Virgin Gorda
A short repositioning over breakfast, saw Sea Cloud II heading some 20 miles due east to anchor off Spanish Town, the principal harbor of Virgin Gorda. Going ashore by tender, our object was to explore the unique landforms of weathered granite that form the coastline.
Granite the world over produces fine beaches of glistening sand, but their beauty here is accentuated by an azure sea and by the weathered boulders that appear to have strewn along the coastline by a mysterious hand. In the area known as 'The Baths' it was possible to follow a trail through seawater channels among the boulders, but at Spring Bay the scenery was no less spectacular. Fine swimming and snorkeling opportunities presented themselves before we boarded Speedy's Safari Trucks for an island tour that encompassed several viewpoints and the obligatory dose of rum punch.
After lunch on board, the crew went aloft to prepare for an afternoon of exhilarating sailing along the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Looking out to starboard at the granite coastline, our naturalist spotted a humpback whale, our first such sighting of the voyage. Pelicans could be seen plunging into the sea to feed on shoals of small fishes. Later in the afternoon, we had a talk on the enigmatic life of Patrick O'Brian, the English (not Irish, as he purported) historical novelist whose twenty-volume roman-fleuve set in the French Revolutionary Wars superbly recreates the great age of naval warfare under sail.
A short repositioning over breakfast, saw Sea Cloud II heading some 20 miles due east to anchor off Spanish Town, the principal harbor of Virgin Gorda. Going ashore by tender, our object was to explore the unique landforms of weathered granite that form the coastline.
Granite the world over produces fine beaches of glistening sand, but their beauty here is accentuated by an azure sea and by the weathered boulders that appear to have strewn along the coastline by a mysterious hand. In the area known as 'The Baths' it was possible to follow a trail through seawater channels among the boulders, but at Spring Bay the scenery was no less spectacular. Fine swimming and snorkeling opportunities presented themselves before we boarded Speedy's Safari Trucks for an island tour that encompassed several viewpoints and the obligatory dose of rum punch.
After lunch on board, the crew went aloft to prepare for an afternoon of exhilarating sailing along the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Looking out to starboard at the granite coastline, our naturalist spotted a humpback whale, our first such sighting of the voyage. Pelicans could be seen plunging into the sea to feed on shoals of small fishes. Later in the afternoon, we had a talk on the enigmatic life of Patrick O'Brian, the English (not Irish, as he purported) historical novelist whose twenty-volume roman-fleuve set in the French Revolutionary Wars superbly recreates the great age of naval warfare under sail.
