antigua: the first week

Approaching the west coast of Antigua

​On Monday morning, March 20, Eoin raised the anchor, Isla raised the mainsail, and Marin drove us out of the Fox Bay anchorage.  We sailed by Plymouth to view what remained of the city (see previous post for photos).  It was moving to think of the vibrant city that was now mostly buried under the pyroclastic material, and the people who had been displaced from their homes and for some, from the island.
 
We only ran the engines to leave the anchorage in Montserrat and enter the anchorage in Antigua, which means it was a great day sailing.  By early afternoon, our anchor was down in Jolly Harbour on the west coast of Antigua.  We stayed in the anchorage for three days, having school in the morning, and shore excursions in the afternoons.  There was a swim and tennis club at Jolly Harbour and we were able to purchase a weeklong membership.  It was nice being able to swim in the pool on hot afternoons.  One afternoon, Kendall and Marin took a bus to St. Johns (the capital) to do some shopping for Isla’s birthday! 
 
On March 23 we raised the anchor and went to tie up to the dock in the Jolly Harbour Marina.  We had to leave the boat for about a week and felt it would be more secure in a marina than at anchor or on a mooring.  That evening we celebrated Isla’s 8th birthday with grilled pizza and lemon cupcakes.  We said goodbye to Counting Stars on the morning of the 25th (just minutes after our clean laundry arrived…but that’s another story) and headed to the airport to catch our flight to North Carolina.

Happy 8th Birthday to Isla!!!