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Published: January 13th 2010
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barbuda dolphins this morning
three dolphins swam with us, they were beautiful. 11th January 2010
We met a few of our friends in Jolly Harbour and had a good evening, it was fun to see them all. The next day we were setting off for Barbuda, Alan has fitted the chartplotter and it is working fine.
Sailing from Antigua to Barbuda means some of the journey is in the lee of Antigua so relatively calm. When we set off yesterday the wind was blowing about 12-15 knots and the sea a fantastic turquoise blue. It was very hot, even with the breeze, soon we left the lee and headed towards Barbuda, it was an easy fetch and the sail was filling nicely. The island of Barbuda is very low lying and it was hard to see anything until we were about 4 miles away, then a few trees came into view. We had a very easy passage through the reef, our new chart plotter working well. Soon we were anchored in the clear blue water, with the sand dappling underneath the boat. We soon had our snorkel stuff on and swam round one of the attols nearby, when I swam back to the boat a stingray was lingering right
underneath our keel.
That night the stars were so clear and so prolific, it was if they were falling right down to the edge of the world. While we were out watching the stars in the darkness, we noticed strange fluorescent lights in the water, floating past the boat. We could not work out what they were we thought they might be fish, they were so bright, like little led bulbs floating by. We got the torch and shone it into the water, and they were tiny beetles, floating on the surface!.
So now a few days anchored here, floating in what looks like crystal, snorkelling, recovering from the flu, and even hopefully managing a bit of diving. We have loads of lovely food, and about 500 films to watch so won’t be bored.
Barbuda
A sky full of stars, and complete blackness, just the fluorescent fish floating by and a light breeze blowing through the window. Stars that endlessly spill over the horizon and cast their own light down upon the water. This is Barbuda at night. The boat gently rocking and the world a million
miles away. The sun rises about 6 am and soon the clarity and brightness are again ready to dazzle you.
Today we saw a very big barracuda circling round the boat, he was at least 3 foot long and lay under the dinghy as we got in, we tried to take a photo, but he was too quick. When I was snorkelling round the reef I was a bit worried about him, but I never saw him. Alan did a long dive in shallow water and had a lovely time poking around all the coral attols while I snorkelled above him, bursting the big bubbles that came from his tanks. The colours are vivid, clear, colourful corals and bright blue fish, moray eels poking out their noses. He found a big lobster, or crayfish we would call it, and we took a photo of her, watching as she swam back to her hole, slightly annoyed at having her day disturbed.
The beach is long and sandy, empty of people, only a few grouse like creatures running around. Flights of tiny grey birds swoop and dive in the surf on the windward shore, where the waves break and smash
against the reef. In fact at night all you can hear is the surge of the reef, constant, sometimes louder, if the wind gets up. There are a couple of other yachts here, all seemingly happy in their isolation.
This afternoon we will head over to anchor off the other side of the island, ready for our trip to st barts,. My ear has been playing up, and we hope to find a pharmacy there, honestly think I am falling apart. We are still coughing a bit but finally the flu seems to be disappearing.
The dive compressor worked ok, and managed to fill a bottle, all else fine.
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