Trip Report Mar 31-April 11 - 04/12/2016 10:34 PM
Here’s our most recent trip report! (sorry if it’s too long!)
We flew Delta from Traverse City – Detroit – Atlanta – STT. Left Traverse City at 5:40 am, arrived at STT about 2:30 pm. Picked up our checked bags and met Kevin at baggage claim. Caught the 4:15 pm Fast Ferry and Arnold of AC Taxi (sponsor here on TTOL) picked us up after we cleared customs. We brought a cooler with meats/cheeses. We’re just about to pick it up and head out, when the girl stops us and says “you have meat in there?” I said “Yes” and just then someone local started talking to her about a CD and some music – I’m waiting for her to ask me to pay 10% fee on the cooler, but she just says “its ok, you can go” Clearly she was more interested in her social life than her job – to our benefit
Arnold takes us to Trellis Bay to catch the ferry to Scrub. Ferry is arriving at the dock, but there’s a big private boat on the dock and he tries to squeeze in between big boat and shore and runs aground; another boat pulls him off the bottom and off we go to Scrub! We get checked in and the girl checking us in graciously agrees to store our cooler in their restaurant freezer for the next 2 days. We spent 2 nights at Scrub using Marriott points and I have to say if I’d been paying the $700/night rack rate I would not have been pleased. The room is beautiful, view fantastic, bathrooms large & luxurious and beds very comfy. The pools are nice – lots of kids there, but I suspect since it’s a Marriott property there were families on spring break. They have a nice deli/store where you can get sandwiches and some provisioning items. The downside is that the staff (other than the girl who checked us in and Savio, a dock hand, who I met and chatted with one afternoon) seem pretty disinterested in service. First night at the casual restaurant, we ordered wine. Oh they’re out of that wine. Ok, we’ll have the shrimp. Oh, they’re out of shrimp. Next night, we order a Bushwacker for dessert. Oh, they’re out of cream of coconut. We get back to our room and are going to have a nightcap (vodka & ting from the deli!). There are no ice machines so we call down and ask for some ice. Figure they’ll bring a bucket of ice. They bring a BAG – a whole freakin’ bag like the ones you fill your cooler with. What the heck am I supposed to do with that and what a waste of resources. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> The best deal: The last morning we got 2 breakfast sandwiches from the deli for $8 each and ate them by the pool. They were delicious! My husband asked for a late check out as we didn’t think we could get on our boat till 5 pm and they said a late checkout would cost $300. Ha ha ha!! Really? The place was dead empty in the building we were in.
Good news: I call Virgin Traders to see if we can get on the boat before 5 and learn that if we can get there by 2 pm, we can do our briefing that afternoon and be off the dock first thing in the morning. Hurray! Scrub ferry back and Arnold takes us to Nanny Cay. We chartered a 48’ Horizion motor yacht from Virgin Yacht Traders. We get on the boat and my husband Andy starts the briefing while I start to put things away. Provisioning arrives from Riteway and Caribbean Cellars. As usual Caribbean Cellars disappoints us again – they don’t fill ½ our order. Third time in a row for us. No vodka, no rum, no mixers. Next time we’re using someone else. Riteway order is about 90% complete – including all the water. Will definitely order with them again.
Our crew arrives and we head over to Peg Legs for dinner – hour wait, but we got a drink and chatted about the upcoming week. Dinner was good and back to the boat for a good night’s sleep. The Horizon 48’ has 3 cabins and 3 heads. We had the full beam master with a walk around queen bed. It’s roomy and comfy. The boat has a great layout with room for 6 on the upper helm and cushions on the bow for lounging. The boat is dated and showing wear and tear of a charter boat in salt water for 13 years. The nav systems don’t work, so they give you an ipad with navigation charts. The refrigerator acted more like a freezer, so unfortunately we lost quite a bit of food that way. The boat has seen better days but we liked the layout and she got us through the week at a reasonable price.
