Monday March 15
John and Katherine’s first dive left from Leverick Bay at 8:00 AM and Mary Jane was keen to explore the boutiques so we all went ashore in the dink. The plan for the day was that John and Katherine would dive in the morning while MJ and I poked around Leverick Bay, moved the boat over to Bitter End / Biras Creek, and generally went limin. John and Katherine had invited us for dinner that night at Biras Creek. For the afternoon we arranged to rent a car and head for the Baths. We did some serious shopping at the Pusser’s shop where everything we touched seemed to be on sale after which we moved the boat to a mooring about half way between the Bitter End and Biras Creek. We had a little time to spend at the Bitter End before dinking back to Leverick to pick up the rental car. As we headed into the Sound it became apparent that it was going to be a rough ride across so we revised our plan and headed to Gun Creek with the hope of getting a cab to Leverick. The lady in the Gun Creek grocery store was able to track down a cab for us, and after a short ride we arrived at Leverick Bay just as the Dive Boat returned.

We picked up our clunker Suzuki Sidekick and were told to check in at Speedy’s in Spanish Town, an experience not to be missed. I filled out a simple form – name, address, Drivers License. Paid $38.00 in cash (no deposits, no Credit Card imprints, no BVI drivers license fee) and we were off on an afternoon of adventure with spectacular views and lunch at the Baths. My only regret was that we hadn’t taken a full day so we could see more!!

The ride back across the Sound with four people in the dink with a ton of diving equipment seemed a poor solution for our return to the Bitter End so we resolved to meet up with the 5:30 ferry from Gun Creek. MJ and Katherine would take the dive equipment on the ferry and John and I would take the dink. By good fortune once again, we arrived at Leverick bay to drop off the car just as a taxi was discharging passengers. We grabbed the now empty cab and headed for Gun Creek arriving in time to see the girls board the ferry. John and I dinked across through a wicked rain squall and picked them up at the Bitter End. Time for leisurely showers and cocktails on the boat after which we left the dink at the Bitter End and took the path over to Biras Creek for a dinner and ambiance that, but for more important matters, would have been the highlight of the trip.

Finding our way back along the path after dinner was a most challenging exercise, and we rewarded our bushwhacking triumph with a painkiller before returning to the boat.

Tuesday March 16
After an early Breakfast and a brief trip ashore to drop off garbage we were on our way. Our original plan was to stop at the Dogs for a snorkel en route but opted instead for an early arrival at Marina Cay and a snorkel at Cam Bay instead. Besides, with the wedding only 24 hours away it was time to start planning!! We needed to determine the location for the event, plan the floral arrangements, check into the bridal suite, arrange for the reception, and all the myriad of other things that a wedding requires. In the end we devoted half an hour to these details and all dinked off to Cam Bay where we had the beach to ourselves and enjoyed a most rewarding snorkel. That evening we went to happy hour. Mr. Bean was ill so the show was not quite up to snuff but dinner at the Marina Cay Restaurant and was yet another marvel!!

We had booked a room at Marina Cay for the night, mostly so we could have leisurely showers in the morning. The Bougainvillea room was beautiful, high on the hill with a balcony looking east over the turquoise water to the Dogs and Virgin Gorda. The stuff of dreams! Neither Mary Jane nor I, however, had any inclination to carry our things over the hill so we offered the room to John and Katherine who leapt at the opportunity to enjoy an evening ashore in this tropical paradise while we returned to the Trade Winds of Emsworth.

Wednesday March 17 (YIKES!)
Happy St Patrick’s Day!! We had been up for an hour when the FRS Walkie Talkie crackled Emsworth this is Bougainvillea. We agreed to meet at 8:30 for Breakfast at the restaurant. Breakfast for two was included in the room charge – good thing as the $50.00 for the other two seemed a bit steep for a bit of bacon and eggs!! Next, MJ and I headed over to the Marina office. Sandy had offered to provide us with scissors so we could cut our own flowers. While there a fax arrived from some friends who were on business in Egypt and, noting the Nile Hilton letterhead I couldn’t help feeling that this was taking on an international flavour. We subsequently learned of other faxes that were sent which we did not receive- maybe they’ll show up in the mail.

John and Katherine headed back to the boat while we walked over the hill to our room to change and shower and take one last deep breath before the main event. Allington Hodge, the Registrar, and his wife Eileen were due on the 10:30 Ferry from Trellis Bay. We had scheduled the ceremony for 11:00 AM. and had selected the old pier in front of the Restaurant as the location. As we headed back toward the ferry dock to meet them MJ collected a most attractive bouquet of flowers.

The ferry and the Hodges arrived right on time and our brief, 15-minute ceremony was nicely performed by Mr. Hodge and his wife with just the right balance of ceremony and sentimentality. Katherine held the bouquet while John took photos. The only possible improvement would have been to have MJ’s other two children, Jennifer and James, present. They had sent cards and treats that, while a poor substitute for their presence, added greatly to the sense of occassion. We signed the certificates, had a drink, more photos, and before too long it was time to move on.

John and Katherine had planned a dive for the afternoon, we needed fresh water, and we needed to move the boat over to Trellis Bay where we would stay the night. By 1:30 we had filled the tanks. We left John and Katherine at the Dive shop and motored over to Trellis Bay. I had not been able to get a VHF response from the Last Resort so dinked in to make dinner reservations and was surprised to hear that Tony was doing the evening show. Tony had been doing the evening show 25 years earlier when I first visited Belamy Cay! Later we dinked over to the Market as MJ wanted to call her daughter in Australia and, with time differences, 4PM was the best time. Also, we had to collect John and Katherine at the dock where the dive boat had dropped them off. This done we paused for a cold one at The Loose Mongoose and returned to the boat where we sipped on the first bottle of TMM Champagne until it was all sipped away!

Dinner at the Last Resort was good, but we had had better! The show was much the same as it had been 25 years earlier which, when you consider that I even remember it, suggests that it was good and lots of fun. We found bits of it difficult to understand, partly because of the sound system, and partly because of Tony’s accent, but for the most part we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

...Part 4 Post Nuptial Cruising