Almost A Month In Antigua

 A little disillusioned and tired we felt a sense of relief once tied up at the Fallmouth Harbor Marina. Plugged into power our batteries could now start charging and our systems would run without fret of the inverter not charging the batteries. I felt relieved and also lucky that the marina had a slip for us and we didn't have to worry about our power issues for the moment. Coincidently we had a tour set up for today with a local guide. named Jemoye. We were to go to Pigeon Point Beach, Half Moon Bay, Devil's Bridge and Stingray City. Should we cancel and stay here and deal with that boat? Jeff decided that nothing was going to get done immediately with the boat so we might as well go out and enjoy ourselves for now. As it turned out it was exactly what we needed. The marina was all abuzz with a big upcoming sailboat race around the island and we watched as crews readied their boats in time for departure. 

At 0900 on February 20th Jemoye picked us up at the marina and we were off. As he toured us around to our first stop at Half Moon Bay we were afford great views of the racers underway. We spent about an hour on half moon beach enjoying the lovely water, swimming and watching the sailboats fly by as our entertainment. 

Racing Teaming Readying Their Boat 

Off To The Races

With Tour Guide Jemoye 

Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay

Racing Entertainment 

After sufficiently relaxing on the beach it was time to head to Stingray City. I wasn't sure what to expect here and was a bit nervous about getting in the water with stingrays but it sounded like an interesting experience so I just went with it. After checking in we waited with lots of other people for our overview and safety briefing and after were divided into groups to get into pangas to head to the stingray grounds. They explained to us that once at the stingray area we would take turns walking up to a designated worker who would be holding a stingray and then passing it onto each on of us. Ok. Nervousness rising. The panga ride over was lovely in aqua colored water passing by remote islands. Once at the string ray city we tied to a floating dock which was very wobbly and made our way to the ladder and into the stingray infested water. As we made our way to the worker holding the stingray tons of other stingrays swam by us grazing our legs and making me jump, scream and squeeze Jeff's arm for dear life. So far I wasn't a fan. Somehow we made our way to the worker and he slowly passed the giant stingray into Jeff's arm while I hid behind him showing enough of my face for the photo before quickly leaving the area trying to avoid any stingrays in the water. While Jeff swam around enjoying the rays I quickly made my way to the ladder and the floating dock hoisting myself to safety. 

Safety Briefing Stingray City

Panga Ride Over

Stingrays In the Water

Line To Hold the Stingrays

Our Turn 

When we got back to the van Jemoye had some nice coconut rum waiting for us and made us nice cocktails as a welcome back. After Stingray City we made our final stop at Devil's Bridge a beautiful rocky pathway over the water. It was getting to be later in the afternoon and colors were gorgeous and it was a great place to end our day. 

Jemoye Waiting With Rum 

Devil's Bridge 

The next morning was Saturday and that meant that all boat repair shops were closed for the weekend. Nothing was going to get fixed very quickly so we tried to remain calm and just enjoy our time in Antigua until it did. We had a nice slow morning. My favorite. I drank coffee and stayed in pjs soaking up our new home. We watched as a very large boat pulled into the marina. We had Mexican food on shore for lunch and later met up with friends for dinner at the Thai restaurant. It was really nice being on an island with such variety of foods. It's been awhile since we experienced that. 

Large One Pulling In

Dinner With Fin & No ETA

Evening At The Marina 

Sunday Funday. We decided to cruise the dink around the bay and explore the other side opposite the morning field and marina. We went slow and checked out the boats and eventually made our way to Catherine's for lunch. Restaurant and beach the atmosphere was laid back yet sophisticated. Swimsuits on the beach and resort wear the in the restaurant. We enjoyed some cold rose and a delicious lunch. 

Dinghy Dock

Catherine's 

Finally Monday morning Jeff could start making some calls and figure out a plan to get the inverter working again. He decided since we would be here getting the inverter fixed might as well get a new autopilot as well. He found a company called Sound Signal who could do both. Now it was just a matter of shipping in equipment from the states. And more waiting. That evening we took a stroll to get a little leg stretch in. 

