Finally it was departure day! Our crew enjoyed hot showers at the Moorings marina and grabbed some breakfast early on Sunday before heading to Saba Rock for our first night at anchor. Ben got up each day at 7am and reserved our mooring ball with the BoatyBall app and for this visit, he got the very last ball available. This will not the be first time this happens.
While moored in the marina, the Moorings keep the dinghies tied off to the front of the boats. When you leave the port, the dinghy floats underneath the catamaran towards the stern so you can put it on the davit. That seemed like a pain, so Scott and Ben managed to bring it around while we were in the slip and get it up on the davit.
The trek to Saba Rock was easy and pleasant the entire way. We had 20 knot winds from the south east and the Moorings 433 Powercat did great. Our journey took us just about an hour and a half going 14 knots at 2800 RPM (which seemed high to me). Having never grabbed a mooring ball before, the four of us were a little nervous.
Ben had hook duty and then Maria & I were on line duty for each side. Before we left the port, we got our mooring lines ready on the boat. While there are cleats on the bow of the boat, you never use those for a mooring ball; instead use your cleats at the forward position on the port and starboard side of the boat. We caught the hook right away, but lost it quickly as the wind moved us forward. Scott threw it in reverse and we tried again, this time nailing it. We were officially moored at Saba Rock.
Exploring The Baths
The four of us hopped in dinghy leaving Saba Rock and headed to Leverick Bay just a short dinghy ride away. From there we parked the dinghy at what appeared to be the dinghy dock, walked a few steps and found Cyril who owns Cyril’s Taxi Service.
He gave us a quick tour of eastside of the island which included a stop at the very top.
Once we arrived at The Baths, we decided to grab a quick bite at the Mad Dog sandwich shop. The BLTs were fantastic! Also at the top, you will find shops and a restaurant that offers a pool. We had drinks after exploring The Baths and they were much needed.
When molten volcanic rock cooled just off the coast, it formed the gigantic granite boulders now known as The Baths. It is easy to buy your ticket when you arrive. We didn’t know that our National Parks Permit would get us in, so we didn’t bring it. But at $3.50 per person, we were happy to contribute. Our crew followed the main trail down to the beach, where we came upon more shopping. There are signs directing you where to go and folks were tell us to go right and start the trail clock-wise. Instead our crew went left, thru the Caves first and then onto Devil’s Bay.
There’s an infamous shot of The Baths and somehow, Scott and I failed to capture it. It was pretty crowded when we were there, so it was probably because of the people. These photos don’t do The Baths justice. They were so big and impressive. Be sure to watch our YouTube video below for the full tour.
We found the trail back up the hill to be much easier from this direction, than if we would have taken the stairs we used when we arrived. The entire exploration took us about an hour and a half.
Saba Rock & Bitter End Yacht Club
Ben made us dinner reservations at the Bitter End Yacht Club the day before (highly recommend you plan ahead). We tried getting into Saba Rock for dinner, but they were full. Instead, we took the dinghy over for drinks to explore this famous rock, before heading to the Bitter End. Be aware, that the dinghy dock is jam packed! It may look like there’s no room, but they will squeeze you in!
Saba Rock was packed with people and it was difficult to get service. We were lucky to get a round of drinks. They do have a very nice gift shop and all four of us bought a shirt.
After exploring all day in the hot sun, our crew was hungry and ready for dinner. The Bitter End Yacht Club is a 5 minute dinghy ride across the channel from Saba Rock. They just reopened after Hurricane Irma destroyed it years ago. The food and service was amazing and we’re so glad we swapped Saba Rock for the Bitter End Yacht Club for our first evening.
We can’t wait to come back and spend more time here. Just being at anchor in this paradise was heaven!
We were almost killed on our first night
As I mentioned above, the BEYC is about a 5 minute dinghy ride across the channel. Here’s what it looks like:
During the day you will find all kinds of traffic, including ferries.
Our crew learned a brutal lesson on our first night of the charter. We left BEYC around 9:30pm and hopped in the dinghy with our goodies. Because we never travel at night at home, it didn’t occur to us to grab a flashlight or turn on our phone lights so others could see us. As we were traveling across the channel in the pitch dark, we suddenly saw a 30′ yacht tender coming straight at us! He was going about 15 mph from Saba Rock (too fast!) and we started screaming “Hey! Hey!”, but they couldn’t hear us. At the very last second, we diverted and they saw us, coming within 3 inches of slicing our boat in half. The wake their boat created when that happened completed soaked us and we were all very shaken up. Thank God, no one was hurt – it was truly a miracle!
Here’s the yacht tender the next day.
Needless to say, we always had a light if we traveled at night. Our first night saved and we were anxious to start our next leg of the journey. Tune into our next blog, as we head to Cane Bay and explore Monkey Point.
As always, thank you for following our journey. As I type this, I (Ally) am actually living in Florida full-time, so subscribe to the blog and vlog (link below) for an update on that journey. You can follow us on social @BoatingJourney #BoatingJourney
Cheers, Scott and Ally
