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BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 #119935
02/05/2017 07:14 PM
02/05/2017 07:14 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
B
BEERMAN Offline OP
Traveler
BEERMAN  Offline OP
Traveler
B
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
ST LUCIA TO BVI - PART 1 (OCTOBER 14-24, 2016)

First let me apologize to Matt (Matrix) for being so delinquent in my trip report assignment, I can certainly blame some of it on Photobucket technical issues in late October, after that.... LIFE got in the way! Well, with minimal notes scribed in my journal by my shakey hand and over 1000 pic's let's see where my mind wanders to this morning...............

In the early spring of 2016 Matt contacted me to see if I'd be interested in moving his boat with him from St Lucia to Tortola in the Fall, with few firm details of course I said yes! Funny thing is that I had just committed to help another friend move his boat from Charleston to Annapolis that coming May, I remember thinking that my J.O.B. might start getting in the way of me having fun! How much annual leave do I have???

Matt and Stephanie's beautiful sailboat is a 2011 Beneteau Oceanis 43. S/V No Regrets has been very well maintained in the St Lucia Moorings fleet for the last 5 years and it was time to find her a new home. A deal was struck with the Swain Sailing School on Tortola, there she will provide current and future sailors the experience of true blue water passage making. Matt and Stephanie are excited that Swain offers a seasonal delivery passage course between the BVI, Bermuda and Newport RI, that will certainly bring S/V No Regrets home occasionally for a visit! How much annual leave do I have............


[Linked Image]


Interesting how life seems to present an array of opportunities to us, depending on our choices these opportunities can impact our lives greatly. In May, just a couple weeks after committing to Matt, I was offered a new J.O.B. opportunity and I chose to retire from the government after 30 years. This choice was difficult to make, #1 - I enjoyed most things about my J.O.B., #2 - "Private Sector" sounds like a Howard Stern movie!, #3 - I'm spoiled in the gov't...How much ANNUAL LEAVE will I get??? actually I've learned in the private sector they call it "Paid Time Off-PTO". The new company was nice enough to offer 72 hours of PTO up front, cool! However.....72 hours would not cover all of my commitments?? No problem mon, I chose to be officially retired and jobless the entire month of May before starting the new one! That allowed me time to move a friends boat and take a family vacation in Utah!, which I wrote about in US/Canada section ;-) These life choices also made me value my "PTO", so instead of making St Lucia a solo trip for me, I asked Matt if my wife Donna could join us? he said great because Stephanie and their 2 year old son Conner were now planning to go, as well as their friend Dan! Love it when a plan comes together... easily?!

[Linked Image]


Even though it was 4 months ago, I remember our travel day like it was yesterday.....stayed up past midnight to watch the Dodgers take game 5 from the Nationals, dangit! Taxi arrived at 3:45am to whisk us away to Dulles Airport, place was empty! Direct flight on Delta departed at 6:20am and had us on St Lucia at 2:15pm, nice!

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


Matt was nice enough to arrange for Collin to pick us up in his cab, great service 1(758)518-7959. Unfortunately the airport was on the extreme opposite end of the island from Rodney Bay, so we sat back and enjoyed the 1-1/2 hour taxi ride. We did see "a Piton" from a very very long way off for about 10 seconds, I mean way off! but there were lots of banana trees along the way to look at! We did ask Collin to stop for water half way and enjoyed the warm breezes and great vistas at the overlook. A gentleman with a nifty tie asked where we were from and then proceeded to play America the Beautiful on his harmonica, touristy, but fun!

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


Soon we pulled up to the security gate at Admiral Quay Villas on Rodney Bay and were greeted by Matt and Dan! They opened the gate and showed us to our room at Villa #5. This is a nice quiet area tucked away right on the bay. It was nice to see Stephanie and Conner again too, he was a baby the last time we saw him! Speaking of babies, the local hummingbirds were protective of their nest on the porch!

