Oldies On Tour

Instead of swimming around the boat we went for a snorkel, I swam to shore, which was quite a way, the waters are so clear here, with lots of fish around, the only problem is, if a pelican sees a fish he dives, and you could be really close, not sure how they do it, fascinating to watch, they dive from a great height, and then sit on the water to eat there fish, it’s a wonder they don’t break their necks. On the way back I saw two stingrays,

After breakfast, we left to go to Cruz Bay St.John’s, just to show Robina and Brian the capital, it is a very small Island with only about 4000 inhabitants. We tried to anchor in the harbour, but I said it was too shallow 1.8metrs, we draw 2.1m, so we went to the bay outside, and dinghy in, long way to go, and Brian got wet.

Geoff and I had a quick look at the town, it is very small, and then we had some lunch overlooking the sea, which was lovely. Then we met back with Jeff who was on his computer, then when Robina and Brian turned up, back to the boat.

We quickly got sorted and let go off the buoy and onto St.Thomas, just as we were leaving the bay, the biggest turtle I have seen yet, came up, looked around and went down again.

Arriving at Red Hook we were going to take up a buoy, but a local said some of them are not safe, so we anchored, it is a bit roly poly, as the ferries are running back and forth, but other than that it is ok.

Robina and Brian went into town with Jeff to look for the Iguana’s, we said we had seen some there last year, all they saw was the grass that they should have been on with food waiting. Hopefully tomorrow they will see them.

Back on the boat, Geoff had cooked corned beef hash, it was lovely and tasty, and no one left any. Jeff cleared up, whilst we played crib, five games to decide who the champions were, first two games went to Robina and Brian, then we won two, the decider, it was right down to the last game, and they won, by scoring first. Geoff obviously taught them well.

The wind was howling, and the boat was rocking, glad we are on a buoy, we didn’t get up very early, but Geoff and Jeff nipped to the supermarket, to get some food, as we are now leaving civilization for a couple of nights.

We all had breakfast minus grapefruits, as Geoff has just found out how much they cost £1 each, he had an argument with the lady in the shop, and told her to put them back. We have been paying that price for ages, it’s just he did not realize. Jeff and I had our daily intake of porridge, everyone else had toast.

We cleared up, as we were waiting for a super yacht to get of the fuel dock, we need some water before we can go. All ready to go, and someone nipped in front of us, so we radioed up, and arranged for the guy to move his dinghy. This is going to be fun, it is really windy! Lined ourselves up, and were pushed inside of the jetty, so we went round again, this time Geoff stayed well out, and let the wind push us in, excellent job, we were within one foot of the other one, and hanging off at the back, we were already to jump, the attendant took the first rope and Brian and I did the stern and middle, secured and pleased we had done no damage. Well done Geoff. The other guy was leaving, and the attendant gave him some advice, which the guy totally ignored, he got himself in terrible trouble, and we think he has some damage, he also left his crew on shore, so Jeff offered to take them over in dinghy, rather than him coming back for selfish reason, we did not want him hitting us. We put a spring on the middle, and Geoff gently went astern, and we were away with no damage, also the guy had held our rope so we had all our crew on board well done Geoff.

We left Soper’s Hole, and headed for Leimester Bay total run time of 2miles, so we just engine over, as the batteries needed a boost anyway.

We came into one of my favourite bays; it is so quiet, other than fish jumping, and people snorkeling. We went on a buoy, and had a cuppa, when I spotted dolphins, an adult and a young baby, they looked so lovely, they were swimming around the bay, and the baby was very tiny.

We all went for a snorkel, Jeff took Robina and Brian, and taught Robina how to snorkel, and as soon as she got in she saw a turtle, so she was very pleased. We went further out, and saw how the coral had regrown over the year, and swam through lots of shoals of tiny fish, we saw a couple of big turtles, both with big yellow fish on their backs, which I assume they were cleaning their shells, lots of varieties of other fish, and it was so clear.

Back to the boat, which was a bit of a struggle for Geoff as Brian had borrowed his flippers (fins) we had swam more than we had intended, still we got back, and I guess another ½ mile swim.

We had lunch, without the others as they were still in the water, by this time it was past 3pm, so we were hungry. Eventually they came back, and decided to walk on shore. We are on Rockefeller Island, which he donated to National Trust, and they had a sugar plantation years ago and some of the buildings are still standing. We will come back and explore one day soon.

