Departure Delayed

Our departure from Bermuda has been delayed possibly for a few days, due to an enormous high with very light winds just where we want to go. More sightseeing is in order. Good job we still have some bus tickets left. 

Bermuda Shorts and more

                                  Bermuda was a very welcome sight. Although the tow went well, these things are always stressful and it was great to be finally checked in with customs and immigration. By 17:00 we were safely anchored in Convict Bay, St. Georges in 6 metres of water. We were stunned at how busy the place was with boats arriving all the time. We later found out that it was Bermuda day the following day and a national holiday with celebrations, a marathon, street parties etc taking place in the capitol, Hamilton. Also boats were diverting on their way to the states because of bad weather. We were happy to have our ‘spot’ for a few days.

In the harbour we saw Irish boat ‘Indulgence’ with skipper John on board. Unfortunately it was without its mast. We later found out they had found hairline cracks in the mast and it was being repaired. They had already been here for 3 weeks. There was no end in sight for them. A trip up the mast was put on our maintenance list.

On Thursday we chose to stay in St. Georges. It was great. It was like a ghost town. Very few people about. We walked for about 4 hours around the coast visiting various monuments, battlements, and churches around the area. The town area of St. Georges has very little to offer other than a few shops and bars although it is extremely pretty and the people are very friendly. It was just what we needed; to get ashore and stretch our legs.

We had been warned that Bermuda was very expensive. One article I read said wryly that Bermudans were expert at getting you to part with your cash, without you actually realising how much you were spending.

How true. A visit to the supermarket showed a small loaf of bread was $6.00. A dozen eggs $7.00 [£4.50] A beer anywhere between $6-$8. A night in a marina would set you back $150.00. I will be visiting the supermarket with a very short shopping list before we leave.

 On my trip around the town I naturally gravitated to the clothes shops. Hey I’m a woman. Of course I like shopping. However a quick look at the price tags had me running for cover. I thought St. Barts was expensive, but the prices here gave me palpitations! The least expensive pair of Bermuda shorts I could find for me were $65.00. Good ones were $95.00. Oh well. I won’t need shorts back in Scotland. No wonder the average salary here is $80,000 a year. A three bed house is around $1.000,000. We won’t be buying our second home here.

On Saturday evening we went out for a meal with Stevie and Nic, and an Australian couple, Carolla and Jim on route to the USA, to a bistro in town with a reputation for good food. We had a great night, with good company and superb food. Steve had a steak and I had Yellowfin snapper, the best fish I have ever tasted. Stevie picked up the bill for the evening as a thank you for the tow. He had also passed over 3 jerry cans of diesel which was a great help.

Sunday, during the ritual standing up of visitors at mass, we spied another ‘yachtie’ and chatted to him on the way back to the dinghy dock. He was French, off an 85 foot boat, and was waiting for a weather window. They had completed a 3 year circumnavigation and were now on their way back to France.

Back on our boat, Steve went up the mast to check the mast and rigging. All was reported as being ok. We then checked the gooseneck fitting and the boom. All ok.

In the harbour we were able to access free wifi with varying degrees of success. This meant Steve could keep a close eye on the weather patterns. Steve kept in touch with Stevie on Crazy Diamond and in the afternoon went over to have a look at the engine so the 2 of them could decide on a way forward. Nic came over to Chewsy and Mandy, her female crew came as well. Stevie was in touch with the Yanmar dealer and had been offered a berth in Hamilton if he could get there. Stevie accepted Steves offer of another tow, this time 17 miles to Hamilton. This would happen on Tuesday. The problem had, they hoped, been isolated to the seals on the fuel lift pump. A new part had been ordered by the Yanmar dealer.

On Monday we had a day out to Hamilton. That was after the whole Monday is washing day routine. No washing done for over 2 weeks meant the washing lines were full. Done and dusted by 10am.

The bus trip was pleasant, the journey interesting. What is immediately obvious is that the whole island is very built up. Very little room for new builds. Very little agriculture but we did see 1 tractor. 

