Musical Mooring Balls

Thur Feb 15 4:00pm Yep..I forgot Valentines Day..Capt is in the doghouse...Yesterdays weather forecasted winds 25+ knots from the East. To get to Virgin Gorda, one would have to motor into 6-10 ft seas...not high on my list. so we stayed at Marina Cay. After the Charter crowd left around 10am we anchored up in the front of the mooring field...good spot..great holding ...a and away from the crazies that would start to show up around 3pm. The place was almost full when we dinked in to dump garbage ($2 A BAG) and so Joyce could get me out walking..and buy some more postcards. We noticed this 30+ footer banging away into those 8-10 footers...not a pretty site, on his way to Virgin Gorda. We stopped to get some postcards...squall coming..rush back in time to close the hatches. About this time here comes 6-8 cats and a few mono hulls..my guess making the downwind run from Virgin Gorda sound where we are now. A quick look around found only 2-3 moorings left.

That meant some would have to anchor. I think they have removed that question from the sailing resume that one must fill out before you can charter. It's now .."How many times have you picked up a mooring?" They all race and I mean full throttle through the anchorage like "Musical Mooring Ball." Winds now at 28- 30 knots and these idiots are trying to set an anchor in 25-30 ft of water. Not real easy if you know what you are doing hilarious if you don't. Boats dropping anchors drifting back into other boats...

Anchor by Committee

These guys are part of a group...all flying big yellow flags...I think it means "danger idiot at the helm..." 4-5 guys up on the foredeck trying to get the anchor down....They fly by one boat out of control before the anchor grabs. They are real close to 2 boats, both monohulls that sail back and forth in the wind. As they come together they are only 3-4 ft apart. Do they pull up and re anchor..NO..they put out all there fenders..jump in the dink and head for the bar!!!!!!!!

WOW..another cat is trying to drop his anchor in 35+ ft..after 3-4 tries a Capt from another boat of the same charter company (The smarter of the charter boat crowd, those who know they don't know what they are doing hire a Capt... more should do this) dinks over to help them. Another mono hull makes 4 tries before hooking something at the rear of the mooring field.

These are "Smart" Charterers.... They have a Capt

We are talking non-stop afternoon entertainment here. By 5:30 everyone had found a place ..safe or not..they weren't going to move anymore. About this time here comes this guy on a 32'footer with his lady...racing through the anchorage at full speed...was our guy that wanted to get to Virgin Gorda in 10 ft waves.. Of course there is no room at the Inn for Him...he spies a free ball way up in the front of the anchorage...probably for a dink. I say to Joyce...he is going to run aground..

.yep..he does...then backs off at full speed almost back into the reef behind him...he speeds through the anchorage 1 more time before he decides that everyone has had their fill of entertainment for the day and motors off to the anchorage over by the airport....I'm sure it is full there too...but he is not up wind of me so I get to sleep well. Just a few more days of this and we go back to the USVI.

You have to look close...but there he goes...

We dinked in this afternoon to see about Joyce diving the Rhone. Mooring field here better organized..more space between boats...grilling some of our fish for dinner...another day in Paradise.