BVI and visitors
ALICE'S ADVENTURES
ANDREW AND CELIA SHARPE
Sat 30 Apr 2011 20:11
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We had a busy few weeks in Antigua. The new water
pump on the boat failed and had to be replaced. Budget Marine had to fly a
new one in from St Martin which took a few days. In the meantime we met
Suzanne and David on Suzie Too who had all the pilot books for the USA which we
borrowed to study. We also met Debra and Paul on Pandora and had 3 good
fun evenings with both couples. We hope to meet up with them all again for
more good laughs.
When the boat was back together we went to Deep Bay and
anchored for a night. The plan had been to go to Nonsuch Bay but once
again it was very windy and would have been a very rough trip. The next
day it was back to Jumby to see Debbie and Mark again to enjoy their
wonderful hospitality and a few days of indulgence. We also caught up with
John and Lindy Morgan and had a lovely dinner at their home with Richard and Jo
Balding (Owners of Fenix). After a lovely few days we tore ourselves away
to go back to Jolly Harbour AGAIN! Whilst swimming around the boat we saw
that we had patches of coral reef growing so we employed a diver to clean it all
off for us.
On 16th April we left Jolly Harbour with Debbie and
Mark, John and Lindy and went round to Falmouth to watch the Classic
racing. We had a fabulous view of the big boats at the start - Velsheda,
Ranger, Rebecca and others. Then it was into the harbour for lunch and
dropping them off ashore. We walked round to English Harbour to clear
customs and bumped into Phaedra from Nakesa. They are also planning to go
up to the States for the summer.
We left Antigua early the next morning and had a great
sail up to St Barts. Fairly tight on the wind and force 4 to 5. We
moored in Anse Du Columbier for 2 nights. We visited Gustavia to check in
and out and visit the French supermarket. Then it was an afternoon of
swimming and watching turtles feeding near the boat.
We left in the early hours the next day to head over to
the BVI. For once there was NO wind. So 14 hours of motoring.
We were greeted by pilot whales and dolphins which was lovely.
Then had to go into Road Town to check in and then went
over to Norman Island. We then heard from Martin and Elizabeth on Caduceus
that they were anchored in Little Harbour, Peter Island so we went to join
them. We met Laura and John on Rainmaker there (another ARC boat) and were
invited for drinks with them that night. The next night was with us and
the third night was on Caduceus. It was just us by then and we had a
barbeque. Martin piped us aboard which was lovely and earned him a round
of applause from the other boats in the bay.
We then left on Saturday to make our way over to Trellis
Bay which is right next to the airport to wait for George, James, Charlie and
Emma. We had a birthday lunch for Andrew on the beach and dinner at the
Last Resort restaurant on a small island in the middle of the bay. George
and his friends were delayed by LIAT and instead of arriving at 10pm on Saturday
got in at 10.30am on Sunday after a night in a hotel in St Martin. It was
lovely to see them and they wasted no time at all in throwing themselves in the
water - often. We did an epic voyage of 0.75 nautical miles to Marina
Cay. There they could snorkel to the reef from the boat. We went
ashore for Happy Hour and to take photos at the red phone box on the
jetty. Easter Monday we went over to Spanish Town to watch the Easter
Parade. It was due to start at 11.00 but actually came by at 1.30pm -
Caribbean time!! Very colourful and lively. Following that we went
down to Peter Island where the water is so clear you can see all the fish
without even getting in the water. Next day we went to the Bight in Norman
Island and went for a walk on the island and then snorkelling in the
caves. This is the island where Treasure Island was supposed to be based
on. Emma wanted to go to Willy Ts Pirate Bar so we went there for
sundowners and stayed for dinner. The frozen margeuritas were
delicious.
Next day on the whistle stop tour was a real slog of a
sail up to Virgin Gorda Sound. Wind was on the nose and the worst gust was
38 knots true wind. We moored at the Bitter End again. Our guests
took us for cocktails and a meal at Saba Rock which was very
enjoyable.
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