Nature’s Little Secrets: 30 Days Cruising the BVIs

Day 1: January 19, 2022 – Road Town Harbour, Tortola (Arrival)

After arriving to Tortola around 9:15 AM, Customs & Immigration was at the top of our to-do list. We had to clear customs before our COVID tests from St. Maarten ‘expired’ (i.e., passed the 48-hour mark) which would have been at 11:40 AM. Feeling confident about our extra wiggle room, I set off by dinghy to check us in. Although there were a lot of steps and paperwork, everyone was really friendly and helpful. After successfully checking in to our seventh country with Panta Rhei, a bit of downtime and naps were in order! Sailing can be really relaxing, but it’s also exhausting… especially sailing overnight. Around sunset we met our ‘sailing neighbors’ Jim, Rita, and their boxer-lab Fin on their catamaran, SV Opus One. We commented how we had seen each other in the early hours of the morning (or extremely late hours of the night, depending on your perspective). They also saw us and were hopeful our paths would cross in the BVIs. We had an early night on Panta Rhei, excited for all the sailing that lay ahead!

Day 2: January 20, 2022 – Road Town Harbour to Brandywine Bay, Tortola

Refreshed by a 12 hr sleep, Paul and I adventured into Road Town in search of a SIM card and WiFi to connect over WhatsApp, assuring loved ones we made it safely. We found a sweet little used bookstore and coffeeshop called ‘Nook’ where we spent a few hours reading, blogging, and connecting. The highlights in Nook were the refreshments (steamed milk with caramel por moi, ‘very berry’ smoothie for Paul) and the huge bookshelf of second-hand books. I walked into Nook with only my Kindle, but left with my Kindle plus seven books for PR’s library. My favorite find (and I am still in a bit of shock) was a 1st edition hardback copy of Pet Sematary by Stephen King… for $3.00! For those of you who know about my Stephen King obsession, this was pretty exciting. Once back on the boat, we were ready to pull anchor and head on to our next destination, Brandywine Bay. Since this heading was directly into wind, we decided just to motor for the 25 minutes it took to get there. It was interesting being out of the harbour and seeing so many different types of boats & ships around – charter catamarans mostly, but also tugboats, cruise ships, ferryboats, monohulls, and fishing boats. We arrived to Brandywine Bay with only two other boats in the anchorage to greet us – and one was our new friends on SV Opus One! We took the dinghy over to say hello to Jim and Rita, and enjoyed some cocktails (the infamous BVI ‘painkillers’) and snacks while chatting until sunset.

Day 3: January 21, 2022 – Brandywine Bay, Tortola to Buck Island

After a somewhat rolly polly night, we had a morning beach walk before lifting anchor to leave Brandywine Bay. As Paul started lifting the anchor (and I stood closely behind, taking notes and learning the tricks of chain management) we started seeing a dark shape attached to our chain in the water. What could it be?! We started having flashbacks of when our anchor was stuck on a hurricane chain in St. Maarten… we worried we were pulling up a submarine cable or something worse. It ended up just being a HUGE piece of driftwood that had become completely entwined in our chain. Never a dull moment on PR! Paul hopped in the dinghy, handsaw and angle grinder in hand, to saw the driftwood in half and release our bundled-up chain. All was well, and SV Opus One was kindly standing by just in case we needed an extra set of hands.

Our next destination on the itinerary was called ‘Buck Island,’ and again, was directly into the wind from Brandywine Bay. We decided to make it a bit more of a

motorsail, so we used just a bit of headsail as the winds were gusting 30 knots. Several small tacks brought us into the leeward side of Buck Island, and we were happily surprised to find ourselves the only boat in the anchorage. We dove our anchor to make sure everything was secure, and then snorkeled to the island. We were very curious about what type of resort or hotel could be ashore, as everything looked pretty bougie and high-end. There were two 18ft Hobby catamarans, two SUP boards, two underwater scooters, even two tiny horses! As we walked near the center of the resort, we were approached by a lady who (very kindly) kicked us off the beach. She couldn’t say much, other than the island was privately owned and that they catered to ‘extreme’ guests. We did a quick Google search when we arrived back to the boat (private island, but public waters!) and discovered that the resort – “Aerial” – did indeed cater to a

whole other level of guests. For a mere $40,000 USD … PER NIGHT … the entire island could be rented out for a maximum of 26 guests. WOW! We were sure to stay away for the remainder of our time.

Day 4: January 22, 2022 – Buck Island to Bluff Bay, Beef Island

Picking up the anchor (without any driftwood this time) was the start to Day 4 in the BVIs. We set sails on third reef since the winds were still quite strong… and, hey, this boat is also our home, so no need to push it. This mindset didn’t seem to be shared by the majority of charter boats we saw on our sail. They had full sails and were heeled hard over – it looked like they were having lots of fun though! It was a very short sail for us, but enjoyable to have both the mainsail and headsail out.

Navigating into Bluff Bay was a new experience. Usually upon entrance to an anchorage, there are ‘channel markers’ – large green (to starboard) and red (to port) buoys that mark a dredged, safe passage. However, in some places (like Bluff Bay) there are no channel markers. Usually, these anchorages are just less frequently used, or there are ‘natural’ channel markers, such as reefs or shoaling.

As we approached the anchorage, we had to navigate between reefs and large rocks both to starboard and to port. Paul was on the bow as a lookout, and I was at the helm steering us in. It was a successful experience, and our anchor set deep into the sand. We were so thrilled to discover that for the second night in a row, we had an anchorage all to ourselves! From reading our guidebook on cruising the BVIs, we had an idea this anchorage wouldn’t be frequented by charter boats because of the entrance. We had thought there might be a few liveaboards here though, but no complaints

having the entire place! Bluff Bay in itself is completely isolated, with only one small building that is the headquarters to a landscaping company. We had a lovely afternoon snorkel and saw a gorgeous sunset. Very happy with this completely flat anchorage after three nights of being rolly-polly! At night we had the most amazing stars I can remember seeing since our time witnessing the ostracod phenomenon in Bonaire. Maybe we’ll stay longer in this little slice of heaven…

Day 5: January 23, 2022 – Bluff Bay, Beef Island

Woke up this morning with a bundle of energy! Did a thorough reset on the boat, which usually includes a floor washing, kitchen and bathroom cleaning, and cockpit reorganization. After baking some chocolate chip banana bread, it was time to get off the boat and out of the heat for a SUP. Just as we were taking the SUP boards off the boat, we spotted two near-identical monohulls on the horizon aiming dead ahead for our anchorage. We knew that two of our cruising buddies whom we initially met back in Curaçao had just made the trip from St. Maarten to the BVI’s. We were cautiously hopeful that these two boats were them – and as

luck would have it, they were! There’s only one thing better than a beautiful isolated anchorage, and that’s a beautiful anchorage where it’s just you and your buddies. SV Vesna and SV Otoka anchored successfully near our own boat, and we spent the afternoon catching up, swimming, and snorkeling around the bay. We didn’t think we’d be seeing these friends until we met again in the Bahamas – mid to end March – so it was such a surprise and treat to see them so soon! We had a delicious BBQ on SV Vesna, where we enjoyed the black fin tuna they caught on their passage from St. Maarten.

