Drinking Carribbean Gatorade in Antigua

Living in paradise was frustrating at the top end of the week. Arriving in Antigua for carnival was great idea in principal but we wanted to get some chandlery supplies, fix a few things, restock on food and get washing done in English Harbour. Buuuuttt everything was shut for 3 days. I admit it sounds ridiculous that this could actually be a real life issue, but everyone got a little antsy, stir crazy & forgot just how lucky they were! On the upside Lily can now bum wiggle with the best of them (clearly at 4 this is an important skill).

History lessons, meeting stow away cats and collecting new instruments was the order of the day in Nelsons dockyard. We met a lovely boat with Stan & Jenny in tow. Having sold them our kayaks, the kids proceeded to swim over and play with them for the first time! They were rewarded with instruments including a recorder or “Satan’s flute” as Jenny put it. Looks like music is an addition to the curriculum too….

 

All moods were lifted by the Haywards & the gallons of Carribbean gatorade (rose) we accidentally drank over the course of a few days. Anchoring in beautiful Carlisle Bay was spectacular & we had a pod of dolphins lead us in. The Hayward boys were equally as playful & perfect entertainment for the kids. What a stunning resort that place is. We are eternally grateful to Chris & Sarah. We topped off our meet up by stealing Sarah for the day & lunching at “Boom” while the kids swam in the pool there.

Escaping to Green Island was the perfect tonic for the family. A top spot for some kiting and generally living on the East Coast of Antigua near Non-Such Bay. We made it up there on 2nd attempt having called off in 30knts & some big sea a few days prior. The best find, aside from the hermit crabs, tortoise, racer snakes and deserted Island was a 10 year old child named Marlin & his friends Patrick, Henry & Arthur!! This was epic news for the Hazman. Whilst all other cruisers are generally South, we stumbled across a local family hanging out on their ex-RNLI boat for the weekend. This place & meeting changed our week and led us to more friends in Falmouth harbour. The boys skurfed, trainer kited, swam, fished, explored & shared tech knowledge.

Us olds were happy to dabble in some kiting & sit in the best bean bags in Antigua courtesy of “Lazybones”. Chris made a new friend too- the security guard at Bernasconi’s house. He took a trip 2 miles downwind to meet him as the breeze dropped & the rescue crew were pre-occupied with extra kids & beach exploration!

We’re now in Falmouth Harbour at Antigua Yacht Club Marina. The kids are rampaging the dock and fishing with their new friends. Harry has also spent 2 days in sailing camp to join said friends at the National Sailing Academy for amazing value. It’s a great non-profit set up that trains local kids to become instructors and beyond.

Antigua in the summer is a far cry from what the season looks to be. The great news for us is the locals have time & a lot of kindness for those passing through. Seeing Shannon Falcone, Chris sailing around to North Sound on the Falcon F4 with a great crew including Louis & Alex Sinclair was another highlight this week. He’s definitely missing the foiling & the smile hasn’t left. It’s a pretty cool boat and is an evolution of the original foiling gun boat.

Harry was particularly jealous of Louis’s fishing capabilities & proceeded to show off his new spear-Thanks Shannon.

As ever our “plans” are changing on a daily basis. It looks like Barbuda trip this week is on hold as the tropical depressions are lining up to the east between us & Cape Verde. We need to do a little hop to Guadelope for a planned airport drop by next Tuesday. I head home for a week to see my family, meet my not so new niece, sort out our house annnnddd hit up my stunning friends Lorna & Neil’s wedding in Italy! Busy week and going to miss my people like crazy, but spoke to my Mum today for the first time & I cannot wait to see her.

Team Draper have been drawn in by Antigua and we will be back very soon.

 

Misadventure

-More stuff needed fixing – yawn. Can’t even remember what.
-Harry cut his own leg with an axe when prepping a BBQ….when I say “cut” it was more of a scratch with blood…
-Lily still hasn’t realised she can’t free dive wearing a swim vest. Watching her get to legs overhead and pop back up is too funny….