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Current Location: Virgin Islands, Caribbean He Said: When you’ve spent a solid month just exploring one paradise after another, it starts to become difficult to remember one island from the next. I can tell you that we are indeed in paradise and I keep expecting to wake up and look outside my window and see snow, lol. I feel bad cause everyone we know back home keeps sending us emails about how many more inches of snow fell on whatever day, and how cold it is… is it really possible that we are living in a place where it is sunny every day and the temperature never falls below 80 degrees? It’s so funny when the temperature actually falls from 90 to around 80 and you start to see locals wearing sweaters, lol. The British Virgin Islands are truly remarkable, every island has a completely different character and its own appeal. Some are rugged and rocky, some are pure white sand, some have great snorkeling over fascinating coral reefs, and some have the best entertainment this side of the Caribbean! Kory and Susan, and Terri and I were just so thrilled to be here, and especially to have sailed here from Canada on our own sailboat… it’s just a feeling of accomplishment you can’t begin to describe to someone who has never done it! We visited several islands over the first few days out and were just amazed with the beauty of our new home… the pristine beaches, clear turquoise water, palm trees everywhere… and let’s not forget all the beach bars! After our tour of the Baths at Virgin Gorda, we headed up the other side of Tortola to Jost Van Dyke, the island that hosts the world famous Foxy’s beach bar! Anybody into cruising knows about Foxy’s, how can you not, it’s mentioned at least once in every cruising magazine every month! It was a very cool place… one of those places where everyone who visits it leaves something behind… a hat, a scarf, a shirt, your shorts, underwear… you name it and it’s hanging there in the ceiling, all personally autographed by their previous owners! From Foxy’s we headed over to a gorgeous little island called ‘Sandy Spit’, it is one of two islands, the other called ‘Sandy Cay’, the two of which are very remote, very sandy, and very beautiful! We spent the better part of a day lounging around on a perfect beach laying under a perfect palm tree, looking at the perfect turquoise water that ‘Sophisticated Lady’ was hovering in. It was such a good feeling to just float in that water with pristine sand under you and look at this tiny little island sitting here in the Northeast corner of the Caribbean, and just be amazed that you were actually here! From Sandy Spit we headed back to Tortola and stopped in at Sopers Hole, a very colorful, pretty little town nestled into a small bay on the West side of Tortola. We did the quick tour through town, stopped in at the local market and found some great new spices to try, filled up the boat with water and fuel, then headed back to Road Town where we had to say good-bye to Kory and Susan. They had been onboard for some time now and we had grown very attached to them, it’s amazing when you find someone you can spend weeks with living in a small place, and everyone gets along so well. We really enjoyed having them aboard and appreciate all the help they offered in our passage across the Atlantic… Thanks guys, we’ll look forward to seeing you again soon! After they left we met up with some of our friends from the Rally and started exploring all the hundreds of anchorages there are here in the islands. One of the ones that stands out was in Little Harbor on Peter Island… here we dropped anchor and tied the stern ashore and marveled at the clarity of the water behind our boat. We donned our snorkeling gear and grabbed our underwater camera and just jumped off the back of the boat to take in all the colorful reef fish and coral. Then Paul and I (Paul from Blueprint Match) took off on a little hike into the hills behind where our boats were anchored. Halfway up the hill we came across a disturbing sight… there was a goat hanging upside down from a tree! Upon closer inspection we saw he had his front hoof caught between the ‘Y’ of two tree branches… he must have been trying to eat something out of the tree and slipped but caught his foot and was now hanging by it! We thought for sure there was no life here, but then we saw his throat contract and he let out a powerful “Baaahhhhh!!” Hey, I recognized that cry, I had been hearing it all morning on the boat and wondering where it was coming from! Paul and I grabbed the two tree branches and split them, releasing the goats foot and he lowered to the ground in a pile… his head was hanging straight down his back so we figured he must have broken his neck… not good! We carefully gave him a little nudge to get him into a more comfortable position and almost instantly his head popped up! He sat