Under water you cannot spread Covid-19. Therefore, snorkeling is a perfect way to stay healthy when beeing in quarantaine. The wreck Antes is a nice snorkeling spot, and tourist boats feed terns (Seeschwalben).
Chris Doyle has a wonderful desrcription of the wreck Andes: “This three-masted ironbarque was sailing from Trinidad with a load of pitch in 1905. When it got to Antigua, the crew noticed smoke rising from one ofthe hollow masts and suspected the motion of the boat had caused enough friction in the cargo to start a fire. Having hazardous cargo, they were refused permission to go into St. John’s, so they anchored in Deep Bay. When they opened the cargo hatches to dea l with the problem, the infusion of fresh air caused the pitch to burst into uncontrollable flames. The wooden deck burned off the steel frames and the vessel sank.”
It’s strange that we were the only sailing boat anchoring in this beautiful bay just a few miles away from buzzling Jolly Harbour. Seeing no other boats or people for miles arround, but only one fisherman in the night, and even knowing that Antigua allegedly has the lowest crime rate of all Caribbean countries, we locked our companionway (Niedergang) and lifted our dingi out of the water for the night.
On anchor at Mosquito Cove near Jolly Harbour, sending the temperature twice a day to a Corone nurse. That’s the start for a fourteen day quarantine for sailors in Antigua. There may be worse ways to quarantaine before starting a transatlantic crossing.
Humpback whales slap their tails and fins in a repetitive fashion and leap out of the water and twist on to their backs (breaching). The resulting sounds travel underwater and seems to communicate messages to other whales.
Mangrove jungles are a breeding place for fish and a perfect place for fishing herons (Reiher). This white heron robbed the fish from a grey heron and was then attacked by other herons. It couldn’t swallow the big fish fast enough.
Some caribbean tourist beaches are cleaned every day to get rid of plastic and other garbage. Others not, as this mangrove coconut coral island near Boca Chica in the south of the Dominican Republic.
Fifteen miles to Isla Catalinata, a remote and uninhibited Island north of Saona Island, driving a small dingi, on our never ending search for the best snorkeling spot. On our way back, we encountered more squals and wind than we cared for. Luckily, the ambitious snorkelers Ivan, Finn and Uwe we already were wearing wet suits.
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