Aspen going through the Simpson Bay Bridge, St. Maarten, headed for Antigua
Double rainbow at Great Bird Island, Antigua
Aspen's head hose. The opening should be as large as the hose. No wonder nothing would go out! Captain Steve finds this job disgusting.
Maria's toes in the sand
Wet dinghy landing on Great Bird Island, Antigua
The movie set for Pan 2 at North Sound, Antigua. Great location!
West Indian squall approaching our peaceful anchorage at Great Bird Island, Antigua. They come on you fast and leave you fast.
Captain Steve doing what he does best on Aspen - sailing!
Admiral Maria tending the jib sheet on Aspen
Hawksbill Rock, Antigua
Jolly Harbour, Antigua
Montserrat in the distance, from Antigua
Maria just enjoying the sailing on Aspen
Falmouth Harbour, Antigua and some of the big boys waiting for the Antigua Classic race to begin
Falmouth Harbour, Antigua
Proper dinghy dock in Falmouth, Antigua
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| Aspen hauled out of the water for summer |
Another deserted beach on Antigua
The Admiral, after a successful Caribbean sailing season, enjoying a condo in Jolly Harbour
S/Y Aspen – April 28, 2017 – Log #150
Aspen Position: 17 degrees 03’ N 061 degrees 52’ W
Jolly Harbour, Antigua, Caribbean
It’s been nearly 6 months in these warm Caribbean waters for two wandering sailors and this makes the 150th blog we have sent out. How time flies?!?
We’ve heard things back home have changed. But living as we do, with only the wind and waves to guide our way, the future is always full of adventure without the latest news reports.
It was an overnight sail to Antigua from St. Maarten, with a half moon to light our way. The occasional mammoth cruise ship interrupted our bouncy sail against the ever present Trade Winds, that were forecasted to be gone but were still there. Oh well, at least Aspen got us to the harbor a little tired but ready to explore Antigua after a few hours of much needed sleep.
Antigua has probably the strictest customs and immigration of any Caribbean island. So we simply tied up to the special customs dock and wore our friendly smiles no matter what was said to us. A mere 15 minutes later we are back on Aspen and headed for our anchorage, fully cleared into Antigua. It always pays to be friendly.
Great Bird Island was our next destination. This remote rock is an ideal place to kick back, snorkel, walk the two small but incredible beaches, run the deserted short trails and just chill out. It is rare to find many sailors in the north sound of Antigua because of extensive shoals and reefs that pop up everywhere, along with the difficult sail against the trade winds and seas.
Yet once we overcame those obstacles the destination was well worth the effort.
However, the new movie Pan 2 was being filmed about a mile away from our tranquil anchorage.
We needn’t worry because none of the film crew ventured over to our magical island. It was rumored that Captain Steve’s identical twin brother, Steven Segal, might be in the movie. That did not prove to be true upon further investigation (ha).
A week is a long time to accumulate trash in remote Great Bird Island so Admiral Maria was ready for some civilization, she subtly made known to the captain.
So back we went to Jolly Harbour and Aspen’s summer resting place, on land.
It’s time to go back to Colorado and spend summer in the mountains we love so much.
Until next sailing season.
Sail on, sail on Aspen…
Also, our book, Voyage Into Hell, is available at Amazon.com
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