Day Sail!

Chris and I finally got a chance to get out on the water over the weekend on day sail organized by his office.  Our catamaran was the Duke of Earl.  By 9:00 am all scheduled Tortola passengers were aboard and we set sail.  The weather was perfect for being out in the channel. 

Our first stop was The Baths in Virgin Gorda.  We had two goals here, to explore The Baths and to pick up another coworker that lives on Virgin Gorda.  The Baths is an area in the southern side of Virgin Gorda that consists of unique rock formations.  There are two small beaches and between them are very large boulders that form grottos, tide pools and tunnels.  Visitors walk through these formations from one beach to the other.  The Baths are one of the BVI’s most famous and visited tourist attractions.  We took a dinghy to the left beach and took the “hike” through the boulders to the right beach.  Unfortunately, I left my camera on the boat and was not able to photograph the tunnels. 

Our next destination was Cooper Island.  We had reservations for lunch at the Cooper Island Beach Club. A few of the women in our group had met the chef at a cookbook release party the week prior to our trip, so they were excited to sit down for a meal.  The menu choices ranged from burgers to fish and chips, conch fritters and classic roti.  I had a cheeseburger that was pretty good.  I also had a lime daiquiri and was not disappointed.  I definitely have a new “island” drink!

Before getting back on the boat, the girls in our group did a little rowing courtesy of Sail Caribbean Divers.  I took the opportunity to take a few more photos and do a little shopping and picked up a cute Hiho rash guard.  

After returning to the cat, it was decided that we did not have time to go to the Willy T, which a few of our passengers were looking forward to!   Instead we sailed over to Peter Island to swim.  We dropped anchor outside of the swim area and a small group of us swam to the beach.  It was a nice swim and great way to work off the big lunch we had.  

Peter Island is the 5^th largest island in the BVI and the largest private one.  The beauty of all of the beaches in the BVI is that up to the “high water mark” they are considered owned by the Crown and thus open to the public.  If you can get to the beach, you are allowed to use it.  This includes the beaches on Necker Island (Sir Richard Branson’s island), but people are discouraged from using them and when high profile guests are on island, security makes it next to impossible to access them.  The spa on Peter Island is supposed to be one of the better ones around and I’m looking forward to going back for a spa day soon!

Finally, Captain Steve turned back toward Road Town.  The men enjoyed Cuban cigars (they are legal here) while the rest of us took in the wonderful scenery traveling through the Sir Francis Drake Channel. 

We did not take the boys out on this trip.  They were in very capable hands and even had a swim outing of their own.  I’m looking forward to the next time we can get out on the water.  It was a great day and perhaps we will take the dynamic duo next time.