We returned.......sailing the BVI that is!

All the views down there are crazy amazing. Very simple, laid back life. Sometimes I just like to "take it all in"....nature is amazing.

I take the Bonine now as precautionary first day out of marina...and when we travel to/from Anegada...simply because we leave the "channel" and waters can get rougher. (Can always see land tho ;) )

okay...last update for a week.....
 
Day 11

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Anegada

I was up before 7am this morning. I knew it was an early morning. We wanted to be first at the dock this morning to fill up on water before heading to Anegada (you can't get water there). While there, we dumped our trash and got some souvenirs and groceries while waiting for the guys to fill the water tank. We were successful and first at the dock...so early, we had to wait for them to open, and they were supposed to open at 8am, but they were running on 'island' time, so I guess we weren't surprised. We did everything we set out to do and by 9am, we were on our way!

Today we had decent wind with us, and it only took about 2 hours under sail to get to Anegada. Once we arrived and moored up, we radioed in to the Anegada Reef Hotel for dinner reservations. Then, it was time for lunch. After lunch, we took the dinghys around Pomato Point toward the west end near Ruffling Point to snorkel.

Crowded beaches as usual. Anegada is our favorite place because it is just so beautiful and quiet. Hardly ANY people! 1 and 2.

Michele & the girls didn't come snorkeling with us today, so they stayed behind with the other dinghy and we went out further in the dinghy to find the spot Rick found the last time he was there (which was the week after we left last time). We anchored the dinghy a couple times, but we could never find the spot. Only a couple of good snorkeling pix: shell, another shell, on my foot because somebody WAS home and Ryan snorkeling.

Add the strong current that was going on, and it was a workout! We didn't see much in the way of a healthy reef, but did see SOME fish and SOME reef. Our snorkel was better last time, but we're always on the lookout for new places. After some time, we gave up and headed back in to the beach where the gals were.

We took some photos and dug in the sand for shells and coral. My gosh....there is a TON of it buried in the sand under your feet (because Anegada is the only coral island in the BVI). We found a ton and started putting our findings in Michele's hat. It was dubbed "Shell's Hat".

Just so beautiful here. Can't imagine another place on Earth as beautiful......

After a couple drinks, we headed back to our boat. Some relaxed, some showered and got ready for dinner and some gave the paddle board a whirl and some were just being goofy!

Now, let me set this up for you..... I found out at the end of the school year, that my son's nickname in school was "Jesus". He's 6' 2" and has that long, wavy hair, so I guess it fit (except for the haircolor). Well, in his moment of being goofy, he climbed up top of the boat and was looking down below. The joke turned out to be that "Jesus was looking down on us". He even dropped a leg down real quick and was gone before anyone could say anything!

All this going on while Michele was paddle boarding and the sun began to set.

After a bit, we needed to leave for dinner. One seating for dinner and we got a nice, round table with actual chairs this time (which, was so much better than the picnic tables we had last time!). While waiting for dinner (because when we arrived and radioed ahead for reservations, we had to place our entree orders), we took some pictures of the families. Shortest & tallest and all the teens.

There was a steak dish, ribs, chicken and lobster had by our family. Warm rolls, rice and broccoli & cauliflower with cheese sauce was served as the sides for the table. It was a beautiful night and delicious dinner. Randy and I topped it off with a dance on the beach, under the palm tree and full moon. We danced to "Magic" by Kenny Chesney and it's an evening I will never forget.

After our dinner evening ashore, we went back to our boat and played some cards....and ate popcorn and Oreos! After all that food, I don't know how anyone was still hungry? Or maybe because it was junk food? All I know is that the bag of Oreos was gone before everyone headed to bed.

It was a great day and very tiring! All that relaxing you know
 
Another fabulous day.
dinner looks amazing. I could go for some lobster right now.
The sunset pictures are gorgeous. That on of Michele on the board with the sunset is like a post card.

This was a great update to read on a freezing cold Ohio day.
 
bubba's mom said:
hey Maria....glad to BE back!!



