The quiet Barbuda…

June 24,2020

Antigua & Barbuda, but most people never make it to Barbuda. Ferry for a couple of hours with only a very sleepy town to visit, small flights which probably take 30mn or so, or a nice 6 to 8h sail north are your options to get there. Except for a couple of fantastic hotels, Barbuda is really deserted. So much that donkeys and horses are let to roam free, which was a bit of a surprised once we arrived in Coco point.

Coco point, exclusive resort currently closed that we started visited until we got kicked out by the security guard. (Only his job, and it is due to happen a lot more). The long amazing beach with pristine coral at the point provides some nice snorkeling with dotted ray. One of the best snorkeling we got so far. (Antigua has not been very impressive).

A quick tour on the south of the islands brings us to the pink beach and the Martello tower, apparently build from Coral stones (As per pictures). The strongest building in Barbuda, built in early 1800, it resisted Hurricane Irma that flattened 90% of all buildings on the islands. Just a very hot walk at 2pm around the south coast. Not really a good anchorage so we moved on to the western side, where the lagoon, closed since centuries has been opened by Irma.

Arriving there, what a surprise to meet a couple of boats including the catamaran Djualyn, dutch friends that we connected through Jan Paul & Marjolaine. They were there with another Belgium couple and their two kids Liam and Roxy. Three boats, that’s more than enough to organise a small gathering and less than 10 people so it is even allowed. Plan made for the next evening a barbecue on the beach. While we sip a few cold ones and discuss Covid lockdown stories, Liam is on the beach with a training kite in the air. With his help, Gloria gets here first Kite training which she will enjoy and repeat… Plans are in motion for Gloria to learn Kite surf. Thanks to long discussion with Thierry in Dominica and our plans to pass by Barbuda (A kite paradise apparently) Gloria is now planning to try. So what a great opportunity to start and have a feel.

During our stay, we got blessed with one of the view you only get once in 50 years… and frankly, we would have been happy without. The Godzilla dust storm from the Sahara reached the Caribbean. This unusually powerfull sandstorm was blocking the sun along its path, covering from Grenada to the Bahamas. No sunsets, hazy days and most annoyingly, the great red dust all over the boat that even the rain from the start of the rainy season does not really clean off.

We kept the best for last. The Codrington lagoon national park protects a vast estuary that support one of the world largest colonies of frigate birds. More than 2500 of them. Organising a tour with a local as required, we booked an early morning pick up from the yacht as we were leaving mid morning to Antigua. Pat was very nice and he explained in details the nesting and habits of the frigate birds.

When we got there after 15min boat ride in the lagoon, the colony is massive, birds everywhere, on every branch of the tiny trees of the mangrove. And we were in the worse possible time for a visit. Wrong month as the male have flown out to their second family in the southern hemisphere. They migrate to Galapagos and latin America for 6 month a year and maintain 2 families, one on each side of the equator, finding a new girl every 6 months. And even worse, the morning is not a great time to visit as the females leave to fish to be able to feed the kids and teenagers. A frigate bird takes 2 years before he can fly and survive alone… Good luck mommy… Keep feeding them. At least, they only have one kid a year.

But we were meant to be there on this worse possible time to visit as we found one of the teenagers flapping around in the water. You might think it is normal to see a bird in the water, except that those amazing wide wingspan birds are not waterproof. If they ever get wet, they flap around until they eventually drown.

Here we go, with the boat towards this bird afraid of us and Pat nicely telling me: “Just catch it by the wings, don’t worry”. As I launched forward, I missed and he keeps on flapping madly in the water. So change of plan, Pat backs out with the boat and manage to pick him up. Wouaww better him than me, as this teenager is definitely not happy to be saved. He can turn his head completely 180 deg and here he goes bitting and scratching around at Pat’s arm. Very happy it wasn’t mine. Pat’s done it and saved another one. Well done.

A great visit with so many white headed Frigate bird. Once they reach their adult age after 2 years, the males develop their red pouch to attract female and the female loose the white part to become fully black. With the highest wingspan per weight ratio, they fly amazingly well and even sleep during their flight by turning half of their brain off…

Time to go back to Antigua, planning 30 Nautical miles nicely sideways to the wind, so we can stretch are legs truly and maintain 7knots average for a few hours.