With the Heineken Regatta behind us, we turned our attention to the next "crew change" – Wally's departure and the arrival of Paul’s wife, Linda – and selling our current dinghy so we could take delivery of the new one. After Linda’s arrival we hoped the weather would permit a visit to Barbuda, which would require an overnight passage.

After the regatta Wally had a couple days to kick back before flying home. He and Paul took the dollar bus to Philipsburg one day to tour around for duty-free bargains. After all his good work during the regatta, we hope he got in a little vacation time.

We began to advertise the “dinghy for sale” on the daily VHF cruiser’s net and got some interest right away, but no quick offers.

On the morning of March 7, while still anchored in Simpson Bay, we were boarded by the Dutch Coast Guard, apparently for a random check of documents. We had been boarded before by the Dutch in December 2010 while visiting Saba so we knew the drill. Again, all was in order and the Coast Guard guys were courteous and professional. They might have left sooner if Paul and Wally hadn’t struck up friendly conversations with them.

Later that afternoon, Wally departed and Linda arrived within an hour of each other at the nearby airport. We were sad to see Wally go – as always – and were very thankful for his expert help and pleasant company during the two regattas. Dave couldn’t have fulfilled this dream without him. Linda’s arrival was exciting for us as well as Paul because she hadn’t spent time with us aboard Pas de Deux previously.

On March 8 we cleared out of the Dutch side and sailed around to Marigot Bay where we cleared in and out of the French side simultaneously (we always like to be legal). This would allow us the 48- hour stay we needed knowing that the weather looked favorable to sail overnight to either Barbuda or nearby Antigua starting late the next day. For this trip, a departure from Simpson Bay wasn’t an ideal option—we were due to clear out and exit the Dutch side by 1100 on March 8 to avoid being assessed another week’s fees (at US$40/week) and the visit from the Dutch Coast Guard the day prior brought attention to that official departure date.  

It would be an upwind sail to Antigua/Barbuda in winds that had moderated significantly since the Heineken Regatta. Departing from Marigot Bay and first sailing NE to get around the NE tip of St. Martin would give us a better wind angle for the upwind sail without the island of St. Barth’s getting in our way. At Marigot Paul and Linda would have a chance to visit this village port when it was in a quieter, non-regatta mode.

Note to cruisers: We’ve come to prefer the anchorage in Marigot Bay over Simpson Bay on the Dutch side. Holding is excellent at both in good sand but Marigot seems a bit less rolly (unless large north swells are running) and the clearance fees are much lower on the French side. Clear in for 5 Euro which they translated to US$7 at the time we were there for however long you want to stay. If you clear out on a different date, it will be the same modest fee. On the Dutch side you have to pay for a week at a time (with no credit for partial weeks) depending on the size of your boat. For us, at 47 feet, it was US$40/week, not prorated, so stay just one more day and you have to pay for another whole week. Then we paid another fee (for us US$11) to clear out. If you want to pass through the Dutch Bridge to dock or anchor within Simpson Bay Lagoon additional fees are levied to those clearing in on the Dutch side. We’ve never entered the lagoon, preferring to anchor out in clean water. The Dutch justify the higher costs to pay for the bridge widened some years ago to accommodate mega yachts wishing to reach the multiple mega-yacht marinas just inside the bridge. We’ve been told by other cruisers that vessels can transit the Dutch Bridge, pass to the French side of the lagoon, and clear in on the French side without incurring Dutch fees. There is a draw bridge on the French side, but its width is variously reported as 32 or 35 feet. We would not attempt to pass through that bridge as our beam is over 25 feet.

After a couple quiet days in Marigot Bay, we departed for Antigua/Barbuda with Paul and Linda at 1800 on Friday, March 9. Donna and I had visited Barbuda last winter and really enjoyed it. Excited by our descriptions of the islands, Paul and Linda were hoping that the weather during their visit would allow us to make the transit to Barbuda and/or the north coast of Antigua. The weather forecast was for imperfect, but reasonable conditions that would gradually improve if we could tolerate the initial night’s journey. Forecast wind speed was ideal at 10-15 knots, but the E to SE wind direction meant it would be upwind all the way, and we could experience some squalls. This would be Linda’s first overnight passage. But once we arrived in Antigua/Barbuda the weather was forecast to become very light for a few days – perfect for anchoring in Gravenor Bay at the southeast end of Barbuda where we had not been able to visit the year before and where snorkeling was reported to be excellent.

