Day 5

Wait, what? Day FIVE?? I felt like we were just getting started.

I am not above admitting that our boys are actually more qualified sailors than DH and myself. We are very fortunate in that we live close to the coast and have access to a yacht club with a great junior's summer camp program. Both of our boys were enrolled for at least one session of sailing camp each summer since they were old enough. I haven't mentioned much about my older son, because he's almost 15 and was more interested in his phone than the BVI's. I have faith that he will learn. Until then, it's all about the internet. When he did appear though, it was to correct the rigging and the sails and he was actually very helpful with figuring out a strange boat. Likewise, he was strong enough to help hoist the dinghy onto the davits. So after YEARS of doing the heavy lifting as the Mom, it was really nice to see that my son will turn out to be a functioning member of the world...if he can ever pull himself away from Fall Out 4.

My younger son, having signed himself up for the Opti racing program this summer, immediately noted that The Bitter End had all manner of vessels on the beach for an avid sailor to rent. We were clearly not getting out of BEYC without renting something. He and I were up early as usual. We paddleboarded to shore with the mission of bringing back pastries from the bakery at the Emporium. We arrived on shore at 7:50am and waited, with 3 other parties, to enter the store and ultimately buy day old pastries at 8:00am. Island time! We paddleboarded the pastries back to the cat and had more coffee, etc.

Then the four of us piled in the dinghy to take my younger son back to shore to rent him a sailboat. True story: we left our sailboat on a mission to rent a sailboat. I handed over my credit card to the very nice and helpful people at the BEYC activities desk and $40 later, my son had his own personal Opti and all of North Sound to explore for an hour. The three of us took off in the dinghy while DS11 had his time in the Opti. We went past Saba towards Oil Nut Bay, but then realized there wasn't much in that direction, and then went back into the sound and hung out just off shore from Prickly Pear. We checked in on our Opti sailor occasionally without crowding him. DH had brought his snorkel so he hopped overboard and snorkeled the shore of Prickly Pear. DS14 and I just bobbed about in the dinghy keeping one eye on DH and the other on DS11. The sun was shining, the water was warm, and life was lovely. Time does pass though so we wrapped it up and headed back to shore.

Due to the late start, we did not have ambitious plans for the day. Our next destination was Leverick just across the Sound. No sails raised on this day. We motored over and picked up a mooring. There were several available. At this point, we noticed that Leverick was directly in the line of considerable winds coming in through the channel. If it weren't for the reef, I'm sure the swells would have been to big for there to be an anchorage at Leverick. We went ashore for lunch and it was just us and one other customer. I ordered the mahi sandwich. Full disclosure: if a mahi sandwich is on the menu, I will order it. Period. I have to say that the mahi sandwich at Leverick was hands down the best mahi sandwich I had that week. I'd even put it in the top five of mahi sandwiches I've had in all my trips to the islands.

We had had a full morning so we went back to the boat for a quiet afternoon. Then I rallied the troops for the Happy Arrgh! We went ashore in time to get seats at the bar and watch the Happy Arrgh! entertainment. The entertainer came out and started doing his routine. My older son turns to me and says, "Mom, this is like a kid's birthday party entertainer". And I could see where he was coming from, but since he was only 14, I couldn't really tell him it would be more entertaining if he'd had a couple painkillers and beers before watching the show. Long story short, DS14 and DS11 were not impressed with the Happy Arrgh! I wasn't sympathetic to their dissatisfaction, I only mention it for the benefit of parents considering a similar vacation. We went back to the boat only to discover that we could hear the Happy Arrgh! better from the boat. Arrgh! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

We had made dinner reservations at the restaurant upstairs at Leverick for that evening. We went ashore for our reservation and I'm happy to report that we had a very nice dinner. The quality of both the food and service was excellent.

And now, after another long day, back to the boat for the nightly night cap.