8 June 2012 – BVI … NORMAN ISLAND (Benures Bay)
Account Impi
Impi finds a new and beautiful anchorage in the BVI … I wonder how it is possible to have so many beautiful places to anchor within such short distances.
Ana and I set sail from Peter Island (Deadman’s Bay) this morning and headed for Road Harbour where we were to meet some local people involved in the yachting industry in a bid to enlighten ourselves a bit more on hurricane preparation.
It is easy in these stunningly beautiful surrounds to put the possibility of a hurricane striking such a place out of sight and out of mind… rather, we are cautious to the extent that we would rather plan for one striking and be prepared, than to be surprised by one and without an adequate plan!
After meeting with people to discuss this, we felt a lot happier about our research and were quite surprised at how lax they are about hurricanes having lived here their entire lives. It would seem that we have more measures of precaution in place than do they, and that made us feel a bit better … I am hoping never to have Impi experience one of these things, but it does kinda go with the territory I guess?
I also had a brief chat with a sailing friend of ours who currently has his boat in the BVI and went through the last hurricane to hit St Martin … their boat was tied between concrete fingers at a dock and he says they were fine! Unfortunately he departs for the UK this weekend and returns at the end of the month … having had met them touring South Africa, we stayed in contact and are looking forward to seeing them and catching up with some news … he has also offered to share some of his experienced knowledge with me regarding rope, chafing protection and tie down procedures when we get together.
Ana and I have decided to keep ourselves regularly updated and take as much advice as possible … it’s the best we can do really!
Hoisting the sail and lifting the anchor, we left Road Harbour in delightful wind conditions … Impi was close hauled and reaching for Norman Island at a very comfortable 8 -9 knots SOG (speed over ground) … a number of yachts crossed our path with waves and waving of hats … sailors seemed to be delighted with the conditions here and everyone seemed so happy to be out in the bay! It feels to us that this place has a most beautiful vibrant and ‘chilled’ atmosphere to it!
We arrived today, in a little bay called Benures Bay on Norman Island.
Norman Island is best known in the BVI for its ‘buried treasure’ (from the days of old) and its magnificent caves.
Many speak of an old French family who found Spanish doubloons in a cave around the 1900’s … Robert Louis Stevenson had discovered through a letter of his grandfather of the discovery of treasure here which inspired him to write the book ‘Treasure Island’ … and so it is Norman Island which is also referred to and known as Treasure Island.
Together with islands Peter, Salt, Cooper and Ginger, Norman Island forms the southern perimeter of the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
The main bay used by yachts at anchorage here, is the well protected bay known as ‘The Bight’ … as we approached Norman Island we observed a number of yachts anchored at The Bight and decided instead to seek anchorage at Benures Bay which lies to the east on the northern coast of Norman Island.
As we approached Benures Bay, we saw only one small yacht anchored near the point forming the north east of the bay and so opted to drop anchor at the extreme south east of Benures Bay as close to the shore as possible.
As we entered Benures Bay, both Ana and I were immediately in awe of the natural charm of the place, the bay being lined immediately by undulating hills covered in lush green wild tree and bush, the shores consisting of pebble, broken rock, rock outcrops here and there, small rock cliffs in places and a pale clear turquoise blue waters edge lining the southern shore. Turtles darted around us diving for deeper water, the water so clear there was no hiding place for them, huge pelicans soared up above and diving all along the shore line plunged clumsily into the water scooping up fish with their bills, bird sounds of twittering and chirping amplified as we approached the shoreline and there were fish, rather big looking fish which I could not identify but many of them chasing smaller fish which caused the surface to bubble with activity from place to place as sea birds hovered above, their necks craning down toward the waters below, picking their moment and plunging down into the water … one pelican was so lazy it swam in the shallows scooping up fish … one could easily see it had had its fill but was making the most of getting more than its fair share … yeah, this is paradise … a place of solitude and surrounded by nature … one of those places to ‘get away from it all!’ … to relax, and with open mind and soul absorb the energy of nature and feel its peace replenishing power.