Day 6: January 24, 2022 – Bluff Bay, Beef Island to Prickly Pear, Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda

Waking up in our little anchorage and seeing SV Otoka and SV Vesna nearby was such a delight. Around 10:00 AM, all three boats lifted anchor and set course for Virgin Gorda, one of the largest islands in the British Virgin Islands. It was so named by Christopher Columbus because the island resembles a heavy-set lady lying down on her side to sleep. SV Otoka and SV Vesna were on more of a time crunch as they wanted to reach the next anchorage and see what data reception was like for their online jobs. Since we had more time on our hands, instead of motoring we set sails for Prickly Pear. The conditions were perfect to have our full main and headsail out, and we zipped happily along at speeds of 5.0 to 6.5 knots on a close reach with only about 10-15 degrees of heel. Overall, some near perfect sailing conditions! We were completely protected from waves and swell because of all the surrounding islands, but still enjoyed the winds and gusts and put them to our advantage. It took about 3 ½ hours to reach our destination (14 nautical

miles away). We also had a really great learning experience on this sail. There was some quick decision-making and action taken when our rudder caught on a fishing buoy, but we were loosed of the mooring within 30 seconds. We dropped our mainsail, furled our headsail, turned into wind, and turned engines on. Paul hopped into the water and grabbed the mooring out from underneath our rudder, and we were free. Next time we will be giving those bad bays a MUCH wider berth! What could’ve been disastrous ended up being all-ok, and a good learning experience.

We reached Gorda Sound and navigated to the Prickly Pear anchorage where our friends were waiting already anchored, and found a sweet spot in about 3.0

meters of beautiful blue water. A SUP ride took us to the nearest beach, where we enjoyed the water and played some beach volleyball. Feeling happy to be at another new anchorage in the BVI’s, and with friends to boot!

Day 7: January 25, 2022 – Prickly Pear, Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda

Today we spent a lovely day in the Prickly Pear anchorage. Upon waking up, we discovered that almost the entire fleet of boats had cleared out from the evening before. We could see them raising sails on the horizon and setting off for their next destinations. Most boats in the BVIs are charters (I’d guess about 80%?) and only have 7-10 days to cruise around the islands. That makes for a pretty busy itinerary, with not a lot of time for spending additional nights in anchorages. As a result, the anchorage was empty except for us and our cruiser friends, SV Vesna and SV Otoka, as well as one Canadian boat of Newfoundlanders we had the pleasure of meeting yesterday. I went for a swim and snorkel while Paul rigged a sunshade and hammock on deck. I saw lots of conches and found a few lobsters hiding underneath a coral head off our bow. Paul dinghied over and tried to catch us a lobster lunch, but those little suckers are pretty fast! No luck this time... The afternoon was spent in the sun for Paul – beach volleyball with the crew – and in the shade for me, with Stephen King and late afternoon naps. We had supper on SV Otoka, a delicious beer risotto, and spent the evening chatting away. A lovely, relaxed day!

Day 8: January 26, 2022 – Prickly Pear, Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda to Pomato Point, Anegada

It’s a wonderful day for a sail!! 13 knots gusting 19 knots and right on the beam, the winds carried us speedily along the 14 nautical miles from Virgin Gorda northwards to Anegada. Also known as “The Drowned Island,” the highest point on Anegada is 28 feet above sea level. In contrast to the other more mountainous volcanic islands in the BVIs, Anegada is comprised of coral and limestone. It is 11 miles long and marked by mile after mile of white sandy beaches. Before we saw any such sandy beaches on our approach, we saw palm trees on the horizon. They looked like they were sticking up right out of the ocean! On our speedy sail, Paul caught and released a barracuda; we almost need to put a sign saying “barracuda, please don’t bite!” If only fish were literate…

There are two anchorage options in Anegada: the main anchorage called Setting Point, and a secondary more secluded anchorage slightly to the north called Pomato Point. As we sailed closer, we saw that Setting Point looked ricka-reeeaaall full of boats (not to mention the four speeding towards it right behind us!) so we decided on Pomato Point. Stretching along a beautiful white sandy beach, we anchored in about 3.0 meters of water amongst half a dozen other boats. It’s been a very busy and very social last several days, so we enjoyed some afternoon introvert time (napping for Paul, Netflix and journaling for me). An hour before sunset, I swam into shore and walked about 1.5 km along the beach. Feeling very thankful to be enjoying our sixth anchorage in our trip so far.

Day 9: January 27, 2022 – Pomato Point to Setting Point, Anegada

Apparently our bodies needed some rest, because we slept in today – 10:30 for me, 12:00 for Paul! By the time we had woken up, there were only two boats (including our own) left in the anchorage. We decided to lift anchor and motorsail the 3.3

nautical miles over to Setting Point, the central anchorage on Anegada. Because our draft (the depth of the deepest part of our boat, the keel) is 1.8 m (about 5.9 feet), we couldn’t anchor very close to shore. It shallowed up really quickly, and we would have run aground. We anchored parallel to the commercial dock, just under a mile away from the very busy mooring field full of charter catamarans. We were happy anchoring in our own little paradise. During our dinghy ride to shore, looking back at our boat it really looks like we were out in the middle of nowhere! However, our anchorage was one of the calmest we’ve been in so far. We spent the day exploring the town of Setting Point; it reminded us of a Carribean-ified small-town Saskatchewan! During high season, there are about 275-300 locals living on the 11 mile island. There was one long building that consisted of the following in this order: bar, teeny tiny grocery store, fishing and tackle shop, “Secret” shop we were unsure of (possibly a strip club?), a hair salon, and a laundromat. The laundromat was our main goal, and what an experience! Almost all of the washers and dryers (save for one of each) were broken down or in the process of being repaired. But, for $4.00 for a load to be both washed and dried, we can’t beat that! While killing time waiting for our laundry, we chatted with a local fisherman in the barbershop. Taking the dinghy back to the big boat, we saw a gorgeous sunset over the fleet of charter boats. Paul cooked bone-in pork chops on the BBQ, parmesan sweet potatoes and garlic bread in the oven, and made a big, fresh coleslaw.

Day 10: January 28, 2022 – Anegada

This morning we witnessed the exodus of charter boats as they headed back towards the main islands of the BVIs. Since charter companies have Saturday as a turnaround (boats are returned Saturday morning, and then new charters begin Saturday afternoon) we had a feeling Friday would become pretty quiet on Anegada. We headed into the dinghy dock equipped with snorkeling gear, helmets, and lunches, and headed into ‘town’ (using that term VERY liberally here)

to pick up our ride for the day… a dirt bike! We rented it for the full day, and got to explore the entire island of Anegada. After today, Paul realized he would have much rather had a dirt bike in St. Maarten than his 1000 CC superbike – the dirt bike was so much fun to ride! We first went around the southern part of the island to the northwest tip, where we found Cow Wreck Beach. Initially when I had

checked in to the BVIs back in Road Town Harbour, I ran into a fellow who has been in the Caribbean for 35 years, and in the BVIs for 15. When he found out this was our first trip here, the one piece of advice he gave me was to go to Anegada and take a taxi to Cow Wreck Beach. Well, we didn’t take a taxi, but we made it! When we first arrived to Cow Wreck Beach around 10:30 AM, we were the only ones there. By the time we left closer to noon, there were only half a dozen people. It had icing sugar sand and beautifully scenic palm trees. It was definitely a great recommendation!

