ANTIGUA RACE WEEK

ANTIGUA RACE WEEK

The KatzenCrew for Antigua Week

 

We were asked to be the Startboat A for the Antigua Race Week and were really happy to do it because we had such fun as the Startboat for the Heineken Regatta earlier this year.

 

We were given a dock at the Antigua Yacht Club and the committee that were on our boat were pretty serious about their job and not as much fun as the crew we had in St Martin, but still a great bunch of people.

 

Our dock at the Antigua Yacht Club

The Captain and the Committee Boat

Pat and David were with us so Pat and I spent one day on the boat and then hopped off for the following days, rather spending our time on the beaches and around Falmouth Harbour. We visited Nelson's Dockyard and enjoyed some good catch up time while the boys sailed. David and Tayne also joined us for a day and Patti and Dawie were introduced to Pain Killer cocktails at the Bumpkins Beach Bar and haven't looked back......!!!

Nelson's Dockyard

There are fish in the Caribbean

Nelson's Dockyard Marina

Lazy Dayz on the Beach

Our Dawie strutting his stuff!! Check the 6 pack!

A Caribbean Gogo Gathering

Cold Caribs are the order of the day

Bumpkins, our favourite little beach bar on Pigeon Beach

A Pain Killer cocktail for the sea urchin wound

 

There was live entertainment on the lawns of the Antigua Yacht club each evening and the prizegiving was held on our doorstep each afternoon. The advantage was that we never had to go out for the whole week, all the parties all came to us! There were great live bands and really good music and entertainment.

 

Amazing Reggae music

Hey mon!!

Our boat was loaded with beers and coldrinks each day that were replenished each morning, so needless to say, we had plenty to consume at the end of the day! We had a really good time with everyone sitting around on our boat till late at night.

The daily scene from our dock

WADADLI!!!!!

Our friends from the Heineken Cup Regatta

Rum Cocktails to end the day

 

LAY DAY CELEBRATIONS

More Pain Killers!

Reggae Music at sunset

The ICAP Leopard Crew causing chaos

While we were watching the Antigua Race we noticed that the Volvo 70 Monster Project race boat was short of crew. Stephen got chatting to them and offered our crew to help them out. Stephen, David, Tayne and Michaela raced on one day and the following day, when Pat and David left, I raced too. What an amazing experience that was. I thought I was going to sit at the back of the boat and just watch.....but no chance!! They needed an extra grinder, called on me, and there I was, grinding away for the entire race! I had never even seen a grinder before and never realised it would be such hard work. The sails are raised and lowered by grinding and so are the daggerboards, so no chance to rest. One just gets a chance to catch your breath and sit on the rail and then it's back to grinding again. It's often gets so hard that you aren't able to turn the handles, you have to put your entire body weight behind it........and all this when the boat is heeling at a 45 degree angle! The Volvo crew were amazing and we managed to pull off a 2nd place to ICAP Leopard, so the pressure was on for the whole race.

 

I was absolutely exhausted after the race, I felt as though I had cycled the Argus Cycle Tour, TWICE, but this was one of the most exciting, challenging things I have ever done. I have new respect for the crew on these race boats, and there are more and more women crew lately. Wow, they need to be fit and strong! We were so privileged to have had this opportunity and it was wonderful to share the experience with my husband and kids.

 

Sadly, at the end of Race Week we had to say goodbye to our very special friends, Pat and David. We had such a happy time with them, Patti cooking up a storm and Dawie keeping a constant supply of alcohol going at all times. They slotted into this yottie lifestyle so well........we're hoping they will join us when we return in a few years time. Big tears were shed as we waved them off. WADADLI!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

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FRIENDS AND FUN IN ANTIGUA

We had an amazing weekend swimming and diving in Nonsuch Bay, Pat and David loved the little bays and turquoise water around Green Island. After dropping Paul off at Harmony Hall, in a squall, we anchored for the night in rainy, cool conditions before making our way up to Parham to buy some provisions. We read in the guidebook that there was a supermarket here, but nothing was said about the size of the supermarket nor the lengthy walk to get there. We should've know when there was not another yacht in sight! We had to walk miles through a dilapidated little village and got caught in the rain, no one to be seen but a few odd looking locals, lots of chickens and sad looking dogs. The supermarket was small, dark and dingy and only had a few essentials we needed. One positive was that we found a house/restaurant on route selling the most delicious roti's we have had in a long time!

