18 25’.4N 64 37’.1W

Hello Faithful Blog Readers,
If the prospect of reading is making you sleepy, why not just look at the photo’s added by The Legend himself.

Until the last few days, we have had constantly strong Easterly winds - the water still choppy enough, even in sheltered anchorages, to wear our lifejackets going to and fro in the dingy, much to everyone’s amusement. If I fall in I’d rather something held my head above water while I drift seawards waiting to be rescued.

From Anguilla, where I left you, we sailed back to Marigot Bay on St. Martins, to meet up with David and Susan on ‘Enchantress’. Having waved them off from Gibraltar in November, it was great to see them again and we enjoyed a lovely few days socialising and news swapping before they headed South.
By chance, Pippy and Richard on ‘Matelot’ arrived. Last seen in the Cape Verdes at Christmas, it was another opportunity for a reunion.
St. Martin’s is a good place to stock up and to get work done on the Dutch side. We were all making use of the facilities to make repairs. Brian replaced the broken throttle cable successfully.
We were enjoying a restorative drink on Matelot when we noticed their dingy had escaped it’s tether at ‘Matelot’s’ stern. Much distress and searching with torch and our dingy, to no avail.
Next morning it was spotted tied to another boat whose owners had found it stranded and rescued it. After a tearful reunion, a Happy Ending.

On 8th March we began the overnight passage to VirginGorda in the BVI’s. Still windy with lumpy seas and occasional squalls, but we made good time and picked up a mooring in a pretty bay near the marina for a day’s rest. Welcomed by a lovely turtle who popped up close by. We moved into the marina for the night, but only the pelicans were friendly.

After that, Valley Trunk was a beautiful anchorage off a lovely beach with the entrance to The Baths just beyond it. A conservation area, anchoring and dinghies are not allowed. Instead you have to tie the dinghy to a floating line about 75 m. from the shore, then take to (deep) water and pull yourself ashore along another buoyed line. Hard work which should come with a health warning! The reward when (and if) you reach the beach is to walk, crawl and climb between spectacular boulders, with clear seawater pools and views of the sea through openings in the rocks. It pays to get there early - it’s a popular destination. Returning to the dingy by the same method, Brian climbed in easily while I landed face down after an undignified struggle.

Still on Virgin Gorda, we sailed up North to Prickly Pear Island, watching huge racing yachts close by. A bit too close at one point, as we kept as near to the shallow water as we dared, to give a huge racing machine more room......…..but it just kept on coming! We thought we were being helpful. They thought we were in the way. One of the crew politely indicated where we should go, and we did!
The windy weather was perfect for them and for the next couple of days at anchor, we watched them leaving the bay and returning after the day’s racing - once escorted by a pair of lazy dolphins.
Unexpectedly, ‘Matelot’ appeared and anchored over night. This time it really was final farewells before they began their trip towards Panama and home to New Zealand.

14th March - to Beef Island at the E. end of Tortola Island, and anchored in Trellis Bay (BBC 4 listeners allowed to giggle). The narrow beach is covered with coral flotsam at one end and sand at the other, bordered by mangrove and palms, a couple of beach bars and an artist’s studio belonging to an English sculptor and potter - Aragorn Dick-Reed (genuinely) Some of his metal sculptures stood at the water’s edge and held fires at the ‘Full Moon Parties’ which I’d love to see. We decided to have a BBQ supper at ‘Da Loose Mongoose’ on the beach on Sunday. It was lovely and turned into a Mother’s day treat, once Ann had reminded us.
We couldn’t leave without buying some ceramic bowls from the studio and some organic fruit and veg from Aragorn and his neighbours’ farms. At last we’d found local banana’s mango, papaya and cucumber .
Have I omitted to mention the airport behind the beach (like all the best holiday brochures)? Somehow it didn’t detract from the lovely atmosphere, with only small interisland planes. In search of an ATM there, we passed a natural pond brim full of mauve water lilies, and hens and a magnificent cockerel waiting expectantly outside ‘Arrivals’. There was an ATM but it had no money in it. We got the impression this was normal.

16th March To the North side of Tortola Island and dropped anchor in Cane Garden Bay - as nice as it sounds despite the millionaires’ homes on the hillsides, and being on the itinerary for Cruise ship tours from the bigger ports. It has a lovely village atmosphere and a ‘real feel’ with a proper local community. Used to doing our laundry in a bucket, we were thrilled to find a laundrette and at $2 a load we were ecstatic.

Neighbouring Brewer’s Bay required overhead sunlight to negotiate the reefs. The book promised excellent snorkelling and the bay to ourselves. It was one of the best days. We saw so many different types of coral, mostly greens and mauves with differently coloured fish among them.

Some anchorages are daytime only and we spent a day anchored off Sandy Spit on the calm side of the tiny ‘coral island’ with the surf breaking on the reefs surrounding it.

We planned a day and night in beautiful White Bay yesterday, but the bouys in the limited space between the reefs ware already occupied and we rather huffily motored on to Road Town to stock up instead. We are in Village Marina - not such a bad choice. It’s nice here - ordinary bordering on interesting, and the people are lovely; and there are proper showers. Tonight is Happy Hour (4 - 7 ??) with poolside disco (6 - 9). May take a look..............…

Tomorrow we’re off either to try our luck at White Bay again (but it’s Saturday) or to Peter Island just this side of the border with the US Virgin Islands (Permit required).
We have just over 2 weeks left of our month in the BVI’s and have to decide when to start heading South. So next Blog should know.

