Very rough flight to BVI. Our taxi driver Louis gave us a scary
ride to Fort Burt Marina. We found Kerry Girl, our 40.5 foot
Hunter. We selected the rear cabin, Ken and Linda took the V-berth
and we all had some free rum from Conch Charters. We went to the
pub for dinner. We ordered appetizers and sat at a table on the
second floor by the water. A cruise ship from NCL went out and
then a blue private ship. Later a pilot boat came in. Ken found an
email terminal.
Saturday 19 April
Up at 8am. Coffee at the Pub. Emma Paull gave us a chart brief.
Breakfast. Load provisions and got the boat orientation. Left the
Green Buoy off Fort Burt Marina at 2pm. Got to Soper's Hole at 4pm.
Did a Mediterranean moor with much difficulty. Ladies went
shopping. Very pleasant here. Ken and I sitting in cockpit.
A boat came in full of German-speaking people and moored beside us.
We did not feel as bad about our mooring after watching all the
trouble they had. Had to call Conch about electric hookup. Found
out there is a "reset" switch in the starboard corner locker on the
solar panel. Switched it and the battery charger and water heater
worked.
We went to Pusser's for dinner. Ken and Linda did not care for
their pizza and my shrimp were small but there weren't many of
them. Sat in the cockpit until after 10pm reading and enjoying the
marina. Very quiet for so close to Pusser's. Had to sleep with
all the boat noises but the rear berth is comfortable. Read till
midnight. No roosters.
Sunday 20 April 2003
Slept late. Showered at marina. Ran engine from 9:30am to charge
refrigerator. One bag of ice cubes was $10. Tipped the marina
manager Curt $10 for the masterful job he did helping us moor
without hitting anyone. All the stores are open today. (It's Easter
Sunday) Ken and I searched them all for bungee cords to hold down
the swim floats and tie the anchor and gas can into the dingy.
Waiting for a Sunsail 36 next door to leave. Beautiful Easter.
Motored to Jost Van Dyke from 11am to noon. Anchored in 36 feet of
water. Used a MoorSecure. The ladies made lunch. Went bar
boating. Took the dingy to Abe's and Sidney's. Had pain killers
and beers. Lazed around on floats for awhile. Tried to start BBQ
but had no starter. Ken finally went to Abe's for starter and we
started potatoes at 6:45pm. Ken had problems with the engine on the
dingy and had to row back to the boat. Started engine to cool
refrigerator. Mosquitoes out.
Tonight we could not get the speakers in the cockpit to work.
Clarion radio with BAL button on Left side. Worked with Jamie at
Conch to get it working. Had baked potatoes, shish kabob, salad and
carrot cake in cockpit.
Ken saw his Southern cross.
Monday 21 April
Woke up to flies and mooring payment guy for $25. Peanut butter
and marmalade sandwich with decaf coffee for breakfast. Left Jost
Van Dyke at 9am. Stopped by and looked at Sandy Key. No one wanted
to anchor so we sailed on for Monkey Point. Rounded Little Camenoe
Island. Pulled into Marina Key at noon.
Explored the Isle. Bought a Dry Bag and Virgin Island book.
Snorkeled in reef area for ½ hour. Had beers and diet sodas on the
beach. Ken swam back to the boat from the dock. We were scared he
would get run over by a boat. The moorings were all taken by
2:30pm. Lots of boats ended up anchoring or moving on. Ken paid our
anchor fee.
Another nice night in the cockpit. Beautiful anchorage. Watched
airplanes land. No noise. I got stung by something when we were
snorkeling. It felt like cactus spines. The swimming area was
silted over. Linda was lazing on a raft behind the boat when she
was stung.
Tuesday 22 April
Woke up early, 7:30, to go get ice. Walkie-talkies worked good
between shore and boat. House batteries ran down last night. Ran
engine first thing to charge them and the refrigerator. Have to
check the water in the batteries.
