Trip Report - British Virgin Islands<br>Oct. 19 - 26<br><br>About us: Don (52 - Capt.), Alecia (43 - Crew) and Juan (39 - 1st. Mate). We had originally planned for there to be four of us, but Juan couldn't seem to totally commit on asking [her] and after about two days into our charter, Juan said, "if [she] had come along, I'd have thrown [her] overboard by now." So we were all happy with our crew. The three of us are very close friends and as far as we're concerned, "two's company and three's a PARTY!" …four might have been a disaster. Don and Juan have been sailing together for several years. Juan's more into racing and likes to handle the sheets and lines, while Don's more comfortable cruising and at the helm. So we were a good team and soon felt very comfortable with our yacht. Alecia, on the other hand, likes to relax in the cabin while we're sailing hard…but comes to life after our bridle is secured to the mooring line, and remains alive until the last candle is blown out in the cockpit. Our boat was "E.T." a Beneteau Oceanis 40CC from Moorings. This was our first time with Moorings and this particular boat. We really liked the center cockpit and the roomy master aft cabin. She handled reasonably well, very easy to sail, and most everything worked. The (in mast) roller furling main was nice and a cinch to reef, but lacks a little in close haul performance; however, we weren't racing (except when another boat was close and on the same tack) so all in all no real complaints about the boat. So…on with the trip report.<br><br>Oct. 19th Don had arranged for a small (towncar type) limo to pick him and Alecia up at 7:00am for the trip to the airport. At 7:05 Alecia say's "I see headlights out front." Don looks out and sees the front of the limo and it keeps on coming and keeps on coming. It was a 10-passenger stretch! They were running short on the small ones. Don try's to sneak through airport security with his cigar cutter and lighter…no such luck; they took them both and for $1.00 agreed to mail them back to his home address. Security was tight, but from ticket counter to the Crown Room was only about 30 - 40 minutes. Arrived on time at St. Thomas and started looking for Juan. He was due in from Miami about an hour before us…but nowhere to be seen. Don checked phone mail and saved the first 7 business messages and sure enough, the last 2 were from Juan. Still hadn't left Miami and now they would try to route him to Tortola via San Juan. So we were packed into a taxi (van) with about 8 other people. We were the only ones going to Charlotte Amalie. The driver had to almost unload all the luggage to get to ours, then reload for the next stops. We took "Native Son" ferry to West End, Tortola and cleared customs. Moorings was there to transport us and 4 others to Moorings Mariner Inn. We hit the mariner bar and waited and waited for Juan. Don tried 4 times to reach his voice mail through 1-800-Call USA to see if Juan had an update, but always got a busy and was still charged $7.00 for the attempts. At about 11:00 Don and Alecia decided that he must be tied up in San Juan and would be in tomorrow morning…so off to the room. At about midnight, there was a "knock…knock" it was Juan!!! Don and Alecia were relieved and knew that now our bareboat trip would actually happen on time.<br><br>Oct. 20th After a quick breakfast, Don and Juan go to the chart briefing. The room was packed with about 20 skippers and crew. After the briefing we were all assigned to a yacht for the boat briefing. Since several of us were on the same type yacht, they teamed us up in groups of 2 (skipper and 1 crew) per yacht. So we were not briefed on "E.T." but rather another 40CC. Our provisions arrived about 11:00 from Ample Hamper and everything seemed to be there, we really only checked the beer and liquor. Don and Juan check the boat and Dinghy and everything worked fine. Around noon, we were ready to go. Don had been expecting a Mooring's Skipper to come aboard and maybe even go out with us for a short ride to make sure we were competent. After about one minute of waiting, Don went to the customer service desk and told them we were ready to go…they said, "if that's the case, you're good to go." YEA!!! Juan equates the setting as an armada attacking the Aphganistan borders…at least 30 boats departing at the same time. After we cleared the last marker, we unfurled sails, opened a couple of Carib's and headed out on a nice reach for our first stop "The Indians". As Don points the bow at the Indians and engages the autopilot, he raises his Carib and says, "I can't believe we're finally here. Sailing in my most favorite place on earth…on a beautiful yacht…with two of the most special persons in my life. Thank you for being here…and thank you Jesus…thank you Jesus." The Indians was nice, but we didn't stay too long as Don wanted to get into the Bite at Norman Island and pick up a mooring early. After settled into the Bite, our first problem, no fresh water. After a short call to Moorings, Juan (engineer supremeo) quickly determined that there was an air lock. He soon found the bleed off valve and…a like magic, the water was now running. We showered and buttoned down "E.T.". Don hung a long red chemical light stick from the bimini (thanks to BillH for that tip) and we took the dinghy over to "Willy T's" for drinks and to check out the action. Things were pretty quite (no nude ladies on the roof) but we did meet a colorful gent who had just met this lady with her dog who had persuaded him to sail here with her from St. John on a 19-ft. sloop? Since it was now dark, we wondered what they would be doing for the night? The little sloop only had a small cuddy cabin…so maybe Willy T's for the night? After finishing our drink we left for Billy Bones for more drinks and an uneventful dinner. Don had chicken, Alecia had ? and Juan had great ribs. B.B.'s was quite also, so after dinner we fired up the dinghy and headed back for "E.T." Boy, were we glad that light stick was still glowing.