Las Perlas -enroute to Galapagos

After our rushed whirl of shopping, stacking and packing in Panama , we were relieved to see the city skyscrapers  receding into the distance as we headed for Las Perlas, a small group of island about 30 miles off the coast of Panama.

Volcanic Beach at San Jose

The Las Perlas group is largely uninhabited apart from a few holiday homes for wealthy Panamanians and scattered fishing villages. Their claim to fame has been the fact that the islands were used for several series of the reality television program, Survivor.

 The original Indian inhabitants were not the greatest survivors apparently. They were slaughtered by the Spanish Conquistadors in their greed for the pearls that the Islands produced. One particularly brutal Spaniard rounded up the island chiefs and fed them to his dogs! That would have given  reality television a new dimension!

There were  no vicious dogs in sight as we meandered down the chain for a week, but we did see whales and rays and dolphins and huge colonies of frigates and boobies and pelicans. The only nasty critters around were jelly fish who curtailed our swimming activity somewhat. They would give you a nasty little sting when you encountered them..just unpleasant enough to spoilt your day but thankfully not lethal. 

Apart from these inhospitable natives, we enjoyed wonderful anchorages in calm, quiet lagoons with few other boats in sight. We took a dinghy ride up a freshwater river, collected cowrie shells on a never ending beach and somehow managed to survive.

 

Alan and Dylan..fishing strategy circa 2013.

Alan and Dylan on right..fishing strategy 1987. Dave and Nicholas, Dylan's Dad and brother on left.

Alan tried out his new, deadly spear gun and caught a small snapper but Dylan proved to be the king fisherman and speared a large snapper which comfortably fed 6 of us at a beach barbecue. Apparently  justifying the undisclosed but reportedly hefty price tag .

Piscatorial death on hand - reportedly.

Hopefully the spear guns on Orion and Legend will continue to keep the freezer stocked on our journeys  across the Pacific. Food prices in Tahiti are reported to be astronomical and the spear gun will pay for itself over and over again…etc, etc... man talk for the equivalent of shoes and handbags.

Shell collecting..thirsty work.

Survivor Oyster Style

We lingered in the Las Perlas waiting for a weather window to open for our trip to the Galapagos Islands. With Chris, the highly regarded sailing meteorologist on board, we were fully informed as to when to leave and which course to steer.

Our intrepid Weatherman...out on a limb!

As Legend sailed out of Las Perlas and headed for the doldrums, I noticed a few members of the Oyster fleet hurriedly dropping everything to up anchor and follow in our footsteps knowing that we had inside information at hand...

PANAMA CANAL TRANSIT

One of the great advantages of joining a group of yachts on a Rally,  is the fact that a great deal of the paperwork is seen to by the rally organisers. Debbie and Eddie are  the invaluable Oyster dream team that keep the rally running smoothly.

Oysters rafting up in Gatun Lock

They ensure that a great deal of annoying bureaucracy is avoided by the individual boats...(they have yet to arrange a Pacific coffee drop for the Nespreso machines on the boats though!)

This backup was particularly invaluable in the organisation of our Panama Canal transit. Normally, the transit involves visits to office after office of disinterested Spanish officials and/or big bucks paid to an agent..all very time consuming and frustrating.

Not so for the Oyster fleet I am pleased to report. We gaily consumed canapes and cocktails in Shelter Bay and waited for Debbie  and Eddie to give us an appointed day and time to head out and do battle with the locks en route to the Pacific Ocean.

On Tuesday 19th Feb at 12pm, Legend was given the go ahead to proceed to the Canal zone for our transit.

The Canal transit authorities require  each yacht going through the Canal to have on board one of their appointed advisers, in addition to a skipper and 4 line handlers.

On board Legend IV were Alan and I, Chris and Helen and Dylan and Sally. Dylan's Dad, Dave, line handled for us on Legend 1when we went through Panama  in 1987. At the time Dylan was 5 years old and was sailing around the world with his parents on their yacht ,Nyati. Today Dylan is sailing around the world on his own boat, Orion, along with his fiance, Sally. Wonderful to have them on board for another round of deja vu!

Sally, Dylan, Skipper and Admiral heading for the Pacific Ocean..Bridge of the Americas in the background.

The Canal trip takes 2 days. On the first day you "lock up" from sea level through 2 enormous locks and spend the night at anchor in Gatun Lake, a freshwater lake which is reported to be inhabited by man eating crocodiles. We resisted the temptation of a freshwater swim this time but on our previous trip no one had mentioned the crocodiles and I seem to remember games of water polo being played in the lake. Heaven knows where the crocs were in the olden days or are we all just getting old and soft?

