If one person symbolises English Harbour to yachtsmen. it’s Desmond Nicholson. Member of the clan that rediscovered the abandoned 18th century English naval base, and helped bring Nelson’s Dockyard to its present status as a world-wide magnet for sailors. Nicholson helped establish the Classic Yacht Regatta.

Initially a race to Guadeloupe and back to Antigua, The Lord Nelson’s Regatta began as a chance for charter boats crews to have some fun at season’s end when their guests had departed. In l967, however, Nicholson suggested racing in the waters off Antigua, and the race has since developed into one of the world’s Premier sailing events, Antigua Sailing Week. In 1987, the Classic Yacht Regatta spun off from this popular and highly competitive event and established their own regatta held one week earlier.

Nicholson has been around classic yachts his whole life. He and his family arrived in Antigua on the 70-ft. schooner Mollihawk in 1940, when he was 23. His father, Commodore V.E.B. Nicholson bought the old boat for £2,500 during the war for her linens and other furnishings, but after the war, decided there wasn’t much future for his sons in England. So he set off for the Caribbean. Squatting in the ruins of the old dockyard, they were soon asked to take out some guests of the exclusive Mill Reef Club, and that led to a lively charter business with the first guest in 1950.

He and his brother Rodney each had their own commands, and in 1954, he brought the 86 ft. schooner Freelance over from the Mediterranean with an all-female crew. In 1957, Desmond met his future wife when a charterer brought along his daughter, and he soon was married and decided to stay home and mind the store. The charter business grew, and Rodney and Desmond started Carib Marine and the Admiral’s Inn.

In 1967, as he was swimming with some charterers in Freeman’s Bay, he found some pottery and half an ancient stone axe. That sparked an interest in archaeology. Soon he

had so many artifacts around the house that he helped form the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, which is his full-time passion today.

Initially, he focused on the Museum in St. Johns, but is now concentrating on research, spending more and more time in the Dockyard branch where he has helped completely reorganize the exhibits. His tall figure is a common sight there, often huddled over his computer. He taught himself programming early on so he could compile a number of historic and archaeological databases for researchers to use. These include the history of Antigua and Barbuda, marine and yachting history and even tombstone inscriptions.

A prolific and engaging lecturer on local history, archaeology and other topics, Nicholson is a speaker not to be missed. He’s also written many articles and booklets, some offered for sale inexpensively in the Dockyard Museum Gift Shop. He is now writing a book on shipwrecks.

Ironically, Nicholson doesn’t sail much anymore — except in the Classic Regatta —but he remains a large presence in sailing locally. "I swallowed an anchor and can’t cough it up," he says.

Jol Byerley, himself a local legend, sums up the Nicholson’s impact succinctly: "Without the Nicholsons, the allure of the Caribbean wouldn’t exist. They brought true classics — Mollihawk, Freelance, Maria Catherina — here and Desmond has never forgotten the pleasure of these old boats."

From 1998 Antigua Classic Regatta Program