there and just stared at us for quite some time before he hopped up and tried to walk… his foot must have been asleep as he fell over on it a couple times, then it came too and he ran off at top speed! Aren’t happy endings great! After that we continued on up the side of the hill on our hike and stumbled across an abandoned villa in the woods! This place was monstrous… had to have cost millions and wasn’t that old, even had a separate house for all the maintenance crew! All the original appliances, stoves, fridges, microwaves, were all still there but definitely nobody had been here for about 15-20 years, the roof and floors were crumbling in everywhere and now its only inhabitants were hermit crabs and spiders… some the size of your hand! The next island over was Norman Island and we picked up a mooring ball in an anchorage called ‘The Bight’… this place has a reputation as it is home to the famous ‘Willie T’… the Willie T is an old boat that is now permanently anchored in the harbour and now serves as a floating bar/restaurant where all the locals and tourists hang out and party until all hours of the night (and day, lol). Willie T’s is famous for two things… body shots and free t-shirts… the body shots are something you just have to see, so we’re not even going to go there, lol… and to get a free t-shirt you have to be female and you have to jump naked off the top of the ship! Anyone want a free t-shirt!! Surprisingly, they give out a lot of t-shirts! After all this excitement, we continued on our way and took in several more of the local islands including Virgin Gorda Sound, home to the Bitter End Yacht Club and Saba Resort. We anchored here a couple of times and enjoyed all the different places you could go ashore and hang out at a local bar and watch the sun go down while sipping a pain killer or beer or whatever else you preferred. From here we headed up to the outlying island of Anegada… this island has a reputation of crushing ships on its multitude of surrounding coral reefs so we were paying very particular attention to our navigation! It’s almost impossible to see the island until you’re almost on top of it as it only rises about 25 feet above sea level and is lined with sandy beaches. We managed to safely enter the harbor and met up with about 6 other boats from the Rally so everyone decided to go ashore and have dinner at one of the local restaurants famous for its seafood. Terri and I had chicken since Terri’s allergic to shell-fish, but the others reported that the lobster they served there was some of the best they had ever had… We know lots of people who would love this place! Terri went off on a long walk with Ashley and discovered that this island also had some of the best beaches to be found anywhere, in addition to some of the best coral for snorkeling on the far side of the island… we didn’t get to experience it though as there was huge surf coming off the Atlantic and it had the coast all stirred up. We had Bob and Melanie along with us on our visit to Anegada, they had left their boat, ‘Rockhopper’, back in Gorda Sound because it had a 9 foot keel and never would have made it into the anchorage. Bob stayed back with me and helped me fix a few things that needed to be done… including hauling me up to the masthead to pull down our jib halyard that was still up there since it broke during the trip across the Atlantic! I brought the camera up with me and took some cool shots of the island and our neighboring boats in the harbor. Heading over to St Johns in the US Virgin Islands revealed another island with a unique character… this one has over 90% of its land dedicated to parkland conservation! There was some really good hiking here although Terri and I found out the hard way that 5 hour hikes were not for us, lol. We did really enjoy part of the hike that landed us in the middle of the jungle (as it would seem) where it was like stepping back in time. There was a big rock waterfall with several levels of pools formed, and ancient carvings in the rocks just above the water so they reflected in perfect unity off the water… they called them Petroglyphs and it really was an inspiring place to stop and take a break. We had some lunch and took some pictures then continued on our hike where we visited an old abandoned rum mill… not sure what the story was here and why it was abandoned, but in the States, they probably would have been considered bootleggers! Lol After a quick stop in St Thomas to do a major re-provisioning of food, we decided it was time for something different so a few boats got together and we all headed over towards Puerto Rico… word has it there were some more islands over there that were very remote and much more un-inhabited so we were definitely up for checking that out! First we visited the Spanish Isla de Culebra, a beautiful island and the heart of the Spanish Virgin Islands. Here was a small