Afterwards, we continued along the northern coast. We went off the Beaton trail into the salt flats, a nature preserve for flamingos native to the island. No flamingos were spotted, but the pink color of the water was really neat to see. Our

next destination was at the northeast section of the island, called Loblolly Bay. It’s known for the best snorkeling on Anegada, and it didn’t disappoint! Beautiful soft corals abounded, as well as red hind, groupers, ballyhoo, and conch. Next, we took the bike into The Settlement, the main residential area. We saw probably a few hundred goats on our trip, and some of the little kids were so, so tiny! We stopped by an iguana sanctuary and saw the species of iguana native to Anegada – very different from the traditional green iguanas in Mexico and other Caribbean islands. There are only about 200-300 left, so are considered critically endangered. The feral cats on the island are the biggest problem, as the iguanas can’t make it to their adult size in the wild without becoming a snack. The biologists taking care of the iguanas in the reserve make sure they become fully grown – about 14 ounces – before releasing them.

Near the sanctuary, located at the Fire Department, was a large pavement patch / parking lot space, the perfect place for a lesson! I hopped on the dirt bike (with a bit of hesitation) and Paul made sure not to let me go until I felt comfortable. I had nailed a figure-8 pattern, just like Kim used to teach, when I went slightly out of control towards the exit of the sanctuary… and what did I see? A tiny head poking out of a cattle gate in the road… the TINIEST little kid we’ve ever seen! S/he must’ve fallen through while we were inside the sanctuary, so thankfully the little one hadn’t been stuck too long. Paul managed to pull it out by the scruff of the neck, and help the little kid along. It’s a cool trick that relaxes most little mammals from wriggling around – just like Paul was picked up as a kid! Our last stop was

the Fisherman’s Wharf, where we met a local fisherman (along with his catch of the day, a red hind and yellowtail snapper) and got to see a mound of conch shells. Anytime a conch is caught on the island, the shell must be taken out of the water. Otherwise, if empty conch shells are tossed back, the live conch will know to retreat to deeper waters. Imagine seeing a dead body inside a grocery store – you’d probably go to another store MUCH further away, am I right?! We also saw a huge burial mound of conch shells that was created over thousands of years by the Amerindians, the native peoples of Anegada. We had just enough time to visit two more beaches, and Paul enjoyed a Corona and a view of our boat at Crab Hole Beach Bar where the sand felt just like flour. It was a stellar day!

Day 11: January 29, 2022 – Setting Point, Anegada to The Baths, Virgin Gorda (National Park) to Manchineel Bay, Cooper Island

What a day! Over the course of 12 hours, we sailed to/from three different islands. It just goes to show how much of a cruising paradise the BVIs can be. We were

very reluctant to leave Anegada as we really enjoyed our time there, but our cruising buddies were patiently waiting for us at ‘The Baths’ on Virgin Gorda. We set our sails according to some transient southerly winds passing through. This caused us to sail at a close reach / close haul rather than a beam reach, but with such light winds we had very little heel. It took us about four hours to travel roughly 18 nautical miles to The Baths, our longest sail yet in the BVIs.

Located on the southwest tip of Virgin Gorda, The Baths are an unusual formation of large granite boulders creating cave-like formations. When the waves wash in between the huge rocks, large pools form where shafts of light break through the formations and reflect off the water. It was a really magical experience, and the only way we thought it could be even better is if everything was flooded… an epic cave dive! Upon arrival to The Baths, we picked up a free National Parks Mooring as absolutely no anchoring is allowed in the nature preserve. We took our SUP boards to shore and had so much fun exploring the formations and snorkeling in nearby Devil’s Bay.

The Baths photos taken by Sarah from SV Otoka.

Afterwards, we had a sunset motorsail to our next anchorage, Manchineel Bay on Cooper Island. We were fortunate enough that it seemed none of the other boats in Manchineel Bay were interested in anchoring (preferring instead to pick up a $30/night mooring ball), and we were able to anchor in the one spot available at the most southern and protected end of the bay. We were in about 8 metres of water, a bit deeper than our usual depth (around 3.0-3.5m), so I decided to quickly dive the anchor before sunset. On that short 10 minute snorkel, I saw half a dozen tarpon, a few dozen yellowtail snapper, ballyhoo fish jumping on the surface, and a stingray chilling right beside our very-much-sunk anchor. Paul and I then went to SV Otoka to enjoy sundowner drinks & appies with SV Vesna.

Day 12: January 30, 2022 – RMS Rhone Wreck Dive, Salt Island (National Park)

It was a bright and early morning for us as we dinghied to the local dive shop, Sail Caribbean Divers, to rent scuba tanks. Once equipment checks were finished back on PR, we set our course for the RMS Rhone off of Salt Island, the next island over from Cooper. The Royal Mail Steamer Rhone sunk on October 19th, 1867. Around 11:00 AM, the barometer suddenly fell to 27.95 degrees, and a (later to be categorized) Category 3 hurricane blew from the north/northwest. The funnel and masts were blown away, and the RMS Rhone was driven onto the rocks of the island. At this point, the Rhone heeled over, broke in two, and sank instantly, taking almost all of the crew with her. Out of the several hundred on board, only 25 survived. When we arrived to the national parks site, we picked up a designated dive mooring. Since this is a protected site, absolutely no anchoring is allowed. It was pretty rocky and rolly with the swell, but that didn’t bother us much since we would be in the water for most of the time! Paul started the day off freediving, and I had my first tank dive with Julia and Ivy, a mother-daughter duo from SV Vesna. We had lovely visibility and began in about 8-12 metres at the stern section of the wreck. There were tons of soft and hard corals on the wreck, and so, so many fish! It was almost like they knew they were living in a nature preserve where spearfishing was illegal… The highlight from this first dive was seeing a goliath grouper, at least 4 feet long, swimming through the skeletal arches of the wreck. After a surface interval and lunch, Paul geared up with two tanks for sidemount and I switched out my tank for a new one to enjoy a second dive. However, the sea conditions had changed drastically. What was a relatively calm, high visibility dive in the morning became an onslaught of current and low visibility in the afternoon. My dive buddy, Sarah from SV Otoka, and I managed to find the bow of the wreck in about 21-23 meters. We then had to continuously kick hard into the current to reach the mid-section of the wreck. Because of the constant physical exertion, we went through our air supply much quicker and didn’t make it to the shallower section of the wreck. However, we got a great workout in!! Once Paul finished his two-tank dive with Jack from SV Vesna, the three boats left the mooring field and we returned back to our previous night’s primo anchoring spot in Manchineel Bay. Sundowners this evening were had at the local brewery, where Paul describes ‘top notch IPAs for the first time in a LONG time’.

Dive photography by Jack of SV Vesna & Sarah of SV Otoka.

