Hi George:

We sailed Antigua/Barbuda April 2012 with Horizon on a lavezzi catamaran.

We did not find it difficult to navigate around the reefs. We do bring our own navigation software on a laptop and GPS on each and every trip as a form of redundancy so that we can double check navigation. Al of Horizon gives you an excellent chart briefing before your charter. Bear in mind when you go through your briefing there are a lot of places marked in red/off limits that you are not allowed to take your charter boat - I must admit I was surprised at how many anchorages were off limits. Al makes this perfectly clear. You may wish to ask Horizon for the no-go places before you plan too much as there are quite a few of them. For example if I remember correctly we were only allowed to anchor in 2 places in Barbuda. I don't think we were allowed to go to Coco Point. Double check with Horizon.

We enjoyed Antigua/Barbuda and hope to revisit in 2017. Would add Guadaloupe into our itinerary next time.

One regret we had is that we only stayed in Barbuda 2 nights, Low Bay close to Codrington Lagoon and close to Palmetto point. We should have stayed 3 and rented a car and toured the island by car. The beaches and water are spectacular. When we were there, there were no beach bars or social scene or even restaurants open on shore for that matter. Close to Palmetto point fisherman came by and sold us a bucket of lobster and fresh fish. If you like peace and solitude that is what you should find.

Also be aware of waves/rollers when taking the dinghy to shore. Our daughter was dinghying in to pick us up and she nearly flipped the dinghy by not paying attention to the waves. She ended up almost sideways to a wave and flipping the dinghy.

Anchorages we particularly enjoyed in Antigua are Deep Bay and Falmouth/English Harbor. We couldn't anchor in English Harbor as Prince Edward and family were visiting on their yacht and the entire harbor was closed off. We were able to walk over.

Excellent provisioning right in Jolly Harbor.

Enjoy the sunsets and amazing and water such a beautiful color. So unlike anywhere else we have visited in the Caribbean.