18:29.43N  64:22.86W

 

Tuesday 17 March 2015

 

Distance Run  71 nm

 

 

At 20 to 6 in the evening the anchor was raised and we were off.  The winds were only about 13 or 14 knots but the direction, a little north of east, was helpful and avoided our having to sail on a dead run, which is slow and rolly.  The sea was good for a couple of hours but then became quite sloppy.  Nothing rough or dangerous but enough to make sleep a little difficult when we settled into our night watch routine.  Our friends, Rob and Rhian on Beyzano were travelling in the exact opposite direction towards St Martin and they reported comfortable seas so we assume it was better sailing into the chop than in our direction.  We spotted 9 or 10 yachts travelling in the opposite direction and we must have passed in the night.

 

As dawn came we could sea the south side of Virgin Gorda which is the eastern most island in the British Virgin Islands.  Virgin Gorda, or the fat virgin, was named after the shape of the island which was said to represent a lady lying down. 

 

In this picture you can sea the face to the right, then the chest and then the larger belly to the left:-

 

 

 

 

We passed through the channel between Virgin Gorda and Richard Branson’s Necker Island.  The resort has been rebuilt after the original was damaged in a storm.  The main house caught fire after a lightening strike:-

 

 

 

 

We made our way between Colquhoun Reef on one side and Cactus Reef on the other through a marked channel into North Sound, Virgin Gorda.  We have not been here for 12 years and it’s wonderful to be back in our own boat.  The first time was on our honeymoon nearly 22 years ago and we have chartered boats here 3 times since then plus a couple of times in the Grenadines. 

 

The Sound is quite large and picturesque with a radius of about a mile and well sheltered.  We crossed over to Gun Creek where we anchored, launched the dinghy, and cleared into the BVI’s.

 

Once the formalities were completed we motored over to the other side of North Sound and anchored off Prickly Pear island behind the field of mooring buoys.  On the way over we passed a superyacht with the obligatory helicopter on the aft deck:-

 

 

 

The helicopter was wrapped in a cover, presumably to protect it from the spray when at sea. 

 

 

Ahead of us in the anchorage is the tiny Saba Rock, nestled between Prickly Pear to the left and Virgin Gorda to the right:-

 

 

 

Saba Rock had a ‘pirate’ style bar on it when we first came here but is now filled with a small resort with a large restaurant and 5 rooms.  We heard someone make an enquiry over the VHF radio and learned that the rooms are ‘only’ US$550 a night at the moment.