Having seen a post on one of the on-line forums that there would a gathering at Cane Garden Bay for the live show at the Elm, I decided to weigh anchor in the North Sound and set sail for Cane Garden Bay, by way of the Coral Gardens dive site on Great Dog Island. The first part to Great Dog was a mixed downwind run between 3 knots in the lulls and an occasional 6 knots when the wind picked up; I picked up the only non-commercial buoy there and was all alone while setting up the dive gear. The wind picked up and the waves coming around Virgin Gorda made the stay there somewhat uncomfortable and I debated going on this dive for a bit and then decided to call it a day. I made a quick snack and then, with plenty of time on hand, decided to sail downwind inside the Sir Francis Drake channel rather for a longer, but more protected, run than if I had gone around the outside of Tortola.
The second part of the sail was very nice, with speeds around 7-8 knots and the wind 30° off the stern. After passing Nanny Cay the waves picked up and the wind died, making that portion of the sail somewhat uncomfortable but I wasn’t going to turn on the engine despite being overtaken by a small and light boat and having the speed drop between 2 and 3 knots. After rounding the point at Soper’s Hole the trip was once again nice with an upwind run to Cane Garden Bay with a stiff breeze and absolutely no waves – making for a great short run to outside of the reef.
Despite just one marker the entrance was easier this time (practice makes perfect) and I motored at dead-slow around an area of the anchorage with 20-30 feet of water and no mooring balls before choosing my spot to drop the hook. I dove on the anchor after setting it was reminded how easy it is to make a mistake, my anchor had set well in sand only a couple of feet from 2 beach chairs; had the anchor hooked into those it certainly could not have held in any kind of gusts or wind.
By the time I’d cleaned up the boat, showered & shaved, changed and found the flash to the camera it was almost time to go, I had enough time to spare to visit the store but, alas, they had no fly strips just fly spray and I’m not a big fan of pesticides in the boat so I continued on.
I met a number of people in person whom I met online at The Elm and enjoyed conversation plus the excellent live show by the Elmtones. The ribs were tasty and I was hard-put to stay awake after the long sailing day and the combination of heavy food and alcohol but managed to remain until the end of the second set before heading back to the boat (which was harder to find than I though as I’d somehow turned the anchor light on then off and the boat was dark).
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