We had lowered the mainsail into the stack pack for another day, the genoa was furled and I had turned on the engines which I allowed to tick over as the gentle current carried Impi to exactly where we wanted to be. Ana stood at the bow, the anchor untied and the control in her hand as she waited for my signal to pick the spot that would secure Impi’s position for the evening and night to follow … a little power on the port side motor, then just a little on starboard … Impi drifted in close proximity to the shore … as we moved into the turquoise blue I looked carefully at the odd rock below … it was deep … all of 8 meters … I pictured in my mind each opportunity to drop anchor, how Impi would settle in, where she would hover on the water in proximity to the shore and what views she would present to us as we sat on her decks watching the sun furl another day into the history books …
And there it was, the perfect spot … I signalled to Ana and she released the anchor to the noise of enthusiastic chain … the depth meter displaying a depth of 8 meters below the keel … add 2 meters for height at which the chain meets Impi’s deck so we have 10 meters … a calm bay means a chain set at 1:4 is safe (for every 1m depth pay out 4m of chain) … 40 meters of chain … as the anchor hits the bottom I engage the engines astern and Impi drifts aft toward the ‘beach’ … I watch carefully as the shore approaches, as Impi’s hulls slide over submerged rocks well below … and then the sudden tug as the anchor engages into ‘lock down’ in the sands below … a perfect ‘landing’ and a magnificent place to rest. I give the engines a good burst of power astern to test and set the hold of the anchor … it bites one last time and Impi is safe as we put our trust into the chain and anchor below.
With engines now turned off Impi finds itself at rest … Ana and I hear nothing but the sound of nature … we look around and for a while we are without words and still as nature stares down onto Impi, stares down onto us … what a magnificent feeling … ‘who am I that I am so privileged to find myself in such a powerful display of nature?’ … my mind fills with peace and tranquillity, my soul smiles …
I think we are lucky … apart from one other yacht a fair distance away, we have this place to ourselves … the time of day has ushered in those beautiful shades of orange and dappled light of a low cast sun … birds are finding their place of rest for the night, pelicans and birds of the sea are taking their last catch of the day … our timing is impeccable and ‘first impressions count’ …
I break myself away from the urge to crack a bottle top and gaze into the beauty of our surrounds and watch the sun slowly bid us farewell … with goggles, snorkel and flippers I dive into the water to check anchor and rocks in the vicinity (always a good idea to swim and canvass the bottom in the ‘arc’ the boat would follow if it were to swing 360 degrees at anchor) …the water is extremely clear … immediately I am greeted by a barracuda of fair size … I stop momentarily as my mind deciphers the situation … I swim toward it slowly hoping it will move away … it does not and instead turns toward me, its mouth opening and closing just enough to show it’s teeth … shiver … I back up a little and my peripheral vision catches a shape behind … my mind quickly reminds me that sharks are not a threat in these waters but I feel my heart has not yet got the message … it bangs as I spin around in the water to see two huge fish … they just observe me … almost motionless … I steady myself in the water as curiosity overcomes fright … these fish are strange … they open and close their mouths but the mouth opens upwards, not forwards … gosh!
Eventually I swim past the barracuda as if to ignore it … it slowly turns and swims away … a number of species of fish swim around and below me … the anchor is set in sand and Impi will be safe for the night.
On the back step of Impi, I take a fresh water shower and wash the salt off my dive gear … Ana greets me with a towel and we settle with a drink in hand as the setting sun displays its magic of changing colours to the landscape and causes distant islands now to become mere profiles of shades of blues and greys on the horizon … pelicans delight us as they soar right past us at no more than 1 ft off the waters surface …
I love this place … I love the BVI … I love its people, its beauty and ever welcoming appeal and I am glad to be spending some time here!
No comments:
Post a Comment