We buy expensive coffees just for the wifi in anticipation of news from home, so if you feel like writing...................................…

Coralie and Brian
Off for our Happy hour rum punch,

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Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2015 00:15:59 +0000
Subject: Yacht Inga, road Harbour, Tortola

18 25’.4N 64 37’.1W

Hello Faithful Blog Readers,
If the prospect of reading is making you sleepy, why not just look at the photo’s added by The Legend himself.

Until the last few days, we have had constantly strong Easterly winds - the water still choppy enough, even in sheltered anchorages, to wear our lifejackets going to and fro in the dingy, much to everyone’s amusement. If I fall in I’d rather something held my head above water while I drift seawards waiting to be rescued.

From Anguilla, where I left you, we sailed back to Marigot Bay on St. Martins, to meet up with David and Susan on ‘Enchantress’. Having waved them off from Gibraltar in November, it was great to see them again and we enjoyed a lovely few days socialising and news swapping before they headed South.
By chance, Pippy and Richard on ‘Matelot’ arrived. Last seen in the Cape Verdes at Christmas, it was another opportunity for a reunion.
St. Martin’s is a good place to stock up and to get work done on the Dutch side. We were all making use of the facilities to make repairs. Brian replaced the broken throttle cable successfully.
We were enjoying a restorative drink on Matelot when we noticed their dingy had escaped it’s tether at ‘Matelot’s’ stern. Much distress and searching with torch and our dingy, to no avail.
Next morning it was spotted tied to another boat whose owners had found it stranded and rescued it. After a tearful reunion, a Happy Ending.

On 8th March we began the overnight passage to VirginGorda in the BVI’s. Still windy with lumpy seas and occasional squalls, but we made good time and picked up a mooring in a pretty bay near the marina for a day’s rest. Welcomed by a lovely turtle who popped up close by. We moved into the marina for the night, but only the pelicans were friendly.

After that, Valley Trunk was a beautiful anchorage off a lovely beach with the entrance to The Baths just beyond it. A conservation area, anchoring and dinghies are not allowed. Instead you have to tie the dinghy to a floating line about 75 m. from the shore, then take to (deep) water and pull yourself ashore along another buoyed line. Hard work which should come with a health warning! The reward when (and if) you reach the beach is to walk, crawl and climb between spectacular boulders, with clear seawater pools and views of the sea through openings in the rocks. It pays to get there early - it’s a popular destination. Returning to the dingy by the same method, Brian climbed in easily while I landed face down after an undignified struggle.

Still on Virgin Gorda, we sailed up North to Prickly Pear Island, watching huge racing yachts close by. A bit too close at one point, as we kept as near to the shallow water as we dared, to give a huge racing machine more room......…..but it just kept on coming! We thought we were being helpful. They thought we were in the way. One of the crew politely indicated where we should go, and we did!
The windy weather was perfect for them and for the next couple of days at anchor, we watched them leaving the bay and returning after the day’s racing - once escorted by a pair of lazy dolphins.
Unexpectedly, ‘Matelot’ appeared and anchored over night. This time it really was final farewells before they began their trip towards Panama and home to New Zealand.

14th March - to Beef Island at the E. end of Tortola Island, and anchored in Trellis Bay (BBC 4 listeners allowed to giggle). The narrow beach is covered with coral flotsam at one end and sand at the other, bordered by mangrove and palms, a couple of beach bars and an artist’s studio belonging to an English sculptor and potter - Aragorn Dick-Reed (genuinely) Some of his metal sculptures stood at the water’s edge and held fires at the ‘Full Moon Parties’ which I’d love to see. We decided to have a BBQ supper at ‘Da Loose Mongoose’ on the beach on Sunday. It was lovely and turned into a Mother’s day treat, once Ann had reminded us.
We couldn’t leave without buying some ceramic bowls from the studio and some organic fruit and veg from Aragorn and his neighbours’ farms. At last we’d found local banana’s mango, papaya and cucumber .
Have I omitted to mention the airport behind the beach (like all the best holiday brochures)? Somehow it didn’t detract from the lovely atmosphere, with only small interisland planes. In search of an ATM there, we passed a natural pond brim full of mauve water lilies, and hens and a magnificent cockerel waiting expectantly outside ‘Arrivals’. There was an ATM but it had no money in it. We got the impression this was normal.

16th March To the North side of Tortola Island and dropped anchor in Cane Garden Bay - as nice as it sounds despite the millionaires’ homes on the hillsides, and being on the itinerary for Cruise ship tours from the bigger ports. It has a lovely village atmosphere and a ‘real feel’ with a proper local community. Used to doing our laundry in a bucket, we were thrilled to find a laundrette and at $2 a load we were ecstatic.

Neighbouring Brewer’s Bay required overhead sunlight to negotiate the reefs. The book promised excellent snorkelling and the bay to ourselves. It was one of the best days. We saw so many different types of coral, mostly greens and mauves with differently coloured fish among them.

Some anchorages are daytime only and we spent a day anchored off Sandy Spit on the calm side of the tiny ‘coral island’ with the surf breaking on the reefs surrounding it.

We planned a day and night in beautiful White Bay yesterday, but the bouys in the limited space between the reefs ware already occupied and we rather huffily motored on to Road Town to stock up instead. We are in Village Marina - not such a bad choice. It’s nice here - ordinary bordering on interesting, and the people are lovely; and there are proper showers. Tonight is Happy Hour (4 - 7 ??) with poolside disco (6 - 9). May take a look..............…

Tomorrow we’re off either to try our luck at White Bay again (but it’s Saturday) or to Peter Island just this side of the border with the US Virgin Islands (Permit required).
We have just over 2 weeks left of our month in the BVI’s and have to decide when to start heading South. So next Blog should know.

We buy expensive coffees just for the wifi in anticipation of news from home, so if you feel like writing...................................…

Coralie and Brian
Off for our Happy hour rum punch,