Island hopping

After great snorkeling off of Prickly Pear Island we decided to try and top it in the Dog Islands. We had a great downwind sail, with both Cameron and Alison taking turns at the wheel. We grabbed a mooring ball and looked down. The water was incredibly clear and we could see fish under the boat. It was a good swim from the boat and even thought there was little coral the snorkeling was amazing with all of the large fish. From our stop in the Dogs it was a short trip to Spanish Town. We anchored Pegasus, and shortly thereafter realized that we were right next to the ferry terminal and had a rolly time. The plan was for a big provision in Spanish Town and we did manage to do it but unfortunately this was one spot that has yet to see a significant positive recovery from Hurricane Irma. Austin and Kathleen had been keeping an eye on the forecast and a front out of the US was supposed to pull the usual trade winds in a significant northerly direction. This would make many of the anchorages in the BVIs uncomfortable so the plan was to provision and be able to hole up somewhere for 3 or 4 days. With an eye on the forecast we planned our next few days. We were debating whether to head to the Baths, off the south end of Virgin Gorda, or head to a full moon party.

In the BVIs there is a traditional full moon party with lots of locals and visitors meeting to celebrate. We decided that the Baths weren’t going anywhere but we would only be in the BVIs for one full moon so….it was off to a full moon party. Many of the parties are a bit more R than PG so we went to a more family friendly party at Trellis Bay. There is an art studio on the beach (Aragorns) with a lot of really

amazing art, live music, the Moko Jumbi dancers and the signature item, giant fire balls (beautiful metal sculptures filled with flammable material that are lit at various times during the evening). We all had a lot of fun at the full moon party. The next day we left Trellis Bay and plan A was to head to White Bay on Peter Island. Instead we changed our minds and headed to plan B Great Harbor on Peter Island. But that

was changed with the winds and we went to The Bight at Norman Island instead. We arrived in the late afternoon and decided to head in to go for a hike. Kathleen remembered going on a hike many years ago with her sister and getting to a spot that looked down on the anchorage and over to the island of Tortola. Well, the old trails aren’t there and instead we ended up hiking around the

south side of Norman for the better part of an hour. The island is incredibly dry (neither Austin nor Kathleen remember it being this way) and also incredible desolate. We decided to keep going once we crossed our original path to try to get a view of Peter Island to the north. Austin and Cameron took the “interestingly steep” way down but Kathleen and Alison decided to retrace their steps. The next

day, after homeschooling – it is happening, we headed out to snorkel at the caves. Again very little coral but the water clarity is incredible and being in the caves is a very unique experience. We saw lots of great fish and enjoyed the reverberations of the waves echoing inside the caves. After that it was back to The Bight to grab a mooring and head into shore for a late lunch at the restaurant. Fish tacos, ribs and some yummy frozen drinks were on the menu! On our way back to the dingy we met a family with two girls, ages almost 11 and 8. They are on their way to Jamaica where they plan to live for the next 1 or 2 years. These girls were the first kids that Cameron and Alison have met since we left home. Breaking coral and old shells, snorkeling and just plain good fun was had by all. The following day we went for a longer hike on the eastern portion of the island during a much hotter part of the day. The rest of the day was more time at the restaurant and then a windy night on the boat.

Fish Tacos (Cameron); the fish taco at The Bight was what you would expect. Fish, Lettuce, and some salsa/pico-de-gallo. It was defiantly good but there was nothing that made it stand out. This was clearly an identified flaw because they had added some thin fried tortilla chips on the top although they didn’t add any flavor. Overall I give The Bight’s taco a 7/10.