Monday 15 January 18
We set off from Jolly Harbour around 9am , Caroline and Scott from Sealife left much earlier as they only do 5 knots under engine and as they have no sails that is what it is going to be. Lynn and Peter are also coming so we’ll sail in company again. We saw Christine loft anchor before we were ready, guess we’ll have to work had to catch them up. As it turns out we are barely at Hermitage bay when we see them coming back, problems with the instruments. Not good. No race today then, shame, I was looking forward to catching them up! We settled for a nice easy passage when looking back I can see a sail following us...maybe we will have a race after all. It would seem the instrument issue is either fixed or Peter does not care... Christine is behind us, we can see her on the AIS. Well, we’llnot be having an easy one then...back on racing mode concentration at the helm, not having Christine take us over. And they did not, well not before they put their engine on anyway and that’s cheating in my book.
Barbuda is so low that we have virtually in spitting distance before we notice a thin strip of gold slicing across the immensity of the blue surrounding us. As we get closer, we can see that it is not very built up, vast track of land are deserted. We can just about make out a few building around coco point and that is it until we reach the lagoon. This is where you can pinpoint the changes brought by hurricane Irma. The Lagoon used to be enclosed, forming the longest beach on Barbuda, over 11 miles. There is now a gaping hole in this beach and the sea rushes over the sand bar. Codrington is on the other side of this huge lagoon, barely visible. We passed a resort that has obviously suffered damage but in a weird way. Most of the roof is still up and only the structures nearer the beach are collapsed, like a giant wave just flattened what it could reach. We finally spot Sealife sitting in resplendent isolation in the middle of low bay. Not for much longer, they’ll have to share. And they won’t be left in peace either... Ian wants the lowdown on Panama and the eastern Caribbean’s, so we spend a nice afternoon sharing stuff. I am dying to go on the beach, will have to wait till tomorrow.
Tuesday 16th January 18
We wake up to the most amazing colours. The shades of blue and turquoise in the sea and sky is stunning. The beach is golden from where I am standing, with a lone palm tree on the edge of the low lying bushes fringing the sand. The beach is quite steep and the water so clear, it is incredible. What I was not really expecting was the pink hue of the sand, stronger where the waves break. Different shades of pink, some areas even bordering on the red. The sand is littered with shells and beautiful corals. And the sand goes on, and on, and on for miles. The low bushes make way for salt ponds, again the colours are astonishing. A great number of frigate birds are hovering high in the sky. The ponds are breeding grounds for them. The smell is acrid and salty, not unpleasantly. Hurricane Irma does not seem to have had much impact, I guess because the bushes are so low.
We walked for hour in blissful isolation; it fells so remote and special to be here. We can only wonder at such beauty.
Later in the afternoon, Ian helps Peter with his various gremlins on Christine. One thing led to another and we had a great evening on Christine.