Day 13: January 31, 2022 – Manchineel Bay, Cooper Island to Trellis Bay, Beef Island

Another 7:00 AM wake-up call this morning, this time to put the almost-empty scuba tanks to good use. Paul spent just over an hour scraping the crud off the bottom of our hull. Crud includes, but is not limited to: algae, barnacles, sea lice, and yucky-icky squishy things that are alive. It’s a gross job to say the least! However, it needs to be done to reduce drag while sailing, and it ultimately does make a big difference on increasing speed. Once finished, we decided to head north back towards the eastern area of Tortola to Beef Island. We had visited Beef Island in the past (the secluded anchorage of Bluff Bay), but this time we sailed to

the northeast coast about 5 nautical miles from Cooper Island. Trellis Bay is the airport anchorage, and thus full of amenities. We had fortunately done laundry in Anegada at Lil Bits Laundromat, but were running low on fresh groceries, diesel, water, and ice (can never have enough!) One thing we’ve learned in the BVIs is that most of the islands we visit either have absolutely nothing ashore, or only have one restaurant and possibly a gift shop. Finding places to dispose of garbage, to do laundry, or buy fresh provisions, is somewhat difficult to come by and requires planning. We’ve found that we need to adjust our sailing itinerary a bit based on when we need to acquire some fresh fruits and veggies, or when our laundry basket is overflowing! Once we anchored in Trellis Bay, the boat work continued. After spending near two glorious weeks in the BVIs, our complete lack of boat maintenance started to show. Scraping the hull was a great start, and we continued by doing a thorough clean of the cabin (our “reset”) as well as filling up our 220L diesel fuel tank and grabbing some fresh provisions from the local market. We ended the night at a beach bar restaurant with our cruising buddies,

and enjoyed the first perfectly still night we’ve experienced so far in the BVIs. Perks of a completely protected anchorage… a wonderful sleep!

Day 14: February 1, 2022 – Trellis Bay, Beef Island

On our to-do list today was filling our on-board freshwater tanks. We have one 240L tank in the stern, and one 160L tank in the V-berth (bow). We also have about a dozen-ish 5L jugs for drinking water, as well as four 20L jerry cans. All in all, we’ve got about a 500L capacity for storing fresh water on Panta Rhei. Taking into account showers, dishes, general washing up, and cooking, we average about 25L of water consumption per day, which generally lasts us 3 weeks if we are conservative. Today we filled everything up so were ready to get back to those isolated anchorages we’ve been enjoying so much. After some general tidying of the cockpit, we decided to take a break from boat maintenance and check out a local pottery and art studio. It was a really lovely gallery, and I even managed to add a handmade mug to our collection (special thanks to Auntie Maggie for getting us started all those years ago!)

We ultimately decided to stay an extra night in this anchorage. We just couldn’t say no to the perfectly calm and flat water here, as well as the beach bar restaurant called Trellis Bay Bar & Grill. The cost and quality of our meals was something we literally couldn’t afford NOT to eat twice, when compared to the cost and quality of groceries. Enjoying the delicious dinner with friends made it priceless!

Day 15: February 2, 2022 – Trellis Bay, Beef Island to Marina Cay, Eastern Tortola

We didn’t go far to reach our next destination, and this morning motored a whole 1 nautical mile to Marina Cay, on the eastern shores of Tortola. It was pretty much a matter of exiting the Trellis Bay channel and entering the Marina Cay anchorage.

We arrived shortly after 11:00 AM, and once our anchor was set took the opportunity to BBQ hot dogs for lunch and enjoyed some reading and relaxation onboard. We then went for a swim and snorkel, as we were anchored very close to a dive site called ‘Diamond Reef.’ At first, we were a bit disappointed by the visibility of the water and health of the reef. However, it became quickly apparent that we hadn’t yet reached the actual dive site; once we did, the soft and hard corals and aquatic life was amazing. Such a happy little ecosystem! We saw lots of yummy fish too, including bar jack, yellowtail snapper, and mackerel. My highlight was finding not one, but TWO octopus in the shallow part of the reef! My vision is pretty terrible generally, but sometimes underwater I surprise even myself. One octopus was pretty shy and stayed in his little hidey hole, and would flick up some sand if we came too close. The other we got to spend a good ten minutes with, and he wasn’t shy at all. We watched him crawl around the reef, changing colors and textures as he did so. We also saw him swimming in a wonderful torpedo shape. It was really special! Paul and I each found a treasure once we headed back towards Panta Rhei – for Paul, a discarded snorkel, and for me, a gorgeous fully formed (but totally empty) conch shell. Afterwards, we took the dingy to nearby Marina Cay to explore the little quintessential Caribbean cay. It is almost completely surrounded by reef and is very picturesque. Unfortunately, all of the buildings suffered due to Hurricane Irma, and what used to be a bustling hub for cruisers is now totally abandoned and shut down. It reminded Paul and I of La Belle Creole, an abandoned hotel we visited several times back on St. Maarten. Dinner on board was a homemade parmesan, butternut squash, creamed corn casserole, and we continued our Harry Potter marathon. A totally chill and relaxing evening aboard PR.

Day 16: February 3, 2022 – Marina Cay, Eastern Tortola to Monkey Point, Guana Island (National Park) to Lee Bay, Great Camanoe Island

After a lovely night’s sleep and subsequent slow morning, we pulled anchor and said good-bye to Marina Cay. We motored through a pretty turbulent channel with water swirling around every which way to navigate to Guana Island. At the southern tip of Guana Island we found Monkey Point, a nature preserve with National Park moorings available for day use. We were hoping to have a similarly

successful snorkeling adventure akin to yesterdays, but unfortunately Hurricane Irma (2017) did a lot of damage to this reef. Much of the coral had died, and although there was a small amount of fish life, the visibility was so low that there wasn’t much to see. We were still happy to moor at Monkey Point for the day, and enjoyed it as a scenic lunch stop. Around 2:00, we departed the area back towards the channel. This time, we headed towards the west coast of Great Camanoe Island. We dropped anchor in Lee Bay, a small anchorage that can only accommodate two to three vessels at a time. There were two catamarans already on anchor, so we motored up in front and between them – a Panta Rhei catamaran sandwich, if you please! It was a very well protected anchorage, and oh-so nice and quiet. We took advantage of the calm conditions in Lee Bay to work on polishing the metal structures around the bow and anchor, as well as the front and mid-ship deck cleats. On the menu tonight was a chicken stir fry, followed by drinks at one of our neighboring catamarans, SY Alcazar. We had an early night as we knew tomorrow would be a big day of sailing to our next (new to us!) island in the BVIs.

