Jolly Harbor, Antigua

Hello from Antigua! Wednesday afternoon we cleared St Maarten customs and exited the lagoon during the 11 AM bridge opening. The passage to Antigua was expected to take between 16 and 18 hours, so we decided to make it an overnight run. To avoid a pre-dawn arrival in Antigua, we anchored in Simpson Bay for a few hours before leaving St Maarten around 4 PM. Simpson Bay was open to a moderate swell from the south east and was very rolly, but tolerable for the few hours we needed to stay there. As we departed St Maarten, we passed Philipsburg on the south side of the island. We counted 5 huge cruise ships in port, along with one small one. Quite a sight!

Antigua lies about 90 nautical miles ESE from St Maarten, directly into the trade winds. We had planned our departure to catch a window of lighter winds, and it worked out as we had hoped. The trip went very well with winds under 10 knots and a lumpy mix of swell from the southeast and north. We encountered a number of cruise ships along the way, as well a few sailboats on a night passage from Antigua to St Maarten. The cruise ships are very easy to see - they are lit up like Times Square, even in the wee hours of the morning and also show up well on radar. The sailboat lights and radar return are harder to see and with the light winds everyone is right on the rhumb line between the two islands. We kept a sharp lookout and altered course twice to stay well clear oncoming sail boats. I saw a few showers on the radar, but they stayed clear of us. Come to think of it, a shower would have been handy to wash some of the salt spray off the boat.

We arrived in Jolly Harbor, Antigua around 9 AM and tied up to the customs dock. I put on one of my few collared shirts (mostly used for clearing customs) and checked in with customs and immigration without any complications. Jen and I were both tired, so rather than head out of the harbor to find a suitable anchorage, we scooped up a vacant mooring ball. After a brunch of smoked salmon sandwiches and this really yummy juice blend from South Africa, Jen and Quinn settled in for a nap while I took the dinghy to shore to pay for the mooring ball and explore a little. From what we've seen so far, Antigua is going to be a fun place to get to know.