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Do
you have many shells
from Antigua &
Barbuda in your
collection? Unless
you have been there
yourself the probable
answer is no. Why?
I often asked this
question myself
and then when I
tried to book a
trip years ago,
I found one the
reasons was the
hotel prices. The
cheapest one I found
was US$250 a day,
not very good if
I find few shells.
There is another
reason: it is virtually
impossible to get
to good collecting
places there without
a boat since the
best reefs are far
from the beach.
Luckily
our good friend
Tony McCleery
invited us to
stay a few days
on his sailboat
to collect shells.
Tony is a Marginella
collector and
has all the equipment
for shells on
his boat: diving
and snorkeling
gear, a compressor
to fill tanks,
a dredge with
1.5 km of cable
(a very thin
and strong type),
digital camera,
microscope, books,
besides all the
gadgets for sailing
safely between
coral heads in
shallow water.
As
usual Alfredo
and I had to
take a "shortcut"
from Brazil to
Miami, then to
Puerto Rico and
from there to
Antigua since
there is no direct
flight between
Brazil and Antigua.
Antigua was named
by Christopher
Columbus after
Santa Maria la
Antigua, the
miracle-working
saint of Seville.
It was a European
settlement and
a British colony
from 1632 to
1981. In 1967
Antigua became
an associated
state of the
Commonwealth
and in 1981 it
achieved full
independent status.
Due to its strategic
position in the
Caribbean and
its protected
bays it is used
by many ships
passing in the
region. It improved
its docking facilities
and now you can
see huge yachts
and ships docked
being supplied
by local stores.
When
we arrived, my
initial intention
was to rent a
car to drive
around before
going to Tony's
boat. I completely
forgot that the
island was a
British colony,
thus they drive
on the left (the
"wrong side"
for me!). Since
I did not feel
like killing
anyone on the
streets I thought
it would better
to take a cab
directly to his
boat anchored
in Falmouth Bay.
We arrived there
in the afternoon,
shopped for supplies
and slept on
the boat in Falmouth
that night. The
next morning
we went east
for our first
snorkeling -
and then I found
another reason
why there are
not many shells
from Antigua:
the place is
just not very
rich in shells!
Of course we
found some interesting
species such
as Vasum globulus
nuttingi, some
huge Cittarium
pica and lots
of small shells.
Tony
wanted to sail
toward Barbuda,
which is a smaller
and flatter island
(Antigua has
many hills and
mountains). The
trip would take
3 hours but since
the sea was not
very calm it
took 4 hours
(thank God I
had brought Dramamine
with me....).
Barbuda has blue
waters and a
very Caribbean
look as opposed
to Antigua which
has darker water
in most places.
We anchored and
went for our
first try - more
nice shells,
including a very
nice small black
Conus (we are
still trying
to figure which
species it is).
The only problem
was the current,
which was so
strong that it
caused us to
get lots of cuts
and scratches
on our hands
and legs. Tony
anchored the
boat close to
most places but
we used his rubber
dinghy to get
closer and save
some energy for
the snorkeling
work. We tried
to find some
land shells,
but the only
thing we found
were some fossils
incrusted on
hard mud.
Barbuda
has a inner lagoon,
Codrington Lagoon
named after Sir
Christopher Codrington
who started sugar
cane cultivation
in Antigua. We
couldn't enter
into the lagoon
with our boat
and the city
is located in
the inner part.
People anchor
their boats near
the thin part
of the island
and either carry
their own dinghies
by land for a
few meters or
wait for a "taxi"
dinghy. The lagoon
is saltwater,
dark, and looks
like fresh water;
we found some
nice Olives there,
Murex pomum and
brevifrons, Cerithium
and several bivalves.
Alfredo and I
were very tired
of snorkeling
all day long,
thus we didn't
feel like doing
night snorkeling
with Tony. Tony
returned with
a few shells
and many mosquito
bites.
We
always have some
problems to preserve
the animal until
we can clean
all shells. If
the shells are
too big or shinny
we try to clean
them during our
trip. If not,
we either freeze
(if possible)
or put them in
alcohol. Well,
we did not have
a large freezer
nor find any
alcohol so we
used the closest
thing available:
Rum!
We
did several night
dives, some good,
others returning
with few shells.
A few sharks
were around,
but as usual
our greatest
fears were about
the sea urchins
with long spines.
We dredged several
times, mostly
near Antigua.
The depth varied
from 70 to 400
meters, which
was quite close
to the island.
We got just a
few shells, but
some very beautiful
such as a Conus
mazei from 350
meters and an
unidentified
Conus. All together,
this was a very
successful trip
with many interesting
species, which
we never had
before.
This
was not our first
trip with Tony,
Jose and Alfredo
went to Panama
with him in 2003.
That time Jose
cooked all the
time, which made
things much easier
for Tony to manage
the boat. Thus,
he expected me
to do the same,
but I was not
sure if he would
like my specialty,
Cup´o´Noodles
(Instantaneous
Pasta). So, I
had to improvise
and cooked other
things like Omelet
and Pasta, on
other days I
made Pasta and
Omelet, then
Omelet and Pasta
and so on....
Luckily we got
several Lobsters
during the trip
which made our
meals taste much
better!
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