​Current Location:  Great Bird Island Anchorage, Antigua
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, occasional showers, breezy (10-15), low-80s
Highlights: Hike to the top of Great Bird Island, then maintenance projects, reading, and relaxing the rest of the afternoon.  Deb and Dennis came over to the boat after dinner to play dominos and chat about plans over the next few days.  Watermaker on XYZZY isn't working, so took our Rainman over to their boat to fill the tanks while we played dominoes.

​Current Location:  Great Bird Island Anchorage, Antigua
Miles Traveled:  26
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), high-70s
Highlights: Raised anchor just before 9 this morning and had a brisk sail down to Antigua.  We were close hauled the whole way, averaged 6 knots with 13-15 knots of winds, and dropped anchor in the lee of Great Bird Island around 1:30.  Water was amazingly clear - we were in 80-90 feet of water most of the way, and could still pick out rocks, coral heads, and sand on the bottom of the ocean.  Had to double-check our log - this was the first time we've had the main sail hoisted since late December in the USVIs.  We've reached the end of the "thorny path" (stretching all the way back to Florida) - it should be easy sailing from this point forward!  Late lunch of lobster salad sandwiches with sides, then reading and relaxing the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Current Location:  Cocoa Point Anchorage, Barbuda
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), high-70s
Highlights: Last day here in beautiful Barbuda - tomorrow we head for Antigua.  Bought a couple of lobsters from the local fishermen this morning ($14 each, and yes, it's illegal for foreigners to catch them directly), then took the dinghy around the reef to check out the snorkeling.  Probably the most healthy coral we've seen so far this year, and a good variety of small fish, but nothing super exciting to report.  Returned to the boat and Terry cleaned the barnacles off the bottom of the boat while Amy boiled and picked the lobster heads, then nap and reading time.  We enjoyed grilled lobster tails with all the fixings tonight for our last Barbuda dinner.

Current Location:  Cocoa Point Anchorage, Barbuda
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, morning showers, breezy (10-15 knots), high-70s
Highlights: Had a good day yesterday snorkeling the reefs surrounding the boats.  Saw lots of fish, eagle and sand rays, turtles, and good variety of fish.  Coral was pretty damaged by Irma, and visibility wasn't the best we've had, but overall, a B+ experience.  Terry fixed the outboard motor problem this morning (rough low-idle caused by a bad o-ring), while Amy did a load of laundry and worked in the galley.  Spaghetti dinner and dominoes over on XYZZY this evening.  Weather looks good for us to sail down to Antigua on Friday, so we'll try to enjoy our last few days in lovely Barbuda.

​Current Location:  Cocoa Point Anchorage, Barbuda
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Sunny, breezy (5-10 knots), low-80s
Highlights: Dennis and Terry took the dinghy around Cocoa Point to Princess Diana beach this morning to pick up 4 lobsters from Inoch (Shaka-Kai bar owner) at $10 each.  Stopped by Island Princess on the way back to visit with Hayden and Raideen (old friends of Dennis and Deb).  They've been working their way north from Grenada this year, and were happy to dispense some good advice on islands, anchorages, and things to see and do for us.  Cooked the lobster heads and prepped the tails for later, then finished the parasail hardware installation.  Deb and Dennis came over around 6 for grilled lobster tails with all the fixings, plus a spirited game of dominoes.

Current Location:  Cocoa Point Anchorage, Barbuda
Miles Traveled:  10
Weather:  Sunny, breezy (5-10 knots), low-80s
Highlights: Woke up to lots of bugs on the boat, so washed down the deck first, then hooked up and started the water maker.  Dennis and Deb picked us up at 10:30 to go into Codrington to clear in.  Pat (local guide) met us at the dock, guided us the half-mile walk to the customs office, rounded up the official, waited while we cleared in, then walked back to the dock with a quick stop at the grocery store for drinks and snacks.  We then got an amazing tour in Pat's boat of the frigatebird colony in the north end of Codrington Lagoon.  This colony is one of the largest in the world, and the frigatebirds are an amazing site to see, thousands nesting, resting, or hovering over the mangroves.  Back to the boat around 4 to raise anchor and move around to the south side of the island to get protection from the northern swells that are forecast for the next few days.  Long day wrapped up with a tasty dinner consisting of the rest of the barracuda (fried this time) with cole slaw and baked beans.

​Current Location:  Low Bay Anchorage, Barbuda
Miles Traveled:  63
Weather:  Mostly sunny brief showers, breezy (5-10), high-70s
Highlights: Dropped our mooring balls at sunrise (6:30) and motored ESE 63 miles to Barbuda.  Light winds were on our nose and we experienced 5-6 foot swells as we were leaving St. Barths, but by noon the seas had flattened to 2-4 feet, wind shifted south enough where we could raise the genoa for a few hours, and the afternoon was fairly pleasant travel conditions.  Averaged 6 knots overall, and reached the west shore of Barbuda just before 5PM, dropping anchor in about 16 feet of water just off the beach.  Caught a couple of barracudas on the trip over (kept one, tossed the other back), and had that for dinner with rice and a salad.  Beautiful sunset tonight also, but bugs came out with the dark, and drove us inside for an early bedtime.

