15 AUG 2012 - GUANA ISLAND (BVI's) ... MONKEY POINT AND WHITE BAY ... and a story about jelly fish

We had enjoyed our visit to Lee Bay on Great Camanoe … it is one of those bays we are happy to visit but then we feel the itch to move on again …

Moving on, we waved goodbye to the Fehrsen family on Champolion … although they were going to link up with us a little later in the day and waved to Walt and Shae as Impi slipped out from Lee Bay and headed toward Monkey Point off Guana Island.

As we rounded Monkey Point I noticed one other yacht which was preparing lines to leave which meant for the meanwhile we had the bay to ourselves. I found this rather odd as it is a popular snorkelling spot.

Anyway, Ana and I were delighted as we picked up a mooring ball just of the rock face … our view to the front was of a little beach which reached from the bay to the sea between a break in the mountains rock face …

 to our right was a beautiful rock face which included a miniature cave … 

to our left was the shore line of Guana Island reaching out into the bay at White Beach (Guana Island where there is a private resort)…

 to our stern (rear) was the beautiful expanse of water and open sea …

Ana prepared a lovely lunch which we enjoyed as Impi hovered off the mooring ball … all hatches were open and a gentle breeze explored the cabins and lounge before exiting across the rear patio … the sun glistened off the beautiful calm blue sea, it’s waters being disturbed only by the odd splash as 

pelicans swooped down to scoop up fish … the place was alive and the atmosphere was surreal … life in a dream …

I was just about to enter the water for a swim when I noticed the odd jellyfish swimming around. These looked like the box type jellies and I certainly was not going to risk my life swimming between these … how disappointing!

Instead, I lowered the dingy into the water … the rush across the blue surface in a small inflatable dingy with it’s 30hp engine is enough to create a cool breeze across the skin … a chance to explore the coast line in close proximity to the rocks … a chance to take some photographs of the area surrounding Impi … and a chance to scout out a spot for anchoring overnight as over night stays are forbidden on mooring balls at Monkey Point.

As I drifted along the rocky shoreline in my dingy I took a number of photographs. 

The island has a beautiful feel to it … a rugged beauty which has seen few feet … the island is private and apparently the owners are serious about keeping it that way.

However, we were going to take our chances to see as much as we could on this island … now was a good time … a time when there were no other boats … no number of people to frustrate the owners … for a day or two we were going to anchor at this island!

Whilst I was ‘pottering around’ in the dingy, I saw the Fehrsens arrive on Champolion … they picked up a mooring ball nearby as we waved ‘hello’.

I scooted across to warn Andrew of the jellies swimming around … he said they were going to lower the dingy and take it across to the little dingy ‘tie line’ near the beach and swim close to the shore.

I took this photograph of the Fehrsen family at the dingy 'tie down'

In the meantime, I took the dingy into the cave and took some photographs of Impi from inside … the current swirled about and I had to fend the dingy off the walls. Determined to get a number of photographs off, I smiled as I thought of what a comical scene this would make if someone were to video me standing on my dingy in a cave being battered about whilst taking photographs J

I landed the dingy on the beach from the opposite side of the cove and walked up on the beach … the place had a beautiful ‘wildness’ about it … kindof ‘disorganised’ …  yet a stroll to the opposite side and the feeling was one of calm and serenity … this island has character!

As the afternoon became late afternoon, we decided to head for White Bay (Guana Island) just to the north and slightly west of Monkey Point.

At first we (Impi and Champolion) dropped anchor off the beach in the southern part of the bay … in light blue patches so as to avoid the reef system … the anchor dragged …

I tried again and again the anchor dragged across the hard sea floor …

One thing we have come to learn … if our Rocna anchor is unhappy with the conditions it is a sign of a place ‘not to be’ over nightfall!

Champolion seemed as if it had found a spot to bed in … we on the other hand had now decided to lift anchor and head for the northen most part of the bay where there is a private mooring ball area just under a cliff face … we could not pick up a ball but instead had decided to anchor between the balls …

As we approached the area, we could not help but be amazed at the huge numbers of pelicans and seagulls diving for fish … and the fish seemed to be everywhere as they darted about and caused the water to boil from time to time!

