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B.V.I. Sailing Trip 18 Feb 2011 to 27 Feb 2011

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Part 7: Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke to Cane Garden Bay, Tortola to Sandy Spit

 

Monday, 21 February 2011

We awoke in Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke to the ups and downs of a rough voyage into the waves towards Cane Garden Bay, Tortola. Our original plans did not involve returning to Cane this soon, but Breanker was having a slight generator issue, and the captains wanted to get it taken care of before we got too far out. By the time we arrived in Cane, Tiffany wasn't feeling so great from the wave motion, but I, as always, somehow felt fine. Once in Cane, we had a wonderful breakfast that Co-Captain Marianne put together for us.

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After breakfast, a few people from our group headed to the beach for a few hours. I dinghied back and forth a few times with Kristian as he took care of the generator issue on shore. I wanted to mail a postcard to my Grandma back in the states, so Kristian dinghied me back to the beach.

The Post Office - Island Style

I walked down towards Myett's, and saw the two Bills, Dee, Kristin, and Teresa. Dee wanted a couple of stamps too, so I headed to find the post office. I had to ask directions from the bartender. I walked "Jus pass da school," as instructed, but did not see the post office. Luckily, a local boy was walking to basketball practice and told me I could follow him.

The post office was actually right on the school grounds. The workers didn't seem very happy to see me. I was interrupting a beautiful, peaceful morning, and my open Presidente, lack of a shirt, and bare feet weren't helping me out. I said politely, holding up my post card, "I'd like to mail this." She took my postcard, glanced at it, and replied "You need a stomp!" I said "Yes, I'd like to buy a stamp." She replied again, "You said you wanted to mail it! Which is it!?" Apparently you have to be more specific down here. I replied again, this time clarifying my request. "I'd like to buy a stamp and mail it." As if she just now understood what I wanted, she said "Ok, that will be $1.25USD for 3 stamps." I handed over a twenty dollar bill, and she got mad at me again - "I don' have change for a trenty." So, I had to walk back to the bar at Myett's and get change from the bartender who originally gave me directions. In exchange for the change, I promised I would buy a Presidente on my trip back from the Post Office (as if I wouldn't have bought one anyway :-).

After about 30 minutes, I was finally able to get my postcard mailed and get back to Myett's for a fresh, cold Presidente. I explained the events to the bartender, and she seemed disgusted. She said shirts aren't required in the Post Office, and she couldn't believe a post office wouldn't have change for a trenty. What can I say, I must give off a certain vibe to government workers in the islands (remember the ferry dock attendant incident in St. John?). On my way back to the dinghy dock, I passed our group again, and they all decided to come back to the boat with me. Kristian picked us up and we ate a great lunch.

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Back to the boat

After filling up on food and drinks, we made our way back towards Jost Van Dyke. The trip was a lot easier in this direction, but still a little rough. Eventually, we anchored in Manchioneel Bay near Little Jost Van Dyke, Green Cay, and Sandy Spit, where we did some snorkeling and exploring.

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The water was rough, and it was a good workout to snorkel. I probably burned off at least two and a half Presidentes (only 65 to go). I saw a few fish and lots of conch. The fish seemed to be clustered around the small reef between Sandy Spit and Green Cay.

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When we were done snorkeling, we walked all the way around Sandy Spit. It was a beautiful sandbar with a small patch of trees and shrubs in the center. According to Kristian, the small island had mysteriously grown in size quite a bit over the last 10 years.

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When we all grew tired of fighting the wind and current, we snorkeled back to Breanker. While waiting for everyone to board, a large stingray swam right under me. I was able to video and photograph it before it glided out of sight.

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After we all got back on the boat, we motored over and stopped in Long Bay between Jost Van Dyke and Little Jost Van Dyke (near Foxy's Taboo). We dinghied over to the dock, which was quite higher than most dinghy docks, and managed to all climb up. It was here that we started our hike to Bubbly Pool...

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B.V.I. Sailing Trip 18 Feb 2011 to 27 Feb 2011

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