Liming with Friends

James was very eager to visit English Harbour. His father used to read Hornblower to him, so it was quite poignant to anchor his own yacht in those historic waters. The dockyard itself is a living useum, with the historic buildings converted to bars, museum, chandleries and charter agencies. Next to the column of the former sail loft sits the main hotel among quiet tropical gardens. The open musem is free and has much memorabilia and tales of life in the British Navy 200 years ago.

The afternoon was spent on Galleon Bay beach where the children frolicked in the sea beside a massive abandoned fisherman’s hook, wedge in the shore for two centuries. Above the bay was the infamous Shirley Heights which hosts one of the best known Sunday night parties in Antigua. Liming is the custom of having a good time, drinking rum and partying to steel drum bands and Shirley Heights is the best known of all.

The bar is the former fort with stunning views over English and Falmouth Harbours. We met up with John Bridge and Ariane Decloux who were celebrating their anniversary on the island and drank seriously strong rum as the sun set.

Happy Anniversary, John and Ariane

The following day, Ariane and John came aboard for a very pleasant day sail with us on Croix des Gardes. We left English Harbour under the main alone and slipped round to Carlisle Bay where we anchored for lunch and a dip in the sea off the boat. We then had a wonderful sail through the shallow aquamarine waters to Deep Bay, the safe anchorage next to their resort. We ended the day with pleasant splash on the white sand beach.