Hello everyone,
Here is our trip report, I never had time to write one up so my wife did it. Hope you enjoy it.
---------------------

BVI Trip Log 2007

Friday, May 4 – Road Town:
We arrived in the St. Thomas around 11:30 and took the ferry to Road Town. The ferry was not very big and served as a delivery vehicle. There were mattresses, cleaning supplies, paint and mail loaded on with the passengers. When we arrived in Road Town, we started out to walk to the Moorings dock, but eventually decided that it was too hot and that we really weren’t sure where we were going. So, we hailed a taxi and took a ten-minute ride to the Moorings. We had a few hours to kill before we could get onto the boat so we put on bathing suits, went swimming at the pool, and had some drinks. Then we had a chart briefing with one of the Footloose people. When we got on the boat Tom arrived and we got checked out. Then we went into town for dinner at a very loud place. Chris had a chicken roti and I had coconut shrimp. The food was good, but expensive. I later discovered that they had a pizza and bar menu that was less expensive. After dinner…back to the boat to get unpacked.


Saturday, May 5 – Road Town to Peter Island:
We got up and went for a swim before heading over to Bobby’s to provision. We walked to Bobby’s from the boat and stopped at the department store on the way so that Tom could buy some cool sunglasses. Dave arrived just as we got back and helped load up the groceries. It was about noon and pretty hot so we went for a swim at the pool to cool off, then headed back to the boat to plan our first short passage. It was pretty late by then so we opted for the closest option, Peter Island. It was a straight shot out of the harbor. A couple of Footloose guys came out to help us get out of the slip. We laughed as they seemed more concerned about us smashing the BBQ than the dinghy – they have their priorities.

Peter Island was beautiful and not very crowded. We picked up a mooring near the Lazy Iguana (which turned out to be very lazy indeed) and noticed a barracuda checking us out. He swam near the boat for a while and then headed off. Then we all went for a swim. I swam in to shore to check out the Lazy Iguana only to find that nobody was there. They seemed to be closed for renovations. We all snorkeled for a bit and Dave dropped some money out of his pocket. It looked so close, but the water is so clear that the depth is deceptive. Dave tried to dive down to get his lost treasure. I watched him underwater, and he was only about a third of the way down…bummer, one less painkiller for Dave. We grilled on the boat that night (no choice since nobody on shore was going to feed us) and talked about what to do the next day.


Sunday, May 6 – Peter Island to Spanish Town:
We decided that we would try to hit the baths the next morning as we thought that they might not be as crowded as on other days. However, we made the mistake of lingering too long over breakfast in the morning. We had a lovely sail over to Virgin Gorda. We saw a big tanker holding station off of Tortola. When we got to the baths we found that there were no moorings left and decided that anchoring would take too long. We picked up a mooring just north of Spanish Town and explored on Virgin Gorda for the day. We dinghied in to shore with the intention of getting lunch and visiting the copper mine. We got an open-air taxi up to the mineshaft restaurant for lunch. It was a beautiful spot way up at the top of the hill. We could see down toward the baths and out into the Atlantic. After lunch we walked over to the old copper mine to check it out. On the way a squall blew in and we all got drenched. We saw a bunch of goats and talked to the local park ranger. The copper mine was a beautiful spot on a rocky cliff over the water. I sat and watched the waves crash over the rocks and swirl around. The park ranger told us that scientists were studying the area because it contains such a diverse array of minerals. Since our taxi was late, the ranger offered to take us back to town. Somewhere in there Chris thought that they were all supposed to lay down flat in the back of the truck. Apparently, he also convinced Dave and Tom of this because they all laid down flat in the back. I was sitting in the cab with the ranger, and he had a good laugh when he turned around and saw all of them laying down flat. We ended up catching our taxi on his way up and jumped in with him.

We did a little shopping in town: Dave bought a shirt and hat and I bought a weird local soda that tasted like Moxie with a bitter finish. We swam when we got back to the boat and did a bit of snorkeling. Chris and I took the dinghy out for a spin then anchored it over near the rocky shore and did a bit of snorkeling, which was quite good. We cooked on the boat and Chris and I went to bed early while Dave convinced Tom to head into town to find the music that we could hear from the boat.


