The Virtues of Loafing

Well, I feel like I'm finally back in my cruising groove. We've been hanging out in Leverick Bay on Virgin Gorda for the past three days and doing very little except relax. A welcome change after the 10 day passage and then the cleaning/maintenance/provisioning jobs at the marina in Road Town Harbor, Tortola. Here on Virgin Gorda (Fat Virgin) there's been some snorkeling, pool swimming, sandcastle building and a lot of general loafing. I've particularly enjoyed the loafing. Marinas are all well and good for provisioning, recovering, and maintenance... but we really do enjoy ourselves most on the anchor or on a mooring ball.

Mooring balls seem to be our lot here in the British Virgin Islands. The BVI has an astounding number of charter boats, and many folks that charter have little experience or interest in anchoring (this is my guess/assumption based on some observation, charter folks please don't be offended if I'm misrepresenting you!). So, the locals have met this market demand by filling most anchorages with mooring balls. It's a good source of income for them and simplifies the life of the folks who fly here for a week of low risk sailing with beautiful anchorages and plenty of night life. It's a little inconvenient for us since all the choice anchoring spots are clogged with mooring balls (and charter boats, more on this later) but so far we've been content to pick up a mooring ball for $25 a night. That usually comes with a bag of ice and pool privileges, so we don't mind too much.

The BVI is a small group of islands and cays grouped in a rough oval, with all of the major islands within a very short sail (2-4 hours) of each other. Since they are arranged in an oval, the water in the middle is very sheltered and the sailing is attractive to those looking for easy sailing and line-of-sight navigation in idealic tropical environs. Think of it as Tropical Sailing on Training Wheels and you'll get the gist. I'm hoping that as we move south through the Leeward Islands there will be fewer charter boats, more cruisers, and a minimum of mooring balls. Does that make me a cruising snob? Maybe.