The "Willy T" did not disappoint last night. We were some of the first people aboard and possibly the only ones eating dinner. But by about 8:00 people started coming by the boatloads!
There were some really interesting things going on in the Bight. Guys and girls waterskiing on a standup paddleboard pulled behind a dinghy. A woman posing for photos with a giant blow up part of the male anatomy. And things were even crazier on the "T." Women getting temporary tattoos in naughty places. Guys wearing speedos and suspenders. The party was still going on when I poked my head out "Journey's End" at 2 AM. We were definitely not at Ol' Mexico! I told Jon that if we ever end up living in the BVIs, he is not allowed to get a job at the Willy T.
We had a leisurely morning on the boat, then took a hike on Norman Island before setting sail. The weather forecast put the winds out of the east again today - in the exact direction of today's destination. But at least it was blowing so we didn't have to motor sail. We just tacked back and forth up Sir Francis Drake Channel for a few hours, as close to the wind as we could get without healing too uncomfortably.
We are now on a mooring ball at Cooper Island Beach Club, and can see the cottage we rented when we visited almost four years ago. CIBC has undergone a major renovation since our last trip. New owners took over (we heard that they are the daughters of a wealthy British couple who made their money in the dart industry), and have really transformed the place. Of course, we thought it was really cute before but was starting to show it's age. Now it's really stunning!
I can vividly recall sitting on the porch of our cottage looking down at the boats in the anchorage and being so envious of the sailors. Now we're one of them! Here's a shot of "Journey's End" tucked away for the night, along with some other shots from the anchorage...
But it's not all sunshine and roses here at Cooper Island. I must confess to my first novice sailor mishap of the trip. We entered the anchorage, picked out the mooring ball we wanted (the closest one we could get to our old cottage) and got ready to hook the ball. I was able to grab the ball with no problem, but I couldn't hang onto it. In this situation, a more experienced sailor would have simply dropped the ball, circled around and tried again. But I dropped the whole boat hook. In my defense, I thought I would be strong enough to stop a 10,000 pound boat by myself (I've been working out a lot to get ready for the trip). Nope. So we tried in vain to pick up the boat hook before it drifted out to sea, until a guy in a dinghy picked it up and handed it over. Uggh - how embarrassing to do something that stupid in front of all of the boaters that got here earlier, but also the people watching the entertainment from the bar. Oh well - live and learn. I'm not likely to do that again!
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