By Mark Stevens, photos by Sharon Matthews-Stevens
Because I live in Canada, my Caribbean sailing is limited to one or two bareboat charters each winter.
The downside is that I can’t gunkhole to my heart’s content, that I can’t drop the hook at my favorite anchorage for days at a time, that I can’t follow the winds wherever they lead.
The upside is that I get to pick and choose my destination, I do a ton of research before devising a float plan, and I maximize my voyage to experience as many highlights as possible.
Also on the upside: I’ve raised sails in every popular Caribbean charter destination, most of them more than once.
Point of fact — up until now the only cruising ground I’d done more than Antigua is the British Virgin Islands. I’m just back from my fourth Antigua charter, so now it’s a tie.
When I chose to sail to Antigua for the first time more than 20 years ago, part of my homework was the purchase of Chris Doyle’s iconic 2002-2003 Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands, which now is published in two tomes, north and south.
Even before we left Canada that first time I kept rereading his apt description.
“Antigua and Barbuda offers exceptional cruising, with more anchorages than any other country in the Leewards,” he wrote. “You could cruise here for two weeks without stopping at the same anchorage twice, and you would enjoy great variety.”
For this trip we chartered a 45-foot catamaran from Sunsail, taking on as crew our son Adam, my nephews Ryan and Scott, and Scott’s wife Klaudia, along with longtime sailing friends Ed and Kim North from our home yacht club. Our seven-day trip started with our passage east to Green Island; then we retraced our route along Antigua’s south coast to Jolly Harbour and an overnight mooring ball for provisions, then on to Deep Bay next, on the island’s northwest coast before beating east to Great Bird Island off Antigua’s northeast coast. Doubling back, we sailed west to Dickenson Bay for an overnight stop before heading south on a beam reach before turning east once more for Carlisle Bay off the south coast.
During this week I soon realized that trying to narrow down my choices was like visiting a Michelin restaurant and choosing a single entrée, but I was able to revisit some favorites and discover some new ones, and I’m equally sure I’ll sail Antigua once more.
And maybe I’ll bump into you at one of my five must-do Antigua anchorages.
Rickett Harbour, Green Island
On our last trip here, we finished the Sunsail chart briefing at Nelson’s Dockyard, a delightful slice of history on Antigua’s south coast, before making for points east.
This time, two things strike me almost immediately as we beat into 10-foot seas and 20 knots of wind.
First, Antigua is truly a sailor’s paradise.
Second, these admittedly challenging conditions are the chief reason that, despite doing Green Island the first time around, I gave it a miss for charters number two and three.
But I have memories of great snorkel spots in Nonsuch Bay, home to Green Island, and this time around I’m shipping several die-hard snorkelers. Rickett Harbour off Green Island, a waypoint of sheer beauty, proves worth the trip.
We anchor a hundred yards off a beach fringed by palms and century plants and great stands of cactus. Two other boats are here. Behind us a hump-backed emerald hill climbs skyward, two excursion boats lounge on the beach. When they depart we have the beach to ourselves.
My wife, Sharon, and I lounge on the sand, paddle about in the water. My crew swim over to a reef jutting out from the shore just south of us, returning to the boat and enthusing about the quality of the snorkeling.
Twilight cocktails serenaded by a perfect sunset add to the appeal.
I’ve just added a new item to my list of Caribbean “top-tens,” never mind Antigua “must-dos.”
Great Bird Island
Because the reef-strewn waters off Antigua’s east coast are a “no-go” zone for Sunsail charters, it’s a few days before we achieve another of my favorites. That’s because the anchorage at Great Bird shares much of that pristine quality that characterizes Rickett Harbour.
Tucked in behind a tiny island roughly maybe 50 yards south of Great Bird itself, we also share this anchorage with only two other boats.
Here’s how much I like Great Bird: last time around, given a float plan comprising only seven nights, we decided to spend two of them anchored right here.
There are two things I love about this spot, even though some less appealing changes have taken place since our last visit eight years ago:
The beach on the north side is still gorgeous — completely uninhabited but for my crew and me — nuzzled by gentle neon aquamarine waters.
The other attraction here used to be a rugged path climbing to a height offering spectacular seascapes and views of surreal landforms.
They’ve replaced the path with a set of wooden stairs and now you have to pay US$10 for the tour, but once the guides and tourists leave mid-afternoon, we have this piece of paradise completely to ourselves and the sunset’s as appealing as the one that greeted us at the end of our first day on the water.
Still a perfect spot to drop the hook.
Deep Bay
With the passage of time, things have also changed at Deep Bay, another one of my favorite Antigua anchorages.
The beach is as appealing as I remember it, fringed with towering palms and decorated with rainbow-painted vendors’ huts. The shipwreck lounging farther out from shore is still a big hit with the snorkelers among us and the steep path up to the ruins of Fort Barrington still leads you to some of the best views of any Antigua anchorage.
The very first time we anchored here we shared the beach with tourists from a couple of excursion boats but it was otherwise barely inhabited. Nowadays,x` the south end plays host to a Royalton Resort.
You can’t go back again — it is true, but here’s another truth: Deep Bay is still one of my favorite Caribbean anchorages.