Small scale agriculture

Hamilton was a busy place with 2 cruise ships in most days. The things that left the most impressions on me were the fabulous buildings.

On the bus to Hamilton

A government building

                                                                                  

 Back in the harbour we checked the tow was still on for the day after. The plan was to leave at lunchtime so that we could be met in the harbour by Nic’s brother who lives on the island. The tow went well and followed the buoyed channel around the island to Hamilton  and took just on 4 hours. When we arrived we found out that there was no ‘free’ berth waiting for them and the best Nic’s brother could do was a marina berth at, you’ve guessed it - $150 per night. No way! Stevie was not happy. We ended up anchored rafted together whilst we all had dinner after which Steve and I dropped behind them anchoring overnight in 10m water in Blue Hole. We left just after 9 on Wednesday morning. We had a full day ahead of us if we were to leave on Thursday.

We had a head wind most of the way back getting up to 20 knots at times. We were managing well most of the time, and had the genoa out in Hamilton harbour which added a knot to our speed. Arriving into St. Georges harbour we went to the fuel dock first to fill up with diesel and water. Every spare water container was filled with best Bermudan water. It even passed my cup of tea test. After that it was back to the anchorage. Next on the agenda was a trip ashore to the supermarket. Remember those prices I told you about…… $95 for a hand shopping basket full. Nothing extravagant except a tin of custard powder. On our way back to the boat we called on Derek and Anthea on Sukanuk for tea and a chat. They have a Tradewinds 33 and are returning to Cumbria after being away for 13 years. They are also planning to leave tomorrow for the Azores.

Back on Chewsy and down comes the genoa. The uv strip is looking the worse for wear and needs repairing. Steve sat on deck and did the sewing whilst I put away the shopping and prepared meals for the next couple of days. We are glad of the lighter nights. The sail was down, repaired and up again in 2 hours. We were ready for our Spaghetti Bolognese.

On plan and on target to leave Bermuda tomorrow morning Thursday 30^th May. Here you have to check out and go. No 24 hours grace. Customs opens at 8am. There are 2 Dutch boats that we know are leaving so there may be a queue for the customs berth. Maybe we should have gone tonight, but we are tired and feel that a good sleep is in order. The journey is 1700 miles and should take around 14 days. 

Wish us well.

Best laid plans and all that. The high pressure has spread hundreds of miles with less than 5 knots of wind. Steve does not want to use all our diesel at the beginning of the trip. So we stayed and watched a dozen boats leave, all planning on motoring for hundreds of miles. Looks like it will be a few days before we go.

We’re going to Bermuda

       We spent 2 days in Village Cay Marina in Tortola so that we could prepare the boat for the start of our journey home. Having said this we have another 3,000 miles before tying alongside at Troon Yacht Haven.

Whilst in the marina we paid yet more visits to the grocery supermarket and topped up with drinking water. I was able to get various jobs done via email as well as catch up with the family back home. We filed our pre arrival details with the Bermudan authorities which should make things easier when we arrive there. We did a bit of local sightseeing on foot and took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs’.

We met up with Stevie and Nic off ‘Crazy Diamond’ who had sailed up from St Martin and who are also going on to Bermuda and the Azores, before heading over to Spain. They plan to leave the day after us and possibly even after the weekend. They are succumbing to the delights of the BVI’s.

We left Tortola around 11am on Thursday morning 16^th May, with a forecast of easterly wind at varying strengths which would supposedly develop into a south easterly as we get nearer to Bermuda. We thought we would have a couple of light wind days meaning a longish trip to complete the 830 odd miles almost due north. Our course, taking into account leeway and magnetic variation started off as 025m and we left close hauled on starboard tack with one reef in the main and no. 1 jib size genoa.

We wrote our log every 3 hours or if anything significant happened, with the off going person completing it overnight. During the day either of us would do it. We try to make it interesting so that it is a good momento of our trip.

