BVI ABC's: Ants, Boats, and Cruiseships

As we pointed the bow towards Marina Cay and settled in to read over the guide book, I saw our first stowaway. A large black ant, crawling across the page that I was reading. Then, another, and another, followed by a huge group of them next to the seat cushion where our binoculars were resting. No big deal, as I swiped them off the seat and onto the back of the boat. A quick rinse with the transom shower and they were gone. Looks like we picked up some ants while at the dock. Well, 'some ants' turned into quite a lot of ants! They were all over the deck of the boat! I waged battle for the entire passage to Marina Cay! Fortunately, they didn't make it beyond the cockpit and the deck. I didn't see any ants while at the marina, however, it just proves that anything can get aboard if one is not careful. Chalk it up to another lesson learned.

Marina Cay is nestled in front of Scrub Island and Camanoe Island. It was about a 40 minute sail over from Virgin Gorda. It is a flatter island with a very shallow reef surrounding it.

Marina Cay, Scrub Island, and Cam Bay services: restaurant, bar, hotel, fuel, ice, water, garbage disposal, WiFi, ferry to trellis bay, and Pussers store.

We sailed up to the channel entrance, dropped the sails, and motored over to the mooring field. We were all alone, save for one tiny sailboat maneuvering the mooring balls as part of their sailing school course. Picked up our mooring and jumped into the water to check out the sights. We decided to dingy over to the dock to check out the island a little while later, as it was hot and a cool drink was beckoning.

Amethyst is right behind the cat that just pulled up. The cat that almost ran aground on the reef about 10 minutes after this shot was taken.

Walking from the dingy dock to the other side of the island.

We entered the reef to go snorkeling from this side and ended up swimming all the way around to our dingy.

Tied up to the dock, we peeked over the side of the dingy and saw lots of fish right below us! We walked along the island path through lush vegetation to the beach area lined with chairs and thatched umbrellas. A boat was unloading a group of tourists, so we decided to just head out into the water for some snorkeling before it got too crowded. Turns out, we ended up being the only ones out there the entire time, as the group mostly concerned themselves with just the beach bar and the water's edge. 

I have to say that we were quite disappointed with the visibility and quality of the snorkeling. Could it be that it once was an ideal spot, but with growing tourism, the scenery was destroyed? A couple of engines were found, with marine life growing on them (mother nature taking over), however, the scenery wasn't as bright and colorful as we have seen in other locations. The urchins were huge though! They were triple the size of the urchins back home with much longer spines.

The further from shore, the better it got, however, due to the swell happening, it wasn't as clear as it could have been. I found a lonely conch trundling along the sea floor, as we swam closer back to shore. I was surprised at just how bright the orange coloring is on the other side. Two little eyes peeked out at me, curious as what creature had turned its world upside down (yes, I set it back on it's original course).

Can you see the little purple and yellow fish peeking out?

I turned around to show Jared and right there behind me, there was a barracuda, still as stone watching me. I have read about these fish and how they are most famous for their large sharp teeth.  This one looked to be a juvenile, however, it was still too close for comfort. It is quite eery, as these fish are not scared off in any way and just hover there staring at you. This ranked high on my 'creep-o-meter', so I slowly swam away with the hope it wouldn't follow. Just another reminder that we are a guest in their home.

It's hard to see with the background, but there it is!


After snorkeling a bit, we decided that we had better get a move on if we wanted to snorkel The Indians and our last anchorage for the night. We headed back to the boat to drop off the snorkel gear, change into dry clothing, and pick up some cash to buy snacks and cold drinks for the passage.

As we walked along the shaded path, sprinkled with patches of sunlight and scurrying lizards, we paused a moment to take it all in. What an amazing and beautiful place, these islands are. We can't wait to bring the kids back here on our cruising adventure.

Back on the boat, we set our course for Norman Island and The Indians. What a glorious afternoon it was sailing along. Being that it was still hurricane season, there weren't that many boats out and about. The only encounter we had was a large cruise ship coming from Tortola heading straight for us. They did not turn or change course, so we slowed a bit in order to let them pass. You'd think they would be a bit more polite, considering their wake would make things quite rough for us. Nope. Jerks.

Anyway, I found a few more ants while underway. That occupied me for a good while and I finally got the last one just as we were approaching the mooring balls at The Indians.

Up next, our snorkeling, shark worries, and Soldier Bay!