No foot on the floor, but he was on his iPod "chatting" and coherent talking to me. At THAT time of the morning, that in itself was good enough for me to declare him "awake". ;)
Click to expand...

lol, you'd think so

loving the pics of The Baths! long time on our bucket list. was that 'yellow stuff' graffiti on the rock walls?
 


If I am remembering right, the 'graffiti' was an arrow to point you in the direction you are supposed to go. :rotfl: On Jost van Dyke on the path to the Bubbly Pool, there are blue writings on rocks with arrows indicating "poisonous trees" :eek:

Sorry for the delay between posts, but we are just back from the islands :goodvibes My husband's 50th birthday was Jan. 9th and we had a trip to the islands planned with brother Rick & his wife Michele. We told Randy we were renting a monohull (which, he was excited to try).

What he didn't know was that we rented the same catamaran and his cousin & his wife were there along with his best friend and his wife. So, it was almost a year in the making surprise party...which, he was VERY surprised. :thumbsup2

So....I shall continue with vacation now.......
 
Day 12

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Anegada

Okay....so last night was our first night we weren't freezing! It got really warm in our room overnight. Turns out, I had closed the air conditioning vent in our room last night and forgot to open it back up! This vent is between the foot of our bed and outside of the bathroom door...the very spot you stand to get dressed (because, there just isn't a lot of room in the bedroom). I would close it after a shower so I wouldn't freeze while getting dressed, and last night I must have forgotten to open it back up. Oh well....I figured it out when I got up in the middle of the night to use the potty and I opened it. Luckily, we have 2 small fans in our room, so those helped until the room cooled back off.

We did sleep in until 9am-ish today. Staying put...no traveling today. Just layed in bed and relaxed and enjoyed "sleeping in" this morning. The rest of the troops slept in too! Nobody was up when I got up, so after I grabbed something to eat, I swabbed the deck. This is something we usually do each morning because the deck (which is white) gets dirty during the day and even worse after grilling dinner at night. Sometimes there is quite a bit of ash under and around where the grills are. So, I did the decks so it'd be done.

After that, I took some pictures because it's just so beautiful: Looking at Virgin Gorda, 1, 2 and after this one, look who got up.

While we were gathering things to go ashore, I quick took some pictures to demonstrate why being over 6' tall on a sailboat is not always easy! My poor son! He said the next time we go sailing, he's bringing his sparring helmet (from karate) to wear below deck!

This morning, Rick needed to get his payroll done, so we went ashore for the free wifi. On the way in, we saw this boat and I had to take a picture because her name was funny! Ashore, everyone went and he worked for about an hour. While he did that, I walked around and took some pictures while everyone else enjoyed life on the free wifi.

The dock and the fresh lobster trap. Looking down the beach right at the end of the dock, the Angeda Reef Hotel and the place we danced last night.

This picture is looking down the beach and at the end, is the table we ate dinner at last night. Then, I walked down that way and took these two pictures: 1 and 2. Then, I took a picture looking back where I came from. Then Randy took some pictures of me in one of the hammocks and holding a coconut that was on the ground.

After Rick was finished with work stuff, we went to a few souvenir stores shopping. After shopping, we bought a bag of ice ($7) and headed back to the boat for lunch.

We had some pulled chicken today and a nice, leisurely lunch. This is what happens when I gather my family's stuff to go ashore and my son finds my camera unattended.

After lunch, we went back ashore and grabbed a taxi. We decided to take the ride around to the west side of the island to Cow Wreck Beach.

The flipflop "tree" greets you when you arrive. Front and back of it.

We snorkeled (via dinghy) near here last time, but never made it all the way to the actual Cow Wreck Beach. It wasn't a long ride, but the place was beautiful! Conch shells everywhere! Not crowded at the bar today either.

We spent a few hours here. There were plenty of chairs to handle the crowd. Corinne read her book, Casey enjoyed the sun, the guys went snorkeling, Michele relaxed on the beach, I took pictures and my son, well, he found a local kid. Him and Ricky got into World Cup mode and kicked a soccer ball around. Later on, Ryan and I took a walk along the beach and he came along. He could spot things I couldn't even see! He pointed out a little stingray swimming along the bottom of the ocean in the water, a conch, he pointed out this crab, he could just see things I guess a tourist couldn't pick out. Before we left for the day, I gave him a couple of bucks to 'thank' him for pointing out things to us. Ryan and I took some selfies before heading back to the gang. Here are a couple of pics of that conch from underwater....he was just SO cool and my pictures came out great! This darn cloud was here the last time we were near here; but it still didn't rain on us!