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8383_zpsonxmj2y2.jpg[/img]


We took Conner over to the pool for a quick swim then hopped in the dinghy in search of cold beer and food!! From the dinghy we saw S/V No Regrets comfortable in her slip, we'll see her tomorrow...FEED ME!!!!! Found a great pizzaria right on the water, nice! We were enjoying ourselves, but we were exhausted after our long travel day so we called it quits probably by 10pm.

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8389_zpsnz9twfhw.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...0to%20BVI%201/st20lucia3_zps0jtanf7c.jpg[/img]


Doesn't matter how tired we are, we always seem to wake before sunrise. The villa was quiet with everyone still asleep, so Donna and I snuck out for an early morning walk. The sunrise was beautiful and we were happy to be on an island again. The view from our villa was the best we could find along the internal bay because of all the private property. We blindly headed towards the NW to try to find a beach, finally found a main street that had some hotels. We asked the employees at Bay Gardens Hotel if we could walk through the property to the beach and they nicely said yes. The beach kind of reminded me of Cane Garden Bay, but with 3 small resorts spread out on it. It felt good to have our toes in the sand.

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...0to%20BVI%201/st20lucia4_zpsk7iiqk2r.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8396_zpsahgkdtqp.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8398_zpsrado2ou1.jpg[/img]


Back at the villa everyone was moving about, making breakfast with the leftovers and drinking coffee while making sure they had all their gear organized. Luckily Donna and I were still packed, but this was going to be a busy day taking care of all the final preparations for our passage. Matt and Stephanie arrived a few days earlier to make sure S/V No Regrets was actually ready to leave the Moorings Fleet. Dan arrived the day before us and they were able to take out the boat for a shakedown cruise of sorts, all systems checked out! Our plan was to stop 2 or 3 times during the passage, so we didn't have to go crazy provisioning food. We decided to split into 3 groups, the ladies and Conner were dropped off at the grocery store dock, I was left alone at the boat to double check on boat contents and to provision the drinking water etc. from the nearby marina store. A couple wheel barrel trips and I had the boat well stocked with drinking water, juice, soda, ice and of course Piton BEER!! Matt and Dan were responsible for acquiring a new life sling, jacklines, and a spare set of battery operated running lights just in case, oh and don't forget to pick up the ladies and Conner!! The shops at the marina are well stocked and had everything we required to start the journey. I wish we had time to explore St Lucia, all I really know about it is what I saw from a taxi window and walking around this marina, we'll have to return some day perhaps to enjoy Indian cuisine under the umbrellas at Zaika's, cool looking restaurant!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8401_zps3vrkm1jc.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8410_zps7qwklrgl.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8413_zpspogochti.jpg[/img]


[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8403_zpszkwz3l05.jpg[/img]


[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8408_zpsadtwbrle.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8416_zps84guethf.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8415_zpslxrndtkh.jpg[/img]

It took us until mid afternoon to have everyone back to the boat organizing everything we bought. Matt handled all the miscellaneous required paperwork as crew stayed focus on rigging jack lines, topping off water, engine checks, double checking everything. Good weather forecast for the next few days, keeping fingers crossed! All that was left was fuel and we were off the docks at 1600 hours on the dot, perfect! Our plans were to sail primarily at night to try to enjoy some down time on various islands. We also wanted to make the passages as comfortable as possible for everyone, especially with a 2 year old onboard, so our itinerary was indeed flexible. Once we departed Rodney Bay we plotted a course for Basse Terre, Guadaloupe. This 125 mile passage would be the longest many of the crew have experienced, not to mention at night!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8420_zpsifjlekqf.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8430_zpsynrea2nw.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8425_zpsfziw5zce.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...%20to%20BVI%201/UT3A8435_zps0bwajijk.jpg[/img]


To be continued...............CHEERS!

BVI Sponsors
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: BEERMAN] #119936
02/05/2017 07:58 PM
02/05/2017 07:58 PM
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6
Lake Lotawana, Missouri
Hotair Offline
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Hotair  Offline
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Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6
Lake Lotawana, Missouri
Can't wait to read the rest of it!


