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Sailing trip report: Days 3 & 4 - The Indians, etc.
Sailing trip report: Days 3 & 4 - The Indians, etc.
Day three: The Indians and Manchioneel Bay (The best laid plans...)
Okay, I'm back with more of the continuing saga. I think I left you with coffee - yes, time to make the coffee. Sounds easy, doesn't it? It should be, I had everything it takes; coffee, water, electric coffeemaker, and some filters... that's everything, isn't it? Well no, not quite. Turns out you also need electric outlets that work and there were none to be had for some reason. I had to wait for Captain Bob to get up because certainly he would know how to solve this terrible problem (and he really likes coffee). Thankfully Capt. Bob did know what to do. In order to have AC power, the generator must be running. In order to run the generator, the engine must be running - maybe something to do with being a diesel/electric hybrid, I don't know. Anyway, the downside of this is that it would be noisy for those still sleeping. So the dilemma we faced was: to make coffee or wake sleeping people. Of course the coffee won. After the first morning without shore power, the generator/engine became known as Bob's alarm clock.
Up came the sleepy people one by one; the coffee crowd hanging round the pot and the tea crowd hanging round the kettle. The tea drinkers were not without their own technical difficulties. From that morning on, Heather started each day, box of matches in hand, prepared to confront her arch-nemesis the gas stove. I think she finally had it figured out by day eight.
After finally overcoming our morning beverage challenges, we got off the ball and headed to The Indians:
On the way over, I assembled my camera into it's new underwater housing. I was so excited! (and the envy of the rest of the crew, I might add). I would finally be able to get some decent underwater shots. Upon arrival, we grabbed one of the last empty balls (most had been taken by people who did what we had to do the night before), and jumped in for a snorkel. The winds were still up, so the water was a bit choppy, but once under, it was hardly noticeable. Snorkeling at the Indians was spectacular! The visibility was great and the walls of coral were just stunning. I recommend it highly:
A self-portrait:
Here's Heather about 20 feet down - she didn't even wear weights! I was very impressed:
After an hour or so, we set off for Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island. We had to tack and jibe a few times on the way and seemed we were making no progress - every time I looked toward Tortola, it appeared that we were directly opposite Roadtown. We were moving though, finally reaching Manchioneel at about 1:00. We figured we'd be okay if we arrived relatively early. No such luck. Again, the balls were all occupied, many by empty dinghies (!). Moored in the bay, we noticed a Sunsail flagship accompanied by several Sunsail charters. It seemed we were lucky enough to be tracking the same course as a group of Sunsail charters traveling together (and apparently reserving mooring balls for all their friends). Captain Bob made the executive decision to bypass Manchioneel and head to our next destination in order to get ahead of this group. We agreed, so we motored out of Manchioneel and set sail for Trellis Bay, Tortola.
We had better luck at Trellis, securing a ball right next to The Last Resort, where we decided to have dinner that evening. Hubby and Bob dinghied out the trash and then made reservations for our party (where they also felt compelled to sample the wares at the bar - quality control, you know). When they returned, the rest of us dinghied over to the beach on the far left side of the bay where we discovered a conch bed we dubbed "Fritter Heaven". If you have never seen a conch up close before, you would be surprised (as I was) to find that they actually have "googly eyes" (blue ones even) that peer out while the body is retracted inside the shell:
We puttered for an hour or so before returning to the boat to take our "Hollywood showers". Hollywood showers are real fresh-water showers taken inside -maybe even with warm water- a real treat! Because we are constantly trying to conserve water, these are few and far between. But because Trellis Bay is not the cleanest bay in the islands, bathing there is not recommended (woo-hoo!), so Hollywood showers it would be
All fresh and clean, we dinghied to The Last Resort and had a very nice dinner. The Last Resort is more upscale than I expected (from a cuisine standpoint, not dress). Hubby and I shared the seared scallop appetizer, and I had blacktip shark with spinach risotto as an entree. The shark was heavy and dense; I think I would have preferred Hubby's salmon with tepanade (which was excellent). I'm told the shrimp tempura and tomato asparagus soup were also very good.
After a satisfying meal, it was back to the boat for a nightcap and bed. Sleep came much easier in the protected cove of Trellis Bay. I slept straight through until morning (re: Bob's alarm clock).
Day four: Lets' try Manchioneel again - or not...
