LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 32:
Thursday, March 09, 2000
0630 Sunrise
0900 I go ashore to check out the routine for getting alongside for fuel and
water. After surveying the facilities at Conch Charters and considering the
15-20 kts of wind I decide to skip it today. I pick up a few more groceries and
return aboard to make ready for getting underway.
1140 Lord's Prayer is underway.
1405 Lord's Prayer is anchored at Trellis Bay in 8 feet of water on 50 feet of
chain. Position: 18-27N 064-32W.
1430 I go ashore to survey the route to/from the airport. It is a dirt road -
about a 5-minute walk to the airport.
1500 I return aboard and find another yacht "Lady Jane" out of Key
West anchoring with its stern about 6 feet off my bow.
1530 I put another 15-20 feet of chain in the water to open the distance from
Lady Jane.
1815 I go ashore to meet Chris's Plane.
1826 Sunset
1910 The plane, which was due in at 1855, is running late. The counter staff
doesn't seem to know when to expect it. Happily I have brought my book.
2020 The plane arrives and with Chris cleared through customs we make our way to
the boat.
Friday, March 10, 2000
A relaxed day We have a walk ashore. We hear a jet over at the airfield, which
is unusual and see that there is a crowd of people there. The Jet has a British
jack flying from the hatch over the pilot's seat and there is a band playing by
the aircraft. Upon inquiry we learn that Prince Andrew has just flown in and
that while he is here he will preside over a ceremonial designation of the BVI
Yacht Club as the Royal BVI Yacht Club. We have dinner ashore at "De Loose
Mongoose". The atmosphere is very relaxed, there is live music, the food is
terrific and prices are reasonable. We share a table with Peter and Molly Baker,
who have "Topaz" a 50' auxiliary ketch, which they use in the crewed
charter trade 15 weeks a year. He is retired navy. When they are not here in the
Islands they live in Savannah, Georgia.
Saturday, March 11, 2000
0628 Sunrise
1200 Lord's Prayer is underway from Trellis Bay to "The Baths" at
Virgin Gorda. Virgin Gorda is a name that means "fat virgin"; Columbus
named it. From the south it has the curious form of a reclining woman soon to
give birth.
1220 The wind is on the nose at 20 kts. I pull out the jib and we fall off on
the port tack. This puts us on a heading for Round Rock Passage. This is as much
sail as we are going to want to use today with the current wind; from time to
time in the puffs we are burying the lee rail. We motor-sail to weather to keep
the speed up.
1315 We tack just short of Round Rock Passage and it looks like we are going to
be able to fetch the anchorage off The Baths just fine on the starboard tack
without having to do anymore tacking. Over on Ginger Island, which bounds the
south side of Round Rock Passage we can see the Atlantic swells exploding on the
rocks of that weather shore. Even from the distance it is impressive.
1330 We sail under the lee of the rock-strewn reef called Fallen Jerusalem and
then the Island called Broken Jerusalem. According to the Yachtsman's Guide to
the Virgin Islands, "Fallen Jerusalem is so named because it resembles, one
imagines, Jerusalem after the Romans were through with it."
1355 We roll up the Jib. The holding is not good off The Baths so we decide to
pick up one of the moorings that have been provided here by the BVI National
Parks Trust. There is a time limit on the use of these moorings and they are for
day use only.
1400 After lunch, Chris and I go ashore to The Baths. As described in the
Yachtsman's Guide to the Virgin Islands: "The single most popular cruising
destination in the Virgin islands is probably The Baths Here granite boulders as
huge as houses are piled together to create grottoes at the water's edge, where
shafts of sunlight find their way down to illuminate delightful crystalline
pools for bathing. The volcanic origin of the Virgin islands left molten areas
that cooled and solidified at different rates, forming and eroding into these
huge rocks - rounded, pocked, or fluted into intriguing shapes, depending on
their location and exposure to the elements." The guidebook goes on to say
that it is a good idea to wear your bathing suit in to the shore because you are
likely to get wet. Chris and I do that. As we prepare to land on the middle of
three beautiful sand beaches, I note a foursome preparing to launch their skiff
from the beach. There is a little bit of a surge that lifts and turns their
skiff. It is pushed broadside toward the beach sweeping one of the men from his
feet. As the wave breaks it drops the skiff onto the man, who is now flat on his
back in the water. My attention comes back to our own landing. I hold back to
let a wave go under us and then increase the power on our little outboard to get
the boat moving again. Once it is moving straight toward the beach, I cut the
motor and tip it up so the prop won't be damaged. I slip over the side into
water, which is about waist deep, and I try to hold the dinghy steady for Chris
to slip out. The footing is a little tricky, as the bottom is a mix of sand and
coral. The next wave turns our dinghy a little and rolls Chris right out into
the surf; it was just like it happened to me in Barbados.
Chris gets herself back up and the two of us drag our dinghy up on the beach. As
we do this I notice that the man who had the skiff dropped on him is in obvious
pain. He looks like he may have a fractured a rib. I pitch in to help the other
three folks in his group get the skiff back up on the beach. My offer of further
assistance is declined so Chris and I secure our dinghy and set out on a walk.
We explore the paths to the top of the Baths for the view and then down to
another beach. On the way we see a couple of iguanas, several chameleons, an
enormous fungus on a rock, and lots of cactus of various types. The last part of
our walk takes us through the rocks and grottoes back toward the beach where we
left the dinghy. In one of the grottoes we stop for a swim and try out our
snorkel gear. The water is relatively quiet in here and this gives Chris a
chance to get used to breathing with the snorkel. There are just a few minnow
sized fishes in here. Afterward we work our way through some of the most amazing
rock tunnels back to the beach with the dinghy on it. The injured man and his
group are no longer on the beach and their skiff is gone. We swim out with our
snorkel gear and see some really neat sea fans and sponges and beautifully
colored fishes swim all around us. Chris spots a flounder as it moves just a
little on the bottom. I can see why many of the islands out here do not allow
spear fishing anymore. These
beautiful little creatures that we did not even know were here before we put on
our masks and snorkels would be such easy targets for a spear gun. One
good-sized fish swims right up within an arms reach to look us over; it does not
seem the least bit fearful of us.
1650 We return aboard after pushing off uneventfully from the beach and we
prepare to get underway. Chris is just beside herself she is so delighted after
having seen the fishes and things under the sea. It is really neat seeing how
much she has enjoyed this experience.
1700 Lord's Prayer is underway. It had been our intention to go around to Gorda
Sound but it is about a 1.5 to 2-hour trip from here going upwind and I have no
interest in trying to enter through the reefs there in the waning daylight so we
decide to anchor in the lee of Colison Point. This is near Spanish Town, which
was once the capital of the BVI. The guidebook indicates that this
anchorage might have a ground swell if the wind shifts. I figure we can live
with the ground swell as long as the holding is good and it presumably is. There
are a number of substantial yachts already anchored off Colison Point when we
arrive.
1800 Lord's Prayer is anchored in 30 feet of water over a sand bottom off
Colison Point on 150' of chain. Position: 18-27N 064-27W. Holding seems good.
1826 Sunset
1830 We are joined in our anchorage by three more yachts of substantial size.
Two are huge motor vessels. With their lights turned on they look like
mini-cruise ships in the waning daylight.
2030 We are getting some rather significant blow-me-downs every now and then.
They make the anchorage here restless.
END OF LORD'S PRAYER LOG, Part 32
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