Nelson’s Dockyard and Ricketts Harbor

Nelson’s Dockyard and Ricketts Harbor

Thursday 21- Saturday 23 December 2023

There was almost no wind this morning when we got up.  The day was promising to be very warm indeed.  We ate a quick breakfast and set off to shore.  We arrived at the gate to the dockyard at 8:45 am, fifteen minutes early for opening time.  The chap on the gate let us go in with a promise to return and pay on our way out.  We had a walk around the area looking at the restored and preserved buildings.  Then a walk along the dock allowed us to look at the massive boats.  It was great to see the preserved buildings of this historic site, where soon-to-be Admiral Lord Nelson was stationed, alongside the modern functioning Marina. We were back on board by 11:00 am and making preparations to get underway.  

Once outside of Falmouth Harbor, we found that there was some wind—but right on the bow!  We motored east and encountered the large, long period swell that has been featuring so prominently in recent weather forecasts. By some amazing helmsmanship, Mike was able to bring us safely into Ricketts harbor at Green Island despite some swell breaking on the bar at the entrance.  Ricketts Harbor is a gorgeous spot and for today we have it all to ourselves (except for the numerous turtles!) 

Gloria

We were glad we took a somewhat approach to Ricketts harbor, putting the swell on our stern as we passed over the bar. The chart states quite clearly that the area can be dangerous when large swells are breaking. It was somewhat un-nerving to look out from our anchorage, which was perfectly flat, and see some of the larger swells breaking on the horizon. As Gloria mentioned, the anchorage was beautiful. We snorkeled the nearby reef (directly from Cotinga) and saw some coral and quite a lot of fish. In general, we have been quite shocked at the state of most of the reefs we have snorkeled. It’s hard to know how much is local damage and how much is due to global climate change. 

On Friday we jumped in the dinghy and motored round to Nonsuch Bay. We snorkeled three different sites, the best being the inner edge of the reef that fringes the Bay. Here the water was the clearest, but again the coral is in such poor shape. When we returned to Cotinga mid-afternoon we found four or five other boats in the anchorage. They weren’t noisy or intrusive, but it helped us realize how lucky we were to have one night completely to ourselves.

The following morning (Saturday), Gloria and I got up at 5.30 am, and after some coffee and final preparation, we hauled up the anchor and left Ricketts harbor by the same route we came in on. The large swells had settled down quite a bit and we motor-sailed northwards, continuing around the east coast. Our plan was to complete a circuit of Antigua and head back up the Boon channel to visit Great Bird island. This was the location we had failed to get to on our previous excursion up the bay, when the winds were so strong. Ironically, we passed the ocean side of Great Bird Island within an hour of our departure, but there is no safe way through the reefs and so we needed to continue around for another ten miles before heading back on the inside. Amazingly, Tasha and Mac managed to sleep through the first four hours of the passage and only emerged once we had made our turn back into the Boon channel! We were able to navigate safely across the final mile or two, where there are numerous shallow reef sections, and arrived at the anchorage around 11.30 am. It was a good plan! We spent the afternoon snorkeling some of the reef areas near the anchorage. It’s a beautiful place to stay.

Mike

17 08.716 N, 61 43.802 W

I took this shot of one of the workmen up near Shirley Heights yesterday. I had been struck by the colorful T-shirt, but when I worked up the photo I thought his expression and eyes were the most compelling aspect of the shot and the T-shirt was a distraction. Consequently, I decided to show the final image as a sepia tone B&W.

One of the more modern buildings at Nelson's Dockyard

A view of cliffs on the east side of Antigua, just to the north of Shirley Heights.

An early departure from Ricketts Harbor gave some of us a fine view of the sunrise!

We did end up motor-sailing with both Genoa and main, but there was never enough wind just to sail.

Beautiful conditions off the Atlantic coast of Antigua ... but very little wind.