Monday, May 7 – the Baths to North Sound:
We got up early and motored back over to the Baths and picked up a mooring. We had breakfast on board, then packed up all of our snorkeling stuff and cameras and hats into the dinghy. Chris and I dropped Tom and Dave off on the beach, tied up the dinghy to the dinghy mooring and swam into shore. There was only one other couple on shore when we got there and we had the place to ourselves for a short time. We spent a couple of hours exploring, being more and more amazed at each turn. We listened in on a tour for a few minutes and learned that the rocks have gas pockets in them that make some areas sound hollow and others sound solid. The gas pockets are one of the causes for the fantastic rock formations.

After exploring on shore we decided that we were quite hungry and took a short hike up to the Top of the Baths restaurant. The view up there was terrific. They have a swimming pool and pretty good food. We had a nice lunch, and Chris and I went for a swim after eating (we didn’t even wait a half hour!). We spent the afternoon snorkeling around at the bottom end of the Baths. There were lots of fish and pretty coral; however, by this time the area had gotten quite crowded. I should mention that we started our day early to beat the crowds. We picked up a mooring around 7 am and were on shore by around 8. This worked out quite well, and we even beat the crowds to the restaurant.

We dropped the mooring around 3 pm and sailed up to the North Sound for our next adventure. On the way we saw a beautiful and quite large sailboat heading in the same direction. It must have been 120’ or so. We decided to pick up a mooring at Saba Rock, a tiny little island with a restaurant and small resort (like six rooms). With a mooring at Saba Rock you get free ice and water. When we went in to shore to pay for our mooring we discovered that we had picked one of the Bitter End Yacht Club’s moorings instead. So, we headed over to the Bitter End to check it out. As it turns out, the Bitter End does not offer free ice or water and the moorings are more expensive there. We noted that everything seemed pretty expensive at the Bitter End. (Four Dove ice cream bars cost us $14.00!) We checked out both\ places to eat and decided to spend less money and have a better view at Saba Rock where the porch is built out over the water.

We all took showers before dinner since it had been a few days and we were generally pretty caked with sunblock and salt. At some point a local merchant came by in his dinghy selling jewelry and conch shells. I passed on the jewelry, but it was Chris’ brilliant decision to purchase a conch. It was only $10. Dinner was all-you-can eat buffet for the guys and a salmon burger for me, not to mention mai tais all around (their specialty drink – we got one free thanks to the Drinking Man’s Guide). After dinner we checked out the hammocks on one side of the island and walked around the rest of the resort. We also spent some time watching the eels, conch, and lobsters that they have in a small pool. In addition, there were lights on the dock that allowed us to see these big fish (maybe tarpon) that were swarming around. They must have been 2-3’ long. We theorized that the restaurant feeds them around closing time.


Tuesday, May 8 – North Sound to Trellis Bay
The next morning we got up and had breakfast first thing. As we had been having difficulty charging up the batteries, Chris decided to call the Footloose office that is located in the North Sound. They sent a couple of guys right over to check out the situation. They told us to come into the dock so that they could change the batteries. We pulled into the dock gracefully (thanks to Captain Chris’ excellent maneuvering and the crew’s excellent handling of the dock lines and fenders). We decided to fill up on water since it was available and grudgingly paid for it. We headed back to the mooring and loaded our snorkeling stuff and some lunch up into the dinghy. The plan was to go over to Prickly Pear Island to hike and snorkel. When we got there it was really hot, and we decided to stop at the little beach bar for some iced tea and directions to the trailhead. The beach bar was pretty sleepy – just us and two local ladies who seemed to be friends of the owner and a couple of friendly cats. As it turns out, the trail is too overgrown to hike, so we took the dinghy further down the beach where the woman at the bar told us the snorkeling was good. It was not very good there, so we ended up heading back to the boat. We ate our packed lunches back on board – yummy hummus and red pepper wraps (except Dave who doesn’t think he likes hummus got turkey and cheese). We had been having difficulty with the fridge and Chris thought that it was because of the batteries. We were checking it regularly (mostly to make sure that Dave had cold beer) and discovered that it really wasn’t cooling things down when we got back from Prickly Pear. Chris decided that he would call Footloose and se if they could come out again since they were still close at hand.

