Off to Road Town

Given the bumpiness of the anchorage we decided to have breakfast over in Trellis Bay where it is a bit more protected.

Wandering round Trellis Bay we enjoyed visiting Aragorn's Studio and some of the other craft shops before stopping at Da Loose Mongoose for lunch. This is the spot we enjoyed the Canada vs. US Olympic gold medal hockey game last year so it was rather fun to revisit the spot. We decided on the whole that we definitely like the laid-back atmosphere of Trellis Bay better than Marina Cay.

With the winds from the NE we headed off in the afternoon for a wonderful downwind sail to Road Town Tortola. As you can see we were definitely enjoying the warm sun and winds.

This harbour was a new one for all of us and after dodging a cruise ship as we came in we dropped the anchor on the western side of Road Harbor looking towards the government dock and a number of marinas.

Evening explorations ashore revealed that Road Town is relatively small and not nearly as commercial as Charlotte Amalie, but very busy in it's own right. We rounded out dinner at The Pub at Fort Burt Marina where Henry felt very British with his prime rib and yorkshire pudding while the rest of us opted for more Caribbean fare. We amused the waitress greatly when we revealed that in Canada we say "zed" but say "zeebra" (as in the U.S) whereas here in the BVI they are taught to say "zed" and "zebra" (short e). She also revealed that they call speedbumps "sleeping policemen" which I think I have also heard in the U.K.

This is the customs and ferry dock with Pusser's on the waterfront at the right and the local landmark, "The Purple Palace" just above.

Up the Bathtub

The day dawned bright and sunny and the winds were down considerably so before the weather could change it's mind we departed The Bight and headed up the Drake Passage (the “bathtub”) towards The Baths. The winds were perfect and we sailed almost all the way, until we decided that if we were to have any chance of picking up a mooring ball we probably shouldn't make another tack but head straight there. With a bit of patience, and some luck on our side, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before a boat departed, leaving a mooring ball free for us. Bonus, we were nice and close to Devil's Bay which is the more southerly entrance to The Baths, and from past experience the dinghy line is much closer to the beach and the resulting swim, much easier as well. I take my hat off to Caitlin who jumped in and made the swim, cast and all.

The Baths dished up the usual excitement of surf-pounded shores and still calm grottoes; Jim especially enjoyed returning to the spot that he had enjoyed so much last year. Caitlin looked on at the guys with bouldering chalk in envy but did quite a bit of clambering herself.

By mid-afternoon, we were ready to raise the sails again for a quick jaunt over to Marina Cay where we dropped anchor at the back of the pack. Aragorn promptly came around in his big dinghy full of fresh and baked produce so we procured a loaf of fresh-baked bread and a carrot loaf for the morning.

We headed into the Cay for sundowners and appetizers and have to say that we were pretty disappointed. The drinks were overpriced (no happy hour) and the much anticipated appies never arrived, and we couldn't get the advertized free wi-fi, so we headed back to the boat hungry for dinner.

Overnight, the winds picked up and it got pretty rolly in the anchorage but our tackle held beautifully and we were in exactly the same spot at day-break.

Change in Plans - the weather rules!

This is a lesson that we are constantly taught in a boat - the weather rules and if you forget it you will pay the consequences.

In this case, we set off from JVD this morning with a plan to head up the north shore of Tortola to Marina Cay or Trellis Bay (at the east end of Tortola). Constantly remind me that I do not like the north shore of any of the big islands!!

The winds this morning were 18-22 knots but most uncomfortable were the swells coming in a very sharp formation which made for a really rough ride. After about half an hour of bashing up the north shore and barely making it past Cane Garden Bay we decided for the sake of vacation enjoyment that we would turn around and head around to the south shore and make for Norman Island and The Bight.

We arrived just after 1pm and set to really enjoying the sun, cool breezes and lunch. I find that while dinner can be lots of fun, it is really lunch that I enjoy; a simple affair of whatever is in the fridge but I am usually exceptionally hungry which makes it all taste so good. I also managed to get a loaf of bread baked and then we headed in for an afternoon happy-hour visit to Pirates (the beach-bar at The Bight).

Here we also have wi-fi so on checking the weather the winds are pretty high for the whole week but less so tomorrow so we will make the run in the morning up the The Baths and then from there we should have easy runs back down "the bathtub" as we make our way back west-ward.

Into the BVIs

We set off in the morning with the plan to head to Jost Van Dyke (JVD) and it appears that Caitlin and Jim brought some weather with them. The winds are blowing at 20+ knots and the accompanying swells are from the ENE.

We headed along the south shore of St. Thomas and then headed up through the cut into the BVIs but with the wind on the nose we decided to motor most of the way and made Great Harbour on JVD by early afternoon. Since the last time we were here two years ago they have put in ~30 mooring balls which is great because the holding for anchoring is poor and this lessens the number of boats that come in, drop their anchor and leave for the bar only to drag into the boat behind them. We headed into Foxy's famous beach bar for a cold drink and then decided to hike over the hill to the Soggy Dollar Bar in White Bay. Given the winds and the narrow bay behind the reef in White Bay we were happy to be in Great Harbour but White Bay definitely has the most amazingly fine white sand beach anywhere! Painkillers at the Soggy Dollar Bar, where they originated, were a treat and then, much fortified, we hiked back over the hill. The 'hill' rises to about 500' and the road is probably about 3 km long so we were definitely feeling the steepness of the climb in our legs the next morning!

We rounded out the evening with appies at Foxy's and then headed back to dinner on the boat. Hey family, do you remember the Laura Secord Monopoly chocolate game we picked up at Xmas and never played? It was great family entertainment for the evening, but we owe you all one!

Caitlin and Jim have arrived!!

This morning we headed off for a quick hike along the Francis Bay trail and made it as far as the ruins of the Annaberg School which was built in the mid-1800s on a Danish plan to build a number of schools across the islands and mandate education for the local youth - very progressive.

After leaving Francis Bay we picked up a mooring ball in Trunk Bay to try out the underwater snorkel trail. There was a heavy swell running but the trail is protected behind a cay so the snorkelling is fairly easy. Getting in and out of the surf at the beach proves more difficult. To be honest, there were so many people in the water that there really weren't that many fish to be seen and you had to keep an eye out as much at the surface as down below so we felt we'd rather head back to Leinster Bay or other spots for a good snorkel.

The winds picked up nicely and we sailed back to St. Thomas to be on the dock by 2:30 and then headed up to the airport to meet Caitlin and Jim. We decided to walk which takes about 45 minutes from CYOA and after meeting up, we all decided we were up for the walk back. Jim and I stopped at the Pueblo to replenish a few supplies while Caitlin and Henry continued on to the dock.

Dinner was a quiet affair but it is so good to have them both down here; Caitlin's first time and Jim's return. We're all cleaning up with showers, checking email at the dock and plan on a good start in the morning so we can get up into the BVI's before it gets too late in the day. Our first planned stop is Jost Van Dyke but we don't have a solid schedule beyond that.

All for now - make sure to check back to the last post from Christiansted because with the better bandwidth I was able to load pictures.