Sailing trip report: Days 7 & 8 - Manchioneel Finally!
Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:35 pm
Day seven: Manchioneel Bay, Coopeer Island - the third time's the charm
We were up and out of Cane Garden Bay early this morning, destined for Manchioneel Bay. We hadn't had a lot of luck with Manchioneel so far, but we were hoping that would change. On the way we would hit Monkey Point for some snorkeling.
Due to the wind direction, we would have to motor most of the way to Monkey Point. I have to say, the diesel/electric hybrid extremely quiet - you wouldn't think we were under motor power unless you looked at the sails (or lack thereof).
The sky was pretty overcast and there were some heavy, ominous looking clouds in the distance, so I was expecting rain at any moment. It never did rain, in fact the clouds passed to the southeast of us and the sky eventually cleared. These were good signs...
Monkey Point was already quite busy when we arrived, but we were able to pick up a ball and snorkel in. The snorkeling was quite good and I did see my first shark of the trip (and yes, that means there was a second) resting under a ledge, and my first turtle. Unfortunately I have no pictures because my memory stick was full and I hadn't yet reduced the size of some of the pictures I had already taken.
I didn't enjoy the snorkeling here as much as I would have if my mask hadn't been leaking like a sieve. I borrowed hubby's for awhile. It was SO nice not to have to stop and clear my mask every couple of minutes, that I decided my next mission would be to replace my mask at the next dive shop I happened upon.
After our morning snorkel, We set off for Manchioneel, not wanting to miss out on a ball this time. We motored past Trellis and set sail as we came around Beef Island, making great time after that. We arrived around 1:30, grabbed a ball, and went ashore. The quest for chicken roti now officially in high gear, so first on the agenda was a peek at Cooper Island Beach Club's menu - Yes! Finally! Awesome!!! We made reservations for 7:15 and I already knew what I was going to order
Did you know Manchioneel Bay has a dive shop? Neither did I (and I wasn't expecting one). It's a small shop, but I found a mask that fit, so I was ready to go get it wet. Back to the boat to change, then a short hop in the dinghy to Cistern Point on the southern end of Manchioneel. The snorkeling here was fantastic, especially with the new mask! We stayed out for a couple of hours, snorkeling all the way around the point and back.
Back to the boat and because we had done so well conserving water, Captain Bob announced that we would be able to splurge on Hollywood showers again - woo-hoo!!!
Dinner at the Beach Club was great - the roti was as yummy as I had hoped, with a portion generous enough to share a few bites, but just a few - I had waited a long time for this.
Back to the boat for boat drinks and music. The boat was equipped with a 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug that fit into the headphone jack on my iPod - very convenient! My playlist was most awesome - thanks guys for all of your recommendations. I mixed a batch of painkillers and we had our own private dance floor - what could be better?
Jump in de line, rock your body in time...
Manchioneel sunset
Day eight: The Bath and The Bight for an encore
Before heading to the Bight, we decided to go to the Baths again in order to give that call the time it deserved.
We set off for The Baths early, mooring before 9:00 The Baths were spectacular as always, but much more relaxed this time without the stress of having to return to Nanny Cay hanging over our heads. It was crowded again though. I think the addition of Roadtown to some cruise itineraries may have a lot to do with it. There are probably more optimal times during the day to avoid the excursions (my guess would be later in the afternoon - something to consider next trip.
I'm not sure how long we stayed - I was too busy relaxing to think about it.
Rod & Amy were the last ones to return. As it turns out, they hiked to the Top of the Baths and had hot dogs and drinks for lunch. Amy triumphantly reports "Now we don't have to eat bagels for lunch!" The bums! Had I known, I would have gone with them. We were all getting tired of bagels.
It probably deems mentioning that we were now within the last days of our sail, and with that, down to the bitter dregs of our provisions. Remember the million bagels I mentioned in the first installment? Well, we still had at A LOT of bagels to finish, so we were using them at every meal; bagels for breakfast, bagel sandwiches for lunch, and Amy even made bagel croutons for the salad at dinner. Yep, bagels at every meal; it was starting to get old. And there was still beer - lots of beer, but that I can live with
Off to The Bight for our last night of festivities. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get from Manchioneel Bay to The Bight, but it was a beautiful day and a good opportunity to try to finish up the last of our provisions (the beer, NOT the bagels!). Usually the first one to have a beer on any given day, Amy officially became our "five o'clock somewhere" girl. I'm not sure exactly where "somewhere" was, but Beijing or Hong Kong were probably good guesses. Way to run with the big dogs!
We moored at about 2:30 on the Willy T side again, and went directly to Pirates. I was craving fritters and jerk wings (actually anything but bagels), so drinks and apps at Pirate's it was. Heather (super woman) and Ray hiked while the rest of us sat at a picnic table on Pirate's beach. Very nice way to spend the last afternoon of our sail.
Later it was back to the boat for wine, spaghetti, and garlic bread, in that order (and no bagels, thank goodness!)
We dinghied to the Willy T around 9:00 and the party was already well underway. We danced the night away, well, at least until about 11:00 - which seemed late, I think because the partying starts pretty much when the sun goes down (or maybe even before that). Then back to the boat in anticipation of a 6:30 AM departure for Nanny Cay...
