From Peter Island we headed up to Cooper Island where we grabbed a Boatyball. I have mixed feelings about using them but in our case it was a way to get a ball in a particular location (in the case of Cooper close to the dock) even if we were late arriving. We did this pretty much in every anchorage that had them.

Ate a late lunch at Cooper which was great. Our friends from the other boat came later and we had some drinks. Getting back to the boat I made sure everyone had their phones / cameras ready to capture sunset pictures. Some of the best I've ever seen from the BVI were taken here. Mother Nature didn't disappoint this year.

Next stop was Leverick Bay where we had reserved a slip for 2 nights. Winds were in the 15 - 20 knot range with 4-6 foot seas which was typical for the trip. We sailed with a reef in the main and made good headway, usually getting 7-8 knots upwind. Part way on our trek to North Sound, the winds died to below 15 so we shook out the reef and kept going. Not a great idea when the winds settled in above 20. 9 knots speed and lots of heel can make upwind sailing more work than I like but the boat had good balance and hardly any weather helm so we kept on trucking.

Leverick's dock staff is great. I'm always nervous trying to back into a slip since outside of a few times every few years in the BVI, it isn't something i do often. But the dock staff was great with their directions and line handling so we were docked without too much drama.

Ate dinner downstairs at Leverick which was great. The laundry was under construction but the store was open as was Arawak and Pusser's store so a great place for souvenir shopping.

Next day we took the long taxi ride to the Baths which was uncrowded. After snorkeling ate lunch at Top of the Baths. Dinner that night was at Leverick upstairs restaurant. The first of the COVID restrictions were in place limiting number of people to 25 with an 11pm curfew. The food and drinks were both great.

Next day we headed to a slip at Oil Nut Bay. I was a bit nervous about the channel between Saba Rock and Bitter End since we drew 5’9” but was assured by the folks at ONB that it was 9’ at a minimum. The channel is well marked so it turned out to be an easy passage. I believe we got to 3’ below the keel but only in one spot. Docking proved to be more of a challenge. Our slip was bow to the wind with the wind being about 20 degrees off to starboard which happened to be the side we were docking. I came in too hot, I guess my thinking was still stern to wind like we had at Leverick, but got stopped with no damage. We tied the stern line and tried to pivot the bow to the dock but even with bow thrusters we weren’t making any progress. One of our ONB helpers got in our dinghy and pushed it to where we could get our other lines secured. During lulls I was able to get us snug against the dock using the thrusters. Pretty ugly docking on my part but definitely was saved by the assist from the dock staff.

The marina restaurant was closed but boaters were given access to the beach club restaurant and facilities. We had hoped to see turtles while snorkeling but none were to be found. The swim up bar was great and the bed under the cabana was the most comfortable mattress of our trip. We had a great dinner at the club but the 11pm curfew was in place so we had to eat early so the staff had time to get home before curfew.

…to be continued

Louis from Houston