Day 17: February 4, 2022 – Lee Bay, Great Camanoe Island to Diamond Cay, Little Jost Van Dyke

Sixteen days of perfect weather, and we were overdue for a squally stormy day. Unfortunately, our weather forecast for today did not include the rain, thunder, and lightning that we experienced on our 11.8 nautical mile journey from Great Camanoe to Little Jost Van Dyke, near the most western of the British Virgin

Islands (Jost Van Dyke itself). Paul had been reviewing the forecast all night, as it was clear storms were brewing. We readied our sails accordingly, furling our headsail and reefing our mainsail to the smallest amount as we saw the flat white sheet of rain quickly approaching us on our stern. On our heading, we were getting broadsided by the waves, which were very turbulent, coming in from the Atlantic as well as bouncing off the coastline. Paul wisely decided to jibe, sending the mainsail across and effectively putting all waves on our stern. What resulted was a bit of surfing as the boat careened down the waves, but it was much more comfortable than our previous rolly point of sail. We brought out the rainjackets and weathered the storm, so they say! We had originally planned on anchoring in Little Harbour on Jost Van Dyke (rather than the adjacent smaller

island, Little Jost Van Dyke) but decided that the closest port in a storm is better, so came into the small protected bay. We dropped anchor adjacent to the mooring field, and after lunch we both needed some serious downtime. Around 4:45 PM, we woke up to discover that our anchor had been slowly but surely dragging along the seafloor while we had been constantly hammered by the 30+ knot winds. Side note: We may not have a functioning wind gauge on board, but the steady large white caps in high

frequency told us all we needed to know! Instead of re-setting the hook, which we would have done had there been more time in the day, we decided to pick up a mooring ball in the more sheltered area of the anchorage. At $30.00 per night, it’s not something we would like to get into the habit of (nor something our budget can sustain), but when it comes to safety there’s really no question. Especially since sunset was just around the corner, mucking around with pulling and re-setting the anchor wasn’t the most stress-free or safe of options. Once we picked up our mooring and the sun started to set, we both felt much more comfortable and secure. The weather even managed to clear up a bit so that we could see our neighboring islands (before it was just a total white-out!) Even though it was a challenging day in paradise, good judgment calls were made, and we were always safe. Here’s hoping tomorrow will be sunny skies with fair winds!

Day 18: February 5, 2022 – Diamond Cay, Little Jost Van Dyke to Little Harbour/Garner Bay, Jost Van Dyke

Well, it sure wasn’t a sunny day with fair winds today… But we made the best of it! Since it was constantly raining all night and into sunrise, we had a pretty chill sleepy morning on board. I did a thorough kitchen clean and baked banana chocolate chip bread. Having the oven going for an hour was a nice toasty contrast to the bleary weather outside. Just after noon, we took the dinghy into shore and tied off at the local Mediterranean restaurant (Foxxy’s). We followed a rocky trail along the coast to reach the ‘Bubbly Pools,’ a natural formation we had read about in our cruising guide book for the Virgin Islands. During the winter season, when there is a northerly swell (which there has been for these past

stormy days), one can visit the Bubby Pools to see the waves crash through the rocks creating a natural jacuzzi. The trail to the pools was reminiscent of our time living in East Vancouver. Since it was drizzly and overcast, this usually popular destination was also pretty devoid of tourists. We met three ladies from the States who were going to the pools to ‘relieve’ their hangovers! Paul and I arrived first, and as Paul said, “When the cave divers won’t go into the water, it probably isn’t that safe.” We had loads of fun watching the three girls get whooshed this way and that in the pool though! The largest of waves we saw crashing in was at least 5m/15 ft tall.

Once back at the boat, we were ready to release from our mooring and head to our next destination (no more $30/night for us, thank ya very much!) Only 1.9 nautical miles away, and in less-than-ideal sailing conditions, we motored about

25 minutes to Little Harbour (also known as Garner Bay) on Jost Van Dyke proper. There was only one other boat – a motoryacht – in the anchorage, so plenty of room for us to drop anchor and swing around in the heavy winds. After diving our anchor and checking out the holding (the substance on the ocean floor), we decided to lift anchor and move a bit further away from shore. We were probably about 45-50 ft away from shore (stern to) and it was giving us the jitters. Once we dropped anchor a second time, we had much more ‘wiggle room’ and felt settled and relaxed. The winds continued to beat on, a cloudy overcast day turning into a cloudy overcast evening. It stayed cozy on Panta Rhei with tea, blankets, sweaters, and snuggles. Tomorrow is forecast to be the last of these rainy days in the BVIs (for now), and we’re looking forward to getting ourselves back on the water in fair-weather sailing conditions.

Day 19: February 6, 2022 – Little Harbour/Garner Bay, Jost Van Dyke

Day 19 and it’s the third consecutive day of rainy, gloomy weather… Another sleepy morning as the rain continued to alternate between pouring and drizzling. Neither of us had the best sleep last night; the winds were so strong that the sheer force exerted on the boat caused us to wake up. It can be a little disconcerting! This morning we were originally feeling ambitious and wanted to walk the 3km into Great Harbour, the next anchorage over from ours, to check out a bakery and grocery store. We didn’t want to move the big boat because Great Harbour is known to have really terrible holding, making it very difficult to set an anchor properly. We could’ve picked up a $30 mooring, but that’s not so much in our budget. We hopped in the dinghy to head ashore, and the outboard engine worked for a few minutes, but then completely died on us. Thankfully we were close enough to the big boat that we drifted back towards it with the waves, and we had our trusty oars as well. Paul worked on the outboard for over an hour, but unfortunately with no success. Effectively stranded on our boat (alright, a bit of an exaggeration, but we weren’t going to SUP a mile to shore in the rain) we decided to embrace the rainy weather and have a cozy afternoon on board. After making tea and lunch, we watched a few movies and read our respective books. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to clear, and the winds – although heavier than we’d like – look well suited for sailing. We’ll take PR back to our very first anchorage, Road Town Harbour, in search of groceries, a laundromat, and a visit to the chandlery for some outboard engine parts. A little bump in the vacation road, but that’s liveaboard life… something is inevitably always breaking!

Day 20: February 7, 2022 – Little Harbour/Garner Bay, Jost Van Dyke to Road Town Harbour, Tortola

This was a BIG sail today! We lifted anchor around 11:00 AM and left Little Harbour behind as we navigated towards Tortola. A lot of the sailing we did today was into the wind, waves, and current, so we used a bit of engine power to motorsail along our course. We had a LOT of tacking to do to reach Road Town Harbour – a necessary sailing maneuver when headed into wind; nobody can sail dead into wind, so you sail as close of an angle to the wind as possible. For catamarans this is near impossible, but for us on monohulls we can usually get to within 30 degrees of the wind angle. When we arrived to Road Town Harbour around 4:00 PM, we originally had planned to anchor in the same spot as the first day we arrived in the BVIs. Unfortunately, it was pretty crowded with moorings so we decided to anchor in between the ferry and cruise ship terminals (it’s a busy harbour!) We experienced, hands down, the most rolly night we’ve ever had while sleeping on anchor. I can’t imagine how funny our mast must have looked rocking back and forth +/- 20 degrees in each direction. However, one perk to the nonstop rocking motion: it was very conducive to cuddles as we had to physically hold onto and brace each other from colliding around in the V-berth! It was early to bed after some loaded baked potatoes, as we were both completely drained from the sail.

