Friday 23rd April (Lini’s Journal)

Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sat 24 Apr 2010 16:14
It was only a short sail round to North Sound which we motored to
charge the batteries and make some water. With no wind and overcast
skies there has been little juice going into the batteries from the
solar panels and wind generator. The BVIs are a delight with all the
islands dotted closely together providing constantly changing pretty
scenery. Even looking west towards the dark grey clouds, the
silhouettes of the islands in varying tones of grey were still a
picture. Rounding the North West headland however into the sound with
shallow green water over the reefs and numerous pale golden beaches
fringing the small green islands was very exciting, as this will be
our playground for the next few days. Once in and clear of the reefs
we had a long motor around admiring the various anchorages and
eventually deciding to drop the hook by Saba Rock a tiny island
completely built on with a bar, restaurant, rooms and a circular
wooden dock round the edge that you can moor to. You pay dearly for
moorings here though so a short dinghy trip from the anchorage will
save us many dollars. Even the mooring buoys next to us are $30 a day.
After a late lunch and an unsuccessful search for snorkel sites in
the new pilot book we took Shovell ashore to explore. Bitter End, the
northern most part of Virgin Gorda was well set up for yachties with a
little marina, bar, restaurants, shops, boutiques and dive shops.
Further along, the path led into the resort with tasteful wooden
apartments rising up the hill and wooden loungers and hammocks under
palm umbrellas along the beach. Children splashed in the pool which
yachties were welcome to use for $10. It was all terribly nice and
squeaky clean with swept paths, raked sand and little sign posts to
everything rather like a theme park. From Bitter End we crossed over
to Saba Rock, tying Shovell up right beside the bar where low and
behold it was happy hour! With two for one on rum punches how could we
say no?!
Although no people to watch yet there was a fantastic view straight
out into the sound and a great collection of antique outboard motors
dotted about. Around from the bar was a pool containing the anchor
from RMS Rhone which sank off Salt Island in a hurricane in 1867.
Surrounding the anchor were pretty reef fish and the biggest ugliest
green moray eels I have ever seen with big teeth and evil grins.
Please tell me there aren’t any of those where we’ll be snorkelling? A
dive boat pulled up and I went to investigate as a crowd of happy hour
drinkers had now gathered along the dock. Metre long tarpons were
being fed with large pieced of fish. OMG!!! I wonder if they have any
of those Perspex kayaks here to save me being in the water while
admiring life underwater! We returned to the bar and ordered a mojito
to calm my nerves and a painkiller for Si to celebrate the thought of
exciting beasties underwater.
After booking a table for dinner tomorrow night we were back on
Brindabella in time for sundowners! Already a tad squiffy, G&Ts
probably weren’t the best of ideas and I really can’t remember much of
preparing chicken kebabs for a barbecue. We listened to music in the
still heat of the humid evening and at some point later I must have
taken myself to bed. Hic!