27th May 2012 – 3rd June 2012
Southern Blue delivery
The trip from St. Maarten to Tortola, BVI’s was one of the
smoothest passages we have had since we entered the Caribbean, mostly because
we flew over on Liat airways. Tallies and Jeanne from Southern Blue were there
to meet us but had almost given up hope we had arrived we took so long to get
through customs. The reason was one of the officials had either got up on the
wrong side of the bed or was new but he was checking every “i” was dotted and T
crossed and sending every passenger to be searched. Luckily by the time we got
to the front of the queue the second official was free and she assisted us with
smiles and laughs and no hassles at all.
I breathed a sigh of relief; my captain is not the best at hiding his
irritation at incompetence and/or bloody mindedness, while I try gamely to kiss
ass to just get us through with the least amount of headache.
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| Tallies and Jeanne |
It was great to see our friends again and a short walk
brought us to Trellis Bay where Southern Blue was anchored. They had been
anchored in the Bay for two weeks having repairs done after being struck by
lightning which blew just about every electrical component on the boat. Finally
they had everything fixed and had just had an offer on the boat (she is for
sale) which they had accepted. We had agreed to sail with them for two days
before taking Southern Blue back to St Maarten to be sold. At this stage it
seemed we would be flying back again, what a pleasure.
Tallies and Jeanne are on their way back to South Africa
after a 6 month sabbatical sailing the Caribbean.
That afternoon we took the local ferry to Scrub Island. A
private resort has been built here with no expenses spared. What is fantastic
is they make visitors welcome and we were free to walk around the island
exploring. We met the manager at their “One Shoe Beach Bar” who is also a South
African. All over the Caribbean we find one of a pair of shoes on the beach and
in the water, “One Shoe Bar” has taken a few and nailed them to the bar posts.
We waited for the seller and Tallies to sign off on the
contract then we set sail for Joost Van Dyke Island. On the way we stopped to fill up with Diesel and water. The gas station on a floating dock has an old fashioned red phone box which is in working order. We couldn't resist taking pics!
The island is supposedly
named after the Dutch privateer, Joost van Dyke. It is also known as the
birthplace of Dr. John Lettsom who was born into a Quaker community then went
to England to study medicine. There he founded the London Medical Society and
was the founding member of the Royal Humane Society. A philanthropist,
abolitionist and humourist he wrote the following ditty:
I, John Lettsom
Blisters, bleeds
and sweats ém
If, after that,
they please to die,
I, John, lets
ém
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| Foxys Bar |
We anchored
in Great Bay, the home of Foxy’s Bay. It has been around for over 40 years and
hosts an annual wooden boat race in May. Sadly we missed the race.
We discovered
Corsairs Bar and Restaurant and loved the atmosphere so stopped for a sun
downer. There we sampled their “Dark and Stormy” a Rum and Ginger Beer mix.
There we stayed for the rest of the evening, smoking cigars and feasted on
their delicious chicken wings in barbeque sauce. A fitting hello and goodbye party with our friends from Southern Blue; with whom we have had so much fun.
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| We swear nothing happened! |
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| Jeanne being corrupted! |
The next morning took us to Sea Cow Bay where we anchored and took the dinghy across to Nanny Cay. We had to meet Brian the yacht broker there and sign off some final arrangements for Southern Blue to be hauled out for inspection by a surveyor to finalise the sale. Of course being a little boat crazy we also took the opportunity to look at some of the boats available, let’s just say Rat Catcher rules.
The following
morning Tallies and Jeanne were taking the ferry to St. Thomas where they would
catch a flight to USA, Florida and then to Cuba. Jeanne promised to smoke a
Cuban cigar for Andre. They were leaving from Sopers Hole so we moved there for
the night. It was a sad goodbye, for them they were leaving their boat for the
last time and we were sad to see them go.
We decided we
would go and explore Road Town and motored to the harbour. It was so full we couldn’t
find any space to anchor safely so eventually gave up. Nearby Brandywine Bay
had a nice sound so dropped anchor there. We were the only boat anchored in a
pretty bay with townhouses on one side overhanging the sea the entire bay edged
in white beach. I was getting water withdrawal so went for a snorkel. The sea
grass bottom is home to the Conch and there were lots of them all over, as well
as a huge hermit crab who had made his home in an abandoned Conch shell.
Sun downers
on deck and a simple dinner and we slept like babies.
The next day
was D-Day for the boat; she was to be hauled out of the water at Nanny Cay to
be inspected by a marine surveyor. Sadly it didn’t get that far, he found one
or two known problems that Leopards suffer from and the sale fell through. So a
change of plans instead of flying back we were once again sailing her back to
St. Maarten.
The weather
wouldn’t be right for a few days so we took her over to Norman Island and into
the Bight. Norman Island is one of the Islands together with Salt, Peter,
Cooper and Ginger that form the perimeter of Sir Frances Drake Channel. It is
often referred to by locals as “Treasure Island” and is rife with stories of
buried Pirate treasure. A letter dated 1750 stated, “Recovery of the treasure from
Nuestra Senora buried at Norman Island, comprised 450 000 dollars, plate,
cochineal, indigo and tobacco, much dug up by local Tortolians”. Sadly we
didn’t stumble across any of the buried treasure.
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| The Caves you can swim deep into. |
We took the
dinghy to Treasure Point, an amazing dive site, the water was beautifully clear
and the highlight is swimming into huge caves carved deep into the rocks by the
sea action. Unfortunately we didn’t have a dive torch with us but we swam in
until we couldn’t see our hand in front of our face then turned and swam back
to the light of the entrance. We will definitely be back next year to explore
deeper into the caves. Would love to see what sea creatures live in the dark!
Just maybe we find some treasure there.
Our next stop
for the night was Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island. We tried to anchor but were
having problems with the windlass and the wind was pushing us all over, so we
ended up taking a buoy. A walk ashore at the resort, explored their Boutique;
without buying; in Euro’s for us Rand people it’s too expensive.
We decided we
would leave the next afternoon so that we got to Simpson Bay in time for the
11h30 bridge opening to do so we would have to leave at about 3PM so we had one
more day to explore.
We lifted
anchor early from Cooper Island and made our way to Virgin Gorda and “The
Baths”. They are located on the southwest tip of the Island and are an
incredible formation of huge granite boulders. The sea washes in between the
rocks making rock pools where shafts of light play on the water, its
spectacular. The boulders balancing against one another have created tunnels
and overhangs that are beautiful to swim through under the water. We spent
age’s snorkelling through the rocks and exploring the pools. Ashore they have
created a trail that meanders along over, under and between the rocks and ends
at Devils Bay. A perfect white beach edged with clear turquoise water. It is
incredibly beautiful and we will definitely be back next year to spend some
more time here.  |
An uneventful
trip back to Sint Maarten we arrived just after 11h00 the next morning in time
for the bridge opening. We rafted Southern Blue up to Rat Catcher and started
cleaning and packing her up to be handed over to the dockyard for haul out the
next morning.
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