No 2/14 Tortola & the Baths

Hi from Clare,                                      Sunday 12th January 2014

 

OUT OF THE WIND

We anchored for three days in the Road Town inner harbour on the island of Tortola BVI. It was very calm and protected from the strong winds which seem to be normal for this time of the year. Don and Glenys on Agua Therapy were in the near by marina having their rig checked. Surprise, surprise, the rigger knew how to charge but his solution to the problem didn't instil confidence. So Don and Andrew got together and with the instruction manual at hand, did the job themselves at a much keener price.

 

The Cruise Ship Tourist Trap

THROUGH NEW EYES
On previous occasions we have only visited Tortola for reprovisioning, so being a tourist for a few days was a refreshing change. Glenys and I checked out the shops and explored the town taking in the 'tourist trap' area designed to attract the Cruise Ship trade. I might add Don and Andrew tagged along behind us happily talking 'boats'. I doubt they saw anything that Glenys and I saw.

 

Road Town and The Dove Restaurant

On our final night in Tortola Don and Glenys requested to shout us dinner at the marina for the help Andrew had given Don. However upon our arrival they had changed the venue and we had a booking at The Dove, one of the premium restaurants in town; very generous but very naughty of them. The food was beautifully presented and every mouthful from the entrée, main course, dessert, cheese platter to wine, port and liqueur coffee was a gastronomic delight. Needless to say sharing this experience with Don and Glenys will stay in our memory for a long time.

 

The shore break and Clare's arrival (Olympic style)

 

The Baths

THIRD TIME LUCKY
The following morning we parted company. It was farewell but not goodbye, I'm sure we will meet again. Don and Glenys headed south to the USVI and we headed north to Virgin Gorda BVI. We desperately wanted to see the area known as The Baths. It's a huge pile of granite boulders forming a natural maze. Inside the caves are ladders and wooden walkways and lovely small emerald pools with white sand bottoms. This is our third attempt to see the site and although the swell was up we decided not to be faint hearted. There is a line of buoys off the shore to leave the dinghy and then it's a swim to shore between the waves. Once reaching the beach our fins became an impediment and we struggled to stay upright. However we fared better than some people who were washed up the beach like sea weed. I had my new underwater camera with me and so you can check out our snaps.
We are currently anchored in Long Bay on the western side of Virgin Gorda. There is some snorkelling here and although there is little fish life, the coral is probably the best we have seen in the BVI - but not a wow factor.

 

Pathway in the Baths and one giant stride for man

SO WHAT'S NEXT
I think we will stay here for the moment as there are friends on a couple of boats coming through that we wish to catch up with before leaving the BVI. Anyhow I will keep you posted if and when we meet up.

Love Candy xx

At 1:23 PM8/01/2014 (utc) our position was 18°25.58'N 064°37.04'W

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1/14 NEW YEAR

 

Hi from Clare,                                    Sunday 5^th January 2014

 

IT’S A TOUGH LIFE

Early morning on New Year’s Eve we tore ourselves away from our idyllic location on the south side of St John Island and went around to the main town of Cruz Bay. Because the area is national park we were only allowed to anchor for three hours just off the town. This was our second visit to the town so we used the time to take some photos, visit the supermarket and have lunch in the very pretty and shaded outdoor restaurant by the waterfront.

 

 

 

 

 

Views around Cruz Bay

(read the sign)

 

MORE THAN YOU BARGAIN FOR  

With a quiet New Year’s Eve planned we moored in Cinnamon Bay a mile away from the larger and more populated Francis Bay on the north side of St John Island USVI.  There was one other unknown boat in the bay.  No sooner had we settled, their dinghy approached with an invitation to New Year drinks (there goes our quiet one).  It turned out to be the cruising couple we meet in the laundry a few days earlier in St Thomas. We had a lovely evening on their thirty year old 58’ schooner.  With its solid rosewood interior, marble benches/sinks and traditional schooner rig all done with ropes and pulleys, it would fit in well on the movie set for Pirates of the Caribbean; a beautiful old boat and certainly a different sailing experience. But for all its 30 tonnes of weight it still rolled rather badly.

BACK TO THE BVI

We checked back into the BVI at Soper’s Hole on the island of Totola and then motored for eight miles into a strong head wind to Peter Island.  The beauty of these islands is that being close together there are many anchorages to choose from to escape adverse weather conditions. So with the wind howling outside in the Sir Francis Drake channel we tucked in very nicely for a few drinks on Eye Candy with our English friends Ken and Judith from Badgers Sett.  When we entered the anchorage Ken came out in his dinghy and took our line ashore.  That saved us having to drop the dinghy and go through the whole rigmarole – sweet.

BE PREPARED

The following morning we set sail in perfect conditions to go five miles to Cooper Island.  We only got half way before Cooper Island disappeared in a very dark rain squall and we got wet. The wind blew 25knots and we scrambled to reduce sails before the wind died completely. So we motored for a mile or two and then the sun came out and we resumed with the perfect sailing conditions we started out with less than an hour ago – someone up there has a terrific sense of humour and must be rolling with laughter.   

RENEWING OLD FRIENDSHIPS    

 

Drinks on Cooper Is, BVI with Glennys and Don

At Cooper Island we planned to catch up with British couple Don and Glenys on Agua Therapy. We first met them in Cartagena Spain  in 2011 before our Atlantic Crossing.  At that time Don and Glenys were still working and fitting out Agua Therapy for their retirement adventure.  Glenys said “we may see you on the water some time” and we have kept in touch via the Blog.  When we arrived at Cooper Island, Glenys was waving from the bow of their boat and called out “What a sight for sore eyes”.  She had organised a most enjoyable BBQ lunch on Agua Therapy where we whiled away the afternoon catching up before retreating to the Beach Club for some Rum Punch and Pain Killers. The anchorage is fairly open and so we rolled for most of the night.  Needless to say we have now returned to good protection on Peter Island.

A STROLL IN THE SUN

 

Our resort walk

The four of us went for a walk yesterday around Peter Island Resort and over the headland to Deadman’s Bay. This is a very pretty semi circular beach with aqua water and white sand dotted with palm trees. We came here with Andrew’s sister Deb a few weeks ago and it rained rather heavily. Yesterday was no exception, with very little warning we all got rained on, so we decided to give the beach up and retire to Eye Candy for drinks and dinner.

SO WHAT NEXT

Tomorrow we will sail across to the island of Tortola for provisioning and a gas refill.  We intend spending a few weeks in the BVI before venturing further east to the Eastern Caribbean island chain.

 

Love Candy xx