12:27.433N 61:29.151W

Thursday 17^th May 2012

Distance run: 4 nmiles

Feeling somewhat lazy and disinclined to hoist sail for the 4 nautical mile trek round to Tyrrell Bay, we motored.  We passed Sandy Island which looked like a good place for a lunch stop for a swim and snorkel when James is with us.  The guy at the dive company in Hillsborough had also mentioned it as a good dive spot, so it’s one to bear in mind for the future.

We arrived in Tyrrell Bay an hour later and found a good spot to drop the anchor.  There were quite a few boats here, and this is obviously the main anchorage for the island.  We were visited by a couple of boat boys offering various goods and services, all of which we declined, except the offer of oysters.  These grow in the mangroves, and we decided to give them a try, as we both rather like oysters.  Having agreed the number and price, the boat boy headed off, and reappeared about half an hour later with some rther muddy oysters.  There was no doubting their freshness and Steve set about washing the mud off and opening them.  They were a little disappointing, I have to admit, with a very mild flavour, and not a patch on the Saint Vaast oysters we used to enjoy on our trips across the Channel.

Steve cleaned and opened the oysters.                                                                  But they weren’t really worth all the effort!