Hello all,
Charter Company: Conch Charters, Road Town, Tortola
Boat: Lagoon 37 Plus "Melvin"
Crew: 3 males, 5 females, all 30- and 40-somethings. 2 married couples, 1 engaged couple, 2 single women.
Friday, 11/21/03
Eight people left from 3 different origin airports in New England on 3 different airlines with a minimum of one connection each. All arrived at EIS within a few minutes of schedule. Nothing like a good omen to start the trip!
BVI customs at EIS took somewhat longer than the flight from San Juan (as usual). Got to the boat about 3:30 in the afternoon...the south coast road was still washed out in the vicinity of Fat Hog, so our taxi driver had to go the long, vertical way. Too late to think about getting underway until the morning. After some food and a few rounds at The Pub (Odetta makes a great Painkiller!), half the crew went to provision while the other half remained to do the chart and boat briefings. Jamie and Adam from Conch were friendly, efficient, and responsive. Looking across the harbor we noticed a British warship, the HMS Manchester , docked at the cruise ship pier.
After stowing the gear and provisions we all walked to Pusser's where we found what appeared to be most of the crew of the Manchester . We had a great time with them; they even invited us (or rather cetain female members of our crew) back to their ship to watch the England/Australia rugby match that was due to begin at 5:00am. We politely declined. We think (though we are not entirely sure) that we out-drank them. One male member of our crew actually got a birthday kiss from Aggie behind the bar! At least one of the Very Large Mugs was on board the Melvin the next day.
Saturday, 11/22/03
Jaime was on board to help us get underway first thing the next morning. We asked for, and received, 2 extra coolers for ice and provisions as well as the largest dinghy available (to hold all 8 of us). Bluewater Divers arrived on time to deliver 2 sets of gear for the 2 divers on board. Port motor oil pressure alarm was broke but was sender was replaced in 30 minutes.
We were underway at 10:30 after waiting out a brief squall. Winds were WSW and light so we set the headsail and motorsailed to the Baths for snorkeling and lunch. Picked up the last available ball at about 12:30.
Snorkeled for awhile and climbed to Mad Dog's for some Caribs and Edith's 'secret recipe' Pina Coladas. Fantastic!
Back on the boat, we sailed on Westerlies to Marina Cay for the first night out. The anchorage was VERY crowded, at least 30 boats. We found the last available ball all by itself near the passage between Great Camanoe and Scrub. What a great spot, away from the circus but close enough for a dry dink ride.
Dinked in to the beach bar about 6:00 and the place was almost deserted. Asked for a table for 8, and was told that they were all booked until 8:30. You could have heard a cricket chirping in the place. There was no one at the bar, so we got 8 barstools and set up camp there. I bet after awhile they wished they had given us a table. The place was about half-full 2 hours later.
Had a terrible painkiller, even though it was a deal in the Drinking Man's Guide . I guess they were making it from their pre-made Pusser's retail mix. Yuk. Switched to Carib. Excellent coconut-crusted snapper, but the conch fritters were mushy and bland. They served cocktail sauce with the fritters...how strange! Marina Cay gets a "C+"
Back to the boat around 10:30. Brought an underwater light and went night snorkeling along the reef at the edge of Great Camanoe. Great reef, LOTS of lobsters. Saw some lightning flashes and swam back to the boat just as a torrential thundersquall hit. That was the only serious rain we were to see for the next 8 days.
Sunday, 11/23/03
Woke at 0800 to blue skies and winds still W and very light. Had breakfast and coffee on board. Dropped the mooring ball and promptly snapped the dinghy painter with the port prop. Re-acquired the mooring to fashion a new painter, poured myself a rum drink, and got underway at 0930.
Wanted to snorkel the west end of Great Dog, but the northerly swell was tremendous. Picked up a ball at the southern end of the island and we snorkeled for a few hours. Found out that one of our crew REALLY doesn't like to be in the water with sharks, no matter how small. "I don't CARE if my top's coming off, just pull me in the #$%@#!!! dinghy!".
Had lunch on board and headed via the Anguilla Passage (thanks Walker!) to Saba Rock. Shallowest I saw on the DF was 6 feet in the passage (Melvin draws 4). Had a big powercat follow us in. Told him as he passed us in North Sound that one skipper owed the other a drink.
Arrived at 3:30 to find plenty of moorings available. Ours was 50 feet from the dink dock. We all took saltwater showers off the boat with Aqua Lather saltwater biodegradable soap (GREAT stuff) and then commandeered another 8 barstools. We were all delighted with Saba (thanks Josie, Lisa, and Jemma...you were great!). great food, great drinks, great people, wonderful friendly service. Conch fritters were good, not great. Saba gets an "A".
10:30 found all 8 of us lying on our backs in the forward netting hunting for constellations under a completely clear sky. Played Indian Dice in the cockpit until we dropped off one by one.
Part Two to Follow...