Woke to a beautiful morning again. Capt. Bob was off the ball early, destined for the Baths. He was bound and determined to get back to Manchioneel tonight, so wanted get an early start. Anyone who has ever navigated Trellis Bay has probably seen the large sand bar on the land side of the island where The Last Resort is located. Well, we were moored pretty close to that sand bar, and as soon as the guys unleashed us, the wind picked up and we drifted in that direction and bumped the sand bar ever so slightly. We were not yet under power at the time, and didn't dare power up until we were off the bar, so we kind of pushed and pivoted until we were free. The entire event only lasted about 30 seconds - thank goodness! We powered up and motored out.
While underway, Nanny Cay radioed us and requested we return so they could check for damage (apparently someone at Trellis saw what happened and called it in). Okay, change of plans. We told them we were almost to the Baths, so they said we to come down after we were finished there. As soon as we were moored, he guys jumped in and snorkeled underneath to inspect the underside - no damage, not even a scratch. Whew! I know Bob still felt pretty bad about what happened - in 12 years of sailing he had never run aground. Oh well, we would have to make the best of it, and where better to do that than The Baths?
The snorkeling was great again. the rock formations and coral with sun beams streaming through were gorgeous. I'm afraid I went a little snap-happy with the camera again:
Here's our boat from the shore:
Once on shore, we hiked through the rock formations - awesome!
And here's a cool shot of the boat through the rocks:
The only problem was the number of people - it was a very busy day at the Baths. There were several large tour groups hiking in the opposite direction as we were which made progress through some of the tighter areas pretty slow. One group in particular was nice enough to stop and let us through, so I made them pose for a picture (like I said, snap-happy):
We didn't stay too long because we had to get back to Nanny Cay, so we set sail again. There were several boats making a move toward our ball as we were pulling out - crazy! We made good time to Nanny Cay. Capt. Bob thought they may keep us overnight in order to do a thorough check, so we were planning on making the best of it - dinner in town, hot showers, etc. As it turned out, the CatCo guys jumped in, snorkeled underneath, and in less than five minutes gave us a clean bill of health. With a big sigh of relief, we were off again.
It only about 1:00 or so, but we decided on a quick sail anyway, so headed to The Bight. We made it in about an hour and this time there were plenty of balls. Because Saturday is a popular day to begin a charter, I think the key is to try to get out of synch with the rest who go from Tortola to The Bight the first night. Lesson learned. We all dinghied ashore to hike Spyglass Hill. The first couple of miles were nice and easy -4x4 jeep path- piece of cake. The last ¼ mile, not so much. To get to the peak of the hill, you must ascend (and I do mean ascend) up a goat path. It is a bit tough, but the view at the top is worth it. Sorry, no pics – I didn't take my camera with me. Believe me though, it was spectacular.
We hit Pirate's on the way back, for celebratory drinks, fritters, and jerk wings. It all tasted so good, especially after the goat path hike. Back on board we had a light dinner, then dinghied to the Willy T for a night “on the town”.
What a blast! The crowd was hopping, the music was great – they even played “Sweet Caroline”! There were several other Red Sox fans (caps and all) in the crowd, so I didn't have to “bop! bop! bop!” and “So good! So good! So good!” alone (that would have been too weird). And as the say, a good time was had by all...
Okay, I'm back with more of the continuing saga. I think I left you with coffee - yes, time to make the coffee. Sounds easy, doesn't it? It should be, I had everything it takes; coffee, water, electric coffeemaker, and some filters... that's everything, isn't it? Well no, not quite. Turns out you also need electric outlets that work and there were none to be had for some reason. I had to wait for Captain Bob to get up because certainly he would know how to solve this terrible problem (and he really likes coffee). Thankfully Capt. Bob did know what to do. In order to have AC power, the generator must be running. In order to run the generator, the engine must be running - maybe something to do with being a diesel/electric hybrid, I don't know. Anyway, the downside of this is that it would be noisy for those still sleeping. So the dilemma we faced was: to make coffee or wake sleeping people. Of course the coffee won. After the first morning without shore power, the generator/engine became known as Bob's alarm clock.
Up came the sleepy people one by one; the coffee crowd hanging round the pot and the tea crowd hanging round the kettle. The tea drinkers were not without their own technical difficulties. From that morning on, Heather started each day, box of matches in hand, prepared to confront her arch-nemesis the gas stove. I think she finally had it figured out by day eight.