We were up and out of Cane Garden Bay early this morning, destined for Manchioneel Bay. We hadn't had a lot of luck with Manchioneel so far, but we were hoping that would change. On the way we would hit Monkey Point for some snorkeling.
Due to the wind direction, we would have to motor most of the way to Monkey Point. I have to say, the diesel/electric hybrid extremely quiet - you wouldn't think we were under motor power unless you looked at the sails (or lack thereof).
The sky was pretty overcast and there were some heavy, ominous looking clouds in the distance, so I was expecting rain at any moment. It never did rain, in fact the clouds passed to the southeast of us and the sky eventually cleared. These were good signs...
Monkey Point was already quite busy when we arrived, but we were able to pick up a ball and snorkel in. The snorkeling was quite good and I did see my first shark of the trip (and yes, that means there was a second) resting under a ledge, and my first turtle. Unfortunately I have no pictures because my memory stick was full and I hadn't yet reduced the size of some of the pictures I had already taken.
I didn't enjoy the snorkeling here as much as I would have if my mask hadn't been leaking like a sieve. I borrowed hubby's for awhile. It was SO nice not to have to stop and clear my mask every couple of minutes, that I decided my next mission would be to replace my mask at the next dive shop I happened upon.
After our morning snorkel, We set off for Manchioneel, not wanting to miss out on a ball this time. We motored past Trellis and set sail as we came around Beef Island, making great time after that. We arrived around 1:30, grabbed a ball, and went ashore. The quest for chicken roti now officially in high gear, so first on the agenda was a peek at Cooper Island Beach Club's menu - Yes! Finally! Awesome!!! We made reservations for 7:15 and I already knew what I was going to order
Did you know Manchioneel Bay has a dive shop? Neither did I (and I wasn't expecting one). It's a small shop, but I found a mask that fit, so I was ready to go get it wet. Back to the boat to change, then a short hop in the dinghy to Cistern Point on the southern end of Manchioneel. The snorkeling here was fantastic, especially with the new mask! We stayed out for a couple of hours, snorkeling all the way around the point and back.
Back to the boat and because we had done so well conserving water, Captain Bob announced that we would be able to splurge on Hollywood showers again - woo-hoo!!!
Dinner at the Beach Club was great - the roti was as yummy as I had hoped, with a portion generous enough to share a few bites, but just a few - I had waited a long time for this.
Back to the boat for boat drinks and music. The boat was equipped with a 1/8 inch stereo mini-plug that fit into the headphone jack on my iPod - very convenient! My playlist was most awesome - thanks guys for all of your recommendations. I mixed a batch of painkillers and we had our own private dance floor - what could be better?
Jump in de line, rock your body in time...
Manchioneel sunset
Day eight: The Bath and The Bight for an encore
Before heading to the Bight, we decided to go to the Baths again in order to give that call the time it deserved.
We set off for The Baths early, mooring before 9:00 The Baths were spectacular as always, but much more relaxed this time without the stress of having to return to Nanny Cay hanging over our heads. It was crowded again though. I think the addition of Roadtown to some cruise itineraries may have a lot to do with it. There are probably more optimal times during the day to avoid the excursions (my guess would be later in the afternoon - something to consider next trip.
I'm not sure how long we stayed - I was too busy relaxing to think about it.
Rod & Amy were the last ones to return. As it turns out, they hiked to the Top of the Baths and had hot dogs and drinks for lunch. Amy triumphantly reports "Now we don't have to eat bagels for lunch!" The bums! Had I known, I would have gone with them. We were all getting tired of bagels.
It probably deems mentioning that we were now within the last days of our sail, and with that, down to the bitter dregs of our provisions. Remember the million bagels I mentioned in the first installment? Well, we still had at A LOT of bagels to finish, so we were using them at every meal; bagels for breakfast, bagel sandwiches for lunch, and Amy even made bagel croutons for the salad at dinner. Yep, bagels at every meal; it was starting to get old. And there was still beer - lots of beer, but that I can live with
Off to The Bight for our last night of festivities. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get from Manchioneel Bay to The Bight, but it was a beautiful day and a good opportunity to try to finish up the last of our provisions (the beer, NOT the bagels!). Usually the first one to have a beer on any given day, Amy officially became our "five o'clock somewhere" girl. I'm not sure exactly where "somewhere" was, but Beijing or Hong Kong were probably good guesses. Way to run with the big dogs!
We moored at about 2:30 on the Willy T side again, and went directly to Pirates. I was craving fritters and jerk wings (actually anything but bagels), so drinks and apps at Pirate's it was. Heather (super woman) and Ray hiked while the rest of us sat at a picnic table on Pirate's beach. Very nice way to spend the last afternoon of our sail.
Later it was back to the boat for wine, spaghetti, and garlic bread, in that order (and no bagels, thank goodness!)
We dinghied to the Willy T around 9:00 and the party was already well underway. We danced the night away, well, at least until about 11:00 - which seemed late, I think because the partying starts pretty much when the sun goes down (or maybe even before that). Then back to the boat in anticipation of a 6:30 AM departure for Nanny Cay...
What a great first week. 
I can't wait for Chapter 2.