This was our 25th wedding anniversary trip, and in addition to our 2 teens, Andy 14 and Heather 17, we brought along our best man, Jeff, and maid-of-honor, Susan, both BVI AND sailing rookies.Did American and Eagle to Beef Island, and Leah had us hooked up great - we were at Sunsail by 1:30. Had no flight issues at all - did all carry-on, so no baggage woes. Sunsail was excellent - they had an employee waiting at reception desk with my boat-briefing form in his hand when we got in! He did an excellent job, and the boat, a 411 called Sierra Rae, was perfect all week long. Also used Bill Hartzman's checklist, a BIG help. Bobby's had food there at 3, and we did Fat Hog Bob's for a nice dinner, and slept on de boat.
wed 6/29 - Checked weather, and saw squalls coming so we beat it for North Sound. My sail rookies did great, learned tacking quickly, and we beat storm. Spent the day on beach, did dinner on boat, as we were not packing "proper attire" for the restaurant. Also ran into JD (Daix) at fuel dock - we were using a week of his owner's time.
thurs. 6/30 - Up early, breakfast and off to Anegada. JD left ahead of us, and I lost sight of him early on. Used Walker's GPS coordinates, and had a great sail up - it was so clear we actually started seeing it from about 7 miles out. Made reservations for lobsters at ARH, and had Lawrence take us over to Loblolly for a day of beaching/snorkling. On the way back, he let us off at Sue's gift shop, so we could go see her goat, Charley. Years ago, on my first trip here with JD, I had gotten Heather a coloring book about the goat, and she has been wanting to actually see him. We patted the old goat a while, then back to the boat for "boat showers" and in for cocktails and a fantastic dinner. Susan is from Kentucky, and eating lobster barefoot on a beach was heaven to her.
fri 7/1 - up early, dinghyed to Pam's bakery for the 8 am opening - I HAD to have sweet rolls! Today we sailed to Cane Garden Bay, as I wanted to see Quito and the Edge. After a LOOOOONG sail (wind died out in the afternoon) we all went ashore and scattered. Most spent the afternoon between Quito's and snorkling. Got some steaks at Bobby's, grilled them on the boat (NONE in the water!), and went in to see Quito for a while. Back out for a good night's sleep.
sat 7/2 - Went in for laundry stop and rum at Callwood's, then took off for JVD. Grabbed a ball at Little Harbor, went ashore and had Rena, Sidney's daughter run us over to Foxy's. Now, it started getting REALLY great! We are big fans of Eric Stone, and when we were at Sunsail Heather saw a flyer that he was playing Bomba's on 7/6 - when we would be over on Virgin Gorda - no WAY to see him. She was not happy, but understood. As we got out of Rena's van, I thought Foxy's stereo was GREAT, and playing Eric's music too - WRONG - he was there, playing saturday and sunday! WOW! We got to know Eric and his wife Linda, two GREAT people, and Heather not only saw him live 2 days, but we ate dinner at Corsairs sunday at the next table! Saturday was just great, good music, nice crowd, and a very nice dinner back at Sidney's. Also got to meet Vinny Teranova, the owner of Corsairs, a truly cool guy.
Sun 7/3 - Rena ran us over to White Bay today, and we spent the day in hammocks and at the Soggy Dollar, listening to Ruben play - by the way, if Herve reads this, KC says it's a LOT quieter since you moved Momma Cocha up north! Went back to Foxy's to hear Eric again, chatted with Vinny some more, got cleaned up on the boat and ate at Corsairs, an EXCELLENT meal! Another peaceful night on the boat.
mon 7/4 - Motored to Trellis Bay, as seas were NOT friendly at all. Grabbed a ball, and headed in. Shopped at Fluke's and Aaragorn's, and spent several fun hours with Jeremy (shiny) at the Cybercafe. Picked up some supplies at Trellis Bay market, and waited out a squall before scrambling to boat for dinner. It was a bit bouncy that night, a precursor of the next day.
Tuesday 7/5 - up and out to Cooper Island, but after rounding Beef Island I decided NO SAILS today - seas were 8'-10', and we were dead into them and the wind. Watched one other boat TRY sailing in it, and he came VERY close to grounding the boat on east shore of Beef - it was NOT FUN!!! My wife Kim noted as we were in the middle of the Drake Channel that there were NO OTHER BOATS - very creepy feeling. As soon as we rounded into Machioneel Bay, all was great. Spent a wonderful day on the beach, made dinner reservations for 7, and went back to the boat to clean up. A right decent squall blew in, and we listened on radio to people calling in to postpone their reservations - NOT US! Made it in at 7 sharp, had a great meal, but again a bumpy night.
wed 7/6 - up early, cleaned up the boat, and headed back to Sunsail. Part one was over, but we still had to get up to North Sound ferry to get over to Virgin Gorda, as we were staying until Sunday at Fischer's Cove hotel.
Land-based part 2 to follow!
