As I sit here listening to my new Quito CD, I feel like I'm back in the BVI - until I look out the window at the rain and 40 degree weather....<br><br>We charterted a Lagoon 410 (yes, Herve, it was Mama Cocha, what a fantastic boat) out of Sunsail from March 30-April 6. Cast of characters were myself and my husband Mike, sailors and mainly racers for the last ten years, and Chris and Susan, powerboaters. Chris works with Mike and is going to Afghanistan with the Army Reserves this summer, so they were very happy to have a vacation before going. Last member of our group was Lauren, whose husband couldn't go because he was on 24-hour alert with the Army.<br><br>We couldn't wait until Sunday to start our vacation, so we flew in Saturday. Should have had plenty of time to catch a ferry to Tortola and our reservations for the night at Castle Maria in Road Town. What actually happened might require an "American Airlines sucks" post by itself. Six airports (Baltimore-unscheduled stop in Miami-San Juan-St. Thomas-San Juan-Tortola) and seventeen hours later, we were in Tortola, our bag had been lost and then found and we were on our way to the hotel. The hotel was actually very nice for the price, and Ken there kept Chris and Susan entertained until we showed up. Sunday morning we had lunch at Marias by the Sea and just hung out around town, then took a taxi to Riteway for provisions, then on to Sunsail. We got there early, and the Sunsail staff was great. They put our cold provisions in the ice machine to stay cold, then sent us to the bar while they finished up with the boat. They came up to the bar to let us know the boat was ready, and they had already unloaded all of our gear and provisions on the boat. They also left a bottle of wine and a gallon of water.<br><br>The next morning, after the briefings and the paperwork, we got ready to go. Mike asked a couple of Sunsail guys where they would go if they were sailing - they both said Bitter End, Virgin Gorda, and do most of the upwind first. So that is what we did. The boat sailed well, and very fast. <br><br>Okay, continuing on...we picked up a mooring ball and had an amazing dinner of swordfish and snapper and vegetables on the grill (did I mention Susan's hobby was gourmet cooking?). then went to shore for more drinks and some dancing. Decided to go to Anegada the next day. I really wanted a meal at the Fat Virgin, so was a little disappointed, but did want to see Anegada. Awesome weather, wind and sailing conditions - got there in a couple hours. I put the waypoint from the chart into the GPS, which made the trip easy. It was a little scary seeing the numbers on the depth gauge so low, but we made it in. No mooring balls available, so we anchored. Had lunch at the Anegada Reef Hotel after looking at the cages of huge lobsters. By this point in the trip Chris had perfected the rum punch so after exploring the island a bit, we went back to the boat for cocktails, and ended up having pasta for dinner on the boat.<br><br>The next morning we were off to Jost Van Dyke. We all wanted to go to the Soggy Dollar, but getting in and finding a place to park was a little scary, so we went to Great Harbour and anchored. We renamed Jost Gilligan's Island. Probably everyone's favorite stop of the trip. First we went for more provisions (Mt. Gay Rum - $6, orange juice - $8), then up some deserted road to the Ice House for more ice. Dinner at Foxy's. Much fun and good food.<br><br>The next day we did a short sail over to Cane Garden Bay. The seas were pretty rough, the guests were a little concerned (we had to stow the liquor to keep it from falling), but Mike and I were having a blast. The previous top speed on the GPS was 10.1 knots, it's now 13.4. Mike says if I'd been paying attention to the sails instead of the liquor bottles, we could have hit 15 knots. I assessed my duties, and believe I chose my priorities wisely. <br><br>I know it's all "line of sight", but when you've never been there before, it all looks a lot alike. So I put a GPS coordinate in for CGB. When it got particularly nasty, we decided to tuck into a cove, drop sails and find CGB under motor. We dropped sail, I went below to figure out where we were on the chart, came up a minute later and said "do you see red and green buoys". They said yes, and we had accidently ended up where we wanted to be. I called it expert navigating, they called it dumb luck. The surf was pretty big at CGB, and once we picked up a mooring, decided it would be easier to beach the dinghy than use the dinghy dock. We weren't the only ones - no one was using the dinghy dock. Dinner at Quito's and then listened to his amazing singing. I bought two CD's.<br><br>Next day (Friday I think) we went around the island. Our destination was Norman Island, but we spied the BVI Spring Regatta and had to go watch. We found the course with the big expensive boats and the Melges 24s and I took an entire roll of pictures at one mark rounding. I forgot to mention that on the way to the race course, I was driving, and we ran across two 50' Moorings monohulls. Of course, we started racing. Both seemed afraid to tilt the boat (not a problem on the cat); therefore one was reefed and the other was just flapping his headsail. We pointed higher and sailed faster and passed them like they were standing still. The competitive racer in me (and Mike for that matter, who started trimming sails once he saw them) was very happy.<br><br>Finally, over to Norman. We have the whole "mooring ball incident" on video. We lost the boat hook, so Chris jumped over and got it, then proceeded to climb up one of the hulls to get back on the boat. That was impressive. But it just got worse. Finally Mike suggested I go up and help. Chris and Lauren were giving steering directions, and at one point both were yelling forward forward, as I watched the mooring ball go under the boat. I yelled back, Chris turned around and realized they were both talking to the ball, not to Mike. "Who's driving the damn ball?" I believe was his quote. Dinner at Pirate's whatever it is called. Food was good, but our waitress was angry. First time we'd experienced that. Back to the boat where Mike and Chris went to smoke their Cubans, so the girls had a night out at Willy T's. Much fun, I didn't jump, and I am not supposed to say anything more about the evening.<br><br>Saturday it rained. We watched more racing, then went back to the base since we needed to catch a 8 am taxi to get to the ferry dock and catch our flight out of St. Thomas. There was an incident involving stealing French flags, but I won't go into that.<br><br>Back in Maryland now, the dogs are back from the kennel, and the in-laws are coming next weekend. Reality. When can I go back???<br>Karen