Day 1: We’re up early the next morning because we’ve done our briefing and we can leave the docks early – that is until we realized that one of the cabin’s AC didn’t work all night. Takes about 3 hours to get it fixed and we’re finally off! We head straight to Norman and grab a ball for the night. Dinghied over to Caves to do some snorkeling. Looking back over the week, this was the least favorite snorkeling spot. The fish variety didn’t seem to be as good as other spots, but it was a good first day. Dinner on the boat and we head over to the Willy T to see what’s up. It’s a Sunday night and there are a lot of locals there. The upstairs is completely empty and quiet tho and we watch the locals zoom off in the boats – most with no lights on!
Day 2: Our favorite thing to do from Norman is get up and off the ball early and head straight to the Indians to grab a ball before everyone else gets there. We have a simple breakfast on board and everyone in the water for some snorkeling. Beautiful fish and coral – a definite must stop! We then motor over to Jost Van Dyke. We’re one of just a few boats there and we grab a ball in front of Ivan’s. We were originally only going to stay the day and head to Little Harbour for the night, but the weather is looking good and we like where we’re situated. We head ashore for a little bar crawl down the beach. Start at One Love for a Bushwacker (yes it’s early, but I need this one checked off my Drinking Guide book!) and it’s delicious! Then on to Soggy Dollar for the requisite Pain Killer. Crowds weren’t too bad or obnoxious. Then to Hendo’s for a drink and a snack. Loved this place! It’s beautiful and the staff is friendly. Food is good – we had hummus, chicken wings and quesadillas. We head back to the boat for a little afternoon R&R, floating, and some turtle watching. Dinghy ashore to Ivan’s for a cocktail and to see if the Ohio State flag we hung the day our daughter got engaged last year is still there – yup, it is!! Dinner on board that night and a comfortable night’s sleep. No rolling – it was pretty calm.
Day 3: Had a leisurely morning and breakfast and headed to Monkey Point for some snorkeling. The snorkeling here is one of my favorites! We saw lots of parrot fish, scrawled filefish, big school of blue tang and a small barracuda. Had lunch on the boat after snorkeling – this is a fantastic spot to just chill for a little bit. It’s quiet and beautiful. We could have stayed for hours, but didn’t want to take up too much time on the ball so we headed off to Marina Cay. Unfortunately by the time we got to Marina Cay the crew was pretty tired from the big morning snorkel that we didn’t get to snorkel Diamond Reef. Some of us went ashore in the afternoon and checked out Pusser’s. Got a drink and sat in the sand. There’s really no provisioning here – except one little corner of Pusser’s. Later that evening before dinner, we all went ashore and up to the bar on top of the island (Happy Arrrgh Bar?). There was a guy playing live music that was good. Unfortunately (1) there was no breeze up there and the air was hot & stagnant and (2) the bartender was completely unfriendly and I had the worst painkiller ever – I’m not sure there was any rum in it and my stomach ached for hours afterward. Back to the boat we go after one drink; I sleep pretty much through dinner.
Day 4: Feeling much better! We head to the North Sound. Stopped at Great Dog to snorkel – this was a new stop for us and we loved it. Lots and lots of fish and we saw our first sting ray. Watched him bury around in the sand and then come up and swim over the coral away from us. Very cool! We continued on and grabbed a ball at Saba Rock. Dinghied our way over to Bitter End for a drink and everyone was hungry so we split some appetizers. We looked in the shops there and tried to find a few more provisions but the shop was pretty bare. So the rest of the crew went back to the boat and three of us set off in the dinghy to Gun Creek to a grocery. Found everything we needed! (I can’t remember the name, but it’s well stocked) Happy hour we headed to Saba Rock for the tarpon feeding. I’m sitting on the edge of the dock with everyone else listening to the guy talk about the tarpons. He starts throwing fish to them, throws one my way and it lands square in my lap. I was so stunned I just shrieked and the guy next to me grabbed it from my lap and tossed it to the fish! We ate dinner at Saba that night – the food was good and our waitress was a sweetheart.
