A very quick stop in Barbuda
13 January 2015 | Simpson Bay Lagoon, Sint Maartin
We arranged to meet our guide at 0900 on the other side of the spit of beach to get a tour of the Frigate bird colony and to get driven across the lagoon to Codrington. This 150’ strip of land that separated the Caribbean Sea from the inland lagoon is a very steep beach and we huffed and puffed and pulled our dinghy a long way up the beach and locked it to a sunken fence post. Later we would be happy we did this.
Vernon was promptly on time and he skillfully guides us across the choppy lagoon waters to the north end where lay the largest Frigate Bird colony in the world. Even bigger than the Galapagos Island colony explains our guide. Here some 3000 mating pairs of Frigates make a home for some six months, have a bit of romance, hatch their one offspring before the male bird takes flight for a change of scenery in the Galapagos Island. Here he mates with another, spends another six months until the chick is old enough to leave the nest and then returns and the cycle repeats itself. The females stay put and simply wait for their return each year.
You can tell the males by the large red sack on their necks which become quite inflated until they've attracted a mate and do their business then it deflates to a shrivelled piece of skin. These birds are majestic flyers reaching top speeds of 40mph and although their main diet is fish they can not land and/or take off in water. If a bird accidentally does go down it is common for other birds to scoop down, pick up the bird and then drop it so they can get flying once again. For this reason you seldom see single Frigates in flight.
In Codrington, which is the capital of the island, we rent some mountain bikes and head out across the island. We see very little traffic on the roads but at one point I hear Donna shouting behind me. I turn around to see she has stopped her bike on the road just before 6-8 horses come galloping across directly in front of her. These horses, as well as donkeys, run wild on the island.
When we reach the east side of the island we find the ruins of an old house which housed a watchman. Here he would keep a watch for ships sailing along the shore and signal them to come in. Once close the reef would claim the ship and the salvage operation would begin. Apparently the Barbadians made a good business from ship salvage in the day.
This shore line is wild with surf that has over centuries carved large caves in the shoreline. Finding one of these caves we explore inside to find a passage through it to an elevated piece of land they refer to the ‘Highlands’ and at 125’ ASL is the highest point in Barbuda which is otherwise a very low flat island. The views from the top are nice.
We get back to Codrington and find street vendors pretty much the only gig in town for lunch so we order BBQ fish and pops in an establishment that appears to multi-purpose as a night club after dark.
As we get close to our boat on the return trip Vernon remarks on how the surf has picked up on our side of the spit of land. As we approach you can see the breakers crashing over the spit of land high into the air. Luckily our dinghy was still high and dry and Vernon helps us time our launch into the surf so we drove out safely without overturning the dinghy. Back on our boat we assess the situation as the boat repeatedly floats forward on our anchor toward the beach before being pulled back by the wind each time. A check on the weather showed a new development of a north swell for the next two days which we knew would only increase with the high wind expected in the next few days. So, with a quick decision to leave, we haul up our dinghy and lift anchor at 1700 and sail out through the reef infested waters as the sun slowly sinks into the sea. Our destination is Sint Maartin some 76nm to the west and we happily sail throughout the night with our jib only in order to pace our arrival for early daylight in Simpson Bay.
We pick up a empty mooring ball at 0730 and wait until 0930 for the first inbound bridge opening so we can anchor in the lagoon. Throughout the day and on Monday the wind increases to 25-30knts and we are happy with our decision to get out of Barbuda when we did.