Getting used to Island time…..

I had just returned to Antigua and was on a stranger’s dinghy looking for my boat that was supposed to be on a mooring ball in Falmouth harbour. I was somewhat disorientated because it was pitch black and it was a moonless night. I could not remember exactly where the boat had been moored but I had spoken to the harbormaster, Tommy a week earlier who assured me the boat was in good condition and I had nothing to worry about. After circling around the harbour for about 20 minutes I was definitely worried. I had turned off all the batteries before I headed home for the holidays so there were no lights on the boat making it difficult to spot in the pitch blackness. I was grateful for the patience of the driver of the dinghy although he had been drinking, as sailors often do in the evening, and he thought this was great fun. “How can you possibly lose a 51 foot boat?” and “What do you mean that you cannot remember where you put it?” He roared with laughter. it was close to 11:00 o’clock at night by the time I found sailing vessel Ileana. I offered to pay for the dinghy ride but he opted for me to pay for drinks at Antigua Yacht Club the following night……. it was an expensive dinghy ride….

Today is an unscheduled holiday in Antigua. The stores are closed and there is no one available to do work on my boat. This is a good reminder why sailing in the Caribbean cannot be done on anything that resembles a schedule.

I arrived in Antigua on Sunday night after spending the Christmas holidays in Toronto. My daughter and her family had flown in from Australia for Christmas and there was a huge family gathering in Jasper, Alberta which was a great experience. We had not been together as a family because of COVID-19 for the past three years. The weather was surprisingly excellent as very often, it is extremely cold. This year however, the temperature was -6 degrees Celsius and the snow conditions in Marmot Basin were excellent. By the time I left Toronto on January 15, 2023 it was minus 19 degrees Celsius and I was very much looking forward to getting back to the boat and to Falmouth harbour, Antigua.

The flight to Antigua arrived early, at 3:30 PM., and after the usual two hour delay to get through customs and immigration, I was ready for the taxi drive to the other side of the island where my boat was moored. There was a paucity of taxis which at the time made absolutely no sense to me. This was a prime location and at $50 per person ride for the 30 minute, it was a great business for taxi drivers. I felt quite lucky to be sharing a taxi with a few others that were heading in the same general direction and within a few minutes, it was obvious that there was going to be a problem along the only road that traverses the island. It turns out, there was an election on the following Wednesday and the entire road was blocked by a motorcade of enthusiastic supporters for the current government. The traffic was at a standstill and there were people dancing in the road with music blaring from speakers of the trucks that were blocking the traffic. This could have been what it was like with the trucker’s freedom rally in Ottawa except that the people here were friendly and genuinely happy. Elections on the islands are taken very seriously with a 92% voter turn out. I didn’t get to my destination until about 10:00 PM.

I went to the dinghy dock where all the sailors that had come to have dinner or party with a live band at the Antigua Yacht Club had tied up their dinghy. I waited until I spotted a sailor who might be willing to take me to my sailboat that was moored in the harbour. An unwitting sailor who seemed slightly tipsy was up to the task and after much hilarity on the part of this sailor, I was able to find my boat. I’m sure by now that I am just another sailing story that is spreading across the Leeward Islands….. I switched on all the batteries. The solar panels had kept the batteries 100% charged. I was able to make some dinner and had a great night sleep with the gentle rocking of the boat.

My plan was to get some work done on the boat before my wife arrived a week from now. I was able to get a slip at the Marina and I contacted my mechanic. He came right away and his plan was to remove the bowthrusters engine and take it to the shop so as to fix it. He also attempted to put in a new windlass. The windlass is for pulling the anchor up. I recently upgraded to a heavier anchor because when I was in the Bahamas last year the anchor slipped in heavy winds. The current windlass was not strong enough to pull the heavier anchor up into the cradle. I had purchased a new windlass and had it shipped to Antigua. The problem my mechanic was having was that the old windlass was corroded and pretty much fixed in position. Despite a generous application of a hammer and crowbar, he was still not able to remove it. The following day, he sent along two of his associates who then had another go at the old windlass with hammer and crowbar. I could not watch as I had visions of the end of the hammer or crowbar coming out through my bow. Surprisingly, they had success at removing the windlass, without blasting a hole through the bow of my boat. Everything should have been finished 2 days ago, but the elections were on Wednesday so no one turned up to work on the boat and unbeknownst to many, there is a national holiday after the elections so as to recover. I am hoping that everything will be finished by tomorrow…….

My plan is to head to Jolly Harbour on the West Coast of Antigua. I have to wait until my mechanic comes back (or if he comes back) to install my new bow thruster and make sure that the windlass is working before I can sail anywhere. Not being able to plan “when” or “where” is new to me. It is the evening now and I’m thinking of going for a run up to Shirley heights. I hear there is a band up there and they are serving fried chicken. I think I am starting to enjoy not being able to plan…….