There is a sailing paradise in the Caribbean and it is called Antigua

Last installment from Antigua Sailing Week, the great Caribbean sailing festival where our Ida Castiglioni has been on the hunt for stories( first installment and second installmenthere ).

After meeting Irina, who escaped the war in Ukraine “thanks” to sailing, telling us the story of Carlo Falcone, former Honorary Consul of Italy in Antigua, collected for us the interview with Dean Barker, America’s Cup “veteran” about the future – not at all clear – of the oldest sports trophy in the world, chatted with Rocco Falcone, son of Carlo and especially fresh winner of the Youth America’s Cup with the AC40 Luna Rossa, here is what struck her most about this sailing paradise that is Antigua.

Antigua, a Sailing Paradise in the Lesser Antilles

Over the past few decades I have been to the Caribbean, or rather to the Lesser and Greater Antilles, many times, and always for a sailing cruise, seeing races or waiting for competitors to arrive at the end of a crossing: from the Virgin Islands to the Bahamas, to Barbados, to Trinidad, to Guadeloupe, etc. And then, many years ago, I spent months teaching sailing up and down between the Grenadines and Martinique, being based in St. Lucia, and I also happened to be sailing in Cayo Largo, a small island south of Cuba. But I had never participated in the legendary Antigua Sailing Week regattas. I had yes arrived at the island by boat, but never in the right month.

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To better grasp the size of this island, Antigua has an area of 281 square kilometers, somewhat larger than Elba Island, which covers an area of 224 square kilometers. Antigua has 81,000 inhabitants, while Elba Island has 32,000. The two islands have some similarity in the large number of gulfs and bays that characterize them.

Now that I have been there for a while and traveled through it, I realize that Antigua (it forms an independent state along with Barbuda) has an interesting and complex historical past. It is characterized by a very limited size of territory, highly articulated, with bays and harbors that for centuries were ideal refuges for British warships and now provide safe harbor for hundreds of yachts, especially sailing yachts.

Barbuda and Antigua, if you cross the ocean starting from northern Europe or Gibraltar, and keep a little high, are the first islands a sailboat faces at the end of the Atlantic crossing, well protected by their reefs. That used to be a big problem, so much so that it was impossible to get there at night and difficult to find passage when there wasn’t a good sunshine that allowed you to see through the clear water where the reef was. Now, with the proper tools everything is easy.

1493, Columbus spots Antigua

Let’s take a step back to understand some key junctures in Antigua’s economy, which is so tied to its history. Before the year 1100 A.D. it is inhabited by the Arawaks, a people who arrived by dugouts from the coast of Venezuela. They bring agriculture by growing not only the famous antiguano pineapple but mainly corn, white sweet potatoes, cotton, tobacco, chili peppers and guajava. In 1200 A.D. the Arawaks are replaced by the Caribe, West Indians who prevail because of their seafaring skills and superiority in arms, and who are excellent boat builders.

Christopher Columbus sighted the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 1493, during his second voyage, and gave the larger one the name Antigua in honor of the church of Santa Maria Antiqua in Seville. Europeans never succeeded in occupying these territories because of the Caribs’ ability to defend them, and eventually only England succeeded in colonizing the two islands in 1632, a fact that was followed by the appointment of a first governor who settled in Parham, on the west coast.

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Sugar Cane

Settlers began intensive cultivation of products for trade: tobacco, indigo (for dyeing textiles), ginger, and especially sugarcane. It was the Englishman Sir Codrington in 1674 who set up the first large cane plantation in Antigua, which had already been grown in Cuba and the large Caribbean islands, and in the 50 years that followed the sugar industry became so profitable that most farmers replaced other crops with cane and went so far as to clear entire valleys in the center of the island. So much so that the cane crop owners begin to import slaves from Africa.

Walking around the interior of Antigua, one sees these huge conical stone towers, bases of windmills that held wooden blades. Thanks to the constant wind throughout the year, for two centuries cane was ground here, which, once crushed, was cooked for a long time until it separated into molasses, which was then turned into sugar. There are still about 100 of these mills on the island today (in the mid-1800s there were more than 150), only two of which have the original blades.

Over the decades, trade in Antigua became so flourishing-and entrepreneurs so wealthy-that the British built fortifications all around the island, turning it into a secure military base.

By the early 19th century, the island’s economic stability was no longer so solid due to the collapse in the cost of sugar and worsened dramatically after the abolition of slavery occurred, for all English colonies, in 1834. In Antigua, however, land was not distributed to the slaves because there was a shortage of surplus land, but remained in the possession of a limited group of landowners: a period of great social hardship ensued, with former slaves moving into shantytowns around the towns.

The abolition of slavery led to the abandonment of cane cultivation, a very strenuous job, and a deterioration of the local economy. A small resumption of work occurs only during World War II with the construction of several military buildings. To replace the slaves other European farmers arrive on the island over the years: those who arrived from Madeira begin to produce rum from sugarcane molasses, fermented. And this is perhaps currently the only thriving semi-industrial activity on the island, which is now all about tourism. Agricultural crops are also almost nonexistent and everything is imported.