Dylan and Sally in an idle moment while locks close behind us.

Early the following morning, we "locked down" back to sea level through another 2 locks and entered the Pacific Ocean..a big milestone on our trip.

Once the boat was settled at anchor, we spent several days frantically shopping in Panama City. There will be very little decent shopping for provisions between here and possibly Australia in July. Legend 1V is loaded with to the gunwales with food and drink and hopefully we will survive the epic adventure ahead.

Sloth in Marina at Panama City!

Note to anyone who may be worried about me...there is plenty of Bombay on board! Bit of a blow that low cal tonic is no where to be found...perhaps Debbie and Eddie can help!

Panama City from the Anchorage

Shelter Bay Marina, Atlantic Coast of Panama

After almost 2 weeks in Paradise, we bid a sad goodbye to the San Blas...somehow I don't think it will be the same when or if  we ever get back here again..the charming culture of the Kuna Indians is slipping from their grasp and global warming is causing many of the tiny islands to simply disappear from the charts.

Kuna children entertaining the lady with the candy!

We headed to the big smoke of Panama where we joined up with the rest of the Oyster fleet at a marina in Shelter bay.

The marina is relatively isolated from the city of Colon and the Marina restaurant was the only place for the boat crews to eat and drink. A great time was had by all and the fleet is getting to know each other really well.

Too well in some instances! Several home truths were shared at the bottom of dozens of bottles of wine and rum  and some people have gone home! However, what goes on on the rally stays on the rally!

The forest surrounding the Marina is inhabited by Howler and Cappuchin monkeys and the noise of the Howlers at dusk and dawn was matched only by the revelry of the Oyster youngsters at a 2am pool party and the drunken sailors at the pirate party at Fort San Lorenzo.

Blood thirsty? or just thirsty?

Really blood thirsty!

Oyster treated the fleet to a lavish lunch at the old Spanish fort which was overcome by Henry Morgan and his blood thirsty band of real pirates in the days when the Spanish were plundering  South American gold. Entertainment was provided by Voodoo dancers and the previously mentioned Oyster revellers.

Oyster revellers or voodoo dancers?

While we were in the Marina we hauled the boat out of the water and had the bottom cleaned and antifouled...For the benefit of the uninitiated, a boat needs to paint its under water bits with toxic chemicals regularly to keep weed and barnacles from growing. These unwanted passengers slow the boat down and heaven forbid this should happen to any competitive skipper!

The main advantage for the skipper's  wife is that she got to spend 2 nights in a hotel while the weeds and barnacles were being nuked. All very civilised ..not for the barnacles of course!

Ready to face the Pacific Ocean...clean bottom.

San Blas Islands, Panama Coast

From Santa Marta, we headed for the San Blas Islands. The trip was rough and there were several more unladylike epithets hurled at the universe but the destination was worth the journey.

View through my porthole

There are hundreds of islands in the San Blas group, each more picturesque than the last.They are inhabited by the Kuna Indians who have attempted to preserve their culture against the tide of civilisation and when we were last there in 1987, they were pretty much succeeding.

Kuna Indian lady Circa 2013

Today the Kunas are far more streetwise and the mighty dollar is starting to feature strongly in their ethos. They now charge yachts a fee to anchor off their idyllic islands and sometimes, another fee to come ashore. In the more inhabited atolls, we were regularly visited by Kunas in dugout canoes offering seafood or molas for sale.

The seafood was eagerly purchased....enormous crayfish and spiny crab were frequently on the menu on Legend IV. The moray eels were politely declined.

Slumming it in San Blas

In spite of his best efforts, the crayfish was not caught by the skipper himself..

The molas are colourful, reverse applique embroidery pieces which are traditional items of clothing for the Kuna women. On our previous trip I purchased a mola blouse directly off the washing line of the woman who had made it!

but he did a great job of cooking it!

The blouse was unpicked and framed and is still on our wall at home today. I bought a few more on this trip to add to the collection but the Indians have learnt that the tourists will pay big bucks for their handicrafts and they no longer blow in the island breezes  on washing lines.

Nellie choosing Molas from travelling sales ladies

Life's a beach...had to say it sometime!