After finally overcoming our morning beverage challenges, we got off the ball and headed to The Indians:
On the way over, I assembled my camera into it's new underwater housing. I was so excited! (and the envy of the rest of the crew, I might add). I would finally be able to get some decent underwater shots. Upon arrival, we grabbed one of the last empty balls (most had been taken by people who did what we had to do the night before), and jumped in for a snorkel. The winds were still up, so the water was a bit choppy, but once under, it was hardly noticeable. Snorkeling at the Indians was spectacular! The visibility was great and the walls of coral were just stunning. I recommend it highly:
A self-portrait:
Here's Heather about 20 feet down - she didn't even wear weights! I was very impressed:
After an hour or so, we set off for Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island. We had to tack and jibe a few times on the way and seemed we were making no progress - every time I looked toward Tortola, it appeared that we were directly opposite Roadtown. We were moving though, finally reaching Manchioneel at about 1:00. We figured we'd be okay if we arrived relatively early. No such luck. Again, the balls were all occupied, many by empty dinghies (!). Moored in the bay, we noticed a Sunsail flagship accompanied by several Sunsail charters. It seemed we were lucky enough to be tracking the same course as a group of Sunsail charters traveling together (and apparently reserving mooring balls for all their friends). Captain Bob made the executive decision to bypass Manchioneel and head to our next destination in order to get ahead of this group. We agreed, so we motored out of Manchioneel and set sail for Trellis Bay, Tortola.
We had better luck at Trellis, securing a ball right next to The Last Resort, where we decided to have dinner that evening. Hubby and Bob dinghied out the trash and then made reservations for our party (where they also felt compelled to sample the wares at the bar - quality control, you know). When they returned, the rest of us dinghied over to the beach on the far left side of the bay where we discovered a conch bed we dubbed "Fritter Heaven". If you have never seen a conch up close before, you would be surprised (as I was) to find that they actually have "googly eyes" (blue ones even) that peer out while the body is retracted inside the shell:
We puttered for an hour or so before returning to the boat to take our "Hollywood showers". Hollywood showers are real fresh-water showers taken inside -maybe even with warm water- a real treat! Because we are constantly trying to conserve water, these are few and far between. But because Trellis Bay is not the cleanest bay in the islands, bathing there is not recommended (woo-hoo!), so Hollywood showers it would be
All fresh and clean, we dinghied to The Last Resort and had a very nice dinner. The Last Resort is more upscale than I expected (from a cuisine standpoint, not dress). Hubby and I shared the seared scallop appetizer, and I had blacktip shark with spinach risotto as an entree. The shark was heavy and dense; I think I would have preferred Hubby's salmon with tepanade (which was excellent). I'm told the shrimp tempura and tomato asparagus soup were also very good.
After a satisfying meal, it was back to the boat for a nightcap and bed. Sleep came much easier in the protected cove of Trellis Bay. I slept straight through until morning (re: Bob's alarm clock).
Day four: Lets' try Manchioneel again - or not...
Woke to a beautiful morning again. Capt. Bob was off the ball early, destined for the Baths. He was bound and determined to get back to Manchioneel tonight, so wanted get an early start. Anyone who has ever navigated Trellis Bay has probably seen the large sand bar on the land side of the island where The Last Resort is located. Well, we were moored pretty close to that sand bar, and as soon as the guys unleashed us, the wind picked up and we drifted in that direction and bumped the sand bar ever so slightly. We were not yet under power at the time, and didn't dare power up until we were off the bar, so we kind of pushed and pivoted until we were free. The entire event only lasted about 30 seconds - thank goodness! We powered up and motored out.
While underway, Nanny Cay radioed us and requested we return so they could check for damage (apparently someone at Trellis saw what happened and called it in). Okay, change of plans. We told them we were almost to the Baths, so they said we to come down after we were finished there. As soon as we were moored, he guys jumped in and snorkeled underneath to inspect the underside - no damage, not even a scratch. Whew! I know Bob still felt pretty bad about what happened - in 12 years of sailing he had never run aground. Oh well, we would have to make the best of it, and where better to do that than The Baths?
The snorkeling was great again. the rock formations and coral with sun beams streaming through were gorgeous. I'm afraid I went a little snap-happy with the camera again:
Here's our boat from the shore:
Once on shore, we hiked through the rock formations - awesome!
