Antigua Marinas for extended stay

[drapem1]

What marinas (for monthly or seasonal) stays would you recommend for best rated security and overall facilities, proximity to services, haul out and repair if needed? We are planning to leave (our comforts in Tortola BVI) and head south this coming season and possibly stay through 2019 into 2020. 50ft monohull.
I’ve been reading about both Jolly Harbor and English Harbor. Any seasoned recommendations? Also need to look into reputable boat managers while away.

[gunkylump]

Antigua has 365 beaches, and numerous sheltered anchorages, a great sailing area. But, we found the island to be expensive. We had our boat there for just over a year, and yes, we found the cheaper places to shop for groceries etc., but it is expensive.

Jolly Harbour marina can haul you, they have an excellent haul out team, in fact the entire staff are very nice. But, docking is not cheap. There is a security team who walk around.....a cruising friend of ours was beaten by what he claims were two locals who were seeking shower access, ie door code, during the water shortage last year at Jolly. He suffered a gash on the head and multiple bruises. The local police were very nonchalant about the whole incident, and nothing was resolved. There are a few nice restaurants right there and some shops, and a Budget marine with not much in stock. There is also a modern styled grocery store. Expensive to purchase anything for your boat, especially in comparison to say St. Maarten or even Grenada. Groceries are not cheap, nor is alcohol. There are contractors available to work on your boat...don't hire George the so called carpenter, the guy is a butcher.


English Harbour has Slipway marina which can haul you as well. They do have a few docks, but not many. There is security at night...at the gate. Bring your insect repellant. Nelson's dockyard has dockage, all med moor styled.


Falmouth has a couple of places you can dock, the Yacht club is nice, you can haul out at I think it's called Bobbys. Catamaran marina has dockage, but is a little out of the way.


North Sound has a good haul out service from what I am told.....we did not sail into there.

In our opinion, sailing further down the chain to Grenada is the way to go. I understand you only asked about Antigua...but......Grenada offers many haul out options, is in my opinion more cruiser oriented with facilities and things to do. It too has an airport with international flights. Numerous chandleries and very skilled artisans. The people are friendly. It is a great jumping off point to Trini, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the list goes on and on. And dollar for dollar, cheaper than Antigua. Just my opinion, hope this helps you.

[drapem1]

Thank you gunkylump, VERY insightful! I’ve heard many good things about Grenada as well. They have come a long way since Ivan went through.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, drapem1.

[LittleWing77]

Drapem1, please read between the lines of gunkylump's tips and give Antigua a miss. Just not worth it. English Harbour is now just a tourist trap. Antigua touts itself as a country w/o taxes - which makes it attractive to stash (launder) money in offshore accounts - but the material fact is the gov't and the local economy needs to generate revenue somehow, so there are import surcharges, or just 'tourist's surcharges, on everything. With a 50' boat, you might as well announce "please take advantage me" . Pay attention to the story about the friend being beaten up by 2 locals and the police not caring. There are gated communities everywhere. Sorry for this grim post but Grenada sounds like your better bet. Best wishes.

[johnnyH]

I spent 2 months in Antigua during the 2018 season and found it to be lovely, inexpensive, and welcoming. I even left my boat on a ball for the entire month of May. The variety of restaurants is excellent. Repairs were done professionally at Falmouth Harbour, English Harbour, and North Sound. If you are not impoverished and looking to live as cheaply as possible you will find Antigua to be wonderful. I noticed you will be weighing anchor in Tortola. Antigua is considerably less expensive that Tortola. There are however several issues to be mindful of. First, the wind was on the nose while island hopping from SXM to Antigua, Two, there is an abundance of Sargasso grass in the waters from St Barths to Antigua that clogs the intakes. Three, checking in and out of Antigua at the offices located at Lord Nelsons is miserably slow.

[malcolmlj]

I spent 4 months in Antigua in 2009/2010.
Jolly Harbour good people.
English Harbour big tourist rip ff but yacht club excellent and worth joining. They have some cheap docking.
People edgy and chippie.
St. Maarten much better, good tradesmen/fair prices/nice people.
The lagoon has Marinas in Dutch South and French North.
Food better in French part !!
Tortola and BVI's very good, ABI's much more touristy/commercial.

Having said all that, we are debating which part of Paradise is better !!!!

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by gunkylump

Antigua has 365 beaches, and numerous sheltered anchorages, a great sailing area. But, we found the island to be expensive. We had our boat there for just over a year, and yes, we found the cheaper places to shop for groceries etc., but it is expensive.

Jolly Harbour marina can haul you, they have an excellent haul out team, in fact the entire staff are very nice. But, docking is not cheap. There is a security team who walk around.....a cruising friend of ours was beaten by what he claims were two locals who were seeking shower access, ie door code, during the water shortage last year at Jolly. He suffered a gash on the head and multiple bruises. The local police were very nonchalant about the whole incident, and nothing was resolved. There are a few nice restaurants right there and some shops, and a Budget marine with not much in stock. There is also a modern styled grocery store. Expensive to purchase anything for your boat, especially in comparison to say St. Maarten or even Grenada. Groceries are not cheap, nor is alcohol. There are contractors available to work on your boat...don't hire George the so called carpenter, the guy is a butcher.


English Harbour has Slipway marina which can haul you as well. They do have a few docks, but not many. There is security at night...at the gate. Bring your insect repellant. Nelson's dockyard has dockage, all med moor styled.


Falmouth has a couple of places you can dock, the Yacht club is nice, you can haul out at I think it's called Bobbys. Catamaran marina has dockage, but is a little out of the way.


North Sound has a good haul out service from what I am told.....we did not sail into there.

In our opinion, sailing further down the chain to Grenada is the way to go. I understand you only asked about Antigua...but......Grenada offers many haul out options, is in my opinion more cruiser oriented with facilities and things to do. It too has an airport with international flights. Numerous chandleries and very skilled artisans. The people are friendly. It is a great jumping off point to Trini, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the list goes on and on. And dollar for dollar, cheaper than Antigua. Just my opinion, hope this helps you.

All this agrees pretty closely with what I've seen and heard, having visited Antigua and having friends who've stayed long-term off Grenada.


EDIT: Having read others responses, I would not discourage a visit to Antigua in any sense, but I am agreeing that there are, perhaps, relatively nearby better options for boat work and long-term on-the-hard storage.

[Mahayana]

Originally Posted by malcolmlj

I spent 4 months in Antigua in 2009/2010.
Jolly Harbour good people.
English Harbour big tourist rip ff but yacht club excellent and worth joining. They have some cheap docking.
People edgy and chippie.
St. Maarten much better, good tradesmen/fair prices/nice people.
The lagoon has Marinas in Dutch South and French North.
Food better in French part !!
Tortola and BVI's very good, ABI's much more touristy/commercial.

Having said all that, we are debating which part of Paradise is better !!!!

We bought our Beneteau Oceanis 44CC there in 2012. Our experience was just like malcolmlj’s. Purchasing boat goods there is expensive with the tax and duty. We outfitted on St Maarten. If what you need is a service there is none better than Carl Mitchell and his crew at Jolly Harbour.

[Mahayana]

In addition to the expensive slips at Jolly Harbour they have mooring balls which are reasonable. There is also a very good anchorage just outside the development.

[wesevans]

Jolly Harbor has boat yard, fuel, floating docks, boat supplies and parts, hotel, food store, auto rental, condos and beach. Jolly Harbor is located on west side of island and is well protected. A good place to consider for an extended stay.