Day 21: February 8, 2022 – Road Town Harbour to Wickam’s Cay, Road Town Harbour, Tortola to Great Harbour, Peter Island

Today was nonstop go-go-go from morning till sunset. After being rolled this way and that all night, we lifted anchor and motored through a marked channel towards Wickam’s Cay, a tiny little area sheltered by the breakwater inside of Road Town Harbour. Wickam’s Cay has about five different marinas, each of which caters to a different charter company and their respective vessels. Once we realized there is a small anchorage spot in amongst the marinas, we felt like having a facepalm moment… we spent such an uncomfortable night in front of the breakwater when we could’ve been sheltered behind it! Ah well, live and learn. Once we anchored in Wickam’s Cay, the first order of business on the agenda was seeking out someone to service and fix our outboard engine. Back in Jost Van Dyke, it up and quit on us after the three consecutive rainy days we had. Paul hopped on his SUP and paddled over to the nearest marina. After ‘making friends in parking lots,’ it didn’t take long for someone to hook us up with a small engine mechanic. Within an hour, the outboard was serviced and fixed. It was an electrical issue called a stater (? not 100% sure) and the mechanic explained it’s something that can fail at any time, whether the outboard is brand new or several years old. Sounds pretty typical of boat parts, to be honest! Meanwhile, I walked to a local coin-op laundromat and managed to get everything done for $8.00 (woo!) and then got a big grocery haul for our upcoming week on both Peter and Norman Islands. Since there will be no amenities or places to provision, we wanted to be sure we were stocked up on fresh meats, veggies, and fruits. Paul

tinkered away at a few other boat projects, and found solutions to multiple small issues that were giving us a bit of a headache. Around 3:45 PM, we picked up anchor from Wickam’s Cay and set sails directly for Great Harbour on Peter Island. A privately owned island, Peter is lush and green with deep blue waters in the anchorages. We’re looking forward to spending the next few days cruising around and exploring the different nooks and crannies we can find here – especially now that it’s SUNNY again!! Yahoo!

Day 22: February 9, 2022 – Great Harbour to Key Bay (Key Cay), Peter Island

One of the perks of a calm, protected anchorage is being able to have a full night’s sleep… such deep sleep that sometimes goes into the late hours of the morning, as it happened today. Lifting anchor around 12:45 PM, we initially set course for the next anchorage on our agenda called Little Harbour on Peter Island. It was only 1.3 nautical miles from our position in Great Harbour to where we would be anchoring in Little Harbour; easy enough to motor the distance in less than 15 minutes. However, once we saw how crowded Little Harbour was (nine boats already in the small anchorage with one more already on their way alongside us) we decided to find a spot a little more our speed. On the southern coast of Peter Island lies Key Cay (pronounced ‘key key’), a very small island connected by an isthmus of rocks to Key Point on the mainland of Peter. We understood that the anchorage could only hold about three vessels, so crossed our fingers and toes it wasn’t already full. Another 3.4 nautical miles from Little Harbour, this time we released headsail and motorsailed to our destination. Luckily for us, there was only one motoryacht on anchor in Key Cay. We must have rubbed them the wrong way though (perhaps spoiled their view?) because as soon as we set our anchor, they lifted theirs and left the bay. We decided to pull anchor and move to where they had been, as they were in the primo spot in the center of the bay. Having the space all to ourselves felt pretty awesome! It was reminiscent of our very first anchorages here in the BVIs. All of the work we did yesterday was so worth it to be able to enjoy a beautiful, scenic, and isolated place to drop the hook. I went for a snorkel to make sure the anchor was well set (check) and to have a look at the surroundings. We saw several turtle sightings from the boat, but I didn’t manage to run into one while snorkeling. Highlights were a massive barracuda chilling underneath our hull (at least 1 metre long), two fully grown conch, several large porcupine fish, and one very small juvenile boxfish. Back on board, we enjoyed reading and relaxing till sunset; then Paul cooked a delicious pork & veggie garlic herb pasta and salad dinner. Fingers crossed this gem of an anchorage remains empty tomorrow!

Day 23: February 10, 2022 – Key Bay (Key Cay), Peter Island

Today we had an extremely relaxed day on the boat. We enjoyed having the entire anchorage to ourselves as we sunbathed on the boat, read, and relaxed. Around 4:00, a catamaran joined us in Key Bay. We struck up a conversation with them right away, and spent a few hours until sunset on the nearby beach together. The kids from the catamaran (family of five from the United Kingdom) enjoyed building coral castles and having hermit crab races! I found lots of beautiful tiny

(and empty) hermit crab shells to add to my collection of Caribbean seashells. We saw a stunning sunset back on board, and Paul cooked BBQ pork chops, loaded baked potatoes, and caesar salad for supper. Before going to sleep we made sure everything was secured on the foredeck (especially the SUP boards), as well as in the cockpit. Overnight the weather forecast called for wind gusts of over 30 knots – and it did not disappoint! Not a great sleep was had… when the winds are that strong, the force literally shakes our mast and standing rigging (the metal rigging that holds our mast in place to the deck and reinforces it below.) This in turn shakes the entire boat, so much so that our bodies even start to shake in bed. Fortunately, we don’t experience many of these sleepless nights on board and can look forward to calmer nights in the future.

Day 24: February 11, 2022 – Key Bay (Key Cay), Peter Island / William Thorton “Willy T” Wreck Dive to The Bight, Norman Island

A little bit of a sleep-in was had to balance out the less-than-ideal sleep of last night. Upon waking up and having a light breakfast, we gathered up our scuba equipment and prepared for a dive just a stone’s throw from where Panta Rhei was anchored. The William Thorton “Willy T” is an infamous bar located in ‘The Bight’ on Norman Island, another one of the BVIs Channel Islands, along with Peter, Cooper, Salt, and Ginger. A floating bar, the Willy T is a ship in which you can park your dinghy at and enjoy Happy Hour specials all day long, traditional temporary tattoos – that are always placed on one’s derriere – and the even more traditional naked jumping from the top of the boat. The Willy T is currently on its third iteration. The first ship didn’t last very long, as the quality wasn’t great and it eventually broke apart. The second was a proper ship that was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. A non-profit organization called ‘Beyond the Reef’ partnered with the owners of the Willy T, who decided to memorialize the second bar by sinking it and creating an artificial reef. It was sunk strategically in-between two coral heads, with a max depth of 20 metres. Beyond the Reef spent a lot of time perfecting the details on the wreck, including skeletal pirate figures, making it a sort of diver’s playground. You can find everything from the Captain drowning his sorrows in rum (with a very creepy cloak billowing in the soft current), a barmaid with a shell bikini top, a deckhand swabbing the deck, and so much more. Being able to swim through the wreck as well was really cool, and it was so neat to see the creativity put into making it a great artificial reef for sea life. After our dive, we cleaned up the cabin and made sure things were secure to lift anchor. With forecasted winds of 23-25 knots and gusts of 30+, we weren’t really keen on going for a big sail. Those winds are outside of our comfort zone, and

when paired along with 1.6 to 2m swells, can make for an uncomfortable trip. We chose an anchorage only about 3 nautical miles away on Norman Island which looked to be very protected from the swell that was beginning to creep into Key Bay. Fortunately, we were going with the waves and with the current (1.5 to 2.5 knots!) so it did not take us long at all to reach our next anchorage, The Bight. It was definitely the most crowded spot we’ve anchored in thus far on our trip. There must’ve been around five dozen boats on moorings (remember those… $30/night beasties) and the first megayacht we’ve seen in the BVIs. We managed to squeeze in alongside the edge of the mooring field and drop anchor in about 7m of water; we can be

pretty motivated by our budget to find a good spot! Once we were happy with our holding and tested the anchor with a hard reverse of the engine, we hopped in the dinghy and headed over to the third iteration, still fully functioning and very much floating, of the Willy T bar! It was definitely a busy place with people singing, dancing, and jumping from the top deck (in swimsuits!) We hadn’t had great internet in our last isolated spot, but managed to touch base with our good friends on the Australian flagged SV Vesna. They decided to move their big boat to our anchorage and arrived to The Bight just as the sun was setting – perfect timing to enjoy some dinner and drinks aboard the Willy T! Back on Panta Rhei, we had another really gusty night, but thankfully there was no swell nor rocking motion to the boat. Paired with the tiredness from last night and the excursions of the day, sleep came quickly and deeply.

