Road Bay, Anguilla - 18 11.96N 063 05.55W

OOJAH's AWESOME ODYSSEY
Peter & Christene Tanner
Fri 26 Apr 2013 16:28
We stayed in St Martins longer than we wanted to because of the wind which was gusting above 30 kts & made even going ashore in the dinghy problematic unless you wanted to get drenched. Oojah was shearing round her mooring & we were constantly aware that we didn't know how good the mooring was. One night there was a loud thump & we'd been hit by a yacht whose anchor had dragged - we held the two boats apart for an hour before its crew returned & disentangled ourselves with only minor scuffing as far as I can see.
Anguilla is totally different - quiet, very Caribbean & the locals are charming; it seems to have pitched its tourist industry more upmarket, although there's currently not many visitors. It's still a British dependancy although there's not much evidence of this. The wind is now down & Road Bay has a nice sandy beach with a handful of local bars & restaurants. For the first time out here we got the bikes out & cycled 7 miles to Shoal Bay described as one of the most beautiful in the Caribbean but forgot to take our swimming kit - the white sand & azure sea behind the reef were indeed stunning. The following day we took a water taxi out to Sandy Island, a very small islet with a makeshift bar & good snorkelling. Our final expedition from Anguilla was to sail out to Prickly Pear Island (a bigger version of Sandy Island) & thence to Great Dog Island, remote & uninhibited but a beautiful anchorage & beach. We had felt very comfortable in Anguilla but it was time to move on.

Peter & Christene