Fri - Left New Orleans early, flew to Atlanta, then onto St Thomas. We all met up, 10 of us, at the Fast Ferry to Tortola. The party started here with drinks and conch fritters. This is the part of the trip I feared the most and it all went off with out a hitch. The ferry ride was great, and I was able to point out a few spots we would visit to my 9 crew. Our arrival at the Moorings was not so flawless, you see, they were not expecting us till tomorrow evening. We thought we were spending that night on board and leaving in the morning with a fully provisioned boat. Well, a lot of talking, a little coercing and a very nice lady named, Jasmine, had our boat cleaned and prepped for us that night. We slept on board to the hum of a fully working AC, how sweet it is.
Sat - We left the dock, and against all recommendations for our Moorings 4600, we turned to port and sailed upwind to Trellis Bay. The boat did not point like a J30, but it dam sure sailed upwind without spilling a drink or moving anything from where we placed it. Wow, what a difference, this is the first time I have sailed a cat. 7.5 knots upwind, great; tacked thru...uh...about 105 degrees, not so great, but I could tell, this was going to be a fun trip. Picked up a ball, inflated the toys, mixed the drinks and cranked up happy hour. Made reservations at DaLooseMongoose and prepared for dinner with showers on deck. Upon returning to the boat, we cranked the generator (so quiet I didn't know it was running) and fired up the AC units. I am not afraid to rough it, but oh, my Goodness, how nice it was to sleep under a blanket in my cabin, in the BVI, in June and not stir one time.
Sun - Our first stop was the Baths, after a full course breakfast with lots of bacon. How good does bacon smell in the closed up cabin of a Moorings 4600; let me tell ya, "it smells good, real good!!" The Baths were beautiful, as always, it is nice to have newbies aboard to see their faces when we arrive. We left the Baths and set sail for the North Sound. A close reach put us at the Bitter End Yacht Club around 3:30. We picked up a ball and ...... see above description of Trellis Bay. Had dinner at Saba Rock, what a place, a whole palatial establishment sitting in the middle of a channel, looked alot like some our homes after Katrina. :-) We watched the tarpon feed as we did the same on Saba's dock. Returned to Natural Mystic for another cold night under the blankets.
Mon - Had breakfast at the Bitter End and toured the facilities, a very nice resort, and if I ever visit here without a boat, this would be the place. Some of us took the dingy and ventured out to the reef behind Saba to do some snorkeling. A little spooky being the only boat out there, but it was worth the trip. Returned to NM and prepared to set sail. This was going to be a long trip. We unfurled the jib and ran downwind to Leverick Bay. We went ashore for drinks and shopping then returned to the boat for our first dinner on board. Grilled mahi mahi and corn on the cob, has never tasted so good. Sitting ten around the cockpit table was no problem at all, what a platform for cruising the BVI.
Tue - Visited Leverick for water and ice then set full sail for Jost Van Dyke. It was a brisk broad reach back thru the channel. We furled the sails and motored thru Trellis/Marina around Guana and stopped at Monkey Point for some snorkeling. Lots to see as always. Set full sail and headed toward Jost. Our early arrival allowed us to check out White Bay, Great Harbor, and then we picked up a ball in Little Harbor by Sydneys. Made reservations and got one of Sydnesy offspring (Oliver) to take us to Foxys. We hiked to White Bay from there and had some drinks at Ivans where we played on the tire swing and awaited Oliver to pick us up. We returned to NM and got ready for dinner at Sydneys. The lobster cannot be beat, see pictures.
Wed - Motored to Sandy Cay and dropped the hook in 15 feet of crystal clear water. This place is the definition of a tropical island, its' beauty is unsurpassed. Some of us hiked the trail while others just lounged around under palm trees and frolicked in the majestic blue water. Set sail for Norman Island, this is where it gets fun. With an always stiff breeze coming into Sopers, NM was flying along at near 9 knots. As we rounded the point, we hardned up to make the cut. Did I say this boat doesn't point well? So, we prepared to tack, and tack we did. This sailing tennis court at to windward like a fine tuned Americas Cup boat. We soon had our bows in clear air in the channel. It was rough, other boats were reefed and being tossed around. We had eight people on the trampoline, two in the cockpit and sailed at 8 knots upwind without upsetting anything on board; except the eight people on the tramp. Drinks were flying, girls screaming and hoots and yells could be heard for miles. We were having so much fun I decided to sail right past Norman and Flaningan and into the swells. Boy was this fun, like being on a roller coaster, this is the only time this boat began to feel small. We tacked over and headed to Norman on a beam reach. Picked up a ball at the caves and snorkeled for a while. We then proceeded to the northeast side of the bight and picked up ball along the shoreline. We all know what that means, happy hour again. We dined onboard again with the entree being steak and chicken, these boats could use larger BBQ pits, or maybe two of the smaller ones. Later we visited the Willie T. I can say first hand, people are still jumping nude from the top deck, although it is not inviting (lights out, no steps). Returned to NM for our last night on board.
Thur - We reached into Road Town at 9.3 knots and caught the ferry back to St Thomas. We spent two nights unwinding at the Marriot and then returned home. Below is the link to a few of our 800 pictures.
http://travel.webshots.com/album/563772205VDReWZ?vhost=travelJohn