Day 5: Up early and at the dock at Saba to fill up with water before heading to Anegada. The deck hands at Saba win the award for the grumpiest deck hands. The day before, I had come ashore with 2 bags of garbage. There was a guy sitting on the bench near the dock and he told me where to dump the garbage (dumpsters by the bathrooms). Next morning, we wanted to drop off one more bag and the dock hand said “we don’t take garbage!” I told him about the guy the day before and he simply said “he was wrong. You owe us $6 for those 2 bags” I was fine paying for it, but just his attitude was really unfriendly. But, off to Anegada we go! It was fairly windy and rolly on the ride over. We forgot to secure a few things in the galley and let’s just say the dish drainer, coffee cups and coffee pot had a little party on the floor of the galley! Only took about an hour or so to get there motoring. We took a ball right in front of the Wonky Dog – perfect! Went over to see Peter and order our dinner for that night then off to S&K Rentals to pick up our rental car for the afternoon. Headed over to Loblolly to Big Bamboo as we’d never been there before. Ordered a few cocktails and took them to the beach (another one checked off the Drinking Guide!). The water there is so beautiful and mesmerizing. We walked up and down the beach and waded in until we decided it was time to go to my favorite place – Cow Wreck. We walked up and Ann immediately said “Hello! It’s nice to see some familiar faces!” Hugs all around and we settled at a table for drinks and lunch. I love their lobster sandwich! Ann has her own new gift shop now and we browsed around and chatted with her husband Andrew again. I could stay there all day and never tire of the place. But, we had dinner plans! Back to the boat for showers before heading over to the Wonky Dog. Desne was there and Sherwin (our fishing “guide” from last trip) is now working at the bar. We sat up on their new deck (at least I think it’s new) and the breeze up there was beautiful. Dinner, as usual, was AMAZING! Our crew had lobster, jerk pork chops, and lamb shank. Everything agreed it was their favorite dinner. The Wonky Dog is reason enough to go to Anegada!
Day 6: Again, another leisurely morning as we have a slip at Leverick that night so no need to rush (plus the motoring gets us there quickly!). The trip back to the North Sound was much calmer than the day before. Headed over to Leverick and radioed for a slip assignment. Told us slip 14 on the leeward side of the dock. Well, to us that meant the right side of the dock as you’re looking at Leverick from the water. We head over there, can’t find 14 and finally see the dock hands waving, “no the other side!” Andy backs the boat into the slip with the wonderful help of the Leverick guys and asks isn’t the other side the leeward side? They said, “yes, but we changed our minds” Ha ha! Everyone settled in, explored the shops & grocery at Leverick. I love the Arawak shop there – it’s a beautiful gift shop with some great shirts, clothes and souvenirs. We all meet at the office where our taxi driver, Tiger, takes us to Hog Heaven for drinks (meanwhile I’ve already popped into the office to say hi to Monica who couldn’t be any sweeter. Nick came down to the boat to say hello later on – it was good to see his smiling face!). Hog Heaven is a big hit with our crew and they are amazed at the view! Tiger gets us back to Leverick and I break off from the crew for an impromptu pedicure at the spa. The pedicure was wonderful and a great little break and peaceful time just for me.  Dinner on the boat and then we head over for drinks to watch the jumbies.
Day 7: Last day on the water and we’re headed to Cooper. Not sure what time we got there, but there were plenty of balls (not always the case) and it didn’t really fill up until late afternoon. Two of us went ashore and shopped a little and found out about happy hour. Back on the boat, we spot a turtle who continued to pop his head up and swim around our boat all afternoon! We saw more turtles this trip than we have in all our other trips. We got in the dinghy and headed over to Cistern Point for our last snorkel. This is really great snorkeling and we all loved it! After a little R&R after snorkeling, three of us took turns jumping off the top of the boat. It was a blast! Headed over to Cooper in our custom t-shirts (thanks Laura!) for happy hour. They have 3 drinks that are 2 for 1 from 4-6 (painkiller, margarita and one more I can’t remember). They don’t start serving food until 5:30 and we all needed a little something to counteract the drinks so one of our crew goes to the store & buys a bag of potato chips, gets some balsamic vinegar from the kitchen and we have “appetizers”! Dinner on the boat – we made pizzas on the grill – yum!!