Left for baths at 9am. Got there about 11am, Had to orbit for a
while to get a mooring. Finally a boat left and we picked up an
orange mooring ball. Several charter boats were on yellow moorings
but we wanted to stay legal. It started to rain. Dingied Ken and
Linda to shore. Picked them up at 12:30pm. Very powerful surge.
Motored up to Spanish Town. There were no moorings (there were only
four) available or slips. Went on to Bitter End. Found a mooring in
the south end of the Bitter End's mooring field. Had BBQ chicken,
cauliflower and fruit salad for dinner. Boys' night to clean up,
then UNO. I lost big. Sat in cockpit and looked at boats until
11pm. Smooth as a mill pond. Boat is very comfortable.
Wednesday 23 April
Up at 8am. Breakfast on boat. Explored on shore at Bitter End after
finally getting motor on dingy started. Ladies shopping in
boutiques. Guys having 10am Cuba Libras at Quarterdeck Club.
Checked our dinner reservation for tonight. They have us down
as "Cherry" Girl. Ken and Linda Emailed the world and we tagged
along to let everyone know we are okay. Had great BLTs for lunch.
Smelled so good. Snorkeling - dingy very reluctant to start.
Finally did and went to reef at Eustachian Sound. Less silt than 11
years ago. Good fish population. Came back to Kerry Girl and
collapsed. Very tired. Showered and cleaned up. When Isaac came to
collect our mooring fee, we talked him into taking us to shore.
Walked down the beach before dinner. Watched lights until 11.
Thursday 24 April
Up at 8am. Set sail for Great Dog at 10am. Picked up an orange buoy
and snorkeled for 45 minutes. Rained really hard for a while.
Continued on to Cooper Island. Arrived about 3pm. Got a very nice
mooring right in front of the Beach Club. Lay out on the water
floats for an hour. BBQd steaks and potatoes for supper. Clouds
obscured the sunset. Not feeling well. Very sunburned. Went to bed
early. Germans next door started singing "in English".
Friday 25 April
Got up and showered. Ken and Linda went to shore to see what the
Cooper Island Beach Club was all about. Left at 9:30am and motored
over to Peter Island Marina. Had smoothies for lunch at the bar.
Motored to Bight on Norman Island. Relaxed in the afternoon and
watched the moorings fill up. Very beautiful day. Later we dingied
over to the caves.
Saturday 26 April
Up early to brisk wind. Muffins, orange juice, coffee. Motored to
Pirates and Ken paid for mooring after swimming in. We made dinner
reservations for 7:30pm. Then motored over to the caves for
exploring. The ladies tried the Clear View AntiFog stuff for their
masks. It works great. We snorkeled all three of the caves and took
pictures.
Went back to the Bight and took mooring. All of the moorings lines
on the buoys are rotten so we tripled up with one of our dock
lines. We lazed around on rafts all afternoon and relaxed. At 6pm
we went ashore in the dingy (started okay for a change) to Pirate
Bight Restaurant on Norman Island. We walked up to the top of the
highest hill on the island where they have a helicopter pad. It has
never been used. There are no tie-downs and the wind whips across
the top of the hill very briskly. Lots of crabs along the road to
the top. Stopped at Pirates after to have some drinks before
supper. Lots of gusty winds overnight.
Sunday 27 April
Up late. Great mooring location. "O Brother" by us. "Manana"
anchored in front of us last night and we worried about her
dragging in the gusts. We motored over to the Indians and took a
day mooring to snorkel. Ken and I snorkeled for an hour. We went
inside and then outside to see the 50 foot wall. Barracuda followed
us for a while. Watched a scuba class below us in 30 foot of water.
Saw a baby Moray Eel. No silt. Very bright colors.
Sailed to Road Town under jib. Got to outer buoy about 2pm and
called Conch Charters. Pete came out and piloted us in. Tied up at
dock and relaxed some. Walked to town and had a drink at Pusser's
Store. Shopped a little. Bought rum and a red-and-white striped
shirt (and when I wore it to work at St. Joseph Hospital, everyone
thought I was a Candy Striper). Visited a couple of other little
stores and explored downtown. Everything closed because no cruise
ships are docked.