Despite the fact we have done very little, we
have had a busy couple of days. We
had a very good first night on the boat.
Maybe we consumed a little too much rum but enjoyed a solid eight hours
of sleep gently rocking in Hermitage Bay, Five Islands Harbour.
We were up at the crack of 8 am ready for the
day. After a hearty breakfast and
an hour or two reading the news via the free Wi-Fi floating across the bay from
the Hermitage Bay Resort, we created a grocery list and headed back to Jolly
Harbour for shopping.
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Re-entering Jolly Harbour
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A Few Shabby Homes On the Way In.
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The grocery store was well provisioned except
for fresh fruit. We decided to
stock up for the seven days until the girls arrive. In addition to some chicken and sausage, we thought 4 dozen
beer, 10 bottles of wine and a couple of rums would see us through.
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We Drew The Line At Chicken Feet
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We Needed A Little Help With Transport
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Back to the boat, a walk on the beach, a late lunch,
and an afternoon beer set the table nicely for a nap before sunset. That was followed by grilled pork
chops and a fresh chilled Sauvignon Blanc for dinner before finishing the day
with hours of conversation solving the world’s problems.
The next day we woke to some wind with heavy
gusts. It was a great day to
sail. Captain Glen planned to sail
us around the corner from Five Islands to Deep Bay. The plan was to take a circuitous route to add to the
excitement of the sail. It wasn’t
going to be a full (all sails) day.
Previously the Genoa (or jib) sail had separated from its connecting eye
and was unusable. It was furled
around the bow rigging. After
clearing the bay (and avoiding a reef) we hoisted the main sail and the staysail. We were just starting to fly through
the waves when Captain Glen’s face took on a look of grave concern. Not knowing exactly what was happening
he peered over the cockpit only to see that the jib sailed had unfurled and was
flapping in the wind. It was
whipping itself against the steel rigging like a sinner self-flaggellating back in medieval
times. With all the loose sail in
the wind, the boat was confused at best.
It wasn’t a case of simply running to the bow to lasso it. It was cracking like a whip in the wind
and could have caused serious harm to anyone seeking to intercede. We turned into the wind toward shore
seeking shelter in the lee of the island.
Yan Diesel was running full out straining as we made for safety. We finally escaped the wind, and with
Jinder at the wheel, Glen was finally able to wrestle the sail to the deck in a
manner that would have made a rodeo cowboy proud.
With the excitement over we managed to chug into
Deep Bay for a well needed and deserved cocktail, and some lunch.
The afternoon activities proved to be much less
exciting but most enjoyable just the same. We hiked up to Fort Barrington. It was a battery (cannons) and lookout during Admiral Nelson
time in the 1700’s. This area was
controlled by Britain until late in the last century. Drivers still use the British form of driving on the
left. The short scramble up the
rocky trail afforded us a fabulous view of the city of St. John’s (the capital of capital of Antigua and Barbuda), the open
Atlantic and Deep Bay. After posing
for a few pictures it was back down and a beach walk to a beach bar for ginger
beer rums and a dip in the Deep Bay.
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Our Target Destination Was In Sight
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Through the Mangroves
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Past the Bridge
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I Think It Was This Way?
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Stopped For A Pic (and Rest)
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Made It
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Cannon Ball Room
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St. John's
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Deep Bay Beach
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Our Second Target - Beach Bar
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Ginger Rums In Sight
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Murphy the Dinghy ferried us back to the Blue
Pearl and we settled in for another gourmet meal prepared by Jinder and a few
more cocktails enjoying another Caribbean sunset.
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An Unexpected Guest in the Bay
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