I opted to leave the comfort of the North Sound and sail to Jost van Dyke for the evening and thought I would take a lunch break at Monkey Point so I headed on a comfortable downwind stretch between the Dog Islands towards Trellis Bay and from there between the islands to the Point; but then I changed my mind and took the outside route and opted to tuck into Cane Garden Bay as there was no northerly component to the swell which can make for an uncomfortable anchorage much of the time. The sailing was perfect with speeds between 4 and 8 knots and a respectable average despite the downwind run (Some big mega yacht running a full spinnaker was doing 11 knots according to AIS, but I wasn’t going to try to match with 110 foot LWL). I arrived at Cane Garden Bay in the early afternoon and traversed the entrance channel which had only one little green buoy rather than the 4 listed on the chart, but with slow speed, good light and the depth sounder it was a piece of cake, as was taking a mooring ball in the calm anchorage water. This act was a feat of concentration on my part, as the big 60 foot catamaran just ahead of the mooring ball had several nubile ladies prancing about and I found that the one wearing only a little thong was somewhat overdressed, but I’m not an aesthete.
Later on I met a number of people that I’d read from and about on one online forum, firstly Mal and Candace who introduced me around to a number of people whose names I must admit I have trouble remembering. I spoke with a couple from North Carolina, Sheila and Paul, and later on discussed music with Kapeye, whose one-man show I’ll be watching in 2 hours.
All in all a wonderful evening of music at The Elm with the The Elmtones including too many drinks and some succulent ribs.