We had managed to anchor successfully … our stern rotated just clear of each mooring ball as Impi swung about on the anchor chain … this was perfect!

Champolion had also decided to head up … I called across to Andrew ..’Hey mate, thought you had a solid anchor hold back there?’ … ‘No ..’ he replied, ‘at first all seemed good but then I dived on it and realised it had no penetration’.

Ana and I moved up onto the bridge … we were in some sort of ‘dream world’ … pelicans were everywhere and the place was alive …

In front of us we could see the main beach area, a jetty with the odd little boat, a white building with some trees … it looked calm and there was not a soul to be seen. 

To our left, cliffs rose up out of the sea and turned green with lush vegetation which reached for the blue sky …  I looked across at Ana … she was entertained and mesmerized by her surrounds and without  a twitch in her stare she said ‘This place has soul, a living soul!’

I was quite taken aback by these words … I could not have explained it better for when she said it I knew she had chosen words that really ‘hit the nail right on the head’ … I felt it … that feeling of awe as nature breathed it’s greatness over us …

I went down below and got my goggles (diving mask), snorkel and flippers … I wanted to be sure the anchor was well tucked in and would keep Impi safe that night.

As I dived into the clear water, I noticed that Impi was hovering over a steep drop off in the ocean floor … I would definitely pay out a bit more chain than usual as if for some reason we had to drag anchor it would release in the deeper water … I swam up between the hulls and followed the chain until I spotted the anchor some 6 meters below … one huge breath and I dived down and tugged on the rollbar … she was solid !

I then swam across to the cliffs and snorkelled up to the western point observing a number of fish and small fissures in rocks which I always enjoy swimming into …

At one point a huge Tarpon swam alongside me … pelicans were diving all around and seagulls squawked a madness into the air … small fish by the millions darted about shimmering silver mirror flashes as they swam …

Moments later I was fortunate to see a nurse shark emerge from between the boulders … I followed overhead and watched as it turned below me and swam up along the rocks in the opposite direction … what a beautiful sight …

Eventually the light was fading and so I swam up along the cliffs toward the beach before heading back for Impi … I spotted a number of ‘sand dollars’ (Pansy shells) … shells which my daughter Jenna loves so much … I dived down and picked up a few … they were beautiful.

Ana had spotted a website which claimed that pansy shells were only to be found in South Africa and Mauritius … this in fact is totally false as we have spotted a number of them in various places here in the BVI’s and Ana has dived one or two out in the Maldives …

Having posted a picture of a pansy shell on Cat Impi facebook page, Ana had received a number of interesting comments through a facebook sailing friend Helen McADORY who had shared the link to her page … some said, “ … They are Christ Coins … the five slots represent the wounds on Christ's feet and hands, and the wounds to his head from the crown of thorns. The smaller slot at the bottom represents the wound in His side given to Him by the Centurion's spear.’

Another comment says “ … I have always called them sand dollars...Christ coins is interesting...I know that if they are broken open there are little pieces inside kind of look like doves...’

It seems these ‘shells’ have a keen following …

Anyway, And and I have decided to spend a few nights in this place … it is a stunning place to clean Impi, do the odd routine maintenance chore and soak up the vibe in-between …

We watched as a barge boat pulled up to the dock to deliver fuel to the island. It is interesting that the barges carry trucks on board which are actually 'diesel tankers'. For a while there was much activity before the place returned back to its quiet self!

Sadly the Fehrsens have to keep moving as Dad and Mum need to fly back to SA soon and obviously must see as much of the islands as possible. Andrew came across to tell us they were lifting anchor soon ... he has developed a unique tactic for using his paddle ski as a 'surfboard' / row board?

Ana and I will miss them as they really are ‘peoples kind of people’ … listening to them speak of their many years of working all over (he is a retired doctor and she is a retired teacher who taught in the townships) including Ascension Island, one can tell their lives have been dedicated in service to fellow human beings … not many of these people about today!  I felt inspired to look at my own ‘value system’ again … to be kinder to people around us … to guard against the hardness which easily creeps into one’s core … it is good to be challenged in these areas … the areas that make us real human beings!

