We need to leave Barbados soon. Our six months is almost up. Since it isn’t our home port, Quest isn’t allowed to stay here for more than six months at a time. Sigh

The question is where to go. We have been pointing south towards Grenada for a while. This is because Grenada is one of the few islands to create an anchorage quarantine zone. Grenada has created an organised and efficient entry system for yachties.

To get in, you select an availability date on Grenada’s quarantine website and pay £20. You have a window to arrive. When you enter Grenada, you come into the dock at Port Louis Marina, check in and are instructed on quarantining conditions. Then you are released into the anchorage outside St George. We know this anchorage – we spent much of hurricane season 2016 there.

You wait two weeks confined to your boat. Apparently there are food delivery services during this time. After 14 days, a Covid test is required. Once you’re cleared negative, you’re free to move around Grenada as you please.

Many cruisers are following this path. It’s proving to be the most popular hurricane destination this season. This is in stark contrast to Barbados, where there are now just five anchored boats. There are no official yachtie services here.

We’ve loved it. We’ve had a huge relative freedom in Barbados exactly because there is no official cruiser infrastructure. No cruiser radio net in the mornings. Nobody buying and trading boat parts. There’s no boats dinghying around and selling stuff like on the other islands. No accompanying security worries either. Not up here in the north of the island.

What we do have is free, unlimited tap water on the Port St Charles dock. Watery gold dust in the Caribbean. We have wifi at the club restaurant too, which has been closed to customers since the end of March. We have a beach opposite us with nesting turtles. Five empty dive sites within easy reach of our anchorage. And of course we have the peaceful and fascinating island of Barbados on our doorstep.

We met a fishermen on the dock a few weeks ago. De Wizard the boat’s called. His name is Peter. When we met him, Peter said he loved his life. Now, every time he sees us, he insists we have a fish. We’ve had two huge tunas and yesterday, he gave us two red snappers,

We try to pay him. I swear we do! Peter says he catches too many fish for himself – and he doesn’t need them all. He goes south-east to catch them, off the oceanic shelf. Peter may be one of the happiest people I’ve ever met. He sums up what I’m going to miss about Barbados when we do leave in the next few weeks. What we will remember too.