The Royal Navy

In the 1700s Antigua became the main base of the Royal Navy’s fleet in the Caribbean, although officers’ families preferred to live in Grenada. Ships are moored in English Harbour, the innermost part of a vast natural bay located near Falmouth, along the island’s south coast, which has deep waters protected from trade winds. Inland is the immense English Dockyard, the shipyard, which in an area sheltered from storms and hurricanes allows the British fleet all kinds of assistance and enables rapid deployment of naval frigates (which are sailing).

The place is so strategic that it becomes Admiral Nelson’s headquarters, so much so that defensive structures and military installations are upgraded towards the end of the century. Outside the harbor area, along the coast, a fort or gun emplacement is built every two miles. Because English Harbour must be protected at all costs. Nelson, head of the English fleet, enforces the Navigation Act, whereby only ships and vessels registered in England can trade with English colonies (including those in the Caribbean). The damage to local commerce is considerable.

Independence

In 1967 Antigua, after more than 300 years of colonial rule, managed to obtain a special form of self-government and became an independent state within the Commonwealth. Eventually, it does not achieve full independence until 1981.

Unesco

Antigua is characterized by a large number of fortifications and coastal batteries, built by the British during their rule, so that it had become one of the most fortified and protected islands in the world. The remains of these constructions, some of which are listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, can still be seen today.

The first official religion in Antigua is initially Anglican, that Church of England gathering planters, landowners, traders and military personnel. In the mid-1800s, Methodists and Quakers, much closer to Catholics, blacks and slaves, also settle in. The inhabitants are few but the need for religion is great. In addition, these religious groups take it upon themselves to educate the most neglected populations.

Wandering around the interior of Antigua many are the churches, even large ones, while the buildings of the locals are low, made of wooden boards painted in bright colors, with a metal or plastic roof.

The President’s Bay

The eastern part of the island, the part washed by the Atlantic Ocean, is windswept and sea-swept, and in some places the coast is rocky and barren, with no vegetation. But in the southward part there are fantastic bays with turquoise water and fine sand. The driver who accompanies me at one point is keen to tell me that next door is the large property of Silvio Berlusconi on which two huge villas have been built. The Cavaliere was much loved on the island because he gave so much work and was always generous, so much so that by now the cove is called “The President’s Bay.” The estate was put up for sale in 2011, but everything fell through because of a TV investigation, and the villas have yet to be sold.

Luxury Resorts

As in all paradises in the tropics, the big chains have invested in Antigua by building luxury resorts that are located at various points along the coast, especially to the west. They are always low buildings that occupy a large area, controlled at the entrance. All around, just vegetation. The one I stayed in stretched around a bay with a beach, but it also offered tennis courts, as well as swimming pools, restaurants, coffee shops, etc. All enclosed spaces are air-conditioned and have wi-fi coverage. All water is potable and is obtained from seawater through an osmosis desalination system.

Montserrat

As I could see, some areas of Antigua have been characterized by subsidence, that is, the land has subsided, generating small lakes. This is the result of the terrible explosion of the Soufrière Hills volcano, which is located on the island of Montserrat, located west of Antigua. Occurring in 1995, this eruption changed the geography of the island and caused changes in neighboring islands as well.

Antigua by boat

Being in Antigua opened my mind to memories. It made me rediscover the atmosphere that was experienced in some Italian ports many years ago: simple nautical facilities, wooden docks, yacht clubs with small budgets but many members, who on the cruising boats really go there. And then lots of passion, lots of kids and lots of young people. Of course in the Caribbean there is always wind, of course many sailors are there on vacation, of course it is not cold and the weather is always suitable for sailing. There is also a great focus on children, who are initiated early into sailing by following the classic path starting from small dinghies.

I was surprised to find that the international sailing boat rental organizations, which are super organized and efficient, have a sector here in Antigua dedicated specifically to participation in regattas. Unfortunately, as some Italians I met there told me, it is not easy to rent one of these boats because the demand is three times higher than the supply. Half of the boats in the race are ‘bareboats’ from large chains but there are also many yachts from private individuals who rent them with skippers to those who want to participate in the races. One must, however, move at least a year in advance. The alternative is to register with the ARC and cross the Atlantic in your own boat: from Europe outward is easy but the return can be more complicated.

The organization

The Antigua Sailing Week regattas are impeccably organized but the calculation of handicaps and rankings with so many classes, subclasses and categories (10 this year) is really complex. Race Manager is Jaime Torres, assisted by several race judges, while heading the press office is Trish Jenkins of England. Both are supported by an incredible number of volunteers.

What is difficult to replicate here is the festive atmosphere at Sailing Week, with one awards ceremony a day in which the organization manages to involve so many of the participating crews, even those who were doing their first regatta. Awards ceremonies followed by applause, comments and drinking. And then a final evening where the prestigious Challenge Trophies are awarded and, in addition to cups, medals and plaques, there are prizes for the top finishers in each class. Attending are several hundred people who experience the show with great enthusiasm. The evening, with food and drinks for all, then becomes a night of celebration.

Over the past decade this sailing week has lost a large number of participants because so many other islands in the Caribbean have offered their own sailing week. It so happened that, after coping with the packed winter schedule, many crews gave up this, which was the last regatta of the season, to return to the States or Europe and be ready for regattas in the Mediterranean. After three years of negotiations, Jaime Torres succeeded in getting the Antigua Sailing Week regattas brought forward by a month and a half, so in 2026 they will be held in the first half of March.

Ida Castiglioni