Note: She was having some trouble posting it.. but here it is. Great report!

The Specifics in short:

Dates: July 25 to Aug 10, 2005

Captain and Crew: David and Ginger, son Paul (16), daughter Laura (13), and for 5 days, G’s parents, Ann and Bill (hereafter Gram and Poppy)

Boat: About Time, Jeanneau 40, 3 cabins, 2 wheels, dinghy with an itinerary of its own

TTOLers met: Randy (onpond) and family, BigJim, JD, Alex, Sharon (Sharnightqueen), and a few anons

Favorite Snorkel Spots: Indians, Caves, Monkey Pt

Favorite drink: Mango Juice and coconut rum (yow!)





Day One: travel day

Woke up at the Philadelphia Airport Holiday Inn where you get to park for free with a night’s stay. David liked the idea of not having to drive in the rush hour traffic of an alien city two hours away for a 10am flight with 8am check-in, so we drove from our home in Annapolis the night before. What we saved in parking paid our hotel bill. (why Philly and not BWI? $233 round trip, non-stop)

Got the shuttle to the airport and were whisked through baggage and security unusually quickly (payback from hassles last year, I suppose), played cards while waiting for a plane to arrive. Finally came and we got off about an hour late, made up most of the time in the air and arrived to rum punches and sunshine in St Thomas just 15 minutes late. Taxi to the ferry terminal, and on to Tortola on what must have been the runt of Smith’s fleet?tiny ferry, no outside decks, and fallling-apart seats from some aircraft casualty years ago. It was great, tho, really?we weren’t looking at the fferry!

Our sailboat was waiting for us, clean and beautiful, with the customary greetings-in-the-bottle. Yum. Bobby’s (grocery) comes as planned with provisions, and we’re getting all set down below when we experience a rather loud and violent crash. We race up on deck to see that we’ve just been hit by a motor boat trying to dock on the other side of the pier. No apparent major damage, but we can’t really believe that this has happened, and we’re frightened for liability and other issues related to the fact that we don’t speak Spanish, nor do our new neighbors seem to speak English. Luckily one of the Conch crew was at the bar at the Pub and saw the whole thing. He inspected the boat, assured us that we were ok, (minus the starboard running lights and casing that were broken) and immediately agreed to David’s suggestion that we spend the night on a mooring in the harbor, away from the dock. It was a good suggestion, and we spent a peaceful rest of the evening unpacking.



Day Two: check out and Jost

Back at the dock, we go through the procedures as requested, surrender loads of cash, and settle at the fins bins to fit ourselves well (we had brought masks and snorkels). We’re trying on fins and making a mess and I say something like “let’s get another pair for Poppy in case these don’t fit correctly,” and a woman who was also trying on fins looked at me and said with non-believing eyes, “you have a Poppy??” It seems that her Dad was a Poppy too, but he passed away only months ago. She was so sweet and told us with tears how kind we were to include our Poppy in our trip, and to enjoy him while we still had him, and we hugged. It was a good encounter for all of us.

A rather lengthy wait for some last minute additions to the equipment on board necessary for the extra two crew we’ll be acquiring mid-trip (2 more boat cushions, PFDs, linens, and cushion to make the salon table into a bed), and we’re off a little after noon. Finally under sail and we all breathe better knowing that all the logistics are behind us and the real fun has just begun.

We’ve decided to wait for the arrival of Gram and Poppy before visiting any favorite spots from last year, so we head for Diamond Cay on Jost, where we’ve never been. Just past Soper’s we find ourselves sailing alongside a nice 50’ monohull named Abundance, with a captain and three stark naked crew. The kids were not amused except for the irony?those buns weree doing a serious dance! It made for a good laugh.

Diamond Cay is deserted, save for one other boat, which is great because we need the quiet. We mix up the first gallon of pain killer (without the rum, thinking that the kids would prefer it this way?turns out they get used to the taste of rum prettty quickly and rather enjoy it, in small amounts) and lower ourselves finally to a real island state of mind. Lower in stress, that is, but definitely higher in quality!

