Finally back to Barbuda and Cocoa Point where Princess Diana Beach is located, the most paradisiacal beach we have visited so far here in the Caribbean. We have planned to stay at Barbuda until we have to return to Antigua to pick up our new sails in a few weeks.

When we arrive at Cocoa Point, there are only a few other boats here and we have the whole beach almost completely to ourselves. Shack-A-Kai, run by Inoch from Barbuda, is open now and we go there almost every day to enjoy the atmosphere and an ice-cold beer on the beach. A little special thing for Barbuda is that they have their horses and donkeys moving around free on the island and it is quite common for us to see a herd of beautiful horses come walking along the beach.

It looks about the same as last year we were here, except that the construction of the resort has advanced a bit.

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You can also order grilled lobster to enjoy at the bar along with accessories. When the Swedish sailing yacht Joker with Christina and Leif has arrived, we book a barbeque at Shak-A-Kai together with Mirja and Håkan at Flying Penguin. It will be an unforgettable afternoon and evening, with a boule game on the beach and grilled lobster at Shack-A-Kai on the world’s most beautiful beach, Cocoa Point.

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Blurry memories

It may sound a little strange to write that every day is about the same here in paradise and that after a while they flow together into a single long worry-free time without stress or problems. After a while, it becomes difficult to remember which day we did what.

Our days usually start with breakfast with coffee, I almost always wake up first so Carina usually wakes up when the wonderful smell of coffee spreads to the aft cabin. After breakfast and coffee, there will be swimming, snorkeling, or a walk on the beach for a few hours, often with Mirja and Håkan. After that, we have afternoon coffee on the boat and swim behind the boat. Then it’s time for a sundowner on a boat or on the beach and after that, we usually have dinner on board Sally.

There is always something to maintain or fix on a boat, so if it gets very ”boring” I can always find variety and work with something like that :), for example, try to fix a delaminated genoa.

One memory is very clear from this period and that is that when we have been here two days, we were told that the crew of a sailboat a few hundred meters further out had seen a tiger shark by their boat the night before. After that, it suddenly became not as easy to jump into the water and Carina gave up completely until we had read that young tiger sharks could get inside reefs during the night and look for food. After that, she also dared to swim close to the boat. Making snorkeling excursions on the reef was no longer relevant.

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One day a new, and the somewhat spectacular boat arrives at the resort. It has caterpillar feet and can drive up and park on the beach itself.

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We get several fantastic days here at Cocoa Point and here are some pictures from another day at Shack-A-Kai.

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New boat issues

We love to live this sailing life, it offers so many fantastic experiences and encounters with people. But there is also an everyday life with boat maintenance. On the way here, the foredeck was flooded by waves that have leaked into the forepeak. As far as I can see, the leak is due to the sealing strip no longer is closing tightly and water under pressure can find its way under the front edge of the hatch. So now we have one more thing to fix when we’re back in Antigua.

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Up next

After a week at Cocoa Point, the wind will turn southeast and increase. Then the reef at Spanish Point provides better protection and since we have not been there before, we go there someday before the wind will increase.