Dickenson Bay
Dickenson Bay is as different from Deep Bay as day is from night, home to the sprawling Sandals Resort occupying much of the beachfront. It’s considered Antigua’s most popular beach, an anchorage you share with tacking Hobie Cats and growling wave runners, so be forewarned.
But it’s a gorgeous beach and offers — in addition to a hopping floating bar called Kon-Tiki just off the beach — great restaurants. We do a delightful lunch at an attractive eatery called Ana’s on the Beach. And in spite of Sandals’ domination, public access to all Antigua beaches is a given.
But first a caveat: In winter swells it can be an uncomfortable anchorage and there are no dinghy docks here, so you have to beach your dinghy when you go ashore.
I’ve given this anchorage a pass in the past, but this time I’ve added lunch ashore to my float plan and we do get lucky. We’re able to tuck in to the lee of a dramatic cliff that shelters you from waves out of the east and we get a very comfortable sleep.
Nature, it seems, has rewarded us for our choice.
Early next morning, before we weigh anchor, we’re treated to a spectacular double rainbow.
Dickenson’s just earned a spot on next trip’s float plan.
Carlisle Bay
On every one of my Antigua charters thus far we have spent our last night at sea at Carlisle.
It’s a quick sail next morning over to the Sunsail base at Nelson’s Dockyard; it’s relatively sheltered; it’s got a great reputation as a snorkel spot, and it’s located off an unspoiled corner of Antigua. It’s downright pretty, an ivory-colored beach guards the north bay of this horseshoe-shaped bay, decorated by the low-lying roofs of a classy resort. Two sky-reaching hills protect the anchorage from those constant easterlies; one boasts a dramatic rock cliff.
High overhead a smattering of pastel-painted houses clings precariously to steep slopes, slopes otherwise unbroken expanses of emerald and olive.
Downright pretty.
Soon after we drop the hook some of my crew dinghy over to a tiny beach and proceed to snorkel. They prove Carlisle’s reputation, returning to our catamaran full of enthusiasm. One morning on an earlier trip we’d gone ashore, tied up to a convenient dock, and strolled the beach, but that was it.
I always figured you were talking haute cuisine and haute money if you dined here, but Sunsail staffer Kishawn Harrigan had assured me at the chart briefing that dinner at one of the property’s four restaurants was quite reasonable.
No matter, this time we choose to dine aboard al fresco, assigning galley duty to our son Adam and his cousin Ryan, entertained by one last sunset.
Perfect end to a perfect charter.
An Anchor Cornucopia
In addition to Doyle’s enthusiastic praise for Antigua, it’s worth mentioning that the island reputedly hosts 360 beaches, though we haven’t stopped at every single one.
Given that a fair number of them host great anchorages, narrowing your choices down to five may be nigh impossible.
I haven’t included Ffryes Beach here despite the fact that it’s one of my favorite lunch stops, since it could get uncomfortable, but during my last trip Harrigan assured me it was also an overnight possibility.
One day we nosed into Five Islands Harbour for a look. It’s a gorgeous west coast bay, and we saw a couple of big boats on the hook in the lee of Maiden Island, but because it was breezy that day and it was close to Deep Bay, we gave it a miss.
That won’t happen next time around. I’d just discovered another “must-do.”
Last time around we had a great time just off Pigeon Point near the entrance to Falmouth Harbour. Very nice beach, lots of shade, great spot for watching the boats belonging to the haute monde and home to a couple of great restaurants.
Nonsuch Bay alone hosts at least seven overnight spots, so maybe you’re starting to get the point.
But don’t take my word for it. Visit Antigua and discover the anchorages here and, according to Doyle, “enjoy great variety.”
Then start your own list, your own list of “must-do” Antigua anchorages.
Freelance writers Mark and Sharon regular ply Lake Ontario’s waters on Rhumbline, their Catalina 320. They’ve enjoyed a love affair with the Caribbean lasting nearly four decades and their work has been recognized numerous times by the Caribbean Tourism Organization.
Nautical Paradise
• Factor in the variety of Antigua’s anchorages, the exhilarating passages between them, 360 beaches and a UNESCO Heritage Site (Nelson’s Dockyard), plus a full slate of races and regattas, and you’ve got an appealing boating destination. Now factor in the efforts of the Antigua and Barbuda Yachting and Marine Association — “the private sector organization which is the unified voice of the yachting industry in Antigua and Barbuda” — and you’ve got a regular nautical paradise.
• Its website — www.abyma.ag — is a wealth of information for visiting charterers, for serious cruisers, or for anyone who loves the water. Go there for a comprehensive list of anchorages with thumbnail descriptions. Every visiting boater will appreciate the directory of ports of entry and yacht entry and clearance procedures and the guide to marinas.
• Want to build your skills or learn new ones? One partner — OnDeckOceanSailing (www.ondecksailing.com) — offers courses from beginner certifications to yachtmaster accreditation. 40 Knots (www.40knots.net), another partner, offers kiteboarding, windsurfing and SUP lessons. At 40 Knots you could even learn the newest thrill-seekers’ pursuit: wingfoiling.
• Just want to keep up with the latest news? Log in to www.abyma.ag and find the answers.
• Antigua’s allure is irresistible. Be sure to visit www.visitantiguaandbarbuda.com before you start your float plan.
