Pictorial review how SAILING the BVI has changed our future vacation plans....

[bubba's mom]

Wow, I'm loving this TR! It's fun to read about something so different than my usual vacation -- and the photos are gorgeous!

Thx, Barb!

Maria

hey there

It was nice to do something totally different!! Now, that we've done it, we just look forward to doing it more...and maybe going some other places and doing it (Bahamas, maybe Belize...)

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 11

Monday, July 9, 2012

Anegada...Day 2.

Good morning Anegada. It's so beautiful here, I have tons of pictures just from this morning. And yes, they were out to collect their fee this morning too. The water looks very different through my sunglasses (they're polarized), so I tried a couple of pictures through my sunglasses: 1 and 2. I won't bore you with the rest... I have a TON of pictures of just scenery. It's so beautiful, you can't help but take so many pictures.

This was truly starting as our 'relax day'. We slept in till probably around 9am! The lastest I've slept all vacation! One by one, the troops got up and we started having breakfast eats. This morning would be the day we would discover that you cannot run the air conditioner AND the toaster at the same time! Seems we'd blown a fuse and with a little call back to Sunsail, they told us where/how to reset it. All fixed, but NO more toaster with the air on...lesson learned!

Late morning we decided to head ashore. Today we would be taking a taxi to the other side of the island to Loblolly Bay Beach. And, of course we would be doing some snorkeling too! The ride wasn't very long, or exciting. Saw some locals on the way and stopped to look waaaay across to Flamingo Bay. They looked like little pink dots they were so far away, but the views were beautiful. Our ride was about 15 minutes or so and before we knew it, we arrived and before we left for the beach, we asked the driver to return and pick us up about 5pm. This was our 'open air' taxi.

Loblolly was a nice little area. Couple of beaches, gift shop, a restaurant, restrooms and very quiet and not crowded at all. We walked toward one of the beaches to settle in for the day.

We claimed our little part of the beach with our own little tiki and headed into the water. Of course we took a ton of pictures, but I'll just post a few of the better ones: I dubbed this one my new wallpaper for my laptop and love in paradise. Another 'married' picture...this time with the beautiful sand. (You can't see it, but it has a lot of red in it from coral.) Thinking we need to go somewhere less crowded?

There was some beautiful snorkeling here. Everyone but Michele and our nieces went out. It wasn't as shallow as the other side of the island that we were at yesterday, but the fish and things we saw here were just as good, if not better.

Scenes from today's snorkel: Randy, my nephew's family call him "Rickyfish" and we dubbed him the "Fish Whisperer" because these fish followed him around for THE longest time, see? This shell is kinda scary, dontchathink? On our way out, Randy spotted a conch shell. He picked it up for a closer look and hey look! ....somebody was home! Now don't be getting all upset, he did put him back where he found him. A little further out, we saw the barracuda! He even had an entourage with him. He is one mean lookin dude! We didn't stick around too long to watch him.

We were movin' on.... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, came across him again, 6, reef 1, 2, a fish we didn't see many of, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, say cheese, this fish blended well with the rock and reef, see?. He's bottom left corner, 14, 15, a little more color here, 16, 17 and 18.

On our way back in, we stopped to watch this fish that was blowing the sand on the bottom. He did one hole, then swam to the right and blew another hole. I believe he was eating whatever stirred up from the sand, but after he did the second hole, he went back to the first hole. We just floated here for about a minute just watching this dude. He was quite interesting.

I noticed how 'wavy' the sand on the bottom was. Seemed so natural and unspoiled. I have a few pictures because it was just so neat and undisturbed. We continued on in...still seeing fish. 19, 20, back to shore, and it's still beautiful. Ryan getting ready for lunch...just waiting for everyone else.

We were out for about an hour or so when eventually everyone had made their way in for lunch.

We all had a nice lunch at the Big Bamboo. The menu and drink menu 1 and 2. This was my view at lunch...the beach where we were. There were (spicy) wings and conch fritters for appetizers while we waited for our lunch.

Although it wasn't crowded, it sure took a long time for them to prepare and serve lunch. So, I eventually came up with an idea to speed things up. I decided to walk to the beach on the other side of the restaurant and see what was there. Nobody. Just beauty was all. I took a few pictures and Randy joined me. We took a picture of us and then headed back to the table. I was hoping it was one of those "if I leave the table, the food will come" deals. And, sure enough, I was gone all but 3 or 4 minutes, and the food arrived. Uh...you're welcome

Mostly chicken fingers and cheeseburgers were ordered...I was actually hungry and ordered a salad. We must have been the late lunch crowd, because by the time we were finished eating, everyone else had left? Oh well...we were ready to get back to the beach anyway.....

After lunch, we walked back to the beach and saw some ominous clouds. It never did rain on us, even though it seemed we were surrounded by rain clouds. Some went back out to snorkel, Ryan went out with his Dad and was his 'buddie'. Michele went out with the guys for a bit this time while I stayed behind with the girls and found shells along the beach and in the shallow water. When Michele came in, she went 'shelling' the smart way...with her snorkel still on. I put my mask and snorkel on and joined her.

We found some really pretty shells and coral here. And, out in deeper waters, my husband found me 2 sand dollars. They were extremely fragile and I was afraid they'd get broken on the trip home, but they did not. Once the guys had finished snorkeling and came ashore, we packed up and headed out toward the area we needed to pick up our taxi.

