2008: British Virgins to Trinidad

Potters Bar on Anegada, BVI.  So!  Where are the lobsters? 

Work Completed Underway: Part 1

You would think that having worked solidly for two months in the BVI, there would be little left to do.  There's nothing like experience, so being on the water with sails hoisted or engine purring away highlighted one or two more little gaps in my workplan.  Many a truth is said in jest and Break Out Another Thousand is not too far from reality. 

The need to move on from the BVI was dictated by the weather….and insurance requirements, but WJ3 was now starting to take shape.  We did a little break-out cruise or two around the BVI, enjoying the clear waters and plentiful bars.  The BVI it seems is out to be hospitable to the large chartering fleets that nose about in every nook and cranny.  Despite large numbers of sail and motorboats on the water, picturesque bays remained accessible and there always seemed to be a spare mooring or more available if needed, and of course competent marinas.  However, I couldn’t in all honesty say that the government officials we reported to as we cleared in & out, were as friendly in dispensing their duty as many of the tradesmen and restaurant/bar staff we had come to know in our time there.

Local Racing Boats in Marigot Bay, St Martin 

Our first overnight sail involved getting from Anegada (BVI) to Marigot Bay, French St Martin across the much discussed (for all the wrong reasons) Anegada Passage.  A strong current pushed us slightly off course which added a few extra hours to our trip but that’s not too bad considering we didn’t have a GPS linked into our CMap charts.  Hourly readings on a hand-held GPS are for the birds!  Guess what one of the first things we did when we got to St Martin?  Yep, buy a BBQ!