Ahoy there!

We made it! At last on Saturday 3rd June at 7.30 a.m. we anchored at Great Harbour , Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands after an eight night passage from Turks & Caicos.

 

So what has happened since we last wrote. We left George Town on the afternoon of 18 th May expecting a two night passage to Provo . T & C.

The journey started well and as we came into deep water a small pod of dolphins joined us. Usually they come along side and play in the bow waves but these were just showing off and leaping out of the water – one even did a somersault! As we turned south we were expecting the wind to shift and allow us a nice sail. Unfortunately this didn't happen and we had to motor all night. By morning the wind had dropped completely and the forecast was for squalls of Cuba . We changed tactics and decided to head for the island of Mayaguana , overnight there and pick up better winds the following day.

We didn't get squalls but the rain found us and stayed overhead for eight hours. It was torrential but warm so we both showered in it on deck and then managed to fill the water tank. We collected about eighty gallons so you can see how heavy it was!

Landfall at Betsy Bay , Mayaguana was in the dark, not ideal at an unknown anchorage. But the charts didn't show any hazards and the radar was great at showing us the shoreline. Fortunately the rain eased a little just as we anchored and the lightening helped with visibility. Finally at 10.15 p.m. we were set and had a late pasta supper.

Our next destination was Provodentiales, T & C. To make land fall in good light we didn't have to leave until 3 p.m. so we were able to catch up on some sleep, snorkel and have a late lunch. The winds were kind to us and in the right direction and so we were able to sail all the way in, arriving Sunday morning at the Sapodilla Bay anchorage. We cleared customs and stayed a couple of nights waiting for better winds. Originally we were going to head due south but changed plans to head across the Caicos reef to Cockburn on South Caicos where we could re-provision and re-fuel as it was becoming obvious that the journey to B.V.I was going to be longer than we thought. Crossing the reef was a bit scary at times! The depths are eight to ten feet with coral heads, even on the recommended route. Sharon spent a lot of time on the bow trying to locate the darker coral heads from the browner shallow rocks, but we eventually made it to Cockburn on Wednesday 24 th May.

Cockburn is a working fishing village with a sheltered harbour, very welcome after the choppiness of the bank. The water was very clear but with a strong current which didn't make for a relaxed swim. Andrew rigged up a line which meant we could just drift, although Sharon was a bit worried when she was gently bobbing about and heard Andrew muttering about shark bait! There was quite a lot of fish and the biggest ray we've seen so far at about four feet across. Cockburn has very few facilities and mainly small shanty buildings but we were able to get some fresh vegetables and fuel.

We were lucky to spot the customs officer by the dock and he gave us a lift to the office for checking the boat out. We then had to walk to immigration to check us out, we couldn't work out why they weren't in the same building, or at least by the commercial docks. Still at least we had all our documentation stamped and clear to leave for B.V.I.

The journey from The Bahamas to the Caribbean is known as taking the Thorny Path. You need to head south east; the prevailing winds are east south east which means they are on the nose for over four hundred miles. Obviously for a sail boat this isn't an option and so you have to do a series of giant south west & north east tacks. This converts a four hundred mile journey to one of over seven hundred miles (but we found that out half way through!).

We left Cockburn at lunchtime on Friday 26 th May.

The first part of the journey was great, perfect winds and we were zipping along. Then about 6 p.m. the winds started to build and we reefed the mainsail. The winds built during the night to about twenty five knots. When Sharon checked in with weather guru Chris Parker the following morning he was surprised at the strength. Chris runs the Caribbean Weather Centre and had several hundred sponsoring vessels. Every morning at about six thirty Sharon would tune in on the SSB radio to listen to the forecast. Boats then call up and get specific information for their journey – winds and currents. It's quite comforting listening to other cruisers and knowing you're not the only one out there ( particularly as in eight days we saw no sail boats and only one cruise ship and four cargo vessels).

Chris also handles any emergency traffic so at least you have a lifeline should you have a problem.   Sharon would check in every morning to get the revised forecast and at times it felt that the wind was playing games. You would make a decision to tack to pick up the best wind and by the time you got there it had changed again.

Early Wednesday morning was a low point, very light winds and strong currents had moved us only sixteen miles in twelve hours of sailing. We decided to give up fancy plotting and drew a rhumb line to our destination and tack gently back and forward even if it made slow progress. We conserved our fuel so we could speed up a bit as we got nearer our destination. The upside to the light winds was at least we had fairly kind conditions with only the odd squall off Puerto Rico . Sometimes there was quite a swell which made some operations difficult!