Day 8: Up early and headed back to Nanny Cay. We get to the fuel dock before it opens and by now we are such a great crew together that Andy backs the boat up to the dock and we get her secured without any dock hands! What a perfect ending! Our crew is picked up by taxi to head back to STT from the fuel dock and we say our goodbyes there. Andy and I start tidying things up and wait for Roydan from Virgin Traders to meet us there to fill the boat with gas and take it into the slip. Surprisingly we used only $500 in fuel; I estimated it would be more like $700. It’s a good thing Roydan was taking the boat back to the slip because when we got there, I thought “there is no way this boat is fitting in there”. Three tries later it’s in but with literally inches between it and the next boat – I mean inches. Better him than us! We pack our things up and check out and head to the Nanny Cay hotel.
We basically just lounged around the pool and took a long nap that afternoon. I was surprised at how tired we were! The hotel is nice – nothing fancy, but clean and adequate for a last night’s sleep. Next morning Arnold picks us up and drops us off at the ferry dock. Native Son assures us that their 9:30 ferry will be to St. Thomas before the 10:00 am Fast Ferry so we give it a try. We have a little bit of time before it leaves so we walk down the street to Island Roots Café for a little breakfast and coffee. This is a sweet little café with great coffee – highly recommend it! Sure enough, Native Son gets into St. Thomas at 10:45 and our wait at C&I is only about 10 mins. We meet up with Kevin who puts us in a shared taxi to the airport with plenty of time to catch our 2:00 pm flight home.
We had a wonderful trip! This was our 4th time down to the BVI’s in the last 2 years. It gets better and better each time! I’m a little sad that our next trip might have to wait till next spring (we’re in the process of buying a boat up here in the Great Lakes that will cut into vacation budget!), but I’m already dreaming of being back! And if anyone wouldn’t mind a stow away this fall, send me a PM. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />
We flew Delta from Traverse City – Detroit – Atlanta – STT. Left Traverse City at 5:40 am, arrived at STT about 2:30 pm. Picked up our checked bags and met Kevin at baggage claim. Caught the 4:15 pm Fast Ferry and Arnold of AC Taxi (sponsor here on TTOL) picked us up after we cleared customs. We brought a cooler with meats/cheeses. We’re just about to pick it up and head out, when the girl stops us and says “you have meat in there?” I said “Yes” and just then someone local started talking to her about a CD and some music – I’m waiting for her to ask me to pay 10% fee on the cooler, but she just says “its ok, you can go” Clearly she was more interested in her social life than her job – to our benefit
Arnold takes us to Trellis Bay to catch the ferry to Scrub. Ferry is arriving at the dock, but there’s a big private boat on the dock and he tries to squeeze in between big boat and shore and runs aground; another boat pulls him off the bottom and off we go to Scrub! We get checked in and the girl checking us in graciously agrees to store our cooler in their restaurant freezer for the next 2 days. We spent 2 nights at Scrub using Marriott points and I have to say if I’d been paying the $700/night rack rate I would not have been pleased. The room is beautiful, view fantastic, bathrooms large & luxurious and beds very comfy. The pools are nice – lots of kids there, but I suspect since it’s a Marriott property there were families on spring break. They have a nice deli/store where you can get sandwiches and some provisioning items. The downside is that the staff (other than the girl who checked us in and Savio, a dock hand, who I met and chatted with one afternoon) seem pretty disinterested in service. First night at the casual restaurant, we ordered wine. Oh they’re out of that wine. Ok, we’ll have the shrimp. Oh, they’re out of shrimp. Next night, we order a Bushwacker for dessert. Oh, they’re out of cream of coconut. We get back to our room and are going to have a nightcap (vodka & ting from the deli!). There are no ice machines so we call down and ask for some ice. Figure they’ll bring a bucket of ice. They bring a BAG – a whole freakin’ bag like the ones you fill your cooler with. What the heck am I supposed to do with that and what a waste of resources. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" /> The best deal: The last morning we got 2 breakfast sandwiches from the deli for $8 each and ate them by the pool. They were delicious! My husband asked for a late check out as we didn’t think we could get on our boat till 5 pm and they said a late checkout would cost $300. Ha ha ha!! Really? The place was dead empty in the building we were in.
