On June 10, thirty of us Texas sailors headed out for a one week catamaran charter with Sunsail. Most of us were delayed by bad weather in Miami, missed our connection and had a miserable dinner in San Juan airport – , that place is just no fun at all. I had been looking forward to a relaxing swim and dinner at the Tamarind Club, and as the hour grew later became concerned that they would not hold my reservation. However when I called I was assured that someone would be in the bar till 11:00 . My next question – “how will I pick up my keys” was met with a chuckle, and the news that there are no keys. We were to be in room #7, and if no one was around, we could just go directly to our room , where we would find rum waiting for us. However when we finally cleared Customs, took the quick cab ride to Tamarind, we were met by an assortment of lovable shaggy dogs, a purring cat, and best of all, bartender Clint with a large rum punch for each of us. It was easy to unwind in this hospitable place, and Clint kept the rum coming.
Next morning Kathy put out a nice complimentary breakfast, then we took off with cab driver Darky to catch up with our friends at Sunsail base. Having already survived one recent Carribean sailing adventure (see my posts on St. Martin website) I knew that overnighters on an non air conditioned boat was not my idea of vacation. So we waved goodbye to our friends from the dock as they sailed off to the Bight, and Darky took us to the Trellis Bay ferry for Virgin Gorda. On the ride over he insisted on showing us his home and his vegetable garden – the people of Tortola are simply the friendliest you can imagine.
The ferry ride was fast and exciting. A four wheel drive Suzuki was waiting for us at the Virgin Gorda dock, and we were off to Nail Bay resort. OMG, it was at this point that my husband came unglued. The goat path of a road to Nail Bay was purely intimidating in full daylight, and we planned to go out to dinner and had no idea how we could possibly navigate it after dark. On the plus side their grounds and beach are magnificent, and the adorable room with canopy bed , mini kitchen and Jacuzzi for two did have a balcony with a view of forever. We spent a good hour photographing the spectacular sunset and then grabbed flashlights to attempt the goat trail to Georgios Table. While the food was delicious, hubby protested that the $110.00 tab was outrageous for a restaurant that did not offer air conditioning and required a generous spritz of Off to enjoy unmolested dining. I also misunderstood the dress code and arrived wearing capris and a cami top with flip flops, thinking the Island restaurants ( with the exception of Brandywine) enjoyed a universally casual dress code dress . Ladies, break out your strappy summer sundresses and breezy gauze skirts for Georgios. Some gals even sported dressy cocktail attire!
Next day we met up with boat crew who were anchored at The Baths. We snorkeled a bit but spent most of our time at the Top enjoying the pool and a fab lunch. Lots of dark thunderclouds and afternoon rains canceled our planned outing to the Coppermine, so we headed back down the “ goat trail” to our room only to find the power out. Still enough cool air in the room to enjoy a nap. Just before we headed out to dinner , the Nail Bay desk rang our room to ensure that we had enough candles and flashlights to survive a night without power. Sounded ominous, but we were off to The Rock with a shared vow to remain sober – navigating the “goat trail” at night was not something we were looking forward to. We had reservations at The Rock for fourteen – dinner was outstanding , and power was on in Spanish Town, so we dined in air conditioned comfort. We stayed for dancing in Sam’s Piano Bar, and learned that some crew had already jumped ship and rented air conditioned rooms at Fischers. By the time we got back to Nail Bay our power was restored as well.
Next day we succumbed to the begging and pleading of our friends, checked out of Nail Bay one day early and boarded catamaran Jessica for an overnighter at Bitter End Yacht Club. On the way over we stopped for some snorkeling at George Island where crew member Andrea met up with sea lice and got an ugly rash on her hands and legs to show for it. That night on board good friends Terri, Jimmy and I prepared grilled mahi mahi, mango salsa, coconut rice and salad for our boat – an exercise in unrelenting swelteration coupled with insect guerrilla warfare. I insisted we sleep in the salon for our one night on board where at least I could aim the two tiny fans on my sweating body – and I survived the experience.
Next morning saw us motoring to Anegada with barely a breath of wind. Boy, was I excited to spot Neptunes – I had pre-booked an air conditioned room there . Friends Terri and Jan quickly snapped the remaining room, and other Texas crew found on-shore air conditioned lodging at Anegada Reef. That night at least 20 of us dined on lobsters at Anegada Reef Club’s twinkle lit tables on the beach. I was the only one with DEET , and had to share due to the agonized pleas of my friends who were being savaged by the no- seeums. Dancing followed – music was sporadically interrupted by overheating- DJ had to constantly fan the sound equipment in a futile attempt to cool it down.
At breakfast my husband Andy continued his hero- worshipping conversation with Vernon Soares. Andy has not stopped talking about Vernon since we got back to Houston and has repeated his remarkable story to everyone he knows. Meanwhile about 20 of us snarfed down hot cinnamon rolls and bacon and egg sandwiches on the deck of the bakery. Unfortunately swarms of flys fought with us for our breakfast, so we did not linger – just ate the delicious baked goods as quickly as possible and headed for Jessica and Cane Garden Bay.
