Awesome day. We left our anchorage about 6:30am and very soon picked up 15-20 knot winds. Our first destination was The Baths on Virgin Gorda. The reason for getting up so early was to beat the crowds as it is a very popular spot. We were close hauled all the way and only had to tack twice. We did 8-9 knots all the way. Exhilarating.
We reached The Baths before 8am and there was hardly anyone around as we explored the area on foot. There is no dinghy dock at The Baths so the method of arriving is to drop the crew off by Dinghy then the one with the short straw has to take the dinghy back to a nearby dinghy dock and swim in. That was my job.
After our walk, Ben and Sam decided to head off rock climbing while the rest of us snorkeled. I had earlier spotted the Martha R, another Lagoon 420, so I swam over there to chat with the captain. I already know (by web chat) the owner and it turned out I had also conversed with the charterer on the web too. It was good to get some first hand information.
We all were able to meet up for lunch which we had at a restaurant, The Top of The Baths which has simply awesome views of Drake Passage and the islands of the BVIs. After lunch we sailed to Gorda Sound and the Bitter End Yacht Club where we had to meet a mechanic to help us with our gas canister. In the end a part needed replacing and fortunately the mechanic was able to find a new one.
We decided to moor on a slip. This was my first go at reversing a cat into a slip on my own. There was more cross wind than I realized at first so I had to go back out to put on fenders. In the end, we managed to get in without bumps. Evening meal was bacon and eggs. And wine. After the meal and as the sun set most of us went for a geocache hunt which we failed to find. We finished the day with a couple of beers in a local bar.
In the caves at The Baths
