Away from the fleshpots
Oriole
Mon 31 Jan 2011 11:26
Cloverleaf Bay, Nonsuch, Antigua 17:05.12N
61:41.38W
After a couple of days in Deep Bay we
raised the anchor at 0800 in very light airs and once out in the open found a 15
knot breeze giving us a close reach for the thirty miles to Barbuda in idyllic
sea conditions. With dry decks and with Moonsong in the distance astern we
made quick time to Low Bay where we found our way through the gap in the reef to
anchor towards the north end of the eleven mile beach. The Moonsongs had
joined us and we barbequed on Oriole for dinner with them. The lee side of
Barbuda has over 20 miles of pristine sandy beach which is subjected to the
power of the winter north- westerly swells. The 1600 inhabitants live
mainly inland in the capital and except for a few yachties the beach is
deserted. The conditions were ideal for landing and on Monday we walked
for 2 hours without seeing a soul.
Louis "Mouth" where Hurricane Louis briefly
broke through the beach into the
Lagoon! The
sand really is this beautiful coral pink colour
The forecast was for an 8 foot NW
swell to develop over Monday night and Moonsong decided to leave on
Monday morning en route to St Barts and St Martin. We anchored a bit
further away from the beach and awaited developments. We had some
protection from the reef and were surprised how benign the swell was in our
anchorage although it was crashing impressively on the beach which would have
made landing impossible. Of course you never know how bad it is going to
get and as we were ony anchored in 12 feet of water we chose to make our escape
as this bit of Barbuda is said to get dangerous and boats have been
lost in these conditions.
We set sail in brisk conditions 20+
knots and once we were clear of the island the seas were enormous with the
combination of the prevailing easterly swell and the new north westerly
swell. This was pay back time for two days of wonderful conditions. We had
a very bumpy ride back down to the east side of Antigua with Oriole falling into
some big holes in the ocean and made our way into the relative tranquility of
Nonsuch Bay where we anchored behind the reef. After a couple of days of
being blasted by the wind but protected from the sea in this anchorage we
repaired to the absolute tranquility of Cloverleaf Bay where we are tucked up in
a mangrove lined creek. This morning the wind has disappeared, but not for
long and unless we return to civilisation soon we are going to sink under the
accumulation of rubbish we have generated in ten days.
Oriole tucked up un the mangroves -
perfect peace!