The British Virgin Islands are fantastic. Very different in my opinion to the rest of the Caribbean islands we have visited. We feel as though we are on holiday here. Our first 2 weeks have flown by. How anyone manages just a week here is beyond me. There are so many islands and bays to explore I’m sure you could spend a full season here and still want to come back for more.
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| Beach bar, Anegarda |
Our first week included a
sail out to the sandy atoll, Anegarda, which gave us a good 12 mile sail each
way, with an overnight stop in the main anchorage of Setting Point. The
afternoon of our arrival we joined the crew of Ruffian and Madfish in a tour of
the islands North Coast beaches in an open top jeep. Superb beaches, and a
welcome beer after the drive.
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| Chewsy dressed overall |
We ended up with crew from 5
boats joining us and we celebrated in fine style with beer, barbecued meats and
birthday cake.
After
the barbecue we left to all go our separate ways exploring the islands.
We
stayed in the bay outside Spanish town, ready to go to church on Saturday
night. We ended up meeting a group of Americans, in the congregation, off a
large catamaran anchored in the bay. After mass, we joined them for drinks in a
local restaurant and got some good tips for quiet anchorages. Sasha and his wife
were captain and hostess on the cat and the ‘guests’ that week were family and
friends. We had an enjoyable evening out, usually the way when it is least
expected.
“Fishy
tales”
One
of the best things about moving around [notice I didn’t say sailing around] the
BVI’s has been the surprises seen under the water. As someone very new to
snorkeling, I am constantly amazed at what we see beneath us. Even in the most
innocuous places, off the radar as far as guide books are concerned, we have
seen fabulous corals, sea grasses and plants. However best of all we have seen
the most amazing array of fish of all sizes, species, and colour. The vibrant
colours are diminished somewhat on dull or rainy days, so it’s been worth
waiting for the sun to come out.
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| Money Bay, Norman Island |
The guide books recommend
anchorages on Peter and Norman Islands as having stunning settings for
snorkeling and diving. We found a few bays, Great Harbour, on Peter Island,
Benures Bay, and Money Bay on Norman Island which were quiet with a maximum of
6 boats in the anchorage. In fact, we were the only boat in Money Bay on the
south coast of Norman Island. We watched with trepidation everytime a boat came
past but we were left in peace.
In Benures Bay we attracted
the attention of a Ramora. This is a parasitic type of fish which usually
attaches itself to turtles, sharks or whales, feeding on their left overs. We
thought it was unwell because it totally got the wrong idea about Chewsy, and
attached itself to the starboard side of the hull and stayed there for 3 days.
Shame the only leftovers that went over the side were the dregs from the coffee
pot each morning! Steve advised being careful about getting too close to it in
case it decided to attach its suckers to one of us. Not a pleasant thought. We
also saw a couple of turtles swimming in the bay. The water was fantastically
clear and although it was raining hard shortly after we arrived, it cleared up
long enough for us to go snorkelling. The variety of fish was amazing and we
spent about 50 minutes swimming along the shoreline. We swam with Zebra fish,
Yellowtail snappers, Parrot fish and groupers to name but a few. Most of the
fish we have seen we cannot identify by name, but we certainly had an
underwater visual overload in Benures Bay.
Benures Bay was so well
sheltered from the light south easterly wind that on Friday morning [3rd
May], the rain having moved on, the heat from the early morning sun became hot
and oppressive. The whole anchorage felt airless. With the temperature inside
the boat a stifling 30⁰C
at 9am, we decided to take a sightseeing tour around Norman Island under
engine, to charge batteries and try and cool off a little.
Very
few boats seemed to venture outside of the ring of islands. We motored off the
beaten track and found a little gem of an anchorage on the south side of the
island. Money Bay. The cruising guide stated that major shoreside works were
taking place. However, what we saw were 2 small manmade breakwaters one on
either side at the head of the bay. Nothing else, and no signs of habitation at
all.
Once again the water was
amazingly clear and we anchored in 4 metres of water. To avoid going beam on to
the waves we decided to deploy a stern anchor. We have never used our Bruce
anchor before in this way and decided that, being the only boat around, we
could try it out without being the afternoon entertainment in a busy anchorage.
With the anchors both
deployed and the bow facing out into the bay, we got the snorkels on and
positively leapt into the water to cool down. Our Ramora was still attached to
the hull. Steve inspected the set of both anchors, gave them the thumbs up and
then away we went swimming towards the small reef along the right hand side of
the bay. Sadly we were disappointed with the reef; there were obvious signs of
damage from the creation of the breakwaters. There were few fish and even less
healthy looking plants and corals. After half an hour we were back on the boat,
saddened that a bay with such potential had been disappointing.
After lunch we decided to
give the snorkelling another chance. I wanted to swim inside the breakwaters to
see why they had been made. What a surprise! The breakwaters had become new
artificial reefs. Plants were growing and the variety of fish surpassed the
ones seen the day before. Large holes between the rocks offered security for
small fish and also provided homes for larger fish. One of these was a Barracuda,
which was about 4 feet long and which had watched Steve earlier in the day when
he was diving on the anchor.
Happy with our afternoon
explorations, it was not until after showering that I realised we had not
redone the suncream applications after lunch. Due to the extended snorkelling,
our backs had fried in the afternoon sun. A painful 24 hours followed. This was
only the second time during the trip that I have been burnt. The regular
application of Aloe Vera gel helped.
