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.



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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!

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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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