We had our taxi return for us about 5pm and he was early. While he was waiting for us, he took up a game of cards at the Big Bamboo and we just waited for him to finish. (That's called "island time".)

He drove us back to the dock where our dinghys were and we headed back to our boat. We got back not too long before 6pm. As soon as we got back to the boat, we remembered we forgot to bring back ice. We always need ice, so the guys went back ashore real quick and picked some up. It didn't take them long...they were back in no time. A quick wash of the deck and snorkel masks and the sun started setting already.

It was time to fire up the grills and start dinner. On the menu for tonight was steak, corn, 'smash' potatoes and salad. Always a family dinner and nice to spend the time talking with everyone. Might be why I can't find any pictures of dinner from tonight?

The teens were plenty hungry, of course, and they patiently waited for dinner. Ryan even decided to clean up the deck...because some grill ash had landed on it. Our Swabbie did a great job!

Some other pix while waiting on dinner and the sun to set. I have at least 36 pictures of the sun setting...I'll try to post just the best ones: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

After a delicious dinner, Randy and I did the dishes and cleaned up again.

There was a family game of Go Fish and a very long game of Uno (we played with 2 decks of regular cards...plus 7 people...makes for a VERY long game!

Finally someone won and we called it a night. Showers and bed weren't too late tonight...probably between 10-11pm since we all slept in that day!

Tomorrow we leave for the next island....but I love this one......

 

[natebenma]

Spent the afternoon/evening with you on the beautiful island of Anegada. Well not literally, but I enjoyed reading about your lovely arrival day and beach time.

That's funny about your neighbors taking a quick dip from thier boat early in the morning. Maybe they were conserving water with a swim in lieu of a shower.

Thanks for showing us pictures of the Necker Belle. That's probably as close as I will ever come to it.

I can't believe with all those scary looking rain clouds that you didn't get wet at all!

What a beautiful (and secluded) beach. How great that there were not a lot of others around.

Nice sunset! Don't blame you for snapping a photo (or two) (or more)

Your dinner looked amazing! Huge lobsters, Yummy food, amazing setting.

Great day and night!

 

[jenseib]

Another beautiful day.
The taxi cracks me up.....what do you do if it rains...get wet I guess.
I love the snorkeling shots...I have to ask, since I have the same fuji camera...I know we are supposed to do something after having it in water...Do we rinse it or soak it to get the salt off? I haven't used it in water for over a year, and even then I didn't use it IN the water too much. This time I plan to snorkel and bring it along too.

That beach looks totally desserted...how nice to have it almost all to yourselves!

 

[bubba's mom]

Spent the afternoon/evening with you on the beautiful island of Anegada. Well not literally, but I enjoyed reading about your lovely arrival day and beach time.


What a beautiful (and secluded) beach. How great that there were not a lot of others around.

I know it's a long read...(you're a trooper!)....very time consuming, but I try to make it interesting

Seemed like ALL of Anegada was secluded. You're either flying or taking a boat there...no cruises or tours (too far out)... One thing that makes it so wonderful!

 

[bubba's mom]

I have to ask, since I have the same fuji camera...I know we are supposed to do something after having it in water...Do we rinse it or soak it to get the salt off? I haven't used it in water for over a year, and even then I didn't use it IN the water too much. This time I plan to snorkel and bring it along too.

Do NOT do anything to the camera after snorkeling!!! This has actually been a topic of discussion since I got home this year w/ keishashadow. She rinses her water cameras and does everything according to directions, and they don't last but a couple years for her.

I use ours EVERY summer in the ocean and NEVER rinse it, and I've never had 1 problem with it (you watch...I just jinxed myself ) Never had a salt 'residue' or anything...actually, sometimes the worst problem is a water droplet ON the lens and I don't notice it until I look at the picture on my computer! So, if there's an ABOVE water picture you really want, take a few (it's actually easier to see what you're shooting at under the water )

I'm unsure what your directions may be to take care of your camera, but I certainly would NOT open it and rinse anything inside. After all...it's sealed and not supposed to get wet inside.

Good luck with yours

 

[jenseib]

Do NOT do anything to the camera after snorkeling!!! This has actually been a topic of discussion since I got home this year w/ keishashadow. She rinses her water cameras and does everything according to directions, and they don't last but a couple years for her.

I use ours EVERY summer in the ocean and NEVER rinse it, and I've never had 1 problem with it (you watch...I just jinxed myself ) Never had a salt 'residue' or anything...actually, sometimes the worst problem is a water droplet ON the lens and I don't notice it until I look at the picture on my computer! So, if there's an ABOVE water picture you really want, take a few (it's actually easier to see what you're shooting at under the water )

I'm unsure what your directions may be to take care of your camera, but I certainly would NOT open it and rinse anything inside. After all...it's sealed and not supposed to get wet inside.

Good luck with yours

perfect! I read where someone put a dab of rainex on the lens so you can just shake off drops when you are above water, so I did that to mine the other day and hopefully that works. I'll be giving it a work out in about 1 1/2 weeks.
I hear a lot of people have issues after a year or so, knock on wood we both don't have any issues for a long time!