town, and although there was virtually nobody here, all the locals we encountered were very friendly and only too happy to tell us a bit about their island. A whole group of us all hopped in an island taxi-van and cruised over to a beach on the far side of the island… this was truly a spectacular beach… white sand running for miles around the bay and beautiful coral blue waters… have you heard this somewhere before? We had some great snorkeling around some huge coral heads growing straight out of the sand, and even swam with a stingray! We stayed here for a couple nights, but then heard from the locals that there was a beautiful island nearby with even more perfect beaches and snorkeling and it was completely un-inhabited… ok, we’re in! We carefully navigated around several unmarked coral reefs and found our way into a bay on Isla de Culebrita… truly a gem of the Caribbean! It was so beautiful here, we were all in awe as we approached the tip of the bay… pure white sand in a gentle arc around the bay, palm trees swaying in the breeze, perfectly clear water and coral everywhere that would make some of the best snorkeling we had seen to date… top that off by the fact that we had the entire island to ourselves! We had a very special occasion while we were here… Pam and Chuck aboard ‘Helen Louise’ were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this day so Terri and Michele (aboard Blueprint Match) and Louise (aboard Lulu) all got together and arranged a special ceremony at the beach where Pam and Chuck would renew their wedding vows… It was truly surreal as they pulled up on the beach in a dinghy and walked down the aisle that the girls had made out of some kind of lace fabric and coral with candles all down the sides… and stood at the ‘alter’ and once again renewed their commitment to each other. The sun was just setting over the hill behind us, the moon was out in full this night just hanging over the palm tree beside us, and the waves were rolling in on the beach only 20 feet away and none of us could believe that we were really here and the night was so spectacular! Many bottles of champagne were ‘popped’ in celebration and I’m sure none of us will ever forget that night! Congrats Pam and Chuck!
We would have stayed many more days there, but the forecast was calling for huge winds to pick up out of the East which is where we needed to go so we cut short and headed back to St Thomas to avoid having to pound upwind the day after. December 18, 2005 We’ve been anchored in the Charlotte Amalie harbor on St Thomas for 3 days now… it’s another one of those times when you plan to pull in somewhere to pick up a few groceries, spend a few hours, then the next thing you know its 3 days later! Charlotte Amalie is actually a very pretty town from the water, it still has all the hustle and bustle of a small mainland town, but definitely has its own flavor of island charm. We’ve gone ashore each day to wander around and meet the locals and see all the little shops… you can buy anything here, but being a cruise ship town, jewelry shops are very abundant! It’s as close to home as you can find in the Caribbean, they have Home Depot, K-mart… even McDonalds! We’ve learned to schedule our trips ashore after the tourists have gone back to the cruise ships. All the little markets pack up for the night, the streets go quiet, the buses disappear, and the rhythm of ‘island time’ is slowly restored to it’s natural pace. We came ashore after sunset the other night when we heard steel drums playing in the streets, we knew it couldn’t be for the tourists because there weren’t any cruise ships at the dock… low and behold it was a festival celebrating Christmas and the full moon! It was great, the bands were playing Christmas songs in calypso style, people were dancing in the streets, there were food trucks set up everywhere and they were serving my old time favorite… Jerk chicken! It was a great night and we wandered around under the full moon amazed at how many people were there and they were all locals… it seemed like everyone on the entire island must have come down to party! We actually planned to leave today to head back to St John, but we ended up going into town again to finish some Christmas shopping and pick up a few needed items for ‘Sophisticated Lady’. Add in the fact that the wind was howling right from the direction we wanted to go… we decided to sit it out another day! We enjoyed a little more perusing around the island, got our Christmas packages to our kids sent out, and then flaked out at the boat and watched the sun go down leaving a beautiful glow of twilight hovering over Charlotte Amalie. I was sitting on the bow enjoying the scenery when this guy comes over to us in his dinghy… I think he said his name was Gary, but anyway, this guy looked like he should be standing on a street corner asking for spare change, lol. He came over to