Barbuda is truly Paradise Found!

Antigua is quite different to Barbuda but also a place well worth visiting for different reasons.

Our sail took us from Guadeloupe to Antiqua in fairly strong winds and a bumpy sea so it was nice to arrive in the sheltered waters of English Harbour. English Harbour has limited space to anchor, so we motored around for about 45 minutes before we finally found a spot that we could make work. We needed to drop the anchor and then take a stern line to the shore which we tied to a tree. The stern line stops the boat swinging around the anchor and ensures we won’t ever get close to the other boats at anchor.

The harbour itself is a natural harbour situated on the South of the Island. English Harbour is best known for Nelson’s Dockyard, a former British Navy base; it displays restored 18th and 19th-century buildings and other historical artefacts from the colonial period of the dockyard, especially the time it was commanded by Horatio Nelson. There is a lot to read about the history online which is interesting so be sure you look it up, it is fascinating.

Nelson’s Dockyard is quite incredible and is a cluster of restored buildings forming the marina. It is like being in an old village in the U.K. and sometimes it felt like we were somewhere along the Cornish Coast….. The heat quickly reminds you are not! We loved looking at all the buildings and really enjoyed the museum.

We were lucky to witness one of the rowers arrive following rowing across the Atlantic Ocean. Jim Phelan completed it in 63 days. It was an incredible feeling being there when he arrived and we felt lucky to be part of this event for a short moment. We always felt that we had achieved quite a lot by sailing across the Atlantic. Jim’s achievement made us feel like we had come across in a cruise ship. Congratulations to everyone who took part we admire your achievement. I think I will sign Claire up to do it!

From English Harbour, we sailed around the corner to Falmouth Harbour where there is a larger anchorage. From here you still have easy access to Nelson’s Dockyard. It is about a 10 minute walk so we went back a couple more times to enjoy the atmosphere, buildings and walks. We managed to find some free WiFi which was relatively easy. We noticed a cluster of sailors all on their phones and it wasn’t long before we got our WiFi fix. It is always nice to be in touch with everyone again and get weather updates.

Our next stop was Jolly Harbour. The harbour is quite large with houses around the perimeter each with their own dock. This looked great in the photos, but in reality it is quite rundown. There is a great shop there for provisioning so we stocked up and made our way to Hermitage Bay to meet friends already at anchor there.

Hermitage bay is small and is really only suitable for about 4 small yachts. We loved it here and watched the waves exploding the seawater through a rock funnel just in front of Mokara. Paradise or Barbuda was calling and we set sail for the Island with enough time to ensure we arrived in good light so that we could see the coral and rocks and ensure we dropped the anchor in a sandy patch.

When you arrive, all you see in the distance is a white streak of beach sand that extends for miles with very no development. The water is crystal clear and the beach sand is super soft and in some areas near Palmetto Point, it is pink! There were not many yachts here though. We knew 4 of them so we had a nice group with us. I walked along the beach one morning on my own and loved the isolation. Bermuda was however hit by Hurricane Irma and evidence of this still exists along this amazing beach. Abandoned hotels are an eyesore and it is sad that they are not cleared up. Despite this some of the most incredible beachfront plots are up for grabs despite the locals not wanting the land to be sold to foreigners. Please read Claire’s blog on this as it is very interesting.

We went further north on Barbuda to check out at Customs and Immigration and were anchored near a large hotel that had been victim to the hurricane and was now slipping into and polluting the sea. The locals are so friendly and we managed to get some provisions from a small shop here along with about 8 crayfish from a local fisherman. On the beach that night we had a crayfish BBQ and watched the sun go down.

We loved Barbuda and look forwards to going back there. To think some yachts are there in COVID lockdown makes me a bit envious.

Watch our next episode as we sail to Sint Maarten, we stand behind a boeing as it takes off and set sail to Colombia.

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