The pandemic is starting to take hold of the world, but we are still largely unaffected here in the BVI. In fact, it’s making our lives more pleasant as there are less crowds fighting to see all the beauty and attractions the islands have to offer. We live almost every day in isolation anyways – that’s the life we chose; now is no different. We are a bit worried about my parent’s upcoming visit at the end of the month, but still remaining hopeful.
Our treasure chest is gone
We are excited to visit Virgin Gorda again. The one spot that always pops into our minds is this little anchorage we stopped at in 2017 that was nestled between the beach and a reef wall. I research every anchorage marked on Active Captain trying to figure out which spot it is. The only thing we have to go on is that there was a nice restaurant with fire pits and outdoor seating on the shoreline. Then I remember that the show Below Deck had a crew outing at that exact restaurant. So I look up the show, figure out the restaurant, and then identify the anchorage. Success. That’s why I get paid the big bucks (or no bucks!).
We very carefully navigate through the reef into the sandy stretch. There are two other boats already anchored, but there still seems to be plenty of room for us. We drop the hook and set right away in soft sand. The sun is already starting to set, so we head in for a quick walk along the beach.
The next day we are dying to get into the water. Last time we were here, we snorkeled along the reef wall and spotted a chest nestled between the coral. We briefly tried to open it, but didn’t really give it a solid go because we figured this was a well known chest – possibly even planted to give snorkelers some excitement. We later told our captain about the chest and he said he had never seen it or heard of it despite being in the area several times. So today – we really, really want to see if that chest is still there. Spoiler alert – it’s not. Which isn’t surprising given that A) it’s most definitely a treasure chest and B) a category 5 hurricane struck the area and destroyed much of the reef. Oh well, we still enjoy looking at the new healthy elk horn coral that is growing in the area. There are also several tarpon hanging out under our boat looking menacing as always. We will always kick ourselves about that chest, though – for the rest. of. our. lives.
In the evening, we are excited to get dressed up and go eat at the Coco Maya restaurant on shore. It’s outdoor dining area is absolutely divine. The bar area also has fun hanging porch swings that you can sit in. We grab a drink at the bar and snap some photos while waiting for our water front table. Once seated, we begin to plot our strategy for ordering. It’s a small plate type of place, so you really have to be smart to get the best food and not a ridiculous bill.
We are pretty successful, absolutely loving everything we order except one dish being a bit lackluster. Little do we know at this moment, but this will be the last meal we eat out for months. Thank goodness we chose such a great spot!
Long Bay, Virgin Gorda
Moving up along Virgin Gorda, we pick out Long Bay to anchor for a couple days. Again, it’s a bay that doesn’t have any mooring balls – which is largely what we’re targeting. It also is said to have some diving nearby! When we pull in, we’re the only boat here – awesome! Within an hour, three other boats show up. I swear boats keep following us! Oh, well.
We check out the diving spots – first heading to the BVI Art Reef. This is a ship purposedly sunk in effort to make an artificial reef. The “art” part of it is a massive metal scultpure of a kraken (i.e. an octopus). I actually remember reading about this a couple years back – the dive community was pretty excited about it. Somehow the sculpture managed to survive the worst of hurricane Irma and Maria in 2017, only to be partially swept away shortly after due to extreme surge. So – when we dive down, we only see some wire structure that isn’t really identifiable as a kraken.
After a few minutes checking out the wreck, we decide to move over to the rocky outcrops, where hopefully the depth is a bit shallower and the visibility a bit clearer. We are pleasantly surprised with how good the snorkeling here actually is – quite nice! There are a good amount of coral heads, and coral growth among the sharp rocks.
Monster is unimpressed with how much time we spend underwater, so I always try to appease her with plenty of beach time. We paddle board to shore and are excited to find some stone steps leading off – to somewhere. We start hiking up, but quickly wish I had brought shoes. Despite the hike being hard on my feet, Monster is actually the one to tap out first. She comes hobbling back to me with a large cactus piece stuck to her leg. I carefully carry her back to the beach and then begin removal procedures. Not sure who got hurt worse here.
