Got a mid-morning start from St. John, to Jost Van Dyke, six miles ahead. We had heard
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| Customs at Jost Van Dyke |
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| JVD's main drag |
that if you get there too late in the afternoon you wouldn't find a mooring. Thought we would sail but took the more direct route and grabbed a mooring by noon. Cleared customs and immigrations in Great Harbor with no problems. Opti would need to be checked in Tortola but her paperwork was in order. Walked around the small beachfront community, finding a bakery, small grocery store, and a number of beach bars and restaurants. Went back to Toi et Moi for lunch, saving the beach restaurants for this evening. Then the parade started. Catamaran after catamaran started filling the anchorage, heading to shore with 8 people in their overloaded inflatables. It was truly an invasion of the charter boats! I don't know how many boats eventually filled the anchorage but I only counted 3 cruising monohulls. Dinghied to shore for dinner at "world famous" Foxys to find we needed reservations. They did find a spot for us in a loud corner and didn't want the $28 BBQ special so we decided to try a little less famous place and had a great meal at Corsairs. Headed back to the boat and listened to the island music from Foxys long into the night. Paid our $30 mooring fee for the night but decided to leave the next day for something a little different.
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| Approaching Sopers Hole |
Woke up to find the parade got an earlier start than we did! With so many harbors around, we decided to go wherever the wind pointed us and sail. It felt so good to NOT hear the motor and we relished messing about under sail. It looked like the cats all headed to Sandy Cay, so we tacked towards Tortola, ultimately heading to Soper's Hole, where we would try checking Opti in again. Although home to a couple of charter companies, the mix in the harbor was cruiser heavy. We actually found a spot to anchor in about 20 feet of clear water and good holding. Could skip the $30/night mooring ball here! This was Jon's favorite anchorage to date. The surrounding steep mountains remind him of the best of both worlds; clear Caribbean water and WV.
The next morning I tried repeatedly to contact the vet as directed at Jost Van Dyke clearance only to find out that he was on vacation. So we rented a car (Suzuki Jimmy; seems smaller than a Liberty Jeep and wondering how they get away using that old GMC name) good for these roads/mountains. Traversed the island via spectacular coastal road to capital Road Harbour stopping at selected marinas and bars along the way. Nanny Cay the most interesting but the Pub had excellent conch fritters! Moorings chartering hub, provisioned RiteWay grocery store and Tico wine store where we once again discovered a different white and red in plastic bottles (ok, we're not purist but works well on boat and beats boxed wine), all accomplished despite a construction detour in Road Harbor. Continued around the coast visiting Paraquita Bay before turning up mountainous Ridge Road at Long Swamp to head back. This breathtaking road has incredible views and hairpin turns to sharpen your focus not to mention using the lowest gear up & down as it winds down through National Park to spectacular Cane Garden Bay. There, as the sun began to set, we caught our breaths, diaphragmatic or not, with Caribs and lime slice. Just made it back to the boat in time to dinghy a worrisome Opti to shore for her well deserved walk. And still she wanted to play duck on deck afterwards. She was rewarded with and wolfed down BBQ sauce infused dry food , one of her favorites.
We off-loaded the heavy provisioning the next morning and before returning the Jimmy took a short drive on Frenchman's Cay to see what we could see by land having previously dinghied it via Sopers Hole cut. This proved to be unwise as Jon backed into a rock and a hard spot on a hairpin turn (driver's error) resulting in a situation where we couldn't move foreword or backward, and damaging the front fender. Dwayne from the rental place drove out to extricate us. With a push of the 4-wheel drive BUTTON (Jon had been looking for a freakin gear shift on Ridge Road and deduced it wasn't 4x!) and Jon and I lap sitting on the spinning rear wheel side, the car backed enough to complete the tight turn damage still intact. Spent the rest of the day worrying about what this little adventure would cost us and finally located another vet and cleared Opti ($40). Car estimate arrived the next day and were almost pleased that it was only $200, considering they had our $500 deposit.
It was time to move on. The next day we attempted to raise the anchor. No matter how
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| At anchor in Benures Bay |
hard we tried or how many RPMs we gave it, nada. We were actually pulling the bow down. Asked Jon to take a dive and see what the problem was and he immediately saw the anchor off the ground and wrapped in an old mooring chain and danforth anchor and chain. After I let out some of our chain, Jon was able to dislodge our claw and we were free. Only thing left was to pick up Jon, diesel, water and ice; done in that order. Next stop, Benures Bay on Norman Island, bypassing the crowded Bight anchorage in favor of some peace, quiet and amazing snorkeling. With only 3 or 4 boats and a few sea turtles keeping us company, we decided to stay another day.
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| Our friends from St. John, Sandy and Ray |
Our friends from St. John's, Ray and Sandy on "Megerin"' were on the move as well. After a side trip to the Caves of Norman Island and more snorkeling, we met up with them in Great Harbor, Peter's Island. This was another large anchorage with plenty of room and a harbor away from the Peter Island Resort, where we hiked and swam the next day. After 2 nights we decided to head to Virgin Gorda.
Tried to sail the 10 or so miles but were going nowhere slowly. Wind on our nose again. Cranked up the Perkins with Fallen Jerusalem in sight. Even thought about stopping to take advantage of the rocks and caves, but continued on, past the Baths as it was now later in the afternoon. Dropped the hook in Spanish Town, in front of Ray and Sandy. Odd how paths keep crossing when you are cruising. Explored the town, stocked up on some basics and filled an empty propane tank. Took long walks and took time to relax.
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| Jon chillin' |
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| THE BATHS! |
We pulled up anchor on my birthday, June 13, and headed for the Baths early enough to snag a mooring. What a fantastic place! It is as beautiful as rumored and we spent several hours snorkeling, climbing and exploring both the Baths and Devil's Bay. Around lunchtime we headed up the coast to Gorda Sound, towing the dinghy for the 6 mile trip. Right as we prepared to enter the challenging cut between Angilla Cut and Mosquito Island
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| NOT The Baths |
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| Enjoying The Baths |
The next day was spent exploring Virgin Gorda by car, this time without incident! Worked our way north to south, stopping at The Baths, this time for sushi. Worked our way to the tip of the island to discover the ruins of an old copper mine. Our final leg took us through Gorda Peak National Park. What beautiful islands! We will be sad to move on.
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| Copper Mill Ruins |
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| Gorda Peak National Park Elevation 1,348 ft. Sir Francis Drake Channel to the right |