We left Money Bay at 9am the
next morning and had no sooner got out of the bay than we were joined by two
large Bottlenose Dolphins swimming at the bow. We had had no sightings of dolphins
since we had arrived here though we knew of other boats that had encountered
them. It was such a joy to watch them as they ducked and dived right under the
bow. After 2 or 3 minutes they peeled away one to port, the other to starboard.
Our next pretty anchorage
was Lee Bay on Great Camenoe island. Having anchored during a heavy squall in
5.4m water, we were the only boat in there for a while but were later joined by
2 charter monohulls and a catamaran. There was good protection from the 1m+
northerly swell which had developed over the course of the day and the rain
passed over to give us a nice evening.
After breakfast the next morning we were
given a treat. A shoal of zebra fish came up and devoured the remnants of our
chocolate croissants which had been sprinkled over the side. The show didn’t
last long but was spectacular.
We spent one night at anchor
off Little Jost Van Dyke after motor sailing along the north coast of Tortola.
We anchored in 3 metres of water but to get into quiet water away from the
Northerly swell, we chose a lee shore in Manchioneel Bay. The shore seemed very
close and Steve got out the lead line to check the depth of water at the back
of the boat, 3 metres, and then out in the dinghy at the end of the full length
of painter, still 3 metres. Having tested the anchor at 2,000 rpm when we
arrived, Steve declared himself happy with the anchorage. Our spot must have
looked inviting, because in no time at all 2 other boats had joined us.
Our
daily snorkel was not as exciting as previous days but was worthwhile. We were
close enough to swim to the beach after which Steve had another scrape at the
barnacles collecting on the hull!
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| Cane Garden Bay, Tortola, BVI's |
Cane Garden Bay was our next
stop and is one of the 3 ‘must see’ places in the BVI’s according to Jimmy
Cornell’s book ‘World Cruising Destinations’. This is a pretty bay, granted and
my vision may have been clouded by a few things. Firstly the mooring balls.
Every nice anchorage has mooring balls close into the shore. Cane Garden is no
exception. You have to anchor in either deep water or on the outer edges of the
bay. Moorings are $30.00 per night. If we used one each night we were here it
would cost around $900.00 US. So we anchor, along with most of the other
cruisers [as opposed to charterers.] The mooring balls here had such a lot of
scope on their risers that in 24 hours we saw 3 boats run over their mooring
line and get it tangled around the keel. It wasn’t even amusing to watch.
Then there was the rain. It
arrived overnight and stayed. Not a squall, heavy rain. So much so that we were
up first thing in the morning to put buckets out to catch it. It rained so hard
Steve made a dam around the water filler and let the water flood directly into
the tanks. It had had several hours to rid the decks and fittings of salt, and
besides we were not drinking tank water. We also filled our 5 litre water
bottles up. These we would use as drinking water.
I digress; back to Cane
Garden Bay. When the rain stopped the sun came out and we went ashore.
We took
a walk along the road in the direction of Callwoods Rum distillery. Before long
we arrived at a ramshackle building bearing the Callwood plaque.
Along
with more tourists we went inside for a tasting…..and came out with 2 bottles
of rum for the princely sum of $26.00. They are being stored safely to survive
the journey home.
Flush with the pleasure of
purchasing two excellent bottles of rum, we went into Myatts grill and restaurant
on the waterfront to have a drink. What a mistake! 10 minutes later we left,
but the mosquitos and no-see-ums had done their worst. We had been eaten alive
from the knees down! Which meant that we had to go into the next bar along to
get a ‘painkiller’ each.
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The ingredients in this potent drink includes Pussers rum,
orange juice, pineapple juice and coconut milk, over ice with nutmeg grated over
the finished drink. Fabulous, but to help soak up the alcohol we took advantage
of the Happy Hour snack menu. Steve had mussels in garlic sauce. I had fries
with cheese. And no bugs in Quitos bar!
I don’t quite remember
getting back to the boat and getting the tea ready. I do know I slept well that
night.
So whilst we have been there
done that in Cane Garden Bay, I wouldn’t rush back. In my opinion there are
better anchorages on Virgin Gorda and on Peter and Norman Islands.
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| Benures Bay, Norman island |
Our last weekend in the
islands was spent back at Benures Bay on Norman Island. Not a mooring ball in
sight, so no charter boats either. 5 boats max all weekend. We had a
spectacular lightening storm on the Friday night, which lit the skies for miles
around. It was a worrying 2 hours during which time the depth sounder was
affected and we decided to disconnect all the electrical items that we could.
There was a huge crack of fork lightening just the other side of the hill from
us.
In Steves words ‘A very good lightening show, but we’ve had enough now. Go
away’. Unfortunately it rumbled on a bit longer and the heavy rain let us know
that we had a couple of windows that needed sealing. The rest of the weekend
passed quickly and we realised that these would be our last swims and snorkels in the Caribbean. Before long it was Monday morning and we were on our way to
Road town to check into a marina to prepare for the trip to Bermuda. 837 miles
due north according to the chart plotter.
It will take about a week to sail to Bermuda, so as they say 'we'll see you on the other side!'
It will take about a week to sail to Bermuda, so as they say 'we'll see you on the other side!'
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