10/18 Alecia and I arrived EIS on time at 1:30 p.m. and Juan showed up on time about 4:00. Terrance (delightful man) came on board and did our yacht briefing, Bobby’s delivered our provisions right on time at 5:00 p.m. and had provided a “gift basket” which included a bottle of my favorite gin, disposable camera, snacks, Aloe lotion etc. …and a polo shirt with my email address “Donflow” embroidered under their logo…<br><br>After a wonderful (Mahi) dinner at Thelma’s, we spend the evening onboard with cocktails and getting to know Freebird.<br><br>10/19 Chart briefing (Dug) at 8:30 a.m. …left our slip at 10:00 a.m. As we entered North Sound, heard our VHF “Freebird…Freebird…Freebird” …this is “Trade winds of Emsworth …Over”. It was our friends, Paul and Cyndi from Nashville anchored just off Drakes. They pulled up the hook, took a mooring ball and later joined us at Leverick Bay for drinks and stories.<br><br>Returning to the boat (fully dressed) preparing to board Freebird, I grabbed the swim ladder (which was not secured up#&#@!) fell into the dink (complete with wallet and zip-lock bag with $200 in travelers checks and $80 cash, one cigar and Alecia’s pack of cigarettes in my shirt pocket)…retrieved the cigar and cigarettes…the money is probably somewhere on the northeast coast of Leverick bay. I’ll get the $200 back from Amx, but the “show” was definitely worth the $80 lost. Hope some local finds it and has a nice treat.<br><br>Dinner on the boat. Later, sometime around midnight, Alecia woke me up to join her topside to enjoy a really nice warm rain…nuf said… <br><br>10/20 “Gentleman’s” race to Anegada with Paul and Cyndi…okay, strike the “gentleman” thing. Freebird refused to participate until the wind speed increased to 16+ knots, then we closed the gap nicely and arrived just outside the Anegada channel entrance together. Joined Paul and Cyndi ashore for drinks at the Lobster Trap and later a wonderful Lobster dinner and drinks at Anegada Reef Hotel.<br><br>10/21 Pleasant reach to the “Baths” for lunch, then into Cooper Island, drinks ashore and dinner on board.<br><br>10/22 Sailed to Marina Cay and picked up a mooring ball, went ashore for lunch and a hike up and around the island. Returned to the boat and for 3 or so hours, got rained on every 15 minutes. 6:55 p.m. picked up by one of the twin brothers who now operate Donovan’s Reef, excellent dinner. This restaurant is an absolute must.<br><br>10/23 Motored over to the dock and topped off our fresh water tanks, got more ice, then sailed to Peter Island and dropped the hook in “Deadman’s Bay” to get lunch at PIR Beach Bar…Alecia said, “we have $70 in the kitty, should we add more?” I said, “Na, that should be enough for lunch!”…NOT, hamburgers were $28 and I don’t recall anything less!!! So we had a couple of drinks, politely returned the menus and dinked back to the boat for ham and cheese sandwiches then headed for the Bite. Dinner at “Pirates” was very good. Willy T’s was quiet and only 8 boats in the Bite.<br><br>10/24 Sailed to Soper’s Hole picked up ice and more booze; lunch onboard, then onto Little Harbor at JVD. Dinghy over to Sydney’s for drinks and to see our friends Janet and Sydney and pick up a few T shirts. Met Strawberry. After chatting with her for a while, she asked me, “how old are you?” “53, why to do ask?” “well, you sure have a lot of energy”. Is that a complement? Saw a Cat coming into the anchorage, then backed up to the dinghy dock with a med mooring and recognized it was Aristo-Cat and from his photos noticed it was Mike Kneafsey on board. We had a beer and good chat with Mike then back to Freebird for showers. Saw a large Remora swimming around the stern, feed him pieces of bread and came within 6 inches of taking it from my hand. Onto Abe’s for dinner…still the best lobster we’ve experienced in the BVI… Saw Aristo-Cat leave around 9:00 p.m. …you can do that if you’re the owner of the boat.<br><br>10/25 Sailed out of Little Harbor early through Thatch Cut. Once into Sir Francis Drake, the wind speed picked up to 20+ and we were working hard beating towards Cooper. With gusts to 27, very choppy seas and GPS calculating 5+hrs to Cooper…we succumbed to Mother Nature, popped a Carib and fired up the diesel…now 2hrs to Cooper.