Freebird Atlantic

The wind continued but we decided to head north to Barbuda which is reputed to have the best beaches in the Caribbean. After quite a lumpy sail we arrived in paradise, having taken care to avoid all the reefs. The beaches are completely exquisite, just miles and miles of pinky white sand, with not a soul in sight. James Axtell, our Atlantic crew, knows Barbuda well, and had given us an introduction to Anne-Marie, a local who used to run the main hotel here. Barbuda was completely destroyed in Hurricane Irma in September 2017. It is the most shocking sight to see what devastation occurred and how much the Barbudans are still struggling. There was not a house left undamaged, and most are still living in wrecked houses, or tents. Almost every house is under construction, the hospital is a wreck, as are the schools, police station, government buildings and the rest. The locals keep, or had placed many of their possessions in containers, many of which were transposed at least 100 yards in the hurricane. There used to be 4-5 luxury hotels on the small island, but there are now none. There is only one very basic shop, stocked by a supply ferry from Antigua twice a week, and just one restaurant where we had lunch. It is so basic, and when we had lunch there, for which they offered the only ingredients available, we were the only customers. It more resembled a shack and lunch was certainly very basic indeed. It was moving to understand just how grateful they all are for the work Samaritans Purse and the UN have done to help them, and work is ongoing.