The guys came back from snorkeling (which, they said wasn't much to see due to lack of reef...mostly sandy bottom and lots of conchs out there), and while talking with the guys about their snorkeling adventure, we spotted a hermit crab. He was not interested in being in the water, so Michele, unbeknownst to the crab, decided to have some fun with him.

Our taxi returned for us and we headed back to our boat. There was a quick stop in the gift shop, but I didn't buy anything, but did snap this picture outside of it.

Appetizers, drinks and relaxing before starting dinner. It was time to watch the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. Ryan even sat with us for awhile. Sunset pix: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

There was a game of old school solitaire going on against modern technology solitaire. While the teens relaxed, the adults were 'working'.....cooking, preparing food and I was wiping the outside table down for us to eat at.

Not long after I had cleaned the back table off, I noticed a TON of little bugs all over it! Oh my gosh...they were everywhere! Well, since we were moored close to land and there was NO wind, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. We decided to eat inside and crowd around the table with the teens. We had chicken and rice tonight, along with some wings.

After dinner, we chummed the water and my sister-in-law, the great fisherwoman, went to work at fishing.

There was a beautiful moon out tonight, so I played around with my camera until I could get the best picture. Not easy being on a "moving" boat trying to get a picture like that!

After the great fisherwoman gave up for the night, we all played UNO until we called it a night around 11pm. Another great day on Anegada. Hate to leave tomorrow
 
So I have to stop reading your TR as soon as I get to work. Now I am all relaxed from those amazing photos! I think you have way too many screensavers to choose from... :)

Maria :upsidedow
 


Another fabulous day!
The water is just so beautiful and blue. It truely is a paradise.
Dinner looks yummy...I am ready for lunch now and it doesn't sound nearly as good.

That sunset if so beautiful!

And the moon shot...great job!!!!!!
 
Thanks guys....pictures are better this time around because I have a better camera this time :thumbsup2 A Nikon DSLR AND a polarizing filter on it...oh yeahhhh.... :cool1: That shot of the moon took forever! For those "photogs" out there, on a moving boat, I couldn't keep the shutter open long for the light, so my husband came up with the idea to up the ISO. I had forgotten that option (usually do :rolleyes2 ) and was glad he remembered.

Michele had bought Rick a new underwater Nikon PnS camera for Father's Day....poor Rick barely used it. :rotfl: She used it most of the time while he used it to video snorkeling. Since her new camera was also Nikon, I was familiar with the settings and I was helping her learn them on her new camera. We got a kick out of her being my 'student' for the trip. And I will say this, she did VERY well :thumbsup2 Between her camera and my Nikon and new Olympus underwater camera, we took over 3200 pictures. We have some beautiful ones!

Well....on with the vacation.......
 
Day 13

Monday, July 14, 2014

Leverick Bay, Virgin Gorda & Marina Cay

I was awake and up around 7am this morning. Everyone else was still sleeping, so after I grabbed a banana and protein bar for breakfast, I decided to tackle those bugs outside. My gosh! There were even MORE since last night! Not sure how they would clean up "wet" swabbing the deck, so I just had the dustbrush and swept them off the boat first...then I wet swabbed the deck. This took a while...they were everywhere! After I finished outside, I noticed how dirty the saloon floor was inside, so while I had the dustbrush out, I swept the saloon floor too. Busy morning already! Ready for a break, I grabbed my camera for some pictures outside. Anegada is so peaceful in the mornings.

After everyone was up and had eaten breakfast, we all went ashore....for more ice and to souvenir shop. There's not many stores, only a half a dozen or so. We picked up some tshirts and trinkets and loaded back up on the boat. Our plan was to head for Norman Island today.

