After lunch we motored around the corner to Benures Bay, still on Norman Island. 

We wanted to see what this bay was like, as we anticipated it to be much less crowded at Christmastime. 

We were on a mooring ball a little ways from shore so we couldn’t see the bottom. 

This bay, however, had a rocky beach where we were able to beach our dinghy. 

A trailhead started right from the beach and we enjoyed a lovely walk.

The terrain on Norman Island varied from desert to grasses. The views were beautiful!

On Friday, 4.7.23, we decided to dinghy around the corner and have lunch at the infamous Willy T’s.  It is an old, 2-story boat that has been converted into a restaurant and bar located in the Bight on Norman Island.  We were the first ones there on Friday, so it was easy for us to find a spot on the dinghy dock.  We decided to sit on the second floor, overlooking the water. 

From this vantage point we were able to see the entire Bight anchorage.  There are so many boats in this bay, most of which are on mooring balls.  On the second floor there is a sign that says “No Jumping, No Diving” which was ignored the entire time that we were there.  They actually had an outside platform so that it was easy for people to jump off.  Willy T’s was kind enough to put a ladder at the end of the dinghy dock so that people who jump off are able to easily get back on the boat – how thoughtful.  When we were ready to leave, the dinghy dock was filling up.  Tenders were already rafting.  Soon they would be several dinghies deep.  I can’t imagine how crowded it gets in the evening.  We were glad that we went with the family crowd at lunchtime.

One night was enough for us in Soper’s Hole.  We picked up our laundry, bought a few extra provisions, and were underway.  We headed to Kelly’s Cove, which is a bay right around the corner from the Bight on Norman Island.  We have stayed in this cove at least two other times and it is a favorite of ours on Norman Island. 

It was sort of rainy on the day we arrived.   

However, we were able to do some snorkeling, which was pretty good in this cove. 

We saw a variety of fish and coral. 

There were only a half a dozen boats in the bay, so it was quiet.

It rained the next day so we worked around the boat.  We are now starting to think about what needs to be done before we leave the boat for the season.

Today we decided to head to Soper’s Hole in the BVIs.  The last time we were here, there was only one other boat in the bay.  Now there are a bunch of mooring balls and it is crowded.  We don’t want to stay longer than necessary.

We cleared into customs and immigration, did some provisioning, and took our laundry in to be cleaned.  The grocery prices here in the BVIs are quite expensive, probably double what we paid in St. Croix.  However, we really didn’t have a choice.  Luckily, we are trying to finish up our food so we didn’t have to buy too much.  I’m sure there is a larger store on the island that we will look for when we provision the boat in December.  Our mission for the BVI’s over the next two weeks is to find anchorages that are not very crowded.  We are guessing that in December the popular mooring fields will be quite crowded and we will want to avoid them if one or both girls are onboard.

While walking along the trail back to Waterlemon Bay, we stumbled upon a docile pelican. He was very happy to pose for me while I played with settings on my camera.

Our friends arrived in the afternoon.  It is nice to see familiar faces.  We met up with them on the beach and took a short walk along the side of the bay to the ruins of Annaberg Plantation.  It was great to chat with friends. 

The plantation itself was small but interesting to see.  They first used horses to process the sugar cane. 

Then, they built a windmill.  (You don’t need to feed the windmill.) 

The views from the planation were stunningly beautiful!

While there, a volunteer stopped by and chatted about the history of the island.  All in all, it was a pleasant walk with good company.

On 4.3.23 we took the dinghy over towards Leinster Bay and walked along a beautifully paved road to Francis Bay.  This bay was very pretty and had a beautiful, white-sand beach. 

There were two trails there, but we didn’t walk on either of them.

Today we rested up a little bit.  I decided to work out in the morning to Figure 8 Fitness.  Following that exercise program really helps to loosen up my back, which has been hurting quite a bit over the past few days. 

This morning we were treated to a school of Tarpon swimming under our boat.  They are larger fish and they frequently like to stay under boats.  This is the first school of them that we have seen in the Caribbean.

After doing some consulting work, Steve and I went snorkeling.  The fish in this area were much bigger than in other bays and they were beautiful to see. 

We saw many Sargent Majors, Rainbow fish, Rock fish, Grunts, and others.  Of course we saw a big Barracuda, which always finds me.  I am getting more comfortable seeing them in the water and don’t panic anymore. 

There was a variety of coral, from fire, elk horn, and fans, in the area. 

We got to swim in schools of fish.  One curious white fish came right up to my snorkel mask and startled me.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my camera pointed in the right direction in time to capture him. 

I think that my favorite site today was seeing a large Hawksbill Turtle on the sea floor.  It had coral growing on top of its head (poor guy) and a large green fish attached to its shell.  Another large green fish was laying beside it, looking up at us curiously as we swam over top.  Just as I was moving on, a big ray swam past.  It was actually the third ray that we saw snorkeling today.  This area is supposed to be the best snorkeling on St. John, and it lived up to its reputation. 

We still have other hikes to do in this area, so we will remain on the mooring ball for another day or two.  Some friends that we met last year, Bill and Sally Horton, are meeting us in Waterlemon Bay tomorrow.  We met them in Carriacou last year and saw them several times during the season.  It will be nice to connect with them again.

Just after lunch we looked up towards the BVIs and saw several performance catamarans racing past.  The BVIs were hosting a regatta with several different types of boat classes.  Seeing the 60 or so foot performance cats race past us at approximately 25 knots was thrilling.  Their large, beautiful sails were filled with wind and they even took one pontoon out of the water.  (We don’t want to raise a hull out of the water on our boat for fear of tipping over.)

Today, Saturday, we decided to go hiking. 

A trailhead is found right in the bay.  So, we took the dinghy to shore, beached it, and began our walk. 

We first stumbled upon the sugar cane plantation ruins of Leinster Manor.  In this area we could clearly see several building walls. 

We also saw these odd-looking goats with horns.  We decided to be cautious around them, even though they were not paying attention to us while they ate.  We watched them a little bit and they would stand up on their hind legs to reach the tastiest leaves.

We continued walking around and finally found the trailhead called Johnny Horn Trail. 

The incline was not that bad and there was a fairly long flat area along the ridge of the bay.  Then, we went up to the top of the mountain, as we wanted to see Coral Harbor.  Our knees were hurting a little, so we decided not to go down the steep, dirt road to see the little town.  Several local boats were moored in the bay, but it wasn’t as crowded as we had anticipated, compared to other bays we have been in. 

On our way back, we stopped at the Murphy House. 

It afforded us a really nice view of the bay.