The "Antigua 2019: Meeting Michael - Part II" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Had just left the Road House Restaurant with Michael, our tour guide, at the wheel, heading to our next stop; Nelson's Dock Yard.  After reaching our destination, Michael dropped us off at the entrance to the dockyard and told us he would meet us at the same location when we were done exploring the grounds of the dockyard.  Beginning in 1713, the Caribbean was the scene of struggle for naval supremacy with the competitors being Britain, Spain, Portugal and France.  Britain's strength was her Navy which she used to protect the valued sugar and spice islands of the Caribbean.  But, the many pirateers in the Caribbean were anxious to seize the valuable cargos that the ships transported back to Europe.  

Nelson's Dockyard

Being that the island of Antigua was a British stronghold, English Harbour was developed into Britain's main naval base in the Eastern Caribbean.  In the eighteenth century the harbour became both a port for trade ships as well as a hurricane refuge for Her Majesty's Ships.  Well-known British admirals who used the harbour were Rodney, Hood, Nelson and Lewis.  Captain Nelson was made temporary Commander of the Leeward Islands Station, thus his name is carried on the dockyard.  The dockyard has been beautifully restored to it former glory and the four of us (Jere and Just Sue as well as Carol and myself) spent over an hour exploring the many buildings on the site as well as the waterfront.  My photographs will show you what we saw during our journey around Nelson's Dockyard. After our visit we headed back to Michael's van.  When we found him he was talking to another driver who told us that the art gallery we wanted to visit which was located in the rainforest was also closed due to low interest in the offseason.  By now we were exhausted so we told Michael to return us to our resort so we could head to the beach for a swim before the sun set.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Welcome sign at the entrance to Nelson's Dockyard. Click on images to enlarge.

Along the waterfront is this large anchor with the flag
of Antigua flying next to it.

This is the Sawpit Shed and Cabin. The saw pit dates back to 1769 and is
the oldest structure in the dockyard today.  Logs were rolled up the incline
into the shed where they were cut into planks and timber for use on ships
and around the yard.  The cabin had an enclosure for storing lead and coal
and was used as a smith's shop in the late 18th century.

This is the dockyard museum where I spent most of my time.

From the second floor of the museum you can see the water and to
the right you can see part of one of the fortifications.

This is the Admiral's Inn and Gunpowder Suite with gardens.

An overall view of the Museum and surrounding buildings

The traditional view for centuries was that women had no place
at sea.  The only woman happily accepted on board by many
sailors was the ship's figurehead.  Women were viewed as unlucky
aboard ship, but many figureheads were bare-breasted in order to
shame stormy seas into calm waters.

Women were viewed as unlucky aboard ship, but were
viewed as the best navigators and the eyes of a female
figurehead were thought to be able to find a way through
the seas when lost.  It was also popular for a ship-owner
to commission a figurehead in the likeness of his wife or
daughter and to name the vessel in her honor.

From the Museum I could see the Dockyard Bakery which bore the sign,
above the door, with the words "for the finest bread, cakes and pastry.

I just loved the beautiful palm trees all over the dockyard.

Custom's and Immigration area at the dockyards.

This is the Seaman's Galley which was built in 1778.  Sailors used the
kitchen when they were in harbour careening their ships.  It was dismantled
in the 1820s, but rebuilt in 1858.

This is a memorial to King George V whose reign was 1911 to 1936.  He
served in the West Indies on this station.

My friend Jere enjoyed sitting and thinking of his time in the U.S. Navy in the
mid-1960s. I'm sure this trip to the dockyards brought back many memories.

A view from Shirley Heights which is on a bluff about a half-mile away.

Another final view of the dockyards.