Our FAVORITE - The Baths, Virgin Gorda

After spending five nights in Gorda Sound, we visited the Baths on Sunday, February 9, 2020.  We had a nice, quick reach along the east side of Virgin Gorda and picked up a mooring ball at around 11:00.  It was a beautiful day with fairly calm water and it wasn’t too busy at the Baths.  Pia had never been to the BVI’s before and it was fun to show her some of the highlights, the Baths being our favorite.  We climbed around the rocks, swam in Devil’s Bay and hiked up to the Top of the Baths.  We had planned on “lunner” at the Top of the Baths, but the service was terrible and we gave up on ordering food when we had finished our cocktails.  We headed for Marina Cay for the evening and were very surprised by the number of boats moored at Trellis Bay and Marina Cay.  There was barely enough room for us to anchor at Marina Cay.  We found out the next day that the Full Moon Party at Trellis Bay had taken place on Sunday evening.  No wonder it was so crowded!  We moved to Trellis Bay and spent the next couple of nights there and it was not busy at all.  Bryan, Pia and I hosted Happy Hour on Joli with David & Mel from Ar Sgrail, Al & Brenda from Haven and Aaron from Freedom.  Fun times with fun people!

Sea Turtles and Other Changes in the BVI's

We made it back to the BVI's from St. Martin on February 4, 2020.  This is the first time we've been to the BVI's in over ten years.  It was interesting to see the changes since then and we were especially anxious to see the recovery from Hurricane Irma in September, 2017.  We were very sad to see that there is very little progress at the Bitter End Yacht Club.  Although we had heard a restaurant was open, nothing is open and the day we went to that end of Gorda Sound, there was very little construction activity; however, they were going strong on the reconstruction at Saba Rock.  The Sand  Box, the beach bar on Prickly Pear, was rebuilt and all the beach tables and chairs were out, but it was not open.  We couldn't figure out why they weren't open since it sure appeared that everything was ready.  Leverick Bay seems pretty much back to normal, but it was strange how quiet it was.  In Trellis Bay, the grocery store, Aragorn Studio, and a couple restaurant/bars are open and construction on De Loose Mongoose was under way.  Bellamy Cay remains in ruins.  We also visited Cooper Island Beach Club, Norman Island, Cane Garden Bay and Jost Van Dyke.  All locations are pretty well recovered from the hurricane.
Other changes we noted were the percentage of catamarans has increased and they are VERY LARGE!  There are also many more motor-cats than there used to be and most of the anchorages are completely filled with mooring balls with very little room remaining for anchoring.  In some places, there are BoatyBalls that you can reserve for one night starting at 7 am on the day you want to pick up the ball.  We found that you have to be logged onto BoatyBall.com and ready to "claim your ball" right at 7 because they go fast!  One a positive note, we saw lots of sea turtles in every anchorage and some of the turtles are very large.  All of the nature things that we love about the BVI's - the beautiful water, the beaches, the green hills and snorkeling, are just as we remember!

Look closely and you will see the beach and boats at Anegada!

Bellamy Cay in Trellis Bay

Marigot Bay, St. Martin to Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda - 2/4/20

On Monday, February 3, 2020, we took the dinghy over to the Dinghy Dock on the Dutch side of the Lagoon for lunch and Internet.  We stopped at Island Water World for gas for the dinghy and diesel fuel (in jerry jugs) for the boat and a few items at the store.  Back in Marigot Bay, Pia and I walked to the Super U while Bryan checked out of Customs.  We went back to the Dutch side for one last Happy Hour at Lagoonies and sat with Peter and Lance, Canadians from British Columbia. They have a Beneteau 42 named J. F. Lovely. 😄  We were in bed by 10:00 with our alarm clocks set for 4:00 am to get an early start for the British Virgin Islands.  Pia would be with us for the passage to the BVI’s and then stay a couple weeks to do some cruising.

We were up and at ‘em by 4:15 but it was way too dark to rig the mainsail so we drank our coffee and enjoyed the sky.  There was a nice, 10-knot breeze out of the northeast with partly cloudy skies.  We were under way by 6:20, on a comfortable broad reach going about 7 - 8 knots.  As the trip progressed, the wind backed a little and cycled between 4-5 knots and 8-10 knots; however, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed being out on the ocean again after over 2 months in St. Maarten/St. Martin.  There was a waxing gibbous moon high in the sky in the afternoon and we caught a nice Mahi-mahi as we neared Virgin Gorda.  

Although there is a passage between Necker Island and Prickly Pear & Eustatia, we had decided to go north of Necker and then turn south towards the entrance to Gorda Sound.  We started the engine at 4:30 and were anchored at Prickly Pear in Gorda Sound by 6:30.  I am so excited to be back in the British Virgin Islands after 11 years since the last time we were here.  I’m anxious to see how the recovery from Hurricane Irma is going.

The next morning, we had several beautiful rainbows and when the rain was gone, we motored over to Leverick Bay to check in to customs.  The customs office in Gun Creek in Gorda Sound has not reopened since the hurricane, but you can taxi in to Spanish Town from Leverick Bay.  We had a spectacular ride with Cyril’s Taxi (a pickup truck with bench seats in the bed and a canopy over it) over the mountains with views at every hairpin turn.  We arrived at the customs office just in time for the immigration official to say, “I’M OFF TO LUNCH!! I WILL BE BACK IN AN HOUR!!!”  So we processed through customs and had a beer while we waited for the immigration lady to come back.  Oh well, no problem - we’re on Island Time!

Trip Statistics:  11 hours, 8 minutes; 79.1 NM; 7.1 knots average boat speed and 10.5 knots max boat speed

Grand Case, St. Martin

We spent 3 gorgeous, peaceful, fun nights in Grand Case.  We walked the beach, snorkeled off Bell Point and enjoyed ribs and rum at the LoLo's and beach bars.  Pia joined us for the trip to the Virgin Islands, which we should be making on Tues. 2/4/20. We went back to Marigot Bay to check out of customs, provision and make other preparations for the passage to Virgin Gorda.

Grand Case at sunrise

Beach bars at Grand Case

Anse Heureuse (Happy Beach), just around the corner from Grand Case

Friar Beach, popular with locals because it has a parking lot at the beach.