20 Apr 2011

[Cruise News] Falmouth Harbour, Antigua

It's been the "Antigua Classics" race week this week and so we have spent a few days in Falmouth Harbour to enjoy the racing and sights - some lovely old boats.  Sadly for them and us there's been very little wind and so sailing any distance is a time-consuming business unless you're prepared to motor to your destination, something we don't favour.  We had planned on a return trip to Barbuda this week, actually staying this time so we could visit the Frigate Bird colony up there (supposedly rivals the Galapagos!) but the absence of wind has put paid to that for the moment.  So instead we spent a couple of lazy days back in Nonsuch Bay, which has to be one of our top ten anchorages out here, before returning to Falmouth Harbour to stock up on provisions and check the weather forecast.

It's surprising how much hotter it feels without the steady breezes we've experienced all the time we've been out here and Pandora's teak decks have become somewhat painful to walk on without that cooling influence.  We'd thought our feet (and bodies) had become acclimatised to the heat!  Regular dips in the sea are the perfect antedote other than we seem to have a large barracuda who has taken up residence under the hull and I'm somewhat cautious about swimming with him.  Swimming with turtles, dolphins or even rays is one thing, and is on offer to the tourists, but I haven't seen anyone advertising swimming with barracuda opportunities.  Anyway, Paul's named him "Barry the Cuda" and joined him in the sea on a number of occasions but he's a lot braver than me!