I hope these highlights (or occasional lowlights) are helpful to others planning sailing trips. We chartered Compass Rose from TMM, a Jeanneau SO 45.2 with 3 cabins/3 heads for 3 parents and their 3 twenty-something children. Highlights:
1. Incredible conditions (good wind and smooth water) that allowed us to sail from Norman to Leverick Bay in 6 hours.
2. The BBQ at Leverick Bay with a band and the Jumbies (or "Gumbies" as one of our crew accidentally called them). Unique entertainment and good value. Get in line for the BBQ early.
3. Saba Rock dinner and band New Year's Eve was good food and a great value (see Lowlight below for comparison).
4. Shuttle to Loblolly was entertaining on its own. But the Italian kite boarder stole the show on the water. Amazing speed and acrobatics that left us old folks speechless.
5. Watching the lobsters being prepared at ARH was an education for our younger crew that fortunately didn't make them lose their appetite. The video of the machete sending lobster legs flying everywhere will be an all time favorite.
6. The visit to Diamond Cay/Foxy's Taboo with a short hike to the bubbly pool was great even if the pool wasn't on maximum bubble. It brought back memories of a simpler time in the BVI.
7. The performance of the White Mountain Insect Repellant I purchased on the web while we were enjoying dinner at Foxy's.
8. The sheer pleasure of floating in the water along the beach at Sandy Cay while our young female crew successfully opened a coconut to sample the insides.
9. An excellent dinner ranging from pizza to fish at the Jolly Roger with kind attention from Lou, including an attempt to change the opinions of some our crew regarding the best ribs.
10. An awesome taxi ride from Leverick to the Baths that the crew won't soon forget followed by a relaxing lunch at the Top of the Baths that was visually overwhelming.
11. Special thanks to the chef at The Pub for re-opening the kitchen at 10:30pm on Wednesday night to prepare dinners for our party of six who had nothing to eat since lunch.
Lowlights:
1. It was very crowded. The worst example was at the Baths where we must have waited close to ten minutes for a big party to finish climbing a ladder before our party of six could move in the other direction.
2. The Bitter End. They wanted $100 for New Year's Eve dinner or a $20 cover charge for the party after that. We chose Saba Rock instead because they had their normal dinner prices and a band was included. All this after the Bitter End responded to my earlier email (11/21) about activities for New Year's with no plan but a promise to forward the "schedule of events" when available (they never did). They also have moved the location of showers for boaters down the path to their other restaurant. I think they are sending a message to folks who are not staying there. From what other people told me, we should have gone to Trellis Bay for New Year's Eve.
3. American Airlines. Despite having a legitimate reason for our flight being more than an hour and a half late arriving in San Juan, they exhibited little concern and poor communications with American Eagle. Told the remaining flights were sold out and armed with hotel vouchers and dinner? (McD's or Subway) vouchers, we decided to try to get on the next AE flight anyway. After being handed boarding passes and being asked to give them back within five minutes, we did make the AE flight.
Overall a great trip for the first-timers and the too may to remember timer (me). Next time I will avoid the holidays.
Doug