4 hours after leaving Cane Garden Bay we had the pleasure of being accompanied by 2 Atlantic Spotted Dolphins; one adult and one young. They danced at the front of the bow for several minutes before continuing on their journey. Sorry, no pictures, we decided to enjoy the experience instead of photographing it.

  Our first 2 days were good sailing mostly with full main and genoa up. I was a little queasy for the first 24 hours but I soon settled. On Saturday, at 8am with the wind easing we decided to roll away the genoa and fly the cruising chute instead. It was hoisted without incident. However, as the chute filled, the webbing attaching it to the halyard snapped and it started to collapse. Fortunately the snap shackle attaching the clew to the sheet parted, and we were able to drag the sail on to the foredeck, with only the ends trailing into the water. It was a hot 29.3⁰C. By 10:30 Steve had replaced the webbing and we were ready to try again. Success. However, by 13:00 the wind had died away to an E1; the chute came down and the engine started. At 16:30 Steve announced we had now officially left the tropics! Does that mean it goes cold?? Overnight we sailed into a NNE4/5 and had a reef in the main. We were hard on the wind, going like a train, but not actually making Bermuda!

This up and down of the wind continued throughout the trip. On Sunday we had the fishing line out all day. We fancied fresh fish for tea. We had blackcurrant crumble and custard for lunch: I had been wanting this since we left. Oh, it was yummy. The fishing was successful, in a way. We caught 3 fish. The first one got a reprieve because it was too small for a decent meal.

The second one was a beautiful Dorado, that I had cooked and eaten whilst it was still on the line. Unfortunately for us the fish had other ideas and before we could get the gaff into play, it had twisted away and was gone, snapping the lure as it went. The frustration was palpable. The third fish that remained unseen, bit off the lure and wire strop. Glad we didn’t bring that one in. So, it was pasta for tea!

 We had a beautiful evening sail, watching the fabulous sunset as we ghosted along doing 3.5 knots. By 21:00 the wind had veered and increased to an E3/4. We were back on course for Bermuda. It might have been a beautiful night but it was starting to get a bit chilly. It was time to dig out the fleece, long trousers and socks!

I used to think about the Bermuda triangle a lot when I was younger. I hadn’t thought about it for years until this trip. I havn’t looked into the latitude and longitude of it. I just knew it was to the somewhere west of Bermuda. We had a couple of strange experiences whist we were out. The first was that during our first 2 days out, no matter what course we steered or what wind direction we sailed we were taken East and our x track error increased continually to the right. The sea was lumpy and confused. Monday was our wedding anniversary and I had promised I would bake a cake to celebrate. However I could barely stand up in the galley so I reneged on my promise and we had a glass of shandy and a chocolate mousse instead. Temperatures today were 5⁰C less than the same times yesterday.

At 19:00, as Steve was going off watch for a doze, I went into the saloon to sit and have a chat for a minute or so. All was safe on deck. We were heeled over starboard tack. I was in bare feet and got them wet. Oh no, not again I thought. We pulled back the carpet and sure enough. Wet water pooled under the carpet. The taste test confirmed salt water. On with the bilge pump. Out with the bucket and sponge. Detective work showed dry bilges forward and aft. Seacocks secure. Stopping to think and remembering the sheer volume of water that had surged over the decks over the last few days usually running down the port side, we hoped it was the broken stanchion base that was letting the water in. For now all we could do was mop up and keep an eye on the bilges. Fortunately the sea was much quieter now and the decks were staying relatively dry.

Also, by Monday evening our sailing had completely changed. No matter what we did, steered or sailed, our x track error was now 22 miles West. We checked our compass, leeway and for currents. Nothing could explain the boats direction and it became quite frustrating, not to mention we were going west. Bermuda triangle came to mind. Steve says I have too much imagination. I know what I think! Our ENE5 wind became a 6 by 19:00 and we dropped the second reef in the main before it went dark. We had 6 hours of strong wind, with Chewsy pounding through the waves, occasionally mimicking a submarine, at other times dropping like a stone and slamming the hull into the water beneath. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep much off watch.