Day 25: February 12, 2022 – The Bight to Treasure Point / The Caves (National Park) to Kelly’s Cove, Norman Island

There was an odd moment this morning around 7:30 when I had no idea of where we were… when I peeked my head out of our companionway to ensure everything was okay with our positioning, I couldn’t recognize our anchorage! Dozens of boats had already left their moorings that The Bight looked like a totally different place. Early charter-birds get the worm, I suppose! Around 11:00 we lifted anchor and accompanied our friends on SV Vesna just outside of The Bight to a lovely spot called Treasure Point. A BVI National Parks site, there are three caves to discover by swimming and snorkeling. All three had their unique charms, but the third one I explored with Julia, Reuben, and Declan (of SV Vesna) had to be my favorite. It was the only cave that required an underwater torch to navigate, and coupled with the slight swell and low visibility, there was a bit of spookiness to it! At the very back of the cave (only about a 2-3 minute swim from the entrance) there was a little pebble ‘beach’ one could sit on. Arriving here and turning off lights made for a really cool experience. When swimming out of this cave, I turned my torch off and enjoyed the soft blue color that came from diluted light. It reminded me of when Paul and I finish up a cave dive and start seeing light creep into the cavern zone; always a welcome sight after hours in absolute darkness! At another one of the caves, when looking outwards, the mouth made a perfect picture frame to our boat. It was a lot of fun exploring these landforms for a few hours. Although there wasn’t much sea life around or within the caves, we snorkeled the coral around Treasure Point and even found a teensy octopus!

After lunch, we motored back towards The Bight to be protected from another gusty, windy night. Paul and I were lucky enough to scoop up the last of only four moorings available in Kelly’s Cove, a quiet alternative to the hustle and bustle of The Bight. Located at the entrance to The Bight, Kelly’s Cove is totally protected by wind and swell; whereas inside The Bight, a ‘funneling’ effect tends to happen through the cut in the island which causes strong winds that are actually gustier than those outside of the protected sound. Inside Kelly’s Cove there wasn’t an option for anchoring (combination of too much coral & depth), but it was just so peaceful and picturesque that we decided to splurge for the mooring. We took advantage of the sunny weather and had an afternoon SUP around the cove, then spent some time before sunset admiring all of the boats both on anchor and still sailing (from our perspective we could see St. John of the United States Virgin Islands.) The quietness of Kelly’s Cove – paired with the perfectly flat water – was definitely a treat for the night.

Day 26: February 13, 2022 – Kelly’s Cove / Water Point, Norman Island

We had a wonderful wake-up call this Sunday morning. SV Vesna hailed us over the VHF radio and invited us for freshly home baked cinnamon rolls – a perfect breakfast on a dreary, drizzly day! Afterwards, SV Vesna moved their big boat over to where ours currently sat in Kelly’s Cove. The reason being it’s such a protected cove and SV Vesna was getting blasted by winds and waves every time a new squall cropped up (about every 15 minutes.) Once they picked up a mooring beside us, Julia and I went for a snorkel to explore a nearby dive site called Water Point. We were really pleased by the coral we found there, as well as the different fish species out and about and hiding in little nooks and crannies. I managed to find an octopus while snorkeling this dive site; he was a messy eater, and the mound of empty muscle and clam shells outside of his den gave him away! The octopus appeared to be sleeping, so we briefly peeked our heads in and then let him be. Meanwhile, Paul and Jack spent the afternoon working on our air compressor and bringing it back to life. It was a purchase Paul and I had made before moving onto the boat; a second-hand air compressor to fill scuba tanks while living aboard. It was a great price, but had some quirks to it that needed addressing. We had a bit of buyer’s remorse once we got into our liveaboard lifestyle – realizing we could’ve spent that money on dozens of other boat projects – but we held out hope the compressor would do wonders when in the deserted islands of the Bahamas. They managed to get it working again, which is a great step in the right direction! The afternoon continued to drizzle away, so we stayed snug and cozy inside of Kelly’s Cove. While the squally weather raged on, you could hardly tell (aside from the rain) how awful conditions were. We spent the evening on SV Vesna, and Paul cooked a smoked sausage fried rice dish, which was enjoyed by all.

Day 27: February 14, 2022 – Kelly’s Cove, Norman Island to Trellis Bay, Beef Island

It’s hard to believe there are only five days left for us in this beautiful place… we’re almost wishing we could stay longer, but knowing we legally cannot makes it an easier push out the door. This morning we woke up to an empty cove, as the other three boats (including SV Vesna) had an early start to the day. Today was the first day since the end of January that the weather had been phenomenal for sailing. The forecast called for sunny skies and light winds of 12-14 knots gusting to 17-18 knots… PERFECT! We were so excited to get going on our sail. Trellis Bay, on Beef

Island, is located NE of Norman Island, meaning we needed to sail into the wind for our entire trip. This involved a lot of tacking – that’s the thing about sailing, you usually have to go in the completely wrong direction to get to your ultimate destination! It was a beautiful sail, and with full main and headsail, we only had a very small amount of heel. We arrived to Trellis Bay around 5:00, and were relieved to find there was plenty of room for us to anchor behind the mooring field. Two nights in Kelly’s Cove maxxed out our mooring ball budget in the BVIs. After tidying up halyards, sheets, and sails, we freshened up and joined SV Vesna at Trellis Bar & Grill for an early supper (home of the legen… wait-for-it…dary HUYUUGE $15 bacon cheeseburger.) Our VDay evening involved ordering a big slice of chocolate cheesecake to go, and enjoying it back on Panta Rhei with a show called “Chapelwaite” (based off Stephen King’s “Jerusalem’s Lot”.) We’ll be in Trellis Bay for three nights; it’s a perfectly protected bay to get some much-needed boat projects done. The water here is flat, so there’s no rocking nor rolling of the boat. There’s also a traditional “not to be missed” Full Moon Party on February 16th that we’re very much looking forward to – a carrot at the end of our boat-work stick!

