In our last blog we described that we arrived in Norman Island in The Bight and that we did a lot of snorkeling around the caves just south of the bay. In the North Westerly direction of the bay is a rock formation called the Indians and a small island called Pelican Island. This formation is clearly visible because of the unique form of four red rocks. A reef extends between the island and the rocks and provides excellent snorkeling. The National Park Trust placed day time mooring buoys. The formation is exposed to the wind and swells and the best time to visit is in the morning. Since the place is very popular it is important to get a mooring buoy early in the morning. So we arrived at 7:00AM and most of the buoys were already occupied but we found one close to the reef. Close turned out to be something like 40 ft. and it was scary to see the boat so close to the rocks sticking out of the water. The snorkeling was more than excellent and it was the best I have seen. There was still some current so Dorothy used a line from the boat and she also had a great time. After our breakfast we did some motor sailing around Peter Island and Salt Island. Salt Island is famous for the very good diving location on the wreck of the "The Royal Mail Steamer Rhone" that sank on October 29, 1867 during a hurricane. After we returned to Norman Island and we moored in The Bight I became sick and spent the next day feeling quite miserable.

On Monday 03/11/13 we sailed through Sir Francis Drake Channel along Cooper and Ginger Islands to Trellis Bay on Beef Island. Due to a large storm some time ago in the Atlantic large NNE swells came into the British Virgin Islands and worked itself into most of the bays. Even Trellis Bay which is very well protected had a surge. We took the opportunity to rent a car for a day and explore Tortola. The airport is next to the bay and the car rental place is just less than 5 minutes walking. The trip was beautiful and exciting. We drove along the coast and the mountains on very steep roads with the most breathtaking views. The back roads are sometime scary but it was fun. The beaches on the north side of the island all had red warning flags and it was very impressive to see the enormous swells breaking on the reefs, beaches and rocks. At one beach a lot of people were surfing and that was very impressive (see our pictures).

The next day we sailed to Virgin Gorda and planned to spend some time on a day mooring buoy, use the dinghy and swim to The Baths. The Baths are a most unusual formation of enormous granite rocks which were abetted in the lava rocks. Over time the lava was washed away and remaining are these huge rocks. Where the sea washes in between these rocks, large pools have been created where shafts of light play on the water, creating a dramatic effect. There is a trail from The Baths to the south through the rocks and caves to Devils Bay. But again the red flags were out and mooring was not allowed. So we sailed to the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour, took a slip and used the next day an open taxi/bus to go to The Baths. We had a great time and were amazed about the rock formations and the white sand beaches in between. The trail to Devils Beach is great and a lot of fun, crawling underneath rocks, wading through water under these huge boulders with the light playing in between them and then arriving on small beaches and finally the Devils Bay Beach.

Our plan was to leave today (03/15/13) to Virgin Gorda Sound and spend some time there before leaving to St. Maarten. But we are leaving this afternoon to make the crossing since the weather gives us a great opportunity that will only last for two days before more wind and waves will start on Sunday. So I will return to St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba after spending a year over there in 1977 to do the ground control for the mapping of these islands.