The Baths at Virgin Gorda were amazing, and hundreds of boats were moored and anchored offshore, lined up from the moorings at the Baths and then anchored all the way up to the north end of St.Thomas Bay. There's a dinghy line set just offshore, so we anchored, dinghied over, tied up the dinghy and then swam to shore. There's a hiking trail from The Baths to Devil's Bay, and it's spectacular. There are crazy caves created by humungous granite boulders on land and along the shore. The boulders are all sizes and shapes, completely smooth except for unusual pits and markings, and the coloured strata are fascinating. Really spectacular!

With wind again picking up and supposed to stay that way, we went up to Gorda Sound next. The Sound has a wealth of anchorages and we explored Eustatia Sound by dinghy, but unfortunately found it much too rough to go out to the reef and snorkel. Anchored most of the time in the lee of Prickly Pear Island, we walked around onshore at the Bitter End, and went over to Leverick Bay. I'd have to say that Gorda Sound is watersport heaven, and Hobie Cats are king. It brought back fond memories of my Hobie Cat sailing and windsurfing days, because those things just fly in these winds!! Mosquito Island is another interesting place in Gorda Sound. It's owned by Richard Branson, a British billionaire, adventurer, and conservationist I much admire. Apparently, he has plans to build a completely eco-friendly resort on the island.

The best thing about Gorda Sound is that I finally got a good picture of a Sea Turtle that came up to breathe a couple of meters away from the boat while we were anchored at Prickly Pear. It was awesome! I'd love to see one while snorkelling, but doubt I'll be that lucky so I was happy to have my photo at last.

After the Sound, it was back to St. Thomas Bay where we checked out Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour and Spanish Town. We found a great, very reasonably priced grocery store for provisioning, but the anchorage is very open to swells. We were a little bit sad to leave Virgin Gorda, because it meant that we were now officially on our way back. Knowing we still have 3-4 months and the Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos and southern Bahamas to go helped to ease the pain.