Barbados December 2003

A Historical Note

Barbados has several claims to being distinct from the other Caribbean islands:

1. It is the most windward of the islands, lying further into the Atlantic than any other. This gave the British occupation a huge advantage as it was difficult for the French to turf us out. They tried twice but each time by the time their fleets had beaten to windward to get there they were so disorganised that they had to give up.

2. It was uninhabited when ‘discovered’ by Europeans in the 17^th century. It is hard to believe an island as prolific and 24 miles long could be unlived in, but it is true. In fact it had been occupied by Arawak Indians at some time in the past, but there is no evidence of occupation for some hundreds of years previously. No one knows what happened to the Arawaks. Elsewhere they were eaten or killed by the fierce Caribs, but the Caribs never got to Barbados (possibly the windward thing again). So for once the whites don’t have to feel guilty about exterminating the native population, though of course plenty of guilt is permitted over the slaves, the descendants of whom now comprise the main part of the 250,000 population, making it one of the most populous as well as prosperous Caribbean islands.

3. It is largely a coral island. Most of the Caribbean islands are volcanic. Barbados first turned up as a result of a bit of tectonic plate jostling, reefs formed around that, it pushed up some more and the coral went above the sea level. After a few cycles of this so that there are three coral terraces it finally settled down just 60,000 years ago. As a result there are some ‘proper rocks’ in ‘Scotland’ which is of course in the North and where the hills are over 1,000 feet high while the rest is reasonably low lying. The East coast as you’d expect is wild and windswept (being exposed to the Atlantic Trade Winds) while the West (being a lee shore) is where you find the golden sandy beaches and the hotels, including the world famous Sandy Lane.

Barbados for sailors

Being the ‘first’ island you get to from Europe Barbados was for many years a natural first stop for yachts coming over; particularly as the prevailing winds mean that once you move on it is very hard work to get back.

Unfortunately however Barbados has not been particularly interested in the pickings to be had from yachts. After ten years of planning hassle they built a dinghy dock in Carlisle Bay off Bridgetown, the only tenable anchorage, but this is too small and badly made so that the dinghys suffer quite a bit of scuffing and damage and the outboards can get badly trashed by being swept under the dock and hitting the underside. Also to go ashore you have to go through a bar which used to cater for yachties but now caters for anyone with money to spend who wants to listen to incredibly loud music until 4am. We had to reanchor over 500 metres away for the sound to be moderate enough to sleep through.

Clearing in is a lot easier than it used to be though, as they have built a new marina in the north of the island. There are only 6 visitor berths and you would not want to stay there anyway as it is in the middle of nowhere, but it is an easy place to moor up and the officials are friendly and helpful.

Cruising in Barbados consists largely of going up and down the West coast. A circumnavigation of the island is a bit too long to do in the short 12 hour days. The West coast is sheltered so the sailing is fun in the flat seas and you can anchor almost anywhere along the coast and snorkel the reefs or swim, though if a Northerly swell is running you have to go back to Carlisle Bay where the swell is merely uncomfortable rather than dangerous.

The hinterland

Bridgetown is a pleasant enough capital in a slightly scrappy way, and there are plenty of shops where you can get almost anything (except for boat stuff which is very limited) as well as hundreds of restaurants and bars.

We spent Christmas Day at Jordan’s Plantation. This is owned by Skyra and Trish who are friends of Peter and Katherine Camp, who we were meeting out there. Peter and Katherine had been staying with Skyra and Trish until we arrived, and we were very pleased to be asked to join their big 20+ Christmas lunch party. Jordan’s is Georgian plantation house which Skyra has spent some years renovating and which now recaptures some of the elegance, spaciousness and coolness of its former years. Looking out onto the cane fields and seeing them still being worked by hand as they have been for three centuries you feel really transported back in time, and when we heard that the house is for sale we were tempted – just for a bit!

We tootled round the island in a moke which turned out to be one of the worst cars I have ever been in with hopeless wipers and appalling suspension which made the sometimes rather poor roads no fun to be on. Most of the population live on the West side, and going round the island it is still remarkably rural in places, with rich soil and small villages scattered throughout.

Our friend Ric Dear happened to fly in to supervise some work being done on a house he has here and we went up to see it after having dinner together. It’s a wonderful site on the edge of a ridge above Bridgetown with views out to sea and also to the hinterland. Getting it finished (it’s really just a shell) will be a lot of work but it will make a lovely home.

We enjoyed Barbados, though it is amazing how much development has taken place in the six years since we were previously there. There is a lot of affluence about (and a lot of poverty too) and a staggering amount of building work going on (including Ric’s!).

Finally after relaxing in Carlisle bay for over a fortnight we felt ready to move on, so went up to Port St. Charles to clear out and head for Grenada, our next island.