     
Money can't buy you happiness, but it can buy you a yacht big enough to pull up right alongside it.
 David Lee Roth
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: BEERMAN] #119937
02/05/2017 09:00 PM
02/05/2017 09:00 PM
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 272
Va Beach
Kmon Offline
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Kmon  Offline
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 272
Va Beach
Great first report! Go Hokies!

Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: Kmon] #119938
02/06/2017 12:18 AM
02/06/2017 12:18 AM
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
maytrix Offline
Traveler
maytrix  Offline
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Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 5,720
Massachusetts
I've been waiting for this smile Great start - seems like it wasn't that long ago, hard to believe it's been close 4 months!

Great pictures too!


Matt
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: Hotair] #119939
02/06/2017 07:33 AM
02/06/2017 07:33 AM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 594
Michigan
I
IWIWSE Offline
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IWIWSE  Offline
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I
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 594
Michigan
What a welcome and needed winter relief.
Thanks so much for posting.
Help an aging land-lubber get up to speed.
Why do you want to sail at night and how far
can you typically sail in a day?
Hope the life changes are working out for you.
Looking forward to each new episode of your trip.

Mike

Last edited by IWIWSE; 02/06/2017 07:35 AM.
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: BEERMAN] #119940
02/06/2017 02:04 PM
02/06/2017 02:04 PM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,021
New Hampshire
map Offline
Traveler
map  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,021
New Hampshire
Very much looking forward to the next chapter. Loved the bar with all of the umbrellas! Thanks for sharing!

map <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />


~As you navigate through life, take time to play in the waves~
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: map] #119941
02/06/2017 02:07 PM
02/06/2017 02:07 PM
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 109
RickBlaine Offline
Traveler
RickBlaine  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 109
Looking forward to Part 2!

Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: RickBlaine] #119942
02/06/2017 03:39 PM
02/06/2017 03:39 PM
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
RickG Offline
Traveler
RickG  Offline
Traveler
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,951
St. John, USVI
Nice read! No Regrets is a nice upgrade for the Swain fleet.

Cheers, RickG


S/V Echoes, 2003 Beneteau 423
Grenada
Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: IWIWSE] #119943
02/06/2017 05:18 PM
02/06/2017 05:18 PM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
B
BEERMAN Offline OP
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BEERMAN  Offline OP
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B
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
Mike the aging land-lubber!, thanks for reading! A couple of factors played into our night sail decision, but primarily the distances we covered would take a while, for instance one leg took 18 hours, so if we set sail after breakfast say 7am we would arrive at our destination in the dark at 1am....by leaving at 4pm we would arrive at 10am in day light, I prefer pulling into unfamiliar waters in daylight. By the way we enjoyed the best sunsets and sunrises from the water!

How far could we sail in a day?....depends on wind, waves, current etc, one long leg we averaged 7.5 knots, so if we could maintain that for 24 hours we would cover around 180 miles. One day we were averaging 3 knots, we fired up the deisel <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: BEERMAN] #119944
02/06/2017 07:02 PM
02/06/2017 07:02 PM
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 594
Michigan
I
IWIWSE Offline
Traveler
IWIWSE  Offline
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I
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 594
Michigan
Thanks for that
Makes perfect sense
Carry on

Mike
54-46

Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: IWIWSE] #119945
02/06/2017 07:33 PM
02/06/2017 07:33 PM
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 427
Mardi_Gras Offline
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Mardi_Gras  Offline
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 427
Welcome back Beerman! Great report and photos! Your photos are art gallery quality, I especially like the one of the 4 or 5 colorful wooden boats at the dock.

Cheers to you, Syd and Mrs. D,

Tony

Re: BVI via St Lucia - Part 1 [Re: Mardi_Gras] #119946
02/07/2017 06:54 AM
02/07/2017 06:54 AM
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
B
BEERMAN Offline OP
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BEERMAN  Offline OP
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Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,493
VIRGINIA
Thanks Tony! Donna says hey and Sydney's finishing up last semester!! Like Kmon said GO HOKIES!


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