Sailing from BVI's back to St Maarten

On Monday the time had come for us to sail back to St Maarten to get our spinnaker pole sorted. We planned for a 12 to 13 hour sail so decided to leave the BVI's at 1pm and sail through the night for an early morning arrival in Simpson Bay Lagoon. Well that was the plan but it didn't end up being an easy sail at all for us. There are probably many experienced sailors who wouldn't have found the trip challenging but as a second night sail for us on Faraway we really did have our moments of concern. There were also a lot of things we could have done differently in hindsight but once committed we had to stick with the plan. In the morning I wanted to get another dive in so we headed over to the coral gardens on Great Dog Island. The weather and visibility wasn't the best so we didn't stay down for a long dive. After packing our equipment we called into Spanish Town to clear customs. We secured the dinghy on board and prepared lunch and what we thought we would need for the sail. We knew the swell and wind were slightly against us but manageable. We motored north of Gorda Sound and south of Necker Island which looked very tranquil. As we got out into the passage the swell almost doubled and Faraway crashed and lurched through the waves. Hmm 12 hours of this probably wasn't going to be pleasant and it isn't a good sign when there are no other yachts on the water heading in either direction (note for future reference). Due to our commitment in St. Maarten we decided to press on with the discomfort. Faraway was on a 35 degree lean as we let the sails out. I clipped my lifejacket on in the cockpit so I couldn't fall out or be thrown out. We soon realised things weren't going to get any better only worse. We watched a beautiful sunset and I was just getting relaxed when I saw an object fly past Ian's head, hit the spreaders and splat onto the deck. It was a flying fish that luckily just managed to slip off the deck back into the water. Ian at that point decided that it was way too bumpy below to cook dinner so we decided to share a packet of Pringles chips. Not the most balanced meal but it kept our energy going. Excitement and dinner over I settled for a roller coaster ride style snooze while Ian took watch. At 7pm in total darkness there was a very loud and close engine noise. We both panicked and scanned the radar for a ship we had missed and wondered what we were about to collide with when all of a sudden we were flashed with a bright white light above the mast. We looked into the night and could see the red tail light of a helicopter disappearing over us at an extremely low level. The coastguard must have tracked us on their radar as part of a surveillance mission we thought but more was to be revealed later. We pressed on sharing the watch and trimming the sails as needed. The moon didn't come out until around 11:30am but when it did the sea was beautifully illuminated. We spotted a few cruise ships on the radar that were close but clearing us. It soon became obvious that we couldn't sail directly to St. Maarten so we set a course for the island of Saba with a plan to tack back up to St. Maarten. We only went below for nature calls and to stop anything that had become loose during the rolling and bashing of the hull against the waves. We both had to go below to change our clothes when a freak wave came right over the canopy and flooded the cockpit. At 1am Saba was in sight and we altered the sails for our course to St. Maarten. All of a sudden Faraway lurched with the new course and change of wind and swell direction and the auto pilot switched off. All the electronic instruments failed and we couldn't steer a course. Saba was on our starboard then our stern then our port and we were going in circles. The bilge alarms below screamed as the water intake increased and we had a moment of panic. Luckily Ian just focused on the magnetic compass and corrected our course back to the original heading. We stayed on that heading for another hour until we gained control again. As the sun started to rise we could see St. Maarten in the distance and a rain shower ahead. We got a free boat wash courtesy of the rain and a beautiful double rainbow to welcome our arrival. A booby bird guided us into Simpson Bay and it was all very tranquil after our night out at sea. I took a photo of the saloon after the trip to show what happens to items that aren't stowed away properly. It was 8am and we had to anchor in the bay to get the dinghy off the deck and prepare Faraway to enter the Dutch Bridge at 9:30am so we could berth at the marina. While we were arranging ropes and dreaming of a shower and a cup of tea I noticed a customs vessel approaching our boat with 3 officers on board. They started taking photos and I kind of thought to myself in my sleep deprived haze which was my best side for the shot! They asked to board and inspect the boat and see our registration documents and passports. One officer asked to go downstairs so we warned him it was a real mess from the bumpy crossing. He took one look and came bounding back upstairs again eager to escape the chaos below deck (see second photo). Luckily they were very nice about the visit. When we mentioned the helicopter incident earlier that evening the officer said they were searching for a particular vessel and not to worry. However as they got off the boat they took more photos which was all a bit strange. We managed to make the 9:30am bridge and berthed Faraway safely. After collapsing for a few hours sleep we got on with our day and met up with the rigging guy to discuss our plan for the spinnaker pole fitting. It looks like we will be sailing south on Wednesday to St. Kitts, Saba and Antigua then coming back in a week or so to St. Maarten for the spinnaker pole fitting. We had a good nights sleep but noticed in the morning that our bodies ached in places that they hadn't before from being bounced around in the cockpit. I guess it is an experience that you just need to get used to.

