(G) We left Benures Bay on Wednesday, April 9th to head to Soper’s Hole to pick up our mail from Soper’s Hole Yacht Services. We’d had our boat painted there in January and they were kind enough to allow us to use their address for a mail delivery. We decided not to stay overnight, so it was a quick pick up of a mooring ball, Paul getting in the kayak and picking up the mail, and we were off to Jost van Dyke (pronounced Yost) Island.
We decided to anchor over near Sandy Spit (aptly named) next to Green Cay. We spent the next two days paddling between the island and our boat with Charlie who loved to run on the sandy beach. We were quite comfortable with the exception of the wasps that decided our boat was to become their new home. At least until I (G) noticed and put a stop to that. They discovered a small hole in the boat where our outdoor shower hose is inserted. Remember for my birthday in January, P bought me a bug zapper tennis racket thing. Well, I got a few and then I discovered about 20 hanging out around the hose. So out I went with my racket, and zapped away. After disposing of at least 20 wasps and delivering them to the fish below our boat (wish we could have got a picture), I filled the hole with an old rag to dissuade them further entry. This was the first night. Over the next two days wasps arrived with regularity to have me continue my rant with the racket. The fish under the boat were pleased. I believe I fed them at least 50 wasps, if not more. (P) Talk about hunter/killer, watching my step these days!
(G)After two days of battling wasps, I decided to take it as a sign to leave. We left it up to the winds to decide which direction we would head. Off we went to the east as the winds were east to south east. As we approached noon, while under sail with fickle winds, I suggested we stop at Monkey Bay-Guana Island for a break and a snorkel. We’d heard good things about this location for snorkeling, but knew it was not a likely overnight spot. We were hungry upon arrival, so I suggest we eat first, then relax to digest, and then snorkel.
So I decided to make tomato soup with macaroni noodles. To my displeasure when I poured the macaroni noodles into the boiling water, suddenly up floated about 10 or 12 small black bugs. Okay, so I thought I’d had my share of bugs with the wasps, but karma or whatever had other ideas. I was about to discard the macaroni and try with another type of noodle, when P says, just rinse them off. Well, that won’t do, so I worked painstakingly to remove every bug from that water while the noodles cooked, then rinsed the noodles like no tomorrow before adding them to our soup bowls. I know, you’re thinking, WTF. But we’re cruising and this is not the first time we’ve had to deal with such things. We believe it’s due to the boxes that the noodles are stored in at the stores here. I bring them home and immediately restore everything into mason jars. I figure the bug larvae/eggs/or whatever are not hatched at this point, because there is no sign of anything when I remove the noodles from the boxes, then they somehow hatch before I use the noodles. Needless to say, I’ve had enough of bugs.
After lunch we snorkeled in Monkey Bay while Charlie was tied to the dinghy mooring on the paddle board. He’s much quieter with us snorkeling if he can be near by. The fish were incredible and the water was so clear. We then departed and headed to Trellis Bay. That is where we are now. Next we’ll decide if we stay here until April 15th for the full moon party (what this bay is famous for). Tomorrow we’ll go ashore to explore.