Brian, Domino and I have been anchored in Great Bird Island, Antigua for a month. We moved here as the island was going into lockdown, quarantine et al due to Coronavirus.
A month is a long time for us! In fact, this is the longest we have stayed in one anchorage since we moved on board Sava. Since this is Sava’s new home, here’s a rundown of the anchorage, with lots of photos.
Where is Great Bird Island?
Located in the northeast of Antigua, Great Bird Island is a tiny uninhabited islet with other even smaller islets surrounding it. While uninhabited, during tourist season it can be busy in the daytime when power boats bring locals and tour groups to the beaches and for snorkeling.
After spending 3 weeks in a remote anchorage, and not visiting a supermarket in almost 4 weeks, the crew of Sava needed supplies. Our intrepid captain Brian summoned up his skills from a past life as a restaurateur and found a wholesaler to stock our anchorage. We are becoming experts at provisioning during Covid-19 curfew.
Straight to the Source
Brian’s idea was brilliant because the wholesaler has scant customers right now. The hotels, resorts and restaurants that are their regular businesses are all shuttered. We cruisers stepped in to fill the void, and our pantries, fridges and freezers and bars. This was a good provisioning.
Google Docs FTW
The wonders of technology, and Brian’s skills, made this provisioning pretty pain free. The wholesaler sent us 4 lists of products and prices, we made them available to our 7 buddy boats, and people spent a day creating their orders.
We used shared google docs folder so we could see each other’s orders, which was really helpful because many of the supplies were only available in bulk. But what’s 15 lbs of bacon or pork loin between 7 boats?
Cruisers are a social bunch, so this “stay on your boat” business is wearing thin. I am sure everyone can relate no matter where you are social distancing. Fortunately, we cruisers are pretty ingenious too, and we’ve created our own fun. Learn what we’re doing for lockdown entertainment in Antigua.
Antigua Status Update
First, an update on what is going on in our part of the world. Antigua is ramping up efforts to test their citizens, and to protect them from the virus.
As of midnight on April 1st, the country locked down for everything except essential businesses which are open for limited hours. Supermarkets and pharmacies are considered essential, and are open daily from 7a-12n, which means very long lines to provision. Not that we would know: our last trip to the store was 2 weeks ago yesterday and we’ve been sequestered in a remote anchorage for over a week filling the time with useful projects.
On Tuesday, Antigua announced its first death from Covid-19, followed quickly by a second. The island wide lockdown is extended another week, and Easter weekend means full closures this Friday, Sunday and Monday.
Lockdown on Sava
Brian, Domino and I are anchored in a big beautiful protected bay alongside about 20 other boats. Our anchorage is outside of the public eye, away from towns, marinas and even the main island, but we have our boat buddies. We moved to this anchorage with 5 other boats we knew, and have since met the occupants of a few others, either via VHF, electronically, or from our dinghies. Social distancing rules apply on the water too.
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