Day 28: February 15, 2022 – Trellis Bay, Beef Island

Today was a full-on boat work day, plain and simple. It’s been a loooonng while since we paid this much attention to maintaining/cleaning/repairing things on the boat, and it was long overdue. I started with a deep clean and declutter of the cabin, taking advantage of the garbage canisters just a short dinghy ride away; it’s been a week since we had access to garbage disposal. Washing floors, cleaning bathrooms and the kitchen came next (such excitement, I know!) I mopped out and disinfected the area underneath and behind the stove (yuck) and decluttered the cutlery drawers. Next, a wash down of the cockpit, as well as cleaning out the dinghy. Paul put several hours into configuring our holding tank – the saga continues – and we are now one step closer to having that problem solved. We took a run at the bunkbed/kit room (it seems to be the one room that is disordered no matter what… do you have one of those?) and fixed a few random broken items in the fix-it bin. We took down our tattered Canadian flag from the port-side rigging and hung a MASSIVE Canadian flag off our stern – a $2 treasure we found at a ‘boat jumble’ back in St. Maarten. Around sunset we called it quits for the day, knowing full well it’ll be another maintenance day tomorrow. How does such a small space require so much work? Ahh yes, part of boat life. There’s always – and I do mean ALWAYS – something that is breaking or a job to complete. To say it keeps us busy would be an understatement! My favorite part of today was something Paul fixed… not his ‘prettiest fix,’ in his words. It was an extender for the tiller on the outboard engine for the dinghy, something that enables you to sit further forward in the dinghy while driving. He bolted two broken pieces together with mis-matched screws and used string to entwine it all up. I call it… the FRANKENTILLER!

Day 29: February 16, 2022 – Trellis Bay, Beef Island (Full Moon Party)

It was an early start to the day with a looming to-do list ahead of us. We started off by doing one job that would enable us to do another – funny how that works, isn’t it?! Marine grade sealant is akin to caulking you’d use in the kitchen or bathroom, just insanely heavy duty and all-weather resistant. It hardens in the tube really quickly after being opened. We had one job that required the sealant on an aluminum plate that covers quick access to our rudder. Another job required the sealant around a leaky hatch – so, two birds, one stone. We started with tackling the main hatch for our central cabin area, as we’d done the same job to our forward hatch when in Bonaire. After unscrewing the hatch, a combination of elbow grease, scraping tools, and sandpaper was needed to get the old caulking off. It was mostly peeled and loose in places which made it easier (this is also the reason we’d have water leaking around the hatch in a heavy rain.)

After applying, re-sealing, and dealing with the goopy mess of the sealant, we went to work on troubleshooting the aluminum plate that covers the rudder. Ideally, this plate has an inner section which can be opened via quick access with a specific tool; then, a back-up rudder can be used while hand steering. If we would ever lose our rudder (right up there with worst-case scenarios such as a de-masting or losing the keel), then we’d immediately lose steering of the vessel. The inner plate was completely seized shut, and no amount of WD-40, PB Blaster, Corrosion X, hammering, scraping, elbow grease, or yelling would unseize it. For now, it can be accessed by unscrewing four bolts that hold it in place; however, we’ll need to special order a replacement from the Bavaria manufacturer in Germany. Boat jobs… you win some, you lose some! This evening was the infamous ‘Full Moon Party’ on Trellis Bay beach. We started off with dinner – our favorite humongous $15 bacon cheeseburgers – with SV Vesna. The place was packed, and the food was delicious as ever! We walked down the beach amongst tons of other locals, cruisers, and tourists, and enjoyed soaking up the beautiful vibe. Beach fires, live music, DJs, a full moon reflecting off the perfectly flat water… and even a magic mushroom salesman promoting his freshly picked goodies! People wore glow sticks and costumes, dancing and chatting. We also observed a pottery firing demonstration, which was really neat. The artist fired the pieces in the kiln, heated to around 1000 degrees Celsius. After pulling the pieces out in three batches at a time, she laid them in shredded newspaper on the sand and then covered it all up with a metal bucket. The smokiness and lack of oxygen created a crackle effect on the polished color after sitting for an hour. It was very interesting to see. Another artist had created giant sculpted copper ‘fire balls,’ which were filled with kindling and wood. When lit up, they created a beautiful effect in which you could see the intricate designs. It was definitely an experience we are glad not to have missed in the BVIs!

Photos taken by Julia of SV Vesna.

Day 30: February 17, 2022 – Trellis Bay, Beef Island to Wickam’s Cay, Road Town Harbour, Tortola

Another early morning wake-up (this one a bit more difficult after the Full Moon Party) as we prepared for a downwind sail from Trellis Bay back to Wickam’s Cay in Road Town Harbour. We sailed with no mainsail and a full headsail, a great setup for our next downwind sailing trip. This way, there was no snatching of the sails and subsequent slamming of the boom, which tends to happen to the mainsail when on a run downwind. The motion of the swell rocks the boat in such

a way that if there isn’t sufficient wind within the mainsail, it’ll fall and then snatch back – not fun to experience, and not the greatest in terms of wear and tear on the rigging. We dropped anchor in Wickam’s Cay, completely protected from the gusting winds and swells raging outside the harbour. Next on the to-do list was visiting a local chandlery for last-minute parts to install our holding tank; after a lot of sweat, a bit of blood, and possibly a few tears, it’s finally finished! We now have a toilet set-up that enables us to travel to the United States and Canada. Shouldn’t be so excited about it, I know, but it’s been months in the making! Today we also provisioned for our upcoming time that we’ll be spending in the Spanish Virgin Islands. Last on the to-do list was a freshwater fill for the bow tank and drinking jugs. Paul cooked a delicious meal of curry chicken wings with siracha mayo, a garden salad, and parmesan garlic buns. We were both more than ready to hit the hay after an exhausting day.

Day 31: February 18, 2022 – Wickam’s Cay, Road Town Harbour, Tortola

Today is our final day in the BVIs, and we’ve been busy accomplishing some departure logistics: laundry, clearing out of customs and immigration, and getting a good dose of WiFi at our favorite bookshop, “Nook”. We really hope you’ve enjoyed reading about our experiences in the BVIs. It was truly one of the best months we’ve had since moving aboard our floating home, and we felt it deserved to be documented so.

Next stop for Panta Rhei is… Puerto Rico! Ayyyyy yayayyy!! We’ll be clearing into customs on Culebra, one of the two Spanish Virgin Islands. We plan on spending several days cruising Culebra, then heading to Vieques (the second Spanish VI.) We’ll most likely be celebrating Paul’s 31st birthday on one of these two SVIs, and he’s so excited! Afterwards, we’ll spend time on the mainland in San Juan where we’ll also plan our next destination based on a good weather window.

For our upcoming sail, you can follow us here:

Nebo: https://trackme.nebo.global/?link=HEWAAB1GIMMK91HU5XWW1DW1W1S

*Link only works while we are underway for live tracking – for this trip, beginning at ~5:00 AM on February 19th.

Marine Traffic: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:233142/mmsi:244620720/imo:0/vessel:PANTA_RHEI_III

*Link always works to show our most recently acquired satellite position.

Sailing downwind about 40 nautical miles, it should take us ~12 hours to arrive to Culebra. We’ll be leaving Wickam’s Cay around 5:00 AM on February 19th and should arrive to Culebra before sunset of the same day. Once we get checked in and clear customs over the weekend, we’ll be sure to touch base with some WiFi ASAP. Remember to keep an eye on Marine Traffic for our position in case our access to WiFi isn’t available for a few days.

Thanks for tuning in and following us along our journey!

Sending LOADS of love your way!

Toni & Paul