ask about our Canadian flag and where in Canada we were from. I told him we had sailed down from Georgian Bay, just north of Toronto and he said that he was from Victoria, BC… he was definitely a long way from home! Turns out Gary was some kind of a Bio-chemist that got sick of the rat race and sailed off, he got here 12 years ago and never left! Now he does strictly volunteer work with the island hospitals to help out the locals. We had an interesting chat before he bid farewell and started off to his boat in his dinghy… his boat was about a mile away from us and the first thing I noticed was that Gary was in no hurry to get there… while everyone else was running their dinghy’s around at top speed, here goes Gary across the harbor at idle speed, lol… truly a great example of being on island time! Terri just came back from walking Ashley ashore and announced there was another party with the locals starting up… guess that’s my cue! Wednesday, December 21, 2005 The first day of winter! And happily, the shortest day of the year… now we can start recovering some of our lost daylight hours! We finally managed to pull out of St Thomas on Monday, Charlotte Amalie was a very cool town and we enjoyed several days of hopping on the local ‘Safari’ buses and touring up over the hills into the locals part of the island… of course it helped that that’s where the K-mart, Home Depot, Office Max, and all the other home-like stores were, lol. On the other side of that coin were the small shops and local markets down at the waterfront that set up every day as soon as the cruise ships arrived at the town docks. These markets were more expensive, but were still worth a look and always had some unique trinkets that caught our interest. One was a hand carved replica of the same kind of sea-turtle that we had just swam with over at Lamesure Bay on St John… that one was a must have for Terri! We arrived back in Cruz Bay on St John and went ashore to meet a friend who started a bar down here several years ago. We met up with him and his dad who was visiting from our home port in Ontario, he’s the captain of the Miss Midland which is the cruise ship that operates just minutes away from our dock! It was cool hanging out with them and seeing the village where Joe had set up his rum hut, it was a great place… very Caribbean, very well kept, painted in really cool pastel colors… it was just a very comfortable place to kick back for a while! We took them out for a sail and went for a little tour of St Johns, they filled in several of the local stories and the whose-who of St Johns… there are some very exotic houses in the hills here! Today we’re on our way back to Road Town, Tortola. There are a few things we need to pick up and a few things to get done to ‘Sophisticated Lady’ before Christmas sets in this weekend… Always busy!! PS… my dad just underwent major surgery today… I got the call tonight that everything went better than expected… that’s a relief! Best wishes Dad, sorry I couldn’t be there but look forward to seeing you soon! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! Cheers, She said: One of the best parts about getting to shore was being able to eat spicy, exciting and utterly different food in a restaurant – food as far from bland chicken as we could get!! We were so happy to sit at a little table over looking the harbor and order island drinks and just relax and feel motionless. Just to be off the boat and to be free of the constant rolling waves and motion was such a luxury and to look around and see more then endless blue water was bliss! It was so wonderful to be in the marina with all of the other rally boats and to see everyone safe and sound and celebrating their success. It was such a high. We were all just so excited to be there, to be done the hard bit and to be in the Caribbean at last. We all continued to meet each night for cocktails and to exchange adventures and compare our lists of repairs. The second night we were there happened to be the full moon and on the islands there is something called a Bomba Fete party – we heard about it from a friend and were told it was not to be missed. It was supposed to be a big party on the beach at a bar on the other side of the island. We were all game to go and check it out. We were still all a little tired but thought this was a once in a lifetime party we needed to partake in! We hopped in a cab and got a little talking tour of the islands from our cab driver Steve as we wound around the curving, steep roads up the mountain side. There was no mistaking the party as we drove into it, thousands of people of every age and character in the road, and on the beach – dancing, laughing, singing and just plain partying! The bars were stands set up all on the side of the road and a band stand was rigged up in the field. Everything was very loud, colorful and happy. The beach was right beside the road