Joy of Sailing

To finish off this trek, I now have all the photos and videos posted ... just click on Photos at the top of the page.

The one I love the most is this video of Jim up on the bow - this is what a perfect day on the water is all about.

Show me the Numbers (or the Route, or whatever)

I unloaded the GPS today and was able to put together our tracks from the two parts of our trip. I broke it into two because that's basically what we did, and the distances are easier to show on the two maps.

Part 1: St. Thomas to St. Croix and back

Part 2: St. Thomas and into the BVI's with Caitlin & Jim

Rounding out the trip

As we finished off our fabulous week in the BVI's we ran out of wi-fi connections and so this posting is late but here...

On Saturday morning we headed back into Road Town for more exploration and some shopping. There were a couple of smaller cruise ships in town but compared to St. Thomas the pandemonium was completely tame. The shops along main street were delightful and it was much easier to find locally crafted items rather than flipping over something and finding 'made in China/Indonesia' on the back.

Jim actually ended up picking up the very funky green t-shirt hanging on the line at the back of this little alley and the art shop adjacent had wonderful items.

We also took the opportunity to visit the Old Government House which was perched just above our anchorage. Surprisingly we hooked up with a tour that was just about to go around which was hosted by a localized ex-pat Canadian. The house had quite a history and was lovely and breezy; one could just imagine the colonialist British governor enjoying a cup of tea in the afternoon as his children lazily romped through the grounds. The dining room had the most beautiful murals painted by the wife of one of the former residents and our guide was quite adamant that they were pretty much the reason the house had been saved.

We checked out of the BVI's at Road Town and then headed off for another delightful afternoon sail, running down to St.John and Leinster Bay. It was too late to make our way round to Cruz Bay so we quietly stayed on board as the wind blew through the anchorage.

Our evening fun onboard with Caitlin and Jim has consisted of a few rounds of Euchre (great to have 4 to play!), a couple of rounds of asshole (that title rotates quite freely) and then a challenge of Scrabble. Aren't we the exciting bunch!!

Off to Road Town

Given the bumpiness of the anchorage we decided to have breakfast over in Trellis Bay where it is a bit more protected.

Wandering round Trellis Bay we enjoyed visiting Aragorn's Studio and some of the other craft shops before stopping at Da Loose Mongoose for lunch. This is the spot we enjoyed the Canada vs. US Olympic gold medal hockey game last year so it was rather fun to revisit the spot. We decided on the whole that we definitely like the laid-back atmosphere of Trellis Bay better than Marina Cay.

With the winds from the NE we headed off in the afternoon for a wonderful downwind sail to Road Town Tortola. As you can see we were definitely enjoying the warm sun and winds.

This harbour was a new one for all of us and after dodging a cruise ship as we came in we dropped the anchor on the western side of Road Harbor looking towards the government dock and a number of marinas.

Evening explorations ashore revealed that Road Town is relatively small and not nearly as commercial as Charlotte Amalie, but very busy in it's own right. We rounded out dinner at The Pub at Fort Burt Marina where Henry felt very British with his prime rib and yorkshire pudding while the rest of us opted for more Caribbean fare. We amused the waitress greatly when we revealed that in Canada we say "zed" but say "zeebra" (as in the U.S) whereas here in the BVI they are taught to say "zed" and "zebra" (short e). She also revealed that they call speedbumps "sleeping policemen" which I think I have also heard in the U.K.

This is the customs and ferry dock with Pusser's on the waterfront at the right and the local landmark, "The Purple Palace" just above.

Up the Bathtub

The day dawned bright and sunny and the winds were down considerably so before the weather could change it's mind we departed The Bight and headed up the Drake Passage (the “bathtub”) towards The Baths. The winds were perfect and we sailed almost all the way, until we decided that if we were to have any chance of picking up a mooring ball we probably shouldn't make another tack but head straight there. With a bit of patience, and some luck on our side, we only had to wait about 10 minutes before a boat departed, leaving a mooring ball free for us. Bonus, we were nice and close to Devil's Bay which is the more southerly entrance to The Baths, and from past experience the dinghy line is much closer to the beach and the resulting swim, much easier as well. I take my hat off to Caitlin who jumped in and made the swim, cast and all.

The Baths dished up the usual excitement of surf-pounded shores and still calm grottoes; Jim especially enjoyed returning to the spot that he had enjoyed so much last year. Caitlin looked on at the guys with bouldering chalk in envy but did quite a bit of clambering herself.

By mid-afternoon, we were ready to raise the sails again for a quick jaunt over to Marina Cay where we dropped anchor at the back of the pack. Aragorn promptly came around in his big dinghy full of fresh and baked produce so we procured a loaf of fresh-baked bread and a carrot loaf for the morning.

We headed into the Cay for sundowners and appetizers and have to say that we were pretty disappointed. The drinks were overpriced (no happy hour) and the much anticipated appies never arrived, and we couldn't get the advertized free wi-fi, so we headed back to the boat hungry for dinner.

Overnight, the winds picked up and it got pretty rolly in the anchorage but our tackle held beautifully and we were in exactly the same spot at day-break.