Well, we're back in the British Virgin Islands for the first
time since 2008, and we're currently in Virgin Gorda checking out the boatyard here where we'll be hauling and storing the boat for the summer hurricane season. Haulout date is on May 1st with flights home on the 10th and 11th.
Last episode, we were heading to the east end of St. John in
the USVI to get ready for the jump. That sail, from Cruz Bay to Haulover Bay, was
rather long, but fun. We tacked out into
the large area behind Tortola, shot into the Sir Francis Drake Channel just
ahead of Little Thatch Island, and took three or more tacks to make
Haulover. The sailing was beautiful and
fast, and the efforts to navigate through all the charter-boats made the time
fly by.
Haulover Bay was a little scary. As the well known Caribbean cartographer Don
Street had written that it was excellent for only one boat, we wondered what he
meant. After finding the corner of the
bay he must have been talking about, we scouted around and figured it out. By dumping our anchor in 7 metres of water,
and allowing exactly 30 metres of chain, we could have our stern swing around
within 40 feet of shore for about half a circle, and then just miss a shallow
reef to seaward. Our rudders were always
in about 3.5 metres of water that steeply shallowed to the beach or the coral. It was a little nerve-wracking, but after we
were calmed down by the 3rd evening drink, we were convinced it was rather
ambrosial. We could see a few mansions,
most under construction well up the steep hills, but the hills were so steep
that we had to stick our heads out from under the bimini to consider the bay
was other than uninhabited.
The morning was rather less perfect, with scudding dark
clouds and unforcasted winds; but we hoisted the sail with two reefs (removing
20% of the area from the bottom) and headed out for Virgin Gorda. The captain (me) loved the sail, and Dawn
agreed it was fun. The trip took about
4 hours and numerous tacks, and there were other boats to contend with, but the
higher winds kept most in port. The
apparent winds were about 24-26 knots, and the waves were over a metre but
sharp and hard. We truly dusted the boat
with salt, and shook about like crazy, but knowing we were only going to be at
it for 4 hours seemed to make it quite acceptable. I kept her tight into the wind, catching
every puff and wind change, and enjoyed the sail immensely. Sadly, after we anchored down and checked the
anchor with a mask, I found that we had again ripped the sail at the
reefpoint. We have some email out to
some sail repairers to assist us in deciding where, when, and how it is to be
re-repaired. Here is a picture:
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| Nice rip in the Main Sail. We'll be looking for a repair shop soon! |
I pause here to tell you a little bit about our last days in
St. John. Dawn and I had sailed with
Kristin and Terry (s/v Silk Pajamas) with a couple of days hiking around Great
Lameshure Bay and indeed, hiking also out of Maho Bay. Indeed, we really put on the miles, seeing
many ruins and some nice vistas. After a
while the ruins become less interesting.
We'd like to see more interpretive plaques around them and on the hikes
themselves. At any rate, we left them in
Lameshure, and carried on into Salt Pond Bay, where we had a fantastic brunch
at an eco-resort called Concordia. After
that, we spent two nights in the area around Coral Bay.
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| A well preserved Sugar mill in St. John USVI |
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| Terry & Kristin from s/v Silk Pajamas and Dawn hiking in St. John, USVI |
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| Cat Tales is the catamaran on the left |
One thing we did was snorkel in the mangroves of the
Hurricane Hole. It was a little out of
our comfort zone, with blooms of many sea creatures making the water cloudy;
but we did see quite a few small fish, and got into a real study of
schoolmasters and baby angel fish. After
washing off, we were happy we did it, and just as happy it was behind us.
Back in Coral Cove proper, We sent a text to Walter
Piescik's friends, Ray and Brenda, who run a charter operation. They "took
over" and we had a real nice, but steep, drive to a fantastic view of the Hurricane
Hole area, the Sir Francis Drake Channel, and all the islands on either side
all the way to Virgin Gorda. We then a
great time and meal at a bar called the Aqua Bistro. Afterwards, Dawn was
grizzling about our propane tank that went flat because of my incompetence (a
non-compatible rubber washer), and they said they could drop it off in Cruz Bay
while on a laundry run. Well, Dawn wanted to do laundry too, so next day
at noon, we pile in their SUV and start a "road trip". Turns
out Ray's laundry choice has $2 beers. After the laundry was well in hand
and done, and after Ray had provided some fantastic hors-d-ouvres to go with
our beers (and his and her wines), we turn left instead of right, and as
("surprise") it is Ray's 59th birthday, we hit 6 more
drinking establishments where as often as not, he is well known. When I let
out that it is his birthday, we even get free shots. Can't say I really
remember the last bar or the return to Cat Tales. I do remember you have
to fight for the bill, and fight hard. I was seldom successful.
BTW, seems Ray and I have more than
our age in common. There were very few original Hobie 21s in the world,
and not the mamby pamby cruiser either. Ray and I each own one. This happened as we got into a bit of
discussion in acknowledgement that Hobie Alter had recently passed away at 80.
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| We saw this cute Hobie Cat on St. John. It is named the same as Hugh's H-18 at home! |
Also, Ray tells us that our 4'
friend Barry (or Mr. Cudda) in Salt Pond Bay is actually named "Fang", and that he responds to just a splat of a flipper anywhere in the bay
and waits for a hot dog to be fed by hand. Well, that`s the end of my
skinny-dipping in that bay. Ray and Brenda own a charter business and live aboard in the USVIs.
Well, I guess that is it for now,
except, to show some more of our pictures.
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| Perfect Brain coral specimen! |
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| Gray Angel Fish - we don't see these at all in the southern islands! One day we saw 3 traveling together! |
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| Stunning views when you climb and climb! |
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| After tossing chicken bones in the water one afternoon, a group of 4 or 5 remoras lived under our boat for the next day. Notice the sucker section on his head for hanging on. |
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| These 4 foot long creatures kept Dawn out of the water until we landed in the next bay. They are known to connect to a diver to catch a free lift. They look very much like a shark, don't you think?! |
