GRENADA - Caribbean Compass

JULY 2010 CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 16
One of Nature’s Gifts
by Liesbet Collaert
A
nybody who’s been cruising extensively has
long realized that living on the water is nothing
like the idyllic, romantic image landlubbers
dream of. Errands, boat problems,
misadventures, bad weather and uncomfortable
anchorages are all part of the daily boat life.
But, once in a while, a rare perfect day comes along.
It’s a day on which Mother Nature shows her appreciation
for us free-spirited, peaceful and sea-loving cruisers.
It’s a day that puts a smile on every sailor’s face. Recently
those smiles belonged to my partner, Mark, and me.
The plan for the day was to sail our 35-foot catamaran,
Irie, from the southern coast of Antigua to western
Barbuda. While rounding the main island, progress
was a bit slow, since the mountains blocked most of
the wind. We didn’t mind and enjoyed taking in the
view of the shoreline with its many bays and beaches.
Venturing sea turtles kept popping their heads up
around us, noticeably changing their thoughts from
“La la la, I’m happily floating around” to “Holy cow,
what a big white monster,” quickly disappearing after
a frantic paddle and dive. We had to dodge around
some of these unsuspecting creatures who had their
tails pointing to Irie instead of their faces.
Once we reached open water between the sister
Darwin the boat dog and the author enjoy a moment overlooking Barbuda’s east coast
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islands, the weather turned beautiful, with blue,
sunny skies and an ideal 15 knots of wind from the
perfect direction. Really! Mother Nature nicely pushed
little Irie forward at seven knots, while she fueled our
solar panels and wind generator at the same time.
Mark and I were blissfully smiling and appreciating
the sailing conditions when all of a sudden the clothespins
snapped. “Fish!” After heading up and slowing
down, Mark reeled the handline in while we both
peered into the water, not knowing what to expect. Our
victim was fighting and in its efforts to break free, got
caught in our second, thinner handline.
Once the creature got close to the boat, we saw it was
a giant barracuda with a tangled mess of line trailing
behind him. We finagled the line off, but taking the fishhook
out was a less attractive task. Mark was not willing
to come anywhere near the massive teeth and I wasn’t
too thrilled about it either, so it didn’t take long for him
to convince me the hook would eventually rust out. We
cut the lucky beast free and I retrieved the other, tangled
line. In doing so, I felt a little tug at the end and just like
that, a tuna had grabbed the secondary lure and
replaced the barracuda on the dinner menu!
On a clear day in the Eastern Caribbean, you can
almost always see the faint shape of an island in one
REPRESENTATIVE
MARK KILTY
direction or another. We saw smoke rising from
Montserrat while anchored in northern Guadeloupe
and some islands are visible from 20, 30 and sometimes
40 miles away. Except Barbuda. As a matter of
fact, this flat island stays hidden as long as possible
and just when you wonder whether you’ll run into it,
something long and skinny pops up at the horizon less
than five miles away.
In our case, a huge white stationary structure gave
the location of the island away. Such a thing didn’t
agree with the information we received about Barbuda
being very pristine and not built up at all. Once we got
closer the big object appeared to be a mega-yacht at
anchor, stopping in the country for lunch. Imagine
that: breakfast in Guadeloupe, lunch in Barbuda and
dinner in Nevis. If we had to sail to a different country
for every meal, we’d starve to death. And, we wouldn’t
get a chance to enjoy any place along the way.
Of all Nature’s gifts, Barbuda might well be one of
the biggest. Its people help to keep it unspoiled with
tourists. All you hear from other cruisers about the
peace and quiet is true. The anchorages are uncrowded
with good holding, clear water, jumping fish and
curious turtles. Most places have a constant ocean
breeze, because of the flatness of the land. Different
kinds of birds are often seen and heard. White (sand)
bordered by green (brush) and blue (sea) are the main
colours on the shore side. If one shows up with a full
fridge and full tanks, one can spend a long time enjoying
the surroundings.
Visiting the south shore of Barbuda requires some
maneuvering around dark patches of reef, but once
settled in five to ten feet of calm, protected water, you
can easily go to shore for nice walks. There are sandy,
rock-strewn roads to follow in any direction. They
crisscross a seemingly infinite, barren land dotted with
brush, cacti, stones, a couple of salt ponds and a few
abandoned shacks.
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