ANTIGUA - CARIBBEAN DREAM

ANTIGUA – CARIBBEAN DREAM

The office phone rings, it’s JC, ‘’Caribbean Dream’’, ‘I’m sorry what JC?’’, ‘’Caribbean Dream!’’, ‘’Isn’t that a song from the ‘80s by Billy Ocean?’’, ‘’ No that’s ‘Caribbean Queen!’’, ‘’Ok, but this better not be another story about you in a Caribbean paradise that is family friendly, flat water, perfect trade winds and you and your mate ‘Downwind Dave’ sinking lagers after a perfect day on the water. ‘’It’s not, promise, I swear; well actually it is but this time it’s in Antigua not St Lucia and Dave went upwind this time’’, ‘’This is a wind up right?’’, ‘’No honest, he went upwind!’’. At that point we were all set to put the phone down when, sensing his imminent departure from the payroll, JC pinged over the pics and reminded us why he is the best in the business. Beautiful Azure waters and truly a ‘Caribbean Dream’, JC brings us the lowdown on Antigua, a freeride destination to take your breath away.

Words & Photos John Carter

(This feature originally appeared in the September 2015 issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read more features like this first, Print and Digital subscriptions are available. Prices include delivery globally for 10 x issues a year!)

TOUCH DOWN
Aside from the fact my son had just been sick on my lap as we landed into VC Bird international Airport in Antigua, it had been an ‘almost’ silky smooth journey. I say ‘almost’ as you see despite the fact I had assured my youngest son that flying was absolutely nothing to worry about, midway across the Atlantic we had hit some of the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. You know it’s serious when the pilot tries to smooth things over but his voice is shaking, almost quivering as he tells you to relax, the stewardesses have all gone white and the plane is shaking like that scene out of the Tom Hanks movie Castaway. Of course I would have preferred to be in one of the cosy ‘Virgin’ First Class cabins up the front of the plane enduring this bumpy inconvenience but no amount of begging and pleading at check in could swing the deal, especially for the whole family (Branson if you are reading this please send some complimentary tickets to Windsurf Office for next year’s Carter Caribbean crusade). Yep no doubt about it, half term week in February in the Caribbean was costing me an arm and a leg but I figured ‘you only live once’ and before my kids completely grow out of that innocent age, we might as well sneak in a couple of holidays to remember. Plus of course nothing goes down better than an icy cold after a tough day on the beach in the Caribbean. Anyways slightly shaken but not too stirred we arrived safely in Antigua and stepped out into a beautiful sunny afternoon, temperature in the high 70’s and the sound of trade winds rustling through the palm trees.

STEALTH MISSION
Joining us on this half term getaway was my Isle of Wight windsurfing buddy Dave Wade better known to windsurf’s audience as ‘Downwind Dave’ along with his wife and daughter. Obviously the story to our beloved wives was that our family holiday was the first priority on this trip but after Dave scored a few pics in the magazine from St Lucia I could sense the fame had gone to his head and he would walk over hot coal if needed for another shot at glossy glory. So all in all with my darling wife and two angelically behaved boys, there were seven of us in total, so realistically there was no way we were going to be able to bring Dave’s windsurf gear without it becoming a major hassle, plus bringing kit would obviously blow our cover. The closest replacements I could muster up were a couple of inflatable paddle boards on which I was intending to put Dave to shame after practicing all summer to gain the upper hand. Then lady luck threw us a bone; a few weeks before departure I mentioned I was headed to Antigua to Scotty McKercher who immediately told me to contact ex PWA racer Eli Fuller, an Antiguan native who runs boat trips around the island but more importantly was bound to have some windsurf equipment knocking around and might be able to show us the spots. With contact initiated and a favourable reply from Eli, the pieces of the jigsaw were finally slotting together, all we needed now was a bit of luck with the wind and ‘Downwind Dave’ might well be on his way to his next step into the limelight.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION|
Nestled in the heart of the leeward Caribbean Islands, the stunning island of Antigua lies slightly north of the equator close to Monserrat, Guadeloupe, Nevis, St Kitts, St Bart’s and St Martin. The island is only 14 miles long and 11 miles wide and as the taxi drivers say, it takes less than half an hour to get anywhere on Antigua. The island boasts a population of around 68,000 and its capital is the bustling St Johns on the western Caribbean side.Temperatures in Antigua average around 80 degrees through the year and its annual rainfall is a mere 45 inches a year making it the sunniest of all the Caribbean Islands, no problem there!
SHOPPING TRIP

