A few months after we heard about Barbuda in 2017 the island was directly struck by Irma, one of the most powerful Hurricanes to hit the Atlantic. The devastation was unimaginable. In late 2018 we reached out to Asha Frank, Tourism Director for the Barbuda Council, and asked if they’d be interested in hosting some of the Pau Hana Team as we attempted to stand up paddle around the island seeking out a wide variety of activities including kiteboarding, surfing, free-diving, spear-fishing, and maybe even some rock climbing. From the start they were on board and Asha soon introduced us to Jackie Frank and Anreka Geness, two incredible women, to assist in the planning process for our SUP expedition.

On the Ferry ride from Antigua with a mountain of gear strapped to the top of the boat we began to see the island in the distance. The anticipation from the last several months of planning was bursting inside me as we pulled into the harbor. When we docked and unloaded the boat, right away I could sense how special this place and its people are. Without speaking a word folks smiled, started helping us unload our gear and helped us find our ride into town.

The next morning our friend and driver, Zahir, picked us up at 5:30 am with Anreka, Abigail, and Claudina to see us off. We needed to get an early start because we were starting on the south side of the island heading east and would be going directly into the easterly trade winds to get that section out of the way while we were fresh, so were looking to cover ground before the wind picked up as the land heated up. We pumped up our inflatable paddleboards, rigged them for the day on the water and began paddling from Princess Diana Beach.

After about 30-minutes or so we made it to Coco Point. Early in the morning the wind was already stronger than we hoped. As we came around the point what was a strong side-off shore breeze seemed to pick up tremendously and was now a full-on head wind. The wind was so strong it was difficult to cover any ground at all. We ended up jumping off our SUPs and wading along the coast hoping the wind would decrease the deeper into the bay we went.

On every expedition there is usually a moment when you think to yourself, “what the hell are we doing here?” It was very troubling to me that this moment came only an hour and a half into a 10-day paddle. It was especially difficult because Christian and I couldn’t stop thinking about how our seven-month-old baby would do spending the majority of the day away from us. Nevertheless, we pressed on and slowly began to cover some ground. Just when moral was slightly low while we were wading with our paddleboards, out of the bush only 20 yards away a herd of wild horses emerged and galloped beside us. It was one of those magical moments that resets your mind and puts the wind back in your sails.

About halfway into the Bay we decided to stop hugging the shore and make a push directly across the bay to reach our check-in spot with the land team at Spanish Point. It seemed just under a mile of a 20+ mph headwind to reach that spot. We paddled hard and if you stopped for a second the wind would just start to push us back. As we approached Spanish Point we could hear the thunder of crashing waves and see the spray blow over the point. I had another troubling feeling that the waters on the other side were quite turbulent.

When we landed we pulled our SUPs onto the beach and ran across the point so we could scope out the Atlantic. As we feared the waves were huge and waters treacherous. We pumped up some kites and waited for our land crew to arrive with Baby Ocean. It’s a funny thing being new parents and seeking adventure. Maybe we would have went for the next section if we weren’t, but the love for your child makes you a little more cautious so when the rest of our team arrived we discussed options to bail on the rough section ahead. Our original plan was to paddle around Spanish Point and camp at Pelican Bay or Castle Bay but instead we would spend the night back in Codrington and then drive past the rough seas up to Two Foot Bay and resume our expedition the next morning.

The next morning we stopped for some roadside fish and dumplings, a delicious breakfast of champions, and then drove around the highlands to Two-Foot Bay which is a National Park and one of the coolest places on the island – literally. There is a cave named Aircon right at the Bay that provides shade and funnels the easterly trade winds creating some very pleasant temperatures. After exploring the caves, we hung with the crew on the beach for a few minutes and then set off for our destination for the day; Frangipani Glamping Resort on Barbuda’s remote Atlantic coast. The paddle was only a few miles but would prove to be one of the most challenging sections to SUP.

As we took-off we knew we had to paddle straight out into open water so that once we were in the right position the trade winds would push us to our landing point. The first 20-minutes of paddling was battling a headwind and fairly large side swell. If one of our team got caught inside by the waves the shallow reef on the inside looked very unforgiving. While paddling through this section we suddenly saw what looked like two pieces of rebar sticking out of the water which then disappeared. We were warned to look out for debris in the water from Hurricane Irma so keeping a watchful eye it reappeared but this time didn’t look like rebar at all but definitively two shark dorsal fins. Kyle and Rita never saw the fins but one shark came right up to Kyle’s board turned on its side and looked directly at him.

Christian and Rita jumped off their boards and began rolling in the pink powdery sand. We had two nights to stay at Frangipani so was time to explore the area – kiting, spearfishing, and enjoying the incredibly remote natural beauty. We waited for our land crew lounging in the shade and enjoying some R and R. When the team arrived, they had brought with them a home cooked meal with BBQ Chicken, seared fish, mac and green salads and even ice cream! The Barbudan hospitality was simply unbelievable. That night we sipped on coconut rum and watched more stars than I thought was even imaginable.

From the Barbuda Belle we were pushing for our longest day of the trip. 12 miles around the northwestern tip of the southwestern point along 11-Mile Beach, a thin strip of beach that separates the Caribbean Sea from the Codrington Lagoon, the largest lagoon in the Caribbean and home to a Frigate Bird Sanctuary. The wind was off-shore for most of the day with very flat and tropical water. We passed Lighthouse Bay Resort in the middle of the day which is crumbling into the ocean from damage sustained from Hurricane Irma. The last section of the day the wind turned into a hellacious head-wind and we were battling once again. We walked our boards up to our pick up spot at Palmetto Point and hunted for coconuts waiting for our land team to arrive. We were famished and they came with two pizzas and a bottle of coconut rum.

The headwind was so strong we decided to camp next to the Barbuda Cottages and reverse our course from there to Palmetto Point so we could have a downwinder for our last day of paddling. Camping on the beach in Barbuda is as paradisiacal as it sounds. Soft sand to pitch our tents feet away from rolling waves under clear Caribbean skies had us all sleeping like babies. The next morning we loaded our kite gear on our SUP’s and had an easy downwinder back to Palmetto Point where we spent the rest of the afternoon kiting in more perfect conditions.