And here's a cool shot of the boat through the rocks:
The only problem was the number of people - it was a very busy day at the Baths. There were several large tour groups hiking in the opposite direction as we were which made progress through some of the tighter areas pretty slow. One group in particular was nice enough to stop and let us through, so I made them pose for a picture (like I said, snap-happy):
We didn't stay too long because we had to get back to Nanny Cay, so we set sail again. There were several boats making a move toward our ball as we were pulling out - crazy! We made good time to Nanny Cay. Capt. Bob thought they may keep us overnight in order to do a thorough check, so we were planning on making the best of it - dinner in town, hot showers, etc. As it turned out, the CatCo guys jumped in, snorkeled underneath, and in less than five minutes gave us a clean bill of health. With a big sigh of relief, we were off again.
It only about 1:00 or so, but we decided on a quick sail anyway, so headed to The Bight. We made it in about an hour and this time there were plenty of balls. Because Saturday is a popular day to begin a charter, I think the key is to try to get out of synch with the rest who go from Tortola to The Bight the first night. Lesson learned. We all dinghied ashore to hike Spyglass Hill. The first couple of miles were nice and easy -4x4 jeep path- piece of cake. The last ¼ mile, not so much. To get to the peak of the hill, you must ascend (and I do mean ascend) up a goat path. It is a bit tough, but the view at the top is worth it. Sorry, no pics – I didn't take my camera with me. Believe me though, it was spectacular.
We hit Pirate's on the way back, for celebratory drinks, fritters, and jerk wings. It all tasted so good, especially after the goat path hike. Back on board we had a light dinner, then dinghied to the Willy T for a night “on the town”.
What a blast! The crowd was hopping, the music was great – they even played “Sweet Caroline”! There were several other Red Sox fans (caps and all) in the crowd, so I didn't have to “bop! bop! bop!” and “So good! So good! So good!” alone (that would have been too weird). And as the say, a good time was had by all...
Last edited by ccasebolt on Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:15 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Sun4MySoul
- Posts: 524
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- Location: NC
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
There are alot of opinions about the etiquitte of this practice. Its the subject of several threads on the TTOL BVI Board.RickG wrote:Sounds like things were crazy busy! What's with the reserved mooring balls?
Cheers, RickG
It's apparenty popular with flotillas. One goes ahead dragging a bunch of dingies and grabs up moorings for the whole group. Or folks grab a ball early then take the "mother ship" back over to the Baths, or The Caves or the indians for the day. There are stories of folks letting dingyies loose and tying up to the moorings. Frankly its a fight I'd not enagge in. If you're gonna sail you better be prepared for the contingencies, and though a mooring is the best way to spned the night, you should know how to set the hook.
I just noticed the last paragraph of my report was somehow truncated. It's fixed now...
JC (Jen) - it was great to meet you too! Isn't it nice when you see a familiar face in town? (especially when that person reminds you about Connections - thanks again for that!)
Rick/Sailorgirl - That dinghy thing was starting to get on my nerves, I can tell you that. It doesn't surprise me at all to hear that dinghies have been cut loose.
The hybrid cat was awesome! It was the fanciest boat to date (and now we'll never be able to settle for less). Aside from the AC outlet/generator/engine issue (I still think AC should be available when batteries are 100% charged - hello! Coffee is necessary in the morning!), it was a pretty slick deal.
99 - We were lucky regarding the sand bar, and even luckier CatCo let us go so quickly. We knew there was no damage, but Bob was pretty convinced they'd want to do a more thorough check. I can tell you that much of the celebratory imbibing and dancing at the Willy T that night was a result of the relief we were all feeling
JC (Jen) - it was great to meet you too! Isn't it nice when you see a familiar face in town? (especially when that person reminds you about Connections - thanks again for that!)
Rick/Sailorgirl - That dinghy thing was starting to get on my nerves, I can tell you that. It doesn't surprise me at all to hear that dinghies have been cut loose.
The hybrid cat was awesome! It was the fanciest boat to date (and now we'll never be able to settle for less). Aside from the AC outlet/generator/engine issue (I still think AC should be available when batteries are 100% charged - hello! Coffee is necessary in the morning!), it was a pretty slick deal.
99 - We were lucky regarding the sand bar, and even luckier CatCo let us go so quickly. We knew there was no damage, but Bob was pretty convinced they'd want to do a more thorough check. I can tell you that much of the celebratory imbibing and dancing at the Willy T that night was a result of the relief we were all feeling