While the wives were hopefully busy sunning themselves, sipping on Pina Coladas on the beach loungers, I had instigated a covert plan to hook up with Eli on Wednesday, the day before we were due to fly home.

‘Hi Darling; Dave and I are just running into town to buy souvenirs for the mother in laws, why don’t you girls just stay on the beach and relax’ Obviously our alibi was slightly dubious but before the wives had a chance to raise any suspicious doubts we were out of the hotel and jumping into Eli’s four wheel drive and on our way. Half an hour later we were rigged and ready for action, wives hopefully oblivious to our cunning plan. Jabberwok beach is a beautiful white sand bay facing the trade winds on the island’s north east coast and the island’s most consistent and popular windsurfing location just a few kms. away from the airport. Situated in a nature reserve, there are no permanent structures allowed at Jabberwok hence the fact local windsurfing instructor Patrik Scales runs his operation out of a mobile centre. Eli was the first in front of the camera and hit the water right on cue with a twenty five knot gust looking pretty overpowered on his North 7.3m and 120 litre Fanatic. Dave almost looked smug when Eli dropped his first outside gybe announcing the pressure was off if the pro’s were falling in. After Eli had recovered from his early splash with a steady display of blasting and slick gybes, he very kindly offered over his rig and harness to Dave for a blast. I immediately noticed a bead of nervous sweat drip down Dave’s forehead when Eli mentioned to watch out for the rocks at the downwind end of the bay; the pressure was on. Granted the opportunity for a session, Dave quickly nipped back to his rucksack and grabbed a PWA Bonaire rash vest I had given him last summer; boy had Dave’s flirt with fame gone to his head and was he was he now on the beach in Antigua attempting to claim he is some kind of freestyle pro? Oh dear – Dave is definitely no Gollito!
UPWIND?
OK let’s see; flat crystal clear water, perfect trades and complementary gear provided and rigged by Eli!. Yep we were doing this VIP, far away from the poor lads back at home at Yaverland on the Isle of Wight which would most likely be zero degrees, brown and blown out. Nicely powered, Dave duly worked his way into the straps and headed out towards Prickly Pear Island a few km offshore. Looking upwind I noticed a huge rain squall looming, which could potentially kill the wind but I am sure Dave was oblivious to what was coming from elsewhere while he was having a blast on the beautiful turquoise water. ‘Blimey’ I exclaimed to Eli, ‘I think Dave just made his first gybe and he is headed back towards us’. Was this to be a new chapter in Dave’s eulogy of downwind tales? ‘Upwind Dave’, surely not! I was so sure Dave would end up at least half way down the bay, I had walked along the beach to grab a shot of him on the inside, but sailing with determination like I have never witnessed before, Dave was pointing straight back towards the launch area like a man possessed. I knew already I was never going to hear the end of this; despite a total lack of style and technique Dave had outdone Eli with his first dry run and even stayed comfortably upwind. To make matters worse Dave unhooked and wobbled his way through the inside turn and strutted straight back out ostentatiously like a peacock with its tail spread apart like a fan. For the next twenty minutes I had to endure two more runs as Dave proved this first act of glory was not a one off. Finally I felt the first spits of liquid sunshine from the impending rain squall and after watching Dave drop off the plane half way out to sea I knew the inevitable was about to happen. Sure enough Dave lived up to his reputation this time around with a decent splash on the outside as he crashed and burned followed by a slow crawl back into the beach towards the rocky shallow end at the other side of the bay. Despite the walk of shame back upwind, I could see that Dave was grinning like a ‘Cheshire cat’ and was more than satisfied with his first Antiguan session.

