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Jim H, I am sorry to get away from your main question: keels. It is not only in Barbados that shallow draft can be a blessing. This photo is from my boat in July this year, in Lofoten (Norway). Yes the colour is odd - because it was well past midnight. More important, I am sitting in 80cm of water here, and you could wade to shore. And yes, Lofoten has many sandy beaches. I don't know how many stops I have made in shoal bays at the spur of the moment when a marina was full, the weather dismal, or the schedule gezumpt.
Extra fun at these latitudes is the reaction from sturdy locals who know all about the sea but have not seen too many centreboards. At this particular spot a young man came rowing out to say "You must get outta here; you'll soon stand on the dry." My broad smile confused him no end, especially when I said "Yes, I was hoping for that."
Anyway, I wish my boat would point just-a-little higher - though isn't that how every sailor feels at times? Mostly, it keeps height with other cruisers and sometimes better, but very light winds are no great shakes.
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