Antigua Bound

 

The title to this post sounds like we are embarking to Antigua. In fact, the opposite is true. We are already in Antigua. We have been here for days. We are ready to move to other Leeward Islands. There are so many we want to visit. Nature, however,  is disagreeing with our plans.

We are bound to Antigua because of the wind. Most of the year, the Leeward Islands get wind from the south and southeast. These are the warm and pleasant trade winds. But during some random periods in December and January, these islands get what is known as “the Christmas winds”: a placid sounding nomenclature  for stiff blows coming from the east or northeast. The Christmas winds have arrived on our doorstep  like a least favorite relative at the holidays and showing every  sign of overstaying their  welcome. 

To sail to Guadelope and Dominica …we love what we read about these  islands…we would have to sail south  in 8-10 foot seas. Keep in mind that these waves would be hitting us squarely on our port beam (left side). Let me describe the effect:  for 10 hours, we would be trying to hold onto and steer a boat that was swaying viciously from one side to the other, the mast tip scribing a giant semi circle against the heavens like a giant upside down metronome.  If the sea did not kill us, we would probably kill each other from the stress this creates. You can’t eat. You do not want to go below for any reason, including going to bathroom. It’s one thing to being on deck and seeing the waves coming; it’s still another to be tossed about below in the  cabin like a drunken…well..sailor.

So we are Antigua bound. We are slightly frustrated because we have come so far only to be thwarted in our quest for the far frontier. At the same time, we are undaunted. We are appreciative of the beauty of our present anchorage in  English Harbor. We are getting to know the people and the  lay of the land and embarking on new  adventures each day, land based though they be. We are sailors and we pay attention to what the wind tells us. It is telling us to lay low, and we are heeding its warning.

Coming soon:  Lots of Antigua posts.
Julianne   December 26th, 2016