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April 30, 2007
Cooper Island to Soper's Hole
I sit with my coffee in the cockpit shortly after 6am. I look across to Tortola, and can make out the masts of the boats in the marina from where we came yesterday. The sun is beginning to kiss the peaks of the tall hills. Today, we plan to go to Soper’s Hole on the west end of Tortola. It is not a long journey, so I won’t hasten to wake Chis. I’ll pour another cup of coffee, grab my book, and contemplate life.
After a super-healthy breakfast of fresh fruit and bagels, we had a swim, shaved and showered. We sat in the cockpit and watched the morning exodus of boats from the anchorage. Probably half of the boats are chartered like ours, so it’s hard to tell one Beneteau from another. Around 10am, we decided to head out. This trip, about 11 miles as the crow flies, has the wind dead astern. We tried a couple of things with the sails, and determined that a series of deep broad-reach gibes was the rule for the day. This would add about 3 miles to the journey, so we expected a mid-afternoon arrival. It was a beautiful sail. Compared to yesterday, beating into a stiff headwind, this was a pleasant downwind sail. A little pokey, but who’s in a rush?
We picked up a mooring shortly before 2, tidied the lines, and hopped in the dinghy to go ashore. Following a light lunch on the dock, we wandered through the little shops, bought some ice, and headed back to the boat for reading, snoozing, and sunset watching.
For those who followed our Platina journey, Soper’s Hole is the place where we left the boat to go to Chis’ sister, Kate, and Ian’s wedding in May 2005. It hasn’t changed much. There are three entrances to this little harbour, and last night we realized that we have been through each of them at least once. Most memorable is the middle entrance, through which we left the Virgin Islands to sail to Puerto Rico.
The winds picked up after dinner, and shortly after, a series of squalls. Wind, heavy rain, no wind … wind, heavy rain, no wind … and so it went through the night. The good news is that it rinsed all the salt off the boat. The bad news – the dinghy is now a bathtub. We will have to bail it out – otherwise it will be like dragging a dead body.
Posted by dave at April 30, 2007 02:37 PM