Off the ball and motoring out of Trellis Bay this morning. After all the rain we experienced yesterday, you would think the evening would be miserable. But it appears that the gods cried their eyes out, and we had a pretty good night sleep with virtually no mid-sleep disruption to close the hatches. The forecast today was to be stronger than yesterday, so we're keeping Reef-Two on the sails so we don't get too overpowered.
After raising the main, we were off to the races. Since we didn't get to stay in Spanish Town last night, our sail to the Virgin Gorda/North Sound would take us a bit more of the day. At first, we planned to stop at the Dog Islands to do some snorkeling, but it soon became apparent that the winds were exceptionally strong today, and so would the beach heads. So, we set course for North Sound (Bitter End) and tacked our way out of Trellis.
When we sailed the San Juans some years back, we had experienced some 21 knot winds on a 36ft boat. That was quite a lot to handle. On this day, we already were dealing with mostly 18 - 22 knots. There were some gusts up to 24, and that sent us on quite the run. For the most part the boat was heeling well on our tacks, and we were getting 8 knot boat-speed. A couple times Sandra would yell over to me from cockpit #2 asking "Are we in danger". "Of course not, why would you say that?". Inside, I was introspecting whether we were in danger". The swells got up to 6 or 7 feet and we knew it was true sailing as we rolled into the swell and out the top of it. Seeing the wash come over the bow reminded me of those swash buckler movies where sailors would round the horn.
We eventually made it to the mouth of the cove where we were to moor and planned our jumping off point to Anegoda Island. The swells were brutal coming into the cove, so we decided to take in our sails and motor the rest of the way in. That probably was our best call of the day.
Last year, we veered left and moored in Bitter End, this time we went right and decided to try Leverick Bay. It's on the opposite end of the bay and would be a new experience. We moored up, paid the ferry man, and rode the dingy into the small little resort. It was a happening spot, with music, restaurants, a provisioning store, and more importantly a shower. Sandra and I had our first shower in 3 days--what a treat. I figured I was down 7 beers, so best top provision another six-pack.
We had a beer at the beach with the live music, then headed back to our boat to make dinner and relax for the evening. The wind seems to be subsiding a bit, so we hope it doesn't die down tomorrow.
Tomorrow? This is the destination spot for the trip. We're told there would be lobsters a plenty.