Saturday the 19th of March at a dark hour of 5 am, we lifted the Anchor from the French side of ST martin and took a bearing across on our full day passage to Virgin Gorda, 80 miles Westward. I DID eventually get out of my jammies.
We enjoyed our coffee until the dawn broke and we were able to raise the sails on a broad reach with 15 knots of wind. The forecast was good for the day and we were expecting no change.
By later morning, we were able to drop the white sails and put of the colorful downwind sail, heading DDW to our destination. It was a textbook sail. Perfect wind conditions, good seas, with only a 4-6 foot swell running, and perfect sky conditions reflecting the crystal clear blue tropical waters.
The day got even better when ZIIIIINNNGGG on the Starboard Rod holding the purple tinselly Lure that Darren picked out!!!! All hands on deck! While Colin and Darren maneuvered the rod and fish, we held that boat steady and dropped the speed as best we could. He was monster Dorado on the hook! The biggest one we have seen. With Gaff in hand, and the fish at the back of the swim step, one shake of its massive body and POOF! It dropped the hook. We do; however, have footage of this so its not “just a fish that got away” story. We really did see it,.. she/he was huge…. So out the rod goes again.
See the YouTube Video here on our Channel The One that Got Away
About 30 mins later ZIIIINNNGGG on the rod again. The same rod! Obviously they were liking the lure color. Darren fought the fish for about 15 minutes before Colin and he landed it. And to our amazement and surprise it was a 6 foot MARLIN! Landed, safe, secured, we celebrated this catch. Niether of us had ever caught one before, and it gave a fabulous fight.
[caption id="attachment_629" align="aligncenter" width="3216"]
Marlin Madness
About an hour later, ZIIINNNGG on the rod, AGAIN! Cols rod this time with a pink lure. When he got in the 20 pound dorado, we decided that was enough fishing for the day. Our freezer is only so big!
So with two fish onboard, one that got away, and a few hours before sunset, we dropped the sail, and motored our way thru the north passage of Virgin Gorda to Gorda Sound. I guess there is no need to tell you what we had for dinner… for the next week. The sashimi off that marlin was FANTASTIC!
We spent a few days in Gorda Sound before heading south to Savannah bay on the western shore of Virgin Gorda for an evening just off a sandy beach. In the morning we headed to Trellis Bay on Beef Island for the famous Full Moon Party. Yachts cram into the bay by the hundreds for the monthly event, and anchoring spots are hard to come by, so getting there a day early was our plan.
The community of Trellis Bay is a fun combination of restaurants entertainment, artists and local crafters. The Full Moon party should not be missed If you are in the area. Giant iron fireballs and burning man are lit right on the waters edge, while giant dancing mocko jumbies ( stilt dancers) come out for the celebration. It’s an evening worthy of the hangover the next day.
It was a slower start the next morning when we left for the main harbor of Road town. We needed to get a few things completed, and reprovision our veggie stock, so to the city we went. Road Town is an odd little city. We had a hard time finding the center of town, supermarkets and such. Its seems really spread out. Sort of like Parksville. We did have lunch at a great Food truck just behind Village Cay Marina, though. $12 for more food than you could eat, ribs, chicken, macaroni pie, stewed fish ( yes Darren had fish!!). We completed our business, and headed to Norman Island, and The Bight for a few days, where we would be safe from the 20 knot wind that was forecasted to hang around for a few days.
We will enjoy some snorkeling, beaching general maintenance, office work, watching the general debauchery, and sunshine while we wait out the wind so we can get to the dive sites we have been looking forward to.