Salt Island

After leaving Benures Bay on Sunday we sailed around to Salt Island. The winds had increased rather than decreased as per the prediction and we found it a bit tricky to dive where we had planned on Carrot Rock. We opted for a snorkel instead near the wreck of the Rhone. We saw part of the wreck, some interesting cuttle fish and a giant barracuda that was just hanging around the dinghy mooring line. We left Salt Island in the afternoon and sailed up to Long Bay (our favourite anchorage) as the weather had deteriorated and we wanted a more secure hold.

Diving Pelican Island

Luckily my first dive in 10 months after returning from illness was a good one. We dove the coral gardens off the 'Indians' on Pelican Island, BVI's. The visibility was around 20 metres and there was a lot of marine life to view in relatively shallow water. Ian spotted a big lobster with a bit of an attitude probably from knowing it was safe from being taken in a marine park. There were strange green sponges and the ones in this photo are definitely for the female readers. Ian was horrified when I took the photo but hey he can't say much underwater. I think the diving was pretty good by Caribbean standards and I was sorry to head to the surface after a 56 minute dive.

Benures Bay Anchorage

Peace at last in this lovely little quiet anchorage on Norman Island. We managed to relax a bit for 2 days and explore the snorkelling and rocky beach. It was an excellent spot to go by tender to the caves for snorkelling and Pelican Island for diving. Ian also had the chance to test out the revs on the new outboard when we got out of range of other yachts. We had a dive down under Faraway to 13 metres so Ian could check how the anchor was holding. There were some interesting marine creatures in the bay including a colourful skate and juvenile reef fish.

The Caves (Treasure Island)

We finally left the marina in Tortola on Friday, January 21 and headed on a short 8 mile sail over to Norman Island. Unfortunately our departure from the marina was less than eloquent as we left a mooring line on the dock as we were heading out. A poor guy in a neighbouring yacht brought it out to us in his tender while we idled and tried to avoid bumping other moored yachts in front of a restaurant audience. I snatched the rope out of the guys hand as it was being delivered and managed to get some of his skin under my nails too in the haste to get the embarrassment over with. I guess it was another event to put down to experience. We took some photos of Tortola for Marco as he had told Ian it was his favourite place visited by cruise ship. We reached our destination and anchored in Benures Bay on Norman Island and Ian went for a snorkel and was lucky enough to see an Eagle Ray. What a wonderful and peaceful place it was especially after the marina so we ended up staying 2 nights to unwind. Incidently I had met a lady called Justine in the laundromat at the marina who worked on a day charter yacht called 'White Squall' and she gave me the recommendation to visit Norman Island. That afternoon we headed over to the caves near Treasure Point (Treasure Island). We didn't find any treasure but the caves were amazing. Beautiful glass fish lined the entrance and each cave had a different topography of boulders and soft corals. Pelicans fished lazily from the rocky outcrops nearby as they had very easy pickings on the abundant fish. We went back to Faraway after a couple of hours and finished with sundowners on the beach of Benures Bay. It was so nice to be out of the marina and back in a peaceful natural environment again.

Tim the Tradesman

The main reason for our extended visit to the marina was to get our battery problem fixed. We hired a local guy called Tim from Marine Services who was very experienced and knowledgable in this field. He managed to squeeze us in between his other scheduled jobs and spent the best part of 3 days working on our yacht. We plied him with Coca Cola and beers at the end of the day to keep him energised in the hot and humid conditions. We ended up having to replace all our main batteries which proved to be necessary but quite costly. This is a photo of Tim leaving Faraway with all his gear after finishing the job. We really hoped it was the last of our battery problems and that we could finally get back to our adventure. Friday morning we planned to leave the marina and head down to Norman Island for some well earned relaxation and diving over the weekend. It would also be a good test for the batteries before finally leaving the BVI's and heading south.

Bosun's Chair and Darryl

Whilst in the marina we were lucky enough to meet a guy from Canada called Darryl sailing on 'Vimy'. He was interesting to chat to and gave us a good demo of using the Bosun's Chair to retrieve a fouled line and repair it from the top of his yacht's mast. Darryl was also kind and brave enough to take some photos of Faraway while he was up top. His toe in the bottom right corner of the first photo gives you a bit of a feel of what it must be like looking down from that aspect. The second photo shows a tiny scale of me on Faraway in an orange top looking up. Anyway he had Ian on the winches and was safely hauled up and down his mast smiling all the way! The final photo is of Darryl coming down the mast. He made it look so easy but for sure it requires some practice and confidence in your equipment.

