Monday = Rain & Pimms!
My day started around 1 a.m., when a rainstorm blew through, and my hammock became a little damp at my feet. No big deal. I looked down at the cushioned platform below me, where Simon was sleeping, and he seemed ok. Back to sleep. At 2 a.m., another storm came, this one more fierce. It built up and up and the wind was whipping and blowing the rain sideways. Simon had expertly cocooned himself in his sleeping bag, and he seemed to be doing quite well. By 3 a.m., the bottom of my hammock was filled with water, and I was seriously wet. I did some puzzles on my phone, waited for sunrise, changed into dry clothes, and retreated to the salon to start yesterday’s blog. Guide life.
Basing our trip on a yacht has a lot of advantages, one being that we can position the boat pretty much anywhere, jump off of it, have it follow us to our destination, and climb back on. We did that this morning, swimming from Great Harbour to Little Harbour, Peter Island. Our Skipper put the boat in neutral and on his signal, we leapt into the water, expecting the wind at our backs as we swam down the edge of the Drake Channel, right along Peter Island. The prevailing winds here are easterlies, every day, week after week all through the fall and winter, for millennia. Entire countries counted on these trade winds to build massive empires. We were just counting on them for a short swim. Alas, no. A storm raced down the channel toward us, and sucked air into it, so we wound up swimming against the wind. This group can handle it, though, and did, expertly.
Melinda stroked through the waves as the rain picked up, she’s fairly new to open water swimming (her first open water experience was with us in Grenada), but took to it quickly and is a strong swimmer. After a quarter mile or so, she and I stopped with Miriam to “accordian” the group. We did this twice before reaching Great Harbour, and along the way we swam over some of the healthiest coral in the BVIs. At one point a couple of dinghies motored up to us to say hello. They were guides from one of our swim travel competitors, who spend the week in a Hotel and motor each day to their swims. We prefer living on a yacht.
Yafa was steady and reveled in the rain.
Once in Little Harbour, we were greeted by the sun, sea turtles and stingrays, and we all explored the bay for a while. Heather took stroke videos for later review. Marianne had injured her leg just before she came down for this trip, so she’s been having trouble moving around. We came up with a way for her to climb back aboard using the ladder on the first day, so she and I went for a swim around the bay, then we all lounged in the warm water for a long time. Back aboard for a chicken Caesar Salad. So as not to grow barnacles, we weighed anchor and headed for Privateer Bay on Norman Island.
A green sea turtle came up for a breath right beside us!
A little video montage of our wild wet swim.
Our evening swim was plotted for Angelfish Reef by Heather, Simon and I all wearing our matching suits (a hit!). As we rounded the corner, occasionally stopping to see fish, Simon noticed that a gap that leads out to the open sea was passable for our swimmers, a rare occurrence. We paused and thought about it for 30 seconds, then we all charged through the waves and bubbles, coming out into deep water of a different shade of blue. The sea was big and confused and crashing on the rocks, all rather dramatic and wild. Our swimmers stuck with their guides, rounded the point back into calmer waters, and allowed the adrenaline to fade.
This trips guide suits feature some sort of citrus fruit on a deep blue background! Waiting for Funky Trunks and Funkita to sponsor our guides!
We have been watching the life on this underwater ledge wax and wane for over a decade.
Back aboard the Rhapsody, mushroom caps stuffed with something cheesy and glasses of Pimms appeared. Pimms is an English beverage, but it’s also sort of a tradition, an event. Think backyard croquet match, dressed in white, and you’re thirsty. Your host serves Pimms. It’s not wine or liquor or beer or a cocktail. It’s Pimms. That’s the best I can do for you until you have one for yourself.
Linguine with shrimp arrived and was quickly dispatched. Bottles of wine clinked on the table. Dessert was a divine chocolate flourless torte with whipped custard and no one complained. A nice breeze came up, and this gang hit the hay.
Hopper
