November 7, 2017 - On to Virgin Gorda & Road Town, Tortola

Tuesday, November 7, 2017
Virgin Gorda & Road Town
Tortola, British Virgin Island

After spending the night offshore at Anagoda, we decided to sail to Virgin Gorda. We would check in with the customs office at Spanish Town and go ashore for supplies.

Photos & Videos by Rod

When we reached the waters outside Spanish Town, we tried to raise someone on the radio from customs and from the marina. We could not get any response. The destruction from the hurricanes was easy to see. There was debris all along the shore and to the buildings we could see on the hillsides. The vegetation was green, but you could see how much of it had been shredded by the winds. We could see lots and lots of sailboats piled up on land, all of their masts laying on the same slant and pointed in the same direction. All were victims of the hurricanes. It was quite a sight.

Spanish Town, Tortola, next to the marina

Closer view of damaged boats at the marina in Spanish Town, Tortola

Don decided to motor into the marina and see if anyone was there and if we could get water and fuel. We proceeded slowly, watching for debris and sunken boats, just in case. There were signs of the damage everywhere and no one around. It was almost eerie. As we rounded the first turn to come around into the marina we immediately saw a half sunken catamaran and a half sunk mono-hull right in the channel. That was it, Don did a sharp turnaround in the channel and we headed out of there! Our next stop would be Road Town in Tortola.

Ferry just to the left of the ferry docks in Road Town, Tortola

One of the buildings to our port side as we entered the harbor at Road Town, Tortola

We arrived at the harbor outside the ferry dock area and dropped anchor. It was very hot and humid, with no breeze at all to cool things off. Don took all of our passports and headed off in the dingy to the dock to check us all in with customs. It turned out he had to go over to the Tortola Pier Park at the entrance to the inner harbor. Little did we know this would turn into a long process that took something like two - three hours. Don came back to get me and we went back to customs. Tom and Tom moved brainwaves closer to the customs location and then Don took the dingy out to bring them back. The customs officials were the exact opposite of what you would expect in terms of welcoming visitors to their country. They were rude, abrupt, not at all friendly, and at times would just ignore you entirely while you stood around. I was especially delayed as I had not booked a flight out of the country yet, hoping to arrange something at the airport because I planned to fly standby. I had to get Sue on the phone to book a flight for me so that I had the flight number, date & time, airline name and then fill out a form with the information. I completely understood that they needed this information in order for me to leave the country. Finding a flight and booking it was a problem for me, but not an issue I had against customs. However, they kept me waiting and waiting for now apparent reason. I could go on and on about how I was treated. I treated all of them with the utmost respect and was cooperative and courteous. The response I got in return was the exact opposite. 

Due to my delay at customs, Don and Tom T. went into town to get supplies, while Tom S. stayed back to with for me. After I was finally cleared, we sat at a nearby bar to wait for the appointed time to pick up the other guys. The local people we met were very nice and friendly.

My plan was to get to the airport on Beef Island and take my 10:30 am flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico where I would try to catch some standby flights and work my way home. We talked about me taking a cab to the airport, which was fine with me. Don decided we would take the boat over to Beer Island as there was an anchorage right by the airport and a short dingy ride would get me there easily. From shore it was something like 150 yards to walk to the airport. It all sounded so easy . . .

We started sailing over to Beef Island that evening. It was dark and we were watching for boat lights to make sure all was clear. A fierce squall hit us with 25 mph winds, driving rain and lightning. It was impossible to stick your head out around the cockpit enclosure and look for boats, or lights. Twice lighting struck very near us. I thought for a second the first bolt nearly hit us, but I think it was on the island next to us. Don somehow got us into the harbor by the airport and we dropped anchor. We waited as usual to make sure the anchor held, which you can tell by the pattern the boat leaves on the chart plotter. We were grateful to finally be secure in the harbor and we all went to bed. About 15 minutes later, Tom T. felt the boat had turned funny and that something wasn't right. He went to the cockpit and then called for Don to come up quickly. The anchor was dragging and we were about 100 feet from a rocky island. Don fired up the engine, Tom and Tom ran out to the bow while I stood on the starboard side just outside the cockpit so that I could hold the cover up with one hand, hold a flashlight for the guys on the bow and pass information back and forth from them and Don in the cockpit. We are all in our underwear (except Tom S. had shorts on I think), it was pitch black out and it was blowing and raining like crazy. The guys got the anchor up and Don pulled away from the rocks. We could see mooring buoys in the beam of the flashlight, so the guys on the bow yelled directions to me, I yelled them back to Don, and he did his best to follow them. Don couldn't see the buoys and I had to hold the light so the bow guys could see, but still turn to Don, hold open the flap on the cockpit and shout over the wind so Don could hear the directions. At times, by the time I was yelling directions to Don, new directions would come in and I would be yelling something like "Dead stop, power left turn, hard" all in one sentence. I don't know how Don was able to keep up. After a lot of yelling and maneuvering, Tom S. snagged a buoy and when Tom T. pulled it up, there was nothing on it to hook our lines on, so we had to let it go and start over. It was frustrating for everyone and the wind, rain, and blackness never let up. Finally, we managed to get in position again and Tom S. snagged another buoy and Tom T. tied us on to it. It was a true team effort and we were finally safely moored. By now it was early morning and we were so glad to finally get some rest. - Rod