"Bart" wrote:
I'm back after spending three weeks in the Caribbean.

Welcome back


I did discovered a pristine anchorage on one island that
I'd hope to explore. I'd been studying this anchorage for
a while and a asked a friend of mine who owns property
on the island about it. I've never seen anyone go in there.

There are two dangerous looking reefs at the entrance,
and while I by-passed it once, the winds were light and
favorable my second time past it and I discovered that
it a near perfect anchorage with a sandy bottom around
10 to 15 feet deep. The charts did not show the depth
and I was planning to swim in to see if it was deep enough
but conditions were so ideal that I planned to motor in very
slowly. When I arrived there were two boats anchored, so
I was both surprised and re-assured about going in. One
fellow told me he sailed over to this spot many times. It
appears though that he is one of the rare few that use it.


And you have to put it on the internet... now there'll be a crowd next
time you go there!


Wildlife included the biggest Manta Ray I've ever seen
-over 5 feet across and with a tail another 5-6 feet long
-both together gave it a length of 10 feet or more. It was
big and as the water was deep I wonder if I misjudged the
size. I didn't' see any Hawksbill Sea Turtles in the bay
but my friends did, and I saw plenty of those animals
elsewhere.

Cool. Manta rays are eerie looking. They also look bigger under water
(of course) but the get pretty big so I have no doubt about the size
of yours. I'v e seen ones that looked like something out of a monster
movie, really they were probably not much bigger. When they swim alng
the surface, both wing tips break the water and can give an excellent
view of their real span.

Of the two reefs protecting the bay, one was
fabulous while the other was mediocre. The nicer one
was shallow enough to allow close up snorkeling without
any diving. I probably spent at least three hours swimming
all over the bay. I rated it the best snorkeling I've seen in
the Virgins. If anyone wants to know where it is located,
you will have to give me a call, because this is not a
harbor I want to see exploited and ruined by the masses.


Just dial 1-800-Bart's-Anchorage
Join the crowd!



I wanted to try out an IC-24 and even brought my own
spinnaker to use with me. Unfortunately, despite multiple
emails with the Bitter End Yacht Club, the person running
their sailing program failed to provide the balance of the
equipment I'd requested--the spinnaker pole, guys and
sheets, so I didn't get a chance to try out the new deck
layout on this modified J-24.


That sucks. IS the sailing center director still the same guy as a few
years back, name starts with "G"? If so I will send him an email.

The IC-24s are fun boats. The crew weight is inboard so they don't
power up like a J-24 but they are so much easier to sail.


Fortunately, a sail to Anegada the next day made up for
the disappointment and gave me an interesting navigation
challenge and a fast close reach sail. I managed to avoid
joining the over 300 wrecks dotting it's 8 mile long reef
and now that I now the harbor, I can feel comfortable
sailing in there. We rented a pickup truck and drove all
over the island but spent most of our time at Loblolly Bay.
The snorkeling was great there too.

Yes it is. Awesome reefs & abundant life. It is stick out further into
the oceanic currents than the other islands, I think the reefs are
better nourished & don't suffer as much from the dirty conditions
affecting the rest of the V-I.

..... For once I left
without the feeling the trip was too short.


Good. Never managed that feeling myself. Glad you're back safe!

Fresh Breezes- Doug King