Virgin Islands 2014: Marina Cay to Sandy Spit

We got up early once again and headed over to Lee Bay, a short 20 minute drive away to dive in the little area. The mooring buoy looked questionable, but it was indeed tied down to concrete at the bottom, so it was safe for us to stay there and dive. The visibility in the water was disappointing, though we managed to see a large lobster and some shrimp.

From Virgin Islands 2014

After the dive, we motored over to Monkey Point, which was highly recommended in the sailing guide for good snorkeling, but disparaged in the dive guide as not being worth the time. We got there and picked up a mooring buoy and started snorkeling and yes, it was good snorkeling, though the visibility was till not great. There was even an interesting shore entry, and we got plenty of fish and other views.
We had an early lunch and then cast off to start our first long sail of the trip, a 9 nautical mile journey to Jost Van Dyke. This was only an hour and a half, though it was interspersed with rain. We got views of the North side of Tortola, as well as sights of the various places our charter company had forbidden us to go because of the difficult sea conditions found there.
On arrival near Jost Van Dyke, we spotted Sandy Cay, but upon reading the cruising guide closer, discovered that Sandy Spit was a suitable overnight anchorage, and looked just as inviting. We dropped anchor once, but then another boat left so we grabbed their spot closer to Green Cay, and dropped anchor again. While we managed to drop the hook into sand, the anchor chain itself was wrapped around a piece of coral, and Arturo had to snorkel down to unwrap it.

From Virgin Islands 2014

Given that Sandy Spit was more crowded at the moment, we decided to take the tender over to Foxy's and hike over to the bubbly pools. The hike was ok, though surprisingly long given its description as a "short walk". The bubbly pools wouldn't have been more exciting in north swell conditions. As it was the bubbles came only semi-frequently but it was enough to fascinate and excite Bowen.

From Virgin Islands 2014

Bowen fell asleep on the way back to the Sail Pending, so we dropped him and my parents off and snorkeled over to Sandy Spit for one last look at it. Then it was a beautiful sunset and we enjoyed dinner and the lovely views.

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