Well, back to shoes, long pants and turtle necks! It was great while it lasted! So here's our trip report...
Tuesday night-Friday morning
Flights from Seattle to Beef Island were lousy. Lots of turbulence Seattle to Miami, no food served and the pilot came on several times remonstrating passengers to STAY SEATED. If I hadn't been so tired, I would have been more nervous. Because of mechanical difficulties the flight out of Miami to San Juan was delayed and we missed our connection San Juan to Beef Island. Of course, once landing on Tortola, we had the issue of getting our luggage, but it ended up working out just fine. The down side was my husband had come down with the flu and was barely mobile.
Another couple from our group was already there, so we rented our car, loaded it up and headed off to De Loose Mongoose for something to eat...it had been nearly 18 hours since our last meal. Driving the roads from the airport to Brewers Bay Campground at night on the "wrong" side was exciting, but we made it in one piece only to find no one at the campground. Luckily a camper appeared and was kind enough to find out which tents were ours. We collapsed.
My husband slept the whole next day trying to recouperate, while the other three of us swam. We were too late for breakfast at Isis, so drove over to Cane Garden Bay to get some groceries at Bobby's. We ate a dinner at Isis as we didn't have pots and pans with us. It was mediocre and we fared better with our makeshift goods from Bobby's.
The campground was beyond rustic and although the setting was gorgeous and the bay, quiet, I don't think we'd stay there again... We're hard core campers, and it's one thing to be roughing it in the woods and another to stay at a place where you want something closer to clean... The biggest excitment at the campground was watching a bull fight on the beach. Two cows decided to do a show down in front of our tent. No noise, just pushing each other into and out of the surf. Quite the show!
Friday
We left Brewers Bay for Cane Garden Bay to hook up with another couple who had arrived. Spent a lovely day swimming in the bay before motoring over to Hodges Creek to pick up our boat and the fourth couple. My husband was starting to rally by this time. Yay!
Sitting in front of Sunsail, waiting for our boat (Privilege 435/Enata/Catamaran) was fun. There was a huge French contingent who were doing a regatta. What a show they put on getting ready! There's a nice shower at the Sunsail facilities and we all took the opportunity to clean up. There's also a great little market there, so once we had our boat and before Bobby's arrived with our provisions, we bought some more food. Bobby's did a great job--I highly recommend them. We ate dinner at the restaurant there (Calamaya's???) and slept on the boat. The harbor was noisy, but not too bad considering the number of people.
Saturday...
We went through the skippers meeting and the boat "tour" and took off. My husband was captain. He sailed a tri around the world, so was pretty happy to be back at the helm. Light winds. We went past Dead Man's Chest. The winds were light enough that we threw a line off the boat and jumped off the pulpit, swam back, grabbed the line, climbed aboard and repeated the task. Very fun. The water temp was wonderful! We snorkled at the Caves. Lots of colorful fish. Not sure where we anchored the first night. Norman? Salt? Had a great meal onboard.
Sunday...
Went to the Rhone today. Snorkeling the wreck was great, but going around the rocks was even better. The fish were fantastic! The colors! Lots of caves and channels among the rocks. Way too cool.
We had problems with the boat's plumbing (too grizzly to detail), so while we were snorkeling, Sunsail sent someone out to fix the bilge on the port side. Poor guy; it was a nasty job, but it should have been fixed before we were given the boat. It took him all day, but when he was finished, the boat was habitable again.
We sailed over to the back side of Salt and got out to wander the island. Some of the guys in our group were checking out the beach and wind for a possible kite boarding session. No go, but a great beach wander. Another fantastic boat meal. We're all trying to get used to the boat noises at night. No one sleeps soundly.
Monday through Wednesday morning...
Went to the Baths today. We left early in the morning hoping to avoid the crowds. What a zoo! Us and eight million others. It really took away from the beauty of the place. Walking through the Baths was walking in a que. We had more boat problems--electrical this time, so while we were on shore, Sunsail had to come out again for more maintenance. It was discouraging to have two days of (serious) boat problems. Luckily that was it. From that point on the boat was great.
