Just a beam reach away...

Our boat, Shibumi II, on a beam reach en route to Anegada (just visible off the bow).

The Captain and Crew

From left: Matt, Leslie, Georgianna, John (our Captain and instructor), and Tim after dinner ashore on Marina Cay.

Home, Home Again

What a week! We were scheduled to arrive on St Thomas on the 10th and ferry over to Tortola that afternoon. The airlines had something else in mind and we arrived an hour and half late in St Thomas, missing the last ferry of the day. We were stuck on St Thomas along with a young couple from South Africa, Barry and Bridgette. They were returning from vacation in Mexico to get back to work as charter crew members out of Tortola. We found a place to stay and had dinner together before turning in for the night. The next morning we caught the first ferry out of Red Hook into Soper's Hole. After clearing customs we taxied to Cane Garden Bay and joined Leslie's parents at the Agape Cottages. We spent a relaxing morning on the beach and then taxied over to the Moorings for a burger and to explore the docks.

We arrived at the Pro Valor dock in Fat Hog's Bay right on time. After a quick meeting and dinner we turned in for the night aboard Shibumi II, a 41 foot Beneteau monohull. The next morning, after an orientation, we set sail for Norman Island and some snorkeling at the Caves. These caves are said to have been used by pirates for hiding treasure. I snorkeled into the back of the largest cave (about 100 feet back into the cave) and found a stone beach.

After our snorkel, we then sailed/motored to Little Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. We had dinner at Sydney's Peace and Love where Sydney's son, JoJo, turned a conch into a horn that we learned to blow. It was quite loud and we used it throughout the remainder of the trip to mark our coming and going, etc.

The next morning we sailed to Sandy Cay and Leslie's parents snorkeled while Leslie and I went ashore and walked the trail. It is the quintessential deserted island. From there we sailed/motored to Marina Cay where we had dinner at Pussers. That was my second time eating at Pussers and both times were irritating. I don't think I'll go there willingly again. Marina Cay was also unimpressive. It may be beautiful from the air, but from the water it is unremarkable. It sits just off the departure end of Beef Island Airport, adding aircraft noise to the experience.

The next morning, our instructor, John, told us he was taking us to the best snorkeling spot in the islands. We motored over to Fallen Jerusalem just off of Virgin Gorda. There is a single mooring ball and we wanted to make sure and get it. It was a great spot to snorkel, but we noticed a lot of jelly fish. Leslie and I got out of the water after only a few minutes. We noticed John making his way back as well. He had been stung by a large jelly fish that wrapped around his torso. Then Tim and Georgianna returned to the boat also having been stung (although not as severely). John began having trouble breathing, but assured us he was ok. He told us to take the boat out into the channel and sail toward the Dogs while he went below to recover. However, Georgianna (an RN) kkept an eye on him and shortly announced that he needed medical attention. He was having trouble breathing, sweating profusely and had full body tremors. He was going into anaphelactic shock. So we dropped sail and motored quickly over to Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda. We caught a mooring ball and Tim and I dinghied in with John to the clinic. John was seen quickly and with treatment recovered within a few hours. We then sailed on to North Sound and a mooring at Biras Creek. Dinner that night was pasta and meat sauce aboard.

The next day we sailed for Anegada. The wind was up just enough to keep us moving along at about 4 knots. A few hours later we arrived at the Anegada Reef Hotel. We taxied around to Cow Wreck Beach and spent the afternoon on the beach. Dinner was lobster.

The next morning we set sail for Spanish Town. Along the way we practiced heaving to, tacking, jibing, running wing and wing, etc. We soon arrived at Spanish Town. We had to anchor since all the balls were taken. Once set, we dinghied in and taxied to the Baths. I stayed at the top of the Baths and took my final exam. Leslie and her parents went down and snorkeled for a bit.

We did dinner at the Flying Iguana by the VG airport. The owner brought out his parrot and pased her around. The food was ok.

The next morning we headed back to Fat Hog's Bay and ended our week.

All in all it was a good week. Leslie and I got our certifications to charter boats up to 50 feet. I got to go to a lot of places I hadn't been before. And in the end, any week in the islands is a good week.

Pic #3

Here is the last pic. This is sunset at Cane Garden Bay. The pic was taken by Paul. We all took dozens of photos of this sunset, but I think this is the best one I've seen so far.

Pic #2

Here is a picture of us under sail on our way into Cane Garden Bay. They say it gets better there...

The rainbow in this pic was the first I ever remember seeing from one end to the other. We actually saw both ends. The left end went right down into the water.

Round 1 is in the Slip

I've been home now for almost a week from my first trip this season to the British Virgin Islands. There is virtually no means by which to express how wonderful the trip was, so I'll just tell you a little bit about it and leave you with a photo or two.

