Day 1- We caught the last flight out to Houston to Miami after getting our kids off to Camp Grandma to stage for an a.m. departure for STT further catching the last ferry to Tortola. Going through Miami was an experiment to avoid San Juan as we are flying stand by. We arrived Miami at 10:25 p.m. and called the hotel only to find out the Airport shuttle quit running. Our Cab got lost and ended up, at my request, dropping us off in a parking lot about ¼ mile away as we could see the hotel sign but could not get there…I impressed my wife with my land navigation skills and other than an unpleasant push through a hedgerow with our travel light carry on luggage…We made it to the hotel.

Memo to Myself:
The airport Amerisuites is not really close to the airport and even if they advertise an Airport Shuttle until 11:00 pm they really mean 10:30 pm.

Even though I live in South Texas and can order a beer and get most things I need in Spanish… I need to work on my Cuban/Haitian dialect to communicate with local cab drivers.

Day 2 – We arrived 2 1/2 hours early for our flight and good old American had two gate changes for equipment and a crew problem so we experienced a delay. But, we were happy because we walked from terminal E to A and back twice. We also came to the conclusion we had the good possibility of missing the last Ferry to Tortola… Finally got a push back and ended up number one for departure…drinks were free in business class and since we were carry on only looked like our 4:10 p.m. projected arrival would get us there for the last ferry. Arrival was a little earlier than expected and we grabbed a cab with several rushed passengers for the Ferry Terminal. Upon arrival at 4:30 we found out that the 4:00 Fast ferry was still there and Smiths Ferry was waiting until 5:00 p.m. to depart. A Delta flight was also late and the fast ferry was waiting on 18 or so passengers. We bought tickets on Smiths because the “Bomba Charger” was waiting at the dock.

Last years Memo:
We had witnessed in August of 2003 on the VHF and through Binoculars an incident play out just off Great Thatch where a 46 ft. Sloop out of St Thomas had lost its drive shaft and was taking on water. After several Mayday’s and conversations with BVI radio, the Captain found the problem and was able to stem the leak with a shirt. The bilge pumps were then able to recover to the task. While this was going on the “Bomba Charger” and Crew, with passengers, was the first on station to assist, and stayed until relieved by a crew boat from ST Thomas. This type of action although expected…deserved my business.

Departure for the “Bomba Charger” was at 5:10 and uneventful. The crew did unload some of the wrong bags in the west end and the counter help was complaining that they had never been this late back to Roadtown. Upon arrival in Roadtown, I asked the first mate if we could ride over to Ft Burt Marina with the boat. I explained we are with Conch Charters and staying at the Ft Burt Hotel. The captain said yes and they waited with patience for us to clear customs and loaded our bags back and dropped us off at the dock at Conch on the way to their berth for the night! What service! We Checked into the Ft Burt hotel and slid back down to the Pub for Red Stripes and a light dinner.

Memo to Me:
1. Miami and San Juan are a toss up as far as pitfalls…food is better in Miami… but it still has a problems.

2. Smiths Ferry- By simply asking (Only in the BVI!) to be a dropped off on their way back home was not unreasonable to the Captain and Crew, in fact they seemed to take pride in helping us! What an entrance…having a 50 ft Ferry back down and drop you off curbside…they will always have my business!

Day 3
In the past we have picked up our charter with a same day arrival sleep aboard, but we decided not to rush and bum around Roadtown for a day. After breakfast at the Pub with our lovely waitress Princess, We checked in with Conch looked at boats for next year and set off with a destination of the Botanical Gardens. We wandered a little and popped into Bobbies and the big Riteway and did a little shopping. If you have not been to the Gardens it is worth the visit and can be appreciated in as little as an hour. Wandered back stopping at Pussers for Conch fritters and to initiate the use of our virgin Drinking Mans guide. Ended back at the Ft Burt Hotel poolside for the afternoon. We wandered back down town for the evening and again used the Drinking man Guide at the Pub and the Bat Cave. Failing to make any dinner plans we stopped in at Bobbies for wine, bread, cheese and pâté consumed it on the Balcony of the hotel with the lights of Cooper Island in the distance.