<br><br>Oct. 21st Don was up early and had coffee ready and great fatty bacon and eggs were served at 7:00. Juan ventured out his cabin, "wow, what a hangover." After breakfast we motored around to the "Caves" for a early morning snorkel, then took the dinghy down further west to a rocky beach were we found a beautiful small reef about 100 feet from the shore loaded with sea urchins that had the longest needle-sharp spines we've ever seen. Okay, back to "E.T." and set sail for Jost Van Dyke. Another nice reach skirting St. John and while under way, don't remember who it was, but someone said, "is it 10:00 yet?" That was Don's rule, "no beer before 10:00am." I believe it was "Gumbie" who said, "you can't lay on the beach and drink rum all day if you don't 'get started in the morning." Same thing applies to sailing and beer. Not a day would go by without those two versus being repeated at least once. We decided to check our liquor supply…oh well, better head for Soper's Hole to restock. After the dent we put in "those" provisions yesterday and last night, we decided we could run out of anything, but not the ice and booze. Had lunch (ham sandwiches) before heading for JVD. I noticed that Alecia had some mayonnaise on her face, I wiped it off with my finger and licked it off…it was not mayo…it was unabsorbed sunblock !#@ yuck!!! We arrive at Little Harbour around 3:00 and pick up a mooring close to Abe's and decided to take the dinghy around and explore the bay. Still don't know how this happen. Alecia was getting into the dinghy while Don was starting the outboard. In a split second the outboard went into forward and the trottle wide open. Alecia did a summersault and slammed her back into the trottle handle. Ouch! What a bruise. After consoling her, we made it around to Abe's put in our lobster request for dinner and went to Sidney's for Painkillers …Alecia sure needed one. Met Janet (Sidney's daughter) and Sidney. While Alecia was getting herself a beer, some other boaters showed up and thought she was the bartender and ordered a round of Painkillers. Alecia (all in stride) accommodated them all and continued behind the bar until she ran out of that magical libation, then yelled for Janet to "mix up another batch." After too much fun we returned to "E.T" for showers and to Abe's for our lobster. She (can't recall her name) served us 3 huge whole lobsters…the best any of us could recall we've ever had. By dinner's end, Sydney's was getting busy, so what else could we do but return. Met a jovial Brit who told us the only thing he had against Americans was "we killed John Lennon" so, I looked over a Juan and asked, "how much time did you do for that?" The Brit said, "wait till I tell my son" which he did and all 3 of his boys came over and asked Juan, "is it true?" So we bantered with the Brit the rest of the evening…watching him pour his wife a couple of glasses of wine (in a large water goblet…filled to the brim) while Juan was trying to dispel the John Lennon story to the boys and everyone else at the bar. Great fun evening!<br><br>Oct. 22nd Off the mooring around 8:30 back through Thatch Island Cut we headed on a beat for Cooper Island. Arrived in Manchioneel Bay around 2:00 and it was already filling up. Took the Dinghy over to Cistern Point for some snorkeling. Alecia decided she wanted to go back to the Dinghy so I escorted her back and pushed her up and in so she could relax in the sun. I returned to join Juan to see if we could catch that giant yellowtail for dinner (right). Juan got my attention and said, "look at the Dinghy." It had broken loose from the mooring line drifting at about 1-2 knots towards Salt Island and Alecia was standing up waving her arms yelling "Don!" "Don!" We both started swimming as fast as we could toward her while shouting instructions on how to start the outboard, which was in gear, and the pull was locked. I yelled, "get out the paddle" "which way?" she scoffed. Juan finally got to her while I was eyeing the other Dinghy tied to the mooring as a plan B chase boat. After we're all safe back onboard "E.T." Juan and I envisioned Alecia getting that outboard started and inadvertently putting it in forward with the trottle wide open, being thrown overboard, with the Dinghy heading out towards St. Croix at 20 knots. Think we handled it right. So, we decided to head to CIBR for some drinks, as Alecia is getting into the Dinghy, she slips and falls head first…so that's it, Dinghy "3" Alecia "0", After a few beers at Cooper Island Beach Club, we returned to the boat and watched a 46' Sloop searching for a mooring ball (none to be had) then tried to drop the hook several times with no luck. Later someone from Cooper came over and retrieved a mooring line that was not attached to a ball but to a plastic jug? Now I know why you get to Cooper early. We put some Kebobs on the grill, cooked rice and opened a bottle(s) of wine. Lots of wine…<br><br>Oct 23rd We left Manchioneel Bay early for the Baths. Arrived around 9:30, picked up a mooring and took the Dinghy ("stay low Alecia") to the Dinghy mooring line. Tied it real good too…swam ashore and hiked up