I left on a Wednesday (25 Oct) on a flight departing at 6:30am from DFW. For those that don't know, that means I had to be up at about 4:00am. My itinerary indicated that I wouldn't arrive at my destination (Tortola, BVI) until 10:40 that evening...about 16 hours of travel! However, I had done my homework and knew that if I could travel light and run through a few airports, I'd arrive about 8 hours earlier. So off I ran. I caught up with friends in the Atlanta airport and managed to get on their flight despite the grumbling of the airline employee that printed my boarding pass. Somehow, despite my barely being able to talk from being out of breath, she was under the impression I had simply waited til the last moment to approach the counter.

I arrived in San Juan with plenty of time to catch the next flight to Tortola, but unfortunately I didn't have a ticket for the next flight. My ticket was for the flight 8 hours later. I got on standby, though, and despite being almost full, I made the flight.

Once we arrived on Tortola and checked into the Moorings, Greg and a few of us crew members did some provisioning and had a nice dinner. We wanted to get an early start the next morning. The boat we had been assigned, however, was having some mechanical problems and the Moorings gave us another boat. So we set sail Thursday afternoon on a 40 foot catamaran out of Road Town.

We had a great week of sailing, snorkeling, scuba diving, beach-bumming, and eating. We set out on a close reach for Cooper Island. The next morning, after a quick snorkel with a crowd of spotted-eagle rays, we motored around to the other side of Salt Island to dive the RMS Rhone. Unfortunately, I didn't take any motion sickness medicine, so I missed the dive. I was floating in the water in my scuba gear waiting to descend and puking my guts out. My fellow crewmates did the good dive buddy thing and told me to get back on the boat. Oh well...the Rhone will have to wait for another trip.

I stayed sick the rest of the day despite an amazing day of sailing from Salt up the channel through the Dogs and into North Sound, Virgin Gorda. We didn't motor once. We spent the next day on Virgin Gorda, checking out the Baths and Copper Mine Point. In case you are ever so fortunate as to visit the Baths, make sure to plan enough time to spend lunch at the Top of the Baths. The freshwater pool, hamburgers, and fries combined with the view of the BVI all makes for a perfect place to veg out for awhile. I'm told they have a great lobster bisque, but lobster was out of season, so I wasn't able to try it. By the way, this point in the trip was the first rumblings that we wouldn't be able to get lobster at Anegada. We wrapped up our day with dinner at Saba Rock and some time in the hammocks on the other side of Saba.

The next morning, as we sat at the dock taking on fresh water, we were introduced to Pavel Trcala, a Czech kite boarder. He wanted a ride to Anegada so he could kite board back to VG. You can't see Anegada from VG, but you can see VG from Anegada, thus explaining his need for a ride. We took him on and had another splendid day of sailing as we headed out on a beam reach making 9 knots or so to Anegada. We saw a dolphin briefly, but other than that there was little excitement. Pavel proved to be an interesting person to talk to. We arrived at Anegada within about 3 hours. Two of our crew went bone fishing and the rest of us went beach hopping along the north shore. It was still the off season, so we didn't run into too many people. We returned to the boat and did dinner that evening at the Anegada Reef Hotel. Despite not having lobster, we have a great dinner.

The next day we sailed more or less on a broad reach for Jost Van Dyke. It was another great day of sailing (the BVI isn't a sailing mecca without reason). After practicing some anchor setting on Sandy Cay, we dropped anchor in Great Harbour and enjoyed a meal at Foxy's.

The next day we went snorkeling on Sandy Spit and then swam ashore at White Beach for some relaxation at the Soggy Dollar. Eventually we set sail in time to moor at Cane Garden Bay and catch the sunset. Dinner that night was steak at Quito's and snoozing on the beach in some chairs.

We motored around Tortola the next morning and just out of Soper's Hole we set sail for the Indians. After some great reef diving and lunch aboard we motored into the Moorings to turn in the boat.

Other than recovering our gear and surviving an unhappy meal at Pusser's, the trip had come to an end. It was another great week in the BVI! The sailing was great. The water was clear. The sun was warm and the food was awesome.

Once home, Greg did a little snooping and discovered that our friend Pavel has led quite a life. He tried to sneak up Mt Everest and when caught, managed to escape. He traveled quite extensively and appears to have graduated with some sort of economics degree from American University. All in all, quite the intrigue.

Leslie and I depart this coming Friday for another week in the BVI. This time we'll be hosted by a sailing school that will give us instruction in sailing so we can charter our own sailing vessels in the future.

I'll post an update as soon as we get home!