Took the dinghy in to pay for the mooring ball, sat in the hammock at Foxy’s Taboo (very nice nylon single-seater with separate hammock for a foot rest, complete with drink holder), but there was not a soul around, not even the brown dog. So we go looking for the bubbly pool with no help, and finally find it just seconds after David declares that we’re running out of sunlight. There’s a little brown squid swimming solo in the pool, and Laura has fun bothering him, makes him ink, and then chases him a bit. Funny?when he swam fast hee was almost transparent, then got dark brown again when he slowed. So with Laura on his tail, he’d be one color one second and then drastically different the next. Awesome, but I feel badly for the poor little guy. I hope he wasn’t too bothered.

Back to the boat just as it was getting too dark to dinghy without a flashlight. (big footnote here?we were in the mooring field at BEYC last year the night of the August fatalities and I will NEVER approve of running a dinghy at night without a flashlight on and a good sober eye out for traffic) Pulled back the bimini and ended the evening with stargazing, a couple shooting stars, and philosophies of life and death.



Day Three: Sandy Spit and Cane Garden Bay (CGB)

Blissful waking and remembering our wonderful position on the planet and in our lives. Could we be any happier? We decide to putt over to Sandy Spit and play there and do our first snorkeling. Our anchoring skills have never failed us in the Chesapeake nor have they ever succeeded in the BVI. Can’t figure it really, but there was a lot on the line here (hee hee) and we worked hard to drop the hook and quadruple check everything. No wind at all, but we were holding. Yippee. This was a success long awaited. Still I took the dinghy onto the island just in case we lost the boat. (in an island state of mind, but always type A!)

We enjoyed our time on this little pristine island, and the snorkeling was good. Stayed for a while then started a slow down-wind sail to White Bay. We were overtaken by a cat just as we were passing the spit separating Great Harbour and White Bay, and they grabbed the last available ball in the bay. So we look at the map and the winds (just starting to get real) and decide to head for CGB . Nice sail there and grab a mooring ball. It would have been nicer to be in CGB on a night when Quito was playing, as we would have enjoyed his show?we saw him first last October at the Annapolis Boat Show. In general we enjoy the quieter places, but this was very nice.

I start to realize that the application of sunscreen on my sweaty back before snorkeling has failed, and I’m feeling the burn.

We have a guitar with us?I call it the ‘boat guitarr’?it’s a cheap classical guitar that’s pretty beat up but plays fine. I figure it’ll be good to play until one day we may need it as a paddle, and it will do very well in that purpose too. The kids have both been playing a lot, and we’re playing a lot of cards together also. We’re getting along well.



Day Four: Trellis Bay

Goal is Trellis Bay, as we’re to meet Gram and Poppy there at 5pm. We leave early and sail way north and around to check out the boat in open waters. We’re thinking that we may go to Anegada for the first time in a couple of days, so we’re trying out our open water skills and stomachs. All good, but we start thinking that it may be better to wait until there are just four of us again.

We sail around Scrub Island and come into Trellis from the east, get a ball, and go ashore. We meet Jeremy at the Cybercafe and I drink my first Ting (yum), David and Paul check email, Laura negotiates with Monica and Nycee to braid her hair. They just finish the braiding as Gram and Poppy come down the lane. I am delighted that we’ve made the connection. We help them with their bags which include food and a few books for the kids that they brought at my request (I just can’t buy a box of Cheerios for $8)?I think most of the weight of their bag was my stuff!

We dinghy to the boat and have a little show-and-tell. We had decided to give Gram and Poppy the master suite (v-berth) and that David and I would sleep in the salon, so we had moved our stuff out and it was nice and welcoming for the new arrivals.

My parents are pretty serious travelers and have treated us to some spectacular vacations including an Alaska trip by boat (big boat) and foot (Denali Park) and on the Alaska Railroad. Our invitation to them to join us on this trip was a gesture of thanks but also an opportunity that they would not have otherwise, and for which they might be too elderly in a few years. Poppy’s almost 70, Gram’s a year away. I was especially excited to show them my favorite spots on the planet.

We had a nice dinner on the boat (we haven’t eaten out yet, and I still have some food from home)?painkillers, spinach dip, and my awesome <Caribbean shrimp, and we talked and played cards until late.



