Well, we are home after one of the best vacations we have every had. Wait...can you have a vacation if you don't have a job from which to vacate? Hmmm. That deserves some thought, but another time.
I should point out that this series of blog posts were done exclusively with my iPhone. That is a testament to how technology has progressed with gadgets, but also explains how some photos and text might be better. Sorry, but lugging a laptop through the BVI did not seem to be the way to go, and it worked reasonably well.
I need to take a moment to say that the BVI are a very welcoming group of islands. The people are great, the service in every establishment we visited was very good, and the food at every restaurant was very good. Aside from the two boys stealing our dinghy in Cane Gardens Harbour, it was a wonderful experience. The boys were joyriding and brought the dinghy back, thankfully.
Our greatest thanks goes to those we sailed with for being such good boat mates, and to Malcolm Read and his wife Julie for organizing the event. We presented Malcolm with a conch horn from the Bahamas and told him of the Florida Keys and Bahamian cruisers tradition of saluting the sunset with a conch horn. He embraced the tradition and we closed each day with a hardy salute. Malcolm got so good that towards the end of the week he was holding a note longer than anyone I have heard before.
So, let me close this particular series of posts with Malcolm's first salute!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Road Town, BVI Day 8
End of the line. We cleaned the boat while sailing back to the TMM base. We had a ball!
Now it is a ferry ride back to St Thomas and our flight home Thursday. We were not able to get our room right away, so they made up for it by giving us a nice beach side room. Sweet!
Now it is a ferry ride back to St Thomas and our flight home Thursday. We were not able to get our room right away, so they made up for it by giving us a nice beach side room. Sweet!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Bight and Willy T's, BVI Day 7
Last full day with the boat. We had a terrific sail across from Sopers Hole and arrived in time for lunch at Willy T's, a notorious watering hole in the BVI.
The Willy T is a permanently moored rust bucket of a vessel that has been converted to a restaurant bar. Food was actually pretty good!
Major claim to fame for the bar is giving ladies a T-Shirt if they dive topless from the upper deck. Judging by the squeals coming across the bay that has already started and it is only 2:30.
We will have dinner onboard after some initial boat cleaning, then it will be back to Road Town Harbour in the morning and the end of our charter. It has been grand. We can certainly recommend TMM charters highly.
The Willy T is a permanently moored rust bucket of a vessel that has been converted to a restaurant bar. Food was actually pretty good!
Major claim to fame for the bar is giving ladies a T-Shirt if they dive topless from the upper deck. Judging by the squeals coming across the bay that has already started and it is only 2:30.
We will have dinner onboard after some initial boat cleaning, then it will be back to Road Town Harbour in the morning and the end of our charter. It has been grand. We can certainly recommend TMM charters highly.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Soper's Hole, BVI Day 6
We had a short but rough ride to Soper's Hole this morning. The winds were in the low thirties and gave us quite a ride. Everyone else was diving for cover, too, so despite it only being eleven in the morning we got the last mooring! Again!
We fixed a nice lunch then went in for drinks at Pusser's and a little shopping. The more genteel crew went for showers. I will continue with an evening cleaning off the stern.
Internet availability remains spotty. We final all bunched up behind D'Best Cup coffee shop to do emails.
We fixed a nice lunch then went in for drinks at Pusser's and a little shopping. The more genteel crew went for showers. I will continue with an evening cleaning off the stern.
Internet availability remains spotty. We final all bunched up behind D'Best Cup coffee shop to do emails.
Jost van Dyke, BVI Day 5
We were lucky to get a mooring ball at Great Harbour on Jost van Dyke. A short dingy ride got us to shore for the obligatory visit to Foxy's bar. We were not impressed and returned to the boat for a wonderful pasta dinner. We awoke to find a large sailing cruise ship at the mouth of the anchorage. Pretty cool. Internet is very spotty, but I will trey to continue posting from my iPhone.
Cane Garden Bay, BVI Day 4
It only gets better! We had a wonderful breakfast at the Bitter End and followed that with a nice long down wind sail. It has been the nicest sail so far for the non-sailors.
We are moored in Cane Garden Bay for the night. Very picturesque.
We are moored in Cane Garden Bay for the night. Very picturesque.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Bitter End, BVI Day 3
I must say once again that life is good! We have had another beautiful weather day and took full advantage. We got a reasonably early start and returned to the Baths. Everyone had a great time ashore for a few hours and returned to the boat for a nice lunch.
We have had great winds so we have been able to sail every leg. The winds have been in the high teens to early twenties, and that has been just right for this heavy cat. At home in the gulf this would kick up some chop. Here? No worries, mon.
We have had great winds so we have been able to sail every leg. The winds have been in the high teens to early twenties, and that has been just right for this heavy cat. At home in the gulf this would kick up some chop. Here? No worries, mon.
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