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 12

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Destination: Norman Island

Randy & I woke up about 1:45am to noise outside our cabin. Sounded like something was dragging on the floor and banging around. We got up to investigate (because I wasn't letting my husband out on deck....at night...all alone!) but couldn't find anything. We had no idea what it could be.... but, while we were up, we noticed the 'fresh water pump' light was on. For cryin' out loud, now what?!

So, my husband looked around and checked what he could to try and figure out why it was on. He couldn't explain it, and not wanting to run out of water all the way out here, he woke his brother up. With the two of them up, they didn't need me, so I went back to bed (where I still listened to whatever it was banging around).

Needless to say, we were up early in the morning. Couldn't sleep with the noise and once the sun was up, Randy went outside to see what the noise was and figured out what it was. At the back of the boat where you get in & out of the dinghy, there is a cable that goes across that area. Someone didn't hook the cable up to the boat...they just left it on the ground. Viola! That was the noise. Then we were ticked we didn't notice it in the middle of the night...but, it was dark out and we didn't have any lights there and to be honest, we didn't think to look there. You can be sure we checked it each night after that though!

Eventually the rest of the gang was up and eating breakfast. We got ice before we left and we were under way about 9am. Goodbye Anegada, I will miss you!

Turns out, we had a good wind today, so the skipper decided to put the sails up.

We sailed at about 8 knots, which was a great wind. However, we had rougher waters, and the teens weren't feeling all that well. They all ended up taking a motion sickness pill and laying down up top and Corinne down below. Casey started out sitting with her Dad, but eventually laid down (probably because the pill makes ya drowsy?) Ryan laid down on the bench in the back with me...I was just sleeping because I was tired from the lack of it from the night before! After awhile, the second mate took the helm while the skipper took a brief break.

Our destination today was Norman Island with a stop at Soper's Hole, Tortola for provisions, water and dinghy gas. Soper's Hole is a beautiful little marina area...very colorful. More pix of Soper's: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The boys went ahead and dumped the trash and then the guys got the fuel and water. After two days at Anegada and no way to replenish the water, it took awhile to fill the tanks. When Ryan returned, he wanted to go ashore with the girls to get provisions and buy some souvenirs...and of course have a drink. His main reason for wanting to go was he could use Dad's videocamera

Some pix from Soper's: 7, 8, that's Ryan up there, we were taking pictures and some nice lady offered to take a group picture for us.

We watched the guys move from the dock to a mooring ball and they assumed we were finished (without bags?) and sent Ricky over in the dinghy to pick us up. Guess they figured we weren't finished when Ricky returned alone Ricky went back and told them we weren't finished and then they brought the other dinghy over because now there was all 8 of us on land. Now it was time to shop for more food...and restock the beverages. This little store was huge, it had an upstairs! Finally got what we needed and started making our way back to the dinghy dock. After everyone and everything was loaded up, back to the boat we went to continue on our travels....

After restocking the fridge & freezer, we headed out. Some scenes along the way: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Ryan, still tired.

Wasn't too long till we arrived at The Bight, Norman Island. We had no trouble finding a ball and moored up.

After we were moored, we were heading over to the Willy T for drinks and jumping off the back of boat. Everyone was feeling better, but Ryan was REALLY tired. He decided he wasn't interested, he wanted to sleep instead. I knew it was the pill he took that made him tired, but it was his call. We weren't far and left him behind on the boat.

Everyone got a drink and in no time, jumping had begun. People must have thought it was closed, because as soon as our family started jumping off the Willy T, lots of other people arrived. There was much jumping, although I didn't jump...just not my thing. Don't worry...no regrets. My husband took a lot of video of the fun ...from all angles.

YOLO, right? Here are random family shots: 1, 2, 3 and 4 and backflippin.

As Michele put it: NGO. (never gets old).

After a bit, Michele & I took Corinne back to the boat and I checked in on Ry. I made sure he didn't want to come back, and he didn't. He just wanted to sleep. That was fine. We left the two of them there and headed back to the T. I undid the rope and we were on our way...so I thought. Slight problem, Michele couldn't get the dinghy started on the way out and we started to drift toward our neighbor. She was lookin' tired, so I gave it a try. She wasn't quick enough on the gas the first pull so I pulled a second time and I got it just as we were passing the neighbors (who I'm sure were laughing at us!). They looked like they were ready to jump in and climb aboard to help us! Little did we know, the guys were watching us from the T and laughing at us too!

After a little more jumping, we decided to call it a night and head back to the boat for dinner. Willy T was a fun time. More pix of the T: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

We came 'home' and those who were jumping, rinsed off. Then, Rick fired up the grills to start dinner. Feelin' no pain after drinking all afternoon, he did a lil dance while waiting on the grills. The sun was starting to set, so dinner would be cooking soon. Most were out watching the sunset....Ryan was swabbin' the ash off the deck. Another beautiful sunset (but not as beautiful as the ones in Anegada). I did catch a picture of Michele...apparently desperate for a hairclip?

Finally, the grills were going strong, and Rick started dinner. Tonight's menu was chicken wings, salad, baked beans and mac & cheese. Delicious dinner and Randy & I did dishes and cleaned up.

There was talk of playing a family game, but somehow everyone ended up going their separate ways. I know they couldn't have gone too far on a small catamaran like ours...but, we didn't play a game tonight.