Lessons Learned:
Go a day early with no agenda and decompress from the real world if you can afford the time.

Day 4
Hey…its time to Sail! After breakfast at the hotel, that wins the award for best presentation of an egg product and sides (The Ft. Burt Hotel restaurant is run by the Culinary School and all the cooking is done by students and presentation and food quality are excellent!), I run down to the Conch docks with the first load of luggage and to see if the boat was ready to go. I get the chart brief from Jamie, who has moved into the office after several years on the docks giving boat briefs. He updates me on changes from last year… Particularly Trellis Bay and the Airport restrictions. Bobbies shows up about 10 min late with an apology and 100% of the order except… they are out of Pimms…this will cause quite a stir with the crew…We walk down the street to pick up some last provisions from Riteway and see if they have any Pimms. None… I will also check with Bobbies at Cane Garden Bay, where we plan to go for the night.

Pimms Cup:
Tall Glass filled with Ice
2oz Pimms
Wedge of Cucumber
Sprig of Fresh Mint
Fizzy English Lemonade (Sprite in a pinch!)

No Pimms anywhere to be found…

We get the boat brief from Miles (Who is truly a Legend if you have any dealings with Conch) and secure our gear. Our boat is a Center Cockpit Hunter 42 with a generator and AC. Probably best known for its huge aft cabin and space available more than for its sailing qualities…sort of a condo with sails, rather than a Sailboat with accommodations…perfect for a couple and easy to single hand if necessary. We pushed off Conchs docks at 11:30 and headed south towards the west end with a fresh breeze from the northeast at 18 gusting to 22. I quickly figured out that after unfurling the Genoa and that she could handle plenty more sail. I also noticed that the main halyard was attach to the mast and not to the mainsail, and to attach it I would have to grow about two feet or climb up on the boom in sloppy sea’s …fresh off a broken leg in April… I pondered the situation and decide the obvious …I grabbed a beer…and headed south at 4 kts with “Snow Goose” the boats name wallowing like a “Snow Pig”.

Abeam Nanny Cay we notice an Atlantic Bottle Nosed Dolphin swimming with us and it stayed with us all the way to the west end. It seems to respond just like the critters on our own Gulf Coast with subtle slaps on the on the hull. If nothing else it keeps me occupied as to how slow I’m really going. Conch stipulates you travel the narrows under power so we rolled the headsail and motored through. Turning the corner at Steel Point it became obvious that staying in the lee of Tortola (Gusting to 30) and continuing the journey under power (No Main available) was the brightest idea and least likely course of action to spill any drinks. We also were able to pick out Manpots place in Apple Bay along the way, and in less than three quarters of an hour we were on a mooring in Cain Garden Bay.

Dinner on the Boat …Filet with Stilton Dijon sauce, Caesar Salad, French cut green beans and sautéed mushrooms with a decent Shiraz from South Australia. Went for cocktails at Myetts and then off Quito’s gazebo for Quito unplugged.

I Literally ran into Quito getting off my bar stool and asked him to play “In your Arms” as we were celebrating or twentieth anniversary this trip…he complied in that gracious way unique to him, and without a doubt, …the best slow dance in years. Headed to the boat in the rain…battened down the hatches cranked the generator and A/C and was at peace…except for the loudest genset I have ever heard in a boat!

Post It’s for next year:

1. Don’t be in a rush and check out what you going to use... like the mainsail halyard…sure I could have turned around and went back into the protection of Roadtown harbor, but I am a male, and we never make u turns if we can help it.

2. Celebrate the fact you brought earplugs and can sleep in them no matter how loud the Generator! Years of training with the military and the fact that they always put the CAV and the Attack guys sleeping tents near the departure runway, in order for the Army to experience the feeling of a zoomie taking off with full military power at two in the mourning. Likewise my wife, as her years of training has told her, sometimes I snore when I’ve been drinking.

To be continued.