By 01:00 on Tuesday morning 21st May the wind had eased down and Steve went up on deck and shook out the 2^nd reef and we continued the rest of the night with 1 reef in the main and the genoa furled to a No. 1 size jib. When Steve came on watch at 7am we put up full sail. The wind remained a steady ENE3 and we finally got some speed up doing 5-6 knots.

Breakfast is always a challenge on passage. Trying to ring the changes with limited stores is interesting. Tuesday morning I made a bacon and onion omelette which went down a treat with both of us and was certainly better than the cardboard Frosties™ that Steve offered me. Not only that but the calorific value of the cooked breakfast made sense after our active nights sailing. By 17:00, after a day of good sailing on either a fine reach or a beam reach, we were less than 200 miles from our Bermuda waypoint and had been hearing occasional transmissions from Bermuda harbour radio for the last couple of hours.

At 04:00 Wednesday I climbed out of my warm cozy bed and got ready to go on watch. It wasn’t fair to turn over. Steve was ready for a sleep. Bermuda Harbour Radio chattered away quietly in the background, but I tuned it out. We were still 138 miles away to the south west. On went the hat and socks. They make such a difference. Up on deck we had full sail; Steve had trimmed them so well I had nothing to do for the whole watch apart from watch the sunrise.

On Wednesday lunchtime we were startled to hear a radio transmission from Crazy Diamond trying to hail another boat. With their supposed sailing time frame we had not thought to be in radio contact at all. I called them on the radio and was dismayed to hear about their catalogue of problems, They had lost their engine, the topping lift had snapped, and the fridge had packed in. They were making reasonable time at present doing 3-4 knots, about 17 miles to our SW. They had power issues; fine during the day with the solar panels, poor after sunset. We agreed to chat again at 21:00 with the offer to stand by as support.

We had a quiet afternoon, sailing gently under the cruising chute, with a flat sea, and doing 4-5 knots in an ESE 2-3. We ruminated about Crazy Diamond off and on and Steve had several ideas.

At 18:00, we were in touch again; They were 15 miles SW of our position with light winds. At 22:00 we had trouble hearing them on the radio. We finally got their position. We had been making a gentle intercept course, but Steve decided to actively search for them. Once their radio failed completely we would never find them. We turned west. Steve put the power sucking radar on for a quick look, and found traffic which could be them. After only 5 minutes or so of motoring west we saw a solitary white light on the horizon in front of us. We had previously established that this was the only light Crazy Diamond was showing. We were able to contact Bermuda Harbour Radio to appraise them of the situation and would keep in loose contact with them.

By 01:00 we were standing by off Crazy Diamond with a SSE2 blowing and a rolly sea. We communicated via hand held radio. Steve offered a full tow into St. Georges but at this time Stevie wanted to try to sail in with his genoa poled out; first he needed to rig a temporary topping lift to get the mainsail down. Having us standing by gave him extra confidence to get on and do these things. The plan was that they would sail in front and we would bring up the rear sailing with just our main with the preventer rigged. We had rigged a bridle twice in case a tow was needed to pull them into the wind, we also put our main sail up and down twice as plans changed or evolved. Finally we started moving in the general direction of Bermuda – just. Our main sail slapped and banged and was generally very uncomfortable. Steve went downstairs for a rest, but I know he didn’t sleep. At 03:10 Stevie called me on the hand held and accepted the tow we had offered several hours earlier. Thank goodness. Steve was out of his bunk before I put the radio down.

 The moon shining down on us gave us the light we needed, the tow set up went smoothly, with crew Graham, on Crazy Diamond helping Steve on deck and Nic at the helm. With the lines secure and the prospect of an 8 hour tow in front of us I went to bed for a couple of hours.

At 05:30 Steve called Bermuda harbour radio to give them an update and an ETA of early afternoon. The sun came up and the wind freshened. The forecast was for good wind and we could have dropped the tow and both sailed by 10am. However, with an increasing wind it would have been more difficult to re-establish the tow by Bermuda Harbour. So we put the genoa up which gave us an extra knot of speed.