Without pushing our luck, we decided to head back to our Caribbean queens, before they noticed we were missing and within half an hour we were back at the hotel delivering a tray full of Pina Coladas with our mission accomplished.

‘Yeah those tourist shops were a real rip-off, I decided to save the money and buy your mother some flowers at home darling, let me go to the bar and fetch you another cocktail. I look over to Dave as if to say, ‘I think we got away with it’, but moments later I hear the shrill of Dave’s wife voice hollering at him ‘I know what you have been up to you sneaky rat, that bloody Carter has been leading you astray again, go fetch me another Pina!’
ELI FULLER

“I started windsurfing when I was 12 years old on Dutchmans Bay which was in the heart of the North Sound of Antigua, an area I had grown up spending all of my free time exploring, fishing, snorkelling and playing since I was old enough to be taken on a boat. My father was born there and had done the same for all of his life. This beautiful natural and undisturbed area was a section of protected coastline buffeted by 22 offshore islands and a myriad of coral reefs and shallow sea beds. It was a perfect place to learn how to windsurf as it made exploring the islands even more exciting once powered quickly by wind. Course racing and slalom were things I did daily for fun within this area and I started competing during my first year. By the time I was 16 I was training for the Korean Olympics. I raced in the Caribbean and mostly in Florida through college and finally ended up training and working in Maui staying with Sean Ordonez who had been a school mate of mine back in Antigua when we both started windsurfing. I spent a year and a half in-between injuries competing with the PWA and then the PBA. Aruba, The Virgin Islands, Greece, The Canaries, Germany, the UK and Brazil were PWA events that I raced in. I landed a nice job with Maui Sails working with Nils Rosenblad and Barry Spanier on testing and development of Neil Pryde sails together with a guy called Peter Slate. I had an awesome time getting paid to windsurf on the best equipment in the world at the time. It was the best job in the world to have in between competing internationally. However, I knew I couldn’t keep doing it forever and one day while sitting in the sail loft back in 1999 late after everyone had gone home I realized that I had to plan for my future. I sat there and thought about pros and cons of all the jobs that I had worked on over my life trying to figure out what I would be passionate about. After an hour it was pretty obvious what I had to do. Within a few months I was back home in Antigua registering a company called Adventure Antigua and trying to get a very small open boat owned by my family insured and licensed so that I could start doing day trips within the North Sound to areas off the beaten path which I had explored in little boats as a kid and while training for competitions. I was passionate about history, ecology, snorkelling and showing people sides of my country that they would have missed on a typical holiday here. It was December 1999 and the Adventure Antigua Eco Tour had themes of ecology, history and adventure while taking guests snorkelling, caving, hiking, beaching and more all in one fun filled day. Sunsail Club Colona had just started up and with most of the management and staff being windsurfers from the UK, I quickly was able to get them promoting my little tour company. It was a hit! Within a few years it had grown tenfold and I was able to purchase a 52 foot powered catamaran. Today we have a few more boats and a few different tours including one that goes right around Antigua. Without my start in windsurfing I really don’t know what I would be up to now”
SPLASH
Once the storm had settled, next up on our list of sporting challenges was two laps of the bay on the paddle boards. So far during the week I had managed to survive without falling in, so I was pretty confident that I could nullify Dave’s upwind trump by at least watching him squirm in the water while I paddled on ahead. Oozing with confidence from his previous windsurfing heroics, Dave somehow managed to stay on his board while I uncharacteristically wobbled over and hit the drink as we rounded the corner on the first lap. Jesus this was turning into a bad day! With Dave smirking back at me I knew I had to get him back and announced that on our final lap we would have to paddle right up to the very downwind corner where the water was the most turbulent and choppy. Sure enough right at the last hurdle Dave crashed over and I paddled through to victory, a minor recovery but at least enough to quash the worst of his gloating.
ENGLISH HARBOUR AND SHIRLEY HEIGHTS
By the eighteenth century Antigua had established itself as a strategic port and became known as the gateway to the Caribbean. Developed as a base for the British Navy in the days of sail, English Harbour is one of the islands most beautiful and popular tourist destinations. Horatio Nelson followed the trade winds to Antigua with a mission to expand the naval facilities and build what is known today as Nelson’s Dockyard. Ironically Nelson, who apparently was savaged by mosquitos while in dock, spent most of his three year stay in the cramped quarters of his ship announcing his total dislike to the island. Today the best place for an amazing view of the harbour where poor old Nelsen was stuck with all those barrels of rum back in the day is Shirley Heights.

