Saturday the crews from Pannikin & Joy headed to Soper’s Hole on the south western side of Tortola to refill dive tanks & grab some necessary provisions. The Amaris crew headed to Anegada to enjoy a yummy lobster dinner. Pannikin Anchored at Kelly’s Cove on Norman Island for the night while Joy headed along the northern coast of Norman Island & anchored in Benures Bay. The night in Kelly’s Cove was lovely. Lots of clear, clear water & great snorkelling, except for when a big barracuda decided to swim up close to have a good look at us – SCARY! Even though we were just around the corner from ‘The Bight’ – a very popular bay for charter boats we didn’t hear any noise from the Beach Bar or the ‘Willy T’ (a floating restaurant).
Sunday we motored around to Benures Bay to join Joy. This is a lovely spot also in the right conditions. We anchored & went stern to, tying our line to a tree on shore. The snorkelling here is great & we spent lots of time in the water. We took Joy’s tender (Bay Joy) to ‘The Indians’ for a snorkel in the afternoon. What an excellent spot!!! Well worth a visit – lots of coral & fish with steep cliffs falling 10 metres or so to the ocean floor. Of course it was very busy, but totally a place to see. J & S came over at sunset & had drinks for an hour or so, & then it was a quiet night for us.
We spent another day at Benures Bay on Monday doing odd jobs & cleaning and unfortunately sealing yet another leak on Mr Slappy. At about 3pm we decided it was time to get off the boat & went for a big walk along the many dirt tracks & roads on Norman Island (lots of hills!). Not a lot of wild life to see, but plenty of great views overlooking the BVIs & the many bays on Norman. Back to Pannikin for a snorkel and then to Joy for Sundowners. A lovely day.
Tuesday morning we sailed to Lee Bay on Salt Island & tied up to one of the National Park mooring buoys. This is the site of the wreck of the RMS Rhone which was blown onto Salt Island & sank in 1867. Steve & Jeremy had a fantastic dive & Ange & Susie had a great snorkel over the stern which is in the shallowest water. Steve reckoned it was one of the best dives he’s ever had – another top spot in the BVIs! Pannikin then headed to Road Town, Tortola to purchase some much needed groceries & do some odd jobs. Joy continued to Salt Island Bay around the corner & set anchor. After spending a good couple of hours getting our jobs done we arrived back at Salt Island Bay around 7.30pm & anchored for the night. A full moon shining on beautiful clear water was a highlight that night.
Wednesday, after consulting the weather, we decided to head back to Hansen Bay (Round Bay) on St John to hide from another couple of days of high wind & big swells. Joy headed to Road Town to do some computer work & get a sim card for their phone. Water again was beautiful in Hansen Bay & we spent a lot of Wednesday afternoon in the water. We also glued another leak in Mr Slappy with the glue we purchased on Tuesday. We are thinking we will have to call him ‘Patch’ now.
Thursday & Friday we did not a lot – reading, swimming & snorkelling and a big walk around our part of St John. Lots of very steep hills but the view over the island & across to the BVIs was well worth it. There are plenty of tents going up on shore for the Easter break.
Saturday we decided to poke our nose out & head to Cruz Bay to top up our internet sim card & get diesel & petrol. A very rolly sail down the east coast & around the south coast of the island – swell still very big & still plenty of wind. Just as we arrived in Cruz Bay & huge squall came through & we got soaked! Got our bits & pieces done in town, which was packed due to Easter holidays, then headed north. We decided to head to Jeremy and Susie who were in Great Harbour, Peter Island as it was pouring in St John. Took us a good 4 hours to get there, punching into the wind and swell – not very comfortable. After cleaning up Pannikin we had drinks on board & started planning our trip back south down the island chain.
Happy Easter everyone!