Antigua is a gorgeous, lush island known for its large number of sandy beaches. It hosts lots of resorts, but is also a popular cruising destination for sailors. Though not overly coveted for its sites underwater, we were excited to find a couple good free diving spots. We also enjoyed the charm and history located through the island.
Paradise by night
After getting all cleared into the country – and unfortunately skipping happy hour with new friends – we motor around the southern coast of Antigua towards Green Island. It is one of several small islands/keys off of the eastern shores of Antigua. We are looking to get to an area a bit less populated, and of course with snorkeling near by! My extensive research suggests that Green Island will fit that bill.
We motor sail towards our destination. We have pretty amazing weather at the moment – a bit of calm before the storm. A cold front is coming in a couple days which will bring a large north swell (i.e. huge waves) with it. We aren’t familiar with the area (obviously), but it seems like these eastern islands will be exposed to the north swell, and travel around will definitely be difficult. That’s why we are so focused on getting out here right away!
As we pull up to our anchorage at Green Island, we spot two mooring balls – both of which are available. After a quick circle around checking depths, we decide to pick one up. We’re the only boat here and it’s so quiet. It honestly feels like no one else is around for miles. Perfect. A nice sunset follows and we have tons of turtle guests popping up around the boat. It feels amazing to just have some peace and serenity after moving so fast the past couple weeks.
As we are eating breakfast the next morning, we spot a small power boat come by and drop guests off at the sand beach ahead. Then a large sail boat comes up behind us and drops anchor. Then a large catamaran with hoards of tourists backs right up to the beach, and then another. Holy cow. What a stark contrast to the quiet night we just had. We try not to let it bother us, though are a bit annoyed when lots of inexperienced swimmers start snorkeling right towards the spot we wanted to check out. We wait until after lunch as things start to slow down before setting off on our own snorkeling adventures. Monster tags along on the paddle board for support.
The snorkeling is sub-par at best, but at least we’re back underwater! There are small coral heads and some rocks, with a decent amount of small fish. We spot a large puffer fish and a lobster, but not much else. Somehow – no turtles. I also try out our new underwater metal detector a bit, but no treasure is found.
Searching for WiFi and reef
As we leave Green Island, we motor through the next bay over, called Nonsuch Bay. It is famous for being a kite boarding haven. We laugh as we see how many boats are anchored here – just around the corner from where we thought we were so isolated last night. It is quite fun to watch the kites zipping around, though definitely a bit of a hazard to navigation. That’s one activity neither Matt nor I have tried. We’d like to, but are afraid we’d enjoy it too much and we can’t afford space for any more toys on-board. (Ask Matt about his must have 12-foot tall inflatable peacock that has never been used.)
We are motoring towards Long Island, where there is an anchorage said to have the “best WiFi in Antigua.” Obviously, we’re not expecting THAT GOOD of signal, but are hoping to get enough to watch the Super Bowl on Sunday – go Chiefs! As we approach this island, we are in awe of the gorgeous houses that line its coast. I could totally live here. Sadly, we are barely able to get good enough WiFi signal to even send an email, let alone stream TV. This means we will have to circle back around the island a day earlier than planned in order to watch the Super Bowl in Jolly Harbor – oh, well.
We motor over to the nearby Great Bird Island. Another spot that is supposed to have good snorkeling, although we’re feeling a bit let down by the snorkeling at Green Island. We pull in near dusk and grab one of the open mooring balls. This is another scenic and secluded spot, which we love.
In the morning, we set out in the dinghy in search of reef. The area where tour boats take people seems pretty sad, so we keep moving. Off the northern most tip of the island, at Black Cliffs, we actually spot some pretty nice reef in about 30 feet of water. It’s completely exposed to the open ocean, though, and a bit rough. Monster is with us in the dinghy and not faring so well in the waves, so I decide to stay in the dinghy with her while Matt snorkels, dragging us along behind him. As we head back towards shore, the reef breaks up the waves making for calmer waters. At this point, I’m more than ready to hop in! Monster is able to balance herself and keep watch now, while both Matt and I can enjoy being underwater. We half swim and half drift with the waves until we approach shallow water and mostly run out of reef. Overall – successful!
Super Bowl champs 2020
We arrive back at Jolly Harbor in the late afternoon. This is the only place we know for sure that we can get adequate WiFi coverage. Last time we were here Matt was able to pick up an open network with our extender. Apparently that was a unique circumstance, because now that same network requires an activation code – UGH. We call over to the marina who is providing the WiFi and confirm that we can get a code if we pay to stay on a mooring ball. That’s only $25 a night which is much cheaper than having to pay to dock. We grab the closest mooring we can, pay our money, and get the WiFi set up. It is just good enough strength we should be able to stream. Of course, the Super Bowl is out of network in Antigua, though, so we have to use Matt’s VPN to appear as though we’re back in Chicago. That would be fine, except there is a reduction in speed by using the VPN. In short, I’m a nervous wreck the stream will be cutting in and out all game.
