We left Cooper just before 7:00 so that we could get a mooring at the Baths. With the formidable charter boat navy out in force, picking up a mooring at the most famous beach in the BVI is something you can only do bright and early. We arrived at around 7:30 and picked up the last mooring ball in the place. The area is a national park so there's no anchoring.

The Baths are an odd pile of huge boulders that form all sorts of grottos and caves that you can hike or snorkel through. It is a spectacular place.

You can't leave your dinghy ashore at the Baths. There's a dinghy tie up in Devils Bay but that's about it. The trail from the Baths beach to Devils Bay is a highlight of a trip to the Baths. We were in a predicament because I wanted to put everyone ashore in Devils Bay, hike through the boulders to the Baths beach, hike up the hill to the Top of the Baths for lunch at the restaurant there, then back down to the Baths for a trip back to the boat.

After considering the matter a bit it looked like I was going to be swimming. So I dropped everyone off at Devils Bay and then took the dinghy back to the boat. I had done the swim once before but with fins. I didn't want to carry the fins around all day like last time so I just did the swim with sunglasses. I have since developed a great appreciation for fins. I can't remember the last time I swam without them now. They sure are nice to have when you're on the farthest mooring.

After I made it to the shore we hiked up through the caves to the Baths Beach. Atsuo San and Yukiko San did a tremendous job climbing over the boulders and through the crawl holes in the rocks.

The whole area is a really fun and interesting place to visit. Avoid the crowds though if you can. As we hiked up the hill to the Top of the Baths a cruise ship had just unloaded in Spanish Town. All of the tourists take taxis to the Top of the Baths and then hike down to the Baths. The path leading up to the top is fairly narrow, so we were like salmon trying to get up stream.

We had a great lunch and enjoyed the stunning view from the Top of the Baths. As we made our way back down I realized that the previously relaxed beach was now packed with cruise ship folk. Not only did I have a long swim in front of me but I was not so sure that I wanted to try to bring the dinghy in close enough for a pick up with all of the swimmers in the water.

After watching a few pros work the surf and the tourists I decided to give it a try. Hideko and I agreed on an abort plan in case it was just untenable. I bummed a ride back to the boat from a couple of friendly guys in a 15 foot Caribe, which avoided a pretty long swim.

I motored our dinghy into the Baths area and picked up the dinghy line about 100 feet off of the beach. Another guy was waiting his turn to pick up so I got in line. A channel had formed amid the floating tourists due to the constant pickups. I took advantage of the opportunity and with the help of a nice guy from Canada we got everyone on board and made it out without getting pooped or running anyone over.

We motored up the Sir Francis Drake into the wind to make North Sound in the early afternoon. We made our way around Mountain Point and come into the sound via Anguilla Point. The sound side of the cut is very shallow and you need to head toward Leverick Bay from the mid point of the cut. I see 5 foot something on the sounder all of the time through here. Scary but well traveled.

We cruised up the sound to Saba Rock and picked up a mooring. We relaxed over a cocktail and then everyone went around to the reef side of the rock to enjoy the famous Saba Rock hammocks.

We made our way over to the Bitter End courtesy of the free Saba Rock shuttle for a little tour. After a pleasant afternoon at the Bitter End we returned to Saba Rock for a yummy dinner.

It was our last day with Hideko's parents and we had made the most of it.