Barbados at last! 13:06.07N, 59:37.73W

AJAYA'S CRUISE
Phil & Nikki Hoskins
Fri 3 Apr 2009 14:15
Arrived at our waypoint 8 mls east of Barbados around dawn as planned so that we could enjoy the arrival in daylight and also stay clear of off lying dangers between the coast and a dangerous bank with overfalls a few miles out on the final approach to Deepwater harbour for inward clearance. We secured alongside the wall at Deepwater Hbr at 1120 with Vision of the Seas on one side of us and Serenade of the Seas the other side. Barbados is a favourite stop off for the cruising fraternity!
After clearance which took about 2 hours we were free to head out to anchor in Carlisle Bay and enjoy our first Caribbean swim in the 80 degree water. That's where we were confronted by the large growth of goose barnacles which we had been observing growing on the transom steps over the past week or so. We sent a few of them packing during the swim before enjoying a rum and coke or 2. The rest of the day became a haze as the broken sleep from the last 3 weeks caught up with us and we retired to bed early. Our anchorage position  in Carlisle Bay is 13:05.36N, 59:36.73W. Our crossing time was a slow 21 days with fitful trade winds that came and went - never offering any real consistency and often leaving us wallowing around in a sloppy sea once the wind had eased again. But we have many happy memories of the wildlife, the fresh fish we enjoyed, the visit of the Sperm whale, the Little Tern (still have to clean it's mess up) and of course the numerous dolphins that came to play at the bows.Unforgettable memories for us both and an achievement we are very happy with.