Hurricane Elsa

We've been watching Atlantic storms brew, soon after we got to Barbuda. First Invest 95L (1 on the map), and then hot on its heals Invest 97L (2 on the map).

The first one looked like it was dying down, and would pass well south of us. So, we decided to stay put off Cocoa Point on Barbuda, and wait for it to pass, south of us.

Meanwhile, the second storm grew and grew, and became Hurricane Elsa. Fortunately also passing south of us, but we'd get some strong wind on Friday.

(Click through for an animation of the storm's progress.)

Because we've been waiting for the storm, we haven't been adventuring around Barbuda much. We've just been enjoying the Princess Diana beach we've been anchored off, and occasionally visited the one and only beach bar, Enoch's Shak-a-Kai.

Aside from some recent developments, Barbuda is communal land, and domestic animals roam freely. Donkeys and horses are the frequent visitors to the beach, with their foals.

Good snorkelling on the reef off Enoch's bar, too.

Enoch gave us a lift into the town, Codrington, for some provisions and see the sights. There aren't that many, the town got flattened by Hurricane Irma in 2017.

To prepare for the storm, we tucked in a little closer to the coast. Pulled out and assembled our Fortress storm anchor, running it off the bow at an angle, as a backup to our primary anchor.

The storm never really made it here, in the end, we got some 30+kt gusts, but not much more than that. Maybe we'll get some rain this evening, and there's still strong gusts predicted tonight. At least it was all good practice for dealing with storms in the future.

Even though we've been largely stuck on the boat, really enjoyed the time we've spent in Barbuda, so far. Got to know our South African neighbours and enjoyed the desolation of this island.