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Diane's Diary3/7 Wednesday We arrived in Jolly Harbor, Antigua around 10 am this morning after an all night motor sail from St. Martin. There are 2 other boats that happened to be making the same journey & we stayed in radio contact with them throughout the night. This way we all have someone to contact in an emergency. Plus we have someone to talk to while on watch. According to our guidebook, we need to go directly to customs & anchor there. However, since we were unfamiliar with the harbor we are reluctant to do that. Fortunately, one of the other boats, Journey has arrived before us. He came out with his dinghy & said we do not have to go directly to customs. So, we decide to pay the $10 for a mooring as the anchorage is exposed to the north & a large northerly swell is supposed to pick up tomorrow. My cousins are coming in another day & we want to be sure we are in a protected area with them. The mooring is in a very protected area & we are very happy there. We were exhausted all day with the sail from last night, little sleep, general running around from the Heineken Regatta, & provisioning to leave. So, we generally just took it easy. There is a beautiful pool we can use & a gorgeous beach with lounge chairs & shade. We are in heaven & may not ever leave! 3/8 Thursday There has been no wind yesterday & today so it's very hot with the sun shining away. We have to get ready for Bridget & Ron to come tonight so we spend the entire day cleaning the boat & getting it ready for them. I am hot & exhausted by the time we are through but we manage a quick dip in the pool & then showers ($1 for unlimited water) before they arrive. Larry went to Budget Marine for some supplies. Their flight doesn't arrive till 9pm. I hope I can stay awake until they arrive- we usually go to bed by around 9-10 as we are up with the sun around 6am 3/9 Friday We stayed up talking with Bridget & Ron till 12. It is really good to see them. They brought our MAIL & we are so excited to get it. Plus, they brought us boat parts, food, etc. Thanks so much guys- we really appreciate it!! Some boaters talk about having guests as the week from hell. Well, with Bridget & Ron we had the guests from HEAVEN!!!! We really enjoyed their company, they were fantastic guests & offered to pitch in & help where needed. Bridget even cleaned for me!! They even took duffel bags of winter clothes home for us. Please come again guys!!! Anyway, today we were all tired so we just relaxed, sat by the pool, & had lunch out. Thanks Ron for treating! 3/10 Saturday We went into St. John's today by bus for $6 roundtrip for the 4 of us. If we had taken a taxi it would have been $32 USD. We heard there was a big market on Saturday but it wasn't much. We went to the tourist spots & then Ron treated us to lunch at Big Banana pizza. It was good but it sure didn't compare to our local pizza parlor at home- Maria's. Perhaps they would deliver it to us??? Anyway, we went back to the boat & went swimming in the pool. Unfortunately, the weather forecast calls for strong NE swells from 9-12 feet for the next several days so we are reluctant to take them out to another anchorage. They wanted to do it until we explained how uncomfortable we all would be. We took the dinghy out of the protected anchorage & the waves were crashing against the beach. No, we are definitely not going to leave until this calms down. However, we do have a beautiful pool & beach to use so I hope they were not too disappointed. 3/11 Sunday Everything is closed today so Ron makes us a big fantastic breakfast. We spend the day at the beach & pool. 3/12 Monday The swells are still coming in so we still can't leave the anchorage so we spend the day at the beach & pool. Bridget & Ron went to the beach in the am & Larry & I stayed on the boat doing boat chores. Then we all go to the pool in the afternoon. 3/13 Tuesday The swells are down somewhat- still around 5ft swells but manageable so we are finally getting to leave. We returned the shower keys, brought some pastries from the bakery lady, went to the grocery store, ran the water maker & left. Unfortunately, the wind was on our nose so we had to motor for the entire 2.5 hours it took to get to English Harbor. We were lucky & managed to get a spot way inside the harbor. We arrived around 5:30, set anchor & took it easy 3/14 Wednesday We all toured Nelson's Dockyard this morning & really found it interesting. In the afternoon , we dinghied Bridget & Ron to a beach so they could go snorkeling. They wanted to practice as they are going scuba diving tomorrow. 3/15 Thursday Bridget & Ron went scuba diving in the am & said they had a great time. We stayed on the boat doing boat chores. In the pm, we walked over to Falmouth Harbor & Ron & Bridget stayed on the boat to pack. They are leaving tomorrow & the week seemed to go very fast. We really had a great time with them & really enjoyed their company. OK, guys when are you coming back to visit?? Ron, they have really great cheap booze in Venezuela & great diving!!! We hope they come again. |