Harbour Daze, Antigua



Falmouth and English Harbour

 We have been in Falmouth Harbour a little over a fortnight.  It seems the season has ended here and already bars and restaurants are closing down for hurricane season. The bay has emptied out now that all the regattas are over and the pace of life has slowed down once again  Apparently it’s been a quiet season according to those who make a living out of the sailing scene. Its more peaceful now, turtles swim about the boat and the life that we love so much just passes us by.   The sea is a lovely blue to swim in and the sandy strip shaded with palm trees at Pigeon beach is just a stones throw away. We like to snorkel off the back of the boat to the end of Pigeon beach where the rocky outcrop is surrounded by fish and small amounts of new coral are making an appearance.

 

Sim, Rosie, Ruth & Angus from SY Do IT

Friends “Do It” have been and gone and are now making their way across to the Azores.  Susan and Jan from “Peter Pan” are planning to sail up to Canada and Sam and Jon are waiting around the corner in another bay to head south with us.  Sim has put his back out, a slipped disk perhaps.  He is rattling about the place with all the pain killers he is taking. 

 

Toe dip

Aside from Sim’s back life on board is good.  Wandering Star is being a wonderful little home and we love her very much.  We now have the water maker up and running; turning sea water into drinking water.  It has just a small output of 3 gallons an hour but it’s a perk we didn’t have before and running it for an hour a day keeps us going. We haven’t been getting many jobs ticked of the list especially with Sims bad back.  But I have made sunbrella bean bags to make the cockpit comfortable for us. At the end of each day I love sitting on the back steps with my feet dangling in the water before I jump in for a swim.  The swim platform is one of my favourite spots on Wandering Star.  

 

Soap up and jump in!

The whole of Falmouth Harbour and Nelsons Dockyard are part of a national park, there are all sorts of walks and trails to be taken over the hills and scrubby bush.  Susan and I walked (rather stupidly) in the midday heat across to Nelsons Dockyard and up the hill to the fort, then up the hill some more and down the other side to the beach at Windward. It’s a lovely untouched windswept beach.  Baking hot and the colour of local lobster we headed back to the harbour to pick up my laundry (2 loads, wash only = EC$40 or 10 quid, Very Expensive!).