The best fun was showering.

When it's hot we tend to use our outside shower, sitting on the edge of the cockpit combing. With large swells and conscious of safety we cleared the cockpit seats and sat down in comfort. This was fine until soap and water got between flesh and plastic and you would slide three feet towards the bow and then back again as you rode the waves. Better than a Disney ride any day!

Eight nights at sea restricts your sleep and eating habits. Maybe it was the constant moving, or the thought of cooking in a moving galley but neither of us felt like eating much and both lost weight.

Our watch system started at nine p.m. and we did two and a quarter hour shifts – the extra quarter hour gave time to settle and hopefully give two hours sleep. We did this until about seven in the morning. We found ourselves waking after the two hours and it was rare that the on watch person had to physically wake the off watch. The second watch of the night was always the worst, particularly after about day four but we found a can of diet coke supplied enough caffeine to keep us going.   During the day we were both up but took ad-hoc naps.

Wildlife was lacking although we did see a ten foot shark! The most common sight was the flying fish which really seem to fly over the waves, even turning ninety degrees. Some obviously have poor navigational skills as we would quite often find one on deck. There were quite a few seabirds, always surprising when you are over a hundred miles from land.

At last by Thursday afternoon we had under a hundred miles (straight line) to go and felt that we could spare some fuel to lessen the journey. We motored due east, slowly into wind during the day on Thursday and Friday and sailed due south over night (night sailing gives more comfortable sleeping conditions).

But the sea gods had a final laugh on us! We turned onto our final southbound tack – one that would lead us straight into Jost van Dyke – at about nine p.m. Previous tacks on this course meant we were confident of arriving early morning in daylight. But not this time! Scenting the home run Paragon kicked up her heels and moved along two knots faster than any other time over the past week! We were in the position of having to slow down! First we reefed the headsail (mainsail had stayed reefed because of squalls). This had marginal effect and so we changed from head to staysail. Still to fast, so we had the mainsail only and still had to heave to at about four a.m. until we had enough light at six.

Our first sight of the Virgin Islands was at night when you could see the lights of St. Thomas and Tortola . Because of the steep slopes the lights wound round the hills like a fairy island. As it got lighter more and more islands came into view, all layered. After the flatness of the Bahamas they were quite a shock. Most remarkable was the scent of the trees at about three miles out. Finally we dropped anchor in Great Harbour , Jost van Dyke at seven thirty a.m. The relief of having a quiet, calm boat!

Our first day here couldn't have been better. Customs & Immigration were easy although we left a little puzzled by the fees. We could understand $19 for customs but the immigration charge was twenty cents! The ‘town'is tiny and has sprung up around the visiting boats. Main Street is a sandy track shaded by trees, many with hammocks to chill out on. There are three or four beach type restaurants, a couple of bars and a small supermarket. Early evening we had a couple of beers at Foxy's, (a well known haunt where most boaters go) watching the charter boats come in. We had dinner at Corsairs which was excellent. Andrew said it was one of the best meals he's had so far. Vinny the owner was great fun, as was Lucifer the cat. Music was provided by a very laid back singer/guitarist and the final highlight for us was seeing a painting of a goat under a palm tree!

 

We will stay in the B.V.I's for a few days before moving on to St.Martin. Unless the hurricanes start coming in early we shouldn't have to do any more long passages, one or two nights at most and we plan on being in Tobago early July. We won't be able to see all the islands as we head south but can catch them on the way north later in the year.

Enough for now as we are about to dinghy back to shore for a beer and some ‘liming'!

Warm regards

Sharon & Andrew 

P.S Four hours after original was written and we've returned from party time at Foxy's. Andrew had his first dose of ‘whining' from a dusky maiden.

Definition of whining from ‘Caribbean Passage making –A Cruisers Guide'

“ ‘it is how we dance' say the Trinis ;' wow' say the visitors. A man (in this case woman ) moves his groin very closely onto his (hers) partner's buttocks in a dance more explicit than any scene from a Hollywood movie. Non- Trinis don't seem to have the pelvic flexibility nor the exuberance to manage good whining. Where we've got joints and muscles, the Trinis must have wheels”

Note from Sharon – I'm still trying to wipe the smile off his face!