ep65 - Sailing Virgin Gorda part 1 - Sailing BVI - Hallberg-Rassy 54 Cloudy Bay - Mar 2019

Sailing Anegada to Virgin Gorda, in the British Virgin Islands. Visiting the hurricane torn Gorda Sound, Oil Nut Bay, and then sailing down to The Baths.
After a few days on the stunning island of Anegada, we have a very tranquil sail south, back to Virgin Gorda, passing Richard Branson’s Necker island on the way and arriving into Oil Nut Bay. We visit the resort there with its gorgeous beach villas.
Then take a dinghy tour (with drone footage) around Gorda Sound, seeing what has become of Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Bitter End and Saba Rock resorts, 18 months after hurricane Irma struck in September 2017.
We then motor down to Spanish town, recording the coast line on our way.
12-13 March 2019
Visited: Necker Island, Prickly Pear Island, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, Bitter End, Mosquito Island, Maho Bay, Mango Bay resort, Baraka Point Estate, Katitche Point Great House, Rosewood Little Dix Bay, Oil Nut Bay Resort.

[@CDhunt]

Man that’s so said seeing virgin gorda ripped to shreds. Especially the Bitter End

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yes, pretty bad. But not unespected in the part of the world.

[@DaveSunderland]

Paradise indeed. And good guide to boot.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks for the comment Dave. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@tearsinthesun799]

There’s nothing better than cloudy captain and bunny, thank you so much and all stay safe.....

[@SailCloudyBay]

Hmmm looks like you are getting to know us Todd! Thanks for the comment.

[@mosca3289]

There are cruisers and then there are elegant cruisers. Such a dream, thanks Cloudy.

[@SailCloudyBay]

I hope we are the latter! :)

[@dancundiff3316]

Really great photography, reference points . The inset as before pics were amazing, and a little hear breaking. Irma was rough on our SW Florida home, now we await Ian, who is following the path of the destructive hurricane Charlie. Going to be along day.

[@peterconway6565]

And in HERE! Is the person cooking......'Ello!'. I adore you guys, you have no idea.

[@SailCloudyBay]

😊 thank you

[@michaeldobson8859]

The nicest water and weather in any of your videos. I want clean clear water 💦!

[@SailCloudyBay]

I was looking that the chocolate brown Chesapeak water yesterday and thinking the same, Micheal. I dont even wnat to put the boat into it!

[@davidmiller2179]

A beautiful boat slicing through the water!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yap .. and we love filming her doing her stuff. Although on this video she was somewhat gentle.

[@spirostathopoulos1346]

Beautiful video! I like how you always turn and admire Cloudy Bay as you dingy away.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Spiro, we need to make sure she is going to behave herself! Like leaving a dog, you have to give them a good hard stare when you go. Then all is OK :)

[@DDixon3121]

Another excellent video with tons of information for someone who hasn't been there yet. Thank you!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it, Dick.

[@rickdaniel8478]

You sailors Rock ! Great videos, thanks for sharing 😍 Sail on mates !

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks Rick, Our pleasure!

[@bobrose7900]

Another great sailing video from a previous time... bloody Covid! Hurricanes are a known risk, so why built a house on top of that rock! Surprising how well many properties survived in the sheltered bays - there's a moral to that. Did I detect a slightly under inflated dinghy? And who's complaining about 5 knots! Still, we may get out this weekend... fingers crossed. Can't wait to see you boat back in the water. Well done Glen and Ouana.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks Bob ... yes we can't wait to be out again. But not till Oct I think.

[@dalecharlesphoto]

OMG OIL NUT BAY!!! Am on their website now, holy shhhh... lol Easily one of the best resorts I have seen in your vids. Great coverage and videography here, aerials.. what a sail!! wow wow wow

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yeah it was really nice Dale. Surprised they let a couple of tramps like us in - but I did specially put a shirt on for the occasion, and Oana of course was looking delightful as usual.

[@SailCloudyBay]

hahaha, that's exactly what I though when I saw that resort from the drone... hence we had to go and investigate from up-close. :) Definitely one of our fav episodes this one.

