Monday morning dawned and along with it the anticipatory excitement of setting sail. There were a few more last minute items to acquire and the all important presentation at Customs of skipper and all crew at 11:00. Fortunately this was not a drama and before we knew it we were out of the office, even leaving time for a Bad Ass Coffee. This cafe took its name from a legend that recalls donkeys in times gone by who, hauling the coffee crop down the mountainside gained a memorable reputation for their emissions...bad, bad ass!
Trilogy slipped away from the marina with minimum fuss and before long the mainsail was hoisted and we were skipping o'er the ocean, heading for Isla de Culebrita. As the breeze remained light, Peter launched his drone, his first attempt to launch and land the craft on a moving object, let alone sea surrounding the moving object! Mike was designated the nerve wracking task of drone catcher, which proved to be a huge challenge, as the drone has an 'object avoidance sensor' and it did not want to get close enough to be caught. Eventually 'dronie' came in on the forward port side, once the headsail had been furled and the skipper had stopped Trilogy's 7 knots of movement. There was a collective sigh of relief followed by a loud cheer!
We visited the Spanish Virgin Islands last year and as we had our favourite spots, we headed to Culebrita Baie. This bay is a nature park and the magnificent aqua blue water lined by white sand was soooo inviting. Once anchored, we swam ashore and walked the crescent shaped beach, noting the poisonous Manchineel trees and a new sign stating 'NO DRONES ALLOWED'! We understand the wildlife are adversely affected by the drones buzzing sound and certainly birds don't like drones one little bit! The mosquitos were fierce both on the beach and also on board and even though we flyscreened the hatches and fumigated below decks, the juiciest of us got severely bitten through the night.
Next morning, we swam and walked, swam and walked again and later headed to The Jacuzzis on the ocean side behind the bay, which involved scrambling over sharp and sometimes slippery rocks. As a large swell was running, the sea came hurtling through a narrow gap between the rocks and surged in all directions. Such was their power, the waves were vibrating the rocks but we eventually found a quieter patch and enjoyed the wild but refreshing immersion in the foaming bubbles. Kat and Mike climbed the adjacent hillock and reported numerous spikey cacti underfoot which delivered their weaponry even through thick soled shoes.
After a late lunch we motored a short distance to the larger Isla de Culebra to revisit Flamenco Baie, a sweeping crescent of sand which is a couple of kilometres in length. Navigation through the reefs either side of the entrance passage was tight and to our disappointment the sizeable swell was coming all the way into the bay. We anchored in the most protected corner, almost out of the wind and hoped that the swell would abate when the wind dropped in the evening. We swam ashore through a decent shore break and enjoyed the wander past the swaying palms with the finest of white sand underfoot. Flamenco Baie hosts a couple of low key resorts and a large camping ground so there was plenty to observe and the WW2 rusting tank we recalled from last year was still a dominant feature, sadly slowly rotting by the sea.
Alas, the swell did not abate but the wind dropped, which meant Trilogy went side on to the swell, making our discomfort even less tolerable! Dinner was prepared and eaten with a firm grip on everything, but as the dishes and wine glasses were gathered up for washing, Kat lost her footing and nose planted into the cockpit seat. Red wine spread far and wide but fortunately she was not hurt. A game of 500 was instigated but weariness overtook before long. Everyone's sleep was disturbed by the constant lurching and early next morning there was no hesitation in moving to quieter waters.
We anchored close to the ferry terminal at Dewey, and from there we took a dingy ride to the Dinghy Dock Cafe accessed via a small creek. After a tedious hour-long phone conversation with the port authorities to clear Trilogy for the sail to Puerto Rico, we ate an early lunch and returned to Trilogy.
Next stop was nearby at Punta Cruz, on the southwestern tip of the island. We picked up a mooring for an overnight stay and all enjoyed a snorkel to the fringing reefs, which offered mostly dead hard coral with the occasional soft waving fans, a few fish and one spectacular black spotted stingray. Next morning the stingray was sighted leaping clear from the water chasing a small fish who was desperate to escape. We had drinks on the foredeck before enjoying a tasty chicken dish, fresh from the pressure cooker, playing cards and then sleeping soundly.