Day Five: Baths, North Sound

We head out early and grab a ball at the Baths. The snorkeling is great, but the crowds gather quickly. Both Gram and Laura are feeling poorly and go back to the boat after the first round of snorkeling. The rest of us go back out and I enjoy showing Dad the ‘cathedral’?the rockk room between the lockers and Devil’s Bay where the light plays so beautifully in the water. Is that what we all call it? It’s so much fun to show these places to virgin eyes! Virgin Eye Lands, Virgin Eye Waters, Virgin Gorda, Virginia, but please, call me Ginger. See, it’s all connected?..I knew I was meant to be heere.

On to Leverick Bay for the BBQ and Mocko Jumbies. As we approach the mooring field, I’m looking for a Lagoon 38, as Onpond (Randy) and I have planned to meet here. I think I might see the boat. We get a ball and some of us go to shore to check on the dinner schedule. We detour past a Sunsail Lagoon 38 on the way and find Randy. He is delightful and we’re pleased to have made the connection, as he and I have been emailing and we’ve both been hanging out a bunch on TTOL lately. We meet the rest of his family and buddies at the BBQ and have a great time. It starts pouring just after we get through the buffet line, and we scramble for some shelter, but they are holding the covered tables for restaurant guests, so we make do and get very wet (“Honey can you move your legs?I need to dump the water off my dinner” ?Randy). It’ss a grand time, as Randy and the gang are troopers and we follow suit. It’s all in the attitude, really. We wait (read dance!) a long time before they announce that the Mocko Jumbies will not be coming due to the storms. Randy’s 5-year-old Nancy was doing her best to stay awake for them, and I think they’re disappointed, but they don’t show it.

Back to the boat to dry off and sleep. Gram and Laura are both feeling better.



Day Six: Gorda Peak and Cooper Island

I was told yesterday in the showers at Leverick that the hike up to Gorda Peak is 1 hour 40 minutes round trip, so we decide to try it. Then we hear that it’s a longer hike. It’s almost 10am before we start, so we decide to take a taxi up to the trail head. I’m delighted to have a local to show us where the trail starts off the road, even more so as we realize how far it is from Leverick (it would’ve taken an hour of hiking just getting to where the taxi let us off). Nice little hike up to the peak, and the sights are glorious. It’s a beautifully clear day, and I’m surprised that we can see Anegada and Horseshoe Reef, as well as all the other islands in the BVI. Spectacular, really. Gram and Poppy seem pleased. The walk down to Leverick is hot and my knees dislike the pounding of the pavement, but the views are great.

Back to the boat, we decide against Anegada and head for Cooper. The big TTOL party is this afternoon and we’re not going, so I try to call to Randy on ch. 16 to send my regards, but I’m unsuccessful.

Cooper is lovely; we snorkel from the dinghy and I’m pleased to have invested in the SeaStep, a nylon web ladder crafted to keep the user from seeming like a dead fish while entering an inflatable dinghy from the water. Great night with a show of lightening in the distance that won’t stop.



Day Seven: Indians, Caves, the Bight on Norman Island

We’re getting low on provisions so decide to make a stop at Roadtown on the way to the Indians and Caves. Early start, and we grab a ball near the Conch homebase, dinghy in, and walk to Rite-Way. I love this little store. Grab ice at the base and we’re set. On to the Indians (rock formations in the water off Norman Island), but there’s no ball available so we head into the bight and have some lunch. For some reason all the balls at the Indians clear out so we go back. The snorkeling here is just so wonderful! Again I delight in sharing it all with my parents.

On to the caves which is so clear it almost equals Indians. Someone starts singing a round as we rest in the far reaches of the deep cave and we all join in (we’re the only ones, so it seems ok)?the caves make the sound echo and it’ss overwhelmingly fun, even the kids sing. We get a mooring ball in the bight and enjoy drinks and dinner. Talking later under the stars we come to an intellectual impasse having to do with the environmental impact of wind farms and have to phone our friends the Physics professors (it’s our first night with cell phone reception, so we’re milking it). Turns out that wind farms do slow the prevailing winds, which may in fact have a global impact, but it hasn’t been proven to be detrimental which for some twist of fate makes us all correct. I roll my eyes.