[@sebastianurban8151]

Excelente!!!! Muy hermoso!!! Los felicito!!!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Sebastian, Muchas gracias de nosotros.

[@sebastianurban8151]

Im your fan from uruguay, South america!

[@bayanicustodio3998]

You two are so good.... I will be so looking forward to you two sailing after this pandemic slows down to let you two go sailing again. 👍🙂

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yeah ... we can't wait either.

[@sjgreene785]

That is pure heaven on earth!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yep, pretty nice. But did you watch the video from the week before, Episode 64 - Anegada? Now that's heaven!

[@Mr.Alia63]

Magnificent drone work. It's amazing when you return to Cloudy after leaving her for one day or two, it's like going home

[@SailCloudyBay]

Couldn't agree more, Ali.

[@music-man]

Hey Glen. Richard must have rebuilt his house as it was struck by fire a few years back and Kate Winslet was in the house with her mum and if i am not mistaken he helped everyone get out of the house. I used to shop at the first record store he had on New oxford street in 1970 and it was upstairs. He was there everyday selling records. cheers man. xxx

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks Andy. I was'nt aware of the fire. Given what Kate Winslet did to the Titanic I'm surprised he let her anywhere near his beautiful home!

[@music-man]

@@SailCloudyBay Lol hahah. Cheers man. best to you both x Me and the wife are off to Hawaii.

[@richardwagner4443]

Very, very nice, the explanations and drone flights are excellent, I hope there will be many more such reports.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks for the compliment, Richard. We were wondering if the explanations added to the video or not, so your kind comment is nice feedback for us. Yes, more to come each Friday ... while we still have material to edit.

[@michaeldobson8859]

Wow, terrible to see the wrath of a large hurricane and how it erases the surface of the earth. Only the concrete structures are left, stripped of their wooden uppers and lush landscaping. Hopefully by now they have made more progress and are opening activities.

[@SailCloudyBay]

This was almost 18 months after Irma. But I think places are starting to open up again. Certainly the charter fleet was back up and running. But not sure how that is post Covid.

[@31pu]

keep the videos coming! you're living one of my dreams and i imagine myself doing the things you are. especially like your maintenance videos!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks for the nice comment. Yes, the maintenance videos always seem the most popular

[@nortonmolly]

Very nice footage and commentary thanks👍

[@SailCloudyBay]

Glad you enjoyed it, Andrew. Not always sure narration helps but I think maybe it does.

[@rayrussell2735]

Amazing drone footage..

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks Ray .... We did seem to have the drone out quite a lot in that period.

[@mcd22630]

I was surprised to see the two of you slumming it in Oil Nut Bay. ;-) I spent a week sailing around the BVI in 2016. Saddened me to see the devastation Irma brought to the islands.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yeah we were a bit out of place there! But nice to see how the other half live ... when they are not working!

[@Kamabushi999]

In one of your videos Oana says we hope the dingy will be here when we return Now that is biatch! lol Also you left Cloudy 3 days unattended I could not enjoy anything under those conditions kudos to you It was the Saba Island trip on ferry I think.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Jake, we’ll dingoes and outboards often get stolen in the Caribbean. We had our outboard stolen in Puerto Rio. And yes it was SAba. But we had a neighbour look over the boat while we were away.

[@ps4peace]

Thank you once again for a stunning video!!!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Our pleasure!

[@dreadnoughtb3364]

That water WOW 👍

[@SailCloudyBay]

It was kind of nice eh. But this was before we went to the Bahamas .... that water beats 'em all.

[@lookituff1622]

wonderful!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Glad you think so!

[@jeffhapke]

Love watching that gorgeous machine slice the blue. Will you be back to her in 2021?

[@SailCloudyBay]

I'm back with the boat now Jeff, doing maintenance. We plan to launch in the fall of 2021 and get going again.

