Great Dog Dive and Revisiting Virgin Gorda

Sunday 30 November 1997 continued

After lunch, we sailed to Biras Creek on Virgin Gorda.

Surf on the shore

Bob was at the helm most of the way through Anguilla Cut. Tackless II can go through this cut because she is a shoal draft, but Whisper with a deeper keel cannot. I napped most of the way because I was tired from the dive.

Drawing of Virgin Gorda

Gwen and Don had intended to anchor at Saba Rock, but the whole rock has been bulldozed and there's nothing but construction equipment there. So we went into Biras Creek, and picked up a mooring next to ISIS, a CSY walkover like Whisper, but with a tall mast like Tackless II. The people who run Isis (Jack and Liz who take guests of Biras Creek out on two to four day charters) came by to chat. Jack wanted a VIAC pennet. Gwen suggested giving them ours.

There was also an Alden cutter ketch, probably 55-60 feet next to us - a pilot house version that belongs to a lawyer named Ed.

Shore from the anchorage

Dinner was lamb shish kabobs with canned butter cookies for dessert.

Discussion in the cockpit

I read Wednesday's Child after we retired for the night.

There was a ringing sound all night from the Shell station flag halyard. Also the rubber end of the mooring made a periodic farting sound. We still slept well

Monday 1 December 1997

Woke up and took a picture of the sunrise.

Sunrise

Bob and Don fixed the farting mooring by lengthening the line. Jack told the marina about the flag.

We had a late breakfast - about 9 a.m. Bagels and lox and cream cheese and tomatoes and onion. We sat around and talked. Jack brought us ice and we gave him a VI Cup pennant.

Bob and I took a short tour by dinghy around the Bitter End to the other side of Biras. Gwen noted that the mangroves that were killed (probably by Hurricane Erica) had not yet come back.

A large sailboat came over to anchor. We also saw kayakers, sailboarders and so on. A large pontoon boat was there with a snorkel party. We tied up to their mooring and snorkeled.

Gwen found a queen conch which she showed us.

Conch shell

There was also a cannon on the bottom.

Canon

Bob saw a flounder. We also saw fire coral, brain coral, small staghorn coral and lot of dead elkhorn coral, a pudding wife, stoplight parrot fish (both stages), trumpet fish, goat fish, clown wrasse, yellow tail snapper, yellow head wrasse, damsel fish, sergeant major, blue striped or French grunt, and juvenile yellow tail damselfish

Snorkeling

Rocks and small fish

Fish, rocks, coral and sand

Coral with tiny fish

Fish swimming over brain coral

After we got back to the boat, we motored (1313 to 1330) out to Vixen Point at Prickly Pear Island.

Island over the jib winch

We had lunch which was spicy hot dogs and hot potato salad.

At 1434, we sailed to Mountain Point, Virgin Gorda. We had some trouble anchoring because there was a roll, so Gwen wanted to have a second anchor. Eventually, Don took the anchor out on a cushion.

While we were anchoring, a catamaran came in and then they went snorkeling on the reef. I went up to take pictures, but the sunset was not too spectacular.

A bareboat came in and went aground and then tried to anchor south of us. With some help and assistance from us, they eventually anchored ahead of us. They are from Rome Italy and are going to Anegada.

About 1745, Gwen and I left and went out to the point and did a night dive. We saw rock lobsters, squid, orange cup coral, brain coral, worms etc. There was some surge. Gwen put a strobe under Shout (the dinghy) so we could find it again. We had a good dive. I didn't take the camera because Gwen didn't want me to have too much distraction.

Afterwards we had shrimp and rice and beans with a tossed salad for dessert. I read a little of Annie Hill's book out loud

Annie Hill's book which almost persuaded me to get a junk rig

Tuesday, 2 December 1997

I woke up once last night. Otherwise it was very quiet. I took a photo of the morning light.

Early light

We saw goats on the shore.

For breakfast we had Huevos Rancheros.

We saw a small turtle and needlefish from the boat

Needlefish from the boat

We motored to the south side of Great Dog where Bob and Gwen and I did a dive. Thirty six feet for 50 minutes

Photo by Gwen of us getting ready to dive

Bob leveling off

Bob diving

Swimming out of the frame

We saw Breancha's crew on site and also divers from Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor. Because of the other divers, we did not check out the airplane

Dive

Dive

Diving

Great Dog

Fabulous coral dive with beautiful hard corals. We saw a Christmas tree worm, and a feather duster worm. Bob saw a humongo lobster (spiny). There were lots of fish including midnight parrotfish, blue and grey chroma school, schoolmaster, grey angel, three queen angel, and creole wrasse.

Fish and coral

Great Dog

Great Dog

Reflections off particles in the water

Queen Angell

Nice coral

Fish over the coral

Angel fish

I started to have stomach cramps at the beginning of the dive and barely made it to the head afterwards.

After the dive, we motored to Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor. We went ashore to see Whisper (the boat we chartered in February) in the yard. Later Gwen sold Whisper - we would have bought her if we had known she was for sale.

We got ice, water and had lunch at the marina. I had a veggie sub and a turkey croissant.

From here we motorsailed to Coopers. We got in to Coopers just ahead of a Sunsail to claim the last mooring. Gwen was quite indignant about what she thought was a dinghy stealing the mooring we were headed for. She almost ran him over. But it turned out to be a friend of hers who saw us coming and ran his dinghy over to save it for us. Moorings were $15.00 a night

On the moorings there was one Annapolis 1500 boat, four or five crewed charters, two or three motor boats that belong to the marina, and the rest were bareboats. A lot of bareboats came in after us but there were no more moorings

We saw one of the Moorings repair boats come into the marina.

Don took Gwen and me over to the rock and we snorkeled back. Don got the rest of the tanks filled while we were snorkeling.

Snorkeling

Snorkeling

While we were snorkeling, we saw at least three sting rays. Two of them had black jacks stealing their food. We also saw small conchs, a herd of goatfish stirring up the sand a hawksbill turtle, parrot fish, bally ho, staghorn coral, brain coral, fire coral, cushion star and seabiscuit.

Looking down on the fish

Gwen was almost run down by an inflatable as we were snorkeling. There was a dinghy sunk under the mooring.

When we got back, we loaded the dinghy for the next day.