Geoff and I went for another snorkel, this time taking the dinghy, we saw some lovely fish, it is amazing how they blend in with the scenery, at first you think there is nothing there, and then all of a sudden you see loads, brilliant. Back to the dinghy, which I managed to get in, but by this time Geoff was too tired, so after a couple of attempts, he decided to be pulled back, he was hanging on, then he went to the back and I towed him, because all the weight was on one side we kept going around in circles, and nearly hitting the other boats, still it kept them amused, and eventually I got him back to our boat exhausted.

We both took showers, and sat and had cocktails with ice, watching the sun go down, very nice. Jeff came back, and went off for another snorkel, where he said he saw a large barracuda, dog fish, and other species. Then we spotted Brian and Robina coming back, so Geoff went to pick them up, they had enjoyed their walk, Brian went for one last dip of the day, whilst I cooked dinner.

After dinner, we played crib, and Brian and Robina beat us 2-0 this is not good, we had another game, and we beat them 2-0, so we can go to bed all equal, we should have played the 5th game just to see who the winners were, but Brian wanted it left like that.

Robina and Brian were up dressed and out before we realized this morning, apparently they had decided to catch the 8am bus and go into town, and Jeff was up so took them by dinghy to shore.

Geoff fancied cooked breakfast so he went in later and bought some food, and I then cooked it, the first one we have had since I arrived.

We used the day catching up with jobs, the tray in our en-suite was broken so Geoff started work on that, he also cleaned it out, he has only been able to do a temporary job, it will go into the workshop when we get home. The bathroom is now pristine, so that’s good.

I caught up with the washing ironing and hovering, we had the generator on for several spells today, but it did not seem to worry the surrounding boats, so that was good. Jeff also did his washing, spent loads of time on the internet, and fixed something in the engine room, not sure what.

I prepared and cooked a roast dinner, with a little bit of help from Geoff, then everyone came back, we ate our dinner, played cards, this time it was Geoff and I against Robina and Brian, we won by 2-1, then bed

Up early, eight times swimming round the boat, it certainly a lovely way to start the day.

After breakfast Geoff took Brian, Robina, and Jeff into shore, so that they could do internet, and various different jobs, I stayed on board, and got it from the boat, made lots of calls, it is good to catch up.

As soon as everyone was back we were away, we found the rock that we hit last year, still unmarked, so we avoided that one, we were going to see if we could find our little deserted Island ‘Sandy Cay’, we have always enjoyed that spot.

Andrew and Lilo have always taken us there, so we headed up for where we thought it was, and I realized quite quickly that it was too big, so Geoff went back to the chart to see what else we could see, we found a ‘Sandy Spit’ so headed for that, and yes that was it, put the anchor down, and got ready.

I asked Jeff if he was swimming, which he was, so I decided to go with him, Geoff bought the dinghy in with Robina and Brian. We took five minutes out to walk round the Island, then Geoff and I had a swim, then we decided to launch the dinghy, not such an easy task.

A guy was helping, and Geoff tried to secure the anchor further out, with the idea of jumping in, but the surf was high, and the dinghy had a mind of its own, Brian tried to help, but they could not get it out of the surf, eventually Jeff and Geoff, got hold of it, and pulled it round the corner, away from the rocks. Jeff found the anchor which had been lost, and things calmed down a bit. Geoff jumped into the dinghy, Jeff anchored it, and then Robina was trying to get in it, in the end Jeff jumped dinghy and physically pulled her up, Brian jumped in, and they motored back to the boat exhausted. Jeff and I had decided to swim back, when we got back I looked on the chart plotter, and I had swam .28 of a nautical mile each way, so over half a mile, I was very pleased with that, as I felt quite fit.

After lunch which Geoff made omelet’s, which were lovely, we were going to Josh Van Dyke, but we had a change of plan and went to Soper’s Hole, Robina and Brian want to see Tortola, so that will give them more time.

