18 December 2014 | Jumby Bay, Antigua 17’09.37N 61’45.70W Low Bay, Barbuda 17’39.74N 61’51.93W via Cocoa Point, Barbuda & Spanish Point, Barbuda
When Joules Verne sat down in 1874 and penned his work ‘The Mysterious Island’ it was remarkable that he did it sitting at his desk in France. He dreamt of an island full of hidden treasures, under the gaze of an active volcano and inhabited by creatures that should have become extinct many millennia ago. What’s even more remarkable is that he could have been writing about Barbuda and he did it without ever visiting the place.
Iain was so excited about visiting Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island, sorry, Barbuda, that he tried to winch the anchor up at warp speed 9. As the centripetal forces increased the handle proved to be the weakest link in the system and instead of staying attached to the winch as it should ,it flew off into the pearlescent water of Jumby Bay. Like a bird after a fish, Iain dived in after it and within seconds returned to the surface both triumphant and clean.
The mysteries of Barbuda were apparent as soon as we left Antigua. The volcano of Montserrat towered over us and there must have been some sort of boating magnet present on Barbuda as Ruffian blasted her way north at the warp speed that Iain was previously seeking. We only lost out to Balvenie because they took a shortcut through a reef and Flight Plan because they left early, we learnt a lesson from this. If we want to win we have to cheat!
Barbuda was as stunning as ever. The pink beaches that had once charmed Princess Diana shone in the sun and went on for as far as the eye could see. It was picture perfect paradise, with one exception; the huge shore break. Waves boomed as they made landfall and the spray flew high into the air. To ensure a successful landing in the surf you had to have equal measures of timing, agility, communication, a little luck and above all commitment to really wanting to walk the beach.
As the waves towered above teeny tiny Thug he made his approach with his teeny tiny engine screaming and as quick as a flash and in perfect choreography we landed high and dry. We only got our ankles wet as we stepped ashore and sunk down in the velvety soft sand. Flight Plan with their dinghy the size of a plane where next in line with their big throbbing engine. As it powered up we could feel the sand shake under our feet and as they hit land their dinghy deformed the beach making a stable platform for Vince and Ralph to simply step off. Next up was Balvenie.
We had high hopes of Balvenie showing us up and, as seasoned world cruisers, we thought that they’d show us a trick or two. As they approached the beach they seemed to replace timing, agility, communication and luck with a serious dose of acrobatics.
The first wave crashed in front of them holding them off the beach and placed them perfectly to be hurled high into the air by the next. It seemed that Mark had installed an injector seat in the dinghy as he was ejected like a human cannonball while Amanda held on for grim death. Thankfully all ended well with sunglasses being recovered from the surf, sundowners remaining unspilled and even their trusty engine fired back into life with the first pull.
We had seen and walked the leeward beaches from the picture perfect brochure but we’d yet to sample the beaches on the windward side of the island. Iain, thinking that he had to improve his TripAdvisor rating after the tour debacle in Bermuda encouraged all set out on another fabled Lewis tour.
In the searing midday sun we set out on a hike where any shade was scant as the beaten track. We forged our ways around prickly bushes and found the skeletal remnants of creatures who looked like they set out on this walk before and not lived to tell the tale. With a final push over untrodden sand dunes we’d arrived.
In front of us, instead of seeing miles of pristine beach being lapped by blue waters fringed by a thriving reef, we were greeted by a sight that appalled us. The plastic rubbish of the 20th century had found its way across the Atlantic to Barbuda, never to rot down and never to be removed. This was to a backdrop of a shoreline that was covered in rotting Sargasso seaweed making the environment even more poisonous for any living creatures.
The wondrous Lewis tour was living up to its usual high standards and the soul destroying walk home, with now depleted water supplies, was the icing on the cake. We’re sure that the next time we check TripAdvisor the Lewis Tours will have beaten the Frigate Birds to be the top of Barbuda’s attractions.
The Frigate bird sanctuary on Barbuda is by far and away the top attraction. The Frigate birds roost here in the millions and they darken the sky look like a less modern version of the Pterodactyl. What makes the spectacle even more remarkable are their bright red pouches they inflate to attract females and then, when they take off, they look like they’re in dire need of an extreme facelift.
All the main attractions of Barbuda had now been checked off our lists we said our sad sad goodbyes to Balvenie and Flight Plan and expected to awake to an empty anchorage. To our delight, they like us, are afraid that if they sail in the rain they’ll dissolve and so we had yet another night of fun and frolics and yet more sad goodbyes.
Sharing the delights of Jules Verne’s Island with Balvenie and Flight Plan has been a joy. Balvenie now have the Pacific to look forward to and like Flight Plan, we, for the short term, are staying on this side of the planet.
The joy of tradewind sailing.
And we avoid the marauding squalls.
Cruising; Boat maintenance in exotic locations.
Barduda’s beautiful beaches.
Balvenie need a drink to sooth their nerves after their first (of how many?) wet landings.
Only mad dogs and Englishmen go hiking in the midday sun.
Amanda uses her cunning camouflage to sneak up on the local wildlife.
The windward side of Barbuda is not in the brochure.
A nice shady spot for lunch.
We’re the kings of the castle. You’re the dirty rascals.
You’re on a highway to a pan of boiling water.
Coral and fishies rock.
We have a fleeting visit to a super posh hotel.
There are a couple of figureheads on the way to the Frigate birds.
The Frigate birds seems to have a fixation on stealing bright red balloons.
It’s like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’.
Dude. You’re cool.
Yet more beautiful Barbuda beaches.
Larry gets introduced to TeamBALVENIE.
Larry swoons in the presence of Amanda.
And pushes Mark over the edge.