BEERMAN/MAYTRIX COMBO Day 5

August 9-19, 2015

As you may know by now my wife and I are devoted to the sunrise, it's interesting to see our daughter bucking the younger generations stereotype of sleeping in too, the girls caught every sunrise this trip!





The 4800 really lives large. It was incredibly comfortable to move around s/v Zumbrato. There was plenty of storage on the boat. There's 2 large storage areas in the saloon floor, maybe 3ft by 5ft by 1 ft deep that held many things including our ample supply of drinking water. Our crew of 7 adults were drinking on average 4 gallons of water a day, many empty jugs in photo!







Once breakfast was over dishes were rinsed in salt water. The always present Diamond Cay Ramora quickly arrived to snack on our crumbs.





The mooring lines would slide from the pennant and glide across the water to be coiled creatively on the trampoline. Everyone had their names spelled out with the lines and of course posed proudly with their cursive writing skills. With raised sails we let the wind push us gently towards the Sir Francis Drake Channel.






It was a beautiful clear blue sky day. With skies like this we knew the light was perfect for a snorkel at the Indians. There were only a couple of boats there when we arrived and it didn't take long for everyone to get in the water. The underwater world was full of vibrant sea life, absolutely beautiful.



[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_8960_zpsapualpoa.jpg[/img]

At some point the mooring field was full and anxious boats were circling waiting their turn to enjoy this awesome place. Raised the main on the ball then gracefully caught the trade winds. With great island music setting the mood everyone found their happy place, it was a nice relaxing sail up the Drake towards Cooper Island. We made numerous tacks up the channel, but nobody was in a hurry especially me with my fishing handline in the water, FISH ON!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_8996_zpsxq8kstzi.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_8982_zps4e32rsxt.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper8_zps0nhqqaln.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper7_zpsn6vlusrv.jpg[/img]


A few hours later we found the perfect ball at Cooper Island Resort. The crew was operating like a well oiled machine!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9018_zpslm2hxx7r.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9023_zpskhr4acso.jpg[/img]

Everybody was excited to put their feet on land, especially Conner! Surprisingly Conner had yet to officially touch his feet on BVI land, where better than the soft beach at Cooper Island. Wonder if Columbus felt as excited? Congrats Conner!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9040_zpsrs2e0st0.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9094_zpsxmjq8due.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper1_zpsbyfmww75.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9048_zpstuqfixcw.jpg[/img]

It felt wonderful to walk through the beautiful gardens at the resort, some would be in search of clothes and bling and others would be in search of RUM! The Rum Bar here is a great little spot. The fresh drink choices are amazing and LARGE. My drink of choice was one made with hand squeezed lemons served in a mason jar full of ice, nice! Everyone eventually gathered here and enjoyed perhaps the best drinks of the trip. At some point I could feel Conner breathing down my neck, basically saying it's FEEDING TIME!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper6_zpsraycuo9c.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper4_zpsb0peedrx.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper5_zpsq5fswjt8.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper3_zpsfxicsmgt.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper2_zpsxj0cnlu2.jpg[/img]

Back at the boat I prepared the Bonita on the grill as an appetizer, Old Bay seasoning and fresh lemon juice, yum! Some would swim, some would snorkel and eventually all would put on their fancy clothes for dinner at the restaurant . Perhaps it was the rum or sun, but I apparently did not take a single photo at the restaurant? You may not believe this, but the camera is not surgically attached to my hand, ha! We all enjoyed our meals, the most popular being the Chicken Roti. The resort was closing for the season in just 2 days and we were happy to have had the chance to visit. The service and the staff here are exceptional, even so close to closing time!

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...mbrato%20Day%205/cooper9_zpsutkied7g.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums...brato%20Day%205/IMG_9100_zpsrczrn2y4.jpg[/img]

To be continued.......CHEERS!

<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />Cooper was our last night and one of our favorites. Beerman your travel diary is just awesome!

That was a great day!

Nice, thanks for the pics and report. Word is, Cooper is installing a brewery during their closing.

Cheers, RickG

AHHH....... Another heavenly day. Thanks&#128077;&#128524;

Rick & Matt...
Haven't I read not to tie mooring ball lines to the cleats in the front of a cat? I've always tied one line each on the P&S cleats attached to each hull of a cat. Through the eye and back to the same cleat.

Reason you guys did it differently?

Great trip report as always!

jphart - we've been told different things at the base throughout the years. Speaking with someone at Leopard however, they said the bow cleats are strong enough to use them, which makes sense as there's no way to use the side cleats as rigged without chaffing the hull.

JP, to be honest I've always done this. You have me wondering? Tying to the hull would cause some rubbing of the lines on the cross beam. I have always thought that those cleat's were specifically placed there for moorings. Any expert advice would be appreciated!

Interesting scenario. I did read in a Leopard owners manual that those cleats are not meant for anchoring or mooring the vessel.
So then why are they there....?
One would think that the forces created by the forward sail are much greater on the crossbeam than would be when tied to a mooring......
I do to use those forward cleats for tying up to mooring balls.......

Love the photos of the rum bar on Cooper! It's the stop I'm looking forward to the most on our trip in November. Good to hear the food is good too!

I believe the cleats are fine for Mooring. There have been boats damaged after running aground when attempting to drag the boat off using the crossbeam cleats. Leopard does in fact however recommend they not be used for Mooring. I usually run each line from the bow side cleat to the ball and back to the crossbar cleat. Now you have 4 cleats sharing the load.
The worst possible way to moor a cat is a single line from one side of the boat through the Mooring loop and over to the other side. I see this all the time.
G

I checked my emails and what I was told by Leopard is that you can pull the pennant through the anchor roller and then attach it somewhere - I'd have to look at it to see.. Haven't ever tried it. He also did mention that they just used a single line through the pennant which I think is ok for a quick stop, but I wouldn't leave it a long time like that since it is prone to chaffing.

Shamelessly requesting Day 6 trip report

Mike

Ditto what IWIWSE said.

I must apologize, I usually roll right along but the J.O.B. has been brutally taking up my time this week. I plan to work on those photos tonight!