FREEMAN'S BAY, ANTIGUA .............

The name kind of speaks for itself ....... For back in Lord Nelson's day the entire island of ANTIGUA was covered with plantations growing sugar cane, the new 'Sweet White Gold' .... And the island of Barbuda was used for growing vegetables to feed the plantation slave population ............. Freeman's Bay in English Harbour, therefore meant something else entirely, and probably referred to the soldiers and sailors ... "Count your blessings, shipmates ....... A hammock, a tot of rum or two or three, hohoho ....Could be worse you know! " ....... If only the stone walls, or the ones that remain could talk .......And on the edge of the bay lies one of Nelson's huge anchors with a fluke missing ........... It would be a fluke to find the other fluke ........ Kind of makes you wonder what else might be down there on the murky bottom, for Nelson's ships would have been on anchor during those fierce hurricanes each summer ....... The wreck below is much more recent ......



That beautiful traditional steel gaff ketch " MOYA " was still there a couple of days ago and I went to visit the owners, Doug and Carol ........ If you recall from the previous entry, this was the vessel that I watched take shape from the raw steel plate and stringers to the finished ketch in Capetown, fifteen years ago ...... Inspirational work done by a true perfectionist .......... A man absolutely dedicated to splendour and craftsmanship in every nook and cranny ...... A ship that will outlast all of us ........ I lift my cup to you, Div DeVilliers ..... She will shortly be 'For Sale' as Doug is reaching those tender years ...... Enough said ............So if you are in the market for a traditional gaff ketch in steel, she'll be right here in ANTIGUA on the hard for hurricane season and ready for next year's CLASSIC REGATTA ..............



And back in JOLLY HARBOUR, on the other side of ANTIGUA where the sun goes down, sits that beautiful schooner " AMOEBA " without an engine still, while John and Bev and their young crew are desperate to get back to NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA where she operates as a day charter vessel .......... Still the new Perkins motor is due this week ........... And what better way to get their mind off the subject, than to invite them out to FREEMAN'S BAY ........ Free them up some ............



Took them for the long walk along the cliff face, then along the zig-zag trail upwards to SHIRLEY HEIGHTS ...... Breath-taking views and breath-taking climbing ..... Every last breath till you got to the top ............ Breathlessly ......



There's something truly magical and magnificent about these 'century' plants ....... The brilliance of the yellow is spell-binding and the finches and humming birds that invade them makes you want to just sit and watch them ........



But once they have flowered and the seeds are dispersed, the flower stalk readily decomposes and the plant soon follows ............... Withered leaves from what was once a golden glory .....



And at the top of the hill is more former glory in the form skeletal remains of the "Officer's Quarters" and the barracks, that was the lookout point over the vast ocean .................... One building at least is preserved and provided refreshing drinks for the victorious climbers ........... Do a double-click on the photo below to read the details .............



And the descent along another nature trail was equally invigorating with cacti and bromiliads ......... And then that welcome swim in FREEMAN'S BAY at the bottom of the trail ................



Do a double-click on Freeman's Bay photo to enlarge it and you will see "ARITA" at anchor, with the green shade covers on ..............



Then a little lunch, and a little wine onboard " ARITA " ......... And a little nap, and back on the bus to JOLLY HBR ........ What a great day for all of us ....... Their new engine should arrive in two days time, more or less at the same time as the "QUEEN OF FLORIDA", who has been visiting her 'peeps' but mostly her daughter, who is now well and truly into her pregnancy and 'blooming' and as beautiful as those century flowers ........ It's to be a girl and due in mid-September and she will no doubt be as beautiful as her mother, and her mother's mother ......



Last week those 'young guns' on "AMOEBA" were out racing on the Puerto Rican yacht "TODA VIA" .......... Really their first race, but they had a whoopi time ......... Made all the right moves from port to starboard, like pros ........ Made them as fast as this guy paddling his wooden kayak and just as smoothly .............. Well, sometimes head first and other times feet first .......... And afterwards they partied like rockstars ......................... Photos only available through their agents ........

A truly wonderful bunch of people on "AMOEBA", who we will certainly miss a great deal when both yachts will shortly head off in opposite directions .............. For them it will be a straight shot to CANADA, while we will continue to 'meander' down the Caribbean Island chain in search of shady palm trees, sandy beaches, golden sunsets, aqua blue waters and those sorts of 'hardships' ...........

THE MEMORIES LINGER ON ......................