We like Piña Colada's and getting caught in the rain.......

......with South African wines in storage!

The supermarket on the other side of town

Roti's on the move

Parham at it's best

 

Unfortunately or fortunately, as we were leaving Parham, the alarm indicating something is wrong with the motor, sounded. We were just outside one Crabbs Haulout, one of the biggest repair docks on Antigua. We docked and a great guy, Tom, the owner, sent someone to check the motor. Luckily it was only a problem with a split water pipe and it could pretty easily be repaired. It took him an hour to fix it and we filled with water. It all only came to only $50, it's great to find good, helpful people along the way!

 

Crabbs Haulout

Tequila Sunrise for the girls

Not quite to beeeeg one

The rest of the week was spent 'bay hopping' with Pat and David. We visited Dickenson Bay where we caught a taxi to a decent supermarket with a crazy Caribbean character calling himself Black Rain. The water in the this bay was the bluest we have seen.

Dickenson Bay

Our taxi driver, Black Rain

A trip to the supermarket and getting supplies to the boat

Sandals at Dickenson Bay

 

That's better!

We spent a night in Hermitage Bay which has a beautiful upmarket resort overlooking the anchorage. Patti and I walked along the long white beach and had a lovely swim in the warm waters back to the boat.

 

Hermitage Bay

Patti with her cuppa

Another night was spent in Deep Bay where we dived on a submerged wreck that very close to the surface. We saw the biggest Barracuda we have ever seen, Michaela thought it was a shark! We hiked to a fort overlooking the bay and lots of good food and wine went down in this little bay!

A boys meeting in the anchorage

Yummy Breakfast

 

Shooters for each time Dawie loses his cap overboard

Our fabulous friends the Izzy's all the way from South Africa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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ARRIVAL IN ANTIGUA

ANTIGUA

 

We sailed from Guadeloupe to Antigua in great conditions. It took us 6 hours with an average of 7 knots, and we cleared in at the beautiful Jolly Harbour.

We sailed on to Falmouth Harbour and were greeted in the bay by fleets of magnificent classic yachts, sailing in the annual Antigua Classic Regatta. What a beautiful sight.

 

As we came into the anchorage we saw ICAP Leopard and were so excited that we took Katz alongside immediately and said hi to our old friend, Paul Standbridge who was working on deck. We were so happy to see him, it is just the most amazing feeling to see friends from home in these faraway places, it always gets me teared up! Paul and two crew from Leopard came for drinks that evening and we celebrated over a few cold Caribs.

 

We are so out of touch that we had no idea the Easter Weekend was approaching. It was not entirely our fault because there were no Easter eggs and not even a hot cross bun to be seen in the shops. Paul had the long weekend off so he joined us as we headed around the island. It was great having with us and we left on Friday morning and sailed in a really big 2m swell to Green Island.

 

Green Island is a beautiful island and the entire family (for once), and Paul did a great 3 hour hike after anchoring. Looking down on crystal clear, turquoise water and walking through rocky areas and thick shrubs, we discovered we had walked around the entire island without realizing it. There is magnificent kiteboarding here and Michaela dusted off her kiteboard and went for a really nice kite from a small launching beach.

 

The rough sea conditions and big swells had not calmed as the weather forecast predicted and this concerned us as we had a 2 hour sail up the coast to meet Pat and David Isenberg at the airport. We got to a point when we realised it would be too hairy to attempt this and arranged for a taxi to collect them. It took us most of the day to find a point where we could fetch them on a dock, with the dinghy.

 

After much negotiating and liaising with Glenroy, the taxi driver, we met Pat and David on the side of a deserted road at 11pm, waving a torch light so they could see us. Stephen and I were waiting in the pitch dark and we were so excited to see them that we jumped in the taxi with them to the fishermans dock, down a dark little dirt road. We had to pile all their luggage into our dinghy and the 4 of us chugged off to Katz, anchored in the bay. Michaela welcomed us with Rum Punch and it was like Christmas with David hauling, gift after gift from SA, out of his suitcase. I got hair colour, we got tablets, we got sjamboks (for down south), we got coffee and spray butter, Michaela got sunglasses and Stephen got a new windvane for the yacht. It was crazy and after lots of laughs and even tears, we had to force ourselves to go to sleep at 2am. It is wonderful having our old East London friends share this experience with us!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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