While Chris and Tom waited on the boat for the guys to come back and look at the refrigeration, Dave and I headed to the north coast of Prickly Pear Island in search of better snorkeling. We found a stunning, secluded beach. There was a bit of snorkeling, but mostly it was just very pretty and quiet. There was only one boat anchored nearby and nobody on the beach. We snorkeled and swam and walked around for a bit. After a while we figured that we should head back to Sea Angel to see what the refrigeration situation was. When we got back it turned out that the Footloose guys found that the refrigerant was low. So they topped us off and told us to buy ice if we needed it and bill the charter company. With the assurance of cold beer we made ready to head over to Trellis Bay for the evening.

The sail over was a bit choppy, but uneventful. We made it into Trellis bay without excitement and even managed to stay out of the path of planes landing and taking off since the airport is right there. They have an area close to the landing strip buoyed off. Apparently, boats with tall masts can interfere with the planes landing. Chris was a little nervous motoring through the mooring field as there is a reef that is not marked in the middle of things. We picked up a mooring and managed to avoid the reef. However, everybody in the mooring field got a little entertainment when another charter boat came in a little while after us. They were going way too fast through the mooring field and managed to run aground on the reef. I was down below when this happened, so I missed it. According to Chris, the people on the bow had to hold on for dear life to avoid being ejected from the boat. A couple of guys on two salty-looking sailboats who were anchored nearby had a good time harassing these folks for a bit.

We weren’t sure what we wanted to do for dinner so we decided to head to shore to check things out. There is a small, expensive market, a coffee shop, a sandwich shop, and Aragorn’s (a nice store that sells items made by local artists), and the Loose Mongoose, a restaurant and bar. We discovered that it was quite buggy on land and decided to eat at the Last Resort, which is on a small island in Trellis Bay. The Last Resort is the home of the singing dogs and was home to the recently deceased donkey, Bottom. They also often have live music. We figured that we were in for a treat. When we got there we encountered a phenomenon that occurs throughout the BVI, the reservation issue. They asked us if we had reservations, and Chris said no. The hostess then looked over her shoulder at the completely empty restaurant, sucked some air though her teeth, and considered whether they could accommodate us. She eventually did seat us. I expected that the place would fill up since we were pretty early and she seemed so concerned about seating four unexpected guests. However, the restaurant never got more than a third full. The food was excellent, and we did get to meet the last living singing dog, who is now retired. There were lots of other dogs lounging around, not to mention plenty of cats, which would happily pounce on your dinner if it were left unattended. We were all pretty tired after dinner and headed back to the boat. Chris and I went to bed after a little while and Dave and Tom went ashore to check out the local nightlife.


Wednesday, May 9 – Trellis Bay to Jost Van Dyke
We got up the next morning and consulted our charts before heading out along the north side of Tortola on our way to Jost Van Dyke. We sailed downwind wing-and-wing. There was a catamaran on the same course, which was quite a bit ahead of us. We entertained ourselves by catching up to him, but we changed course when we got close enough to steal his wind. Chris taught Tom how to steer downwind, and he did a great job (only one jibe). I was glad that Tom was willing to steer because I hate steering downwind.

We decided that we would make a day stop in Cane Garden Bay for the afternoon to go see the rum distillery. There are some reefs at the entrance so we studied the charts and I went up on the bow to scout out for reefs. We picked up a mooring and jumped in the water (this was generally our habit at this point in the trip). The harbor was bustling and there were tons of people swimming in the water and sunning on the beach. It was a beautiful beach. After deciding that we would get lunch on shore, we piled into the dinghy and headed for the dock. We got directions to the distillery, and, after a sweaty walk through the touristy area and up into the hills a bit, we found the distillery. We spoke to one of the employees/proprietors and bought a couple of bottles. He was too busy to give us a tour, so we wandered up to the press to check it out. There were lots of banana, mango and other fruit trees. It was quite beautiful, but buggy and hot. We saw an interesting site on our walk. There was a graveyard where people were burning something, and they had a fresh grave dug. I was wondering whether this was a burial ritual or if they were just burning some brush.

