Return to Anegada

While we were having a blast in North Sound, in part we were actually waiting for the high winds and unsettled weather to pass so we could hop on up to Anegada, the most northerly of the BVI islands. On the flip-side, the winds are forecast to drop right off later in the day Thursday and through Friday and we wanted to get while the getting was good, and not resort to motoring the crossing. Just as planned (don't you love it when plans work out), we had 10-12 knots of wind on the beam and we had a truly fabulous sail across to "the drowned island."

The morning parade of Anegada-bound boats

SOG = speed over ground. We zipped along and the trip was almost over before we were ready.

Errands on Anegada consist of deciding where and when you'd like to eat your sunset dinner and what mode of transportation you'd like to use to get around the island. Choices abound - by foot (the island may be flat but it is fairly big), by bicycle (did that a couple of years ago with Jim and the powdery sand is pretty heavy-going), by scooter (lots of fun, did it a year or so ago), by rental car/jeep or by taxi. We opted for car rental so we booked one for tomorrow and then given all that strenuous activity proceeded to relax over conch fritters and rum punch at the Reef Hotel. Oh, and by the way, we're having spaghetti aboard tonight and will decide on dinner tomorrow. More than one big decision in a day on Anegada can get stressful.

The beach at the western end of the island goes on and on and rivals some of the best we've seen. The special part is that there is no development (other than a couple of beach houses and a little restaurant) and even if you meet other people you quickly have the beach to yourselves if you walk just a little bit further. We walked all the way to the end, about 3 miles and then turned with the setting sun behind us and a cooling breeze on our faces and made our way home to Mowzer.

These little shore-birds accompanied us along the beach.

Hard to describe perfection.

These donkeys were munching up sea-weed for a dinnertime snack.

Ashore at North Sound

People hike up Kilimanjaro to see the snows before they are gone for good and we felt a little bit that way today hiking around the hills behind North Sound on Virgin Gorda.

First order of the day was to climb up Biras Hill (approx. 433 ft.). The views out over Deep Cove were spectacular but surprisingly not from the actual summit which was an unassuming meeting of trails. Rounding behind Deep Cove we continued out on the Atlantic side with spectactular views of Eustatia Sound and on to Oil Nut Bay which according to our cruising guide is a wonderfully secluded anchorage for those brave enough to traverse through the coral head maze behind the protective reef. As we crested the hills all we were greeted with were a high-end resort development so we may have missed the snows - the pristince seclusion is gone for good. I think the next time we are up here we won't be welcomed behind the gates of this exclusive community.

Back to Biras Creek and given how hot and sweaty we were from our hike (even after a refreshing dip in the ocean), we thought the open air Fat Virgin Cafe would be a good choice. Hoping for a place in the shade we chanced upon Chris and Trudy (from Salisbury, U.K.) and thereupon commenced a very enjoyable lunch chat. It should be mentioned that the food was pretty tasty too!

In the afternoon we headed back to conquer the other trails on Biras Hill before clamboring back down over the boulders on the Bitter End side of the hill with rewarding views of Saba Rock. As we finished off our last trek we passed below the balcony of the last resort buildings only to be greeted by Chris again who so kindly invited us up for a drink - much needed water and much enjoyed Mount Gay.

As I've commented before, we always enjoy the chance meetings with fellow travellers and hearing their stories. Chris and Trudy live not far from where Caitlin is currently studying and know the areas that we visitied in England in January so well. It's always amazing how you can travel far and wide and still meet folks with whom you share a connection.

Setting out on our morning excursion

Deep Cove - wonder how they came up with that name?

We were hoping for views from the summit, but there was just a cross-roads of trails

A refreshing mid-day dip in the ocean

Incredible hues of Eustatia Sound

Takes nerve to park on these hills

Oil Nut Bay resort development

More development above the secluded bay

Rebuilding Richard Branson's estate after a fire 18 months ago

Fat Virgin Cafe beside the dock - excellent roti!

Saba Rock - bar, restaurant, resort, beach, all packed onto the Rock

Clamboring down over the boulders above Biras Creek

Henry taking in the world below him - Eustatia Island with Necker Island in the distance

The Wind Gods

Just as the forecast predicted we had solid winds last night which blasted in bullet-like gusts down the hillside into our anchorage, but we held tight and had a relatively quiet night. We made it a leisurely morning and lifted anchor around 8:45 to motor up to North Sound on Virgin Gorda. Once we rounded the corner out of Long Bay we had strong winds on the nose and a steep chop until we rounded Mosquito Rock into the relative calm behind the islands and the reefs that make up Gorda (North) Sound.

Along the way over the last few years we have learned many lessons and this morning I learned another. As we were lifting the anchor we assumed our usual positions, Henry at the helm and myself operating the windlass on the foredeck. To raise the anchor requires that I open the anchor locker and lay the lid over on the deck away from me. Once laid open, I proceed with raising the anchor and don't give the cover another thought until time to close up and move on. This morning there was a particularly ferocious blast of wind that had me staggering back away from the locker, and at the same time somehow managed to lift the anchor locker lid and slam it shut where just a moment before my foot had been. Note that this anchor locker lid is about 3 feet square of solid fiberglass and is not particularly light. Of course if the wind hadn't sent me back it wouldn't have been strong enough to lift the lid, but even so - lesson learned, I will keep my feet out of the locker area if there is any wind around in the future (or wear steel-toed boots!)

Our day proceeded with explorations around Bitter End and Biras Creek. Another little lesson: when dinghying long distances over choppy water, pack the walking clothes and accept that you are going to get wet! This is definitely an enclave for the mega-yacht crowd and yet it is one of those unusual places that makes anyone welcome and no matter, prince or pauper, all can enjoy this beautiful location. Mid-afternoon we headed back for 2-for-1 Painkillers at Bitter End (courtesy of "The Drinking Man's Guide to the BVI") and then over to Saba Rock for happy hour where we met up with some friendly sailors from Maine.

