We pulled into Marina Cay, a place where we have stayed before, and picked up a mooring ball.  The water here was gorgeous and we could see varying colors of turquoise in front of us around a reef.  Unfortunately, this mooring field was very busy because of shuttles running back and forth from the high-end, Scrub Island Marina and Resort.  Many of the balls were taken, though there were some extras.  The water was so pretty that I had to jump in and sit in the float behind the boat for a while.  The snorkeling in the reef in front of us was not that great (Steve swam out to it).  There is another area in this bay where the snorkeling is better (this is where we lost the boat key several years ago), but we didn’t go there.  Because of the boat wakes, we left first thing on 4/15/23.

Yesterday we took a walk along a road behind the anchorage that seemed to head towards Mosquito Island (owned by Richard Branson). 

It was a short walk, as the road ended abruptly.   

The road was in great shape (looked new) and a drip irrigation system was in place for the plantings along the side. 

We did find a nice view of the bay along this walk.

Today we decided to explore a different anchorage on the back side of Prickly Pear island.  It was not crowded at all and appeared to have a nice beach.  I was perched in the princess seat to look for coral heads.  Hopefully I can spot the coral heads prior to us hitting them.  While up there, I saw a trumpet fish skirting the surface of the water. 

Now, we have the jib up and are enjoying a slow, calm, downwind ride back towards Tortola.

This area of North Sound was a little quieter than off of Prickly Pear Island by the Bitter End Yacht Club.

We thought there would be good snorkeling here. 

While it was a little better than our first anchorage, the water still wasn’t that clear. 

We did see a large Chub fish, however.

On Tuesday night, 4.11.23, we had an encounter with Turquoise Turtle Charters.  The pulled in front of us and parked on top of our anchor.  When Steve asked them to move up, they refused.  There are a couple of reasons why his behavior was wrong.  First, when you park on top of someone else’s anchor, you risk tangling or damaging anchor chains.  Since boats are only secured by their anchors and corresponding chains, this is a potentially dangerous issue.  We were anchored in sand, so we were probably OK, but the risk shouldn’t be there in the first place.  Second, why is it necessary to park that close to another boat in such a wide, open bay?  And third, the boat who is there first can ask the other boat to move and it is the sailor’s code to comply.  This captain outright refused to move. 

Anyways, the next morning we left and got within inches of his boat.  I couldn’t tell if he was moving it forward or not, as I was looking at the anchor chain and trying to pull the anchor up.  We moved over to the southern side of the bay by the Leverett Bay Marina.  We had reservations to attend a pirate show at the marina that Wednesday evening.  This show was put on by a guy who is raising money to support a floating school for Haitian children.  He was a talented, entertaining musician who sang, played the guitar, harmonica, and the accordion.  The audience had maracas to shake to the beat.  There were plenty of Arrrr… jokes.  And, there was a conch blowing contest.  It was an enjoyable evening and we were able to dinghy back to our boat before it got dark.

On Saturday we got up early and headed up to North Sound on Virgin Gorda.  We anchored off of Prickly Pear Island, just around the corner from Saba Rock and the Bitter End Yacht Club.  The water in this anchorage is a beautiful turquoise color.  When we first arrived, it was a little churned up, as many boats were coming and going through the bay.  By today, 4.11.23, the water was fairly clear and we can see the sandy bottom.  We’ve spotted the occasional turtle around our boat, but not many fish. 

Yesterday, 4.11.23, we decided to dinghy in to Saba Rock to get a drink and use their wifi, which was very fast.  I was able to get a few things accomplished before the sun hit our table and we decided to leave.  Saba Rock was really pretty and had a spa atmosphere.  Families were around the island participating in various watersports.  We walked around the back of Saba Rock to see where the snorkeling was.  We read about the spot in the book but didn’t see anyone snorkeling while we were there. 

Next, we dinghied over to the Bitter End Yacht Club.  We have stayed in their marina once before and were anxious to see the property after it was rebuilt.  It was demolished by Hurricane Irma a couple of years ago.  Apparently, the kids of the owners are now in charge of the property.  The property itself looks nice and the renovations make it look like a hipster resort.  However, to us, it has lost is charm of a classic, Caribbean hideaway.  It is just like any other hipster resort.  Again, it was pretty and well done, just not what we are looking for.  As mentioned before, there were so many boats in and around the Yacht Club and Saba Rock.  It was too much activity for me.  I much prefer where we are anchored because it is quieter.

Today was another day that we spent on the boat.  I started polishing the inside stainless for the last time this season.  It is slow work but I made great progress this morning.  After spending a couple of hours doing this, I decided to sit in a plastic float behind the boat so that I could cool off.  The water temperature is a little cooler than in other places, but once in, it is relaxing.  We can now see the sandy bottom, which makes me feel comfortable.  The charter boat in front of us, named “Starfish” is playing Kenny Chesney music, which was perfect to listen to while floating up and down on the water’s surface.

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.