Marigot Bay is a very small and picturesque anchorage eight miles south of Rodney Bay. Did I say small? Probably room for six or eight yachts, but in true Caribbean fashion at last count there were close to 40 – us included. The harbor is ringed with small restaurants, all of which have personable young men in high-powered outboards handing out the latest dinner menu with info on the night’s entertainment (“Do you limbo Mon?”).

We are anchored astern of two Farr 72s, alongside of a 53′ Amel,with a variety of smaller vessels scattered within 50 meters – and we’re in the larger, outer anchorage. As you can tell, we’re adapting to the Caribbean anchoring scene. This is the first anchorage we’ve found that has an ambiance competitive with the South Pacific.

We’ve been pleasantly surprised for the most part by the anchoring skills of the bare-boat charterers. This used to provide much amusement in late afternoon, but with the exception of some interesting maneuvering by charter catamaran drivers, things have been pretty calm. But we rarely see anyone set their anchor with reverse power, to make sure it is holding.

Another pleasant surprise is the wide range of supplies which seem to be available. From 5200 (currently in use patching our somewhat aged inflatable) to bleu cheese, and even bagels, you can find just about anything, and we havn’t even visited the French Islands yet.

We are thinking about entering BEOWULF in Antigua Race Week. Being inveterate party animals, this seems like a good plan. We’re going to be measured Saturday for Caribbean Racing Handicap – that should be an interesting number. Of course, then we have to decide which of the many classes we’ll race in. Hopefully there will be one where we get proper rating credit for our 240-pound Bruce anchor and two dinghies on the aft deck. We’ll keep you posted.

Last night was the semi-highlight of our week. We found a restaurant with cable TV, tuned in CBS, and watched the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament. The Arizona Wildcats are a first seed in the west and we got to see 1.5 minutes of the game – which was all the chauvinistic East Coast establishment would show. Of course the Wildcats won – we were, after all, wearing our special red t-shirts. Hopefully as Arizona advances to the championship game we’ll be able to see more.

I was going to write some a few additional comments, but a whiff of something tantilizing just wafted into the pilot house. There is a hint of Cadbury cocoa (from New Zealand) on the wind, and as the oven has been going for a while, brownies may be ready to make their appearance – and as you all know, brownies must be consumed within on hour of withdrawal from the oven…