Part 6: Trellis Bay and Marina Cay
Today, our goal is to reach Trellis Bay or Marina Cay. Since we have designated this as one of our nights to have dinner out, we will probably choose Trellis Bay, since there are more dining options there. It had been a breezy night, and the day promises more of the same. By 8:20, we have finished our breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread and pineapple and are raising anchor to leave lovely White Bay.
Ominous skies threaten rain all the way to our destination, but they never deliver. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a rollicking upwind sail from Jost Van Dyke to Monkey Point on Guana Island. We are forced to anchor here, as all of the National Parks moorings are already claimed. This is not surprising, since this is one of the great snorkeling spots in the BVI. Here, we stop for a lunch of pasta salad and snorkeling. After our lunch stop, we motor through the Camanoe Passage on to Trellis Bay, where we picked up a mooring. Trellis is not the loveliest of BVI anchorages; there is no beach to speak of (aside from gorgeous, isolated Long Bay just one bay over) and it is close to the airport. Nevertheless, Trellis Bay is well-sheltered and lively. I wouldn't spend too much time swimming here (there are lots of boats anchored and moored in the vicinity), but I never mind the entertainment opportunities in the area.
We got in the dinghy and went first to The Last Resort, which is on Bellamy Cay in the middle of the harbour, to pay our mooring fee and check out the night's dinner offerings. It sounded like an English style buffet. Then we dinked over to the dock near the grocery store, where we tied up and went ashore to pick up some essentials like pancake mix, matches, and ice cream (a true, eat-it-on-the-spot luxury when you are cruising).
Then we meandered on the sand track to De Loose Mongoose, a white-painted wooden structure with colorful gingerbread accents. Inside, the ceiling beams had dozens of baseball caps affixed to them, and a ceiling fan lazily rotating and doing little to dispel the heat inside. We checked to see what was on the menu that night. While the food sounded to be more authentic island style food, we weren't quite sure that the limited choices would satisfy us tonight. However, the drinks menu would do, right there and then. Most of us ordered the house special drink, the No See Um. It's cool, sweet and easy going down, but by the time you get to the bottom, you hardly know what hit you . The name fits! We left De Loose Mongoose all mellow and tingly, but still without dinner plans.
We spent an easy afternoon on the boat. We tried to figure out what they had to offer at the Conch Shell Point Inn for dinner, but didn't get much of an answer; nevertheless, we decided to wing it and have dinner there. In the meantime, Rick, Pete and Sue worked on arranging a dive rendezvous for the next day, and we all hung out, reading, drinking and cleaning up for dinner. Seeing as our water supply was declining, I showered with one of the too many gallon jugs of water we'd provisioned (amazing how far you can make a gallon of water go!). As the sun dipped towards evening, we were visited by Anouk, who sells her handmade enameled goodies from a dinghy. Her enthusiasm and melodious French-Canadian accented speech make it impossible not to buy something, and we ended up with earrings, ankle bracelets, etc. by the time she motored away.
At 7pm, we dinghied over to the Conch Shell Point's dock, where we were the first diners. Last year, after Georges, the Conch Shell was without its roof. But it has since recovered nicely: an elegant circular tiled room under a round, peaked roof with windows open on all sides to the water. Only the hot restrooms (into which the kitchen must have vented, so hot are they) marred this pleasant venue. Not that we bothered with shoes. Much like in Belize, the attitude in most places in the BVI is "No Shoes, No Problem." The food lived up to the atmosphere. It was West Indian with an Asian flair. Rick and I enjoyed an awesome conch chowder (for lack of callaloo), while the others enjoyed conch fritters, flying fish, dumplings, etc. For the main course, Rick and I had rare yellowfin tuna (the ONLY way to eat grilled tuna), while the rest of the crew had mahi mahi, tempura shrimp (which were huge) and other delicacies. Desserts ranged from ginger crème brulee to chocolate mousse cake and ice cream. On top of the great food, our waitress was attentive and friendly, and kindly took our pictures again and again. BVIslanders are some of the nicest people around!
We made it back to Space Dancer by about 10 pm, at which time we promptly fell asleep. The stiff breezes of the latest tropical wave kept us cool at night.
Friday is our last full day on the boat. As usual, we are up very early, by about 6:30 am. Our first destination today is Marina Cay, where the divers will rendezvous with Dive BVI while the rest of us enjoy the on-shore diversions. After the diving, we will probably head for The Bight at Norman Island so as to assure an easy sail back to the base. We motor across to Marina Cay and grab a mooring; since we don't plan to stay past 5 pm, we make no moves to pay for it (daytime moorings are free). Rick and I dinghied over to the marina office to check out what is on shore and confirm the dive rendezvous. By 9 am, we all go ashore. Rick, Pete and Sue go off diving, while Doug, Jodi and I explore tiny Marina Cay.
The island is indeed tiny, and mostly given over to Pusser's facilities: a shop, a restaurant, a marina, a bar atop the hill, and a few lodgings. The buildings are colorful and bright, and surrounded by lush landscaping. There are also the remains of the home of Robb and Rodie White, the couple who "homesteaded" the island in pre-war times. We climbed the hill to enjoy the spectacular view from the Sunset Bar, as well as shopping at the Pusser's Company Store.
Foiled in our attempts to buy drinks at the Pusser's restaurant at this hour, we went to the small beach and did some shelling. After exploring Marina Cay, we returned to Space Dancer to chill out and wait for the divers. Around 11:30, Doug and Jodi took the dinghy out to a snorkeling spot. However, Jodi refused to go in the water because of what she thought were sharks under our boat. I tried to re-assure her that, even if they were sharks, they were nurse sharks at worst (and thus, not harmful). As it turned out, they were not sharks after all, but remoras. Anouk, who came back to us later in the day to try to sell more stuff, explained that in the absence of sharks to groom, remoras clean the undersides of boats!
By the time Doug and Jodi returned, there was still no sign of the divers. When they still hadn't appeared by 1 pm,
we went to Pusser's for lunch, where they finally appeared at 2 pm. By then, it was too late to make for Norman Island, so we decided (easily) to stay at Marina Cay for the night. That decided, we relaxed some more. Rick, Jodi and I snorkeled near the reef encircling Marina Cay, but found that a lot of the coral had suffered bleaching. As a result, the sea life was not especially vibrant.
We hung out at the beach a while longer, then headed back to Space Dancer to get ready for sundowners at the Sunset Bar. Many rum drinks were poured, and then we went to the Sunset Bar around 6 pm for painkillers. There, we met another Footloose charter group from Southern Comfort (where, oh where, was Sailbad the Sinner?) and exchanged war stories. Some of their group were going home the next morning, and would be dropped at Trellis Bay for the short hike to the airport.
We returned to the boat for our farewell dinner. I had started steaks marinating in worcestershire sauce and caesar dressing, and those we grilled (the grill meisters doing an especially creditable job). To that, we added sautéed potatoes with onions and garlic and corn on the cob. After dinner, I put on a tape of 80s music, and the girls got a bit silly and LOUD, dancing and singing in the cockpit (aka the Libido Deck). Hopefully, we were not so loud as to disturb the anchorage, which I
