Paradise Revisited
It was almost 30 years ago that one of my earliest sailing dreams was realised – to sail in the Caribbean. Together with another Royal Naval Sailing Association member, we chartered a yacht and spent 2 weeks cruising in the Virgin Islands. At the time it was seen as a “once in a lifetime” experience. Never for one moment did I dream that one day I would return – let alone sail there in my own yacht.
It was therefore with a certain amount of trepidation that we set sail from St Martin bound for Virgin Gorda – and it was not just the thought of crossing the Anegada passage, a notoriously rough stretch of water, that was causing this trepidation- it was also a fear that the Virgin Islands would no longer be the unspoilt sailing paradise that I remembered from so long ago. Even then they were popular to the point that you needed to reach your anchorage by midday if you wanted to avoid having to anchor far offshore, exposed to the rolling swells – so I dared not think what might have happened in the intervening years.
In the event both of these fears proved unfounded. With only a gentle force 3 blowing and a full moon, the night crossing of the Anegada passage was as smooth as they come. As dawn broke and we gently glided through Round Rock Passage into the Sir Francis Drake Channel, the Virgin Islands showed themselves to be every bit as spectacular and unspoilt as they were 30 years ago.
Unlike some of the islands that we have visited this trip, the British Virgin Islands appear to have resisted the temptation to place excessive reliance on cruise ship traffic and high volume beach resorts. Instead they continued to focus on yacht cruising and a relatively small number of more exclusive beach resorts. There have been developments, but for the most part they have been done sensitively and enhance rather than detract from the natural beauty of the area.
From a yachtsman’s perspective, many of these developments have made cruising in the area more pleasurable than it was when we first visited the area. Whilst some may bemoan the placing of visitors mooring buoys in some of the more popular anchorages, they do make for a peaceful night’s sleep. I for one do not have particularly fond memories of some of the more crowded anchorages from 30 years ago – many of the nights back then were spent keeping anchor watch on deck, anxiously awaiting for some of the less well anchored charter yachts to drift into you the moment the wind changed because they had completely misjudged their swinging circles!
Likewise watering and victualing the yacht is no longer the major planning drama that it used to be. The presence of a small number of marinas scattered around the islands mean that it is now feasible to have a proper fresh water shower on board after swimming or snorkelling, rather than having to rely on rinsing the salt off with half a cupful of water. In a similar vein, it is perfectly possible to enjoy freshly baked bread every day (and without having to bake it yourself!) rather than just on day one of your cruise.
Unlike 30 years ago, this time we only had a few days to explore the islands. After clearing customs at Spanish Town we headed for the jewel in the crown of the BVI, Gorda Sound, and a crew dinner in the Bitter End Yacht - which was every bit as memorable (and expensive!!) as last time. Our next stop took us to another renowned BVI haunt, Foxy’s Bar on Jost Van Dyke, where we enjoyed some excellent “pain killer” cocktails. They slipped down easily but despite their name, were not a match for the mosquitoes who finally got the better of us and drove us back to the safety of the yacht before the pain killers could do too much damage!
Our final stop was in Nanny Cay which without any doubt was one of the most beautiful, well appointed, and friendly marinas that we have ever stayed in. It is not every day that you get the luxury of a massive lawn on which to wash and dry all your sails at the end of a trip – and when it comes to washing yourselves, the individual marbled and tiled shower cubicles are so large you could easily hold a crew party in them if you were so minded!
Nanny Cay will be Cosmic Dancer’s home for the next few months as we return to work. We hope to return in time to take part in the BVI Spring Regatta and see a little more of the Virgin Islands before continuing northwards to Bermuda and the Chesapeake Bay. We’re already counting the days until our return!