Antigua, the Caribbean dream where life's a breeze and family fun is all plain sailing
Chris , the German kitesurf expert who works at the sailing school, had his hands full launching a flotilla of tiny child-filled dinghies under the care of several instructors.
At the same time, he was fielding demands from the childrens parents. Ja! Here we are very laid-back! It sounded like an order and, in a way, it was.
Our 12-year-old twins, Isle and Luke, were launched together, while our recalcitrant teenager Harry had a keelboat waiting and was itching to show off his skills to a girl hed met on the windsurfing course.
Tranquil: At the mile-wide Nonsuch Bay, the light is constantly changing
Apart from the beach shorts, the sunshine and the boats, it could have been Monday morning mayhem at the school gates back home. But, thank goodness, it was nothing of the kind we were at Nonsuch Bay in Antigua.
Chris was determined lessons would start on time. As soon as everyone had gone, the beach was suddenly quiet.
The childrens boats bobbed out across the bay behind the inflatables like a line of obedient ducklings; a pair of catamarans raced each other towards the breakers over the reef where the bay opens to the Atlantic; and one family listened intently to an instructor introducing the complexities of getting a yacht ready for sea.
Two of the mothers smiled conspiratorially before heading back to their sun loungers.
Deserted: Half Moon Bay is a sun-soaked paradise
Chris stood on the dock and surveyed the scene through his binoculars. Its the colours thats why I stay ! here, he said, almost to himself.
Nonsuch is a mile-wide bay of calm shallows that fade through every kind of blue, catching the morning sun and trade winds blowing from the Atlantic beyond.
A reef marked by white breakers runs across the mouth of the bay, protecting it from the ocean swell. Dark-green mangroves line much of the landward sides of the bay, giving way to the lighter grasslands and woods on the hills behind.
There are a few red or grey roofs among the trees, and over it all is that infinite Caribbean sky. As Chris intimated, you could spend all day just looking. Unless, that is, you are here to sail.
In which case the flat water, steady breeze and beach full of spanking new sailing boats will fill your waking hours.
Colour: Taking a trip into the port of St John willl reveal some of the local culture
Providing youre at Chriss shack on time, you can choose from the Tera (ideal for beginners) through more challenging asymmetric dinghies, catamarans and a small fleet of Elite keelboats perfect for polishing up match-racing techniques.
There are picnics on the reef islands, snorkelling trips and even a mini regatta which is supposed to be just for fun, but, of course, gets fiercely competitive among the dads.
Chris is a champion kitesurfer and, when the wind gets up, he takes willing victims out to the beach on Green Island to be dragged through the water sometimes head-first for the three days it allegedly takes to master the basics.
Antigua isnt short of fabulous places to stay, from honeypot hideaways such as Carlisle Bay to the historic Inn at English Harbour.
Floating fantasy: A yacht at the entrance to Nonsuch Bay - trade winds blow in from the Atlantic beyond
But Nonsuch Bay, which ope! ned two years ago, is perfect for family sailing. You stay in Caribbean-style self-catering apartments and houses among gardens filled with trees and hummingbirds, snuggled into a cove.
There are three swimming pools, and a small restaurant with views out to sea and some of the best cooking we found on Antigua (try the conch chowder).
It was good enough to keep us putting off that visit to a supermarket in St John to stock up the apartment kitchen. Some of the houses feel a bit far from the beach and bar, but that will change as more restaurants, a tennis club and a deep-water dock extend the property.
The new dock will be big enough to take billionaire yachts such as Silvio Berlusconis Morning Glory, which appeared in the bay one evening.
According to the locals in Harrys (a nearby beach bar on the way to the otherwise deserted and gorgeous Half Moon Bay), the Italian prime ministers Caribbean bolthole is right next door.
Its a large and immaculate hilltop villa with a row of low-rise villas along the waterfront beneath. This means packing a good pair of binoculars is essential, and not just for superyacht-spotting (we bagged Eric Claptons and the ultimate Thirties racer, Velsheda).
The remoteness of the bay means youll see plenty of turtles, dolphins, ospreys and other wildlife. The binoculars are also good for spotting what your children are up to all day long. Which is mostly sailing.
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Ive spent years and a small fortune trying to find ways of inspiring my family to love sailing as much as I do.
At Nonsuch, ideal conditions, sympathetic instructors and (perhaps most importantly) children of the same age to sail with meant they didnt need any pushing.
By the end of our stay, the twins were racing single-handedly like professionals, the teenager had learned some new tricks and was still chasing the girl, while my wife and I understood exactly what Chris meant by the resorts laid-back charm.
Travel Facts
British Airways, www.ba.com, flies from Gatwick to Antigua from 499 return.
Rates at Nonsuch Bay start from 545pp for a week self-catering in a two-bedroom apartment, including sailing, 001 268 562 8000, www.nonsuchbayresort.com.
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