Coast and anchorages
Innumerable inlets and bays intersect the circumference of the island, however reefs and shoals mean taking care and your navigation must be exact.

South coast

English Harbour
Nelson’s hideaway is infamous for an entrance that’s hard to spot from seaward. Nothing has changed in that respect and newcomers are often baffled.
The famous Pillars of Hercules, better known for their existence than their size, carved by erosion out of the cliffs of Charlotte Pt, are visible enough but really only once you’ve already found the entrance! Because Cape Shirley light, like the leading lights, is often out of action, a night entry isn’t advisable.
Note Reef, usually awash, pushes out up to 100m from the NW side of Charlotte Pt. To be safe hold towards the less hazardous Berkeley Pt.

Once you’re into the channel, you’ll find the first anchorage off a beach surrounded by bungalows. Sometimes rolly, but it’s airier and for swimming the water’s cleaner than further in. Don’t forget to anchor clear of the fairway in the NW of the bay.
The channel carries on as far as some mangroves to make the excellent hurricane hole of English Harbour. You can anchor N or S of Nelson’s Dockyard on a mud bottom which is quite poor holding.
Note Watch out for old mooring chains on the bottom that are traps for anchors (see plan).

In high season the anchorages are usually very crowded. Nelson’s Dockyard quays have full facilities (water and electricity) for any up to the very largest yachts. If you intend to go stern-to here, drop your hook as far as possible towards the opposite shore to find the best holding.
Note There are also regulations limiting the speed of all vessels in English Harbour to a maximum of 4kn, with heavy fines for non-compliance.

Ashore Customs, immigration and the port authorities are on the quayside. The whole English Harbour-Falmouth Harbour zone shares a large variety of yacht services. They have an excellent reputation and usually listen out for their clientele on VHF 68, though in high season and during Antigua Week they are less reliably available. On the far shore, opposite the Arsenal, Antigua Slipway has good haul out facilities, lots of specialist services and a well-stocked chandlery. To round off this concentration of facilities there’s a pontoon with some 20 berths (water and electricity) and a dedicated water and fuel dock. Close by is a restaurant with a pretty terrace and a friendly atmosphere to welcome visiting yachtsmen.
There are several brokerage and chartering agencies, which have sprung up since the founding here of the wellknown Nicholson Yacht Charters over 60 years ago by Rodney Nicholson, which made English Harbour the main centre of the business in the Antilles.

You can provision here using the minimarket on the road out of English Harbours (though to find a big supermarket you’ll need to take a taxi or hire car to St John’s). Around the quays and all the way over to Falmouth Harbour as far as the top of Shirley Heights you’ll also find lots of bars, pubs, pizzerias and restaurants from the simplest to the classiest and to suit all pockets. In the evenings, especially during Antigua Week, you can join all the other yacht crew in enjoying the life of this major centre of international yachting.  

For more details on English Harbour and the other moorings on South Coast
Falmouth Harbour
Goat Head Channel
Carlisle Bay
Morris Bay