Day Eight: White Bay, Foxy’s, international night

On to Jost, but David wants to see the south side of St. John on the way, so we sail down wind for ever with pretty good rolls and some of the crew begin to complain?the only seasickness we’ve ever encountered in aany of our sailing, but it’s mild. No turning back, tho, and no break, as we can’t legally drop anchor in US waters. We see some flying fish and enjoy the sights of St John. We had hoped to spend a night here later, but I think the sailing is just a little too uncomfortable. Around and on up to Jost where we get a ball in front of Ivan’s.

We go to shore and meet Ivan. He is very gracious and helps us to make sure the Customs office will still be open when we arrive (we decide to walk). It’s festival time, and there are no taxis, but Customs will be open so we’re fine. The walk is beautiful, if not steep, and we check out of Customs in order to get to St John early tomorrow. Gram and Poppy will then leave from St John and Ferry to St Thomas for their flight home after a night on St John. We go to Foxy’s and find it deserted, but the bartender is happy to serve us drinks and we take in the sights—bras and panties and t-shirts and business cards all left behind hanging from the low-lying rafters in memory of the wild nights spent there. We walk to the back yard behind the bar and wonder about the big stage, the huge speakers wearing down in the elements, and we marvel at the boat that Foxy’s building.

Back on our boat, we notice a group of teenage boys having fun pulling a manned surf board behind their dinghy. They stop by our boat and invite Paul to join them. Paul takes to it quickly and is able to surf the board. Turns out the boys are from Lima, Peru, and we enjoy their company. They notice our guitar and we make plans to exchange some songs after dinner on their boat (a large catamaran for 7 people). We arrive, 6 of us plus guitar and the better part of our second gallon of painkiller in the dinghy and meet the seven Peruvians, all delightful and energetic people. The language barrier is less with the kids, more difficult with the grown ups, so we get to the music quickly, learning early on that we have fans of the Beatles and of Cat Steven’s music on board. That gives us quite a bit to work with, and we all sing and we pass the guitar around and have a jolly time. They make Pisco Sours?a delicious lemony concoction with egg white, and at the end oof the night they follow us to our boat with a gift for Paul?a soccer shirt from the Peruvian team. He treasures it. We are reminded of the great power of music.



Day Nine: St John

We are up early and wonder where our dinghy has gone. We retrace the events of the last hour of the previous evening and figure that Paul may have forgotten to tie it to the boat on our return last night. David swims to shore and finds it up on Ivan’s beach and we figure that someone has taken good care of us to have beached it so nicely. We count our blessings and remember to check these things in the future.

Off to St John, we take a mooring ball at Caneel Bay and dinghy around the corner to check in quickly at Customs. We go to the Park Service Visitor’s Center to pay for a mooring for just the one night and to review our plans with the guide there. She is kind and helpful. We check out her lunch suggestion and are pleased at the quality of our sandwiches across the street. We walk to the ferry terminal and get the schedule for tomorrow’s departure. Back to the boat we head around to Trunk Bay?Laura’s favoritee, for some snorkeling. It’s pretty crowded, so we don’t even go to the beach. The snorkeling traffic is thin for the most part, and we have some nice chatter with the guard in the kayak who’s monitoring safety on the far side of the Cay. I suspect they send him out when it gets especially busy, which I think is great.

On to Francis Bay for the night. We’ve been looking forward to dinner at the Maho Bay Eco-Camp (or whatever it’s called) up the hill and are delighted with the food and the view. We do laundry, watch the glass blower, chat a bit with some folks. Back at the boat we play with the phosphorus tiny creatures in the water and Gram and Poppy pack for their departure. I think it’s been a good trip for them, but the tight quarters are starting to get old, and I think we’ve tired them a bit?we’ve done a lot of stuff in 5 days. They are great company and we’ve been a good team.



