George Dog to Prickley Pear Island

The girls left the dogs after a great snorkel and sailed out into the Anegada passage. Winds and seas were perfect for open ocean sailing. They took advantage of the sailing time to brush up on topics for their US Sailing Course scheduled to begin shortly. Under a setting sun the girls came into the channel marking Colquhoun reef and moored as the light faded in the lee of Prickly Pear Island. A sunset over Mosquito Island and dinner aboard Aeolus will round out a beautiful first day in the BVI.

Sailing In the Anegada Passage

On a Close Haul on the way into North Sound

Depart Norman Island upwind sailing to The Dogs for lunch and snorkeling

The group woke up on the moorings in The Bight, Norman Island, just east of the USVI Island of St. John. After a quick breakfast aboard they dropped the mooring ball and headed into the Sir Francis Drake Channel. The day began with an upwind leg to the Dogs.

Sailing Upwind to George Dog

At the helm

We practiced tacking upwind and snorkeled Bronco Billy, one of Jaques Cousteau's favorite dive sites  on the west end of George Dog Island. Bronco Billy offers a meandering course of coral ridges and corresponding canyons. Two coral archways lead into the canyons. Follow the canyons and the bottom topography around the tip of George Dog into a large steep-walled box canyon and boulder field. Swing a little wider around the tip of the island on your return trip, and you should find the other coral canyon that will lead you back to the second archway. Large pillar coral formations grace the site, but the highlight is the arches. The brilliant reds of the encrusting sponges and the oranges of the cup corals, combining with the lavender of other sponges and the lacy frill of hydroids, makes for a Technicolor extravaganza.

Group Shot at Bronco Billy

Great Visibility Today!

After eating lunch on the mooring, we plan to sail up wind to the North Sound for the evening.