11.11.10 Anegada is a Go!!!

After constant deliberation and word from a weatherman posted up on shore at the Marina Cay, Anegada was a go! Sails came out and the crew was happy. Omelettes and hash browns with a choice of SPAM were served up for breakfast. Oranges were also served to prevent scurvy.  The Captain and his 1st mate, Darryl were so happy up top they requested cold beers. At 9:14am we were underway!

After about two hours at sea, we had Anegada in our sites...Land Ho!

Erin motored us into the bay by utilizing the expression, "Red right returning." A reminder that the red buoys are kept to the starboard or right side of the boat.

Flying fish were jumping up to welcome us to Anegada. At its highest point, the island of Anegada is only 28 feet high.

We moored at Anegada in the sun. We happily jumped into the dink and unloaded at the Anegada Reef Hotel where we waited for an open air taxi to take us to Loblolly Bay for snorkeling, noodling, lunch, and drinks.

We arrived at Loblolly Bay and there was talk of taking pictures at the Corona commercial spot - see the picture below. We all were excited to get in the water, so we put the photo shoot off for later.

Needless to say, snorkeling was a dud, the water was just too murky to see any fish.  Noodling continued to be a huge success.  Erin, Ann and I provided everyone entertainment by exhibiting our water ballet skills. We put on a fantastic show.

Jerry Krause was knocked over by a huge wave and it definitely had its way with him. Ann ran to help her hubby only to reenact a love scene from the movie, From Here to Eternity.

The crew started to get hungry for lunch, so Brian served as the island waiter. He ran up to the restaurant and brought the menu out to the water and took our order. After much confusion and many orders of conch fritters, lunch was set. Just as we began to set up shop on the beach it started to rain and Captain Jerry decided to "go ahead" and start drinking rum straight up. We all ran over to the Bamboo Restaurant to take shelter and find warmth in our conch fritters. As I was shoveling conch fritters down my throat, I noticed the welcome sign at the Big Bamboo Restaurant. The sign read: "Welcome! Please remember the toes you step on today may be attached to the ass you might kiss tomorrow."

The open air taxi was not due back to pick us up until 4:00pm and we had two hours left to wait, so Captain Jerry went ahead and called for an earlier pick up. The taxi showed up revving its engine and we all piled in for what seemed very similar to the Splash Mountain ride at Disneyland. Of course I was not thinking clearly and I decided to sit in the front row with Jerry and Ann Krause and we got the worst of it! Once we were underway it seemed to pour harder than it was before. We were shivering, shaking and laughing to tears. 

We finally arrived back to the Anegada Reef Hotel drenched to the bone and desperate for shelter and warmth.  I was among the first passengers to head back to the boat, while the remaining crew huddled under an awning. The crew set out to the dinghy, just asking for further punishment.  Brian served as the dinghy captain and to keep from drowning in hopes of protecting his passengers, he dawned a snorkel and burned rubber. The first group landed safely back at the boat.  I remained on the dinghy with Brian to pick up the second crew and it seemed like the rain was letting up. No sooner were we three feet from the boat that it started pouring down rain even harder! The second group of passengers ran out from the awning and into the boat. They did not pay too much attention to Brian's snorkel - they just wanted to get to the boat. 

Upon arrival, the 2nd dinghy crew noticed a brownish color tint of water draining out the side of the boat. The first guess was that someone from the first dinghy crew had the you know what scared out of them!  Brian thought it might be an oil spill. It wasn't until Dude stepped out on the back deck and told us it was him, pouring out the morning coffee.