Daily Times

The Caribbean was once a hardship posting: it was malarial, often at war, and there certainly wasn’t ice for your drink. And at English Harbour, a superb inlet in the south-east of Antigua, a young Horatio Nelson was so frustrated he jokingly threatened to hang himself. Nowadays, Nelson’s Dockyard is the world’s only restored and still working Georgian dockyard, and it is so atmospheric that you can easily imagine a bewigged naval officer or a crowd of rowdy tars appearing around the corner. The Antigua Yacht Club sees one of the stranger relics of the 300 years of British colonial presence at the nightly Royal Naval Tot Club. At 6pm, members meet to toast the Queen and Royal Navy and read an excerpt of naval history relevant to the day. Guests may be allowed by prior arrangement.