Travel
From snorkling to shovelling in 24 hours
JAMES HODGINS
Winter 2008 |
My wife, Jocelyne, and I, along with my business partner, Rob, his wife, Tina, and their daughter, Danielle, chartered a 44-foot catamaran to sail around the BVI last January. The catamaran was crewed by Capt. Douglas Moody, with first mate Wendy Betts and their two dogs, Willis and Rollie.
We met Doug and Wendy in Tortola and started our vacation with dark clouds and heavy rain. We quickly learned it was going to rain from time to time, but that it wasn’t going to be an all-day thing, just some occasional squalls (as the sailing folk call it).
Our catamaran was equipped with everything we needed: food, drinks, snorkel equipment, fishing rods, kayaks, beds, and heads. Oh yes, the heads (toilettes for the non-sailing folk).
We immediately pulled anchor and headed off to Norman Island to do some snorkeling. Armed with my trusted Canon A75 point-and-shoot camera (with underwater housing), I immediately jumped into the blue ocean with delight (it was minus 30 C back home).
Wow, not even on the catamaran for two hours and already we were in the water exploring. After we quenched our swimming thirst, we headed off to overnight at Peter Island.
I am not sure if it was the easy swaying of the boat or the fresh air coming into our room from the port hatch, but sleeping on the catamaran was refreshing.
On Monday we sailed to the Baths where there are giant boulders along a sandy beach. It is possible to walk in between these rocks as they are piled on top of each other creating small caverns and caves. This was a great place as it had everything for a great excursion: snorkeling and swimming, sandy beaches and adventurous exploring.
That evening, we headed off to Saba Rock to catch an amazing sunset, snag a cool beverage, and capture some amazing images.
The next day we were off to the Marina Cay for some much-needed water. It seems us northern folk drink a lot of coffee. We decided to overnight at the Cay and catch Michael Bean’s “HAPPY ARRRR” show. Rum was a slinging, tunes were a singing, and good times were had by all. This one-man band is one for the entertainment books.
The morning arrived with its usual pattern. Wake up, have a coffee or 12, jump in the ocean, and go snorkeling. Get out, shower off, visit the evil head, have some breakfast.
Wendy created some outstanding dishes that left us wanting more. We would joke to her about writing a cookbook for catamaran sailers.
After breakfast Rob and I headed off to dive the wreck RMS Rhone. This was my first wreck dive and it was awesome! There were plenty of artifacts to see including the 15-foot propeller and the massive dive shaft. Swimming through the interior of the vessle adds a whole new feeling to the dive.
That afternoon it was off to the next stop, Monkey Point, and no, there are no monkeys on Monkey Point. Snorkeling through a curtain of small fish only to have them part ways to reveal schools of tarpon patrolling the reef was something that took me by surprise. The coral there is vibrant, the different coloured fish abundant, and the resident sea turtles are graceful. I wish we could have stayed longer.
Next stop was Green Cay/Sandy Cay. One can jog around the whole island in under three minutes, and the water surrounding it is the clearest I have ever seen. Plenty of reefs to snorkel and explore, surfing, tanning on the white sandy beach or catching some zzz’s in the shade of a palm.
We anchored a little bit deeper toward the sandy bottom so we could track down some stingrays. Within two minutes of jumping in, I spotted my first ray and within one minute of that, I spotted another. I quickly grabbed a few images with my Canon and hurried back to the catamaran to see what I captured. After showing the rest of the party my images, we quickly geared up again and headed back out to spot some more, and we were not disappointed.
We woke up to another beautiful day in the BVI. I quickly gobbled down breakfast and headed out in one of the kayaks for an early morning paddle to talk to some people who were fishing off the shoreline by our catamaran. They were fishing for barracuda (and anything else that might come their way). As I was talking to them, I noticed two small nurse sharks swimming underneath and around my kayak. I had never seen a nurse shark this close before, and I guess they come into the sandy area to feed.
We overnighted in White Bay where we spent our last day. White Bay is blessed with a long, white sandy beach and it a perfect spot to sit, relax, and soak up some sun. Populated by a few restaurants and bars like the Soggy Dollar Bar (known for its painkiller drinks), this quaint little beachside rendezvous proved to be a hotbed for local boaters.
Sunday morning came too soon. It was hard to think about going back to the cold and snow. Until next time, I’m off to shovel my driveway.
James Hodgins is a Sudbury photographer (www.hodginsphotography.com).
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