Ian Clayton

Final sail of the trip for Ian & Ali😢, final sail of the Caribbean season for Viv ⛵️😢🥰! A great couple of weeks for our guests - fun-packed for days on end!

A very lumpy motorsail upwind into 20 kts and 3m swells. Ouch! Made up for by an amazing afternoon at The Reef…… again!

A leisurely sail under just the mainsail, mostly downwind. Refuelled in Jolly Harbour fuel dock and then headed outside to drop the anchor.

After a quick visit to Parham; not much to see there, motored around towards Great Bird Island and then down into the anchorage behind Red Head Island. Anchored in 4m, only one other yacht in the area - lovely. Snorkel around the island yielded plenty of sea grass and dead coral but also a couple of rays, a barracuda, a good number of conch and an immaculate brain coral. Installed 60% of the cockpit tent to shelter from the impending night’s weather!

Quick motor round the N coast of Antigua inside the Boon Channel, past Prickly Pear Island, down alongside Long Island in a dredged channel. Ended up anchored at Parham. Dinghies in for an explore but were cleared off one dock and couldn’t find anywhere comfortable to land and drop the ladies off. Headed back to the mothership for sundowners.

Started with the Code Zero in shift winds but furled it once heading past St John’s. Dropped anchor in 3m just off the S end of Dickenson Bay, aiming for the Kon Tiki floating bar but finding it just closing; second time in 7 days!

Beautiful day for a sail. Sun was out all day. Took the Code Zero round into Carlisle Bay but were asked not to stop due to a swim race event. Carried on and took a couple of turns into the shelter behind Cades Reef for lunch and a snorkel. Spotted the “largest lobster ever” under a rock outcrop near our anchor. Snorkelled the reef with the largest variety of fish I’ve seen all season. Continued on and dropped anchor in less than 2m of water outside Jolly Harbour. Dinner planned at the Fat Urchin in the marina.

Left Green Island between showers. Unleashed the Code Zero once we were off the wind and surfed down to Falmouth Harbour, dodging the Antigua Race Series fleets along the way and sailing past the Pillars of Hercules outside English Harbour. Picked up mooring #14 ready to drop Caragh off 😢!

Upwind from Nelson’s Dockyard with a reef in the main. Made good progress after fault-finding why the windlass wouldn’t lift the hook - looks like a corroded contact in the hand control, but still worked from the helm. Arrived slightly late for lunch booked at “The Reef” on Green Island. Highly recommend it, only been there 4 years….. definitely equivalent to “The Hut”. Excellent!