Thursday 6th May (Lini’s Journal)
Brindabella's Web Diary
Simon Williams
Sun 16 May 2010 02:14
the day we went skinny dipping! My heart was heavy at the thought of
checking into the marina and all the preparations for a long passage
which always turn out so stressful. First however we had several hours
in which to play and we set off for Salt Island for a look at the
wreck of RMS Rhone.
With Brindabella secured to a mooring buoy we took Shovell to the
dinghy buoy and jumping over were amazed to find the wreck directly
below us. Despite the depth we could see everything clearly just by
snorkelling. I had been encouraging Si for some time to book a SCUBA
dive as it’s known as the top dive site in the BVIs but it would have
been totally unnecessary. The massive propeller lay beside the rotting
hull and I shuddered to think of the lives lost that stormy night.
Once again big beasties stopped my play and I was frantic when three
massive Lini eating fishes patrolled past with Simon nowhere in sight
to protect me: I am such a girl at times! Safely back aboard
Brindabella we could see the ARC Europe fleet leaving Tortola for
Bermuda and we gave ‘Blonde Moment’ and ‘Fair Encounter’ a call on VHF
to wish them luck. Hearing our call ‘Papillon’ and ‘Sharkeater’ then
called us for a chat which of course included Australian cricket
updates. I guess that was the last time we will speak to them.
With rumbling tummies we agreed on a short hop over for lunch in
Deadman’s Bay (next to Dead Chest Island as in yo, ho, ho and a bottle
of rum). Turtles and a blue spotted ray came to greet us as we
anchored in idyllic surroundings savouring our last hour of play in
the Caribbean.
The first of our packing up procedures didn’t exactly go to plan
when we decided to get the outboard aboard and put Shovell on the
foredeck prior to going into the marina. The locking bolts on the
outboard had totally seized and one broke when Si used some man power
to release it. With Shovell still towed behind we crossed over to
Tortola and into Nanny Cay Marina where Lynda was waiting to take our
lines with an invitation to supper this evening. While the girls
checked out the laundry facilities Si had a very stressful time.
Firstly he was unable to get an electric adaptor from the unhelpful
lady in the office and he had to buy one from the chandlery which cost
over $100 US and didn’t work. Then the marina wifi didn’t work and
there were urgent weather checks to be made. Amongst the stressful
atmosphere I transferred the contents of the fridge to the freezer and
started defrosting the igloo before writing a huge provisioning list.
We have been told prices in Bermuda are three times those here!!! Si
then had to get the outboard bolts off and with Shovell on the pontoon
we gave his bottom a good scrub removing barnacles and a disgusting
layer of green slime: Boy, did we need our showers!
It was a huge relief to join Lynda and Phillip for a lovely evening
unwinding with rum punch then scrummy fajitas and wine. With
conversations about the weather it now looks like an earlier departure
on Saturday.