A Tale of Two Chemists: First Caribbean Sail ... correction ... Motor 14th Dec 2017

Thursday 14^th Dec 2017

We started the day with showers in the Nanny Cay Marina facilities. Then we tried to pay our bill to the marina (but that wasn’t ready). A trip to the dive shop to confirm our good health was next on the agenda. Sadly, that task was completed so quickly that our bill still wasn’t ready. We turned our attention to preparing Cotinga for a sail. By the time we had closed all the hatches and port holes, secured all the loose items and taken off the sail cover, we were ready for another one of those cold water showers. Once the sun was up, the heat developed quickly.

Our brave captain made a stellar exit from the dock and continued to reverse down the alley to the main channel. After a short way we were out of the marina and enjoying some breeze. Our goal was “the Baths” on Virgin Gorda. As that lay to the east and the wind was from the east, we decided to take it easy and motor. In about two hours we were in the mooring field where I had a first attempt at picking up a mooring line that needs to be threaded with another line (or better still two). Perhaps it’s not surprising that a second attempt was required. With some help from Mike the task was done.

With the boat secured we started digging out the snorkel gear. I’d totally forgotten how tough it is to climb down a ladder in flippers! A modest swim brought us to the sandy beach. We rejected the idea of lazing in the “baths” (shallow water areas where on could rest) in favor of exploring the rocky coastline. A fantastical path leads through giant boulders. At some points you are wading through a rock cavern, at other points climbing a sandy slab with the aid of fixed ropes. There are ladders in some parts and other areas where you need to crouch down (maybe get on hands and knees). This is the feature that gives the “baths” their popularity as the best spot of the BVI.

The swim back to the boat seemed quite tiring. Fortunately, lunch was served in short order allowing me to replenish my strength. Just when I was seriously contemplating my post-prandial nap, Mike announced his intention of swimming back with his camera (in several layers of dry-bag. I felt it would be wrong to leave him to his fate, so I donned my gear again and swam off in pursuit of Mike. Sadly, we chose to make landfall on the beach to the left (of the one we had used previously). I opted for resting on the beach while Mike tried to make his way over the boulder obstacle course to the start of the “path”. Despite a serious attempt he was unable to scramble over there without risking limb or camera. We bundled up the camera and made our way back to the boat.

A considerable tidy-up was required before we could get underway again. Our aim was to sail across to Marina Cay and get a mooring behind the island. Everything went tickety-boo except for the sailing part. The wind was astern but fairly light—not enough to make good progress (or even keep the genoa filled). Shortly before sunset we were moored up watching the light play across the island of Marina Cay. We hope to go ashore in the morning. More about Marina Cay later.

Gloria

Note: We will start adding the lat-long coordinates for our overnight spot which you should be able to copy and paste into Google maps to see where we were

Marina Cay 18 27.64 N, 64 31.68 W