Back in Antigua

Here we are, somewhat unexpectedly, back in English Harbour, Antigua. The plan had been to go to Nevis and onwards this week but the weather forecast changed our minds. The winds are nothing unusual, but a hurricane force storm in the north Atlantic has generated some huge waves that are slowly rolling down towards us to create what is known as a 'swell event'.

It won't be that 'swell' to be caught in an exposed anchorage when this arrives, as the waves are forecast to peak at over ten feet today and decline slowly over the weekend. The weather forecasters are including phrases like 'this is the biggest swell event we can remember' and advising boats to be in sheltered harbours so here we are.

Antigua is very familiar, having spent so much time here around Christmas, so we are relaxing, running regular school for a week, catching up on maintenance and have even bumped into some friends we made here last time so it's nice to socialise a bit.

We'll probably move on on Sunday with a forty-five mile trip across to Nevis and new islands for the kids to explore.