Good news: I call Virgin Traders to see if we can get on the boat before 5 and learn that if we can get there by 2 pm, we can do our briefing that afternoon and be off the dock first thing in the morning. Hurray! Scrub ferry back and Arnold takes us to Nanny Cay. We chartered a 48’ Horizion motor yacht from Virgin Yacht Traders. We get on the boat and my husband Andy starts the briefing while I start to put things away. Provisioning arrives from Riteway and Caribbean Cellars. As usual Caribbean Cellars disappoints us again – they don’t fill ½ our order. Third time in a row for us. No vodka, no rum, no mixers. Next time we’re using someone else. Riteway order is about 90% complete – including all the water. Will definitely order with them again.
Our crew arrives and we head over to Peg Legs for dinner – hour wait, but we got a drink and chatted about the upcoming week. Dinner was good and back to the boat for a good night’s sleep. The Horizon 48’ has 3 cabins and 3 heads. We had the full beam master with a walk around queen bed. It’s roomy and comfy. The boat has a great layout with room for 6 on the upper helm and cushions on the bow for lounging. The boat is dated and showing wear and tear of a charter boat in salt water for 13 years. The nav systems don’t work, so they give you an ipad with navigation charts. The refrigerator acted more like a freezer, so unfortunately we lost quite a bit of food that way. The boat has seen better days but we liked the layout and she got us through the week at a reasonable price.
Day 1: We’re up early the next morning because we’ve done our briefing and we can leave the docks early – that is until we realized that one of the cabin’s AC didn’t work all night. Takes about 3 hours to get it fixed and we’re finally off! We head straight to Norman and grab a ball for the night. Dinghied over to Caves to do some snorkeling. Looking back over the week, this was the least favorite snorkeling spot. The fish variety didn’t seem to be as good as other spots, but it was a good first day. Dinner on the boat and we head over to the Willy T to see what’s up. It’s a Sunday night and there are a lot of locals there. The upstairs is completely empty and quiet tho and we watch the locals zoom off in the boats – most with no lights on!
Day 2: Our favorite thing to do from Norman is get up and off the ball early and head straight to the Indians to grab a ball before everyone else gets there. We have a simple breakfast on board and everyone in the water for some snorkeling. Beautiful fish and coral – a definite must stop! We then motor over to Jost Van Dyke. We’re one of just a few boats there and we grab a ball in front of Ivan’s. We were originally only going to stay the day and head to Little Harbour for the night, but the weather is looking good and we like where we’re situated. We head ashore for a little bar crawl down the beach. Start at One Love for a Bushwacker (yes it’s early, but I need this one checked off my Drinking Guide book!) and it’s delicious! Then on to Soggy Dollar for the requisite Pain Killer. Crowds weren’t too bad or obnoxious. Then to Hendo’s for a drink and a snack. Loved this place! It’s beautiful and the staff is friendly. Food is good – we had hummus, chicken wings and quesadillas. We head back to the boat for a little afternoon R&R, floating, and some turtle watching. Dinghy ashore to Ivan’s for a cocktail and to see if the Ohio State flag we hung the day our daughter got engaged last year is still there – yup, it is!! Dinner on board that night and a comfortable night’s sleep. No rolling – it was pretty calm.
