Are we nearly there yet?: 16 January Rickett Harbour, Green Island

The weather improved and we were able to leave Nonsuch aka super yacht bay and anchor in Rickett Harbour, Green Island. Rickett is a small bay on the south west corner of Green Island with a sandy beach. It is owned by exclusive St James Club and access is limited to the beach below the high water mark.
On one particular day the timing was just wrong. You couldn't hear what was said, but you could imagine it. Day trippers walking on the beach, laying their towels next to super yacht camp. Super yacht stews standing between their patch of beach, arms folded, holding back the plebs, preventing them from swarming in and sitting on the chairs. At this point it was only crew, no guests. Heavens to Murgatroyd that an unhallowed derierre should soil a pristine folded towel! This day the super yacht captain made a visit to 'chat' with the day boat captain. I don't think he made any difference because the day boat left at its usual time. When catamaran Wadadli departed at 2 o'clock the charter guests arrived for a late lunch.

Polly on watch

I really like it here. There's one mooring ball close to the beach and room for three more boats to anchor comfortably between the beach and reefs to either side. The reef to the seaward side gives us protection from the ocean swell. I've been snorkelling all over. The hard coral is 95% dead, but there are soft corals and I did see a couple of eagle rays plus a decent size lobster in a hole. Even when there's not much to see I enjoy swimming. There are at least five green turtles in the bay though I haven't seen them when I'm swimming – they hear me coming and dive for cover.

During the day a couple of tourist boats drop in for an hour or two for the guests to swim and walk on the beach. In Antigua land below the high water mark is public, access for all. Which was the nub of a conflict one morning between the crew of a super yacht charter and the Captain of the day boat and his thirty guests. Who had more right to use the beach?

Early each morning tenders from a couple of the charter yachts anchored in Nonsuch would come into Rickett Harbour and deposit two or three crew to set up gazebos, chairs and tables, sun loungers and the beach toys in readiness for their guests arrival for lunch on the beach. The food and chef would usually arrive at midday and the guests half an hour later. There was one camp on the left side of the beach and one camp on the right. Except the right hand side was where the tourist catamaran pulled up to the beach for their guests to walk down the ladder onto the sand in front of charter yacht camp.