Great Harbour Peter Island BVIs

The weather forecast was not looking great for several days and so we thought that we would have a change of scene.  So, on 10 Jan we left Cooper Island and took a look at Bar Bay on Tortola.  It was a brisk sail with just a small amount of genoa flying which was fun, but when we got to Bar Bay we discovered that what looked to be quite a promising anchorage on the chart was not so in these conditions.  There was just too much swell bending round into the bay to be comfortable.  We decided not to anchor there but instead moved on to Great Harbour on Peter Island.  The northeast corner of the bay was quite busy but we found space to anchor right off the beach, much further into the harbour than we have been before, mainly because we had previously thought that it was filled with mooring buoys that far into the bay.  We found it to be windier than Cooper Island but it was a steady wind and we had absolutely no swell or current to spin us.  On balance it seemed to be a good spot to sit out the extended period of very strong winds.  We were all settled at anchor by late morning, so we used the afternoon to stow all of our diving kit and then we had another go at fixing the leak on the water pump for the main engine.  My guess was that the leak was because of some pitting on the drive shaft so, having removed and completely stripped the pump down again, I bashed the shaft seal much further in so that the lips would rest on a different and hopefully not pitted bit of the shaft.  [Ed:  we weren’t in a position to do a leak test in the anchorage but can now report several weeks later that the leak is fixed.].  Maintenance job complete, we even found time to relax and read a book although it was definitely getting windier all the time and blew quite strongly overnight.

Jacqueline and Peter, our Dutch neighbours in the anchorage, joined us for sundowners

On Saturdays, Nicky is the net controller for the OCC Caribbean SSB Net so that dominated the first hour of the day.  Whilst that was going on another yacht close by us left the anchorage so we took the opportunity to moved BV a little closer to the beach and so we didn’t have a yacht right behind us.  That way we could let out more chain if we needed to without worrying about getting too close to anyone else in the anchorage.  Our bread supplies were getting low, so I baked a wholemeal loaf and a focaccia.  The wholemeal loaf was not a great success and really should have been left for much longer before baking.  But I guess that eating brick-like bread every now and then helps you appreciate all the more the loaves that work.  The blog came to the top of the to-do list, so we started working on the backlog of entries for that.  But we also had time to invite Jacqueline and Peter from SY Elisabeth for drinks.

Sunday 12 Jan really started with coffee on board Elisabeth at 10am hosted by Jacqueline and Peter.  For the rest of the day we set to working on the blog in earnest and by late afternoon I had posted 5 updates which went a long way towards bringing us vaguely up to date.  Nicky also worked on getting quotes for BV’s insurance which is due for renewal in February.  After all the of damage claims from the 2017 hurricanes we have found that most of the insurance companies have changed their terms and conditions and all the ones we spoke to have hiked their premiums by about 50%.  It really is frustrating that, despite keeping BV out of the hurricane threat zone, we now find ourselves paying for all of the yacht owners, charter companies and insurance companies that allowed their yachts to stay in the Caribbean during the hurricane season and got caught out.  Frustration = time for comfort food so we cooked up a rich beef in beer stew for dinner and then tried to get some sleep during another windy night.

On Monday 13 Jan the weather forecast started to be a little more optimistic and there seemed to be a window of opportunity coming in a couple of days that might allow us to set sail for the Cayman Islands.  Based upon that hope we started to make some preparations.  We still needed to sit out a couple more days of strong winds so I baked another loaf to replace Saturday’s ‘brick loaf’.  It was a much more successful production, and the ‘leftovers in the fridge’ quiche also turned out to be very tasty if not, perhaps, to a fully authentic Quiche Lorraine recipe.  The rest of the day was spent doing more blog work.

The reason for trying to use up everything that we could in the fridge was that we had a grand day out in Road Town planned for Tuesday 14 January.  It’s just 4½ miles from Peter Island across to Road Town Harbour and the brisk wind was on the beam, which made for a quick passage across.  We picked up the same mooring buoy in the harbour that we had used last time and saw, right next to us, a yacht we recognised – Ruby Tuesday with Elsie and Lionel.  They were also doing a quick food shop but were then going to move on to the US Virgin Islands to hide from the next day or so of wind.  So we chatted but there didn't seem to be an opportunity to see them again properly this time around.  After our chat we set off to the supermarket where we did a mega food shop to refill the fridge and to set us up for a 5 or 6 day passage to the Cayman Islands. With all of that loaded we took the dinghy ashore again but to the Village Cay Marina dock, on the way spotting Elisabeth at anchor next to the marina.  Nicky threw all our laundry into a huge washing machine at the marina and then we set off to clear out with customs and immigration.  That turned out to be a slow process.  We went to what we thought was the correct place but it turned out not to be a fairly derelict government office, still in use but damaged (we assume) by the hurricane in 2017.  We asked where to go and were directed to an immigration office in the centre of town but not the one that we needed.  So we asked there and were directed back to nearly where we had come from but by this stage the washing cycle would have been completed so I headed off towards the ferry terminal, where we had been told to go, and Nicky went back to check on the laundry.  I located the ferry terminal and the correct office and went back to collect Nicky, on the way bumping into Jacqueline and Peter.  So we joined them for a beer whilst our washing dried and headed back to the Road Town ferry terminal where our papers were processed by a very fearsome lady.  With all that complete, we returned to BV where Nicky stowed our gear whilst I took 2 of the outboard fuel cans ashore to get them filled and then we were all set to go again.  There was just enough time before sunset for another dash across Sir Francis Drake Channel to get us back to Great Harbour on Peter Island where, pleasingly, we found that our anchoring spot was still available.  Slightly footsore but pleased that we had achieved everything that we needed to in Road Town, we treated ourselves to another steak meal on board which I think we designated as Nicky’s birthday meal (no 2).

Tuesday’s grand day out in Road Town had set us up nicely but we still had a few last-minute chores to tick off before we could set sail.  So, we spent the morning of Wednesday 15 January cooking passage meals and sending emails back to UK, letting people know that we would be out of comms for about 5 days.  With those jobs all sorted we finally set sail towards the Cayman Islands shortly after lunch.

Great Harbour, Peter Island, British Virgin Islands