with several rickety beach bars on stilts with balconies over looking the bay. The sand was incredibly soft and the surf pounding under the full moon. One partier had flaming torches he was juggling and flinging into the air that looked amazing and dangerous in the dark. It was such a spectacle of moving bodies, music, heat and moonbeams that it was all very surreal. Your senses were on over load just trying to take it all in. Our friends Wendy and Doug from Ontario had emailed us saying they were going to be on holiday here renting a sailboat. They said they were going to the party and to look for them. By some lucky twist of fate I actually saw them as our cab pulled into the party amongst the thousands of people, I just looked out the window and there they were! It was so cool to be hanging out with them in the middle of islands, listening to an awesome reggae band, drinking strong rum punches and feeling the crazy full moon fever surrounding us. It doesn’t get much cooler then that! We managed to party until 2am, wade into the salty moonlit surf and then slid into our taxi and sat on garbage bags to keep the seats dry on our ride home. What a night! Needless to say we all slept in after our night of full moon partying. We then proceeded to get our million pounds of salty, smelly wet towels and dirty sheets and clothes washed and dried. Luckily there was a laundry mat attached to the marina with a local lady who would do it all for us for not much more then if we did it ourselves. I was more than pleased with that idea. We did some grocery shopping, site seeing, dog walking and got the sails fixed all in about 2 days. Not bad for island time! Our more then trusty crew, Susan and Kory where scheduled to go home in a few days and we wanted them to see as much of the islands as we could squeeze in – so off we went. It was difficult to decide exactly which island to go to first and we headed to the nearest one called Virgin Gorda. We found a quiet little anchorage just down from the Baths, a famous area of giant volcanic rocks, pristine beaches and scenic caves. It was so nice to be gently floating in an island anchorage gazing at the tiny lights of Spanish Town with the stress and struggles of off-shore passaging behind us. Next morning we were up early to get a good spot at the Baths anchorage. It was another beautiful day in paradise. It only seems to rain a little each night and we usually end up lurching out of bed, half asleep to dash around and close all the open ports and windows! The Baths is an area with giant, impressive volcanic rocks that are piled and almost melted into each other. Some are car sized and some are building sized and they almost look thrown together and piled in teetering towers that are forever frozen in these breath taking sculptures. The beaches along side are picture perfect with white coral sands and swaying palm trees. The guys decide to chill after we grab a mooring ball but me and Susan are dying to finally go swimming. The marina we were at on Tortola was too busy and dirty to swim in. We threw our suits on and jumped in the unbelievably turquoise water. It felt like pounds of weight just fell away as you floated in the salty warm water. The temperature was perfect – refreshing and yet warm enough to swim in forever. We bobbed around just taking in the majestic and somewhat haunting towers of rock and wondered what forces created such wonders. We had to try out our snorkel gear and see what sites awaited us below. Again the guys decided to chill with drinks! Susan and I got our masks, fins and headed for the cove where you could see the waves breaking on the coral reefs. Susan had seen a large barracuda lurking just before we jumped in – yikes! The reef was big and the current was really strong. We saw lots of colorful little fish and one giant fish – it must have been as big as one of us! We enjoyed the underwater world and snorkeled all the way to the beach cove and walked around on shore. We saw a sign for a cave hike and knew we had to do that! There was a sign warning about rip tides and swarms of jelly fish that sting! If you got stung you were supposed to go see the game warden for special cream- we hoped we wouldn’t need it. We struggled back in our gear and began the long swim back to the boat- it seemed fine coming in but going back was hard work and our arms were exhausted by time we climbed back aboard. Rick made his yummy dip and we all ate tons and relaxed in the wondrous heat. My hair was freaking out in the salt air and water and was in huge knots and tangled beyond belief. Susan volunteered to try and comb it out and soon regretted it - it took her over 2 hours to comb out my hair and it was coated with conditioner and lashed down in tight braids when she was done. Her arms were aching and my head was numb!! I decided at that point to always have it in braids when swimming or in