When we got back to the beach area we were all quite hungry. Tom and I scouted out places to eat, and Chris and Dave went back to the boat to get the Drinking Man’s Guide so that we would be sure to get our free drink special. We ate at Quito’s, which is right on the beach. I had a delicious vegetable roti. The drink special turned out to be a very sweet concoction that looked like a Bomb Pop in a cup. After lunch we headed back to the boat for another swim before we headed over to Jost Van Dyke. It was a straight shot out of the harbor, so we just motored.

We headed over to the eastern end of Jost Van Dyke where Foxy’s Taboo has ten overnight moorings. When we go there all of the moorings were already occupied, so we hopped over to the next harbor, Little Harbor. There were plenty of free moorings and we picked up one next to a rowdy crowd of young folks. I decided that being a little further from this boat might afford us a better night’s sleep so we picked up a different mooring a little further away. After a swim, we headed in to shore to check out the local scene. We got drinks at Sydney’s Peace and Love where you go behind the bar and mix your own drink. Sydney’s Peace and Love has hundreds of T shirts hanging all over the place that patrons have left behind usually with some sort of inscription. After a couple of drinks we went back to the boat to have dinner, which consisted of bean salad, grilled hot dogs, sausage, and veggie burger, and a green salad.


Thursday, May 10 – Jost Van Dyke
The next morning Chris and I awoke before Tom and Dave and decided to dinghy on to shore to get some fuel for the dinghy. When we got back Dave and Tom were up so we had some breakfast while we discussed our plans for the day. We made a nice breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches on English muffins. We decided to take the boat back over to Foxy’s Taboo so that we could go ashore and check out the “Bubbly Pool”, which is an area where the waves crash in through the rocks, creating a Jacuzzi-like experience. We dinghied ashore and got directions to the bubbly pool from the folks at Foxy’s. It was a short hike to the pool past lots of mangroves and a salt pond. When we got there a few other folks were hanging out in the pool. There were a couple of giggly British women and an American guy who was busy giving the girls drinks out of a pitcher that they had brought. Apparently whatever they were drinking (kind of looked like painkillers) was quite alcoholic because when I got close to one of the women she reeked of booze. We headed back to Foxy’s for drinks, and on the way we met some guys who had rented ATVs for the day. They told us that it was amazing and that we should do it. So we arranged with the guide to meet him in White Bay that afternoon for a two hour tour of the island. We had a drink at Foxy’s then headed back to the boat.

We dropped the mooring and motored over to White Bay. Along the way we had some sandwiches for lunch. There were reefs to look out for on the way in, so I stayed up on the bow to scout out ahead. All of the moorings in White Bay were taken, and there was no room to anchor. We reluctantly headed out of the bay to make a new plan. We decided to go back to the Foxy’s moorings since that was a lovely spot where we could do some snorkeling for the afternoon. When we got resettled on a mooring, Dave went ashore to call the ATV guys and see if we could take the tour in the morning. In the mean time Tom took the dinghy for a spin to explore places to snorkel. Chris and I relaxed on the boat and did a little swimming while we waited. When everybody was back on the boat we went out snorkeling in the dinghy. We tried a couple of different spots, and it was all pretty good. In the second spot, I got stung by a jellyfish, so I decided to head back to the dinghy to make sure that I didn’t have an adverse reaction. On my way back to the dinghy I saw my first ray. It was light gray with a blue rim. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to stop and check it out. We were all pretty done snorkeling so we all headed back to Sea Angel. I took some benadryl for the jelly fish sting. It really didn’t bother me anymore, so apparently I’m not allergic.