After the Sunsail maintenance crew fixed the problem, we sailed around Virgin Gorda to Eustacia Sound. That was our favorite spot. North Sound or Gorda Sound (we saw it listed both ways) where the Bitter End and Saba Rock is, was busy and crowded with a jillion boats, but Eustacia, just outside, was fantastic. There were only a handful for boats anchored there. Getting there through the harbor in North Sound was like threading a needle. My husband did an amazing job (in my opinion!) of manuevering the boat through all the moorings.
We spent two nights in Eustacia and finally we are able to sleep through the noises the boat makes at night. Part of the crew went kite boarding, some rented windsurfing equipment and the rest of us snorkled. There was something fun to do for everyone. Great snorkeling! Turtles, rays and beautiful fish! Another great meal on board and one okay dinner at Saba Rock.
We had developed a pretty good routine by now. The first up made coffee for everyone. Breakfast was a free for all. Bagels, cereal, eggs... Lunch was buffet style. We'd pull out tortillas, meat, cheese, tomatoes, hummus, etc and munch away. Our favorite (nonalcoholic) beverage besides water was Ting. Wish we had that back home! Dinner was best onboard and we ate really well. We did cabbage for salads and managed to make several different kinds. We had a mexican night, italian, stir fry, marinated chops...basically all were scrumptious. Wine was not very good, but of course, rum drinks and mojitos were FABULOUS. Our personal choice between Red Stripe and Carib, was the Red Stripe. The guys put a good dent in it, but we found with the heat, we didn't consume very much alcohol.
We bought some more food at Buck's Grocery in Gun Creek. What a great grocery. Though small, we got everything we needed. Motored over to Leverick to fill our water tanks and gas up the dingy. Leverick is pretty fancy and it was fun to wander through the shops. Of course we had to stop at the Pusser's store...
Wednesday...
We did our last snorkel and kiting in Eustacia this morning then left for Anegada. There was a lot of wind. Sailing was fun! fun! fun! We almost had to pick straws to see who got to sit in the pulpits. What a great ride!
The guys did a late afternoon kite session off Anegada. There wasn't enough wind at that point to provide the ride they wanted. It was very hot. Dinner on board; we're perfecting our rum concoctions.
Thursday...
We hired Mike to take us via bus to the far side of Anegada for a two hour snorkel. Lots of current here and for those of us who are not true water babies, the surge was a bit unnerving. Still, the snorkeling was great. Many channels to scope out. Some rays, a HUGE nurse shark, lots of colorful fish.
Friday...
We sail to Jost Van Dyke today. Not as much wind as coming to Anegada and it took us about four hours or more to get to JVD. Everyone is a bit down in the mouth as this is our last full day on board. The weather has been incredible.
We get to Great Harbor and anchor. There's a huge tourist cruise ship at the edge of the harbor. It looks very imposing. We decide to go to Foxy's for the Full Moon. We wanted to go to Bomba's, but didn't want to sail over to Tortola yet. Foxy's was fun. STRONG drinks and lots of dancing.
Saturday...
Up early to set sail. Breakfast happens under way. We have to turn the boat in today and part of our group has reserved a water taxi to take them to St. John's for the rest of their trip. We're all sad it's the last day onboard. Initially we were concerned how 8 people would fare in cramped quarters; how cooking would work; would there be enough for everyone to do. Not an issue on any score. The group got along well, there's was always something going on, cooking was easy. We all agreed two weeks would have been better; we felt we'd barely scratched the surface of things to see and do.
We reach Hodges Creek to turn in our boat with some time to spare. Repacking was easier than expected. Six of us were going to Rhymers in Cane Garden Bay for three more days, so we packed up our remaining food to take with us. We'd polished off all but one bottle of rum but still had some Carib (which we never finished).
