Moonraker

This blog chronicles the adventures of the sailing vessel Moonraker. We just finished the second year of our cruising life. We explored the US East Coast from Maine to Florida, the Bahamas, Haiti, PR, and the Virgin Islands.

19 May 2016 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, MD
06 April 2016 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, MD
13 February 2016 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, MD
21 January 2016 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, MD
09 December 2015 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, MD
05 November 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
22 October 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
01 October 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
14 August 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
15 July 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
08 June 2015 | Hillsmere Shores Marina, Annapolis, Maryland
26 May 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
14 May 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
09 March 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
17 February 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
08 January 2015 | Annapolis, Maryland
08 December 2014 | Annapolis, Maryland
31 October 2014 | Annapolis, Maryland
20 October 2014 | Annapolis, Maryland
04 October 2014 | Port Annapolis Marina, Annapolis, Maryland

Another Snorkeling Trip and Now Moored At the Bitter End

16 April 2014 | Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Donna
We got up very early this morning and were underway by 7:15am. We wanted to get to The Baths, a popular snorkeling ground on Virgin Gorda, in time to get one of the free day moorings that are around the big attractions. We got there around 9:00am but all the moorings were already taken. There were a number of boats hovering around waiting for someone to leave, but no one was going to be leaving that early! Instead we went to the far end of the mooring field and put down our anchor along with a number of other boats that had done the same.

We got in the dinghy and drove it to the dinghy mooring line and jumped in to snorkel The Baths. The coolest thing about this location is the huge boulders all around for you to snorkel around and climb on from the beach. There were lots of people there but we never got too close to other snorkelers on the water. You can see how over used it is there though because it didn't have nearly the amount of fish we have been used to seeing in other locations. It was still nice though. Bill got the great picture you see above. The best part of the trip was when we decided to walk around the boulders and around the path to the beach. We bought an ice cream cone!! Ice cream is so rare these days, it is always something to celebrate!

After we were snorkeled out we went back to the boat and headed to our destination for the night. We had intended to anchor in a little bay not far from The Baths but when we got close we could see a whole long raft of huge Sportsfisher boats. We decided to go for a sure thing instead and are now moored in front of the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda. We managed to get one of the few mooring balls left. We get the mooring for only twenty dollars instead of thirty because of our discount for being participants in the Salty Dawg Rally. We went ashore, along with our trash ($2 a bag for disposal) and walked all along the resort. We decided to have an early pizza dinner at the Crawl Pub and while we were waiting for it some cruisers we met in St John walked by. They came up and joined us and we ended up having a lovely time comparing our last couple of weeks.

Tomorrow we are heading to Anegada, the furthest island in the British Virgin Islands. The BVI is very crowded for the holiday weekend and we figure the further away we get the less crowded it is bound to be!! We hope we are right.
Comments
Vessel Name: Moonraker
Vessel Make/Model: Bayfield 40
Hailing Port: Annapolis, MD
Crew: Bill & Donna Shuman
About:
This blog will record our adventures as we continue our new cruising life. This summer (2013) we plan to head north and explore the coasts of Maine and Nova Scotia. We will return to Annapolis in the fall for the SSCA GAM and then head south on the ICW to Florida. [...]
Extra:
Moonraker was built in 1986 and had two owners before we bought her in 2005. After spending nearly two years on the hard making all the repairs and improvements that I had promised Donna we wouldn’t have to do if we bought her, we were finally ready to go sailing. For the next several years we [...]
Moonraker's Photos - Main
30 Photos
Created 17 February 2015
34 Photos
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45 Photos
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Who: Bill & Donna Shuman
Port: Annapolis, MD

Where in the World is Moonraker

Our Boat

Moonraker is a 1986 Bayfield 40 designed by the famous Ted Gozzard and built in Ontario, Canada. The rig is a cutter/ketch. Here are some of her specs:

LOA: 45 ft. 6 in.
LWL: 30 ft. 6 in.
Beam: 12 ft.
Draft: 4 ft. 11 in.
Displacement: 21,000 lbs.
Ballast: 8,200 lbs.
Sail Area: 1,009 sq. ft.


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