Day Ten: Four again, Whistling Cay and Jost

We set the alarms to make sure they catch the 8:15 am shuttle to Cruz Bay. We pack up and carry Gram and Poppy’s baggage up the hill and arrive with some time to kill. We say a nice relaxed goodbye (we’ll see them in a week in New Hampshire for a family gathering there), finish the laundry, and head out to Whistling Cay, just out beyond Francis Bay. The snorkeling seems to get better with every day?clarity of the water, of our masks (Gram and Poppy left uss their anti-fog drops), minds maybe too. Anyway, we see our first shark (nurse shark), which is a real thrill.

On to Soper’s where we check in and go to the fancy new market for some provisions. I have a lot of trouble planning meals with the food so expensive, so I declare that we’ll eat what we’ve got and go out more. We buy sodas and tomatoes and ice. (maybe I’m feeling just a wee bit of freedom without the extra crew?)

On to Diamond Cay again?we loved the quiet there and need aa bit of unwinding. We are greeted by 2 or 3 dolphins which sends Laura and David into the water excitedly, but the dolphins don’t seem to want to play, so they head out towards sandy spit. On shore, David and I finally meet the brown dog, but he seems to know we can get ourselves to the bubbly pool now. We go again while the kids chill on the boat, reading and playing the guitar.



Day Eleven: Monkey Pt, Last Resort

It’s now Thursday, the 4th of August and we decide we will go to Anegada, but that we’d love to give the Mocko Jumbies one more chance at Leverick tomorrow night, so we’ll wait and head to Anegada Saturday morning. Which gives us a free day. On to Monkey Point, ‘cause we’ve never been there.

We are dazzled by a school of 32 squid hanging out side by side. They’re not small—maybe 7 or 8 inches, and beautifully iridescent in the bright sunlight. I am also thrilled to see my first puffer fish. Barracuda and Sea Turtle as we’ve seen before also, but again, every day seems better than the day before.

On to Trellis for the night, and this time we eat at De Loose Mongoose. It’s quiet there, and our waitress, Sandra, has time to chat which we enjoy. The roti are great and Laura loves her chicken sandwich. We go to the Last Resort (motto: , nice [censored]) for the 9pm show (can it be it’s the exact same show as last year?). The singing chef is great, and we’re all impressed with his guitar abilities, but we earn way too many shots of tequila (the kids don’t like tequila) because we know all the answers from last year. It’s amazing here?you sit at a table and they don’t serve you any liquor because they know you’re about to have more than your fair share of the bottle on the stage. Confused about how they can make any profit this way, we tip well at the stage and buy a ‘nice [censored]’ t-shirt. Paul promises not to wear it to school.

NB: the nice [censored] that lived at the Last Resort and to whom we fed carrots last year passed away a few months ago.



Day Twelve: Mocko Jumbies

Back to the Baths for some more great snorkeling. Again we get there early, but the crowds gather quickly. I love Devil’s Bay beach, but it’s much better deserted as we enjoyed it last year. So we keep our masks on and explore the waters where it’s quieter. I worry about the boat traffic and swimmers?the boats are anchoring in the ssand off Devil’s Bay, and I keep a keen eye for safety.

On to Leverick where we go to straight to the dock to fill all the tanks in preparation for a morning departure to Anegada. The kids enjoy jumping from the wooden platform with some boys from Texas in an 85 foot motor yacht (!). We get a mooring ball and take a swim in the pool. We like this place. Dinner is grand, not at all soggy, and we are blown away by the Mocko Jumbies. These guys are traditional Caribbean stilt dancers in costume who dance to the live Reggae music. They do some neat tricks including hopping on one stilt while the other stilt rests on the shoulder of the dancer in back of him. These stilts range in height from about 4 feet for a kid dancer of about 8 years old to the adults who were up at least 8 feet. We dance between their legs. We figure we better really enjoy this for Gram and Poppy and Randy and Nancy and the rest who didn’t get to see them last week. We dance with them for a long time, and I can’t wipe the silly grin off my face. Laura loves it, and I’m delighted to see her dance with them too. We greet the dancers warmly after the show and they are pleased that we came back and were sorry to have missed us last week. I so wished to have been able to share this with our buddies.



Day Thirteen: Where’s the dinghy?

We’ve studied and printed out Walker’s directions to Anegada and are comfortable with the plan, but we’ve got the print outs handy and are glued to them. I take the helm and steer exactly 9 degrees. We’re feeling in control then realize that in our focus on where we’re going, we’ve lost track of what’s now NOT behind us. David looks back and asks in a very un-David way, “where the (expletive) is the dinghy!?!”

We panic, we turn to the southwest, we try to figure how this possibly could have happened (Laura tied this knot), we estimate how fast a dinghy could float downwind, how long it’s been ‘free’, call on ch. 16 and request help looking, call Conch and ask how bad this is ($1K, no more, promise), look and look and look. There are some white caps which look like dinghies far away, so we’re counting on the binoculars a lot. We feel so stupid, but we’re comforted by the knowledge that this stupid thing may have cost us a bundle, but that we’re still safe and healthy. So we’ve got the important things.

We call Conch a few more times for advice, and Emma is great and helps me feel better. After about 3 hours of intense looking, we get a phone call from Emma?our dinghy was pickedd up by a trawler on our heels, perhaps even before we noticed it missing, and it’s tied to the trawler in the mooring field at Anegada! Thank goodness.

We are relieved to say the least, Laura finally apologizes, and we get back to focusing on the GPS waypoint we were heading to 3 hours ago. We are now miles exactly downwind and have already burned more diesel today than we would normally in a week, but we up the RPMs (RsPM?) and head to Anegada, tails between our legs.

Once on our mooring, we find the dinghy and its host easily. David swims to the trawler and takes a nice bottle of wine. We shower the people with thanks.

We go ashore and check things out first at ARH where we are to meet Dean Wheatley tomorrow morning for a car rental, then we go to Neptunes to take a look and get a reservation for dinner tomorrow. We talk to Randy, and he suggests we go to the back with his binoculars to see the flamingos. As we head out the door I stop because there’s a large man sitting solo at the bar. “Are you by any chance Jim?” He looks at me quizzically, “yes??” I say, “BigJim?” He smiles and we shake hands and sing the praises of TTOL. We start in on lots of traveltalk talk, and my guys go looking for flamingos while I praise him for his wisdom and ask about his health. Jim’s a great wonderful guy and I wish we had more time. My kids talk later about how impressed they were with him also.

We meet and chat with Vernon, then have dinner and drinks on the boat again. Sitting in the cockpit with drinks (today Paul drinks his first entire beer with his dad), David by chance looks out on the water and happens to see a large sting ray jump 4 feet out of the water, within just 4 feet of the boat. The rest of us hear a big splash, so we actually believe him, tho it seems pretty far-fetched. We go to bed early?we’re still reeling from a rough day.



Day Fourteen: Limin’ at Anegada

We meet Dean at ARH and he takes us in the truck to his home for the paperwork. I meet his wife Henny with whom I’ve talked on the phone a few too many times?firsst to reserve the truck for the 6 of us a week ago, then to cancel that, then on the way from Leverick (before the dinghy thing) to suggest we might want a jeep for yesterday afternoon, then to cancel that when we realized we wouldn’t be to Anegada with any time to spare and to set things up for today. She’s a sweetie and laughs with us at us. We apologize and she’s cool.

We drive on the left side of the road up to Loblolly Beach and hang out and snorkel. It’s so different! Everything about Anegada is its own world, and we love it. The snorkeling isn’t nearly as spectacular as we’ve seen, but the beach is great. We travel and explore the North shore heading west, then we decide we’re ready for lunch and head straight to Cow Wreck, as per suggestions from TTOL. Alex is at the bar and I see plenty of evidence of TTOLers having been there?the signed T-shirt, the amazinng golf course (!), and JD sitting in the sun burning with a magnifying glass into wood a sign for the ‘country club’! (it’s like the 3 bears finding Goldilocks in the bed)

We have a great lunch and enjoy Alex’s stories. He’s way cool, and we’re sorry to hear of Walker’s recent accident on the motor scooter. We’re still looking on the net for the photos of Alex and Walker with the frozen barracuda in their pants. If you know their location, please share?We know that barracuda now preetty well too.