It was pretty late by the time that we got cleaned up, so we started making dinner. Tom made marinade for shrimp and vegetables that we bought in Trellis Bay. We had a delicious dinner of grilled shrimp and veggies with a nice salad and the last of Tom’s bean salad. There was a boat nearby that was causing quite a ruckus with lots of pirate noises. We chimed in along with a couple of the other boats in the mooring field. Chris blew the conch a couple of times for everyone’s benefit. Anyway, after dinner, we decided that we would go for drinks at Foxy’s Taboo. Just as we were loading up into the dinghy, the rowdy folks on the boat nearby started calling out, “We need ice. Free drinks if you bring ice. Conch people, come over. Bring ice.” Always up for an adventure, Chris grabbed what was left of our ice and the conch, and we headed over to our desperate neighbors. As we started the motor on the dinghy, we heard them excitedly proclaiming, “They’re coming!”

We were greeted by a group of drunk, but friendly people on board Crescendo, a 38 foot catamaran. The group consisted of: Jane and Peter, a couple in their 50s-60s and the owners of the boat, Nick, a recently retired captain in the Marines (also recently back from Iraq where he lost a few fingers and had a pretty severe abdominal injury, followed by multiple surgeries), and Scott and Tracey, a couple in their early thirties who are both ski instructors in Colorado. They were thrilled with our pitiful offering of ice and immediately got us all drinks. After introductions, we started playing pass the conch, which consisted of passing the conch and blowing it with as much finesse as possible. Things got pretty chaotic after that. Peter decided that it was time to jump off the top of the boat (naked, I might add). He whipped off his towel before any of us could protest, and climbed up top. Jane soon joined him (also naked except for underwear). Dave, not to be outdone, joined in jumping off the boat. He followed Jane’s lead and left his underwear on.

At some point it started to rain, and Chris went back to Sea Angel to close the hatches. When he came back to Crescendo, Dave convinced him that they should go ashore to get some more ice. Chris reasoned that the one business on shore was unlikely to be open at that late hour, but Dave was not to be assuaged. After they left, Nick suggested that those of us still standing do some rum shots. Tracey and Scott had gone to bed. Tom and I had managed to remain sober and planned to continue to do so. We were trying to figure out how to politely decline when Nick appeared with rum and cokes for all of us. These seemed to consist of a drop of coke and lots of rum. Whether by chance or not, Tom managed to spill my drink when he got up to use the head or something. Thankfully I was off the hook. I kept trying to get a towel from somebody to clean up the drink, but nobody seemed to care.

Chris and Dave returned without ice (no surprise there). We stayed for a while longer. More drinks were drunk, more conch was blown, and some drinking games were played. We finally returned to Sea Angel and settled in to sleep (once Chris convinced Dave to turn the radio down and that he didn’t need the spreader lights on).


Friday, May 11 – Jost Van Dyke to Norman Island
We were up pretty early because we wanted to get over to White Bay on time to pick up a mooring, have some breakfast and meet our ATV guide by 10 am. We were happy to find that there were a couple of moorings free when we got over there. We picked up a mooring without incident and loaded into the dinghy. We beached the dinghy since there wasn’t a dock, and walked along the beach in search of a place to have breakfast. We settled upon the White Bay Sandcastle (the only place serving breakfast). Once again we encountered that strange reluctance to serve without reservations. We did eventually get seated and the menu was simple: omelet with vegetables or omelet without vegetables. We all got with veggies, except Tom who had an upset stomach (he got a plain bagel). The omelets were delicious, and we were ready for ATVing. The tour of the island turned out to be a lot of fun. We went up very steep trails and had spectacular views. Since I rode with Chris, I was able to get great pictures as we went along. We stopped along the way at Foxy’s for hydration then headed back by a different route. We picked up some beer and ice while we were ashore and headed back to the boat.

We dropped the mooring and snaked our way out between the reefs. As soon as we got out of the harbor we raised the mainsail and unfurled the jib. We knew that we had a pretty long sail ahead of us, most of it beating into the wind. We had a lovely sail around to the other side of Tortola and over to Norman Island. The wind was steady, and the sun was shining all the way. By this time we were all pretty comfortable with the boat and worked efficiently to keep the sails trimmed and tack when needed. Peter and Jane of Crescendo had told us that there were plenty of moorings at Norman Island so we were not under too much pressure to get a mooring by a certain time. We did motor sail the last bit of the way as we were all ready to be there.