Michele decided she wanted to fish off the back of the boat and see if she could catch anything. After dinner, when Casey had tossed some scraps from her plate overboard, she noticed a really BIG fish! We tossed some more mac & cheese in to chum up the waters. We think they were wahoos and they were happy to have our scraps. Well, we didn't have a fishing rod, so she had to improvise. Rick helped her rig her up a fishing pole. She used a piece of leftover hotdog attached to a safety pin and dental floss and attached that to the drum line (for a 'pole'). She could sit out there all night..even though she was getting annoyed they didn't want hotdog. It wasn't too long till she switched to a piece of leftover steak. After a while, she was convinced these fish were vegatarians because they were just not biting at her meat.

We were all getting tired at this point and she was getting nowhere fast... OR slow. We convinced her to give it up for the night and she reluctantly did.

We are supposed to be up early tomorrow....places to go.

 

[keishashadow]

i made barb's TR call me the anti-camera whisperer...not to be confused with randy & the fishies. Never noticed mooring ballsalways thought u'd throw an anchor over.

u need to post on the SAN so i don't miss future installments please, ur TR fell off the radar...this board moves quickly i guess to keep things tidy.

no tortola! crap was hoping to see some pirates arrrgh...although the guys look to be doing a good job going native, I haven't given up hope of a pirate sighting yet.

Poor Ry, maybe he'll be old enough to wear the patch next time? I skipped it last trip but wound up getting the nasties one night so picked up some bonine which dr told me was same as Rx antivert but cheaper for a few pills. What did u wind up doling out?

 

[bubba's mom]

i made barb's TR call me the anti-camera whisperer...not to be confused with randy & the fishies. Never noticed mooring ballsalways thought u'd throw an anchor over.

u need to post on the SAN so i don't miss future installments please, ur TR fell off the radar...this board moves quickly i guess to keep things tidy.

no tortola! crap was hoping to see some pirates arrrgh...although the guys look to be doing a good job going native, I haven't given up hope of a pirate sighting yet.

Poor Ry, maybe he'll be old enough to wear the patch next time? I skipped it last trip but wound up getting the nasties one night so picked up some bonine which dr told me was same as Rx antivert but cheaper for a few pills. What did u wind up doling out?

We hooked up to a mooring ball everywhere we went...we HAD an anchor jic, but didn't use it (too easy to hook up to ball).

Whadda mean..no Tortola? We LEFT from Tortola! We actually spent our last nite moored at a place called Cane Garden, Tortola (different side of the island). Only pirates you're gonna see is us this trip sorry....

Around the main islands the water is okay...and in the Sir Francis Drake channel (refer to map I posted at beginning). It was leaving the way-far-out-there island of Anegada that got the kids woozy. Methinks because you are out of the calmer waters of the SFD Channel. Anegada is at least a dozen miles furthest out from the rest of the islands... And, I believe Anegada is the closest you get to the caribbean sea meeting the big, blue Atlantic ocean (rougher waters there). We were lucky SIL had generic bonine with her. I will take it next time (and hope to not need it). Never thought we'd need it because we've never been sick before

 

[keishashadow]

lol i need a map. went back & followed the bread crumbs, now i'm straight, was thinking u left from a small island off st thomas (not tortola) oy hard to keep up with u island hoppers.

ur probably right re choppier waves out in the ocean proper especially on windward side of islands.

 

[czycropper]

Love reading this TR. We went on our honeymoon to Tortola (Long Bay) and sailed to Virgin Gorda, Cooper, Jost Van Dyke and several other islands for a few days. We're hoping to take our girls for our 20th since between now and then we already have trips planned to England, France, Spain & Italy. But reading your report wants me to postpone those trips and go back to BVI!!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Just want to let you know I found it. Need to pour myself a glass of wine on my next day off and catch up!

 

[rpbert1]

Just catching up on your trippie Barb, you guys had an amazing time, although saw lots of your pics a while back. Doubt i would be able to get Lily on one of those catamarans lol

 

[bubba's mom]

Just want to let you know I found it. Need to pour myself a glass of wine on my next day off and catch up!

Good!! Glad you made it! This may be something you guys could do!

Just catching up on your trippie Barb, you guys had an amazing time, although saw lots of your pics a while back. Doubt i would be able to get Lily on one of those catamarans lol

No...you won't get her on a sailboat if you can't even get her on a cruiseship!

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 13

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Destination: Jost Van Dyke

Nobody was up super early, but still around 9am or so. The water is just so beautiful everywhere we go down here....

We had a leisurly morning (except for cleaning the decks) before packing up heading out to our next destination: White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. And, of course, a quick run ashore for ice before leaving Norman Island. We did find out that the fish we saw last night were wahoos. Saw them at the shore dock too! Just another picture of our cat.

On our way out, we were going to stop and snorkel at the Indians, but the closer we got, we could see all the balls were already taken, so we skipped it. We'll just have to go back and try to do it again some day.

We had a good wind, so Rick put the jib up and we enjoyed a nice sail. Water wasn't too rough and we were moving right along.

Along the way were beautiful sites to be seen. (Who'm I kiddin'? Beautiful sites everywhere down here to be seen!) I took a picture of this monohull just because he looked like he enjoyed flying his flags Some other sites along the way: 1, 2 and I just barely caught this turtle as he dove down for the final time. We had to stop by Soper's Hole for some water and ice on the way to JVD. 3, 4, mooring, hello...we're baaaack, 5 and ready to go. Super quick stop!

