24 JUNE 2012 – Still sailing in the BVI

I have been asked why I am not writing more about our travels onboard Impi.

The truth is that we are moving back and forth between islands we have already described previously in our letters, but for the sake of those who care and those who want to remain in our travels through the letters I started writing to my mother, here is a little of what we are up to.

We sailed down to Soper's Hole again where we spent a few evenings, did some shopping for supplies and took in a bit of the quaint town's atmosphere.  We shopped in the Harbour Market.  Frozen meats are good value, cheaper than in Road Town, but there is a smaller selection.  Vegetables and fruit are limited and of poor quality and freshness.

We also re-fuelled Impi at the diesel dock … it was convenient and easy and diesel there costs $4.80 per gallon, 36 cents per gallon less than what is being charged at Wickham Cay in Road Harbour.

A VHF 16 call is placed to the fuel dock which is re directed to a 'working channel' … instructions are duly issued and a very helpful attendant waits on the dock to assist with tying the boat alongside.

A number of South Africans are working on the Voyager yacht charter boats and there was a lot of chatter about the rugby match to be played … South Africa versus England!

Stocked up with drinks, food and diesel we set off for White Bay on the island of Jost Van Dyke where we spent a number of nights with Impi drifting a few meters off the beach. I love this place … so do a million others!

Interestingly enough, White Bay gets very busy around weekends, especially in the day light hours but most nights are quiet with perhaps 2 or 3 yachts to anchor on the Western side, whilst others move across to the mooring balls on the eastern side of the bay.

The swimming in White Bay is superb as the water is clean, there is no current to speak of and the sand has a beautiful coarse feeling under ones feet. Ana and I jump off Impi several times a day and swim to the beach where we lie in the shallows chatting to tourists and other sailors whilst boats come and go … people here are relaxed and everyone seems to be happy … many sitting on deck chairs half submerged in the shallows with beers in their hands chatting about things that don't really matter!

We sailed back to Soper's Hole and headed from there to another favourite 'Deadman's Bay' off Peter Island.

The Fehrsens have arrived in the BVI … Andrew called us up to say they were staying briefly at Deadmans Bay before heading to St Thomas (the USVI to fetch his sister and her kids who were flying in from South Africa to Charlotte Amalie). It seemed they were enjoying Deadman's Bay which really pleased us as they are half way through their cruise now before heading back for South Africa.

Andrew has located a spot at Nanny Cay Marina where they will tie up their yacht if a hurricane approaches … just around the corner from our spot. He is still considering a trip up to the USA.

Talking of hurricanes, I must say it is pretty worrying to think these things can spring up at anytime … the only consolation being that there is generally a 3 day warning in which to prepare.

Friends of ours from Langebaan are cruising on a Leopard up here … contacted me on skype to say they had arrived in the Exuma's (just south of Bahamas) en-route the US and were having to 'sit tight' on account of Tropical storm Debbie not quite knowing which direction to take.

Right now Debbie is at 52 knt wind speed and seems to be heading toward the coast of Louisiana (although some models are showing it could reach out for Florida) … predictions are that it is set to hit 62 knts, which would mean it does not reach hurricane status. Tropical storms become hurricanes when wind speeds reach 64 knots (74 mph or 119 km/hr) and can range from being 60 to 1000 miles wide!

My biggest concern about a hurricane is not so much the wind that is generated but rather the sea surge where seas increase in height, anywhere from 1m to 6m. This makes for a vicious coast line … you can imagine regular waves suddenly sizing up an increased 6 meters … rather not!

At the same time huge amounts of rain empty from the skies and apparently a number of boats sink because enough rain finds its way in through doors and hatches (the wind blows it into every crevice), the bilge pumps sometimes do not come on automatically or are too small to cope !

So … that explains a lot of what goes through our minds daily … we watch all weather forecasts and have downloaded special apps to the ipad to keep track of possible storm formations.

 We dropped anchor in Road Harbour as we had some things to do in town such as load up the phone with airtime, have Ana's hair done and get a good back massage to sort out one or two little aches and pains that had crept in after I had waxed and polished Impi.  We used Oasis in Village Cay Marina, an establishments with people from all over the world.  It was not cheap:  $65 for gel nails, $65 for a 30 minute massage, some $200 for hair colour, but it has all been done very well.

Village Cay Marina on the whole is popular but I find it very dirty.  The outdoor kitchen looks extremely dirty, greasy and hot to me.  The toilets in the ladies were blocked and unhygienic.  Litter is left on the walk ways.

Here we met up briefly with Gareth and Jenna (our sailing friends with Moorings). They have just finished two charters which they ran back to back… very hard work!

He is set to leave for the US soon to fetch the new Leopard 58 which is bound for Tortola … ironically our friend Jan will be sailing it from SA to the US for the boat show. The yachting world seems to be becoming a 'small community to us' and we are getting to know a lot of new people from all over the world.

Today we sat at anchor in Deadman's Bay off Peter Island … we have moved in closer so we can sail to Road Harbour tomorrow and prepare the boat to be securely anchored whilst we take a ferry to the US Virgin Island of St Thomas, Charlotte Amalie where we will meet my daughter Jenna who arrives on Tuesday from South Africa.  Unfortunately our ESTA visas are not valid when one arrives on a private vessel and we need to take the ferry in.  One would assume that in such a case there would be an embassy where one can obtain the necessary visas, but this is not the case, unless one goes to Barbados or Nassau.  A bit weird really.  Imagine that Europe would do the same thing and American people wishing to go to Spain would have to go to the UK for a visa?????

Of course this is very exciting for us as this is Jenna's first time of joining us on Impi since we left Cape Town. We also had news that Ana's son Thomas with "adopted" daughter Lucy (long term girlfriend) may be joining us in October so we are pleased the 'children' are making use of our destinations to join in and see beautiful parts of the world with us.

This morning I dived down to clean the hulls on Impi … again! It seems the growth here in the BVI is very aggressive and demands regular attention … I also seem to have an anti-fouling on the hulls which is not suitable for these waters … of course this means I stay busier than would be usual!

It is actually interesting that the International anti-fouling sold in SA, which is supposed to last two years will need to be replaced withing one year.  This is now the second time that this product does not keep up its promises and we will explore different options here in the BVI.

But, I always take these chores in my stride … the water temperature is fantastic, the water clarity is spectacular and there are no sharks to worry about as we have back in South Africa so I really enjoy being under the boat and spend good time checking all through hull fittings, props etc. as well as the anchor.

As I dived down below the boat I noticed a beautiful green turtle coming up for air … it swam right up alongside me, took a breath and slowly descended again as if not to be perturbed at all by my presence. I slowly swam down and watched it as it chewed on the seagrass below …
Having spent some time with the turtle I started cleaning the bottom of the boat when I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye … a beautiful spotted eagle ray soared toward me … at first I felt a little startled as usually they are quite skittish, but this one just glided right past me … it 'craned' it head to take a good look at me … it's 3m tail no more than a meter or two from me … and then it circled and came back again and again. I figured it must be feeding off the bits I was scrubbing from Impi's hull … I looked down and there all the while was the turtle still munching away at seagrass. It truly was a special moment for me!

So … from the decks of Impi and at the late hour of midnight I wish you a good night … my dreams will be filled with my daughters arrival and the fun we will have cruising around the BVI together.