Inside the Gorda Sound
We continue around Virgin Gorda, making our way into the large protected bay known as the Gorda Sound. It is surrounded by land (except for small openings) for 360 degrees – really quite amazing. At this point (mid-march), fear and news of the coronavirus is definitely intensifying. We’re reading of crazy shortages happening in the US and cruise ships have been banned from all islands. In fact, we spotted a cruise ship coming into the Sir Francis Drake Channel yesterday. Then we saw it stop and later turn around and leave. It is the first cruise ship to be denied entry to BVI. All of this mainly to say, we will be keeping everything onboard completely full – water, fuel, food, etc. As such, we make a quick detour to the Leverick Bay fuel dock to top off our diesel.
Next we begin searching through the gigantic Sound looking for our perfect spot to anchor. We settle on a place right in front of the old Saba Rock resort. Saba Rock was one of our favorite stops in 2017. The resort/restaurant/island was gorgeous with lots of comfortable seating scattered around the small island. On the backside, windy days would bring dozens of kite boarders out to put on a show. Now, it is being rebuilt but there is still quite a ways to go. The famous Bitter End resort nearby has even further left to build. In fact, they are still working on the land – no structures have even been started. It’s just flat; so sad to see.
I’ve been reading that flocks of flamingos fly over this area going from Necker Island to Anegada. Some reviews on Active Captain also claim to have spotted flamingos in the little pond just off our starboard side. Monster and I paddle to shore in search of the funny pink birds, but come up empty. We do however find tons of pretty conch shells. Every time I say I’m not going to be one of those shell collecting people… When the shells are perfect, though – like at Turtle Creek, Chub Cay – I can’t help but grab a couple.
We end up staying here two nights after sleeping so well the first night! Around sunset both evenings, we spot flocks of flamingos flying overhead. Unfortunately, it’s dark enough you can’t see the pink color, but they are identifiable by the long neck and honking sound they make – much like geese.
The water maker saga continues
I just said that we are keeping everything onboard full as the pandemic starts to take hold. Well that would be much easier to do if our stupid water maker stayed working. Seriously – what could possibly be wrong now? The whole system is new.
Somehow, someway the Clark pump built up enough pressure to blow out one of the cylinders. The experts are stumped. We’re just tired. We order a new cylinder and pay the ridiculous fees to have it shipped over. We make a special trip to Road Town to pick it up. Upon trying to install it, we notice that the J-tube is bent. Two days and numerous labourous hours later, we admit defeat and order a new J-tube (and pay another ridiculous shipping cost). This time we request a couple additional items from the experts to *make sure* we have all the pieces. This is seriously getting ridiculous.
Another special trip to Road Town and several hours of labor later and our water maker is working again. For now. We have lost trust in it though, so we will be making water as soon as 30-40 of our 200 gallons has been used.
The Baths
If you look up things to do in the BVI, The Baths inevitably will be at the top of the list. The Baths is an area of unique geological formation, where humongous granite boulders are scattered along the shoreline creating natural “baths.” It is really quite unique and a huge tourist destination. Now that all cruise ships have been shut down and travel alerts have been placed world-wide, the BVIs is all but closed for business. We have been watching the last few charter boats return to the dock leaving the mooring fields eerily empty.
Today that emptiness is the greatest thing that could happen for us. We have the baths ALL TO OURSELVES. Technically we spot 6 other people during our time traversing through the boulders, but that’s not even a fraction of the hundreds (maybe thousands) that are normally here during peak season. I’ve read about this place being compared to lines at Disney World – which is an exaggeration, but normally you do have to wait in line to climb up the ladders or snap a photo. Not today. Today we are racing through the area snapping photos at every turn. Magical.
We are still marveling at our luck as we swim back up to the boat. That’s right – typically you swim from the mooring ball up to the beach since dinghies aren’t allowed. There are a few coral covered rocks to look at along the way, but mostly it’s just a means of transportation. We pack a dry bag to bring our phones.
Wreck of the Rhone
At this point, we have fully acknowledged how incredibly lucky we are to be exploring the BVI waters during this unprecedented time. Lucky for many reasons – but most excited about the lack of people. Today we head over to another super popular spot, the Wreck of the Rhone. This is the number one dive site in BVI. While mostly used for scuba diving, some snorkel tours will also come here since parts of the wreck stick up as shallow as 15 feet.