In spite of the advent of commercialism in the San Blas, the islands are still very special. The snorkeling was excellent..lots of rays and barracudas and some spectacular live coral gardens. We spent most of our time in the outer islands where there are fewer yachts and fewer persistent Indians.

Sailing...hi tech and lo tech

The advent of the internet has ensured that spots where there is no signal are avoided by many boats, leaving the more beautiful and unspoilt anchorages without internet to those of us who are not quite slaves to Microsoft or Apple ..or blogspot!

Santa Marta Columbia

Places to come back to or to recommend.....put Columbia on the list!

Santa Marta was a complete surprise...as we blasted into the bay in 40 knots of wind after 3 days at sea, my first thought was "Perhaps we should just keep moving!"

However, the opportunity to step on Terra firma for a day or two outweighed the unappealing sight of the coal dumps guarding the harbour mouth and the untidy beach we could see through the binocs.


Al and I first came past the Colombian coast on the first Legend 25 years ago. Drug running and piracy were a big problem at the time and yachts gave the  area a very wide berth..it was the Somalia of the time.

We had hoped to slip by without drawing attention to ourselves and were dismayed to spot a menacing warship on our bow early on the morning of our 4th day at sea.

It turned out to be a US coast guard vessel heavily armed and hailing us on the radio. We tentatively answered them and when they asked us were we were headed and how much money we had on board, we foolishly answered, "Cape Town and $5000.00."

They must have been quite convinced that we would never make it home on that amount of money and the only way we could be supporting ourselves was by nefarious means.

They immediately launched a rib and boarded us in rough seas, searched the boat and frightened the wits out of us.

Skipper in his son's Espadrilles..ready to Samba!

The search of course revealed only the declared amount of cash and our determination to make it home before it ran out. They politely left, thanking us for avoiding an "international diplomatic incident", and returned to their gunboat shaking their heads at our foolhardiness.

On this less eventful trip, we enjoyed great restaurants, excellent supermarkets and shopping and a comfortable, reasonably priced marina.

Perhaps we were particularly lucky because the town was vibrant and full of energy.We were in the city just before carnival and the squares and plazas were alive with huge groups of beautiful youngsters practising their Samba routines.

Street food!

Carthegena would also have been worth a visit, but we were in a hurry to spend more time  in the San Blas islands before our date with the Panama Canal transit authorities. Perhaps better to fly in and explore the whole area at a later date.

Vibrant street..great shopping..hats and shoes and handbags..crew in her element

All great fun and worth waiting 25 years to get here without having to dodge gunboats and drug runners!

Whine and Roses

We are under way to Santa Marta in Columbia and have been at sea for 3 days. The weather is ghastly and the seas are enormous.

For the first time this morning I wondered to myself "What on earth am I doing here!" In fact the language was a little more graphic but, however impolitely it was expressed, the emotion  came from deep within my pampered soul.

The reason for this unladylike sentiment was the 6am wake up call to stand my watch. This may not sound too onerous and I am sure that some eyeballs are rolling; but you had to be there to appreciate my reluctance to rise at what may seem to be a reasonable hour.

Al and I had gone to bed only a few hours earlier leaving Chris and Helen on watch. We have slept in our clothes which are damp from the earlier evening dew...the boat heels and rocks and rolls, as it has done for the past 3 days so sleep is difficult unless you tuck yourself into some tight corner.

To make matters worse and to eliminate any remaining chances of a little much needed rest, pots and pans, cutlery, empty gin bottles, anything that isn't tied down or  wedged in, bangs and crashes mercilessly no matter how determinedly I attempt to track  down the culprits  in order to stop the racket.

The good days outnumber the bad

As I get out of bed , I trip over the  laundry bag. It has grown too big to fit in its customary slot. Most of the laundry in the bag is damp and mouldy and need I add slightly rank?

On this point, and mainly for the information of those of you who may be thinking that my housekeeping standards are not up to scratch; the washing machine on board can't face the task of handling the job required of it in a rough sea. In addition, the rudeness of the Bonaire immigration lady put paid to having it done there as had been planned. This is just a temporary aberration so no need to judge!

I shrug on my life jacket and harness..it cuts into my collar bone...and heave myself upstairs to face a pitch black morning with the lights of fishing boats and tankers cluttering the horizon.

The tankers are no problem..they have AIS which tells us where they are headed and with a little luck, we can work out if we are on a collision course and get out of the way if necessary. The task of avoiding being run over by a massive ship has the advantage of  keeping you from falling asleep on watch!

