19 Aug 2012 - Sandy Spit, Sandy Cay and other visits

Sandy Spit ... but before we get there ... our news:

We lifted anchor in the beautiful bay … White Bay on Guana Island and headed around the corner to Muskmelon Bay passing Iguana head.

We had been told that the island, although named Guana Island was actually a shortened version of Iguana Island and aptly named so due to a large unusual rock shape on the far western tip of the island which resembles the head of an Iguana.

I had discarded this theory until I saw the rock protruding out of the cliffs like a ‘sore thumb’ … it truly does represent the head of an Iguana!

We turned into the bay of Muskmelon and floated around for a while trying to find a spot we liked.

We observed a number of interesting rock formations in the mountain … it is a beautiful bay but almost very similar to the one we had just stayed in … without the beach!

We had planned to spend a night here but after a while changed our minds as we felt it would be nice to instead visit ‘Jost Van Dyke Island’ where there was a little more activity. Although having thoroughly enjoyed the solitude and wildness of nature in White Bay at Guana Island, we felt it was time to ‘move on’ to something different.

Just then we received a call from our mate ‘Andrew Fehrsen’ who asked if we wanted to join them at anchor off Sandy Spit for the night … we agreed.

And so we set sail for ‘Little Jost Van dyke’ and picked up a mooring in Long Bay next to the fehrsen’s boat. Ana and I relaxed at the mooring for the early afternoon (moorings are free during the day in the BVI’s … one only pays for overnight stays) and enjoyed the beauty of our surrounds.

When yachts which were anchored off Sandy Spit had lifted anchor and sailed to the safety of moorings for the night, we played the reverse role and dropped lines from the mooring balls to anchor just off Sandy Spit for the night.

Anchoring off Sandy Spit during the night is not recommended due to the uncomfortable swell that can kick up from the ocean … it is very exposed, but once we had managed to set the anchor we found ourselves in a phenomenally beautiful spot and being open to the sea (tucked behind a shallow reef) meant we had a steady and cool breeze blowing though our open hatches all night long.

Thanks to our anchor alarm (which detects the movement of our boat outside of a perimeter barrier which we stipulate) we were able to sleep comfortably throughout the night experiencing only one ‘rush of wind’ which caused Impi to tug at the anchor for a brief moment and then was gone. Of course we place a huge amount of dependency in our Rocna anchor which has proved to be as ‘solid as a rock’ … it would take a very unusual set of circumstances to break a Rocna free from the sea floor once bedded in!

The following morning was beautiful … not without a certain amount of cloud which streaked across the sky in places, but beautiful!

The water here sparkles different colours of blue … depending on the position of the sun and its intensity, one can feel as if one is in a different place hours apart due to the change in ‘blue’ of the sea! When the sun is bright, the water becomes a turquoise transparent blue and as the cloudy skies move across the water, so it becomes a turquoise green to dark blue before repeating the cycle all over again!

Sandy Spit is a tiny ‘island’ … it is typically the comic book island one sees drawn with the one Palm tree (some claim it has one but I counted 3) … one could circle it in the space of minutes.

This little island brings out the childhood excitement and adventurous mind in one as it really does represent in reality what one imagines an idyllic island to be!

I paced off the island guessing it to be roughly 60m wide and 80m long.

The island is totally uninhabited and lies between beautiful Green Cay Island and Sandy Cay Island.

Andrew Fehrsen had moved his yacht right up to the sand and the kids were having a marvellous time swimming from the yacht to the beach … all one or two strokes to get there!

We also met up with a crowd of young people who were out for a 'wedding holiday' ... they were terrific fun and from the USA ... having a 'water party' on this remote little island for an hour or two before heading back to Tortola.

In the meantime we enjoyed the vibe ... jokes were moving back and forth ... I love it when youngsters have such fun, and the American youngsters know how to have fun!!!

Of course there was no short supply of beer ... the party got wilder ...

At one point we had one of the guys in the party determined to have a photo taken with Ana ... he also wanted his beer label promoted as he is part of the family that produce this beer? ... any excuse to get a pic with Ana who was desperately trying to convince the man to find a younger model ... 

Anyway, we decided to have fun with it ...

Avondale Beer ... the more mature, the more beautiful!

Avondale Beer ... be aware .. too much will cause impaired vision!

And so it was ... we had a 'fun filled afternoon' on Sandy Spit!