Tangent: Much like the Titanic, the Rhone earned a reputation as an unsinkable ship. In October 1867, the Rhone and another ship, the Conway, were refueling at Peter Island when a storm started to blow in. The captains thought that it was too late for a hurricane, and decided to anchor and ride out what they expected to be a light storm. After the eye of the hurricane passed, they realized their mistake and decided the only course of action was for the Rhone to make a run for open water. It was decided to transfer all passengers from the Conway over to the unsinkable Rhone. The Conway pulled anchor and set off, but was later found off the south side of Tortola. The Rhone’s anchor was stuck and they were forced to release it from the ship in order to move – it remains in the same place today. The Rhone set off on the quickest route to open sea – navigating between Dead Chest and Salt Island. There is an underwater reef that is normally at a safe depth of 25 feet, but given the storm the captain feared they could run aground and chose to give the reef extra wide berth. This course put the ship closer to Black Rock Point (on Salt Island). When they were just a couple hundred yards from open sea, the second eye wall of the hurricane passed by throwing the ship into Black Rock Point. The ship broke in two and cold seawater combined with the hot boilers caused explosions. No passengers survived as they were all strapped into their beds (common practice at the time). A few crew members managed to survive and were rescued.
We of course are the only ones here! We seriously consider (finally!) pulling out our scuba tanks for this one, but decide to just freedive instead. It is so much easier and more relaxing than lugging out the Brownie or all the scuba gear.
We are pleasantly surprised by the great visibility here at the Rhone. We are able to see the parts of the ship wreck that sit in 60-80 feet of water and even spot a couple reef sharks swimming around the bottom! It’s definitely more fun to explore in shallower areas though where we get up close to the wreck and can peak in the nooks and crannies. It’s very sobering to see things such as this giant propeller and realize just how massive this ship is. The propeller itself is larger than Matt.
We kick around for over an hour taking in the wreck and all the marine life surrounding it. We also hunt a bit for a porthole that is said to still be intact, and a teaspoon that can be seen lodged into the side of the ship. The story goes that the captain was celebrating early a near miss with the hurricane by having a cup of tea on deck. When the ship was unexpectedly slammed against the rocks, the captain was thrown overboard and his tea spoon impelled into the ship. We don’t find either the tea spoon or the port hole – I guess that’s one reason scuba diving would have been better.
Diving the Dogs
The Dogs are a series of small islands (Great Dog, West Dog, and George Dog among others). They are well known for the great reefs and diving scattered throughout. We motor over and pick up a mooring ball so that we can spend the afternoon exploring. Once again, we are the only people around! Using our Franko’s dive map and other reviews, we attempt to map out the different known dive sites and choose the best ones.
First, we head over to The Visibles off of Cockroach Island. There are two dive moorings, which make it nice to tie up the dinghy. As soon as we stick our faces in the water, we’re feeling pretty happy. It’s absolutely gorgeous here. The visibility isn’t perfect, but still pretty good. It feels like there haven’t been any divers around in a while because so much marine life is out. We spot numerous reef sharks – which have been a rare commodity this season – along with dozens of barracuda and lobster walking freely. It’s so great that we have to remind ourselves to climb back into the dinghy after an hour. We plan to hit two more dive sites yet today.
Next we choose to hop in at Bronco Billy. Consistent with its name, the surge and current here keeps things interesting. The main highlight of this site are the swim throughs and large trenches. We enjoy taking turns capturing video of each other.
After another hour, we return to the boat to rest and eat some lunch. Some storm clouds pass overhead causing Matt and Monster to enjoy a nap. Once the rain stops and they wake up, we debate whether we should follow through with trying a third site. Ultimately, we decide we should take advantage of this time while we have it. We take a very wet dinghy ride across to George Dog where we try to identify our next site. Short story – we never find it. We head back to the boat with our heads down.
Once onboard, we decide to try motoring over to the other side of George Dog as there is said to be another site or two. We locate large boat moorings and are pretty sure we’re in the right spot! We get back in the water to explore The Chimney. As the name suggests there is a dramatic rock chimney structure that stretches up about 30 feet. We enjoy getting some more freediving in before calling it a day. The mooring we’re on is very unprotected, so we want to move to a new spot before sunset.
Overall, we couldn’t have had a better day exploring The Dogs! Check out the below video for all our fun diving in the BVI, including Carvel Rock, Wreck of the Rhone, and The Dogs.
