A weekend in the same place!
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Mon 10 Feb 2014 15:55
The little island of Saba Rock has kept up entranced for three nights. Yes the happy hour and free water where part of the draw, but so where the sights and ease to get around to explore the area.
On Saturday, Darrell's first job was to dinghy over to The Bitter End to buy fresh bread and croissants from their bakery for breakfast, which was a real treat. We then did domestics until we scooted back over for coffee. The Bitter End is a resort run by a family, who have developed gardens around their lodge style accommodation and trails for walking. They have all the watersports on offer. The kite surfing across the reefs was spectacular and Darrell is determined to make it his new hobby. One kite surfer was so proficient he was able to jump over the tenders buzzing about. We wandered happily along the trails exploring the island before returning to Stream for an afternoon of reading. Sarah was much struck by the gold in the sand on the beach, until Darrell pointed out it was mica!
We returned to Saba Rock for Happy Hour and met some fellow travellers who hailed from Bellingham, but the one in Seattle not Northumberland, also slightly different pronunciation but same spelling. We spent a good evening chatting to them.
On Sunday, we had an expedition out to the reef off Eustatia Sound which was much further than Sarah had anticipated and quite a distance from land. Stretching that comfort zone again! After dinghying the length of the reef we went towards the Necker Island end, another of Richard Banson's islands, and secured to a buoy. Over the side and into the water for some great snorkelling. First thing we saw was a cannon. Sarah likes to think it is from a Spanish Galleon harried onto the reef by the likes of Bluebeard, Drake or Hawkins, who had made this area their base. But Darrell being a cynic thought it moor likely to have been added for divers. The coral looked like it had been damaged, there was a lot of debris covered with silt, but there was also a lot growing. The sea breaking over the reef made it quite choppy to swim in. We saw a good variety of fish. It was good to see the sergeant majors taking on all comers as they protected their eggs. Sarah managed to get back in the dinghy, eventually!
The afternoon was spent relaxing and watching the racing yachts, until happy hour! Sunday is a busy day on Saba Rock, not sure how they managed to get so many people in such a small place! Three racing yacht crews were in for dinner. The new charters had made this a stopping point so it was a noisy night. So we repaired back to the boat to watch a film after dinner ready for an early start the following day.