Later on, I saw one lass stroll from the party ... she looked kind of bewildered as she went for a walk ... seems she forgot to remove her flippers ... made a classic photo (of course I am joking about this, but she did look kinda cute walking about in her flippers!)

Sandy Spit has an incredibly steep ‘shelf’ of sand  just south of the middle of its western shore … I would guess the slope to be 1:1.5 (for every 1m depth 1.5 meters out) … that is steep. In fact, when walking from the beach into the water it is initially even steeper as an unsuspecting person really has difficulty in keeping to the ground and invariably is swimming no more than 2m from the shoreline in deep water.

Just south of this however, the sand is shallow and extends out into the blue ever so gradually … currents seem to meet here and the odd wave tumbles over the sand as it competes to rush up and touch the shores of the tiny island.

Moving around in an easterly direction and up the eastern shore is the place to be snorkelling … there is a lovely shallow reef and although one has to be mindful of the odd current, it is generally a delightfully safe place to swim.

The eastern shoreline becomes ‘steeply sloped in dune’ which often has a vertical crest, but the island is not high … at a guess I would say the highest part of the island is no more than 8-9 meters (at best). 

We were told one could easily walk around the entire island on a sandy shoreline, however we found broken chunks of coral had been washed up on the eastern side making it necessary to wear some sort of footwear to cross it.

The reef extends into the northern part of the island and offers lovely snorkelling between Sandy Spit and Green Cay Island, although the reefs are somewhat damaged due to the last hurricane which passed through … and I guess global warming plays a role?

On the island, one can’t help but find oneself taking many photographs and lapping up the obvious and overwhelming feeling and realisation of ‘good fortune’ to be there … Ana and I sat shoulder deep in the pristinely clear and warm water and soaked up the energy of the place for a while … it was a ‘treasure to be etched into the memory banks of time for me … a real treasure’.

Before leaving for Impi, we sat and gazed out over the beautiful surrounds ... we really enjoy this place and will most certainly be visiting it again ...

Back onboard Impi, reality set in … Gareth had called us to warn us he had heard of an approaching storm which is forecasted to hit the islands this Wednesday … possibly a category 2 hurricane by the time it gets here! Oh boy … here we go again …

Ana and I took our time to enjoy the rest of our day at Sandy Spit before lifting anchor and heading to Soper’s Hole where we refuelled with diesel in preparation to ‘run’ if necessary.

Photo above ... Sandy Spit taken from Impi

En-route to Soper’s Hole, we once again ‘visited Sandy Cay’ island where we had last been with Jenna (my daughter during her visit here) … as usual the island is spectacular!

Photo below is Sandy Cay taken from Impi

Rounding Steele Point (off Tortola and opposite Great Thatch Island)  ... one easily misses the beauty as the tide can run with some strength here, but on every occasion I find myself slowing Impi down at this point and taking the time to look around me ... the ocean opens up into many 'bays' with vast expanses of water in between ... I find it so beautiful ...

This photo taken between Steele Point (left) and Great Thatch Island (not seen behind me) looking toward Soper's Hole (valley / bay just to the right of the highest hill ... the little 'island' on the right of Soper's Hole is Frenchman's Cay

Soper’s Hole was surprisingly empty … over night it appeared to be a bit like a ghost town … comparing it to the way we had seen it before.

I spoke for a while to the local ‘petrol attendant’ at the pumps about the place being so empty.

He told me that Soper’s Hole was not a good place to be during hurricanes … the swell rushes in meters high covering the concrete docks and breaking boats free from their lines before spitting them out onto the shores or sucking them under.

He said that during the last hurricane, huge ferry boats had been swept out of the water and up onto the roads nearby, shops and buildings were flooded and there was huge damage done.

Apparently, this has become worse on account of an old reef system which used to protect the bay being blasted to create access for boats which draw deeper drafts.

Surprisingly, he said that a few yachts which had tied to mooring balls survived the impact of the storm … those tied to the dock had broken lines and floated out at the mercy of the sea.

Well … enough said … we sailed from Soper’s Hole to Deadman’s Bay on Peter Island where we spent the night.

We love it at Peter Island and ‘Deadman’s Bay’ is our adopted home for the BVI’s … a place where we can swim, walk on the beach and live it up ‘island style’, but also a place within an hours reach to Road Harbour or Wickham Cay for safety!

And so here we are … anchored in Wickham Cay, Road Harbour … we are going to speak to a number of local skippers and marine people here about the storm forecast and make a decision about preparing the boat for the approaching storm!