Trip report from 7/27/18-8/4/2018.

We had a total of 8 guest, 5 that have never been down before and chartered a 514PC from The Moorings. I was upgraded to a newer boat, but still pre Irma. The boat was in great shape with a few things wrong with it, but nothing to keep us from accepting it. Only other issue that we had was the generator on 2 occasions overheated. The Moorings took very good care of us though about the issue and very happy with the results. We did an Evening start and stayed on the boat Friday Night on the 27th. We ran into fellow TTOL Sean Stacey and his dog Barley. Very nice people and the dog did great! We left Saturday mid morning for the Rhone but the current and wind was strong so we elected not to snorkel the Rhone. We went to Cooper Island and grabbed a ball. The bay was nice and calm and we hung out till dinner at the CIBC. Once again great service and fantastic food. We of course drank some fresh brewed beer and sipped some rum at the rum Bar. 240 types of rum! The place looks great too! Next morning we headed to the Baths for the day and hiked up to the restaurant. Weather was nice and sunny with a steady breeze. We over night on a ball at Levericks. Had to do a little rescue of a sinking Max Marine 48PC. The credit card captain ran over the reef and ripped off his port rudder, prop and shaft. Somehow he nursed it to Levericks on one engine with limited steering. He stated his dinghy never worked and it was stuck on the lift. There were 4 people onboard and nobody had life jackets on as they were taking on water. The Captain never called in a mayday since he stated he never used the radio before. He stated that they contacted Max Marine once on the ball and Max Marine told them to just get off the boat. I called in a Mayday and got help to the boat as we got people off the boat. The boat was dark and most electrical systems were out. Bilge pumps were dead and there was over 5 feet of water on the port side as the boat was listing over. With the help of another boat Captain and a salvage boat with a sump pump, we were able to get it to the dock at Levericks. The next morning divers plugged the hole and towed it back to Tortola. The next morning we went to Oil Nut Bay. We had reservations and I docked at their marina. It took a little bit of communication to get a ride from the marina to the welcoming dock and then golf cart to the resort. The resort is beautiful with nice pools and swim up bar. The beach was very clean and bay was gorgeous. There was a lot of damage done to the reef though from the hurricanes. We did see a lot of new growth coming back though. We went back to Levericks that afternoon and was on the dock. We taxied up to Hog Heaven and had one of the best BBQ ribs ever. Cant beat the view either! Next morning we went to the Dogs for a bit and then onto White Bay JVD. We moored up in front of where Ivan’s was and it was nice and calm. Soggy Dollar and Hendo’s was relaxing and refreshing. Next day we went to Sandy Spit which is now bald. Then we popped over to Sandy Cay and hung out snorkeling and spending time on the beach there. We went back to Great Harbor for the night. We had some rum and food at Foxy’s and had a good chat with him. The place looks great and pretty much back to how it looked before. There is a lot of trees missing and still damaged buildings all down the street. There is work going on and its getting back to the way it was before. Next day we decided to just relax again at White Bay, JVD. We then headed over in the late afternoon to Cane Garden Bay. We hit up Callwood’s Rum Distillery and then dinner at Myett’s. Food and view were spectacular as usual. There was a limited menu but plenty to choose from. The next morning we headed over to the Indians for some snorkeling and then to the Norman Caves. We had lunch on the boat there and then over to Peter Island for the last night. The next morning we had a nice cruise across back to the Moorings. The base was busy so we just pulled the boat into a slip for our checkout. We were on the 2:30 ferry back to St Thomas for the last night at Emerald Beach. It was a great trip and nice to have those Tradewinds blowing in our faces again.