The passage turned out to be more uncomfortable than expected and may rank as our least enjoyable overnight passage ever. We got the first of several squalls soon after dark and had to tack several times on the wind shifts – at least one shift from the south allowed us to head straight east for a while, cutting some distance off our route. We eventually got through the squalls and settled in for one long port tack to the SE. Our initial plan was to get to the north shore of Antigua, about 30 miles south of Barbuda, spend one night to allow Paul and Linda to recover, then have a nice calm day sail to Barbuda the following day.

Around 1000 the morning of March 10 – within sight of the hills on Antigua – the wind shifted against us so we switched destinations to the southern portion of Barbuda. We could now reach it on one starboard tack after the wind shift and arrive in good light amidst that area’s shallow reefs. It was a comfortable four-hour sail to our first Barbudan anchorage near Coco Point arriving at 1400. Paul and Linda remarked that it was even more beautiful than they expected. Like Saba, Barbuda is not easy to visit, but is very much worth the effort, gorgeous as it is.

Barbuda is part of the same “country” as Antigua – but is VERY different culturally, economically, and geologically from Antigua. Geologically, if Barbuda could be relocated to the Bahamas it would fit right in. Unlike its former-volcanic sister island and others to the south, Barbuda is a low and flat limestone/coral formation that is not seen from sea until you’re already into its shallows. Pink sand beach surrounds it with its western shore dubbed “Eleven Mile Beach” as it is presents eleven unbroken miles of fine pink sand. Hands down this has to be the most beautiful beach in the Caribbean. It’s not promoted as such because there are no mega resorts on it to do the advertising. There’s very little on it at all. Good for Barbuda and the cruisers who come here.

To say this island is laid back is an understatement. If you’re looking for happy hours and nightlife you will want to go elsewhere. For cruisers who delight in a remote getaway, a good advertisement for Barbuda could be, “Yes, we have no direct flights.”  Barbuda quickly became one of our favorite islands and here we were again to prove it. Last year, we didn’t get to explore the south end of the island which boasts some excellent snorkeling as the winds and waves were too strong at the time. We were excited now to return a bit later in the season when the conditions were more moderate along this southern coastline. Barbuda has successfully kept major developments away from the island because its residents understand how precious their land truly is. We did learn this year, however, that there is a push to build a big resort and marina facility overlooking Gravenor Bay in the near future. Barbuda most recently has only ever had three “resort” facilities. One of them, the exclusive K Club where Princess Diana would vacation, is no longer in existence. The beach in that area has been renamed in memory of the popular princess. The island could easily lose any reputation for being a true “hideaway” (as it was for Diana) if the development plans for Gravenor Bay move forward.

The morning of March 11, Dave and Paul took advantage of the light wind conditions to repair the genoa leech line cleat near the clew that had come loose – perhaps during the numerous windy tacks of the Heineken Regatta. This required unfurling and lowering the genoa to the deck and sewing in the cleat with a new plastic backing plate. Since we didn’t have a replacement backing plate we examined the one still intact on the foot tensioning line and fabricated one from a small plastic squeegee Donna had kept from our original boat lettering project (you just never know when these things might come in handy again!).

Sewing complete, we re-raised and furled the genoa and were underway to our next anchorage by 1030 – arriving at Gravenor Bay near Spanish Point around 1115. Helmsman Paul steered us around the numerous coral heads in this bay and we anchored between three nearby reefs in 8 feet over clear sand off a pink sand beach. Stunningly beautiful. That afternoon we swam from the boat to snorkel the reefs and later took the dinghy ashore to hike over to the windward side, being welcomed by a group of indigent donkeys along the charted “Road of Sorts” (yes, it’s named that!) carved on this end of the island.

