Tuesday 22 May: Time to move on! Very early morning for Glen, with alarm set for 5.50am, in order to tune into the SSB for the weather forecast. We are contemplating whether or not to sign up for a paid weather forecast service, and we wanted to hear how explanatory or detailed this forecast is. Connecting the SSB didn’t work on time, so missed the first 20mins of the broadcast. We’ll have to try again, another day.
By 8am we are already ashore, and we have a busy morning with running around to pay invoices while we still have the hire car. First stop, at the yacht club laundry service, which luckily was opened as we passed by. Then Antigua Rigging to check with Stan how the billing will be handled for the vang service. Next to A&A Rigging for the halyards splicing, where it was all quickly sorted. $200 for the 2 halyard splices and dynema sleeves. Then to Power Marine Services who serviced the generator silencer manifold. Here we had a bit of a shock when we saw the invoice (with labor charged at 90US$!) and Glen had to argue the amount a bit, since the result of their work was not satisfactory. But still an $850 bill to pay. Ridiculous! After quick stop in the supermarket, and laundry pickup, the tasks in Falmouth Harbour have been all ticked and we are ready to return to Cloudy Bay.
By 12pm we up-anchor. Yesterday’s plan was to sail to Barbuda today, but after checking distances again, we decide to stop in Jolly Harbor and leave for Barbuda tomorrow. We need to make water, and also want to have a look at the resorts and beaches where we couldn’t get in yesterday, so we motor all the way to Jolly Harbor.
One bay after another we are charmed by the blue water and white sand. And from offshore, the scenery inland looks actually very pretty, with green hills and few small villages here and there.
One hour later we arrive in Jolly Harbor, and after a bit of depth survey we anchor in 3m on the left side of the channel, next to Mosquito Cove. After lunch Glen has a short nap while Oana entertains herself with catching up on admin tasks.
Before sunset we dinghy in to check what Jolly Harbor Marina has to offer. After a short walk and some real estate “window licking”, time to take advantage of the happy hour at the only bar with few clients in. We meet a couple of fellow cruisers, one of which had a very similar trajectory to ours for the season, and he has even saw our boat in Port St. Charles Marina in Barbados, after the Atlantic crossing. We chat away and exchange impressions on the various island we’ve been to.
As it gets dark, we return to Cloudy Bay to tackle the task of analyzing some boat insurance quotes, as our insurance will expire very soon. So it’s a quiet evening aboard, catching up on such admin chores.