Returned from another great one last night. Some points of comparison from sailing with same crew on similar boat at exact same time last year:

-- this year more wind, larger swells, somewhat less sun and more haze, less clear water; overall didn't really affect the experience at all and we got some slightly more challenging sailing experience which was good for us

-- this year Moorings instead of Sunsail; not much difference though I do slightly prefer the Beneteau set up to the Jeanneau; not sure exactly why--Beneteau hardware just seems a little more durable, simple, and user friendly; one new lesson learned at TUI: don't leave things on dock to dry while unloading boat, some staff have been told to keep dock neat and thought we were gone, long goose chase to get some of our snorkel and rental gear back and never got back my favorite worn in boat shoes which ended up in dumpster (Moorings mgr was very gracious and wrote me a check for a new pair); we are considering trying a charter out of STT next time and doing some STJ time

-- Did 10 days instead of 8, allowing for same leisurely pace but with Anegada this time; cpt adored Anegada, esp Loblolly/Flash of Beauty 3-7pm when we were only ones on beach for miles and had turtles and rays snorkeling and limitless combing up and down--this might be my favorite beach in the world; crew liked Anegada but might need another trip to catch the bug

-- Rented the car on VG this time and had an awesome day at Hog Heaven, Baths late in day with everyone gone, etc.; thanks for the help Nick! This one is a no brainer; also great to meet Nick, who is not only a terrific guy but, among many other things, continues to fulfill a niche in BVI for the charter client that it is nearly impossible to imagine sailing without

-- met Hallucinations but just missed Kim, but that's one more TTOLer than last time; hope to meet more of you next year

-- did Sandy Cay instead of Sandy Spit this time; wow, we had no idea what we had missed! Thank you Rockefellers

-- Sahara dust towards end of charter was interesting this time but not a big deal; we had lots of turtles in the Bight this time; hadn't seen them there before

-- might have been just the visibility in the water but I felt like some of the well trafficked reefs didn't look as healthy this year; more of that green stuff that grows on them when they are not doing well (what is that by the way?)

-- Bubbly Pool was running perfectly for kids last year, not at all this time; swell must have been more N of E last year; it can be hot, buggy and smelly there with no water coming in and out

-- each day on boat past day 7 gets you exponentially closer to that ilons attitude of do it later; spent the last full day just sitting in the Bight mostly watching boats swing and turtles swim; felt so blissed out (brain dead?) that couldn't even read a book; too lazy to reserve rental car in advance of boat return and Dede's was out so ended up bagging initial plan to drive to Myett's for last night dinner; didn't want to deal with cab drivers, with whom we're pretty much done; ended up having dinner at Maria's which was pretty bad but filled us up and let us sleep the deep sleep of the returning sailor (Maria's by the way continues to be a good if pricey choice for a very quiet comfortable sleep post-charter, but has nothing else going for it)

-- Seaborne is better than AE, except for having to go back out front at SJU on way home because the Seaborne computer at EIS can't yet print AA boarding passes; this is supposed to be fixed in a month or so

-- new Pirates is a much nicer afternoon hangout but we were not up for the dinner menu in terms of fanciness and priciness; I continue to think the Willy T cooks an excellent dinner for families, love the hard-working chefs there--we just go on early side and keep the kids out of the bar! they love the whole floating dive bar mythology of the thing anyway

-- things that hadn't changed a whisker: Saba, dock friendliness and helpfulness at Leverick and Scrub, Willy T, turtles in Diamond Key, fish at Monkey Pt, great guy with the pens in his beard who fixes your problems for TUI when you are at Scrub/Marina Cay (in our case a fried AC water pump; they brought the wrong one and just went back to Tortola and got the right one, no way he was going to let us sleep at the dock without AC that night)

-- seemed like there were about 20% or so more boats out there this year than last so maybe things picking up a bit; at least at this time of year we seem to see very very few visitors in BVI who are not sailors--by all appearances it is the mainstay of the tourist economy so anything BVI does to undermine that market (like ferry incompetence!) is beyond shooting itself in the foot

-- if family crew survives you as cpt the first trip with everyone on board, the next one is way better in terms of boat operation; everyone in sync, chipping in, giving each other the heads up on stuff; way more relaxing for cpt, who just does what told to do when in or approaching anchorages

-- by the way, I forgot to tip at the docks because I was too preoccupied with the boat handling; I consider this a faux pas even though it's probably not a big deal; will get you next year guys!