Wind Dancer March 2013 Trip Report
Skipper/Charterers Dave (OldRed) & Denise
Crew Barry & Kathy Cade; Brad & Renee Holmes

We started this adventure in early May 2012 with an overnight sail from Seattle to Gig Harbor, WA, aboard an exquisite Windworks club boat, 49’ Jenneau Angelique. I’d sailed with the crew individually and thought they would be very compatible for other longer sails, including BVI. They didn’t know I had this in mind. A week later I sent them an invite for BVI and our crew was established. I will say I could not have chosen a better mix; we really enjoyed each other’s company and skills. And I started enjoying this trip ten months before we went to the airport.

We all flew into St. Thomas on Friday, 3/15, spending the night at Sugar Bay Resort at Red Hook. Saturday a.m., we ferried over to Soper’s Hole to Voyage Charters and finished our provisioning, waiting to board for the sleep aboard.

Sunday a.m., Ted gave us a good checkout, got us out of the marina and turned us loose. Our plan was to stop at the Indians but all the balls were taken so we went into the Bight for the evening. We played in the water in the afternoon, found out my underwater camera leaked (a pain the rest of the trip) then dinner at Pirates. We tried to stop off at Willie T afterwards but there was no space at the dinghy dock.

Monday morning we got an early start to the Indians, then to the Caves. Our next overnight stop was Manchioneel on Coopers so we headed upwind snagging one of the last balls there. The crew went ashore for awhile but the Admiral and I were happy to kick back aboard.

Tuesday’s plan was the Baths, getting there pretty early to snag a ball. My wife doesn’t swim so Barry landed Brad, Renee, Denise, & I at the resort beach north of the Baths and we walked/taxied to Top of the Baths, then hiked down the trail. After crawling through the rocks Denise & I hiked back up to the top and walked back down to the resort beach to get picked up. The north swell had been running pretty well so far this trip and this beach made easier dinghy landing. Our stop that evening was Savannah Bay. We got a nice sail enroute and anchored up without incident. Savannah Bay is one of my favorite stops of the trip and I would spend a couple nights there next time.

Wednesday we had a terrific sail to Leverick Bay, where I reserved a slip through Nick. This was a water, re-provisioning, laundry, and Michael Beans stop. It also became a service stop as the windlass gave out raising the anchor at Savannah Bay. Nothing we did, we knew not to pull the boat to the anchor with it, the motor just failed. Kudos to Voyage for getting the mechanic there to work on it but he couldn’t fix it so we were pretty limited to mooring balls the rest of the trip. Boat stuff breaks, one has to expect some issues. We enjoyed our overnight at a slip and really enjoyed Michael’s show. The Super Yacht Regatta was on and we saw some amazing boats there and during the remainder of our trip. We also had the pleasure of meeting Nick.

Thursday we had a great sail to Anegada. We watched most of the Yacht Week boats sailing towards Leverick and again, with our early start, we had plenty of balls to choose from. The rest of the day was hanging out on the boat with a trip to Setting Point and dinner at Potter’s. Friday we rented a truck with bench seats for a tour of the island. We started at Cow Wreck and as much as we enjoyed the rest of the island it didn’t get better. Cow Wreck is absolutely beautiful! We drove from there to lunch at Big Bamboo. The floor show there was an apparent ex-patriate doing a juggling act for cash or beer. Leaving there we drove to the Settlement, then Barry dropped Denise & I off at the bridge for bone fishing while they went on to Flash of Beauty, where they saw a whale offshore. I had one good hit but couldn’t set the hook. That evening Barry & Kathy had pizza at Pam’s while Brad, Renee, Denise, & I had hot dogs aboard.

Saturday we sailed to Cane Garden Bay. The original plan was White Bay, Guana Is but w/o the main anchor we reconsidered. The sail there was a long, lazy, downwind in light seas. I had the trolling rod out and again had one good hit but nothing aboard. Barry, Kathy, Denise, & I took a stroll ashore, checking out Myetts where they had some good music but a full house and a drink at Quinto’s.

Sunday the first stop was Sandy Cay, a gorgeous island and a very interesting walk around the island. Near the northeast side the trail passes a beautiful white tree in a small clearing with a memorial at the base. I’d love to know who the memorial is for and what kind of tree it is. Internet searches haven’t brought anything up yet. From there we sailed to White Bay, Jost, for a required stop at the Soggy Dollar. I’ve watched the webcam enough to know Sundays are pretty busy there and it was again. Plenty of beach chairs available and the drink lines weren’t bad at all. Pretty good souvenir shopping too. Leaving there we found Great Harbor full, a first for us, so we continued to Little Harbor for the night. Barry & I went to Harris’ Place at Cynthia’s recommendation and had a beer there. Nice place.

Monday we motored to a headwind to Monkey Point for snorkeling. I took Denise on the dink up to White Bay and regretted not being able to anchor there. It will definitely be on the next itinerary. From there we continued to Marina Cay for the night. Seeing a lot of moorings available Barry suggested getting a good sail in first. Great idea, the conditions were very good. When we got back and hooked up another Windworks Sailing Club ( Seattle, WA) crew saw us and came by. We had planned to meet them someplace but were having trouble getting connected, this was coincidental. After checking out Scrub Island and Marina Cay we enjoyed a pot luck dinner & party aboard Wind Dancer. Good Times!

Tuesday was our last full day. We left Marina Cay and sailed north on a broad reach, then SSW on another broad reach for Diamond Cay and Foxy’s Taboo. We continued to Great Harbor to Foxy’s and our last evening aboard. Time to pack, clean things up a bit and get ready to return Wind Dancer to Voyage.

Wednesday morning it was a motor to Soper’s Hole. After a check in by Ted he gave us a tour of Otterude, a Voyage 520. That will be our next charter! I also learned Ted might be heading to Seattle for a visit this summer so gave him my e mail & planned to make a Puget Sound sailing trip when he’s here. Then it was time to get sucked into the taxi-C&I-ferry-C&I-taxi vortex back to Sugar Bay for the evening. Thursday it was the taxi-C&I-TSA-airplane-stopover-airplane vortex that deposited us back here in Seattle.

Things I would have done differently;
Besides not taking my camera in the water-Nothing. For a first trip we really hit the highlights and no one felt like they missed anything. Next trip might drop a few stops off and spend extra time sailing and at the special overnight locations. Checking some of the other quieter anchorages will also be considered.

People who stood out;
Rachael on St Thomas for taxi service.
Romeo at Pirates for outstanding service without a reservation.
The little boy who, after giving him my fly rod at Potter’s, took me by the hand out to the dock so we could “fish” together. Wasn’t sure I was going to get it back!
Cynthia, who collected our mooring fee at Little Harbour then served up a couple cold ones at Harris’ Place.
Ted and the rest of the crew at Voyage Base
Susan, the Voyage booking agent who was very patient with a noob’s endless questions.
All the contributers here on TTOL, your experiences and information were invaluable to a very successful trip!