BVI July 31 - August 9, 2017 (Part 9, Conclusion)

It was the penultimate day of departure. The rains had passed us by and there was still plenty of cloud cover around. I didn't feel like pulling the camera out much on this gray morning. Donna and I readied the boat for departure and without waking the 20'somethings we motored quietly out of the bay. Water tanks still registered near full, good job turning off the faucets! I wanted to see White Bay at its most sleepy time so we did a drive by, noticing 3 charter boats had overnight there in front of Ivans. The storm had not included big swells so I guess it was prudent for those caught off guard to just hunker down. We unfurled the jib and enjoyed a quiet slow sail towards the western end of Great Thatch, 4.5 knots. On our final last full day we tend to shift down a gear to try to slow the inevitable. Sydney would appear, rubbing her eyes asking if that was the Soggy Dollar she saw from her cabin window. We had to pay close attention to the water in front of us because the seas were littered with some large debris. The dozens of floating coconuts were like a mine field, ha!







Once in the passage between the Thatches the crew was all up and the hand line was out, nothing biting. Our goal today was to hit the Bight and wing it from there. Mark had texted again and asked if we knew about the "State of Emergency" on Tortola, no I didn't! He said getting to the ferry shouldn't be a problem, but roads are a mess all around the island. Soon after that Rory from TMM called asking if our intentions were to still return the boat the following morning, unfortunately yes. He said the island lost power and many services were on the fritz, Delta fuel docks may or may not be open, no problem he says, then signal lost. I felt bad for those trying to travel this day, it further strengthened my peace of mind in having trip insurance.

Approaching the Bight we saw there were plenty of boats already at the Indians and Caves, so we motored to where else... the Willy T. I think it was noon and they were just starting to open. There were no patrons at the boat yet as we lathered up the SPF. The skies were mostly cloudy with a few welcome blue openings starting to emerge. Oh [censored]....here comes the Bad Kitty day boat from St John. Now I have a soft spot for this party vessel because we chartered her for 16 friends a few years ago and had a memorable time, but we knew there were more than that on board today and that meant a long wait for fries and wings. Oh well, the more the merrier!

























We dragged our feet a bit giving the Kitty time to settle. It was nice to talk with the captain of the Kitty because he informed me that the Cooper Island Resort, who was scheduled to close on the 16th, had actually announced their immediate closure due to the storm. There goes our last dinner plans, we love that place. Discovered Pirates Bight was also closed. Luckily we had plenty of provisions remaining so not to worry. Time for a drink and some JUMPING!!

































The Kitty crowd was less than rowdy and we only spent a short time on the Willy T. On the way out we noticed plenty of boats at the Caves but the Indians were wide open, time for a snorkel.












I contacted TMM again via the cell phone they provided. I confirmed that if Delta was in fact closed when we get there tomorrow we were off the hook for physically topping her off?, confirmed. I told them about the closures we discovered and ask if they knew about Peter Islands status, they didn't know. They said why not grab a ball in Great Harbour on Peter? Good idea, we've never been. It was a beautifully quiet spot, there were only a few boats to keep us company. We dinged into the beach and tried to walk to the resort, but once we reached the salt pond we couldn't find a clear trail? anybody with local knowledge know of a trail? we traced our steps back to the dinghy and proceeded to motor around the Great Harbour point. The chop was too much so we bailed on that idea. Instead we returned to S/V Orion and lazily soaked up the abundant sunshine jumping and swimming. After cooking our last meal onboard we settled up top to watch our final sunset and moon rise of the trip, it was a great one.

























Morning came and we were disappointed to be completing last minute packing and clean up on Orion. During our slow motor out we kept looking over our shoulders at the marvelous sunrise. The trip to Road Town was short and quick. Delta would not answer my radio calls, but we hovered just off their dock and 2 men hesitated to assist us, they pointed at the office building? Just then a gentleman walked down and we were soon topping off the diesel. 60 gallons, $240, with really only 8.5 days running the engines and generator I was happy with the 7 gallon a day average. I wish I had taken note of the total engine hours, but I do know we ran that generator a lot! Once we had her belly full we tried to raise TMM via radio, no reply...it was exactly 0800hr and they were probably just opening up. I eased Orion into the channel and we saw Joyce on a dock and in her unique voice she says "welcome back!" Then Elvis and Jonathon walked to the slip and pointed at the tightest spot...REALLY, how about that open slip next to you?! Jonathon pointed again to the tight spot...I gave thumbs up. The crew was on their game once again tossing lines ashore. Easy peazy, I liked it. I had shaved the day prior and Elvis said, "did you find a barber shop?" ha! I told him the only issue he needed to work on was replacing the locking nut on the main, what a great catamaran! The check out process was quick and painless, thank you Mark and TMM, you are awesome!








Other than the roads on the way to the ferry looked like a hurricane had hit and it took a while to get there our travel day was issue free. So, let me finish by saying the entire trip from start to finish was outstanding, more wonderful memories and FYI our return trip is already in the works!










Stay Positive my friends! Cheers!