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Antigua and Barbuda / Special Interests / Yacht Charters

By James Henderson

Antigua is a hub for crewed yachts, particularly large ones. The island is a convenient location for passengers to board a yacht as it is an important hub for flights arriving in the Caribbean. Also, Antigua has good facilities, workshops, suppliers and dockyards, for instance. If you charter a large crewed large yacht, then there is less of an issue about sailing beyond the island. They are more comfortable in the big open seas and there is a crew to handle it all for you. Where smaller yachts often stick to Antigua, larger ones do sometimes track north along the island chain to Sint Maarten/St Martin (another popular base) and the islands surrounding it, particularly St Barths. Finally, unlike a bareboat, with a crewed charter there is not usually a delivery fee if you drop off in a different island from where you picked up. Antigua has just a couple of bareboat charter companies.

Despite its importance on the Caribbean sailing scene, though, Antigua does not have the depth and ease of sailing of, say, the Virgin Islands or the Grenadines, or even next door Guadeloupe. It is more of a sailor’s destination and the seas are more demanding. Also there is less infrastructure in the way of bars to sail up to and the anchorages on the western side of the island, where many of the nicest beaches are. Most of the best stopovers are on the Atlantic side, in an area of small islands and shallow water in the north-east and in coves farther down the eastern coastline that are protected from the full force of the ocean. There is a week’s sailing around Antigua, however, and if you are in a small yacht the other island that can easily be fitted into a week is Barbuda.

With so many crews around in Antigua, the result is a very lively atmosphere. It also means that out of season the area is generally quite quiet, as most of the major yachts disappear across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean or up to the eastern seaboard of the United States. Many of the bars and restaurants around English Harbour actually shut down until the season starts again at the end of the year.

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Looking for inspiration?

  1. Visit Nelson's Dockyard, the oldest functioning naval facility in the world
  2. Party at Shirley Heights Lookout on Sunday at sunset followed by barbecue and live music
  3. Stay at the spectacular Jumby Bay
  4. Hop over to Barbuda for stunning beaches and excellent birdwatching
  5. Race a yacht to nearby Montserrat for the day

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