Bermuda Radio informed us we were on our own getting the boats onto the custom dock. Gee, thanks a lot. We were not allowed to anchor and go in by dinghy. Ok, so once we entered the harbour, we changed the long tow for an alongside one and was immediately aware of the queuing system for customs. There were several boats waiting to clear in. We could be stooging about for hours. Not acceptable. Nic got on the radio and had a moan about safety etc and hey presto, we were next in. After a textbook berthing manoeuvre by Steve we were in. Whew, we had arrived.

Steve with Nic and Stevie and crew Mandy and Graham

A month in the BVI's

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.

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.

Chewsy dressed overall

  April 26^th was Chewsy’s birthday and we had arranged with friends off Mad Fish and Ruffian to get together in Savannah Bay on Virgin Gorda for a Barbecue and Beach Party. We dressed the boat overall as did Mad Fish and they made a fine sight for other boats in the bay. Thank you to Iain and Fiona for the birthday cake surprise. 

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.

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 [3^rd 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!

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. 

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.

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!'

Leaving St. Martin.

April 27th - Well, we have now been in the BVI’s for 9 days. However, before that ……..a short update so I don't get too far behind

We met up a final time with Loud and Marlene off Rafiki in the Lagoon on the Dutch side of St Martin and said our goodbyes. They are not visiting the BVI’s and our paths will not cross again this trip as we head north and home.

In the lagoon we met up with Mike off sailing vessel ‘Quinn’ We were in touch initially via the morning cruiser net on vhf channel 14. Mike sets up Sat phone modems and links them to computers to provide weather at sea for cruisers. We had a convoluted system of getting weather during our last atlantic crossing, via text messages, but we really needed to sort getting grib files downloaded to the laptop for the trip back.

The weather systems are likely to be more unstable going home and we need to know what’s happening. Mike crosses the atlantic twice a year and helps the ARC boats in the Canaries every year. He set up our laptop for us using his own software. He went though the downloading processes with us several times so that we could easily access grib files via ‘mailasail’, without the laptop trying to download all our other emails via the sat phone modem! All sounds easy, and we had come so close to doing it ourselves. However Mike has set it all up and it now works beautifully. It’s really reassuring.  Hopefully we won’t need to use our back up system on the way home!

Before leaving the bay we had our genoa down for some quick sail repairs to the UV strip and to grease the furling gear which had started to get a bit stiff. We also used the silicone spray on the sail slugs which should make the main sail easier to hoist. All this was done early one morning when there was a brief lull in the wind which normally blows 15 – 20 kn.

Wednesday 17^th April

We had a good overnight sail up from Marigot Bay in St Martin, leaving the anchorage at 16:00 hrs. We expected the trip to take 14-16 hours. We had an easterly 4 as we left with a no.2 size genoa up on starboard tack. Within ½ hour we had the sail poled out and were making 5-6 knots. The seas were a bit rolly and it was definitely more comfortable on deck than down below. The genoa remained untouched throughout the night and the wind was a pretty constant force 4-5. By 01:00 the sea way was busy with cruise ships to port and yachts everywhere. We were pretty much holding our own speed wise with the rest of the traffic going the same way. Our eta at the way point at Round Rock off Virgin Gorda stayed pretty stable and arrival in Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda looked about 8am which was good enough for us.

At 4 am [as my watch started] the rain came down and was hard enough for me to dig out the waterproof jackets. It cleared up about 7 am, by which time the genoa had been rolled away and we were motoring up the Francis Drake Channel, towards Spanish Town, the port of entry on Virgin Gorda.

Our first long passage this side of the atlantic had gone very well. 89 miles overnight left us tired and ready for an hours kip before going ashore to check in. We checked in for 30 days, the maximum time you can stay without temporarily importing the boat. Cost is $4 pp/day, we think, and you pay on leaving! This is as well as customs and immigration fees.

