We spent a day exploring Tyrrel Bay and relaxing in the shade of a local cafe that offered both black and yellow juice. Finally, someone had the foresight to cater to the needs of the sailing community (and make a profit in the process) by opening a well-stocked shop, which hadn’t been the case in previous locations we’d visited. There were indeed many sailors, especially as the season was coming to an end, as people leave their boats here during the off-season, apparently because hurricanes tend to bypass this area.
We decided to take a short trip to the bay next to Sand Island—the one with the turquoise water and beautiful beaches that our police officer/guide had pointed out on our way to Hillsborough, calling it a “tourist spot.”
We arrived faster than we expected, but the weather quickly turned. The wind grew stronger and stronger, and at one point, we quickly returned to the boat. A torrential downpour began, accompanied by extremely strong winds gusting over 30 knots, reaching 40 knots in some bursts. To prevent the anchor from dragging or anything else from going wrong, we started the engines to reduce the strain on the anchor. Catamarans, with their larger surface area, experience greater wind resistance than traditional sailboats, which significantly increases the load on the anchor.
After the rain poured down intensely, everything calmed down, and the sun quickly reappeared. We returned to Tyrrel Bay, spent the night, and set off the next day for the capital, St. George’s, where we needed to restock on supplies and complete our checkout procedures before moving on.