Antigua

The volcano on Guadeloupe with the cone free of clouds.  This is a huge volcano and still active at times.

The customs officials in Jolly Harbour, Antigua.  Lots of movement and stamping of papers.

Jolly Harbour Marina and the nice docks (with power too).

Great Bird Island and some picnic tables slowly sinking into the sand.

This is what sailing is all about...

S/Y Aspen – March 3, 2016 – Log #141
Aspen Position: 17 degrees 08’ N  061 degrees 43’ W
North Sound, Antigua

The winds of March blew Aspen from Guadeloupe to Antigua, another x-British island sitting in an emerald sea.

Along the way we passed the active volcano on Montserrat before making landfall in Jolly Harbour and meeting with the customs officials.  We got lucky and found the required quarantine dock free of boats so Maria only had to jump off Aspen and quickly tie our lines before we drifted away. 

Maria doesn’t like jumping from a moving boat so with a lot of coaxing from Captain Steve, she managed the 1-foot leap without making a splash in the  bay.  Maria seemed happy with her jump as well, reminding the Captain that her legs are not as long as his.

It only took two days to stock up on vegetables, food, a cheap digital watch for Steve so he can time his wayward runs once again and get on our way.

I kept telling Maria is was only a 3 hour sail, hmmm, to the north end of Antigua and a rumored great anchorage.

Well, luckily, 3.5 hours later, we found Great Bird Island in an area that looked exactly like the Bahamas:  Colorful water, uncrowded anchorages and a deserted island awaited us.  Wow.

We wandered the island on white sand beaches and waded in the water looking for shells.  Now this is how sailing in the Caribbean should be, we both thought.  We had never ventured on this coast of Antigua and wondered why it took us so long. 

A party catamaran full of party people showed up and swam to shore on our private island but they didn’t stay long before leaving us in solitude once again.

This weekend, as you are enjoying life on land, Maria and I will be sailing overnight to Sint Maarten.  Hopefully the stars will guide us there and the squalls will stay away.  Give us a thought or two as you enjoy your restful slumber, knowing we are rocking and rolling in the warm Caribbean breezes far away from land.

Sail on, sail on Aspen…

Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com