Anyway the sun is shining and we are ready for the next phase of our adventures including a beach party to celebrate Chewsys 30^th birthday.

Still heading north

We took the dinghy ashore in Gustavia, St. Barts tying up to one of the docks. The Captainarie is right on the waterside. Check in is via computer, I love the French islands for the ease of completing the formalities. Outside the harbour area was buzzing with beautiful people, coming and going from superyachts. We had arrived just prior to the start of the St Bart’s Bucket regatta weekend. Our wander around found beers advertised at €8 each. We skipped the bars and went back to the boat. On Tuesday we went ashore and got some great views from Fort Gustave.

The island is described as the Riviera of the Caribbean and it is easy to see why; almost every designer name appears in the small streets surrounding the harbour. It’s glamour with a capital G. You could easily be in the South of France or Monaco.

Our shopping was confined to the boulangerie and the supermarket. In there I struggled to keep ahead of the superyacht hostesses off 3 different boats, who seemed to be trying to empty the store, wiping out the crisps, Doritos etc. and filling trolleys of fresh fruit and vegetables; armfuls of celery, large bags of peppers, lemons and limes. No getting scurvy on their boats. Oops, sorry, it’s for the G&T and dips at the end of the days racing. We checked out of St Barts on Wednesday morning and headed to Anse Colombier, picking up a mooring ball and revelling in the relative peace and quiet.

Thursday 28^th March. We left Anse Colombier early in the morning and motored over to a small island Ile Fourchue. We had planned to stay for a few hours, but had about 20 miles to St. Martin, and then had to get ashore to check in. We decided to make it a swim stop. I made a total hash of bringing the boat alongside the mooring ball [twice] Too fast said my skipper. I agreed with the first call, disputed the second and relinquished the wheel in a paddy. Needless to say, the next pick up was perfect!. Still with a red hot temper in evidence, I got my swimwear on, sorted the bathing ladder in double time and jumped in the water. Trouble in paradise? By the time I had done 2 laps around the boat, my temper had cooled. We both enjoyed the swim in the crystal clear water, apologised to each other for the temper outbursts [no shouting allowed, just fierce muttering], had drinks on deck, and were on our way to St. Martin in just over an hour.

We sailed with full main and genoa up, a rarity, and headed up the windward side of St. Martin on starboard tack. Around 11 am Steve caught sight of a humpback whale away in the distance off our starboard side. It appeared to have been disturbed by another yacht whilst it had been slumbering on the surface.

We were overhauled by Ruffian on the way up. They had left Ile Fourchue after us but were flying along under their main and spinnaker. We waved and took photos as they went past. We relaxed back and enjoyed the gentle sail, leaving the cruising chute in the sail locker. The deck thermometer showed 40.7⁰ C

Reading the pilot book, we decided to try and check in at Raddison Marina in Anse Marcel. The bay looked well sheltered by a reef running across 2/3 of the entrance. We dropped the genoa earlier and now, turning into the wind, dropped the main and motored into the anchorage. We dropped the hook in 3.5m water and prepared the dinghy to go ashore. Raddison marina is owned by the hotel group of the same name and is very well protected from wind in all directions. Checking in was completed on a computer again and payment of 5 euros to the marina manager. Simple. Back to our nice anchorage; no roll anywhere. We were happy to remain on board and watch the antics of the turtles playing in the bay, one with a remora on its back!

We decided to try out the Cobb barbeque which had been lent to us by a friend in Scotland. We had no luck with this on the few occasions we had tried it, but the heat in the boat was overpowering and I was fed up of cooking myself along with the food. With a few hours to play with before dinner, Steve lit the cob, using a mixture of briquettes, charcoal and lighter fluid. We had 2 large chicken legs marinaded ready to grill.

This is no barbeque, but an outdoor oven; as such it takes a long time to heat up, most barbeques are over before this is hot. However, with time it heated up nicely and the chicken was put on the griddle and covered with the lid. It sat on the aft deck doing its thing for about an hour and a bit whilst we had a drink, chatted, and prepared the salad. Voila, after said time,  2 beautifully cooked, moist, tender pieces of chicken emerged. Dinner and the Cobb was deemed a success.