Village Cay Marina

Unfortunately the time had come to seek out a marina and get our battery problem resolved. We ended up being marina bound for 5 days from January 17 to 21 in Road Harbour. Marinas are strange places that can be enjoyable and frustrating at the same time. We tried to make the most of the situation by getting a few weeks worth of laundry done, shopping for groceries and other necessities and doing odd repair jobs on the yacht. The town was pretty much divided by marinas, the cruise ship dock with surrounding upmarket shops and the local less attractive business centre. My daily walk to the supermarket was an interesting one because in this part of the Caribbean you see chickens and roosters on the streets rather than cats or dogs. It's a bit of a difficult scene to get your head around but the chickens seem to survive the mad car driving and live quite happily pecking away along the roadside being dodged by humans. Ian did happen to make friends with a local dock cat that visited our yacht for food. We gave it some tidbits but it got a bit cheeky and ended up sitting on our yacht and even poked it's head through the bedroom porthole a couple of times during the night. We had to discourage it thereafter but I later learned that the dockside cat (called Popcorn) is well taken care of by a local lady and has regular Vet visits.

The Baths

We reluctantly left Anegada on Sunday morning and sailed back to Virgin Gorda. I really wanted to visit the famous Baths and we weren't disappointed although Ian preferred less crowded sailing destinations. There were no mooring balls left so we had to anchor off-shore and swim in. The entire area was a marine park and no landing on the beach was permitted even in a dinghy. We swam about a kilometre but the scenery on the way in was amazing with huge granite boulders rising up from the sea floor. The beach was crowded with holidaymakers and it reminded me of a bizarre seal colony (see top photo). I guess it was a bit of a shock to see so many people after the remoteness of Anegada. We walked through the caves around to Devils Bay and marvelled at the beauty of the place (probably would have been better minus all the people). After a few hours we had to get back to Faraway and make sure she was okay. After all the action we decided to sail back to Long Bay and rest for the afternoon and overnight there again. It was a great decision as the weather was perfect and we did some really beautiful snorkelling in the afternoon and early morning. We had to sail to Tortola and civilisation on Monday morning to get repairs done on our yacht. Another busy few days ahead but at least there was internet so I could add to the blog and catch up on the latest news.

Anegada Snorkelling

On Saturday morning we planned a snorkelling adventure. First up we went to Pam's bakery for some yummy fresh bread, muffins and jam scrolls. We took them in the dinghy to the lonely beach and ate to our hearts content. There were no people on the beach and the colours were amazing. We headed around to Raffling Point to do some snorkelling. Unfortunately along the way we went past some houses that were being lost to the sea. Some men were frantically working to try and save the houses but it looked like they were fighting a losing battle. The weather was a bit too rough for good snorkelling but we enjoyed the adventure. Later in the day we had a refreshing beer at a beach bar (in order to dispose of our garbage) and watched one of the local guys cleaning his lobster catch for the evening grill. At US$52 per head it was a pretty pricey meal but very popular with the charter yachts.

Anegada

On Friday, January 14 we woke up around 6am for an early sail to Anegada. We had 15 to 18 knots of wind so figured it would take about 2 hours. The swell was big and Ian made me tea and toast before it was too late for my stomach. Luckily I was fine and we sailed on despite the bouncy around and the banging and clashing of items below that hadn't been secured properly. Anegada was a fairly flat and featureless island surrounded by a coral reef and many ship wrecks. Anegada was famous for flamingoes (birds) and underwater activities. We were keen to check out both. After carefully picking our way through the coral reef to find a safe anchorage we sat down for lunch and checked our supplies. We jumped in the dinghy and headed over to the island which was difficult to land on due to the number of beach bars that encircled every entrance to the island. We tied up our dinghy and wandered into the minimart. Milk was US$8 per litre but beer was only US$29 per carton of 24 so guess what we bought the most of! After shopping we headed out on a hike to find the flamingoes. A guy on a charter boat fortunately gave us a ride out to the salt flats in his hire care on the condition that we walked back. Well that was a no brainer one way was better than a round trip in the afternoon sun. Unfortunately we didn't come across any flamingoes just a salt pan. Well they must of been there at one point as I did manage to find a feather. We gave up on the wild flamingo chase and headed for the beach. What a beautiful beach it was wild, miles long and white soft sand. This was a truly wonderful place to be visiting.

Long Bay

On Wednesday, January 12 we decided to move out of Gorda Sound back to Virgin Gorda and anchor in Long Bay. It was a beautiful bay tucked in the lee of a mountain with a long white sandy beach. The morning weather was rainy but by afternoon the sun had come out and we had a lovely walk along the beach and a beautiful sunset. In the evening it rained most of the night. There were 3 other yachts in the bay with us but by early morning they had left. We had the whole bay to ourselves and decided to stay another night and sort things out on the yacht and enjoy the peace and tranquility. It had been 1 month since we left Saudi but it felt like longer than that. We seemed to have developed golden tans despite our efforts to stay out of the sun and I reminded Ian it was time to have a shave as he had started to look a bit like Grizzly Adams. Luckily he got the hint.