TravelTalkOnline Forums Trip Reports (Read Only) Trip Report and Photo Archives BEERMAN Day 5

DAY 5

Today is “THE DAY” everyone was really excited about, especially me! The majority of our “trip fund” that we collected for a year would pay for our private BVI charter onboard the BAD KITTY. This 49 foot “wave piercing power catamaran” is offered through www.calypsovi.com They are a great outfit whom we often rent a 13 foot center console dinghy with a 50hp engine! That’s a great way to experience all of the North Shore beaches in one day, including Leinster Bay.

The night prior I met the Calypso staff in their office above Margarita Phil’s, just across from the National Park docks. They provided all of the customs forms etc. to be filled out at our convenience. This made life much easier the next morning.



We gathered at the National Park dock area at 7:30am. “Legally” parking was a breeze this early in the morning. We checked in and anxiously waited for BAD KITTY to arrive. The weather was looking great, seas were calm, it would prove to be our best blue sky day of the week.



Funny thing, prior to BAD KITTY’s arrival the large sailing catamaran Kekoa arrived equipped with a crew of beautiful blonde hair young ladies. The boys immediately came to me and asked, “that’s our boat right?” sorry guys! We had considered Kekoa for our group, I voted for it, but the majority wanted to cover a lot more ground than they could handle. Check it out at www.blacksailsvi.com it’s on my “must do” list.



After listening to the boys grumble I say “Here she comes” right on time!



The boy’s were overheard saying “COOL” The crew consisted of Captain Josh and his awesome one man crew Ike. These guys were very nice and they really helped make this a trip to remember for the gang. Ike gave a great 5-10 minute briefing including safety, use of head, where to find drinks and food etc. Josh took me to the bridge to discuss our custom itinerary and at 8am we set off for what would be the BEST day of our week!



We had a comfortable ride through the Sir Francis Drake Channel to Spanish Town where Josh would clear us through customs. Along the way everyone enjoyed the vistas while snacking on assorted breads, fresh fruit and Ike prepared great Bloody Mary’s, he wears many hats! We were told we could have as much or as little time at each stop as we wanted. The gang toured and shopped at Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor.



After only ½ hour of walking around we were back on the cat for a short 5 minute cruise to the Bath’s. Josh would temporarily take a ball off Devil’s Bay Beach to allow us a short swim to shore. A couple of folks in our group are “so so” swimmers and they found the swim in to be relatively easy.

Ike also served as lifeguard and tour guide for our group. He provided an informative walking tour through the Caves for everyone.





Ike helped everyone to climb up a boulder so they could jump into the warm turquoise waters of Devil’s Bay! I WANT HIS JOB!





John and I made one mistake, we swam in with a noodle and NO fins to try to keep our Over Board water proof backpacks a little drier. Not to worry, Ike had an orange lifeguard float and he towed us back to the boat. Ike is the MAN!

We had missed snorkeling Monkey Point on past sailing trips, so there we would head. It was fun cruising through Guana Channel showing our friends the sites such as Scrub Island, Marina Cay and Trellis Bay. Josh secured us to the closest ball in the field. Then let the fun begin!

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The snorkeling was incredible here. The highlight would be seeing a large school of tarpons cruising through the coral. Good times here!

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Once all were accounted for Josh set out for Jost. During the 20-30 minute cruise down the North Shore of Tortola everyone enjoyed the full open bar and the sandwiches that we had packed. The night before I had asked the Calypso staff if we could request Presidente’s as our beer of the day, but I was told that the provisioning was complete and consisted of Bud’s and Coor’s, no problem! However, I was pleasantly surprised to find an ample supply of Presidente’s aboard and Ike said they heard we requested that and picked some up, REALLY? Talk about great customer service <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

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After a slow drive by of Sandy Spit we motored into Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke and found an open dock. Everyone grabbed their flip flops and shuffled off to see the Foxy! Oops, I forgot my flip flops at the villa….. NO PROBLEM! I would never forget my shoes here at home, just another one of those many things I love about the islands! Sir Foxy was in the house! He entertained our new visitors with his Virginia song and made some blush with his humor! I asked if he had finished unravelling the birds nest of fishing line he started a couple weeks ago? There’s a photo of this in my BVI trip report in June. Well, without saying a word he gently laid down his guitar, careful not to spill his Shanty, and walked away hmmm. He soon returned with a proud look and a large homemade wooden spool of yards and yards of neatly wound green monofilament.

John and Foxy, notice the splash of green color behind Foxy?

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A BVI day trip is not complete without stopping at the carefree White Bay. Josh masterfully backed the cat against the shoreline and dropped the large center stairs. We simply walked down the stairs into 3 feet of water, just deep enough to ensure that we would surely arrive with SOGGY DOLLARS in our pockets! We had about 2 and a half hours to play here, ring toss, people watch, t-shirt shop, cigar shop and of course collect a couple dozen painkiller cups <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" /> I’ve often wondered does anyone else bring these home?

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Soon it would be time to head back to Cruz Bay. Ike continued to bartend and Josh was nice enough to allow my wife a turn at the wheel. She enjoyed her 20 minutes as Captain very much, thank you Josh! If any of you have ever heard of or have been on Lion In Da’ Sun Josh and his brother started that business and sold it last year.

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After a short trip back to Cruz Bay it took us all of 5 minutes to process through Customs. With smiles on everyone’s faces and cameras loaded with incredible memories we would venture back to the villas. We were all exhausted, but Rusty was nice enough to work up the energy to prepare a fine meal of jerk chicken on the grill at Starstruck.

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE DAY!

To be continued…………. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Cheers.gif" alt="" />