Despite all the high-end restaurants that line up on shore-side, Henry produced a gourmet meal of stuffed mushrooms and peppers with chicken and rice so I shall never complain of not being well-fed while aboard Mowzer!

One jacket between us so Henry got to helm through the winds and waves washing over the bows

There's some serious real estate on the water in North Sound

Think about it, such an ominous name for such a beautiful welcome...

Seriously - yoga on the deck at 7:45 every morning

Apparently if you show up in 25 knots of wind you can have the beach to yourself

I'm thinking of instituting this cocktail flag on Mowzer's aft-deck - does it come with the cabana boy? (sorry Henry)

Two-for-one Painkillers with a view

Sir Richard Branson's Necker Belle - note the raisable crow's nest on the mast

A Boat Day

Yesterday brought a real mix of weather with winds as high as 25 knots, a couple of rain squalls, sunshine and cloud.

We started the day at Haulovers where I baked raisin tea biscuits for breakfast. The little gas oven on Mowzer took a little while to get hot but once there, did an excellent job.

This boat arrived just as we left Haulover Bay

One of the other boats in the anchorage managed to wrap not one but two anchor chains around rocks on the bottom and needed the assistance of a diver off another boat to help them get free. Once all that excitement passed, we also headed out and made our way around to South Bay on Ginger Island. It took a little bit to get the anchor to settle but once there we were the only ones in the anchorage for lunch. The toll however was winds and swell running at opposite angles to each other. Wind wins so we ended up sitting abeam to the swells which was not overly pleasant.

The stunning south shore of Ginger Island

We had arrived at Ginger in a squall so it was fitting that another arrived as we were hauling up the anchor. Rounding the westerly point and entering the Drake Channel it was just like someone turned back on the pleasure sail; the high seas and rain instantly disappeared and we headed up to Spanish Town on Virgin Gorda. We were happy that we had reefed the mainsail as the winds climbed up over 20 knots and with genny reefed as well, Mowzer happily skipped along at 7-8 knots! We were enjoying it so much and making such good way we carried on up to Long Bay where we tucked into the anchorage just off a lovely isolated white sand beach fringed by reef and turquoise waters. Just five other cruisers in the anchorage - no mooring balls and a beautiful westerly view over the island of Tortola - I anticipate another good sunset tonight.

Squalls heading over to Tortola

Long Bay anchorage

A couple of other boat jobs awaited as we lazed around for the afternoon. The trampoline benefitted from a little rework to fill in a few holes and I managed to splice an eye in the dinghy painter. My first splice!

The Digicel Quest

This post is somewhat about our search for a wifi solution, which of course is a hot topic if you are trying to post a blog; then I'll get to some more interesting updates.

A couple of years ago we purchased a Ubiquity Bullet that we used on Mowzer with varying degrees of success and very much dependent on the good will or naïveté of folks to allow us access their wifi network. Sometimes it cost a drink to get the wifi code from a bar, but even that adds up at tourist hangouts where drinks can get quite expensive (which is surprising given the previous post's picture on the cost of rum). Unfortunately when we were taking down our antenna last November, something came disconnected and I am not sure how repairable, and cost effective, it is. This time we decided to try the more commercial route since data SIM cards are becoming much more affordable and with the prevalence of cellular networks in this part of the Caribbean we wanted to give it a try. Thus began the quest for a Digicel outlet that could sell us such a beast.

I did a little research before leaving home and found out that there was a Digicel store somewhere just east of West End (Soper's Hole). We asked at one of the shops and the fellow advised us that it was a half hour walk, but knowing how little the locals like to walk (but they love to drive very fast on the windy roads) we thought, "How far can it be, we can walk that." Well walk it we did, at 1pm, in the hot sun, for a half hour - this guy knew his distances! Just past the Big Ben Grocery, there it was. However, this small outlet didn't carry the data card for an iPad. So, we headed into the grocery to find a cold drink and on our return walk, a very nice fellow in a brand new SUV gave us a ride back to West End. Funny how, even knowing how far we'd walked, it still seemed far on the road! Thank you to the local who took pity on the crazy cruisers in the mid-day sun.

Digicel Quest - part 2, Road Town. We landed in the store in Road Town where they got us all sorted out with a data SIM card and we are now connected. We picked out a nice 1GB prepaid card, good for 30 days for $27 with a $10 credit that covers the cost of the $10 card (funny how that works). We can now connect from just about anywhere in the BVI, with the curious exception of Norman Island (what happens at Willie T's or Pirates apparently stays there). Of course we're not continuously online since we now have some serious relaxing to do now that we have completed the Digicel Quest. Sum total covers about the cost of two drinks for each of us at bars for their local wifi so we figure we're well ahead at this point.

Ok, now for the fun stuff. We stopped off at The Indians for snorkeling in the morning and it was pretty good. Not the most abundant fish population but the reef structure was pretty interesting to swim over. After finishing up there we had a most perfect sail over to Road Town; 10-15 knots of wind, flat seas and a close reach at 5-7 knots. After we finished up our errands in town we headed out again and had another similar great sail over to Haulovers on Cooper Island. The Beach Club was packed with boats and we sailed right on by, accompanied by two dolphins (where was my camera!) and we settled down the anchor in the same place that we stopped here last year. As we went out to snorkel the anchor the dolphins gave us another swim-by making this a perfect stopping place for the night. The evening games ensued watching a few other boats trying to find a spot in the swirly winds up against the cliff face and when all was done there were about five boats settled in for the night.

Just a few photos from The Indians. I am experimenting with the GoPro underwater.