Barbuda

I can get very creative imagining things that could go wrong, big or small, trivial or catastrophic, mundane or far-fetched. That trait made me a good engineer, but I’m not sure it’s an asset in the day-to-day life, especially if you own a boat.

Remarkably though, none of the myriad of problems I pictured materialized. The engine was delivered to the boat yard two days after the cargo ship docked, it was installed the following day… and then… it… just… run. Amazing! The worst thing that happened was that the local Yanmar mechanic who came from English Harbour to certify the installation was 80 minutes late. Since the concept of time is rather lax in tropical latitudes, I wasn’t particularly bothered or surprised. What did surprise me was that he apologized profusely. But then again, he was British.

So, just a few hours later we found ourselves anchored alone, diesel and water tanks full, laundry done, beer in the fridge, food in the pantry, and that pesky polar vortex causing all that February wind finally moving to Siberia, where it belongs. Life started to feel good again, and we were eager and ready to set sail to Barbuda at first light the next morning.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Barbuda, the smaller island of the Antigua and Barbuda nation, was devastated by hurricane Irma in September last year, and fully evacuated two days later in anticipation of hurricane José. We didn’t visit the only town, Codrington, but could see it from the distance, across the saltwater lagoon; it was dotted with blue tarps covering the roofs of most houses.

Only a few hundred people have returned. Reconstruction has been slow, and a bitter battle between Barbudans and the Antigua-based government is not helping. Barbudans accuse the government of dragging their feet to restore basic services, while the Prime Minister suggests that Barbudans don’t want to return to their island because they have a much better life in Antigua.

For centuries, land in Barbuda has been communally owned, and people have lived a laid-back life in a much less developed island than resort-filled Antigua. The Prime Minister wants to eliminate that system and establish private ownership to provide stability for investors. Barbudans call that plan a “land grab” that will hit displaced Barbudans to benefit the wealthy (including Robert de Niro with his quarter-billion-dollar mega resort project, Paradise Found). The scuffle has gotten to the point where the Prime Minister hastily called for snap elections, which only aggravated the conflict.

Another victim of the hurricanes was Barbuda’s frigate bird colony, one of the largest in the world. We were right in the area of the sanctuary and saw only one frigate bird. Time will tell if the colony recovers.