Day 3: Had a leisurely morning and breakfast and headed to Monkey Point for some snorkeling. The snorkeling here is one of my favorites! We saw lots of parrot fish, scrawled filefish, big school of blue tang and a small barracuda. Had lunch on the boat after snorkeling – this is a fantastic spot to just chill for a little bit. It’s quiet and beautiful. We could have stayed for hours, but didn’t want to take up too much time on the ball so we headed off to Marina Cay. Unfortunately by the time we got to Marina Cay the crew was pretty tired from the big morning snorkel that we didn’t get to snorkel Diamond Reef. Some of us went ashore in the afternoon and checked out Pusser’s. Got a drink and sat in the sand. There’s really no provisioning here – except one little corner of Pusser’s. Later that evening before dinner, we all went ashore and up to the bar on top of the island (Happy Arrrgh Bar?). There was a guy playing live music that was good. Unfortunately (1) there was no breeze up there and the air was hot & stagnant and (2) the bartender was completely unfriendly and I had the worst painkiller ever – I’m not sure there was any rum in it and my stomach ached for hours afterward. Back to the boat we go after one drink; I sleep pretty much through dinner.
Day 4: Feeling much better! We head to the North Sound. Stopped at Great Dog to snorkel – this was a new stop for us and we loved it. Lots and lots of fish and we saw our first sting ray. Watched him bury around in the sand and then come up and swim over the coral away from us. Very cool! We continued on and grabbed a ball at Saba Rock. Dinghied our way over to Bitter End for a drink and everyone was hungry so we split some appetizers. We looked in the shops there and tried to find a few more provisions but the shop was pretty bare. So the rest of the crew went back to the boat and three of us set off in the dinghy to Gun Creek to a grocery. Found everything we needed! (I can’t remember the name, but it’s well stocked) Happy hour we headed to Saba Rock for the tarpon feeding. I’m sitting on the edge of the dock with everyone else listening to the guy talk about the tarpons. He starts throwing fish to them, throws one my way and it lands square in my lap. I was so stunned I just shrieked and the guy next to me grabbed it from my lap and tossed it to the fish! We ate dinner at Saba that night – the food was good and our waitress was a sweetheart.
Day 5: Up early and at the dock at Saba to fill up with water before heading to Anegada. The deck hands at Saba win the award for the grumpiest deck hands. The day before, I had come ashore with 2 bags of garbage. There was a guy sitting on the bench near the dock and he told me where to dump the garbage (dumpsters by the bathrooms). Next morning, we wanted to drop off one more bag and the dock hand said “we don’t take garbage!” I told him about the guy the day before and he simply said “he was wrong. You owe us $6 for those 2 bags” I was fine paying for it, but just his attitude was really unfriendly. But, off to Anegada we go! It was fairly windy and rolly on the ride over. We forgot to secure a few things in the galley and let’s just say the dish drainer, coffee cups and coffee pot had a little party on the floor of the galley! Only took about an hour or so to get there motoring. We took a ball right in front of the Wonky Dog – perfect! Went over to see Peter and order our dinner for that night then off to S&K Rentals to pick up our rental car for the afternoon. Headed over to Loblolly to Big Bamboo as we’d never been there before. Ordered a few cocktails and took them to the beach (another one checked off the Drinking Guide!). The water there is so beautiful and mesmerizing. We walked up and down the beach and waded in until we decided it was time to go to my favorite place – Cow Wreck. We walked up and Ann immediately said “Hello! It’s nice to see some familiar faces!” Hugs all around and we settled at a table for drinks and lunch. I love their lobster sandwich! Ann has her own new gift shop now and we browsed around and chatted with her husband Andrew again. I could stay there all day and never tire of the place. But, we had dinner plans! Back to the boat for showers before heading over to the Wonky Dog. Desne was there and Sherwin (our fishing “guide” from last trip) is now working at the bar. We sat up on their new deck (at least I think it’s new) and the breeze up there was beautiful. Dinner, as usual, was AMAZING! Our crew had lobster, jerk pork chops, and lamb shank. Everything agreed it was their favorite dinner. The Wonky Dog is reason enough to go to Anegada!
Day 6: Again, another leisurely morning as we have a slip at Leverick that night so no need to rush (plus the motoring gets us there quickly!). The trip back to the North Sound was much calmer than the day before. Headed over to Leverick and radioed for a slip assignment. Told us slip 14 on the leeward side of the dock. Well, to us that meant the right side of the dock as you’re looking at Leverick from the water. We head over there, can’t find 14 and finally see the dock hands waving, “no the other side!” Andy backs the boat into the slip with the wonderful help of the Leverick guys and asks isn’t the other side the leeward side? They said, “yes, but we changed our minds” Ha ha! Everyone settled in, explored the shops & grocery at Leverick. I love the Arawak shop there – it’s a beautiful gift shop with some great shirts, clothes and souvenirs. We all meet at the office where our taxi driver, Tiger, takes us to Hog Heaven for drinks (meanwhile I’ve already popped into the office to say hi to Monica who couldn’t be any sweeter. Nick came down to the boat to say hello later on – it was good to see his smiling face!). Hog Heaven is a big hit with our crew and they are amazed at the view! Tiger gets us back to Leverick and I break off from the crew for an impromptu pedicure at the spa. The pedicure was wonderful and a great little break and peaceful time just for me.  Dinner on the boat and then we head over for drinks to watch the jumbies.
Day 7: Last day on the water and we’re headed to Cooper. Not sure what time we got there, but there were plenty of balls (not always the case) and it didn’t really fill up until late afternoon. Two of us went ashore and shopped a little and found out about happy hour. Back on the boat, we spot a turtle who continued to pop his head up and swim around our boat all afternoon! We saw more turtles this trip than we have in all our other trips. We got in the dinghy and headed over to Cistern Point for our last snorkel. This is really great snorkeling and we all loved it! After a little R&R after snorkeling, three of us took turns jumping off the top of the boat. It was a blast! Headed over to Cooper in our custom t-shirts (thanks Laura!) for happy hour. They have 3 drinks that are 2 for 1 from 4-6 (painkiller, margarita and one more I can’t remember). They don’t start serving food until 5:30 and we all needed a little something to counteract the drinks so one of our crew goes to the store & buys a bag of potato chips, gets some balsamic vinegar from the kitchen and we have “appetizers”! Dinner on the boat – we made pizzas on the grill – yum!!
Day 8: Up early and headed back to Nanny Cay. We get to the fuel dock before it opens and by now we are such a great crew together that Andy backs the boat up to the dock and we get her secured without any dock hands! What a perfect ending! Our crew is picked up by taxi to head back to STT from the fuel dock and we say our goodbyes there. Andy and I start tidying things up and wait for Roydan from Virgin Traders to meet us there to fill the boat with gas and take it into the slip. Surprisingly we used only $500 in fuel; I estimated it would be more like $700. It’s a good thing Roydan was taking the boat back to the slip because when we got there, I thought “there is no way this boat is fitting in there”. Three tries later it’s in but with literally inches between it and the next boat – I mean inches. Better him than us! We pack our things up and check out and head to the Nanny Cay hotel.
We basically just lounged around the pool and took a long nap that afternoon. I was surprised at how tired we were! The hotel is nice – nothing fancy, but clean and adequate for a last night’s sleep. Next morning Arnold picks us up and drops us off at the ferry dock. Native Son assures us that their 9:30 ferry will be to St. Thomas before the 10:00 am Fast Ferry so we give it a try. We have a little bit of time before it leaves so we walk down the street to Island Roots Café for a little breakfast and coffee. This is a sweet little café with great coffee – highly recommend it! Sure enough, Native Son gets into St. Thomas at 10:45 and our wait at C&I is only about 10 mins. We meet up with Kevin who puts us in a shared taxi to the airport with plenty of time to catch our 2:00 pm flight home.
We had a wonderful trip! This was our 4th time down to the BVI’s in the last 2 years. It gets better and better each time! I’m a little sad that our next trip might have to wait till next spring (we’re in the process of buying a boat up here in the Great Lakes that will cut into vacation budget!), but I’m already dreaming of being back! And if anyone wouldn’t mind a stow away this fall, send me a PM. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" />