18:31N 64:23W Gorda Sound 18th April
The Snark on The ARC
Ben Little
Wed 20 Apr 2011 14:18
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Still have not found a working Wi-Fi so some of
these updates will all be arriving at the same time.
We arrived in the Virgin Islands (Virgin Gorda) at
lunch on 17th April and went straight for a bath!. The Virgin Baths is a
beautiful beach area reminiscent of Source D'argent (for beach connoisseurs) in
the Seychelles, full of huge granite boulders, caves and pristine white
sand. The underwater scenes is equally impressive with turtles, barracuda
and sea the colour of blue Gatorade!! In fact there was a 5 or 6 ft long
barracuda hovering under our bathing platform when we were about to go
swimming. At this point I think I should back track and mention that we
have been blessed with some interesting sea life sightings on this trip.
The Barracuda is not the biggest by any means to visit the boat. We have
had visits from at least 2 sharks of respectable size and a pod a whales and
some dolphins (which on this occasion were too busy feeding to approach the
boat).
After a relaxing and refreshing swim we tied up for
the night in Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, we were in need of re-stocking our
provisions and getting a top up of water (the water maker, now working, was
in need of a deep clean which takes a while in a clean water,
now sorted and working well). It is also a necessary evil to clear
customs in each and every island or island group you
visit. Thankfully the Virgin islands counts as a group so this was
the last time till Bermuda, of course I suspect there will be a charge for
leaving as well.
The evening was spent in true Caribbean style with
a steel band and live music in the marina followed by lobster pizza (which Milo
also had for breakfast). We set off the next morning having cleared
customs and stocked up on water and groceries and headed out for Gorda sound in
search of the sand box restaurant which was advertised as the place to go for
lobster (our appetite whetted by the pizza). The first stop however was a
beautiful beach called savanna bay where there was another beautiful beach and
some great snorkeling, though due to the anchorage it was a big swim to
both. We saw another turtle, many fish including the ubiquitous barracuda
and a manta ray (which I missed). Onward to Gorda sound, a lagoon
completely surrounded by coral reef and several islands with names such as
Mosquito Is, Prickly Pear Is and Netter Is (this last of course Richard
Branson's hide away). Sadly, while we found the prickly pear
restaurant it is currently closed in the evenings and did not have any
lobster. A beautiful anchorage with white sandy beaches and beautiful
water so clear you can see the bottom.
After much research and a tip that this is where we
can find the best lobster, we decided the next destination would be Anegada
Island, basically a huge coral reef sand island.
Ben and the Crew of The Snark
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