<br><br>Soon after picking up a mooring ball, here comes a dinghy…it’s Paul. We invited them to join us for cocktails later, and learned that Will and Terrie on their boat “Crewed Cajun” were also here. So party scheduled on Freebird at 5:00. Alecia and I snorkeled up and played in the water the rest of the afternoon. Saw a 4ft. Barracuda hanging around the keel. Oh Paul, Freebird DOES have wings on here keel. At 5:00 everyone showed up for cocktails, stories and laughs…what a nice way to spend our last night on the water.<br><br>10/26 Returned Freebird to TWY. Ghee(sp?) met us at the dock and said, “PLEASE tell me you had NO PROBLEMS”. We said, “everything was great”! He told us they had one boat that called for assistance (fresh water problem) and somehow the mechanic didn’t show up on time, so they left their stated location and was out all week with NO fresh water! and didn’t call again or return to the base????<br><br>After Ghee (sp?) determined that we had taken good care of Freebird, we topped off the diesel with 12 gallons and left TWY for the Lighthouse Villas. What a beautiful scenic ride. <br><br>Met Tonie at check in. I had sent her an email a few weeks ago informing them that there would only be 3 of us, so if they needed the larger villa to accommodate a larger group, then we would be happy to occupy a smaller villa. She told me about Jerry’s passing and had put us in the penthouse as Malcia’s family was in the larger one. Checked in, cranked up the A/C and did absolutely nothing but relax, sip on Caribs and enjoyed the beautiful view of CGB from our penthouse. Turned on the TV to see what was happening in the real world…and was THRELLED to learn “THEY CAUGHT THOSE SNIPER BASTERS”. THANK GOD!!! MAY THEY BURN IN HELL…<br><br>Later that afternoon I was on the balcony watching this 30ft power boat going after a mooring ball…a lady at the helm and the man on the bow. She was approaching a little fast and he turned and said something, she responded with a quick and firm reverse…flipped him over the bow pulpit, heels over head “SPLASH” right into the dink. I’m sure they could hear me laughing my a-- off…just couldn’t help myself. Later they would entertain us with more attempts at 3 different balls and finally giving up and rafting to a small-unoccupied private sailboat, which I’m sure they didn’t know the owner.<br><br>The next 3 days were uneventful. Lounging, walking on the beach, swimming and enjoying meals and drinks at Quito’s, Rhymers, Myett’s and Big Banana.<br><br>10/29 Our last day, we took a taxi into Road Town and met Leon and Maureen at Bobby’s. I wanted to personally thank them for the thoughtful gift basket and great service. They are wonderful people. Had lunch a Pusser’s, taxi showed back up on time, to the airport, no delays, no problems…arrived home safe and sad. <br><br>Summary:<br><br>TWY: Excellent staff, excellent service…no complaints.<br><br>Freebird: Topsides and interior, very nice and roomy, clean with little ware. The hull needs work to improve her appearance. She had an ugly stain just above the waterline; however, her bottom was pretty clean. Best damn fresh water system I’ve ever experienced. All gauges (including the fuel and water tanks) worked except for the knot meter. She needs 15+ wind speed to get on her feet and start reefing at about 20.<br><br>Weather: Very little rain. Only saw one squall, which we were able to sail around.<br><br>Provisions: Bobby’s …list was complete and the quality was better than I had expected.<br><br>Bugs: NO BUGS!!! Except for a few flies at Sydney’s.<br><br>People: Lovely, never encountered one rude person.<br><br>Lighthouse Villas: Very nice, clean and comfortable, great A/C and outstanding views. <br><br>Photos: I have posted some photos…more to come at: <br><br>http://community.webshots.com/user/donflow<br><br>Thanks to all of you who’ve given me such good and sound advise in my trip planning. Until next year, “Capt_DC over and out”. <br>