Settling into the BVI

Sorry it looks like I’ve confused everyone with dates, although i am at Trellis Bay, Beef Island where the airport is I got here a day early to ensure I could find a spot and to clean and so on. Katharine etc. are flying in tomorrow when I’ll meet them. As it’s windy at the moment yesterday, I didn’t want to go further away from Beef Island so went to an anchorage inside Buck Island, the anchorage at Road Town had become pretty unpleasant in the wind and chop.  I bought an up to date copy of a Virgin Island pilot book before leaving and had a pleasant sail, well reefed to Buck Island, which the pilot book said was normally quiet.  There were 4 other boats there. I managed to get my echo sounder working, pottered in, went up inside everyone and then the echo sounder stopped and wouldn’t start again. I have another one down below but it’s not convenient by oneself. Anyway, from the chart it all seemed good and I anchored there and had a peaceful afternoon. I did some rope work - the furling line I bought is the right size for the furler but a bit thin to grip, I took the old furling line stripped off some of the sheath from that and whipped / seized the  joint between full rope and just inner core which is marginally smaller than the new rope, so that is now a spare furling line. The sheath I then spent all afternoon feeding the new rope inside, it would only go millimetres at a time and it took all afternoon and was quite hard work but we got there eventually. I had hoped to finish by 1800 but it wasn’t til 1815 but  that was fine. I had  had tea at 1530 and was wondering how long my gas would last, it ran out whilst I was wondering. Once I’d finished my rope work for the day I changed the gas bottle for a full one I’d had filled in Cuba. I then had a couple of beers and  curried butternut for dinner at which point I noticed that the gas wasn’t really working. On the big rings it was barely alight when it should have been a big flame and on the small ones it wouldn’t light. I changed the bottle for my last one, and it worked fine so it looks like the propane from Cuba is dodgy one way or another. I’m not sure  what may be the problem but believe that I can have the bottles filled in Antigua so we’ll be fine until then anyway.

This morning I did the seizing / whipping on the new furling line and set off for Trellis bay at about 0700, it was again quite breezy and there was a Naiad 49 with me, he had full main and sliightly furled genoa, I had one reef in the main and quite furled genoa and we were pretty much together the whole way. Arriving here  all the spaces one normally anchors have been taken up with moorings by the local mafia, I find them difficult to pick up by myself and object to having to pay when anchoring would be free but I guess they have  to make a living to pay for hurricane damage etc. Coming in it soon became apparent I’d have to moor, there’s absolutely no space to anchor, I managed to pick one up first time and I think it’s in not a bad position, I had hoped to be further in for picking up the crew tomorrow but looking at the chart I don’t think we can go further in because of my depth and lack of instruments, so we’re fine here, it’ll just be a bit of a row against the wind tomorrow, hopefully less than today.

Slainte

Jock and Yemaya. Sent from my iPad