Crewed charter on Tri-World:<br><br>Crew, Jim and Katie Eldridge<br><br>Us, Doug, Diane, Toby 20 and Heidi 18, our munchkins.<br><br><br>We met Jim at American Yacht Harbor, Red Hook St Thomas. Diane was a little late, while using the rest room at the burrito place she ran into a guy who looked just like David Duchovny. Oh well I'd probably be late too if I ran into Gillian Anderson. Enough of that.--- <br><br>We threw our stuff in the dinghy and were headed to the boat by 12:30pm. Tri-World was anchored out away from American Yacht Harbor. About half way to Tri-World the dink was socked by a huge wave, I got soaked. The others got wet too but I got the worst of it. Katie served a great lunch, we all got acquainted a little and motored out of Red Hook headed for our first nights anchorage, Leinster Bay off St. John. <br><br>Part One Leinster:<br>Diane covered some of this but I'll go ahead and give you my version. Dug out the snorkel gear and off we went. It was a cloudy afternoon so the colors weren't spectacular, visibility wasn't the best either. Diane and I were a little disapointed as there didn't seem to be as many fish as we'd expected, though Toby saw a small ray. Maybe we snorkeled the wrong spot and I know visibility changes daily. Over all it was enjoyable though and the kids got their first snorkeling lesson. I think Heidi drank a large serving or two of salt water. Toby had some mask problems. <br><br>Part Two Leinster:<br>I would have been content to stay on the boat for the rest of the evening but Toby asked what else we were going to do, so after a little discussion we were in the dink headed off to explore a piece of St. John, "Annaberg Sugar Mill." The sky was threatening rain but we went anyway. We hadn't walked fifty feet from the drop off spot when something really really bad happened. Heidi blew out her flip flop!!!<br>The strap on her left sandal broke and it was useless! I offered to stay with her along the rocky shore while Diane and Toby went to the the sugar mill but she was determined to go with one bare foot. Slowly walking along the old road that follows the shore around the point Diane suddenly darts off towards the water. She came back with a very nice ladies open heel left leather shoe, looks like it may be a fit. Diane rinsed it out in a wave but Heidi wouldn't try it on until Diane tried it on first. Heidi tries it on and it's a fit, were back on the fast track to Annaburg! I'd like to know the odds on that happening, gotta be way out there somewhere. By this time a light drizzle or mist had set in.<br><br>The ruins are a pretty neat place. The old masonry work is very unique. It's built with anything they could find, rocks, cut coral and bricks. I don't know how much is original but it was well worth the walk. The drizzle got heavier as we walked along the shore back to the pick up spot. By the time we got back to our starting point I was completely soaked. Diane brought along a light jacket and was gloating in the fact that she was warm and dry and the rain wasn't bothering her in the least. I could see a big smile on her face in spite of the hood covering her head. What made it worse was that I wondered out loud before heading out why in the world she was bringing a coat, heck we're in the tropics! <br><br>Jim had been watching our progress from the boat and had the dinghy there as we arrived, perfect timing. As he pulled up he said, "I'm glad this wasn't my idea" but we all really had a great time. By the time we climbed back on Tri-World it was almost dark. I found out later that Heidi stepped out of her new left flip flop as she stepped into the dinghy. Darn I wanted to frame that thing for good luck.<br><br>This is one of the great things about a crewed charter: Katie had stuffed mushrooms and a cheese tray ready on the boat for appetizers. Dinner later was shrimp bisque soup, grilled mahi mahi and rice. <br><br>I had my share of boat drinks that evening but Diane was still hurting from the party at the Blue Moon the night before so it was boat drinks of the soft variety for her. I slept well, I actually liked the rocking of the boat but remember she's a 58ft trimaran. <br><br><br><br><br> <br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Contact the BVI Calendar helpers<br>bvical@traveltalkonline.com<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 1/22/02 04:40 PM.</EM></FONT></P>