a year. No problems for us knowing our way around.

Did I mention that Antigua has "bugs" ? Lucky for us, Di's dad had his own business exterminating bugs. So she didn't panic. She knew exactly what to do with them. Cook them and dip them in butter!

 Before Diane flew back to the states, we moved out of Jolly Harbor and dropped the hook in Falmouth Harbor for a couple of days.

We were looking at the little boats while we were there.

We headed into the Antigua Yacht Club to let them know we will be there for The Classic's Yacht Race Week. Not as racers but as volunteers to help with the festivities. The coordinator remembered me from last year and said she was looking forward to having me back. Diane will be volunteering this year; last year Di and her daughter Jacque were hanging together all week. It's going to be fun!

So.......we went for a little walk on the dock, just to look at what we can't afford to hire crew for, let alone fuel!

How would you like to go up any of theses masts?

After a walk to English Harbor and a dingy tour of Falmouth Harbor we looked at each other and said "To the beach"! So it was back to Jolly Harbor and a walk to Jolly Beach. Antigua has beautiful beaches, the best in the Caribbean (so far).

Di always finds the time for beach yoga!

So we hung out on the beach for four out of five days until Di flew out. Poor old Randy (me) had to stay on the boat.

I'll try to survive.