Location: Falmouth, Antigua
Well, this is likely to be my final blog ever; I know sad times, Im sure youll survive. My day began at 3 am when I awoke for watch and remained on until we arrived into the familiar territory of Falmouth Harbour, Antigua. After a quick spin around English harbor, I decided it was too crowded and shifted Ocean Star’s big beautiful booty over to Falmouth. My morning was then spent mainly doing hot girl business and trying to get hold of the port authority official known only as Mr. Edwards. A mysterious man, to say the least, some say he was once bitten by a king cobra, and after 6 days of agonizing pain, the cobra died, others say he can touch MC Hammer, and I even heard a rumor that he isnt machine washable, and all his potted plants are called Steve. Anyway turns out his phone was broken so after many hours of trying different numbers we got hold of Jolne, a very pleasant lady, we like her. She asked if I could run over with all the necessary papers to Mr. Edwards, turns out he’s pretty normal, even let me use his pen, and before you know it, we were cleared back into Antigua, where our adventure began 72 days ago.
I dont know what anyone else did in my absence, cleaned the boat or something; honestly, I dont care. This blog is about me and my day. Since this is likely to be my last blog, I am going to share some important things I have learned while being here 1. Always double, triple, and quadruple check the watermaker flush valve is closed. 2. Remember when closing the generator raw water intake, not to close the staff head water intake 3. Very clearly label a waste oil container from a new one. 4. If you think something is 40/40, it probably isnt. 5. If you leave staff alone on the boat, clearly state not to accept any tortoises from homeless people. 6. If traveling along the Caribbean islands, its probably best to learn French, actually no, I take that back; they should speak English. 7. Always check waste fuel containers for pork chop remnants. 8. Reach back to adjust your fan in the dark at your fingertips peril .9. If someone points something out on a dive and you cant see it, just give an okay sign regardless. 10. If someone diving gets in the way of your very expensive camera setup and wants a photo, just pretend to take a pic and say that your thumb got in the way of the lens and you had to delete it. 11. Always be nice to the officials at customs, immigration, and port authority. 12. Never ask as Captain if you can borrow something to use from the galley; just wait until no one is looking and take that Tupperware for dirty oil, or take that fork to help scrape off the rust. 13. Always assume that at any moment something will break, be prepared. 14. Listen to your fan. It will tell you whats happening throughout the boat. 15. Dont let anyone borrow a tool from the engine room; you will never see it again. 16. If you leave your boat in the Caribbean between the months of May to November, you should probably stop that. 17. When news starts of a mysterious new virus in China probably best not to joke about it when writing weekly reports. 18. Assume that no other boat on the water knows what theyre doing. 19. If thinking about doing laundry, check the 7-day weather forecast. 20. Blue-footed boobies do not like Oreos.
There is plenty more, to be honest, but many of these lessons are all muddled into a mess in my aging brain. I hope you, the reader, can also learn from some of these lessons. Oh, I also didn’t take any pictures on my day, so please enjoy pictures from the Antigua tourism board and some of the top things to do while visiting Antigua.
I bid you farewell.
Picture 1 – Visit Devils Bridge (Number 39 in the top attractions)
Picture 2 – Visit the Donkey Sanctuary (Number 18 in the top attractions)
Picture 3 – Visit Fort Berkley; it’s okay the canon isn’t used anymore (Number 49 in the top attractions list)
Picture 4 – Take a tour of English Harbour, we will actually be there in a few days, and weirdly that is Ocean Star in the picture from a tourist website, it’s famous (Number 27 in the top attractions list)
Picture 5 – Make a phone call (Number 21 in the attractions list)
Picture 6 – Pay a visit to Falmouth Harbour, That’s where we are now (Number 29 in the top attractions list)
Picture 7 – Meg looking out over the water (Number 24 in the top attractions list)
Picture 8 – Snorkel with the stingrays; we’re also doing this in a few days (Number 11 in the top attractions list)
Picture 9 – Maybe do some fishing with Liam, Henry, Chris, Keaton, Erin, and Addisen (Number 9 in the top attractions list)
Picture 10 – and in at Number 1, why not charter a sailboat, maybe with the skills learned on this trip, your son or daughter can be your personal Captain. Magical
*Please be aware that some persons in the picture may not be a true depiction of the people mentioned in the caption*