Dive #199 - Rich Torkington's Dive Log

Surfacing to get a bead on the dinghy
Videograph by Janel Torkington in BVI 2004

Dive Journal: The Cuan Law sails east to Virgin Gorda, and we moor at a beach a little bit north of The Baths. Guests and crew take two loaded dinghys onto the beach, and the crew sets up for a grilled lunch at an idyllic spot beneath the palms. This area of the beach is piled with huge granite boulders, seemingly dropped from the sky.

We do some so-so snorkeling around the boulders, then join the group in a game of Frisbee tag in a shallow protected pool. The game turns into sort of a Frisbee keepaway with lots of friendly water tackling, and the guests eventually take on the crew plus a few locals who join in with us – what a riot.

Chef Dan fixes us a delicious lunch, and while we wait, Dan (steward) challenges us to scale a slanted palm tree among the picnic tables. He goes first and gets at least 1/3 the way up the tree before the climb gets too hard. I step up to the tree, get about 4 or 5 feet up, but find the balance and lack of traction too much for me. Johnny then steps up and wows everyone with a climb rivaling Stew Dan’s, and gets a nice round of applause.

A handful of us grab our stuff and head back to the Cuan Law after lunch for an afternoon dive. The dinghys take us to a nearby site called The Aquarium, so named due to a reputation for swarms of small fish.

Today the visibility is not good, and perhaps because of this, there are also few fish here. The group takes off on a big circular route going counter clockwise. Janel and I see a few schoolmasters and steer in towards the middle of the route, stopping to explore around a while. When we return to the path, we continue in the CCW direction but can’t seem to catch up with any other divers.

The Cuan Law showing her Canadian roots as we
approach her in the dinghy.
Photograph by Rich Torkington in BVI 2004

We spend some time trying different routes, then finally decide we’re officially separated from the group. With the milky visibility, we decide to retrace our path back to the dinghy, exploring as we go. Janel doesn’t like this turn of events too much. The dive is very shallow, less than 30’, and so I surface once to get a bead on the boat.

We eventually meet up with the other divers, who emerge from the opposite direction. Nobody saw very much on this dive, except the group did see a nice turtle in our absence. We head back to the shore on Virgin Gorda, this time a bit further south, and the guests then enjoy a wonderful hike through The Baths. The size of the boulders (like houses) and the gorgeous turquoise of the tidal pools around them make the hike really special. A well-worn path weaves its ways between, underneath, over, and through the openings between the towering stones.

The dinghy eventually picks us up, and we see that the Cuan Law has already pulled anchor and is on full sail headed west away from us through the channel. She has her “gully womper” sail hoisted showing off a huge Canadian Maple Leaf in red white and blue, and is truly a gorgeous sight. The dinghy goes full throttle, doing only a few mph faster than the Cuan Law, especially since we’re loaded down with about 15 people. As we slowly gain, I lean way over the sides of the dinghy and shoot several digital pics of the majestic boat. The dinghy, still at nearly full throttle, finally docks with the Cuan Law still at full sail - wicked cool.

Our stay on the Cuan Law has been truly excellent. It is a fantastic liveaboard in a fantastic location, with fabulous food combined with a fabulous crew. Our heartfelt thanks to Captain Chas, Chef Dan, Engineer Ed, Instructor Abie, Instructor Ajay, Steward Ashlee, and Steward Dan (Stew Meat).