The fishing boats are however  a different kettle ....shocking pun... only one of the boats had a light and the rest of the fleet showed on the radar but were invisible to the cursing watch woman on Legend IV.

We changed course to avoid them but the palaver of gybing a boat with a downward rig  in the dark when you have just woken up beats anything that I have ever faced in suburbia.

Things got better as the sun came up and it wasn't long before I was back to counting my blessings. And then when Al announced that "with all this rocking and rolling, it  looks like you have lost weight" ,  I knew that none of the discomfort had been in vain.

Anyone who has ever asked me for a favour or a loan knows that this is a sure fire way to guarantee a positive response. So all is forgiven, Legend IV.

Colour co-ordinated G and T

Once bitten twice shy

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From Las Aves, we faced a great day sail across to Bonaire. The winds were in our favour and we hauled out the asymmetrical (the colourful bit up front for the benefit of my book club friends and other land folk) and romped across the Caribbean sea with great flair.

Its quite a job to get the asymmetrical up  but Chris and Alan took on the challenge with gusto and we raced along at close to 11 knots every now and then. 

The colourful thingy up front.

Bonaire is a diver’s paradise and the authorities are fanatical about preserving the environment for the tourists who sustain the island economy. No anchoring is permitted so we took up one of the especially provided moorings close to the town centre.

 The snorkeling just below the boat looked really inviting and in fact 25 years ago when we were here on Legend 1, I was surprised (to put it mildly…I nearly walked on water to get out of its way) by a massive whale shark while snorkeling alongside the boat in this same spot.

We were to be denied the pleasure of diving Bonaire however….we arrived at Customs and Immigration on Monday morning and were told that as South African citizens, we need visas for Bonaire . We have 5 year Schengen visas which have been  thus far been valid for all the European islands in the Carribean…but Bonaire is a law unto itself it seems.

We were handled rudely and  peremptorily by a huge lady…also packing a large pistol…seems the uglier these officials are..the bigger the gun ..who told us that we had to leave the country in the next hour!!

She was totally unmoved by any of our explanations as to how it is impossible to get visas for Bonaire in any of the destinations we had visited thus far and we  were totally under the impression that Schengen visas would be valid, etc. …beg, plead, get annoyed, give up….

“Schengen visas are for Europe, “she stated firmly..”this is not Europe..you need a visa for Bonaire”

“Where do we get the visa for Bonaire?” we enquired politely…eyes on the gun….

“In the Netherlands, in Europe “..she replied..totally unaware of the irony.

She capitulated somewhat when the pleading phase included a reference to the fact that we had been at sea for 10 days and had no food, fuel or water on board and we may have to invoke maritime law to allow us to stay long enough to re provision.

Who knows what Maritime law really says but she paused momentarily in her diatribe and gave us another 3 hours before she would send the marine police to remove us.

This ghastly woman reminded me of the fact that when we were in Bonaire all those years ago,  (when in fact there had been no problems with immigration in spite of the fact that South Africans were persona non grata on virtually all the other Carribean islands) I was bitten by a dog…a nasty little cur that tore a hole in my calf…perhaps that should have been a message to us to stay clear of this island…lots of  unfriendly natives!

Alan working out the quickest route out of Bonaire

Los Roques Venezuela

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LOS ROQUES VENEZUELA

We waved a sad goodbye to Nicole from Antigua this  week . She had been convinced that 6 weeks on the boat would be the death of her but in the end was really sorry to leave -the cruising life had won her over….not surprisingly of course.

Nicole and Manuela loving life!

Its back to the grindstone at University for her and out into the deep blue for Legend and her crew. We stocked up to the gunwales with food and drink and set off from Antigua to points further south.

Our destination was 3 days away…Venezuela and the Islands of Los Roques,

With Chris and Helen on board to help with sail changes and watches, the trip was literally a breeze. It was a real treat  for Alan and I to be able to sleep for a full 6 hours at a stretch while the boat was managed by keen and competent sailors.

On our previous trips, when there was just the 2 of us on board or when the children were younger, Alan and I  stood watches of 3 hours on and 3 hours off. On one or two occasions when the going got rough, we did 2 hours on and 2 hours off –so  a full 6 hours feels like heaven. Thank you Chris and Helen!

Helen and Chris- watching the weather!

We arrived in Los Roques in the early hours of the morning and waited offshore until dawn to enter the bay of the main island . We anchored here for a few hours  in order to clear customs and immigration before heading to more interesting looking spots .