The next day, Monday morning, we arranged via VHF radio for a “taxi” to come pick us up and take us to the only town on the island, Codrington, to clear into Customs and Immigration and to get a guided tour of the Magnificent Frigate Bird Rookery – the highlight of our visit last year. The taxi ride was quite long over rough roads (of sorts!) and not cheap, but the only way to get into town from the south end of the island (it’s much too far to walk). Alternatively, visiting yachts can anchor off the beach on the west side of the island as we had done last year – due west from Codrington across the lagoon. You could conceivably drag your dinghy across the beach at the narrowest point to arrive at the lagoon. We think the best overall solution is to anchor off the west beach, dinghy to the beach and call a water taxi who will meet you across the beach on the lagoon instead of dragging your dinghy across. This is what we had done last year. Round trip across the lagoon, US$10/person.

Note to cruisers: We used “JR Water Taxi,” Pat, to arrange the overland taxi and the Frigate Bird Sanctuary tour. He monitors VHF 16. Another resource is known as “Goldilocks”. The “Garden of Eden”, George, mentioned in the Doyle cruising guides is still available, but may be answered by Pat. In both years, we never heard anyone answer as “Garden of Eden” despite the many cruisers who tried calling. Apparently Pat and George are good friends and work together. According to Pat, Garden of Eden gets all the mention in the Doyle guides because “he and Doyle are buddies”. Although the person he set up to take us overland to town was a bit pricey, Pat himself proved to be an excellent water taxi and guide to the Sanctuary.

The customs formalities require three separate stops and, on this island, are to be found in three separate locations, which must be visited in the correct order (which differs slightly inbound versus outbound). Begin at Port Authority (located at the Tourist office building not far from the ferry dock); then Customs (located in a residence at the edge of town near the airstrip); then finally Immigration (located back toward town across from the bar advertising the Caribbean lottery) which you will have passed on your way to the Customs office. US$10 total, paid to the Port Authority. But going through the steps is easy, the officials are friendly and helpful, and the walks about this tidy town with its friendly residents to each building are not far at all apart. The school boys asked us to take their pictures (the cuter girls were much shyer).

Unfortunately, you cannot clear in and out simultaneously for more than a 24-hour visit, which means that we would have to visit Codrington again to clear out with the attendant taxi charges unless we performed the dinghy drag, described above. Of course, if you intend to also visit Antigua – or arrived from Antigua – only one visit to Barbudan Customs/Immigration is needed as you can clear in or out in Antigua.

Once the inbound clearance formalities were completed, we met Pat at the scheduled time for our trip to the protected Frigate Bird Sanctuary. A guide is required to visit. The peak nesting season in the mangroves in the north portion of the lagoon is February, coincidently when we visited last year, but the only noticeable difference at this time in March was not in the level of population but rather the fact that most males had already found their mate for the season. That meant there were fewer displays of the puffed red pouches used to attract a mate. It was no less amazing for us than last time and Paul and Linda were truly enthralled.

These rare, glossy black birds have wing spans of up to eight feet. They are so large and heavy that if they inadvertently land on water, they must be saved by fellow birds who are known to immediately answer their cries for rescue and find a way to scoop them up to carry them to safety. Smaller species of Frigate Bird can be seen all over the Caribbean. As we approached the nesting area we could see hundreds of the birds circling above a large and extremely healthy mangrove stand here in the lagoon. As we got closer, we began to see the birds sitting in the mangroves, just a few feet off the water. Thousands of them. Our guide slowed the boat to a crawl and drew out a long stick (gondola-style) to navigate the extreme shallows.

Almost within an arm’s reach were multiple females, chicks, and males – the remaining “single” males showing off their bright red pouches under their beaks, meant to attract the females. This remains one of the most amazing sights we’ve seen in the islands. Our pictures don’t do it justice. In April, the males actually depart (migrate from) the area and leave the females to tend to the young ones, so people visiting after their departure would miss this part of the spectacular display we were witness to until the males return the following year for the next mating season. What an absolute thrill this experience is!

Arriving back in town, we walked back to the local town restaurant across from the Customs residence for a late lunch and then got our taxi ride back to Gravenor Bay for a relaxing evening on the boat. It had been a full and wonderful day….