Caribbean Bound: The BVIs Part II

The wind was still light as we sailed in light winds back to Tortolla and Trellis Bay the sight of the monthly full moon festival, another great excuse for eating and drinking on the beach. Julie, Stacy, and I had been looking forward to this party for awhile. We had a beautiful sail under clowdy skys and managed to catch an 18 inch Bonito on the way. The wind eventually died and we lowered the sails, fired up the Perkins diesel auxillary, and meanderd through the fantastic narrow pass at Marina Cay on the way to Trellis Bay. We thought we were heading into a dead end until the narrow opening revealed itself only when we were very close. We passed between steep hills studded with empty vacation homes of the super rich. I was getting apprehensive of our chances to find a place to moor as we passed a packed anchorage at Marina Cay. We approached Trellis Bay and they were jammed in there tight with no mooring balls available and many boats searching for any remaining space. We lodged ourselves in between some boats on moorings to the consternation of a few. I thought we would be safe until the light wind changed directions and we were about to touch another boat. Amid stares we weighed anchor and headed to the edge of the anchorage which also happened to be in the flight path of Tortolla's airport, oh well time to party. We set the anchor down in 30 ft. of water using all of my 200 ft. of anchor rode.

Our luck at finding space changed on shore as it started raining and we claimed a couch under a porch at one of the 4 beach bars. The $25/person for food was a great deal as we carried our heaping plates of BBQ back to our couch. With all the rain though there was no full moon to see and the crowd was a bit subdued despite the steady flow of pain killers and the lively band playing so we retired to the boat, wet and stuffed.

At this point we felt we had seen and experienced the BVIs yet Julie and Stacy still had more than a week of time left on the boat. While Julie and Stacy had lunch and drinks at Trellis Bay with Martin and Johanna of Snow Bird I took the ferry to Spanish Town to investigate a potential hurricane season haul out spot for the boat. The marina was very nice with Florida prices so I left a deposit and a promise to return in 3 weeks to end the trip for the year.

I hadn't realized how much I had been stressing about what to do with the boat and when to go home so with this all decided I felt releaved and ready to finish the Caribbean adventurere with a bang. Getting off the ferry I joined the burgeoning party waiting for me in Trellis Bay and we all returned to Top O' The World for Bonito and rice.

The next morning the wind had freshened and we decided to head back to Virgin Gorda for another beach BBQ and a revisit of the $2.50 painkillers a Saba Rock. The sailing was carzy good with 15 knots of head wind. We had another wet BBQ party in Leverick Bay and met Snow Bird and Zero to Cruising at the Saba Rock happy hour the next day. Richard Branson, the billionare owner of nearby Necker Island, stepped off his hobie cat to join the happy hour scene, just another guy in a bathing suit and wet hair. We reminisced about our sailing trips since the Turks and Caicos and said our good byes as my friends were continuing their voyage to Grenada the next day.

With less than a week remaining we decided to check out Jost Van Dyke and then return to our favorite place so far, St John and Cruz Bay. We mostly motored to Jost amid passing showers. A visit to some of the famous bars there, Foxy's and Corsairs, was a bit anti-climatic as the chartering season had ended and we were the only ones there. We had been having a running contest of the best Conch fritters in the world sampling an appetizer portion at every opportunity. The contest has been going on for a couple of years and the uncontested winner was Alabama Jacks on the Card Sound Causway in Key Largo. Jacks got a serious challenge from the Anegada Hotel but the fritters at Foxy's topped them both, a generous and tender portion of conch in each bite with the spicy sauce accompaniment.

Our return to St. John was great. We took time to visit many of the day moorings throughout the national park and swim. Stacy and I had a rich experience in each place. The variety and health of species was much greater in each place that can only reached by boat. Julie loved the beach at Cinnamon Bay and the showers at the camp ground. One day while Stacy worked on the boat Julie and I took the dinghy to the beach where I had stayed 35 years before with the late Victor Hall. We walked under the shade of palm trees along the beach admiring the homes that had sprouted up since my previous time. A caretaker of one of the homes gave us a tour of an amazing house that is only used one week a year by its Virginia owners. The remainder of the year the house rents for $15,000 per week. That is about a year of sailing expenses!

We revisited Cruz Bay with its great bars and eateries to finish up the trip and headed back to St. Thomas. The rain had finally stopped but we had very little wind. They left me pretty empty feeling but I focused on the work at hand to catch up on some boat maintenance and to prepare to leave the boat in a marina for a week while I flew home for a greatly anticipated visit to Sheril, David, and my family in Orlando.

I have learned so much since I left Florida on February 8th. Thanks to my visiting crew of Jack, then Steve, then Corey, I was able to learn about the boat and then learn how to sail and anchor it alone. The high point of the trip was the visit from Sheril, Julie, and Stacey. Their visit reminded me of the riches of love and family. I don't know what it is exactly that I love so much about the cruising life. It is very uncomfortable at times and I miss my family and friends at home often. Much of the lure I've decided is the next horizon and what it may hold. What will the land look like as I approach, and what cool market or bar may I find? Will I catch a big fish? Another aspect that I love is the direct connection between staying alive and personal responsibility. It makes for a certain level of anxiety but I love the chance to fight to live. The last 3 months went very slowly. Cruising is like stepping in a time machine. I feel like I've been gone for 3 years rather than 3 months. Normally, I am amazed at how life is flying by.

I am excited and happy to be back home with Sheril. I was very surprised at the comfort level at home, the old normal, juxtaposed with the spartan conditions that I had gotten used to on the boat. I shall try to remember this as long as I can. Simple things like hot showers and air conditioning are quite a treat for me right now. The boat awaits our return is St. Thomas. Sheril and I shall return together for a final week of cruising with the final haulout in Virgin Gorda.