Barbuda and Antigua are part of the same nation but there is a world of difference between the two islands. While Antigua has super yachts, hills, many towns, marinas, well protected harbors, to name a few, Barbuda is barely above sea level, with miles of sand beaches, one small community, and few amenities for visiting boats. We thought it was heaven and implemented a plan to do little but swim, walk the beach, rest and perhaps complete a few boat projects like scrubbing the hull in the clear waters.

It's a fair distance between the two islands, over 60 miles, so we set off at first light to safely negotiate reefs around both Antigua and Barbuda. After a pleasant sail, our entry into the anchorage was tense as a strong squall hit, with driving rain so hard we could barely see anything, and winds to 26 knots. Two large super yachts were anchored at the edge of fringing reefs so Mike used their presence (and our chart plotter) to hover in place until the storm blew over. I felt sorry for him as he stood behind the wheel, being pelted with wind driven sand and rain but we've learned to wait out sudden squalls rather than try to dock, anchor, or even enter marinas.

There is virtually no protection from the wind as the island is so flat, but the surrounding reefs help settle the ocean waves. We knew the weather was to get windy but the holding is excellent in sand, so we anchored behind the group of sailboats already hugging the shoreline. Called Coco Point, the land had been sold for development after the devastation brought by Irma in 2017, and large homes lined the shoreline, not too happy to see sailors but the beach belonged to everyone 66 feet from waters edge. A beach bar blared music and rented water toys of all kinds for the private club. A bit further down the beach, Robert DeNiro was developing a large parcel and had already installed a high end sushi restaurant (prices starting at $500). Helicopters buzzed overhead, coming from Antigua, apparently flying clients in for their upscale lunch. There were few souls around however.

But much to our delight, a boat we knew came and anchored beside us. On our first anchorage away from the HR Yard in Sweden in 2023, we met Angie and Mike when they knocked on our hull to say hello. So now we had to chance to welcome them with a knock on their hull. We got a tour of their beautiful Hallberg-Rassy 54, Oso, and had a great time visiting and getting a tour of their boat, asking questions of this very experienced live aboard couple. The next morning Angie and Mike came over for a tour of True North before saying goodbye for now, and sailed back to Antigua.

We relished walking the deserted beach, with the most beautiful, soft sugar sand, tinged a bit pink. The color of the water invited swimming, exploring, while large turtles swam around, popping their heads above water, rays swam below the boat, starfish peppered the sandy bottom. For the first time, we could pull the dinghy onto the beach and not worry about locking it up.

We wandered down towards a small beach bar called Enoch's. In the sailing guides the bar is an institution, raved about grilled lobster lunches but there was little information listed at the simple bar. So we tried the rum punch, and observed those around us and ended up meeting a Norwegian sailor who had also completed the ARC, and whose 62 ft boat was anchored near us, still flying the ARC flag.

After three relaxing days, the weather was settling and we thought it a good opportunity to soon move on, we thought to St Barts. We asked Enoch for help in getting a taxi into the small town of Codrington, to clear out of the island, and we asked about his grilled lobster/potato lunch, securing a reservation for the next day after visiting customs. Then we ended up towing our new Norwegian friends back to their boat as their dinghy motor was not cooperating, and in turn received a tour of his large boat along with drinks and conversation.

The next morning, the taxi, driven by friendly Iman, was a good way to "see" a bit of the island, meet some lovely people in the small grocery, chat for a while with the super friendly customs agents. Along for the ride was Iman's beautiful daughter, Isabelle, 6 years old. She entertained us with constant chatter, and we remarked to Iman that she had an incredibly vivacious personality for one so young, with green eyes that flashed and sparkled as she told us knock knock jokes. Back at Enoch's we were not disappointed in the lunch feast, simply delicious and very reasonably priced.

Meanwhile, studying the coming weather patterns, we changed our destination to our beloved vacation island of Anguilla. Strong winds were to return in two days time and St Barts, we read, had rolly anchorages even in settled weather, with at times, poor holding. But the distance was almost 100 miles to Anguilla, not reachable in daylight hours. So we waited until 2:00 pm, and left in lighter winds to sail overnight arriving in the morning. We had to shorten sail several times to keep from arriving too early, but we rounded the eastern headlands of Anguilla as the sky was beginning to lighten at 6:00 AM, excited to be back in very familiar territory.