We had heard horror stories of the clearing in in Venezuela but Alan managed to run the gamut of several offices each requiring different bits of paper to be filled out. A few bolivers changed hands but we were given a receipt for them and Alan avoided what seemed to be a request for a bribe by an official who we nicknamed ‘scarface’ but who had very shiny boots!

Scarface (packing a magnum) spoke no English and our Spanish is rusty to say the least . He kept on gesticulating in the time honoured international language for ‘hand me some cash” . In response Alan handed him every piece of paper in his briefcase one at a time until the infuriated gentleman in question waved him away in the internationally recognised gesture for “get the hell out of my office , you idiot ..” or words to that effect!

The islands of Los Roques are a cruiser’s paradise. There are many magical anchorages within a short sailing distance of each other. The winds are steady and consistent and there is good shelter behind the reefs or the mangroves.  

Jean and Alan Los Roques 1987 - we were young once!

The islands closest to the main island where the man with the shiny boots presides are stunning…azure water and fine white sand…but they are swamped with day trippers from around 10am until 5pm. These are mainly Venezuelan and South American tourists…all very well fed apart from the odd young Spanish beauty in a tiny bikini frolicking in the waves to the envy of all the big fat mamas  on the beach whose husbands’ eyes are out on stalks…(possibly including mine although he denies it!)

Searching for lost youth

We moved on to more deserted, just as magical spots and were joined by Steve and Sarah and their family and crew on “Valentine.”

Still Young and Charming (almost)!

 Steve and Sarah bought an Oyster and signed up for the rally on the strength of a trip with Alan in Sicily on Legend III. They have their 3 children on board and we look forward to sharing the delights of cruising the tropics with them.

In Los Roques we introduced them to the delights of hermit crab races in the sand and shared a driftwood barbeque …which was very sandy and smoky but a good time was had by all..especially the sand flies. (The hermit crabs are still traumatised though!)

The crew of Valentine wisely stayed on board during the barbeque and dined off the bone china rather than paper plates .  They enjoyed the sunset in the cockpit in comfort wondering why anyone would  choose to brave the 1 star  rigours of the beach as opposed to  the 5 star luxury of boat. It’s the atmosphere we were after I suppose.

Beach Braai ala Los Roques

From Los Roques we headed for Los Aves..the Islands of Birds. The spot lives up to its name and is alive with roosting boobies, frigates and terns.

I went for a snorkel and was mobbed by curious avian creatures who were fascinated by the sight of my rear end bobbing through the reef…not a pretty sight for them and a shock for me when I put my head up to orientate myself and found myself in the middle of a Hitchcock movie!

Los Aves Mangrove swamps

We had a truly memorable dinghy drift from one end of the island to the other at sundown..G and T’s in hand and the horror movie confined to the mangrove forests..

Eyeball navigation required

This stop was truly  memorable and we were sorry to leave...but there will be many more island jewels ahead.

 

ON OUR WAY!

The Oyster fleet in English Harbour just before the start.

A very eventful week has delayed my blog post somewhat. I will do my best to post a blog every week to keep up to date on our progress.

The highlight of the week was of course the start of the Oyster World Rally on Sunday 6th January. This date has loomed large in our psyches for over 2 years and it lived up to all our expectations and more.

On the penultimate eve of our departure Oyster held a briefing for the skippers and I attended in my capacity of second in command. This may be my official designation but in reality Alan is the Captain and I am the Admiral!

The briefing was followed by a very elegant dinner at the Admiral's Inn. Elegant is a long stretch if you are living on a boat but we had a wonderful evening and the Oyster owners and their teams are bonding well.

On our final evening in Nelson's dockyard we were serenaded at Happy Hour by Eddie  Jordan, the formula 1 racing fellow. His 2 man band is called " Robber", apparently an insult hurled at Eddie by Bernie Eccelston and happily adopted by him as the name of his rock and roll duo.

Robber entertaining the fleet.

The company on board Legend IV expanded that evening with the arrival of Chris and Helen Tibbs on Saturday evening. Chris and Helen will be joining us as far as the Galapagos and are both experienced sailors so will be a great help to the Captain and the Admiral alike.

