The Bight

Rained all night and morning at Cooper Island. The wind clocked around to the NNW, and it got a little rough. Not bad, just loud slapping of waves on the boat and dinghy. During the first break in the rain, the kids swim in to shore to play on the beach and we enjoy coffee on the deck while getting ready to head out. When the kids get back we cast off in light rain and head back out into the Sir Francis Drake Channel and towards Normal Island. Soon after leaving the rain stops, and it actually starts getting lighter with some patches of blue sky. By the time we are half way, its only partly cloudy and turning into a nice day.

We pass Peter Island on the left, and can see St. John straight ahead. Looking off to the starboard side I was amazed to see a tuna shoot straight out of the water and up at least  10’ in the air. I have never seen such a thing. Either he was chasing something fast or the other way around. It was a big fish to be up that high.

We sail in to check out the Indians, a great snorkel site, but it is full of boats and the conditions are not great. The wind is blowing and there is 2’ chop all around. I don’t think the kids would enjoy it, so we’ll save it for a better day.

 

The Bight is mostly empty, and we are able to sail right up in front of the Pirates Bight restaurant and beach. Now the sun is shining, its getting warm and the water is back to the beautiful shade of blue. The bight is totally protected, and the water is flat – a nice change from bouncing around at Cooper island. We tie up and start to prepare lunch when the kids are shouting from the bow. A group of 5-6 French guys on a large cat are attempting to tie on to the ball in front of us and its not going well. The kids are howling with laughter (which is not helping the guy at the helm). Delaina declares this the ‘Boat Channel’ and takes a perch to watch the comedy. This goes on for what seems like 20 minutes or more. Several times they come running to the back of the boat when it looks like the other cat may come loose and swing back on us. Eventually they secure the boat and we can finish lunch.

     

After lunch, Noah takes the kayak into shore to check out a large inflatable climbing wall/slide he saw on the beach. We follow him in with the dinghy. There are some hiking trails to check out, and then we go back to the beach for a swim and slide down raft. Pirates Bight is a nice bar/restaurant, and this is definitely on our list of places to come back to with the See’s.

After getting back to the boat and cleaning up, Tracy and I head out in the dinghy to find Tim McKenna from the CIC. He’s hear teaching sailing classes and should be here in the Bight tonight. We complete the lap around the bay to find his boat just a few ball behind ours. Tim is doing well, having a great time sailing/teaching here this winter. He’s got a couple of week left before heading out. We mention that we are heading to Cane Garden Bay tomorrow, but he advises against it. With the storm, the northern swells will be rolling in there. He’s seen 4-6’ waves crashing in with these conditions. So we will need to find a new destination.