the wind, which amounts to pretty much always! We donned our cameras and headed for the cove to do the “Cave Hike”. As we got close to the beach we realized you couldn’t take the dingy onto the beach but instead had to moor it quite a far swim from the beach. We were not in our swim suits and so I volunteered to drop everyone off and then swim to shore. As we neared the entrance to the cave hike a big sign stated it was a challenging hike with climbing, narrow passages and even some wading through deep water. We were game! The caves formed by the huge rocks piled together were breath taking – some had roots and plants growing along them while others had secret turquoise coves of water deep within the walls of the boulders with sunlight streaming down into and waves splashing under. We often had to climb up slippery rock faces with a ratty rope to hold onto and to wade along inner creeks and pools of water waist deep. Ashley had a grand time and only needed to be carried through the deep parts! Some rocks had steep wooden stairs leading up to the sunshine and a couple even had crooked fun-house type platforms to try and walk across. One section was so tiny and low we all ended up crawling for a part of it. Every part had some surprising view or surface to negotiate. We are not sure how far the trail goes but we stopped at a big open section with house size rocks and a quiet ocean pond that over looked the boats in the bay. Some of the rocks looked like melted chocolate and stone and formed the most incredible structures that looked ready to collapse but had been standing for hundreds of years. I guess it got its name “the Baths” from all the hidden pools along the trail that were like the ancient Greek Baths. You felt rejuvenated and cleansed of all your silly worries and stresses by the end of the hike. As we wandered out we discovered a tiny local bar on the beach where we ordered rum punches and beers and gazed out at the beautiful beach surrounding us. What a day! Jost Van Dyke This island is legendary in the cruising world and we were eager to step ashore and become part of the legend. The most famous bar on shore is called Foxy’s and the owner, of the same name is a local musician and entertainer who captures the hearts and souls of all who hear him play or drink in his bar. We anchored in a picture perfect bay, again! Dove in and cooled off our hot bodies with a wonderful swim around ‘the Lady’. Took pics galore with our floating camera and all just grinned at each other that we were actually in this place and it was perfect. Susan and Kory had graciously offered to take us to dinner as a thank you so we all got dolled up and jumped in the dingy at dusk. The dingy dock is on the far end of a white sand curved beach with colorful local beach bars dotting its shores. Foxy’s is at the end of a long wooden dock with pilings all along edged with rope. The sign for Foxy’s is a pirate skull and cross bones carved in a hunk of wood. It looks like a set from a movie scene. At the end of the dock are a couple of inviting rope hammocks swaying under the palms and the most interesting series of bars all with sand floors and thousands of tee shirts and bandanas from all over the world pinned to the ceiling. It was a bar straight from your imagination of an island get-away. Every night bands played, people danced under the stars and palms trees and local characters and even local dogs roamed around adding spice and life to the place. We had a fantastic dinner of fresh fish that I actually watched being carried by off the fishing boat! Susan had a huge lobster that was half her size and we had the local drink called a pain killer. We had a wonderful night and dinghied back under an endless sky of impossibly bright stars. Sandy Spit This place is almost indescribable. It really is a tiny piece of paradise that rises out of the ocean like a mirage. You know that screen saver everyone has on their computer of the tiny round lone island with one palm tree and white sand beach all around and perfect turquoise waters surrounding it? That is this island. It is a post card perfect island you can walk around in about 2 minutes. We anchored out about 300 ft from the beach and all held our breath, afraid it wasn’t real and might vanish if we breathed too hard. There wasn’t a soul on the island and we sat and stared at it as we ate a yummy breakfast of strawberry crepes. We spent the day wandering around, swimming in the surf ( Ashley got tossed in somersaults but still loved it), laying in the shade of the palm tree and collecting shells and coral. This place grabs your soul and makes you feel like this is the place you have been yearning for your whole life. We spent the next two days with Kory and Susan doing a little island hopping, snorkeling and plenty of resting and relaxation. Its funny how once you reach the islands, the infamous ‘island time’ syndrome takes over and you do everything at a very slow and mellow pace-one day begins to melt into the next and you lose track of what day it is. And really, there is no need to know what day it is or what time it is. That is the real beauty of the islands, the experience of slowing down and enjoying the moment you are in. The need or sense of needing to rush, rush, rush and hurry up and get a million things done doesn’t exist here. The morning we got up insanely early to say goodbye to Susan and Kory was so sad. We had just been through the most amazing and trying adventure together and had learned to work as a team. It was impossible to think it would be ok without them. We enjoyed each others company every day and exploring the islands together just felt absolutely right. We both stood on the transom and watched them walk down the dock and get in a cab with tears in our eyes. Kory had been with us for 3 weeks and we were used to his cheerful, smiling face. And when Susan joined us it just got better and better. How could we stand the loneliness? It really was very sad to see them leave and know we were really on our own, that our last connection to home was gone. We still miss you guys and cherish our times together. Since that day we have explored so many islands it is hard to think about describing them so they sound unique. They are all different and have their own energy and feel but when you start to describe them they sound the same in a lot of ways. It’s almost like there aren’t enough words and some new ones should be made up to fill the gaps. I will try and tell you my favorite bits about each place or what comes to my mind when I think of them. But you really need to come here and check them out for yourself!! We soon hooked up with what I now come to think of as our gang or second family. These are the boats from the 1500 rally that we connected with and now travel with and meet in anchorages as we explore. With out our friends on: Blueprint Match, Helen Louise, Daydream, Dragonfly, Lulu, Zia, Rockhopper, Elsha and Nana Maria, life on the waters of these islands would not be the same. It is amazing how close you can become to people you have only really known for a month and a half. It’s as if the shared experience of preparing for the ocean crossing, the crossing and arriving at the same place bonds you instantly and permanently. When ever you see that little pink Caribbean 1500 flag, you know that boat is a friend and you can’t wait to talk to them. Also I think because we are doing this crazy alternative thing with our lives- selling everything, leaving our jobs and families and living in a home that floats and that we can pick up and move instantly, we understand each other on a deep level that others in our lives may not understand. We can talk and relate about the amazing rewards of the life, the constant maintenance and the struggles of missing loved ones far away. We just seem to talk in our own cruisers language whether it is about the best anchorages in swells, where to shop locally, where the dingy dock is or what the weather is supposed to be doing. It’s a world like no other and it’s priceless to have others who get you, who understand and feel the same need to live a different life, to explore the world and who you are in it. I have also found as a women it is essential to our well being to have other women to talk to, to bond with and to just be with. I think men don’t need this on the same level but I have found women really do and it makes all the difference in our sense of happiness and contentment to have these relationships. So thank you to my cruising girl friends – you know who you are and you make my life here so rich and full that it’s hard to imagine this place without you. Being able to email and call our families every day or every other has made this lifestyle possible for us. Without that communication and connection with our loved ones I think our time here would be very lonely and isolated. We both cherish our talks with everyone back home whether they are voices or emails. Thank you all for staying in touch and being there. Ok – back to the islands. Virgin Gorda Sound To get into this picturesque and active anchorage you must sail by two outer islands with jagged cliffs and waves crashing onto piles of dangerous looking rocks. Once you are inside it is a bustling place with two or three very beautiful and exclusive resorts surrounding the bay. After we anchored we noticed whirling spots of color all around and upon closer inspection realized it was wind surfers, hobie cats, tiny sailboats, kite surfers and kayaks – all zipping around in the bay having a grand time. Water sports are big in this bay! One of our favorite spots is a resort and restaurant on Saba Rock. This is a beautifully landscaped place on a tiny island tucked in between two bigger ones. Everything is done in big Spanish