Current Location:  Anse de Columbier Mooring, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  3
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy (10-15), high-70s
Highlights: Finally getting a weather window over the next few days where we can move on in our travels through the Windward Islands.  The strong trade winds of the past few weeks have kept the seas much rougher than we are comfortable with, but the winds are finally settling down, and seas for the next few days will be much calmer.  We moved back to Anse de Columbier early this morning, then went into town with Deb and Dennis to stock up on groceries, grab some lunch, and check out with customs (only $55.00 for our 3 weeks stay!).  Back to the boat for a quick swim, light dinner, and prep the boat for an early start to our next destination.

​Current Location:  Ile Fourchue Anchorage, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, brief morning showers, windy (15-25), high-70s
Highlights: Moved from the mooring ball to anchorage after one of our mooring lines chafed through and snapped this morning.  We had been watching it fairly closely, and had just adjusted the lines when the break occurred.  Quickly started the engines, dropped the 2nd line, and moved close to the beach to drop anchor in about 18 feet.  Spent the rest of the day reading, catching up on projects, and napping.  Still waiting for the winds and seas to die down, but forecast for the weekend is looking encouraging (finally!!).  Chicken and rice for dinner tonight, and watched the last episode of The Good Fight before turning in.

​Current Location:  Ile Fourchue Mooring, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  3
Weather:  Partly sunny, frequent showers, windy (10-25), high-70s
Highlights: Decided we needed a change of scenery this morning (plus we found out that Columbier has a 7-consecutive days limit), so motored across the channel to Ile Fourchue.  Gusty winds and 6-7 foot seas on the trip over, but fortunately only 2 miles of open water before catching the lee of the island.  Dropped anchor, but the one and only mooring ball opened up shortly after, so we picked up anchor and grabbed the ball.  High winds kicked up just as we arrived, so we had quite an adventure trying to fight the wind and stay over the ball enough to hook it, but once tied on, we had a very relaxing afternoon and evening.  Steaks on the grill with all the fixings while we watched a few episodes of The Good Fight.

Current Location:  Anse de Columbier Mooring, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, occasional showers, windy (15-25), high-70s
Highlights: Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely bride of 37+ years.  Celebrated with a trip into Gustavia today.  Walked up to the lighthouse (couldn't get near it, however, due to construction), then over to Shell Beach for an hour.  Lunch at "Le Select" (cheeseburgers and beers), then picked up some provisions at the AMC grocery before heading back to the boat for relaxing afternoon, then light dinner and a movie before turning in.

​Current Location:  Anse de Columbier Mooring, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, occasional brief showers, breezy (10-15), high-70s
Highlights: We've been hanging out here at Anse de Columbier for the past few days enjoying the sheltered, picturesque bay, clear water, and lovely beach.  We're waiting for a break in the weather to continue our trip down through the islands, but it looks like we won't get a break until middle of next week at the earliest.  Waves right now are 6-8 feet, building even higher over the next few days, and our comfort level is 4 feet or less.  In the meantime, we've visited Gustavia a couple of times, and plan to rent a car soon to tour the island and see the sights.  Deb and Dennis are here with us, and we've had dinners and game nights both on our boat as well as theirs.  Also taking time to get some cleaning and laundry done, wrap up some small projects, and finish installing the hardware for the parasailor.  Might be a couple of weeks before the winds and weather are mild enough to fly it, but looking forward to that day immensely.

​Current Location:  Anse de Columbier Mooring, St. Barths
Miles Traveled:  0
Weather:  Mostly sunny, breezy (5-10), high-70s
Highlights: Took the dinghy to Gustavia this morning to clear in, then find a place for lunch.  Check-in was pretty simple (computerized, friendly, and we pay when we check out), but finding a good restaurant was more of a challenge.  Only 3 places open around the waterfront, two were packed, so we tried the 3rd (Victoria's).  Got a good table, waited 20 minutes for a busboy to clear it, waited another 20 minutes for a waiter, finally went and got our own menus, waited another 10 minutes, then finally gave up and left.  Walked around the waterfront for a bit, hiked up the hill to the old fort (closed for 3 hours for mid-day lunch break), then back to the earlier pub where the crowd had thinned out.  Found a nice table, service was ok, food was so-so (cheeseburger for Terry, mahi-mahi sandwich for Amy, plus a couple of drinks), and the bill was only!! $90.00, including tip.  At these prices, we'll be mostly eating on the boat for the next week or so.