     

Easter Sunday, we used it again and this time cooked a roast beef dinner, including Yorkshire pudding. One pot cooking at its best. The Yorkshire pudding was not the best I’ve ever made, but it was still edible.

We have been anchored for 2 weeks in St Martin waiting for a petrol tank for the dinghy engine. Very similar situation to the one we were in in Santa Cruz Tenerife last November. Paying for emergency fedex delivery doesn’t work if Mercury in the States doesn’t post it out!

We spent some time at the anchorage in Grande Case. The bay is very windy, but the sea flat without swell whilst we were there. The sea was fantastically clear and great for swimming. We had a great Sunday lunch at one of the restaurants. The place has the most restaurants over a small area that I have ever seen. They suit all pockets, but we settled for a barbecue stall that the locals seemed to frequent. It came with its own live music.

Back in Marigot Bay our attention was caught by a large grey catamaran 80-100ft long, which had appeared in the entrance to the Fort Louis Marina. We speculated about whether it should have a mast or not and eventually decided that it had been dismasted.  Chatting with Australians Jim and Carola from SY. Koza, a few evenings later when they were aboard for sundowners, they said that the customs and gendarmeries had been on board for several days. We indulged in a little harmless gossip, drug running, commercial accident etc. then moved on to other topics. 

Walking down to the internet station later that week, we spoke to a marina employee, who told us the tragedy that had unfolded aboard the yacht. It was a charter vessel with 7 crew and 7 guests; 5 French and 2 Swiss. The yacht had been dismasted in perfect weather conditions and the skipper killed outright. The remaining crew had been instructed to sail the boat back to St. Martin with the skippers body ‘on ice’ in one of the cabins. This took 3 days. No wonder we had seen all types of authority figures climbing all over the boat. The story was a reminder that accidents do happen at sea.

Another ‘tragedy’ was the dismasting of a catamaran as it went through the lift bridge from Marigot Bay in to Marigot Lagoon. These boats are moored next to each other in the marina.

We have not been idle during our time in St. Martin. We have made a couple of trips to the supermarket and restocked with tins and dried goods to last us until we land in the Azores. On one of our trips back in the dinghy we were swamped after hitting wash from a motor boat. Low in the water with the food stacked up at the front end I’m sure it was the 4 trays of beer that saved the rest of the shopping from becoming a soggy mess. Or, did the 4 trays of beer make the dinghy too low in the water? Whichever, both the shopping and ourselves were very wet when we got back. Amazingly, like in the canaries, the boat seems to just absorb the stores. We have meals for 50 days as well as extra pasta, rice etc.

It’s quite sad to be planning food for our trip home. However food in the BVI’s and Bermuda is reportedly very pricey, so it makes sense to stock up here.

We have also ticked off a few items on the maintenance list, notably, servicing the 2 primary cockpit winches, and refilling the fuel jerry cans.

Regular readers of this blog will know that we have had trouble with our Tactic Wind Instruments since our Atlantic crossing. Steve is pretty sure that it is the battery in the masthead unit that is faulty. Lille Marine in St Martin quoted 1050 us$ [£690:00] for a replacement masthead unit. Nobody seems able to service them since tactic were taken over by Raymarine. Needless to say as a new masthead unit in the UK is £395 we declined the assistants offer to have it rushed over from the Dutch side of the island for us. So it looks like we will be crossing back with only the windex to help us. May have to buy a new windex as a spare. As Steve keeps telling me, we don’t need wind instruments to sail safely. I know that, but I’m going to get a crick in my neck keep looking up to the top of the mast!

Wednesday 10/4/13. We have just arrived in Anguilla, and plan to spent a couple of days admiring the white powdery sand that makes up the fabulous beach. We will also be taking a taxi tour inland before an overnight sail to the BVI’s, a total of 92 miles according to the books.