Today I had a call from our friend Gareth Donaldson … he kindly wanted to warn against swimming in the ocean for the next week or so due to the increasing number of box type jellyfish out there.

Gareth and Jenna were on their yacht of Benures Bay when a neighbouring yacht had someone calling for help.

She had been stung by a jellyfish tentacle …

Apparently these jellies are spawning at the moment and when they do so they apparently shed their tentacles which remain ‘armed by poisonous barbs’ whilst they float about.

One of these had got her and she was in serious condition … out of breath, foaming at the mouth and going into shock. Apparently epi-pens do very little for one at this point. Fortunately Gareth had some sort of Asthma apparatus and an oxygen bottle on board which he gave them to use whilst the rescue crew were on their way.

According to the hospital this may have saved her life …

Gareth and I discussed the preventions one can take to avoid being stung in the water.

Apparently in Australia, the life guards wear stockings (ladies pantihose) on arms and legs and always swim with a shirt on.

When Ana and I chartered in Australia we hired ‘stinger suits’ which are full length suits made of a type of lycra material … they cover the head, body, hands and part of the feet …

Gareth said that certain people claim Neutrogena sun protection (sun block) also helps against stings if thoroughly applied before swimming … I will definitely be looking into this, but for now I think we will just stay out of the water!

Speaking to various people about these jellyfish I have so far come to the following conclusion:

They generally appear in Caribbean waters in spring and sea wasps can ‘swarm’ during the summer months after full moon periods when they spawn.

They are not known to be ‘as’ deadly as the Australian Box jellyfish but can cause death especially to people who  are more prone to react unfavourably to various types of stings.

A dead jellyfish or even the tentacle is potent and will sting!

The tentacles have millions of little ‘stingers’ which are like injections that inject toxins into the flesh of anything touching it.

A person being stung will immediately feel pain … red swelling visible to the eye will develop … shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and muscle spasms may occur. The pain should subside within a 24 hr period.  One should always seek medical attention and especially so if shortness of breath is one of the symptoms.

Someone said to me … ‘you are in so much pain you think you are going to die … then it gets to a point where you hope you will die’ …

Of course there are many milder forms of jellyfish stings and other things that sting so I am told that one need not panic every time you feel a sting …

Ok … so there are some things we need to keep an eye on out here … nothing too serious … when the jellies are in the water, stay out or be protected!

Some work related stuff … today I started with the installation of a new raw water pump to feed my generator. The genset has been using too many raw water impellers so I have had to replace the system with an inline electrically driven pump.

Usually the pump sits on the motor and is a rubber impeller type which is driven by the engine as it turns. Due to the height of the genset, the rubber impeller runs dry for too long before sea water gets to it … the impeller fails and when it does so the bits of rubber flow into the cooler unit which I have had to clean out. I dislike this design immensely!

The alternative is to install an electric pump at the water inlet through the hull, but after the water filter. (Today I installed the water filter at the inlet).

I have installed a ‘March Pump’ LC-3CP-MD (220V 50Hz). Since the pump pushes 31 Ltrs/min we have to make sure it does not run before the genset runs as it could flood the genset. To counter this I have to wire the pump to the genset electrical outlet so power only comes to the pump when the genset turns …

The pump has the ability to run totally submerged in water which is a good thing. It has to have positive water ‘flowing into the inlet’ (below sea level) as it is not a self priming pump.

When everything is wired and the plumbing complete, I will then remove the rubber impeller from the existing water pump.

Thankfully the modern day gensets have a fancy ‘shutdown’ system which also reports the reason for shutdown to a computer panel. Undoubtedly this feature has protected the genset from overheating!

Other chores were to scrub and clean Impi’s decks. Thankfully Ana took care of that having made freshwater sufficient enough to run the deck wash pump and pressure hose …

So … another day in a beautiful little bay has slipped into history … it is dark outside and the lights of Tortola are twinkling across the bay … an incredible optical illusion as one feels one can almost reach out and touch them … the bay appears so small by night and yet in the daylight the bay has ‘expanse’ to it …

Ana and I love it here … we could stay many more days but perhaps we will move again tomorrow … lets see!

Time for me to 'take off' ...