On this day of horrible news I thought perhaps I would provide a lighter side of things and give a rare trip report.<br><br>This was our first Sept trip with clients (2 couples). An 8 day trip using our boat, Aristo-cat. <br><br>Places open that we stopped or observed open:<br> Myett's - we went to Quito's Aug 31st closing<br> Sidney's on JVD<br> Harris's was also open<br> Everything looked open in White Bay<br> Foxy's drinks only at lunch and open for dinner<br> Ali Baba's open<br> Soper's Hole, business as usual<br> Willie T was open - we didn't stop, but saw boats there<br> Top of the Baths<br> Anegada Reef Hotel<br> Big Bamboo<br> Cooper Island<br> Fat Hog Bob's<br> Definitely more places open than I expected.<br><br>Crowds:<br> We pulled into the Baths about 10am and there was one other boat there. 3 more arrived about noon. Some were day cruisers from St Thomas<br> No boats in the Bight while we were at the caves<br> 3 boats at Anegada<br> At times there were no boats in the channel<br> We could grab free mooring balls at the closed places.<br> Flying Cloud was cruising around and that was some of our "crowd" at places.<br> <br>Weather:<br> On Sept 1st we had about 3 hrs of off and on heavy rain. We were watching out for TS Erin, but she went North. We had 4 days of no rain and the rest just a few sprinkles. Temp was great. Our clients spent $55 on trip insurance as a hedge, so they weren't too concerned with even Erin.<br><br>Later in the week the winds got lighter (8-12kts) but as we weren't in a hurry we actually sailed times we would have normally motored.<br><br>Fishing:<br> We trolled all the time and caught, yellow tail, barracuda and mackrel. We had several fish snatched by sharks. In Anegada we went Bonefishing with Kevin Faulkner, one of 3 guides in Anegada. This was a great way to flyfish. We were "Bad to da Bone" and one Tarpon. <br><br>Bugs:<br> The bugs ashore were quite heavy, as a result we really didn't eat out at night. We dined on the boat and had some great night sailing (night sailing is not allowed on a bareboat charter boat).<br><br>General notes<br> This was a very relaxing week for me as I didn't have to worry about crowds and other boats.<br> We are going to try to do other Sept trips, the cost is lower and if you aren't into night life it is a great time to be in the islands. <br> Drake's Anchorage still looks abandoned and no work is being done. I doubt it will reopen in Oct.<br> The airport terminal will not open in Oct, perhaps January.<br> <br><br>Mike<br>http://sailingthecaribbean.com<br>Faq Page