We left Portsmouth, Dominica early on Saturday morning, December 20, bound for Guadaloupe. Since our weather forecast only gave us two days of good sea conditions, we made for Deshailles, on the northwestern tip of Guadaloupe. We only spent one night there, and did not go ashore.
On Sunday, December 21st, we made a relatively long (7 hours) crossing to Antigua in six-foot seas, which we consider our upper limit for semi-comfortable cruising. Our goal was to get to Nelson's Dockyard Marina, in English Harbour. For the next ten days, the forecast called for seas building to 12-plus feet offshore. We expect to be here through the end of December, awaiting better sea conditions, before heading onward to Nevis/St. Kitts.
This harbour is unique in a number of ways. It was used by the British Navy as a base during the late eighteenth century. The dockyard is named for Admiral Horatio Nelson, who served here. He led his fleet from here in pursuit of the French fleet, an action which led to the defeat of the French in the battle of Trafalgar. Many of the original buildings still stand, and have been restored quite attractively and put to other uses. There is a bakery, museum, gift shops, and restaurants galore. The old Copper and Iron Store is now home to a small boutique hotel and a classic English Pub.
English Harbour hosts an annual regatta each year in early December, which attracts beautiful big sailing yachts from around the world. This year it was held Dec. 6-12, and some of these famous boats are still here. There are probably a hundred boats here, including everything from megayachts to small ocean sailboats.
Falmouth harbour is just to the East of English Harbour, separated by an isthmus. It is an even larger harbour, and there we can see the masts of massive sailing yachts and cruising boats of every description. The megayacht crowd seems to prefer that harbour, as it allows more berths for their BIG BOATS.
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