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Antigua/Barbuda

April/May, 2006

 

    We left Marigot (St. Martin) on Tuesday, April 18th and made an overnight stop in St. Barts before motoring the rest of the trip to Antigua.  Our passage with Jerry was very different from his last visit ... this trip the seas were flat and there was no wind.  We arrived in Antigua on Thursday, April 20th but before we could pull into the Falmouth Harbor the boat needed a bit of cleaning.  Being part of the family, Rankin quickly put Jerry to work scrubbing the boat.

Jerry scrubbing the decks        He works pretty hard for a man with a bum hip!!!

    Once the boat was clean, it was time to cruise into Falmouth harbor and join our friends ... we were just in time for a dinghy drift.  At this point, all of our work was finished (or shall I say Jerry's work was finished) and it was time to have fun.  Here are some photos from Jerry's trip to Antigua during Antigua Classic Race Week.

Jerry and I enjoy the snacks being passed around during the dinghy drift    Jerry made a new buddy (Walt) on the dinghy drift

Jerry enjoying the company of two lovely ladies (Jackson and Olga) on the drift ... I think this was his favorite part.    Our first red hat party. After standing in line & drinking lots of rum, we were successful and got our red hats.

Everyone earned their red hats by drinking lots of rum!    Rankin special ordered this red hat made with the bill in the back

Antigua Classic Regatta - Race No. 1    Antigua Classic Regatta - Race No. 2

Antigua Classic Regatta - Race No. 3

    We had a great time with Jerry and thoroughly enjoyed his stay with us.  On Tuesday, April 25th, we said goodbye and drove him to airport for his flight back home.  However, a couple of days later (Thursday), our friend Dave Hope from the Outer Banks flew into Antigua for a visit.  He arrived just in time for the Antigua Race Week, so we spent some time participating in the Race Week festivities and then we circumnavigated the island stopping at various bays.  Below are some of the photos.

Dave admiring the beautiful boats in English Harbour    Dave & Rankin hiked to a nearby fort and were rewarded with this beautiful view of English Harbour

The festivities have begun but we don't have our Race Week hats yet    During our sail around Antigua, the winds were light enough that we pulled out the spinnaker

Jerry wasn't the only guest who had to work on the boat ... Dave had to climb the mast!!!    The first party during Race Week

After hiking around, Dave & Rankin pose for a photograph    Participant in Race Week

English Harbour    

    We had a great adventure exploring Antigua with Dave and were sad to see him leave but on Saturday, May 6th he left on a flight back to the Outer Banks.  We spent about week in Antigua relaxing, doing a few chores and waiting for a weather window to Barbuda.  On Thursday, May 11th we had an excellent sail to Barbuda, and spent almost a week anchored off this quiet island enjoying the solitude.  Later, we took a tour of the island with George who did an excellent job.  He took us around the mangroves to the Frigate rookery.  Unfortunately, our digital camera broke so we didn't get good quality photos, however, our video camera worked.  Here' s a little video of a mother Frigate feeding her baby ... watch closely.  NOTE:  This video file is about 2.5mb is size so it will take a moment or two to download depending on your connection speed.

    It was time to leave Barbuda though we were very sad to leave this peaceful island.  We had guests coming into St. Martin and on our way back we wanted to stop in Nevis, St. Kitts and St. Barts before meeting our guests in St. Martin.  So, off we went to Nevis and St. Kitts.  Following us to Nevis and St. Kitts or if you would like to catch up on the latest travels, take a look at What's Happening.  Don't forget ... keep coming back. 

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