With large swells rolling down the Gangway, we relaxed on board and enjoyed surfing down each wave en route to Peter Island. Surfing a 50 foot Beneteau sailboat is a great feeling, it makes you realize just how big the ocean is.Winds were light, and it became difficult to keep the jib full. Charter boats usually have heavier-duty sails on board designed to stand up to lots of wear and tear. Heavier duty means heavier weight, so in the rare moments when the wind is light down here, the jib can be difficult to fill.
So we rolled up the jib and sailed under main alone. Even under one sail, we still made 7 or 8 knots down the channel, thanks in part to the swells rolling gently past.
We took up a mooring in Great Harbour, just off shore of the Oceans 7 Beach Club. After picking up a mooring, we noticed several turtles swimming just off the shore. We hurried to grab our snorkeling gear, and headed into one of the small beaches along the cliffs where we tied up the dinghy and spend an hour snorkeling. There are lots of fish here, and zippers – the plant-like flowers that grow out of the coral. When you approach a zipper, it suddenly retracts into the coral, completely disappearing from view. The Beach Club would be a great place to spend half a day, with water trampolines and floating climbing walls anchored off its sandy shore.
After snorkeling, we dinghied over to the far side of Great Harbour and then walked around the corner of the island to Peter Island Yacht Club, an upscale club with beautiful scenery. We continued around to Dead Mans Bay, which surprisingly is one of the most romantic beaches in the world, according to some travel magazine somewhere. Although the name doesn’t inspire amour, the name does have some significance. The beach has a view of Dead Mans Chest Island, where Blackbeard marooned several crew.
The guys had planned this evening several days before while we were at Bitter End Yacht Club. We had purchased necklaces at the gift shop and managed to keep them hidden until we got to this beach.
We made our way back around the island and across Great Harbour to the Oceans 7 Beach Club where we ate dinner then returned to the boat for the night.