Sailing is a humbling activity. You think you are improving
and then it bites you on backside to remind you who’s boss. We left the mooring
in great harbor, Peter Island, on Sunday morning and sailed back to Nanny Cay
to meet up with our friends the Andersons. Once in the marina we found that the
slip we previously occupied was taken, so we pulled into a different slip, and
that went fine. However, when we checked in the office they told us that slip was
booked and so we needed to move. It made sense for Gloria to stay on dock and
manage the lines, but after we cast-off, rather than drifting backwards, the
wind caught the bow and Cotinga started to spin. In my efforts to regain
control I managed to clip the corner of the transom on the dock. What a
nightmare … but it didn’t end there! Once clear of the dock, I tried really
hard to line up and back Cotinga into our newly assigned slip, but the wind and
the boat had a different plan and after three attempts where I failed to get it
lined up properly I gave up and brought Cotinga in bow first. Close quarter
maneuvering has always been a challenge but I really thought I was getting
better. Apparently not! What I have learned is not to sweat about it so much
afterwards. There was a small scratch on the edge between the transom and the
side that I quickly fixed and it’s hardly visible. It’s far less obvious than
the scratches caused by the dinghy bobbing up and down under the stern quarter!
Dave, Kathy, Julie and Lizzie arrived ahead of schedule in
the later afternoon. Their travels from California and Chicago (Lizzie) went
well and after arriving in St Thomas they caught a ferry over to Road Town and
then a taxi to the marina. It is great to have them aboard. We spent a little
time sorting gear and then retreated to the Tiki bar for drinks!
On Monday morning we finally checked out of Nanny Cay marina
and settled our bill. I want to say a big “Thank You” to all the staff at the
marina who made my stay so enjoyable. This really is a great marina - professionally
run by a delightful group of people. It was a pleasure to spend time there and
I hope we will go back again in the future. We sailed over to Peter Island and
picked up a mooring, had a swim and ate lunch. In the afternoon we headed over
to the cove on Norman’s Island and took the dinghy over to “The Caves” to do
some snorkeling. It was amazing. We saw lots of fish, some colorful corals and
got swim into the caves.
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