Ballyhoo!
Stream
Darrell Jackson and Sarah Barnes
Sun 9 Feb 2014 00:45
3rd February 2014.
Dropping off the grid in search of the perfect spot has the draw back of losing touch with the rest of the world, as wifi signals are not available! So although we write the blog we can not always upload it until we return to an area with facilities, like a bar with free wifi. Thus the explanation of another gap!
We have been off in search of the perfect snorkelling and anchorages the BVI's have to offer and boy have we done well. David and Jane have done a stirling job guiding us around the area.
We left Kelly's Cove after another peaceful night and a post breakfast snorkel. The barracuda was finally seen by Sarah, which was a relief as she thought everyone was making it up. We had a short motor sail to Lee Bay on Salt Island. Salt Island was an important stop for our naval and merchant ships in the past as it was where they replenished supplies of salt from the three evaporation ponds. But more importantly to us it was where we could pick up a buoy so we could explore the wreck of Royal Mail steamer: The Rhone. The ship sunk during a hurricane in 1867 taking most of her company with her. She has broken in two on the sea bed, with one part in shallower water, so she can be seen by snorkelers, the other half is a dive site. They have also added to the site by sinking a tug in the deeper water. As if one wreck is not enough to interest a diver. The mooring buoys were quiet, possible due to it being fairly rolley as there was a bit of a swell. But we still managed to have lunch there before heading off to Cooper Island.
We picked up a buoy in Manchineel Bay, anchoring is discouraged because the department of the environment and fisheries have designated it a sea grass monitoring site. Sea grass provides food and shelter for turtles and many kinds of fish.
We all snorkelled on arrival and there were different fishes within the sea grass. Later we dinghied ashore for dinner and were surrounded by fish jumping, obviously being chased by something big and threatening. Some of which ended up in the dinghy for Sarah to pick up and throw quickly back in. These were Ballyhoo, which have a long pointed nose of bright blue, very pretty and lively. They were jumping all over and we could have had a feast if Sarah hadn't been so quick to release them back into the wild. That's the problem of bringing a vegetarian sailing.
After dinner back on the boat we could still hear them jumping and skittering about. We didn't investigate what it was that was under the water with them!