What a difference a Bay makes

Can’t take credit for the witty title – Mark came up with that one – but the sentiment is spot on!! What a difference a day and bay make. We left Peter Island on Wednesday (Nov. 19) after a very long night of gusty wind and lots of rolling. We had breakfast, pulled up anchor and moved to the next island just west of us called Norman Island. We were both a little discouraged by our first anchorage in the BVIs and were hoping this new one would be better. Well – what a difference….

The bay we are in is quite large and full of mooring balls. We had to do a lap of the bay to find a good anchoring spot. We dropped our anchor in 40 ft of water but quickly backed up into about 25ft. We’ve got about 150ft of chain out and we haven’t moved in 2 days (always a good thing). Mark made an interesting comment that the anchor probably grabbed the bottom going uphill!! It would have taken a bit of time for the anchor to drop 40ft so by the time it was down low enough, we’d backed up into shallower water. Who knows – our holding is all good!!

We are definitely enjoying this new island anchorage for many reasons. It’s much calmer so we’re not rolling and the wind is not swirling around doing weird things!! It’s also lots of fun to watch all the comings and goings! This is a crazy busy spot!! Each morning all the charter catamarans leave and later in the afternoon, a new bunch all show up. There’s also 2 bar/restaurants here so those are busy with smaller powerboats coming from Tortola. Sometimes it’s a bit scary – yesterday a chartered catamaran came within about 10ft of our bow as they headed for a mooring ball. The folks onboard were busy looking at us and not where they were going!! Fun stuff.

We’ve also seen some wildlife around us. Lots of fish swim around the boat and everyday we’ve had a visit from sea turtles. They pop up near the boat and as soon as I get my phone to take a photo, they’re gone!! It’s still nice to see them!! We haven’t explored the area yet but we are planning to do some snorkelling at some point. We’re enjoying relaxing in the cockpit, reading, crocheting and going for an afternoon swim. There have been a few jobs – the forward head has now been totally rebuilt and is in fine working order. Today Mark is tackling the new serpentine belt pulley system for the engine. This has been an ongoing job for a few years now. The new system was supposed to fit our engine but it doesn’t so Mark has had to fabricate several parts to make it work! Again – never a simple job!

Here’s a bit of Island info for those curious folks – Christopher Columbus can be thanked for the name “Virgin” Islands. When he landed in 1492, he named the whole chain of islands “Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes” (Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins).