I finally had to sit down and put this out. DIF has been bad. It was a great trip. Here goes...

Wed May 25th
Met up with crew at the airport. Flight was long but uneventful and arrived on time. Picked up all of our bags and caught a taxi to the ferry docks. The tough part was over? Went up stairs and we got a beer. We got off at West End and went through customs. A bag was picked up by some one else, a local, and he was gone before we could catch him. The taxi was not there so I called TMM and they said to please wait a few minutes and if he is still not there to take another taxi and they would reimburse us in the morning. While we waited we explored options about the missing bag then we caught a tour bus taxi to the marina. Found our boat, a 460 Hunter. Nice! Unpacked and walked across the street to the BVI Yacht Club. The food was OK but it was trivia night, hot and no breeze to speak of. Well, off to the boat after a long long day.

Thurs May 26th
Woke up at 5:30. Oh, this was gong to be a long morning. Surprisingly, everyone else was up and moving before 6. TMM opens at 8 so we had some time to check out the boat and walk around the marina. At 8 we went to the office and we finished the paperwork. Mark, with TMM, gave us our chart briefing while the girls checked in the provisions. Bobby’s had most of the items but had to substitute a few items. Not bad but low sodium crackers, yuck! Well the boat checkout took a little longer than we expected. We had to redo both the main anchor and the secondary. We stopped for lunch. One of the lady’s at TMM recommended a local spot not far away and went to get it for us. Great food! After lunch we went to town to buy the fishing license. After some wrong directions we found the BIG gov’t building and then headed back. We swung into Sunny Caribbee to get some spices. Then back to the boat to finish checking out. Around 3pm we headed out. We stopped off at the fuel dock and topped off the tanks and then hit the water. With the late start we just motored to Norman Island. We picked up a ball by Willy T’s and RELAXED. Later we headed over to Willy’s for dinner and drinks, well drinks with dinner then more drinks. Headed back to the boat, it was a long day!

Fri May 27th
Again, we woke up early. The Air Conditioning kicked off during the night and would not come back on. We had some breakfast and coffee then headed out to snorkel the The Caves. It was great. Nice fish and a turtle about 20 feet down. Then off to Soper’s Hole to pick up the last of the crew. Good day for our first day of sailing. The water was not heavy and the winds were 13-18 kts. We took our time and enjoyed the sailing. We tried to call TMM about the air but their phone system was down. We checked in with customs about the missing bag and it was there! We took it back to an elated Karen and returned to wait and wait. Finally, with a full crew we partied then went to Pusser’s for dinner and retired back to the boat. It was a good day!



Sat May 28th
Up at 6am? We rallied about 8:30 and headed to Great Harbor JVD. It was a challenge to get the anchor to bite. Third time lucky, we finally were satisfied that we were set for the night. Called TMM about the AC. They were to meet up with us in CGB the next day. We went in to Foxy’s for a few drinks and put our names in the dinner. The food that night was great. Two plates and one pass thru the line. (Fish, pork and chicken on one and fruit and bread on the other) It was another Good day.

Sun May 29th

Up early! Don’t know what time. We headed out to Cane Garden Bay around 9am. We stopped at Sandy Cay for lunch and some swimming then headed out to CGB. We hooked up with the TMM maintenance and found out that we needed a new circuit breaker. He would pick it up first thing in the morning and meet us at Trellis Bay. Hung out on the beach in the afternoon and ate at Myett’s. Note to everyone, the hot sauce on the table is Very Hot! 5 out of 6 of us tried to sleep on deck to keep cool. Another Great day!

Mon May 30th

Up early, again. Stopped caring what time. Not the best nights sleep but we’re in the islands. We headed out about 9 for Marina Cay with a stop at Trellis Bay. We did some long tacks making our way NE. The seas were fairly rough (3-5) but the winds were great. (15-20) Sailed past Monkey Point and through the pass to Trellis Bay. TMM was there in about 30 minutes and replaced the breakers and supplied some spares. With the AC working and re-supplied with ice (biggest bags for the money) we headed to Marina Cay. Picked up a ball and went snorkeling. We saw a barracuda, conch and another turtle. Getting back into the boat I dropped MY mask and snorkel and it was gone. The current took it fast. We stopped in the store and re-supplied our rum provisions. It was a great deal buy 5 and get the sixth free for $49. Then we went to The Gunner’s Tavern for happy hour drinks. Met some War Eagle fans and we all wore our Passage Maker II shirts the Karen had made for everyone. (THANKS Karen!) Headed down for dinner (the food was good) then back to the boat for night caps and bed. Another Great Day and a COOL night!

Tue May 31st

Up early, again. A beautiful day! We headed back to Monkey Point for some great snorkeling. I had to tag-team with others for a snorkel. Everyone back onboard we headed to Saba Rock. A couple tacks to the passage past Mosquito Point. Capt. Bill said we whipped a Cat’s butt (not to sure about that). We grabbed a ball at BEYC then noticed a boat leaving a Saba ball and we re-hooked up at Saba. (still 100% at mooring) We needed the water and ice. Went to Saba for dinner and one of the guys slipped on the dingy and just barely grabbed the dock. Wet and in some pain (pulled his shoulder out) a few headed back to the boat so he could change. The food was better than Pusser’s. Another Great day!

Wed Jun 1st
Slept in until 6:30. Getting lazy. Got things together and motored to Leverik Bay for provisions. Decided to eat onboard the rest of the trip. I bought a nice mask and snorkel to replace the one that got away. Sailed to the Dogs for snorkeling. Went to George Dog the bay was full. Five other boats were all headed to the same bay at the same time. One boat beat us there, the rest of us had to turn around. Headed to the Great Dog and the balls were full. We hovered for about 30 minutes and no one was leaving. About this time every boat at George Dog was packing it in. We scurried over and picked the best spot and anchored in for the night. It was the best overnight spot of the trip. We cooked jerk chicken (It was GREAT). It was another great day and sunset.

Thurs Jun 2nd

Everyone got up about 6:30. We sailed to the Baths early. We were the first one the mooring field. Capt. picked what he thought was the best ball. It was on the front row but definitely not the closest. We dinged in and walked the baths and snorkeled back to the beach. We then walked up to the Top of the Baths Bar for a few drinks.(very good) The views were great and the pool was very refreshing. We headed back down the hill and back to the boat. We sailed down Sir Frances Drake channel to Little Harbor, Peter Island. We anchored (first try) and Bill and I snorkeled out to the northern point. I saw a young turtle and Fire Coral. There was a huge yacht anchored in the bay. A 58 foot cat came in and anchored. They had a large dingy and water skied around the bay, including grandpa which we estimated around 80. (Great skier) We cooked spaghetti and burned some of the bread and partied. The days keep getting better!

Fri Jun 3rd

Everyone woke up on their own. Bloody Mary’s for breakfast. Sailed to the Indians for some great snorkeling. A private yacht cut us off as we headed for a ball. We lucked out, a ball opened up about two minutes later. We headed over to The Bight and to Pirates for a few drinks. Three girls from the Barefoot cruise ship that were floating in the water asked to come aboard to win a bet with a young man from their ship. Karen took their picture and address as she talked to them (high school class trip – swear they looked like Jr. High kids, must be getting old). After a few drinks we moved over closer to Willy T’s. We rescued the mooring fee collector when her dingy failed to start and she floated away from her boat. She thanked us and let us slide on the fees for the night. (Good Deeds) We ate Tacos for dinner, then headed over to Willy’s to party. (And YES) The water system (5 tanks) developed an air bubble and locked up. No water this night. It was at fun night and another great day!

Sat Jun 4th

Everyone woke up slowly. (6:30 – 7) we sailed and stopped at Great Harbor, Peter Island for lunch. We ran into the photographer during the morning. He and his dog are nuts! Headed back to Road Town and showered. We cleaned up the boat and headed out to dinner. The first choice Fort Burnt was hosting a private party. We ended up at The Pub next to Conch Charter Company. Headed back to the boat and went to bed. It was a great day sailing.

Sun Jun 5th

Everyone slept in today. No breakfast this morning since we had given away the leftover food and liquor (not much liquor). We packed our bags and double checked the boat for personnel items then waited for TMM to open. Checkout was simple and quick. They even refunded our gas purchase as part of the compensation for the AC trouble. And, they ended up refunding an additional $200+ as well. (and a free sleep aboard on our next trip with TMM) This was all them, we never said a word about compensation. (Good Company) We dropped off our bags at the ferry docks and headed to breakfast. We ended up at a marina restaurant across from the Moorings. Caught the ferry to St. Thomas and walked down the main street. We had a drink at (old Fat Tuesday’s) and then ate at the Green House. (good food and a neat restaurant) Walked back to the ferry docks and took a cab to the airport.

It was a GREAT TRIP!
Life is Good!!!


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