RACE WEEK in ANTIGUA was frantic .............. One hundred and thrity nine competing yachts in different classes, and over different courses, produced some incredible racing and a nightmare for the organisers ............... But what an outcome and a thrill for all the competitors, because the last three days had winds in the upper twenties ............ We, on the Puerto Rican yacht "TODA VIA" recorded our highest at 36 knots and that was sailing to windward ..... And at the end of each day, at one party or another, we would try to find extra crew for the following day ............. Anyway that was my job .............. But a really superb job was done by the sponsors and the committee ...... RACE WEEK is now a blur, but what lingers is the 'Beauty of Sail' during "CLASSIC WEEK"



Do a double-click on any of the photos to enlarge them .....




Speaking of selective memory ............... Fifteen years ago in Capetown I would regularly visit my friend the mastercraftsman, Div DeVilliers, who single-handedly built the beautiful steel gaff ketch "MOYA" above (right) ............ A labour of love and fanatical dedication ...... I would have to drag him away physically to come and share a pizza with me ........... She now belongs to a new owner ....... But "MOYA" lives on ...... Co-incidently "MOYA" was under construction in a shed alongside the other restoration referred to in an earlier posting, that Classic 1902 schooner "CORAL" ......



The prize for the 'Happiest Crew' and the award for the yacht that most presented the 'Spirit of the Classic Regatta' went to the yacht "ROSA" out of Falmouth, England ....... You couldn't help but walk past it at night and get that feeling that Johhny Depp in "Chocolat" had just tied up to the dock ............ Guitar and all ............ Johnny Depp seemed to be everywhere ....



At the end of Race Week the whole community came together at Nelson's Dockyard to perform and feast, with a full regalia Police Band and no shortage of food, drink or music ............



That's all in the past now, and the place has emptied out real fast ............. Crews and yachts are gone ........ Even that magnificent 1902 schooner "CORAL" (above left) changed hands during Classic Week and the new owners have moved it to English Harbour and have moved on board ............... Now as for those neatly aligned fibreglass yachts with the yellow sail covers, well, here's a whole new concept in " I want to go sailing" ........... You normally have to have a good stash of money if you want to charter a yacht, even a bareboat one ........... Which means as an individual without supporting friends, or without that stash, you are just plain out of luck if you want to go sailing in the Caribbean .......... Not anymore, for 'ONDECK' will now give you a week or more sailing together with others (pale strangers), give you crew training and yacht handling knowledge, and let you sleep on board 'like you own it' .... For a modest debilitating fee of course .......... But at least you get to go sailing and if you book your time for 'Race Week' you get it all .......





Took to walking the hills again for exercise, along thorny trails beset with goats .......... Oh, what a great idea for a movie title ..... "Men who stare at goats" ........ Goats of all colours were everywhere .................



Came across this bunch of hand-cut pavers that may date back to Lord Nelson's time and were used for building steps to the powder magazine ........ Evidence was everywhere in the hills that fortifications and lookouts were built and manned ............. Building them was no doubt a way of keeping soldiers and sailors busy ...........



On a dry island like ANTIGUA the collection and storage of water was paramount ........ In the hills are the remains of drainage channels and reservoirs that once supplied Nelson's Dockyard ........... ANTIGUA is dry until Hurricane season which runs from July till November ...........



But it is awesome to watch the hummingbirds collect their dose of nectar from the cactus flowers ............... So quick, so fast ... Darting in and out ..... For most plants life on a rock is a struggle ....... Only those with thorns survive for the goats will take everything else ........ Just look at this Turk's Head Cactus, (below) with its slender single root ......



Had a quick chat with Captain Jack Sparrow and his pirate friends........ Gave me a couple of 'do's and don'ts' and told me to stay away from the Venezuelan Coastline ........... Something about other types of pirates, I gather ............. We will bear that in mind ....... After all, Captain Jack Sparrow of the " BLACK PEARL" ought to know .............. Tried to tell him about St Lucia and how we will be sailing on to Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago and then across the Caribbean Sea to the outer islands of LOS AVES and LOS ROQUES before reaching Curacoa for hurricane season, but he said " Nothing to worry about, mate .... Just stay away from the mainland of Venezuela", .... " "Well. thanks, Jack" ............

And don't you just love the sunset, when the rain has finally stopped, the skies have cleared and everything has been washed........ And that beautiful schooner " ELENA" glides out of English Harbour .....