Today we are sailing from Antigua to Barbuda. The kids are vegging out and Shayne is enjoying tweaking Paikea as we reach along between 9 and 10 kts. The lack of rudder doesn’t hold us back too much in these conditions but you can see it working hard on our Sailmon display.
We did have a small issue with an override on the winch. This is when the sheet gets wrapped around itself and caught on the winch. This can be a very serious problem in certain conditions and is one of the main reasons you have a sharp knife on board ready to cut ropes free. Luckily Shayne has a few tricks he is happy to share on how you might go about solving this issue if you are in a similar situation.
The island of Barbuda is one of the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. Two-thirds of the island consists of a flat plain raised only a few feet above sea level. The other third, the Highlands, is relatively flat tableland with a maximum height of 42 metres. Unlike most of the islands which form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea, Barbuda is not of volcanic origin. The island is limestone and represents a coral reef which was raised above the sea in two successive stages. In the south the Highlands slope down to meet the plain. On the eastern windward side the Atlantic Ocean washes up on mostly rocky headlands. Much of the coastline is characterised by beach sands and fringed with coral reefs.
Throughout its history Barbuda has been an exceptionally dangerous hazard to shipping because of it’s flat geography and hidden reefs, and continues to be difficult for boats to negotiate to this day. To find out more visit https://barbudaful.net/
Barbuda has some of the most beautiful beaches we have seen so far in the Caribbean. We spent our days there visiting the beaches and wing foiling in the protected waters of Princess Diana Beach.
Playing with the wingfoil at Princess Diana beach was spectacular despite the gusty conditions. We even managed to see a cameo appearance from a turtle when we attached the GoPro to the foil. Don’t worry no wildlife was harmed during the filming of this episode!
We also run through the list of things broken so far on our journey since leaving Spain. We’ve fixed a few things and still have rudders and other projects to tackle. We’ll be sure to film and show you how we go about each project.
After all, cruising is just fixing boats in exotic locations right?!