18:43.6N  064:24.3W

We had a fine sail up to Anegada, with the wind just forward of the beam and a gentle swell.  Escapade seemed to relish being back in open water.

Anchored off Anegada. No need to adjust your screen – this is the colour!

The second largest of the BVIs, Anegada lies some twenty miles north of the main group and is geologically quite different.  Its highest point is just 30 feet above sea level and it is surrounded by stunning sandy beaches – something that the other islands do not have on anything like the same scale.  The water round Anegada is pretty shallow and the island lacks the tourist infrastructure that you see elsewhere.  You don’t actually see it until you are about five miles off, when some palm trees and a couple of rooves appear out of the sea. 

Anegada, fringed with stunning beaches, turquoise water and no tourists.  Paradise Found?

We inched into the main anchorage on the south side of the island, weaving our way amongst the coral heads that were silhouetted in the afternoon sunshine, but I stopped 300 yards short of the other yachts at anchor when we had just 20cm under the keel and were still in the main channel.  We edged back out and went further west, feeling our way round Pomato Point to an area off the beach that offered some shelter from the prevailing swell.  We anchored about half a mile off the beach in four metres of turquoise water and had a cup of tea to relax!

Looking south from Anegada towards Tortola

We considered leaving at once because the boat was rolling quite a bit, but then decided we were being a bit feeble and went to bed early instead – determined to explore the island the following day.

Pink flamingos at Anegada

It was worth the roll: we hired a fairly rickety scooter and set off along the sandy, deserted roads to explore.  The middle of the island is a patchwork of saltwater lakes, home to some splendid pink flamingos.  The beach at Loblolly Bay, on the north east of the island, was perfect and completely empty.  Our friends Andrew and Kate had told us to visit Cow Wreck Beach at the western end of the island, so we set off to find it.  The main town, ‘The Settlement’, was a bit miserable and not a place to linger and the Fisherman’s Wharf seemed very run down.  But the views of the rest of the islands across the sound were spectacular and the island had a certain magic which we liked.  Cow Wreck Beach was as advertised: empty, glorious and with a nice little beach bar for lunch!  We could have stayed indefinitely… except that the rolling anchorage was a bit irritating, so we decided to leave late in the afternoon and return to Gorda Sound for the night, where we knew the way in after dark and could guarantee an undisturbed night’s sleep.

The skipper watching for falling coconuts at Cow Wreck Beach, Anegada

Loblolly Beach.  No need to reserve the seat!