As the week went on and we waited we continued eating and exploring our way around Antigua. We took the dink across the bay to a place called Cloggy's with a lovely view of the morning field. We enjoyed a drink at the yacht club and took a long walk through the historic English Harbor where Lord Nelson sailed to and spent time. We went in and out of the old historic buildings and looked at cannons and forts. It really felt like going back in time. 

Every Thursday night in Antigua at a placed called Shirley Heights they have reggae night with food and stunning views of the harbor from above. Jemoye drove us and we had such a nice time listening to music and enjoying the view. 

Finally Friday William the electronics guy came to install the new auto pilot while we waited for the inverter to arrive and we had Indian food for dinner. 

Lunch at Cloggy's 

Harbor View

Big Boy At The Marina

Happy Hour At The Yacht Club

Fort Walk English Harbor 

Old Fort English Harbor 

Shirley Heights

Reggae Band

Dinner at Indian Summer 

It had now been one full week at the marina and it didn't feel like we were ever going to leave. Saturday February 28th we had the boat washed, walked to the market and had a zoom happy hour with our amigos. We needed some friendly faces and people to commiserate with. It was great catching up and sharing some laughs. Sunday brought no work so we took a hike across the island called the Midland Hike that had rocks and ropes. Yuck! It was a good workout and we saw goats and really pretty views. Plus it was probably exactly what we needed mentally. 

Happy Hour Zoom With Amigos

Midland Hike

Ropes Yuck!

Mountain Goats

View From The Top

View Of The Other Side

Trail End 

As the days and then weeks continued to pass by workers came and went and at some point the auto pilot finally got installed and finished up. We had some stabilizer work done and some wood work as well all the while waiting for our inverter to arrive. We continued enjoying the many restaurants including a vegan restaurant at a buddhist retreat. We toured again with Jemoye this time to Saint John's the capital city. Before we knew it, it was my birthday March 12th. We had been in Antigua almost an entire month and while there were worse places to be stuck we were antsy. My birthday found us sea trailing the auto pilot with William. I had a nice mani pedi and we went to lunch at Boom before checking out of the marina and birthday dinner at Maia. 

All systems were a go and finally on March 13th 2026, 28 days after arriving in Antigua we were ready to throw lines and start heading back south. Finally!

Sailboats In The Marina With the Red Lights On For Airplanes 

The Cat's Meow- Vegan Restaurant 

The Real Housewives On A Yacht In The Marina 

Touring With Jemoye 

Happy Hour With Fin, Love & Luck & Ibis 

Lunch At The Yacht Club

Dinner At The Lobster Hut

Fallmouth Harbor 

Birthday Lunch

Birthday Dinner

Adios Antigua 

Awesome Antigua

 After Tot and Jason left we spent the next day putting the boat back together, doing laundry and just getting things back to our normal. That evening we caught up with our friends on Fortitude X who were also staying at the marina. We met them at L'atelier (a beer bar at the marina) for some sundowners and friend time. It was great seeing them after over a year had passed since our last meet up in Panama. 

February 12th, 2026 would be our last day at Bas Du Fort so we took advantage of being in a marina and took a nice long walk, picked up some fresh food and did the last of our boat chores. We were more than ready to be on our way and to be leaving France, again. 

Final Days at Bas Du Fort Marina

Sundowners With Fortitude X 

While we were close to getting out of France we weren't all the way there yet. The next morning at 0922 we left Bas Du Fort Marina and made the 54 mile trip north to Deshaies, Guadeloupe. It is known for being a rolly anchorage but was a good distance between Bas du Fort and Antigua, our next destination. Seas were a bit lumpy at the start 3-4 footers with short periods and 15 knots of wind. Once we rounded the corner from the south towards the north everything laid down in the lee. We arrived at 1604 to a packed anchorage and mooring field. Rolly and crowded my favorite. I was glad we would only be there overnight. We relaxed and enjoyed being free and on the hook again. 

