I love my time relaxing on the beach, but I’m always up for a little adventure, so on our January 2020 visit to Anguilla, we booked a trip with Anguilla’s Rum & Reel Charters.
Anguilla’s Rum & Reel Charters offers a variety of tours, including half and full-day trips for fishing, snorkeling and sightseeing. You may have a particular destination in mind like Sandy Island or Prickly Pear, or maybe you just want to take a trip around the island. Chris at Anguilla Charters can design the trip so you can plan the perfect day. We booked a half-day trip and got 10% off with our Anguilla card!
As our trip approached, the weather was not looking good. The winds were picking up and the swells were expect to be pretty high. Given the forecast, Chris at Anguilla Charters contacted us to see if we could go on a different day to take advantage of the calmer seas earlier in our week, so we made the change and are glad we did given the high waves and wind we saw over the next few days.
We set out from Sandy Ground on the Wendy 3, locally known as “Striker.” Striker is a 50-foot boot rescued after taking a hit by Hurricane Irma. The boat is comfortably outfitted and manned by a wonderful crew who made for a great day. We started out the morning with a ride out of Sandy Ground, along Meads Bay, and out to the Arch.
We rounded the western end of the island and came upon Anguillita, a small, uninhabited island split in two by the sea.
We came around the southern end, passing Sherrick’s Bay and Shoal Bay West, coming in to Cap Juluca at Maunday’s Bay to do a bit of snorkeling.
Michael preferred to lounge on the front deck of the boat.
With Allison at the helm, and with a bit of guidance from our captain, Mom and Dad could relax for the ride around the island.
Our next stop was Little Bay. Given the waves out at sea, Prickly Pear was not an option, so Little Bay was our best bet for doing some snorkeling. We were not disappointed!
As soon as we anchored, up to the boat swam a group of flat-headed fish. These are remoras, or suckerfish. You’ll often see them taking a ride on the underside of sharks. The top of their heads have a series of slats which can suction onto the bottom of other sea creatures. They were harmless, and fun to see swimming around us as we started snorkeling.
Little Bay was also teeming with turtles that day. I saw more turtles there than I had seen in all our past snorkeling trips on Anguilla combined.
And with the height of Striker, you can see right up at “nest level” to do some birdwatching.
After a great time snorkeling, we headed back to Sandy Ground. Our crew couldn’t be better. They were able to create a great trip when our original plan fell through, and we enjoyed every minute. If you’re up for some adventure, give Anguilla Rum & Reel Charters a call. Even if the weather is not cooperating, you can still have a great time and take home some wonderful memories above and below sea level.