We ended up pulling out of Anegada about 11am. Good thing because it was going to be busy there today! We saw tons of boats coming in....which, makes sense if you arrive in the islands on a Saturday. You stock your boat and are able to leave the marina Sunday. Most stop overnight at Bitter End in Virgin Gorda because it's the best shoot off spot to get to Anegada...which, on this schedule, would be Monday. The day we were leaving. So, to arrive here on a Friday or Saturday is a GOOD plan!

About an hour after we left Anegada, the guys decided to make good use of one of our empty bottles of rum. Randy wrote a note, put a dollar in it, and we gave it to Ricky to throw overboard. (He was the ideal choice, being a baseball player and all.) Now, you would think that'd be the end of it, but it's not. In September, we received an email from the person who found it. He lives in MatthewTown, Bahamas and found it in early September. We were completely shocked that not only did someone find it, but they actually took the time to email us and let us know! We apologized for putting only a dollar in it, and explained in hindsight, we should've left $5 so they could buy a drink, on us ;) Next time we'll do that.

We had decent wind today heading back. The plan was to stop by Leverick Bay for water and unload the trash before heading to Norman Island. While the guys filled up on water at Leverick, we went to the store for a few things we needed (or, didn't REALLY need). Such as: 3 boxes of triscuits, 2 bags of cookies, 2 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of Captain, cheese, 2 quarts of milk, some cherry tomatoes and a couple individual bags of M&Ms. I'm pretty sure we got more ice too... think just that little bit was about $140. Yep, food is not cheap in the islands.

Once we stopped and did this at Leverick, we continued on to our next stop. We soon realized that we had absoultey NO wind in the Sir Francis Drake channel after stopping at Leverick. Because of this and the time, we changed our plans. We decided to go as far as Marina Cay island near Tortola. Good thing too, because with NO wind, our trip from Leverick Bay to Marina Cay was 5 hours. That is an unusally long time! It should've taken 5 hours to sail from Anegada to Norman Island...not only as far as we got. :sad2:

We stopped here our last day the last time we were down. We just made it before the sun started to set. We didn't go ashore this time though. We had done that last time. I was able to really zoom and get a picture of the Beef Island Airport near here. Randy decided to give the padde board a whirl. For his first time, he did great! We made the mistake of letting the kids know we could pick up free wifi from the bow of our boat. (Apparently we were close enough to St. Thomas to pickup AT&T.) After we moored up, we just kicked back and relaxed (like we always did) before making dinner. Tonight was pork chops, corn, pasta and salad. It was all very good, and the adults got to eat outside again :)

Michele tried her hand at fishing again while dinner was being cleaned up. After the dishes were cleaned up, I went outside to take a picture of the beautiful night sky; and while I was out there, I took a picture of the inside of our boat looking in from the outside. We all played cards again until bedtime....which was around 11pm again.
 
Hi Barb! I am loving this TR- your pictures are amazing!! Makes me want to head south - is the water really that blue in person- it looks incredible.

I have to tell you - I don't know how do it but every year you look more beautiful. Can't wait to read more....
 
That is so cool someone found your message in a bottle and even better that they did email you too.
Again, I say it over and over, but the pictures are gorgeous. I am so glad you sharing them with us.
 
Wow! What the heck happened to the boards!?!? Thems all different! :worried: (think I liked the other way better!)

anyways.....sorry for mia.......

Yes, the water is actually THAT blue/turquoise in person. And clear & mid 80s in temperature....one reason we love these islands SO much. I've never been anywhere else the water is that blue and beautiful.

We were thrilled someone found our note in a bottle....and still shocked for about a week afterwards! :laughing:

onto the next day......
 
What the heck is going on with the boards? It's all different and what I posted before isn't here?

going to have to figure this out..... boo!
 
omg....the problem is the BEST part of the report! The PICTURES!!!!
Instead of just seeing the 'word' to click on to view the picture, the whole text/link is showing!! argh!
 
while I think of it, there have been more than a few posts looking for the 'short cut' from PBH to the parks. I mumbled something about searching for your screen name and cutting thru HRH bushes & parking lot lol jik u get any PMs since the search function is 'down' here.
 
I had issues like that too. I tried to update my links on the first page and if you go in a second time it turns to all code....super annoying.
 
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