We were back on the same buoy which is handy for the shore, Jeff took Robina and Brian in, whilst I prepared dinner, and Geoff looked at his emails. Martin has finally said No to doing the Atlantic, it is a shame, but then at least we know we have good back up on shore, he was brilliant on the way over, sorting out Geoff’s little problems, so now we have to find another crew member. Not sure if Jeff will come with us, as he is talking to someone else at present with a view of going with them, so Geoff will be busy on computers tomorrow.

Everyone arrived back just in time for dinner, Spaghetti Bolognese, and salad, we had a bottle of wine, and then I had early night, my exercise in the day had got the better of me. I left Geoff and Jeff busy on the computers.

First thing we had a swim, the water was the clearest we have seen it yet, we were in 6 metres of water and you could clearly see the bottom, it was fantastic. We swam out to one of the buoys, saw loads of little fish on route, also a boat hook.

After breakfast Robina and Brian went into town to get some last minute stuff, then we set off for Prickly Bear Island, hoping to see the sugar birds, but either things have changed, and the guy has sold up, or it is the wrong Island, we will have to do some homework. We dropped anchor had some lunch, Geoff had a swim, and then we moved on to Trellis Bay Beef Island.

No wind, no sailing, and very very hot, gradually as the day went on we had some breeze but not enough to do sailing.

Entering Trellis Bay and onto a buoy, which we did in our normal style first time, we are getting experts now, then a quick cuppa before everyone goes ashore.

I stayed behind to make dinner, and do some odd jobs.

Geoff said nothing has changed, it is still very quaint, and not a lot going on.

We had some dinner, then a game of cards, which Brian and I won 2-1, Geoff dropped a card, we could not find it anywhere, and it is still missing now, very strange!

Up early and away, we wanted to get to the ‘Indians’ and snorkel before anyone else, that was a joke! It was packed, so instead of anchoring a long way away, we just kept the engine ticking over, and everyone went for a swim. Geoff and I did not bother to go over we just swam round the boat, but apparently it was a good day to see the fish.

We then moved onto ‘The Baths’ on Virgin Gourda, it took us a couple of hours to get up there, 11 miles, on the nose, not that there was any wind anyway. We had breakfast on route, and it is going to be a very hot day there are lots of Sunsail and Mooring boats out, so you have to watch out, they don’t care what they do, or where they go. We arrived at ‘The Bath’s’ just in time to see someone drop their buoy, it was a diver’s buoy, and we should not use it really, but it did not seem to bother Geoff, so we did.

We took the dinghy to the place where we could leave them, and then had to swim ashore, then we watched other people being dropped off, and then parking the dinghy, oh well a bit more exercise won’t hurt.

We meandered around the stones, they are magnificent, took loads of photos, hope they come out, Brian and Geoff went one way, and we went the other, and met up at the end. Apparently Geoff was concentrating so much on where he was walking, he walked into a tree, and bruised his nose, and he saw stars for a while. Robina and I climbed up and down, through tunnels, it was brilliant.

Eventually we came out on to the beach, which was a superb bay, surrounded by these big granite rocks, we went for a swim, then Robina and Brian went off for a walk, and we decided to go back a different way, the walk was up and down the hills, with boulders everywhere, loads of different cacti, we saw a snake, lizards, chicken with baby chicks, lots of butterflies and birds, it was brilliant.

We came back to the beach, and decided we needed a drink, and some food, whilst waiting for the others, eventually we all met up, then back to the boat.

Geoff and I decided to get the dinghy and bring it in shore, well you have never seen anything so funny as two old codgers, trying to get into the dinghy in deep water without any rope or steps, eventually I used the engine, stepped on the edge of it, and with a shove from Geoff I was in. I then had to pull him in, which I did, but not before he nearly had me back in the water, we need to get that organized. We went ashore, picked up Robina and Brian, then back to the boat, I took a fender of the boat, and started practicing how to get in, and I think we have sorted it now.

Geoff, Robina, and Brian went ashore to do the shopping, whilst Jeff and I stayed on boat, Jeff started the generator, and I did my ironing and some washing, when we turned the Generator off there was a big cheer from the next boat, but they were very nice about it. We have the exhaust going outwards, so it is not so noisy on the boat, Geoff is going to box it in when we are on our own.

Shopping unloaded, Geoff got dinner, meatballs in tomatoes sauce, very nice, then we played crib, and Brian and I won 2 – 0, Robina wanted to have another go, but I decided it was my bed time.