Hello all. Back from a great trip. We were 2 couples around 50ish. Arrived STT on Delta about 1:20, and had love cab waiting to take us to the ferry. Went up to the pump room for drinks, and got to watch the sea plane come and go. Aside from a little rain on the way over, it was good. Made it to TMM before the office closed, got our food, beer, and liquor stored and chilled for the night.
Gotta say thank you to Mark and this link to
ORION a 2019 Lagoon 42 out of TMM. He is easy to work with and ORION is a great sailing cat. Loved the self-tacking jib, and the new davit system is easy. Despite our ability to sail we opted for a Captain, and peace of mind on this trip. Earl let us sail as much as we want, or not. He is there when you need him and almost invisible otherwise. It helps he is a great guy, that we feel is one of our family. We've used him before, but anyone needing one I highly recommend Captain Earl. If you want any info for him PM me. We were missing about 5 items from Rite-Way, and 1 bottle from Tico, but for the most part it was ok. The staff at TMM was wonderful as usual, and of course Joyce and her coffee were uplifting to say the least after our sleep aboard.
Day 1, 6/5 Easy briefing and off the dock for an easy sail to Dead Mans Bay. The beach is still great. Saw a few turtles, and lounged for a while. Its fine to use the beach, but you cant venture off. Lots of construction going on, and we heard they are 2 years out. Motored over and caught a ball in Great Harbor. Went over to the Willy T for an early afternoon happy hour, and it was fun. Couple young people jumping off naked and getting the paddle tattoo behind the bar. We jumped off a couple times, and met some really great people. Started getting crowded so we went back, grilled steaks, and watched the sun go down.
Day 2, 6/6 Left early and headed to Salt. We like stopping here to see the cemetery, We wont be stopping again. The Hurricane left it unrecognizable. Decided to sail a while up the SFDC, and make a tack for Cooper. Got there about noon, and there were plenty of FCFS balls. Id say they were all gone by 4. Lounged on the beach (fabulous) with an ice chest, and made reservations at the restaurant that night. The food was great, and the ice cream by the gift shop was Also. Aside from vegetation Cooper looks to me about what it did Pre Irma.
Day 3, 6/7 Another great sail up to the North Sound. Stopped at Long Bay for a bit, and as soon as we anchored the salon filled with flies. It was gross, but after we motored out they all left. Don't really know what caused it. Long Bay was great, and the beach was awesome. I didn't snorkel, but one of our newbies said it was good. Motored around the tip and cut through by Mosquito(thanks to Earl) and had a slip in Leverick. Keto picked us up at the road and took us to the Bath's. There were no cruise ships in, but it was more crowded than last time. They were still fabulous. I think even on that day we should have went later than 2, but we wanted to get back for the BBQ. From the Bath's we went up to Hog Heaven. The view is still great, and from my viewpoint the restaurant is fully back. Back to the boat, and cleaned up for dinner. We were excited about the BBQ, and the food did not disappoint. The only drawback is the price tag. Our party of 5 tab was north of $250. My fault for not asking before. We had a few drinks, but not many. Next time we would probably eat up at Hog Heaven, and enjoy the music and dancers after. I have to give a shout out to the crew of the huge motor yacht Winning Hand out of ST. Thomas. They were right begind us on the dock. Later that night one of the crew members was entertaining some young guest with a dance party. We were listening to the music from ashore and they drowned it out for all on the dock. My wife asked is they would please turn it down a little. She was met with a little bit of disrespect, but they complied. One crew member came over and could not stop apologizing. Told her it was all good and thank you. She later returned with tumblers and t-shirt boat swag. That was nice. The next morning we went to top off water and was told due to a line break that wasn't repaired yet, they weren't selling water. Still had half a tank so no biggie. The slip, 2 bags of ice, 2 trash bags, and electric was $100.
Day 4, 6/8 The wind seemed to be perfect for sailing anywhere we were going the whole week. We headed out for Anegada, and make great time. Anchored in the front of the mooring field, watched some black tip pups behind the boat while Earl cleaned a king fish that he caught on the way. We lost one Mahi Mahi. Went over to Neptunes for the afternoon, and ate on the boat. Made it in to the Wonky Dog and Whispering Pines for drinks. Up stairs at the Wonky Dog was not open. Guess it was not busy enough.
Day 5 6/9 What a great sail toward Monkey Point. Too many boats, so we opted for Little bay. Had the place all to ourselves until another cat pulled in with the same idea. Fabulous beach. Some rebuilding going on, but quiet otherwise. Just hung out here on the beach. It was Sunday, and we wanted to experience the Elm Tones so off to CGB we went. We pulled in and went to the fuel dock for water. Topped off and got 4 bags of ice for about $40. Anchored again in the front, had dinner then went in for fun. Started at Quitos for rum punch, and made our way down to the Elm. Probably our favorite night. The atmosphere is great, and we danced for a while.
Day 6, 6/10 Motored over to Sandy Spit, not much to see here. Went over to Sandy Cay, and it was better. Had drinks on the beach and hiked around the island. From here we eased the jib out and made our way to White Bay. Soggy Dollar was busy as usual, but one thing that was better was that the day boats there were not blasting there stereos. Not sure why, but it was a nice surprise, knowing we were there about 2. Went down to Seddy's for a while, and back to the boat to motor to Great Harbor. Anchored again up front and dinked in to get some ice. No roof on the church. Corsairs looks great, but we didnt stay long. Went to Foxy's that night for drinks. It was packed for June, and only the one bar was open, so it was hard to get a drink. Yes the creepy guy was dancing, with any woman who would entertain him. I just stayed between him and my wife, but the women who did dance with him just had to stay out of arms length. The music and dancing was fun, all in all a great stop.
Last night. Left Jost and headed for Marina Cay to fuel up before the morning. Our last charter it seemed like the wind was more on our nose, but this time it was perfect. sailed right through the cut making several tacks, and dropped sails right in front of the entrance. We used the generator from late evening until we left the next mornings. Filled up with 41 gallons of fuel and 2 bags of ice $195. Ate lunch at the beach bar right behind the marina office. Nice pool and good food. Raised the sails and headed for Norman. It was getting late so no caves for indians. Caught a ball up front. Went to Pirates for drinks. The place looks good. I didnt find the drink prices too bad, but we did not eat there. I highly recommend the mud slide.
The next morning we check in caught the 1130 ferry to CA, and had a ride waiting to take us to Emerald Beach. The hotel did not disappoint.
