Well the sail across to Anagada was almost perfect, if the wind was 10 degrees more off the nose we could have made it much faster so we pinched our way to windward all the way making 5 knots and motoring in the last 2 miles we had drifted off the waypoint. Still it was a lovely day and light swells so we just enjoyed the ride. The entrance to the harbor is feared by a lot of folks and we think that is a deliberate ploy by the charter companies to keep the inexperienced away. The entrance is well marked and the reef easily seen so just using your eyes is very straightforward and easy. We anchored just outside the mooring field in 10’ and thought there was a large number of boats here at 2:00 when we arrived. Well they just keep coming in and by night fall we had over 50 boats and the balls are full so people start to squeeze around us, something that we always try to avoid. Well its like this each day, well over half the boats leave each day and then more come in to replace them, there were over 70 boats the next night, but fortunately lots anchored in front of the moorings and left us a bit more space.
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| Anagada anchorage /mooring field |
The island is very flat and 11 miles long and 3 miles wide with only low scrub bushes and small trees, it is also surrounded by the worlds third largest reef system. We thought we might walk around a bit but soon discovered everything is very spaced out and so we hired a scooter. Well we have not been on a scooter since our honeymoon 27 years ago, but as you know once you ride a bike you don’t forget it. We had a fantastic time touring the island and seeing the different beaches.
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| Our transport |
The beaches on the north side of the island are lovely and have great snorkeling according to those we met there so we missed a chance.
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| Beautiful beaches |
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| Happy to be here |
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| Cow Wreck Beach resort |
In hind sight we should have taken snorkel gear and had the bike all day but maybe another time.
The next day we took a walk along the beach from the anchorage on the south side. We found a small bar and stopped for a tour of the museum they have inside and to enjoy a cold beer. Whilst we were there we chatted with the owner who told us he is retiring soon and already sold his other bar on the island and now wants to sell this one too. He tells us his sons are away in the US at college and work so they are not interested, but given this location we are sure it will sell. We also met 2 British sailors who stopped and chatted for a while before we all left to walk back to our boats. On the beach we met the crews of s/v Four Coconuts and s/v Rafiki who we hadn’t seen since Grenada, so we chatted a while with them too.
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| Pomato Point Beach bar and resaurant |
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| The Museum |
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| More booty. |
We then sailed back to Cane Garden Bay as there was an Eric Stone concert at Myatts Hotel. We love his music ever since discovering him at the sailboat shows in St Petersburg. So we got there early to get a good spot. What a mistake! The north swell started as we arrived and the swell was atrocious and we rolled badly all night and hardly slept. We had 2 more nights of this all the time thinking it was fading but it seemed to come and go with the tide and misled us. In hindsight we should have moved to Jost Van Dyke and come in the morning of the concert as there was plenty of room by then. Well our friends Ken and Lori had reserved a table so we met before the concert to have drinks and dinner. Eric was great but we had hoped he would play more of his own music, as he did about half the show of cover songs. Well we had a great time and even managed to dance to a few songs! We said goodbye to Ken, Lori, Sandy, Karen and Gail and left for our dinghy and the late night ride in the dark, not often we get back to Moosetracks at midnight.
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| Eric Stone (left) |
Well we had to get out of the swell in Cane Garden Bay so we headed south around the tip of Tortola and past Sopers Hole to Norman Island and the anchorage at Benures Bay. It was so flat calm and peaceful we just sat and relaxed to catch up on sleep for the first day. Sadly Ventana was just leaving the anchorage to pick up their son, but they told us about the trails and snorkeling before they departed to set us up for the following day. The trail the next day went all around Norman Island and we spent a little over 3 hours walking the whole way around. The contrast on anchorages is stunning, The south side has a little bay called Money bay which looks idyllic and had only one boat in it. Then there is Benures Bay where we are with 6-8 boats in it which is really nice and peaceful. The last bay is The Bight which had Pirates Bight restaurant and the Willie T floating bar as well as nearly 100 moorings! So take your pick, we opted to go with peace and quiet.
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| Money bay |
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| Benures bay |
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| The Bight |
We were also lucky after the walk on our snorkel around the reefs to find 2 conch and we picked them up for later. Once on Moosetacks Devin broke into the shells and extracted the slimy critters, then skinned them for pan frying by Liz.
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| Our Conch catch |
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| After extraction and cleaning up |
The next stop was Peter Island and again you can choose busy or quite bays so we again opted for the less used White bay on the South side. We had a nice walk around the island on the tracks for the private resort and homes here. The views are stunning and we enjoyed lunch on one of the many lookout points where they provide covered benches to sit in the shade, how nice.
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| Heliport at Peter Island |
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| Views up Francis Drake Channel |
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| Views across to Tortola |
We made a DSC call on the radio for s/v Wind Lass as we saw on facebook they were near us. We caught them after a few tries and talked about which anchorage to meet in, as we only had a slight roll in the harbour but really very little and they had a paid mooring we decide to stay put and they came to us. We were really glad we did as while we snorkeled with them we spotted lobsters! Now bear in mind we hadn’t seen ANY in the whole time we have been in the USVI and BVI this was very exciting. So Devin could resist the temptation and went for his lobster snare, well luck doesn’t get any better and he found 4 in less than 12’ in 30 minutes. So we have lobster in the freezer at last!
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| Four little beauties |
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| A very happy man |
We had to say our last goodbyes to Pete, Dee and their friend Mary who is with them these two weeks and since we had such a great time with them it was a little harder and longer than usual to leave their boat. We have had such fun playing dominoes and exploring the islands with them its wonderful.
Our next stop was Spanish town for a lunch stop on a mooring and then on to Savannah bay for the night. Well those north swells did it to us again. We entered and it was really a very slight roll and quite OK, but over the night it picked up and we got a good tossing again. The reef looked inviting but we’d had enough rolling and picked up the anchor to head into North Sound on Virgin Gorda without even leaving the boat.
North sound is a nice wide open space with a mix of mooring balls and anchoring spots. We found a nice spot to anchor off of Prickly Pear island near Saba Rock and it was nice and flat with no roll. We are waiting now for a weather window to go to St Martin, this is a great place to wait as the harbour is well protected and they have Customs and Immigration here to check out when you want. We have a good window coming up so we have we think 5-6 days to stay here. Our first day was relaxing on the boat, the second day we walked Guy’s trail behind the Bitter End Yacht Club over to Biras Creek resort. It is a wonderful trail with lots of great views.
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| Bitter End resort beach |
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| Saba Rock bar |
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| Saba rock |
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| Devin on Guy's Trail |
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| Liz on Guy's trail |
The first part of the trail is fairly steep and rocky but then it flattens out to a nice bench on the summit.
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| A drink at the top - with fond memories of work? |
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| Biras creek to the East |
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| Biras creek resort beach |
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| Guest toy's by the beach bar |
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| Liz makes another friend |
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| Beautiful landscaping in these resorts |
It was quite a lengthy walk but the views are excellent and the paths easy to follow so well recommended.
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| A cold one after a long walk. |