On Sunday Shirley Heights is the place to be according to the locals. That is if you fancy a giant barbeque party accompanied by steel drum music followed by a lively reggae band along with a thousand or so other tourists. The whole party is a pure tourist trap; the taxi will cost you around $20 a head plus an $8 entrance fee although the view is truly awesome and a
fantastic place to watch the sun go down. We left shortly after sunset just as the rum punches were starting to kick in and the reggae band were turning up the noise.

To be fair the atmosphere was pretty fun but it was not the place to take three whining children who were all hungry and thirsty, especially when the queue for the barbecue was about half a mile long. There is an
arduous but scenic trek up to Shirley Heights from the beach below which will save you the eight bucks entry fee and provides some stunning views along the way.
BRING YOUR OWN
British Airways and Virgin are the main UK carriers to Antigua, so Virgin, who offer one 23kg free sporting bag (which includes a windsurfer quiver) would be the firm favourite if you want to take your own kit. I was very impressed with Virgin, right from check in, through to my son being sick to all the service on board they were pretty darn impressive! (Branson, first class tickets by the way, round the world would be nice but I’ll take Caribbean if that is all you can manage!). The flight to Antigua is around eight hours and flights usually leave mid-morning from London Gatwick and arrive back into Antigua just in time for an afternoon swim, cocktails and sunset. On the return flights leave VC Bird airport around 6pm and arrive back into the UK around 6am the following morning.
LOOK OUT FOR: ANTIGUA SAILING WEEK
If you happen to be visiting Antigua in April, it is well worth checking out the most famous yachting week in the Caribbean, the world renowned ‘Antigua Sailing week’ which has been running since 1968. The event takes place annually and sailors from all around the world flock to Antigua to race around the Pillars of Hercules, English Harbour, Shirley Heights and many other fabled landmarks in Caribbean yacht racing history.

“ Flat crystal clear water, perfect trades and complementary gear provided and rigged by Eli!. Yep we were doing this VIP ”

TRIVIA

LEEWARD ISLANDS
The Leeward Islands are so-called because they are “downwind” of the trade winds that occur in the region in comparison to the Windward Islands. As well as Antigua and Barbuda, the Leeward Islands contain the US and British Virgin Islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guadeloupe and more.

HIGH POINT
The highest point on Antigua standing at 1319 feet was known as Boggy Peak until 4 August 2009, when it was renamed after US President Barack Obama to Mount Obama.

CASH FLOW
Over half of the income of Antigua and Barbuda comes from tourism, with around 75% of the workforce being employed in the tourist industry. In colonial times, the main wealth of the islands revolved around the growing of sugar cane.

VIVIAN RICHARDS
Viv Richards, as he is popularly known, was born in St. John’s in 1952. He was chosen as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1977. His international cricket career lasted from 1974 to 1991 and now the island’s main cricket stadium is named after him.

COLUMBUS
The earliest recorded European contact with Antigua was made when Christopher Columbus, on his second voyage of discovery in 1493, discovered Antigua and named it Santa Maria de la Antigua after the miracle-working saint of the Spanish city of Seville.