to Top of the Baths for morning beers, fresh water swim and Alecia bought a nice USA/BVI tee shirt. After which we crawled through the boulders and had a nice snorkel. The Baths are wonderful, beautiful and one of my most favorite stops. We leave around noon for the Bitter End Yacht Club at the same time a Beneteau 361 pulls off. It was obvious we're both heading for North Sound so the race was on. The 361 chose to tack often and remained fairly close to the Virgin Gorda shore and we stayed out while only making 3 tacks into North Sound. Beat him by over a ½ mile. Yea, we hot sailor guys! Picked up our mooring and went to BEYC for Painkillers and a look around. Decided we'd better fill up our fresh water, so we took "E.T." to the dock for a drink. Dinner at BEYC was so-so. We had requested lobster the night they were doing their cookout thing…so we think it had been frozen…nothing like Abe's…and the sketters were really bad. But after a couple of complaints, they did find some Off which made the evening tolerable. <br><br>Oct. 24th Juan and I were up early and decided to head for Peter Island. We were the first out in a light rain. Alecia was still snoozing when the rain lifted and we were heading west with "E.T" on wing and wing then on to a broad reach heading southwest. Between Cooper and Salt Islands we saw a squall rapidly coming up so we rounded up, awaken Alecia to button up the hatches, reefed sails to about 50% and resumed our course. The squall hit with wind speed of about 40 knots and lots of rain. "E.T." was being pushed at 7.5 knots and Juan really had wanted me to not reef the main. He's a racer…but we both enjoyed the ride, fresh rain and that much speed, even if it only lasted a few minutes. Pulled into Sprat Bay on Peter Island before noon and picked, what appeared to be the only mooring left. The ball had no mooring line so we ran our bridle through the ball eyelet. The wind was very light and coming from all directions the four boats here were pointing in all directions and soon our Dinghy was kissing the Dinghy of the boat next to us. We noticed a mooring ball closer to shore that we hadn't seen earlier, so we unhooked and picked up that one. Went ashore to check out the bar and facilities. This is a beautiful resort. Had a few Painkillers and tried to decide if we'd have dinner at the resort or on the boat. So we stumbled from the bar and went to "E.T." for showers…couldn't get the fresh water to work at all. Tried several bleeds from the valve but nothing seemed to work. Decided not to bother Moorings and went ashore for showers. Alecia went into the first shower and promptly came out "there's a naked man in there"...thus the sound of the shower? Finished our showers in private and went back to the bar and was promptly told we couldn't stay unless we had on long pants. They're really proud of this place, especially after 6:00 ...and the $80+ bucks we spent earlier didn't seem to matter. So Juan and I went back and changed and graced their lounge with our presence and my fine Cuban cigar. Later we went back to the boat and grilled hamburgers. Image that, hamburgers at Peter Island Resort. They were great!<br><br>Oct. 25th Left Sprat Bay around 8:00 on another nice reach across the Drake into Road Harbour and called Moorings for our slip number, "Dock A, north side number 21." Eased "E.T." into the slip from our last ride with her, unloaded our stuff and was pleased we hadn't really hurt anyone, broke anything …and left nothing but footprints. After settling into the Mariner Inn, we took a taxi into Road Town, first stop Pussers for lunch. After lunch we ventured out the back and up the street to Little Denmark for some cigars, then to Columbia Emeralds. Alecia spotted a 4.5ct Tanzanite stone that she hasn't stopped talking about since. As I'm writing this report, she calls and tells me that she has just gotten off the phone with Columbia in Tortola and agreed to purchase it. Fed-X letter with a check is going out tomorrow. One happy Lady. After shopping we returned to the Mariner Inn, relaxed and had dinner.<br><br>Oct. 26th After breakfast, Juan and I took a tour of a Moorings 4700 Cat as a possible choice for next trip…still not sure about the Cats…just doesn't seem like sailing, but the room is awesome. Our taxi soon shows up and we're off for the West End ferry dock with a couple (Al & Kay) we had met from our taxi ride to Moorings a week earlier. Ferry leaves at 12:30, stops a St. John to clear customs then onto St. Thomas. We taxi to the airport and upon entering the property, we had to go through a security check were they looked under the hood of the van, the luggage compartment as well as inside. Customs again here, but the line wasn't too long so we had plenty of time. Juan left soon for Miami and Alecia and I enjoyed a Carib and hamburger with Al and Kay who were also on our flight back to Atlanta. Flight was on time and our limo was waiting in Atlanta when we left baggage claim. No much more to say except thank all of you on TTOL who have given me so much good advice which helped make our vacation perfect. The smiles on our faces were consistent throughout the entire trip…wish we were back in the BVI…but soon.<br><br>I haven't posted our photos on my web site yet but have posted some on my photo album at:<br><br>http://photos.yahoo.com/donflow2000 ...then click on Don's BVI Oct. 2001<br><br>Don C. ~~~~_/) ~~~~<br>Atlanta, Georgia<br>http://www.geocities.com/donflow2000/<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Administrator on 12/10/01 02:48 PM.</EM></FONT></P>