Chris is also a highly esteemed sailing  weather guru so in times of doubt will be in big demand from the Oyster fleet...expect to see them hot on our  heels in the doldrums..(not sure if we'll hit the doldrums literally or even figuratively but it sounds good and we did muddle about for days in the Pacific on the way to Galapagos on Legend I)

The big day dawned on Sunday and the start was set for 12 pm..... Anchors were weighed ..actually weighed down in some cases..in the tight confines of English  Harbour boats regularly drop anchors on top of one another and  a tug o war ensues when they are lifted. Divers patrol the harbour like ambulance chasers hoping for tangled chains and a 120 dollar fee to free the trapped boat...a lot like the tow trucks at home who race joyfully to the scene of accidents..or vultures..many metaphors and I am sure you get the picture.

Needless to say, Legend  avoided the 120 dollar fee and headed into the bay where we were thrown into the teeth of what seemed like a maelstrom after the calm of the harbour. The wind was blowing 20 to 25 knots and the seas were rough...4-5 metre swells.

With 27 boats jockeying for pole  position on the start line in these conditions, I was very glad of the help of Ryan and Chris and Helen who pulled ropes and tweaked sails like the professionals they are. I was most grateful to avoid the maritial discord that no doubt would have ensued if I had had to manage the tacking and gybing etc!

Crew members hard at work

Nicole was, as always, happily ensconced on the aft deck in a bikini with her phone- much to the amazement of one Oyster whose crew was bundled up in foul weather gear and harnessed into the cockpit!

The competitive spirit of all sailors came to the fore at the start and I have heard several claims from several skippers of "being first across the line".

Alan had assured me when we signed up for this mission that it would "be a rally and not a race". This first rush for line honours makes this claim blatantly untrue and I am sure there are several other wives in the fleet left feeling that they have been duped...we will however soldier on and keep a quivering upper lip in the face of the friendly (I hope) rivalry to come.

Our mascot ..casually facing rough seas and high winds.

There are great pics of the start on the Oyster website..I am still battling with the technicalities  of the blog but am improving...won't tempt fate by trying to link the Oyster photos directly to this post. Hopefully my amateur video of the start has loaded here.

 Most of the fleet sailed off south from the start to various destinations. We have a month to get to Panama so we can take our time and meander through the islands from here. Legend IV is still in Antigua. Ryan and Manuela and Nic leave from here and we will miss them enormously. Alan has promised full airconditioning at all ports along the way in order to encourage their eager returns.

For those of you who don't know the details...you can track the progress of all the Rally participants on a 4 hourly basis on the Oyster yachts website..we have what is called a 'Yellow Brick" on board (I presume as per the road followed by Dorothy on the way to Oz...very appropriate) .

 The yellow brick updates our position and speed every 4 hours...on the way up to Jolly Harbour we hit 11 knots surfing down a wave and we hoped that the brick was recording at the time. If not...you will have to take my word that we were flying along.

The Yellow brick says anything different, it is because we caught another big dorado on the way up and had to slow down considerably to land it.

The dorado  has fed admirably and deliciously for 2 days..a change from the Med where we trolled a lure for 4 summers and never had a nibble. I have consigned the cans of tuna to the most inaccessible locker just to let the Universe know that we are completely trusting in the ocean's bounty from now on and expect sushi all the way!

Happy New Year

Wishing all our friends and family a wonderful New Year. All on board the good ship Legend IV send their love and hopes for shiploads of blessings to you all...land lubbers and fellow sea men  alike.

New Year on board was spent having a champagne dinner on the boat. I baked a Devil's food cake for the crew ...no mean feat with Alan and I yelling at each other when the oven didn't perform and I "haven't read the manual yet.... idiot !"

The fireworks on the dock were magnificent. We saw the New Year in at the Dockyard party and along with probably most of the free world "Gangnam style"  blared out from the stereo at regular intervals with people (not me) making drunken attempts to look as if they knew the moves.

The youngsters headed to a club to get their share of Antiguan nightlife which to all intents and purposes involves much the same stuff as any where else in the world. We could get no more info from them but the ruckus that accompanied their noisy boarding  at 5am spoke of a good time had by all. 

We are on our way back to Nelson's dockyard after spending 2 nights at anchor in Falmouth and then up at Green Island on the south coast of Antigua where we were taking a break from life in the marina at Nelson's dockyard. All every festive but living cheek by jowl with ....GOT A FISH...have to go!! I'm in charge of the anesthetizing  them with rum (just a small tot)

Dinner cooked by Manuela

Early morning hike up the hill to the cannons guarding English Harbour. Took the same shot of Ryan and Nic in the same spot 15 years ago on Legend II.