January 13, 2007 - Leeward side of Coco Point, Barbuda

This morning, Sten was in the cockpit finishing his coffee when a large eagle ray came way out of the water not three feet from the boat. He thinks that it was feeding on the minnows that seem to take shelter next to the hull.

The swell had been building since yesterday and it got quite uncomfortable in the night with both pitch and roll and squalls. We were considering moving someplace more sheltered, but were motivated to move when our French press went flying off the counter and shattered into the sink. We quickly got everything put away and the boat ready to go.

Sailing down the leeward side of the island, inside the reef takes you over a very shallow shelf. With the building swell we were concerned about getting hit broadside by a breaking wave, but figured that the reef was far enough away that we could alternatively present our bow or stern to the waves if we needed to. It was a little hairy, but we’re heavy enough that we did okay. As we rounded the point, a charter boat passed us heading towards our old anchorage. 20 minutes later, most likely changing their minds after seeing the swell rolling into the shallows, they were behind us, following us to our next anchorage.

We anchored in front of a deserted hotel, that hasn’t been open for over a year. We’ve seen more abandoned resorts down here. The quickest way to lose money in the Caribbean appears to be trying to run a hotel.