Flight WM835 from SXM TO ANU

9 January 2025

Hello friends,

We had mixed feelings this morning packing up to leave our training boat Jade - excited to head to Antigua and meet our new home base, and sad to leave our now familiar bunch. It certainly feels like we’ll all see each other again, the TradeWinds family move around a lot and these islands are not far apart!

In the icy air conditioning of the airport we waited in a queue at the WinAir desk. Not sure that we’re in the correct line, I ask an attendant - seems there is no correct line, and we’re in the right place. By the time we’re near the front, our neighbors are asked where they’re headed. After they answer, the attendant announces: “All people going to St Lucia in this line”. And magically we’re at the front, we are asked where we’re headed and then the attendant announces: “All people going to Antigua in this line”. Now for our first bit of morning entertainment: a young lady at the counter ahead of us with an extra heavy box and can’t / won’t repack it - eventually she’s sent to another office, the pretty attendant calling her back to take her heavy box with her, muttering that she would not be breaking her nails here this morning.

After chuckling with the check-in lady and marvelling that my super heavy bag was within the weight limit, we arranged to carry our guitars with us and walked through security to the boarding gates.

Some time, a sandwich and a bad cup of coffee later, we waited at the allocated gate with Kat and Neil - they’re heading to Tortolla for a training charter in the BVI and we’re on the same plane. The distance between Sint Maarten and Antigua is 170km, to go in a different direction for a little bit to make a stop in Tortolla doesn’t seem a terrible idea. It’s all so close.

Boarding time comes and goes and there is no sign of our flight on any screen, list or desk .. Around the time we should be landing, we hear an incoherent announcement - the Caribbean accent is wonderful until you have to listen for instructions in a busy airport. All I picked up was “C1”. Fortunately, we had managed to befriend with an Antiguan family in the check in queue: a good natured bunch laughing at the madness of flying between the islands. They stood up and started moving, we followed their lead - to a desk of confusion. Eventually a lady took our boarding passes and sent us to the other side of the glass doors and “go onto the stairs but do not exit”. What came after was a comedy show.

Chris wrote this to our Jade training group:

“Ok here we go again … over the course of the 45 minutes they have issued and reissued us multiple tickets, multiple boarding passes, moved us around various airport gates and now as I understand it, they’ve just created a flight out of spare parts, a drunken pilot and all us miscellaneous passengers … not sure exactly what route we’re taking but we are finally aboard an aeroplane 🤣 … this is the most amusing flight I’ve ever taken … here we go !!!”

Hold on, the air hostess is writing numbers on her hand - not unlike the lady at the desk gate ..

Okay, here we don’t go - the last 6 passengers loaded for Antigua should now get off and get on a different plane for a direct flight (sounds like it’ll be a Twin Otter) .. mayhem - everybody wants to be the last 6. A few minutes later they call for another 10: more mayhem. Everybody stands up and opens overhead lockers, more than 10 get off - and none came back, not sure what happened to them.

We’re still on the runway, Win Air staff are still buzzing around the plane - one just ran in through the back door of our plane to pick up a passport that was left behind: we saw that same passport left behind at the first airport gate too! It belongs to the young nephew from the local Antiguans - I love that family, they are keeping this light .. perhaps we’ll see them at the next airport?

The doors have just closed, engines powering up, props turning, they’re making the welcome announcement, looks like it might be finally happening. Hang on - she said we’re going to St Kitts and Tortolla .. no mention of Antigua over the loud speaker and I know she knows where we’re going … An American lady closer to the front kicks up a fuss - she’s also expecting to go to Antigua. After some arguing, the hostess calls the pilot to come have a word. By this time the props have stopped turning because we are waiting for some documentation (and perhaps for the pilot’s coffee to kick in). The fight settles but seems unresolved - the announcement only specifies the first two stops, but we are assured we will get to Antigua. Let’s see, as my friend Cindy says, we’re just passengers here!

Eventually we take off - the view is great, we pass by Anguilla and St Barths - it’s wonderful to see them from the air and having sailed and anchored there. It’s still busy around that island. At 14:40 we’ve landed in St Kitts (the name is short for Saint Christopher and Nevis). The announcement welcomes us here and says for those visiting to enjoy their holiday and a warm welcome home for residents. None of the passengers were planning to come here, nobody disembarks. We are here to pick up more passengers - who knows what mayhem they’ve gone through, a glimpse of a boarding pass shows a time of 11:55. No smooth sailing here either. They have allocated seats that are mostly occupied, quickly the passengers start announcing that it’s “open seating”. Almost half of the new passengers are carrying babies, they all have bags, and one has a backpack full of baguettes.

We go to Tortolla next, fingers crossed! The view is wonderful once again. It helps to make up for the lack of any kind of food or beverage service. Something isn’t working so there is no coffee (or water or bag of peanuts it seems). We are still amused. The upset American lady up front is starting to become relaxed - resigned to her fate and satisfied that she will eventually end up in Antigua.

All the while we are quietly wondering what’s happened with our bags…. No luggage was loaded when we boarded. The St Kitts passengers brought bags - a few of which have just been pushed to some made-up storage space at the front of the plane: we assume this is for better weight distribution. Fingers still crossed!

We make it to Tortolla in BVI - and say goodbye for now to Niel and Kat. Most people and plenty of bags are offloaded, and a few more passengers board for Antigua. More than one has already missed their connecting flights home to Europe, and seem to be in good spirits. The American lady and the air hostess have now made friends - chinwagging and bitching and laughing together up front. This fiasco has gone on long enough for a full relationship turn around! One more take off and landing to go ..

Our third flight for the day offers another great view of the BVIs and a trip back over St Kitts and Nevis, where we get a good look at the shape of the old volcano… and we travel over the last stretch of water before we finally land on Antigua.

Hooray! We’ve landed, just before sunset. A 12 hour journey for a 170km change of location. Finally time to stretch our legs, and find our bags (hopefully) and a taxi to Jolly Harbour to meet our new gang.

We walk through the airport, not much of a queue anywhere. We fill out the arrival form and get stamped in by a friendly immigration lady who had sympathy for crazy flight situation. Just through to the luggage carousels and we see our bags waiting patiently on one side - like they’d been there all afternoon. Not sure which flight they came on!

We easily find a taxi outside, the driver gives us a quick rundown about the state of Antigua (which seems to be better than Sint Maarten) and we arrive at Jolly Harbour - to Brandon’s friendly face. We’ll be joining him on his boat Agape and shadowing him and Molly as they run their charter. We find a drink and a bite to eat at the marina bar Out Out before Brandon takes us to our new temporary home by dingy.

Happy to finally be aboard, we make up our bed and quickly fall fast asleep. Welcome to Antigua!