Leaving Bas du Fort

Cruising The Guadaloupe Coast

Deshaies Anchorage

Sunset Deshaies 

At 0755 we were pulling anchor and making our way to Falmouth, Antigua. Today was Valentine's day and always a special day in our house because it's my mom's birthday. Over the years Jeff and I haven't taken it for granted either, always finding a nice place for dinner and tonight would be no different. The passage was sunny and smooth and uneventful. Just what you always want. The 49.5 mile jaunt found us among lots of sailboats also enjoying the weather window. When we pulled into Falmouth harbor it was like something out of a movie. First we had to avoid several expedition racing sailboats who were positioning themselves for a race and then once in the channel we were afforded views of some of the most spectacular vessels we have ever laid eyes on. 300 footers with helipads and tenders the size of our boat. Row after row of enormous boats all enjoying the same place we were about to be. Where were we?

Ready To Race

Entering the Harbor

Big Boys

The Biggest Boy- 300 Foot Mega Yacht  Leviathan

After we caught our mooring ball and our breath we lowered the dink to head to customs and immigration. We got our bearings and noticed the many restaurants surrounding the bay and knew instantly we were going to like it here. The Customs and Immigration offices are in English Harbor a short 5 minute walk from Falmouth, a historic town and harbor and now a UNESCo World Heritage site of Nelson's Dockyard. It's so charming and hard to imagine that Lord Nelson was here. Back on the boat we had a happy hour zoom call with Mom and Dad for Mom's birthday before heading back into English Harbor for our Valentine's dinner at Pillars. When we arrived at Pillars there was a three piece jazz band playing and we were shown to our seats and given a complementary glass of Prosecco for Valentine's Day. They had vegan options for me so I was happy and Jeff got a nice lobster. It was a hectic day but a very nice one. 

Dinner at Pillars 

We woke up pretty hungover from our Valentine's day celebration so we spent the whole day onboard. The advantage of being on a mooring ball or anchored in Falmouth harbor is that it's a nonstop parade of mega yachts coming and going to and from the marina. We sat in the cockpit just in awe of the show. We spent the day just watching and swimming and finally heading to town to get some good Mexican food (which we haven't had since San Diego) to help with the hangover. It was so nice to be able to get a variety of food and not just French or creole food. 

Boat Parade

More Parade 

Not In The Parade But A Pretty Boat

Sunset

The next morning we went slow as we like to soaking up more of the parade while we drank coffee and eased into the day. At some point we realized that we needed some exercise so we lowered the dink and headed into town. We took a nice loop walk which afforded us panoramic views of the anchorage and then picked up some produce on our way back. Being overheated we quickly threw ourselves in the water back at the boat. 

Anchorage From Our Walk

Hey That's Us 

Sunset 

The next several days are what I would call, "wash, rinse and repeat." We had nice slow mornings, watched the parade of mega yachts and then eventually went into town and swam. It was a great routine. We did finally spend some time in Nelson's Dockyard in English Harbor going in and out of the historic buildings and museum learning about the history of where we were. Everything was so well preserved. We met some Seas Sisters at the Pizza restaurant and I had already found my go to afternoon coffee shop where Jeff learned he could get a piece of carrot cake while I had my coffee. We were very well set up here. 

Our Friend's Boat Quinn's Gambit With a Big Boy Behind

The Famous Maltese Falcon 

Walking Around Nelson's Dockyard

Big Boys At Night With Their Aviation Obstruction Lights On

Do you know when things are going so well and you are enjoying yourself so much that you think of nothing else? This is where we were- moored in a boaters paradise with lots to see and do, several friends around to hang with, lots of good restaurants and endless walks to explore. Well that was all about to change. I don't remember if it was before we went to sleep on February 18th or as we woke up on the 19th but our inverter stopped working. Jeff noticed that despite running our generator that once on battery our inverter charger  wasn't working and thus not charging our batteries and they were getting lower and lower. At 0700 I radio'd the Falmouth Harbor Marina telling them that we were having a charging problem and could they possibly get us a slip? Fortunately it was the Dockmaster who responded to my call and without hesitation he said yes proceed in and we will get you tied up. The honeymoon was now over. 

The Dictator Of The Day

Our Little Pooper Docked With Some Big Boys