[@petertorrey4080]

Speaking of the "Baths"....was working on a corporate yacht( Gallant Lady) and several of our guests almost drowned. I was in the water with them at the time....my panic was real..lol. Besides that...the Virgins are beautiful. I will certainly NEVER forget the Baths.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Baths in the next episode Peter, for you to reminisce. Guests almost drown in the Baths? I wonder how that could happen. Maybe the crew got fed up with them!? :)

[@petertorrey4080]

@@SailCloudyBay We were anchored around the corner. The yacht was a 187 ft Fedship and we tendered the guests over in the tender ( a Tiara, lol) . They all wanted to swim to shore...about a hundred yards...without fins and few flotation devices...what could possibly go wrong? In retrospect...since everybody lived and prospered, hopefully, it was comical. In actuality....it was nightmarishly scary and irresponsible by the crew ( myself and others) Needless to say..I never get wet in open water without fins. It wasn't rough..but there was a good swell and the tide was going out. It's so easy to forget that, even know you are pretty much surrounded by some kind of land, it's ALL open ocean..basically. Especially Virgin Gorda...

[@2299jsimon]

It's geat not to be on the clock... life is good.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Life was good indeed, John, in those pre-covid times.

[@sjgreene785]

FREEDOM!!

[@SailCloudyBay]

Yes, it was life before Covid!

[@paultennis9569]

How do you avoid hitting the coral it looks like its all around. Thanks for the video

[@SailCloudyBay]

It's all marked on the charts we have Paul. And GPS positioning is very accurate these days. But we do also look at the colour of the water (reef = differnent colour) and try to have the sun behind us. But yes, when you get the view from the drone, I do often think "Oooh that was close!"

[@darren5472]

Another amazing video, the best views of the Caribbean I have ever seen. Looks like that trip needed some depth planning. What is the draft of Cloudy Bay? Would you trade her for a lifting keel boat or a catamaran?

[@SailCloudyBay]

Thanks for the compliment Darren. actually, really not too much of a problem for depths around the Caribbean. We are 8ft (2.5m draft) and never had a problem. Bahamas is the challenging area for depths. We did think about a lift keel when originally looking but now that we have cruised Bahamas (2020) with Cloudy Bay and got along OK, I'm glad we didn't get a swing keel. As for a catamaran, I'm afraid that's not proper sailing to me. And the motion in rough seas is not pleasant. Good for cocktails at anchor though. I guess that's why cats are so popular for charter these days.

[@darren5472]

@@SailCloudyBay Thanks for the insights Glen. I would agree that there is nothing like the feeling of a mono hull healing and cutting through the water. So many cruisers use or convert to cats. Sailing to me is more about the journey than the destination. 😀

[@frankiealas1]

Ya man island life

[@FighterFred]

They should build the houses high up into the rocks. The very rich can afford to rebuild of course.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Fredrik, For the first few months, no one could get materials because the ports were all blocked. But yes, 1 year later it's clear the wealthier resorts and house owner are already rebuilt.

[@michaeldobson8859]

Why is it we boat owners always look back at the boat when we dingy off to somewhere? It’s like we left someone behind.

[@SailCloudyBay]

So true .... it's almost like "please still be there when we return..."

[@hocndoc]

Come visit! We're open to visitors. All our beaches are "Queen's land," open to the public, up to the green line.

[@SailCloudyBay]

Where?

[@hocndoc]

@@SailCloudyBay The British Virgin Islands. As of May 15th, those visitors who are vaccinated who enter the Territory need a test prior to arrival and on arrival. Quarantine only 24-36 hours, until the entry test comes back negative.

[@SailCloudyBay]

We might well be back again this winter Beverly.

[@frankkreyssig7626]

Cloudy Bay is calling............ she wants her mast back up! ❤️

first?

[@SailCloudyBay]

You are, YOU ARE!

@@SailCloudyBay success!

[@SteifWood]

I have no idea why this channel popped up in my playlist. It's hard to find a more egocentric bragging display of "look what I have, you don't" than what you find @9:45.

[@SailCloudyBay]

I have no idea why it ended up on your playlist either - our videos are only supposed to be visible to people who understand and enjoy our sense of humor. I think you completely missed the joke in what I was saying. Anyway .... you made it to 9:45 minutes so the video couldnt have been all that bad?

[@SteifWood]

@@SailCloudyBay I fast forwarded and sorry I missed the "humor" .... didn't know Stupid Should Hurt.