When we got to Norman Island, we motored through the main mooring field and past the Willie T, a restaurant and bar located on a boat in the harbor. Considering our experiences with not having reservations, we decided that we would hail the Willie T to make sure that they could accommodate us. We asked for a reservation for 7 pm and were told that they would squeeze us in. That taken care of, we looked around the mooring field for Crescendo as they had told us that they would be there. We eventually found them. Apparently they were feeling the effects of the night before because when we approached they good-naturedly told us to go away.

We decided to pick up a mooring a little outside of the main harbor. It was a lovely spot next to a rock wall with terrific snorkeling, and there were only a couple of other boats there. Once we had the boat secure, we all jumped in the water for a swim and snorkel. There was really good snorkeling, and it was such a beautiful, peaceful spot. Back on board we all got cleaned up and loaded up into the dinghy for dinner at the Willie T. When we got to the Willie T, we realized that we had forgotten to bring a camera so Dave and Chris went back to Sea Angel to pick one up. In the meantime Tom and I tried to find someone to seat us. As it turns out, the guy we hailed on the radio has a good sense of humor. The seating is at picnic tables; sit wherever there’s room. You place your food order at the window for the kitchen and your drink order at the bar. The crowd was pretty rowdy and the bar was already packed. Tom and I scoped out the scene and decided to sit on the lower deck where there was more going on. The upper deck had all the blue hairs. While we waited for Chris and Dave a young woman at the table next to us decided to moon all of the other folks in her party. This is kind of representative of the whole experience.

When Chris and Dave got back we ordered dinner and drinks (painkillers all around). We were pleasantly surprised to find that the food was reasonably priced, and it turned out to be good. We were sitting right next to the dinghy dock so we had great access to people watching. We could watch the people coming in and the people stumbling out and trying to figure out which dinghy was theirs. Anyway, we kept having drinks and there was some dancing and eventually we left. We were all pretty drunk by then, and we decide to buzz by Crescendo to see if they were up. They had told us that they were planning to go to the Willie T., but we didn’t see them there. All was quiet at Crescendo. In our drunkenness we decided that it would be funny to leave the bag of garbage that we needed to dispose of in Crescendo’s dinghy. So, with lots of shushing and giggling we tossed it in. After we got a little ways away we decided that maybe it wouldn’t be so funny since they wouldn’t know who had done it. So back we went and with a lot more loud shushing and giggling we retrieved our garbage. It was quite the stealthy operation. Amazingly we did not awaken anyone.

When we got back to Sea Angel, I discovered that I could not yet go to bed as the cabin was spinning when I lay down. So Chris and I sat on the swim platform and splashed our feet in the water. I’m not sure what Tom and Dave were doing since I was quite drunk at this point. Mostly what I remember from the night is that I seemed to always be drinking a painkiller and that I was laughing a lot.


Saturday, May 12 – Norman Island to Road Harbor, Tortola
The plan for the next morning was to try to get a day mooring at the Indians or the Caves, both great places for snorkeling and both close at hand. We were all a little slow the next morning, but managed to get up at a reasonable time. We dropped our mooring and motored over to the Indians but the moorings were all taken, so we went on over to the Caves instead. I maneuvered the boat onto the mooring with Chris’ guidance, a challenging feat since the mooring was quite close to another boat on one side and a rocky cliff on the other side. We had our breakfast and went for a snorkel. We could snorkel right off the boat since we were so close to the caves. The snorkeling there was incredible. There were so many fish. Some were quite curious and swam right up and alongside for a while. We spent quite a long time in the water because it was so terrific. I saw another ray and was able to point it out to Chris. He was happy since he had really wanted to see one.

Eventually we got back on Sea Angel since we wanted to snorkel over at the Indians, a group of rocks jutting out of the water. This time we were able to pick up a mooring. Tom had had enough of snorkeling for the day and decided to relax back on the boat. So, Chris, Dave, and I took the dinghy over and tied up to the dinghy moorings. At first we were the only ones there. We snorkeled all over. There weren’t as many fish as we saw at the caves, but it was still incredible. Chris saw an eel, a trumpet fish, and a blue-spotted cornet fish. At some point the painkillers (I now refer to them as paincausers) from the night before started to catch up with me. I got out of the water and relaxed in the dinghy for a bit. Chris came over to check on me, and I told him that I was fine and that he could keep snorkeling. Anyway, soon I started to feel like I was getting a migraine, so the next time Chris came over I told him I wanted to go back to the boat. So we corralled Dave and headed back to Sea Angel. I took some migraine medication, and we dropped the mooring and headed for Road Harbor. Our plan was to stay the last night in the slip so that we were sure to make our ferries and flights the next day.

