18:26.97N  64:31.88W

 

Monday 23 to Wednesday 25 March 2015

 

Distance Run  20nm

 

Another good sail and we enjoyed the three hours sailing south west towards Beef Island on which the small airport for the islands is located.  Beef Island is connected by a bridge to the eastern end of Tortola, the main island of the BVI’s. 

 

The number of mooring buoys in Trellis Bay has increased but we found a sheltered place to anchor north east of Bellamy Cay, a small reef/island which lies in the centre of the bay.  I had a short tour in the dinghy and went ashore on Bellamy Cay to see if ‘The Last Resort’ still existed as the buildings were looking a little decrepit.  Apparently the owner died a couple of years ago but it reopened 3 months ago and I think it’s fair to say they are still finding their feet! 

 

On Tuesday we went ashore in Trellis Bay and were happy to see ‘De Loose Mongoose’ bar/cafe still exists but it’s rather larger than our first time here and now has a guest house at the back.  The current staff need to go back to charm school but perhaps it’s just an age thing. 

 

 

There is not much more in the bay although a small ‘supermarket’ has sprung up:-

 

 

 

After dropping some shopping off on the boat we continued across the bay in the dinghy to Marina Cay which is a small island on a reef and houses a ‘Pussers Store’.  Pussers is a derivative of the the Royal Navy ‘Pursers’ and they now sell a range of quite attractive branded goods at unattractive prices.  Lunch at the restaurant was good though.  There is a small marina with fuel and water and a number of mooring buoys.

 

The main attractions of Trellis Bay seem now to be limited to shelter from southerly winds and easy access to the airport.  It’s only a 5 minute walk and a good place to pick up and drop off guests or crew.  That said we went ashore again on Wednesday morning and having blown out De Loose Mongoose we went to another small bar, ‘Marche’, for breakfast and to check the weather on the internet before departing.  Marche doesn’t look promising but is actually very nice.

 

 

A visitor just outside Marche:-

 

 

 

At the top of the picture the stones mark the end of the airport runway.  There are actually a couple of islands as well, Great Camanoe to the left behind the stones and Scrub Island just right of centre with a small  passage between them.

 

 

Another view from Marche.  The man under the umbrella with his wheelbarrow has just finished cleaning the sea front of all debris and rubbish, bless him:-