We http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v283/barbpics/Vacation 2012/Sailing BVI/Day 6/DSCN9309.jpgarrived at White Bay, JVD early afternoon...probably not long before 3pm. We cruised in looking, but we couldn't find any empty balls. So, the captain decided to go around the point and moor at Great Harbor. Pulling in to Great Harbor: 1, 2, 3 and 4.

The plan was to have lunch and take the dinghys around to White Bay to the Soggy Dollar Bar. Picture of Jost Van Dyke.

Lunch was hotdogs, beans, nachos, etc....starting to put out leftovers too at this point. After we all had lunch, we took the two dinghys around to White Bay. When we rounded the corner, we saw a mooring ball open! Yay! So, one of the dinghys stayed moored at the ball, while the guys in the other dinghy went back to get the boat and bring her around.

This was actually kind of funny because we sorta "stole" that mooring ball. We could see boats approaching White Bay as if they were looking for a mooring ball. Most balls have a bright orange float on the rope to help make it float so it's easier to grab. We had drifted away from the ball and I told Michele to pull the rope in so we could "hide" the orange floaty thing in our dinghy. She did and we kept real close to that ball while waiting for the guys to bring the boat back around. So, you see, it was sorta like hiding and stealing it

The guys arrived and moored the boat up while Michele did donuts in our dinghy. Of our two dinghys, we were left in the slower one (for obvious reasons) and I told her they were going to make fun of us because they left, got the boat, moored, and STILL beat us to the beach! She didn't care...her excuse was she was having fun doing donuts!

We 'parked' our dinghys on shore and headed to Soggy Dollar Bar (SDB).

Up till now, we haven't really been with any crowds. THIS is the spot for a party. Much more crowded, but a lot of fun. We hung out in the water, swam, took pictures & video and had a couple of the famous Painkillers.

We had more than a couple actually...courtesy of our new buddy... Art. When you have a 'friend' like Art, you can drink all afternoon and only spend about $20

Random fun pix: Ryan getting photobombed, SDB from the water, 'parking', boats, boys, us at the SDB, our boat is waaaay down there...the last parking spot, sisters feelin' no pain, havin' fun with my son, just a beautiful place, Ryan, Randy, Michele and "Blue" (that's what he said his name was), my drunk sister-in-law who kept calling her camera a 'phone', Ryan getting smart about relaxin', here and here. Close one...almost got away! It was a whole 'chair underwater ordeal'. A goofy, drunken bunch, and yes...I know my hat is on crooked!

If you look closely, you can make out a faint rainbow...which was odd, because it wasn't raining?

Little story about this guy.... We heard a 'horn' of sorts blow...like a conch shell horn. Turns out, this guy's boat was leaving and they were 'calling' for him. So, with his souvenir bag in his mouth, he used his noodle and kicked out to get on his boat before they left. It was pretty funny.

Everyone had a lot of fun, including the kids. After a while, the sun began to set and Ryan was getting cold so we decided to head back. The girls came with us, while Randy, Rick & Ricky staying behind for a little longer (to score more drinks out of Art, I'm sure). I'm not sure what happened when we got back to our boat, but next thing I knew, Ryan was jumping off the top of our boat! I was shocked, yet happy, because he normally has a fear of heights. I'm wondering if climbing the rock wall on the cruise last year has helped cure some of that fear? He jumped in just in time for his Dad, Uncle and cousin to be near us in their dinghy and see him do it. He only jumped one more time and he was cold again...time to be out of the water and dry off. Of course, Ricky decided to jump off the top and before I knew it, everyone was jumping in and swimming.

Sunset NOT as impressive as the ones in Anegada.

After everyone was dried off, we got cleaned up and headed back around the bend to Great Harbor for dinner at Foxy's. No shoes, no problem Foxy's is one of those 'interestingly' decorated places:1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and our table.

We ordered conch fritters and wings for appetizers. There were filets ordered, vegetable pasta, shrimp pasta and stuffed chicken for dinner. Everyone was too full for dessert as they were generously portioned sized meals!

The boys were bored and getting tired.

Michele talked Randy and Rick into doing a song for karaoke. They were going to do "Red Solo Cup", but they said it was too new and they didn't have it. So, they settled for "Takin' Care of Business" instead. They did great and, from what they say, had a good time doing it. Before we left, this guy came by our table with a crab and showed us how his claws could cut a plastic cup. Not sure if he was expecting a tip or what?

We paid our bill and headed 'home' at about 9:30. Michele was ready to go fishing again and baited up with a piece of hotdog again. "Sharkbait! Ooh ha ha!" My boys decided on a few hands of cards while we sat outside with her. We were out there awhile again and I know you aren't going to believe this, but she did have a fish! It took her bait and I saw it jump out of the water. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. But, I am her witness. You CAN catch a fish with a hotdog, safety pin and dental floss. Who knew?

It wasn't too long after she 'caught' her fish that we decided to call it a night and get ready for bed. What a great day!

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 14

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Destination: Cane Garden Bay, Tortola. I found a good ariel picture of Cane Garden.