Alex definitely has a barracuda thing going. More than a couple of times during our conversation, even in the middle of a sentence, he abruptly turns and runs to the beach, grabs his fishing pole on the way, and casts out to the water?apparently he can identify the passing fish from the bar. He’s such a hoot!

We hang out with Alex and JD at the bar and Sharon comes by (Sharnightqueen?BigJim had told us we have to meet her), so we have a nice short chat. David and I go snorkeling, but the kids decide to chill in the hammock. They’ve discovered the joy of limin’! What a great place to be so educated!

Back to Neptunes to give our dinner orders, and then we return the car?still amazed that therre’s a place on this planet where you return the rental car by leaving it “somewhere near the hotel with the keys in the ignition.”

Dinner was spectacular?lobster of course, bbut the swordfish was to die for! We say goodbye to JD, Jim, and Sharon who are dining together.



Day Fifteen: Indians

We get an early start out of Anegada but are still too late to get balls anyplace at the Dogs. So we decide to head to the bight again for our last night because of the cell phone service (we’re almost ready to listen to our phone messages) and to snorkel the Indians one last time before we have to return the boat tomorrow.

The Indians are great and we enjoy our time here immensely, as we can feel the hours slipping away. Laura spots a Moray Eel which comes out of its hiding just in time for all of us to see it stem to stern. There are some fish here that we haven’t seen anywhere else, and they’re still hanging out at my favorite place?the southernmost tip of the southernmost large rock near the southernmost mooring ball. In the bright sun, it’s just too spectacular! We also see a very cute baby cow fish that we still talk about. You know that high-pitched descending “au-wwwwwww” that comes from 13 year old girls when they see kittens? You could hear it coming from Laura even underwater!

We try to eat the last of the provisions and drink up the rum (this is difficult, but someone has to do it), so it’s an interesting dinner. We check phone messages, organize our stuff and pack what we can. Later we enjoy star gazing and reflection. We’re still getting along really well, and I’m so thankful.



Day Sixteen: Return to base, ferry to St Thomas

We are very pleased to be returning a clean boat in good condition AND a dinghy to Conch, but we review charter book and learn that we only need to be to the green buoy by 11, so we tack around Drake’s channel and milk this vacation for all it’s worth. It’s a crystal clear day and the wind is perfect.

Back at Conch, they are very kind not to give us a hard time about the dinghy?they don’t even laugh or joke. We like these guys a lot. They call us a cab and we say goodbye. Off to the ferry terminal we get our tickets, go through security (they confiscate Laura’s conch shell, and she is not pleased) and are off to St Thomas. The ride is beautiful, very loud, and bittersweet. At customs we are interested to see them denying entrance to the boy just before us in line. They give him a rough time and we wonder if he even speaks English, and he’s so young I hope someone hasn’t set him up?hired him to transport drugs or worse. We see the police arrive outside and I hope he’ll be ok.

We phone the Bunker Hill Hotel where we have reservations, and they promptly come to pick us up. It’s a neat hotel with many steps (57 says Laura) up to our room, nice views and two small pools. We go walking around town, but the shopping area has just been boarded up for the day, and it’s a little eerie. We go to the waterfront to choose a restaurant for dinner. Back later to the Green House restaurant on the waterfront where we have a very nice dinner?my coconut chickeen and fried plantains were excellent. David is a little uneasy about us walking back to the hotel in the dark (it’s just enough out of the way and we don’t know the city at all, and we so look like tourists), so we take a cab.



Day Seventeen: St Thomas

Up early to a nice breakfast, we take a walk up the 99 steps and explore. The historic area is beautiful. Paul’s goal today is to get to UVI?The University of the Virgin Islands, to pick up some admissions materials and a car sticker for a friend. We take the dollar safari past the airport and walk a long way through the campus before we see any sign of life (they have no summer classes), but we eventually find the admissions office and the bookstore, so we’re successful. We catch a city bus back into town and meet the others in time to pick up some rum for the coffers at home and be in the lobby for the noon airport shuttle.

Easy trip home in terms of logistics, difficult emotionally, we’re tan and relaxed and happy. We couldn’t ask for more.



Pictures (just 12) are at http://community.webshots.com/slideshow?ID=459329198&key=TMxkgi