Snorkeling in the BVI: The good, the OK and the ugly

Near Eustatia Island, we snorkel on the reef at the edge of the ocean facing the Atlantic. In addition to some towering stands of staghorn coral and wide groves of elkhorn coral populated with schools of yellow striped blue grunts we are treated to rare iridescent-green cornet fish.  At one point we pause to admire a grey Atlantic ray with a 3 foot wingspan as it regards us warily with eerie yellow eyes. Luckily, we also noticed several cannons, artifacts recovered from Spanish galleons sunken in the treacherous reefs over the years and placed here for fun.

On the day before touring the Baths, we try a couple other BVI marine parks along smaller islands named the Dogs. The first park we try to visit is untenable in the high swell and wind, so we move on. The second of the BVI park buoys seems more protected, so we stop for a snorkel break. The swell and reef make snorkeling in pairs the safest approach. We find a lot of beautiful sea fans and dead coral. The fish seem larger here, and the experience is redeemed when we spy a blue spotted file fish, nearly 2 feet long.  Later, at the market we see stacks of dead, oddly washed-out looking parrotfish for sale and we understand why they are so plentiful when protected. The good news is that the marine parks clearly help restore the fish populations.

Ironically, our most disappointing snorkel occurs at one of the most beautiful beaches, Loblolly on the north side of Anegada. Starkly white, with rose overtones near the shoreline, beach stretches in a gentle mile long arc.  As we beach comb, we can see the pink and white coral which are the source of this gorgeous sand. The water ranges from turquoise to a pale green hue. But the reef is littered with skeletons of finger, elkhorn and brain coral. We see only a few fish, mostly blue tang, female stoplight parrot fish and sergeant major fish. The experience depresses us, so we swim for shore. Enroute we are startled by a peacock flounder. His camouflage hides him so well that JT cannot sight him until he darts forward, creating a small cloud of sand.  This is the clearest evidence we’ve seen of the coral reef die-off and its effect is both sobering and disheartening.  This level of damage seems a more intractable problem.

The best snorkel of our trip occurs on our final day in the BVI at Cooper Island. Near the shore of the bay a small, kid-friendly snorkeling area lies quite close to our mooring. The reef while small is quite alive with grouper, damselfish, sea anemones, urchins and trunkfish. The next day we dingy over to a large jutting rock near the channel. The water is rougher, but the snorkeling is tremendous. The coral and the fish are amazing. We see many types of coral not listed in our guidebook and several large unusual black and orange triggerfish and 3 different types of trumpetfish. After Anegada, we are thrilled by its splendor and stay in the water until the cold and current drive us back to the dingy. Its a relief to see this healthy reef.