I start preparing our hamburgers for dinner because – what goes better with football than a cookout? We’re using homegrown Missouri beef from my grandpa’s farm. Matt pulls out a 6-pack of Boulevard beer (also from Missouri) from our stash, and we both put on our Chiefs gear. We are ready!
What a STRESSFUL game! I’ll admit, I started to lose hope but what a comeback. So freaking exciting that the Chiefs are Super Bowl champions and what an amazing way for us to watch the game here in Antigua. For the record – our live stream only cut out a few times.
Historic English Harbor
Today is the last day before the largest of the swell moves in. Naturally, we’re taking advantage of our chance to move to a new location before then. We stay on the more protected south side, but head as far east as we want to go (coming back west will be much easier). This takes us to the historic English Harbor. This is where the Royal Navy established its base of operations during the 18th century. Much of the historical charm has been preserved today.
We circle around a ridiculously crowded small harbor, finally finding a place we feel okay about dropping the hook. Once we get settled in, we decide to head to shore in the evening to explore a bit and grab some dinner. Much of the area is referred to as Nelson’s Dockyard and it is ridiculously cute. Unfortunately, most things seem to be closed for the evening. The area definitely caters to tourists coming through.
Nearby, and a short walk away, is the larger Falmouth Harbor. We don’t even realize at first as we walk into Falmouth Harbor, but are happy to see lots of restaurants open and teeming with dinner patrons. We pick a fun cruiser’s bar, confirm Monster can join us, and have a seat. A couple drinks, wings, and some shrimp later we leave feeling content.
The next night we head back to shore to do something unprecedented – dinner out two nights in a row! This time we head in earlier so we can grab photos of the dockyard.
Last night I had my eye set on this adorable waterfront restaurant marked with large pillars and lots of flowers. After snapping all our photos, we stop by to enjoy some wine here during sunset. It is absolutely lovely. They have some small plates on special for happy hour, and Matt decides he can’t resist a lobster roll.
Pillars of Hercules
At the entrance of English Harbor is a large rock formation, eroded by wind and waves to look like rock soldiers. It is known as the Pillars of Hercules. This site is a popular site for tour boats – some just driving by for a quick photo op, and others stopping to drop people off in the water to snorkel. It is quite a nice snorkel/dive site under the water. The large rock formation continues below the surface and is surrounded by many other very large boulders. Lots of small coral structures are growing on and around the boulders adding some color and life. This is also home to lots of marine life -particularly fish.
We brought the dinghy over from our nearby anchorage and are able to tie up to a small dive buoy. We gear up for free diving and are pleasantly surprised once in the water. There is good visibility and quite a bit more life than we expected. Generally diving around rocks is not my favorite – I want to see large, bright coral. Still, this is quite nice. The depth ranges from 10-40+ feet and we are spotting quite a lot. One fun find is a flounder, which is a completely flat fish with two bubble eyes that pop up (see photo below)! A friendly turtle also hangs out with us for a while, and Matt free dives down to a large, old anchor.
Waiting on weather
We’ve really enjoyed Antigua so far. There are definitely still some places we’d enjoy visiting, but at this point we are just waiting for a weather window to move on to St. Kitts and Nevis. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), it looks like that window could be a few days away. After two nights in English Harbor, we are definitely ready for some more space and quiet, so we head west a few miles to Carlisle Bay.
It is definitely not a smooth sail! The waves out here are crazy. Thank goodness they are behind us, which makes the ride a lot, lot smoother. We pull into a large bay and are excited to see calm water and a gorgeous, long sand beach. After finding a large spot to anchor, we get settled in. Monster and I paddle board to shore, while Matt manages to source free WiFi from the resort for us! This feels like a nice spot to hang out for a day or two.
After two days (still waiting on weather), we figure it’s time to move on. We continue west, back just past Jolly Harbor to another large bay area, Five Islands. Here we find another pretty beach (a couple actually), and another resort with open WiFi. We drop the hook for another two nights, getting caught up on work and boat projects.
Would you be surprised to hear our water maker is broke again? Yeah, me neither. We didn’t think there was anything left to break since everything was replaced this fall in Fort Lauderdale. However, there is actually one component that wasn’t replaced – the accumulator tank. We were told there’s really no way for an accumulator tank to break or fail. There is. Three of the six bolts holding the tank together sheered in half from the high pressure and the tank burst in half. Bad news (obviously). Good news – I found a new accumulator tank in nearby Jolly Harbor. Unfortunately, purchasing the new tank is the easy part. We also have to find somewhere that can pressurize the tank and then, of course, get it back in place within the water maker system. We manage to do all this and a couple days later the water maker is working again. Now there is really nothing left that isn’t brand new – nothing left to break.
We spot an opening in the strong winds and waves where we feel confident we can head west to Nevis. A quick trip over to Jolly Harbor to check out of customs and immigration, then we’re on our way! It’s been fun Antigua.
