Catamaran cruise to Anguiilla!

Jan 8
Early rise today since it was our Bluebeard catamaran trip to Anguilla! We needed to meet at Buccaneer Beach Bar in Simpson Bay at 8:15 am so we needed to leave here by 7:45 according to Google. I thought an extra 50% time buffer was in order so we left at 7:30. The traffic through Marigot at that time was much heavier than we'd seen it any other time during the day or evening so 45 minutes turned out to be a better estimate than 30 minutes. Unfortunately I had a hard time finding the right road again. None of them are really marked very well with advertisements competing on road signs for street names and directions but we eventually found it at about 8:25. Fortunately, not everyone was there yet and we had time to spare. Once everyone was checked in and ready to go we were ferried out to our catamaran “Bluebeard 3” in groups of 8 in a zodiak boat. Once on board you leave your shoes in a bin and they're returned at the end of your trip. I presume this is because they cause undue wear on the deck surfaces and may be more slippery than bare feet. Regardless we didn't need them for the sail or the day at Shoal Bay. The catamaran is a beautiful boat and they have cheese and crackers as well as several drinks for you on the journey. We finally started motoring out about 9 and enjoyed some views of Simpson Bay, Maho Beach, Mullet Bay, Cupecoy, etc all up the west coastline of the island. It has been pretty windy this year and last and today was no different. Once out of the harbour they like to get the sails up and use the wind instead of the diesel engines. We were sailing into the wind on the outbound leg which was providing some decent swells and waves. It seems most wanted to be up front, some laying on the webbing between the two hulls, many against the railing and some on a bulkhead in front of the saloon about midship. Regardless, most of them got soaked once we hit the heavier waves and many of them quickly rethought their seating arrangement! We were along the railing about midship and never caught any significant spray which was nice. Paula gets seasick and took Dramamine for the journey as a precaution. She felt OK at the start but was definitely not feeling the love of the open sea an hour and a half later when we anchored in Rendezvous Bay! I felt really bad for her but there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it. And to think there was going to be another cruise tomorrow! Rendezvous Bay is an absolutely gorgeous little spot. The water is the most striking luminescent

Sandy Ground overlook

green contrasted by the bright white sand, green palm trees and beautiful blue sky. It really takes your breath away and you can't help but snap a few shots even though there's no way you can capture the beauty of being there. However, it was not our destination for the day and we boarded a bus to take us to Shoal Bay on the opposite side of the island. I presume this is easier and quicker than sailing around plus they said its easier to beach the dinghy at Rendezvous Bay when ferrying passengers ashore. On the way to Shoal Bay we stopped for a photo opportunity at a scenic overlook of Sandy Ground on the north side of the island. We finally arrived at Shoal Bay which was at one time rated by Conde Nast as the #1 beach in the world which should give you some idea of what it might be like! Being on the leeward side of the island it was much less windy than Orient Beach. It was much quieter too and the sand was whiter and softer. All in all, it would be easy to lose a couple of days here just lazing about, reading a book with occasional dips in the calm surf to cool down. We met a newlywed couple on the boat from Philadelphia. I asked him if he liked hockey and he said "Oh yeah, huge Flyer fan!" You can imagine his delight at me being a Devils fan. Regardless, they were really nice and we got along well. One of Shawn's favourite Flyers was Ron Hextall who of course is from Brandon and who I went to elementary school with. You can usually find something in common with anyone you meet, sometimes in very surprising ways! Shawn was kind enough to take a few pictures of Paula and I on the beach. They also put on a great lunch for us at Shoal Bay. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it was BBQ chicken and ribs and was delicious! The ribs were the best I've tasted here so far. With lunch done we decided to finally try out the snorkelling after two failed previous attempts! After several comical failed efforts to battle the surf into the water with flippers on we put the on the gear on shore and backed into the water. This worked well and we started swimming out to the reefs. Unfortunately we both took on a bit of salt water (which isn't a pleasant feeling) for some reason which dampened our enthusiasm somewhat. Also we weren't seeing any fish! As we swam along I deduced that we would be better off further out on the other side of the reef. My snorkel stuff was working out alright but Paula's not so much. As we paused to adjust our gear and discuss a new plan we kind of got washed up on shore, unceremoniously floundering around on the beach to the amusement of many I'm sure! We finally got straightened around and headed out to the outer reef. Part way there I looked back to check on Paula but she had stopped again because of some problem. She waved me on so I carried on out. This was a good plan (no, really) as I saw more fish out there. Shawn and Vanessa said they saw a ray and although I didn't I did see a school of angel fish as well as some others. I thought it was pretty cool. What wasn't so cool was when I looked down one time and saw I was only a few inches above the coral! Paula cut her foot on coral earlier in the trip and I knew my soft belly wouldn't fair any better! I quickly moved away from the hazard and felt better about it. I think ideally we'd prefer a location with no surf to try snorkelling again but it was fun anyway. What wasn't fun was back on shore realizing that I had forgotten to zip up my back pocket when we went snorkelling. In that pocket was my wallet and a zip lock bag of cash. Fortunately, I still had my wallet but the cash was gone. Dumb mistake by me but luckily nothing irreplaceable was lost. After only 2 1\2 hours on the beach it was back to the bus and the sail home. The way home was more with the wind and the swells and spray were much reduced. Regardless, many stayed at the back of the boat and I had the front railing all to myself! It was great, just like on the bow of the Titanic! Paula sat at the back, chatting with some other Canadians and felt much better on the return journey. After that we headed back to the condo for a quiet night in and Paula made a great pizza out of flat bread, spaghetti sauce, leftover ground beef, some veggies and cheese. I couldn't believe how good it tasted! All cooked in a little toaster oven, amazing!