To fish, or not to fish, that is the question.

We get a mixed bag of sailors with us here at our Antigua charter base.  By that I am referring to their desire or lack thereof, to fish!  Some are so adamant that they have "come to sail" and you "can forget that fishing idea".  Some confess, albeit quietly, to trying the sport of fishing but with zero success. Some have caught the biggest fish in the history of fishing but sadly it got away.... hmmm.....

I would say that most of our guests prefer to see their fish swimming under the water at one of the many snorkelling spots around Antigua & Barbuda.

Perhaps you have to start young - a bit like skiing.  I snapped these youngsters having their own mini competition on the dockside:

The whole fish thing is just a good excuse for a party.  As I discovered a couple of weekends ago when I went to the weigh in following the Antigua & Barbuda Sports Fishing Tournament.  A staggering 43 boats got together to compete against each other in this annual fishing tournament.  They came from far and wide and made an awesome sight in Nelson's Dockyard, English Harbour.

As far as the eye could see the competitors were polishing their reels and fluffing their lures (You are right, I am not a fishing expert!).

The weigh in took place amidst cheers of "well done" and "nice catch".  I missed the big fish, but managed to see this chap having his photograph taken by the press.

The brilliant thing about the tournament, for the non-fisher-people amongst us, is that they cook what they catch on huge BBQs - everything from grilled mahi-mahi to lobster and avocado wraps.  So you could get all sorts of food or grab yourself a fresh lobster and a glass of wine and watch the entertainment.

When the sun goes down, the party really gets going.  The Carib girls were in great demand by the media - FishTV were following them around rather closely!  I wonder why?

The boats made an impressive sight after dark and the crews were finally able to relax after a scorching day on the water.  The Carib and Wadadli flowed as Chicki Hi Fi played some heart-thumping music.

You can always join in the fun and partying if you are chartering with us.  Just anchor in English Harbour, dinghy ashore and join in the lime.

That's all for now... join me soon when I'll be experiencing just some of the many events and parties that take place around Antigua and Barbuda.  For now, I'm hanging up my blogging gloves.