For the first time the entire week, it actually rained this morning. One of my first thoughts was "oh well, guess what's out on the line drying, isn't dry anymore". It didn't rain long...maybe 5 minutes IF that? It was just after 9am and I peeked out our window and I saw a rainbow. I hopped out of bed and grabbed our cameras and went out to take pictures. (It was actually a double rainbow, but you can't see the second one because it was hazy and the rainbow was so faint.) Good morning Jost van Dyke...what a beautiful morning (even if it did rain)!

It was another leisurly morning. Michele figured out she needed weight on her fishing line and used some of Corinne's coral. She'd get the chance tonight to try it out.

After breakfast, Randy and I went ashore to gather some sand (to bring home) and we took a short walk up this path to see what we could see from up higher. Turns out, not much because of all the trees. No matter, it was still a beautiful view. The views we saw on our short walk: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, since we were parked on the end, good shots of our boat and 7. On our way back down to the beach, I spotted some shells on some old, dead-looking coral. And next to it on the ground, I saw a tiny shell move on the ground. Must be another critter.

As we headed back to the boat, Ricky was jumping off the top of the boat...again.

While we were ashore for that small time, Rick took Ricky & Ryan out snorkeling. They went along the shoreline near the rocks. When they noticed us coming back, they came back in our direction. Randy & I got our snorkel gear on and headed out to join them. We were the only 5, as the girls stayed behind.

It was some of the best snorkeling we've ever done! We even saw a school of squid! Just cruising on by.... Beautiful fish and reef. Snorkeling sites: right off our boat were tons of silver bait fish and these, Ryan in clear water, Ricky and this pretty coral. This picture is blurry, but it's a bigger tropical fish swimming with the squid, at 4:00 & 6:00 there are fish, bottom right corner are the fish I was trying to get, a picture of my husband's hand and the fish (at the bottom) I was trying to get, this guy was buzzing out of my shot on the left, reef and tons of fish: 1, 2, 3 and 4, 5, 6 and 7. They were just so amazingly beautiful, I've never seen anything like that before!

These fish were everywhere! Some coral, more of those fish (toldja they were everywhere), beautiful fish and here. Some more fish (altho, not as pretty), 1 and 2. These fish seemed to be on a mission to be going somewhere? 1, this fish is at the top of the picture, at the top here too, and here, 2, there were a few of these pretty fish, 3, this is a great close up, actually saw more of this kind of fish the next day, 4, 5, 6, 7, needlefish at the top and yet more of these fish again.

My pictures, unfortunately, do not do the snorkeling here justice, so I had Randy post the video (which is SO much better). It starts with the boys on the boat first, and takes about a minute to get to the underwater part. Sound on is good idea, as the song is quite appropriate.

We were out pretty far and for quite a bit before Ryan started to get tired and was ready to head in. I went back with him and we were 3/4 of the way in and we both popped our heads up and looked at each other. Really? It's raining? Not hard or for long...but still...rain.

He got onboard and I took some pictures of the boat from water view. Here's what underneath looked like, the back and here.

Once back onboard, there was lunch being made. Hotdogs and leftover stuff again. When everyone had made their way in, they were appreciative of something to eat. Snorkeling can work up quite the appetite.

Once I was dried off, I took some more pictures: you can't see Randy & Rick, but they're out at the point, the path Randy & I walked up earlier, water so clear, you can see the shadow of the dinghy and the rocks at the bottom, this picture is through my sunglasses, still moored (you know, on the ball we STOLE!), still full here at White Bay, here's the brothers coming back in, you can see how clear the water is with Rick's shadow, my husband just didn't want to get out of that beautiful water. I don't think he would have minded if we had left him there! Here's him and Michele hanging out, I was glad she got some time to relax; especially since she did some 'laundry' that morning while we were all busy doing other stuff. Oh, and unsure what our 'bait' was doing in the water?

While we had been out snorkeling, there was another catamaran with a family of teens onboard looking for a mooring ball at White Bay. Apparently Michele had told them we'd only be there for a couple more hours, we could call them when we were ready to head out. And, that's what we did. We called them on the radio and told them to start coming in and around. It worked out great and they got our mooring ball after we had pulled away. Glad we could help them out. It really is a busy/popular place.

We headed out and cruised by Little JVD and Green Cay and Sandy Spit, but we didn't stop and moor. This was a relaxin' trip. Even the Skipper took a break. Guess he felt comfortable with the younger ones at the helm? Not sure how confident I feel! Especially when we hit a few raindrops...you can't 'duck' from the rain AND steer!

Along the way, the sites are so pretty..again. Check out this road on this hill! We weren't going far, so we didn't put our sails up like this guy did. You can see the good wind! Skipper driving...with his feet! Don't know that I'd want to live here!? Here is something rare here in the islands: palm trees. You'd think they'd be everywhere, but we actually saw more cactus than palm trees. Because of the islands being volcanic rock, the cactus grows better on the rock than palm trees...that grow in sand.

We were headed over to the other side of Tortola to Cane Garden Bay.

This is a beautiful, colorful area. Randy asked Ryan if HE wanted a chance to try and catch the mooring ball and he did. He actually did a great job, but the rope was SO short, he grabbed it but Randy couldn't get it from him to moor and he had to give it another try (it was actually the shortest rope of the whole trip). Ryan was upset with himself at first because he thought he had missed, but he didn't and we explained what had happened. After we were moored up, most of us decided to rest and/or take a half hour nap (remember, snorkeling is tiring!).

