Gorda Sound

To reach Anegada, we have to break Rule #1 of cruising – never fight to windward. The seas are still too high to try to anchor off this “Killer” island. Anegada is flatter than Conington – just a few feet above sea level so almost impossible to see until you are on top of it, and surrounded by a maze of coral reefs that claimed many ships in bygone days, hence the name. However, it promises some of the best reefs in the BVI and, of course, those ship wrecks to dive. The slog to windward was rewarded by some spectacular panoramas through the islands – we had missed these vistas by arriving in darkness last week.

Sailing through British Virgin Islands

The shallow reefs we have explored so far have been quite disappointing compared to further south. The coral appears to have just died, leaving hard coral rock skeletons with only 5% living corals. There is not the evidence of choking by algae that we saw in the Grendines, but something is affecting the health of the reefs here. Despite that, large numbers of reef fish remain and Gorda Sound at the north tip of Virgin Gorda is no exception. There are good numbers of turtles here also in the sea grass beds, and these seem oblivious to the snorkelers – they even rise to investigate a swimmer. I also spotted a pair of cuttlefish flashing the most amazing colour changes on my approach.

Reef of discarded conch shells, Virgin Gorda

More sadly, at the entrance to the natural harbour off Colquhoun Reef, I came across a huge area of discarded conch shells. The conch is a large and delicious mollusc, as sought after as lobster, and like the lobster, it has suffered population declines through over exploitation. We have only seen one live animal on the trip but myriads of shells, all showing the telltale slit in the curl where the fishermen have severed the muscle to extract the meat cleanly. Here there were literally tens of thousands of shells, piled high on the sea bed. It really brought home the high numbers of these wild creatures that are taken to feed the wealthy diners.

Two racing yachts pass for a closer look at Croix des Gardes