When we were just outside Road Harbor we radioed Footloose to let them know that we were coming in and would need a slip. They told where to go and that they would assist us getting the boat back into the slip. We were happy about that since it was pretty tight in there. We pulled up to the end of one of the rows of slips and a captain and his assistant joined us on board. They took over from there, and it was a pleasure to watch them operate. The captain backed the boat into the slip with no trouble, and it stopped just in the right spot.

Once we got settled in the slip we decided that we would all go for a swim and have showers. The pool was lovely, and the shower was even better. I met a nice woman in the shower area. She is Canadian, and she and her husband have been out sailing for the past seven years. They are working for the Moorings for a while so that they can have some work done on their boat, a 50 foot ketch.

Back on Sea Angel it was getting to be diner time. We decided to make reservations at a local place that Chris had heard about, Spaghetti Junction. We retrieved our dinghy and took it over to the other end of the harbor. It was a bit of an adventure getting over there since we were not familiar with the harbor and it was dark. We weren’t quite sure where the restaurant was, so found a place to tie up the dinghy and asked directions. We ended up at the Sunsail docks and managed to get a ride with a driver from Bobby’s. He was being nice in giving us a ride, but we paid him for his time. It turned out to be a pretty short walk. The restaurant was a bit upscale, and the food was quite good. It was pretty hot on shore and when Dave discovered that the bar at the restaurant (the Bat Cave) was air conditioned, he abandoned us. Chris, Tom, and I enjoyed our dessert while Dave enjoyed the air conditioning.

We walked back to the dinghy and motored back to the Moorings area. We did not run out of fuel, which was a concern since there was not a lot left. We got packed up a little that night, and I went to bed early, as I was still not feeling great.


Sunday, May 13 Road Harbor to New York (via St. Thomas and San Juan)
We all got up around 8, as Tom, Chris and I had to catch a 10 am ferry to St. Thomas. We finished packing up and cleaning. The three of us left Dave to take care of the last bits of cleaning the boat and caught a taxi down to the ferry terminal. We had to pay cash for the ferry and since Tom had been unable to access his account from the BVI, we had to cover his ride. We had a moment of fear when we realized that we didn’t have much cash left and weren’t sure if we had enough to cover our leaving tax. Chris thought that it cost $20 to get out. As it turned out the fee was only $5, so we were in the clear. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if we had to stay.

We boarded our ferry without incident and had a pleasant ride to St. Thomas. It was less choppy than our ride to the BVI. We sat up top to get the fresh air, and I was feeling pretty cooked by the time that we arrived. We didn’t have any sunblock with us since we couldn’t take it on the plane. When we got to St. Thomas we left our big bags with the taxi company at the ferry terminal and walked to town to get something to eat. We were pretty hungry and thirsty and hot by that time. St. Thomas was so different than what we had gotten used to in the BVI. It was full of fancy shopping (duty free), and there was even an open-air market that had Gucci knock-offs and that sort of thing. A lot of the shops were closed, but we found a place to eat that was full of people doing the same thing that we were doing: passing the time until we had to be at the airport. We checked out some of the shops after we ate just to pass the time. Everything seemed a bit overpriced.

Eventually we headed back to the ferry terminal, collected our bags, and caught a ride to the airport. The airport was hot and there was not much of a food selection. I bought a bag of M&Ms for movie prices and drinks for the two of us. Tom boarded his flight a little before us, so we said our goodbyes. We had an uneventful flight back home and got to the house around 11 or so. We both agreed that next time we will fly directly to Tortola rather than wasting so much time en route.
--------------------------
Here is a link to our pictures,
http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa263/pearson11579/