April 11, 2009
Antigua to Barbuda
What an incredible day for a sail…wind at 60 degrees off the bow, steady 20 knots…sailing doesn’t get any better than this. Two small seams opened up on the main sail. We will need to return to Antigua before continuing south to buy sail tape, hopefully delaying full repair until we reach Grenada.
TUSEN TAK II and we have ventured to Barbuda with hopes of taking an island tour with George Jeffreys. George did such a good job as our guide for last year’s tour of the frigate sanctuary; we hope we can hire him again for a tour Sunday or Monday. Until then, snorkeling Gravenor’s Bay will have to suffice. Shucks, it is a hard task, but someone has to do it J
April 12
We spent a lovely afternoon on TUSEN TAK II celebrating Easter. Despite a few stumbling blocks for both Barb and I in our dinner preparation, all turned out well. We definitely feasted and had an excellent time playing Progressive Rummy and Bananagram.
April 13
Dalma Devoz picked us up in his van at 7:30AM for an island tour. A long, bumpy drive brought us to the bottom of the Highlands up which we hiked with our guide, Elvis, to the Codrington Estate ruins. The ruins are not well preserved, but the view was lovely and Elvis engaging.
From there Elvis showed us the trail to Darby’s Sinkhole. A 45-minute hot, dusty walk brought us to the edge of a spectacular cavern dropping 100 feet into the island. From within the sinkhole a miniature rain forest filled with palms, turpentine and fruit trees sprouted upward, brushing the arid, cactus-strewn rim above. What a contradiction in landscape!
Returning to the van, the next stop was Two Foot Bay ruin and the Gun Shop Cave. A well-prepared lunch at Jackie’s restaurant and a stop at the Martello Tower ruin rounded out our excursion…a very nice way to spend the day.
April 14
A mid-morning snorkel, not as pretty as St. John, was still a nice swim. The important thing though is I DOVE UNDER THE WATER, not once, but a few times. Once I signaled Steve to swim back to me and dive down to retrieve a Helmet shell. He did not want to so I DID IT MYSELF; and, I did not just dive under the water…I SWAM! It appears I have finally overcome my “buoy behind”. I am so proud!
April 15
Barb and Chuck came aboard for our final dinner at Barbuda. Barb finally won a game of Mexican Train Dominoes, as well as increased her expertise in Wii Bowling. We called in an early night so we could all be up and ready for a morning return to Antigua.
Sailing adventures aboard a PDQ Antares 44i 