Some of us relaxed. Some napped. Some sunbathed. A lazy afternoon for sure.

Mid afternoon, we all went ashore to explore. This was even the first time visiting here for the veterans. It was a quaint little town. Lots of chickens and roosters running all over the place. The big joke was the chickens that were running FROM Michele....who happens to LOVE chicken and chicken wings. I'd see a chicken and her babies and tell them to "run...Michele is here"... And I'll be darned, they did run! Random pix from wandering around onshore: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

We walked along the beach and then cut across and walked the road back. We got seperated from Rick's crew, so it was just us 3. Some pictures from our walk along the beach: my guys with our boat in the background, my son & I, our boat out there, leaving an impression, no 'hands' picture here, but a family one instead, the annual pic from behind, and our son. They were waitin' for me because I was taking pictures of this palm tree...since they are so rare in the islands. A few more scenes from our beach walk: this net is right in the water, this tree was being trimmed...it was pretty and we ended the beach walk at this restaurant/bar. We took a path from the beach to the street side and started walking back that way to see what was along the road.

Turns out, not much: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

We caught up with them on the walk back and decided to stop for drinks before heading back to our boat. We got some drinks and watched pelicans dive bomb fish. They seemed to like hanging out in this particular spot. It was actually amazing and funny at the same time because they were so predictable. They'd fly around and come right back and dive bomb at the same spot each time. You'd think that'd make it easy to get a picture of it, wouldn't you? No it wasn't...not really. Don't ask me what these kids were hoping to catch by dragging their net, because they weren't deep enough and I didn't see them get anything.

Before we left, we took some family pictures.
Ours finally came out decent, after being photobombed by my brother-in-law!

We picked up some ice on the way out and when we got back to the boat, we relaxed and watched the beautiful sunset that was beginning. A view of the beach from our boat.

Okay, tonight's sunset is beautiful and I have like 50 pictures of it. I'll do my best to whittle it down and not bore you: not sure why you can see a faint rainbow in this picture because it wasn't raining? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Whew! That was hard to trim that down, but I hope you liked what I chose.

After sunset, we started getting ready to make dinner. Tonight's menu was chicken, corn, beans, mac & cheese, salad and whatever other leftovers we could find. Another good dinner and we had cleaned up and did dishes again.

The great fisherwoman decided to give it another try (with her weight) after dinner again tonight, but we didn't let her stay out long. Since there was so much napping throughout the day, everyone was up for a game of Uno (with 2 decks of regular playing cards) and we also ended up playing 2 rounds of the game Headbandz when Casey suggested we switch games. What a fun time playing that game. Ryan won the first round and Ricky won the second round. We had lost Corinne for Headbandz, she went to bed after Uno. She was always first to bed. A couple of funny pictures from Headbands (I'm sure you're familiar with the game...if not, you have to guess 'what you are' by asking others questions): Ricky, Randy & Ryan, good luck guessing that Ricky , Rick & Michele, you can't read what I was, but I was a beaver and Casey was sitting next to me.

Tonight was a late night. We didn't call it a night until almost 11:30! The latest we've been up all week! Tomorrow is our last full day here in the islands.

 

[bubba's mom]

Day 15

Friday, July 13, 2012

Destination: Marina Cay & Roadtown marina.

Up around 9am this morning. Came upstairs to see our captain plotting his next move. Little by little the teens got up, with our son being the last. He decided to sleep in today.

This morning, when Rick had gone outside, he turned around and came right back in to get us. Lookit what he found next to Ryan's shell! Yep, he was dead and yep he shot dye before he died. That would explain why the shell was smelling bad (and the reason we left it outside all week). Michele was excited to finally have some bait for fishing . We decided to try it out and see what we'd get. In NO time flat, there were all these fish around! Unfortunately, the captain wouldn't let her keep it in a baggie in the fridge or freezer for later, so we had to let squidward go.

It was a leisurly morning again after breakfast and while some relaxed and played cards, I decided to get a jump on packing. I didn't want to leave it all to tonight, so I got started. View of JVD this morning: 1, 2 and 3. I believe this is St Thomas in the distance?

Sometime after noon, we headed out for our next destination: Marina Cay. It was a beautiful ride and we passed right by Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport on Beef Island, Tortola. I think they were having some flying lessons because we kept seeing a plane fly around and very few take off. I don't recall seeing any planes landing? Just like any other island, if you run out of runway, you're going swimming!

Sites along the way from Cane Garden to Marina Cay: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, getting closer to 6 our destination, my son recouping from his big card game, 7, 8, the actual tiny island itself and 9, 10, 11, the girls, 12 and Ricky.

Pulling into Marina Cay was beautiful. My husband enjoys taking pictures of the "you are here"...gives some perspective to where you are!

Although we saw a whole bunch of boats leaving as we were getting there, we were beginning to wonder if it was something we said? Didn't matter, it was a beautiful place and we were heading ashore after some lunch. "Mustgo" was on the menu for lunch, but we had to switch over the gas tank to heat it up (no microwave). Last day and we run outta gas for the stove! Oh well...at least it wasn't water we ran out of! Once we had gas for the stove, lunch was up.