We rented a little Subaru van. What a funny vehicle--it was short and tall and with all our stuff packed in it and strapped on top of it, we made quite a spectacle. When we unpacked at Rhymers, we immediately hit the water for swimming. Boy! What a beach! It was great. We have a good lunch (jerked chicken wrap) at Myett's.
Sunday...
Breakfast at the Banana Holding Co. Yum. Good pancakes. We tour Tortola today in search of the ultimate kite boarding beach. It was a fun day and we saw the majority of the island. We even managed to get a hike in on Sage Mountain. For those who haven't driven the island, I recommend it. It's quite the experience. The roads either go straight up or straight down and making it up and around some of the corners is an adventure in itself! Beautiful island!
We get back to Rhymers around 6:30 so we stop at Bobby's for a bottle of--you guessed it--rum, fruit juice, cheese and crackers and make that our dinner on the deck above Rhymers bar. What a great evening. Quitos is rocking, so we wander down there, but it's standing room only, so we pull up beach chairs and enjoy the stars and music from outside.
Monday...
Last day on the island. The kiters take off on their adventure and one of the other ladies and I stay at Rhymers. Read on the beach, swim, buy last minute gifts, swim. The kiters get home, no success, more swimming. Everyone's happy.
We decide to splurge our last night and make reservations at the Sugar Mill. Excellent meal; the best we've had in a restaurant. It's a great send off. We cap our evening and our vacation with one last drink on the deck at Rhymers.
Tuesday...
Up early. We pack the van and head to the airport. Putting on shoes is an affront to our feet. It has rained and we feel this is an appropriate end to our vacation. There's a [censored] fight in the middle of the road as we take off. We wait a moment for them to finish, then realize we might as well keep going. They continue fighting on the side of the road as we drive past. Flights home are uneventful. We leave all our baggage outside when we arrive home just incase some cockroaches have come home with us.
Synopsis...
Yes, some cockroaches DID travel with us. Keep it in mind if you can leave your baggage outside and unpack from there.
Sunsail and our boat were great. Even though we had two days down in repairs, the islands were so wonderful that it seemed inconsequential. Sunsail was very prompt about responding. A couple of people were concerned about seasickness, but a cat is so steady that it was never an issue.
We brought a few minor food items from home (granola, coffee, spices) and were not disappointed we hadn't carried more. I think it would have been a hassle. The food/provisioning through Bobbies was easy and excellent, as was the gorcery at Hodges Creek/Sunsail and Buck's Grocery in Gun Greek, VG. We drank less beer than we anticipated because of the heat, but managed to polish off the rum. We bought gallon containers of water (3/person) before leaving on the boat. We consumed it all and got more at Gun Creek. Tortillas and bagels worked well for bread consumption. Avocados didn't last as long as we'd hoped and we powered through the tomatoes. Mangoes were great as was the citrus (limes, oranges, grapefruit).
I took the advice from this board and packed few clothes and it worked well. I had a little skirt and a pareo for another skirt which sufficed for when we ate out. I brought 3 swimsuits because I had them and did use them all, but could have done with just 2. We brought sunscreen and sunblock (for two of us). We used up the block and had just a little screen left. Bring a hat. Even with a bimini and sunblock, you'll want to protect your face. Shade seating was at a premium. We went barefoot on the boat. We rented a little kayak for the boat and it came in handy. When some of the crew took the dingy, we still had the kayak for getting around. One woman in our group who was not a strong swimmer, rented a paddle board and that worked well for her. She used it to get from the boat to a snorkeling spot and held on to while snorkeling. It gave her a lot of confidence.
A lot of folks eat in the restuarants and I think that's great for the local economy. For us, however, eating on board was less expensive and we enjoyed what we made. We planned for 3-4 dinners on board (for a 7 day sail) and ended up doing 5 on board. There is lots of refridgeration on the boat and we rented two coolers for drinks. We had no issues with food spoilage.
Everyone we met on the islands we visited were wonderful. The trip was fabulous; the BVIs gorgeous. The water color and temp, the snorkeling--everything surpassed expectations.