Our views from the boat at Marina Cay: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

While lunch was in the fixins, a relaxing game of cards broke out. I had heard my son was kicking butt...I think they said he won 4 hands? Talk about beginners luck!

After everyone ate and relaxed and lunch was cleaned up, we were going to head ashore.

We went through a little gift shop (took this picture before going in tho)...and headed out the other side. There was a little path from the store to the beach, so we took pictures along the way because it was just so pretty here, 1 and 2.

There was a beachside restaurant and bar at which we got drinks at. Note the footwash at the foot of the steps. Very common in the islands. Since most don't wear shoes most places, before you enter a store or restaurant, they like you to wash the sand off your feet. And, we took some pictures. The beach here was part coral, so if you were looking for any, you had plenty to pick from! We took family pictures here because it was so beautiful and the tables on the beach.

We sat at a table down on the beach in front of the restaurant and just admired the beautiful views and took pictures (of course!) Those views: 1, 2, a 'handsome' view, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and a sneaky pic of Michele.

After drinks and pictures, we headed back to our boat to get our snorkel gear. We took the dinghys and moored them while we went snorkeling. There wasn't much at the first place we stopped, so we loaded up and headed over toward where we had drinks earlier. This was a much better spot as we saw a lot of neat things here. Lots of fish, sea urchins, coral, a fan, a stingray (and a fish) just cruising along the bottom minding their own business and a closer picture of that same ray, we also saw a longhorn cowfish. If not for the blue on him, Randy would've never seen him!

Random pix from snorkeling: 1, 2, 3, 4, bunch of reddish fish at the bottom-center of this picture, Randy going down to annoy the fish, a closer shot of those reddish fish, that longhorn cowfish blended in well with his surroundings and more shots of those urchins, here and here.

We were out for a little while before heading back in. I wish we could've snorkeled here longer. I think my husband and his brother could have stayed out there a lot longer, but they realized it was getting late and we wanted to make it back to the marina tonight yet. We had to have the boat back by 8am tomorrow, and with our long travel day home, we were not interested in getting up that early and you cannot sail at night. So, all aboard about 5:30pm, we started to haul butt back to Roadtown.

Beautiful scenery along the way. We couldn't decide if we'd hit rain or not (we didn't), but we had to keep going. With our destination in sight and the sun beginning to set, we were still pretty far away, an alarm started going off! Rick had left the helm to Randy and went up front to relax with his wife. Poor guy wasn't there 5 minutes and we had an issue! Not knowing what the problem was, believe it or not, I was actually the one who looked at the control panel inside and realized we left the generator on! Oopsie! That's a big no-no! We overheated our starboard engine. So Rick shut her down and we were just cruising on the port engine.

Not long after cruising along on only one engine, the alarm went off again. It was overheating trying to compensate for the other engine being shut down.

So, we shut both engines down and just floated for a bit. (Of course, I am still snapping pictures during this 'emergency'. Someone needs to document the memory...) We didn't have both engines off for long because we weren't far from the coastline. You don't want to drift too close to land! Capt'n put our starboard engine back on, but not on the high speed he had had it on. After a bit, he fired up the port engine and we were back on our way; at a slower pace, but nonetheless, on our way.

Not too long we were at the marina and radioed ahead to let them know we were back. They told us someone would be waiting for us at 'B' dock. Sure enough, he was there, jumped aboard and 'parked' us. Actually parallel parked us right up front near the bar, restuarant and pool. You think it's difficult in a car? Try a 44' catamaran! But, of course he made it look easy!

When we arrived and hooked up to shore power, Rick & Michele went to the office to check back in. They were staying another week and some friends were coming down to meet them. They had a monohull rented, but they knew they didn't have airconditioning on it and (after a week of having AC) were going to check into upgrading to a bigger boat with AC. They came back and had checked in for the next trip with no luck for an upgrade that night (that was affordable). We all went to see the boat they'd be taking out next week.

Some pix of the monohull: 1, 2, master bedroom, master shower and bathroom, 3, 4, 5, aft bedroom and it's bathroom and here. Here is Michele standing on her bed, and here too.

After we saw their boat, we went back to our boat (closer shot of the front). The sun was beginning to set, but it wasn't as pretty because Tortola was in the way! Randy & his brother one last night together.

And here are Randy's many pictures of "you are here": 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The menu tonight was spaghetti & meatballs, salad and garlic bread. Along with cleaning up and doing the dishes, it was also toss the leftovers we didn't eat.

Most hung out to chat and play cards. I had my guys get showers so I could finish packing as much as I could. I'm not big on playing cards, so I was okay with getting cleaned up and finishing up the packing. From what I could hear, they were having a good time.

It was probably around midnight when we called it a night. Super long day ahead of us tomorrow.

 

[jenseib]

I'm way behind. Been back from my trip for a week and still haven't had a chance to catch up. I hope to remedy that this afternoon.

I did start my new TR as well, the link is in my signature.

 

[donaldduck352]

It's been awhile since I ventured to the TR page.

Brab's TR started back on 8-15,and now I'm almost 2months late!!

Ya know Brab when ya'll come to Ocala,we are only 20mins away.Love DW and I and youres to hook up for a dinner sometime in the future.I do kinda know the area and the best Drive Ins,Diners and Dives!!

Better yet,gulf fishing anyone???

Swimming with the manatees is free where I'm at also!!!

PM me if intrested.