tiles and warm wood and every view is spectacular. Around back is a tropical garden so perfect and green you just want to lay down in it and bask in the freshness. Hidden in the garden is a tiny perfect beach with 2 hammocks swaying in the breeze. It was too perfect to walk by it without climbing in and relaxing. Norman Island This bay is for partiers! There are two bars that play loud music and go all night long. One is called Willie T’s and it is actually on an old floating barge anchored close to shore. This is a crazy party place where anything can and often does happen! Usually involving nakedness!! We stayed a night and did some partying but not too much! A bunch of us actually got up early the next morning and did yoga on the beach with Melanie from Rockhopper. I even saw a huge sting ray gliding along as we held our tree posture! It was a very inspiring way to start the day. The locals refer to this island as “Treasure Island” because of numerous stories of buried pirate treasure. We didn’t find any, yet! Anegada (The drowned Island) This was one of the coolest and most awesome of islands to see. Its highest point is only 28 feet above sea level and its 11 miles long and fringed with mile after mile of deserted white sandy beaches. None of the charter boats are allowed to come to this anchorage because the passage into the anchorage is very tricky and shallow. As you sail up to the island the water color changes can be seen from miles away and are breathtaking. There are tiny beach bars and restaurants at the end of long skinny docks that are like splotches of color in a painting. We had the best fried chicken lunch there and a huge dinner party with about 10 other boats all at one giant table. They grilled fresh caught lobster and fish on steel drums in the sand and it’s served outside under the stars and warm night breezes. On the far side of the island are huge coral reefs and some of the best snorkeling around. It can be rough over there and the reef has claimed over 300 ship wrecks! Needless to say most boaters now take a cab across the island to snorkel!! We didn’t get a chance to go to the other side but I did walk the endless beach and it was so tranquil and untouched that you felt like you could walk forever and not see another footprint. Diamond Cay, Jost Van Dyke This was one of our favorite places. The anchorage is tucked into a tiny bay with a coral reef that separates the anchored boats from the impressive crashing ocean surf only a short distance away. It’s wild to sit on your calmly floating boat and see and hear huge pounding surf hundreds of feet away! There is a new open air bar and tiny boutique perched on the lush green hill side and it is the only building around. All sides of the boat boast an amazing view and the fact that there is no town or strip of beach huts makes this a very relaxing and tranquil place. Peter Island This is a well protected lovely anchorage where we spent a couple of days with friends. There are no buildings anywhere to be seen but there is an old dock just off the beach that is convenient to tie up the dingy when I take Ashley ashore for walks! The water here is so clear you can see 40 ft or more to the bottom. On one of my trips to shore with Ashley I saw a movement just under the surface and I immediately cut the engine. It was a Spotted Eagle Ray – it looks like a Dalmatian spotted sting ray! I followed it while it danced and glided like a piece of ribbon through the water. Rick and I jumped off the back of the boat and found the best snorkeling, talk about convenient and close to home! There were tons of fish, beautiful coral and sea urchins galore. Paul came over and asked Rick if he wanted to go for a hike to take some pics at the top of the hillside and off they went. Well, they had quite the adventure. On their way up the hill they heard a goat crying and crying and went to investigate. Seems one of the wild goats got his foot trapped in the branches of a tree and was hanging there with his head all bent weirdly. Rick noticed he was still breathing and they managed to break it free and it flopped to the ground. They both thought it was dead because his head was at such a bad angle but after a few seconds he jumped up and stumbled around on his numb leg. He stopped and stared at both of them and then sprang off into the woods! Michele and I were so proud of our goat heroes!!! They continued to beat through the over grown path to the top and found an abandoned villa that the jungle was taking over. Very cool mosaic tiles everywhere, tons of hermit crabs and a spider as big as Paul’s hand on the wall. It was obviously once a very beautiful place. Great Lamesure Bay, St. Johns US Virgin Islands Our introduction to the US islands was a very busy port with ferries and water taxis screaming by at alarming speeds leaving huge wakes to toss us around. We were a bit shell shocked by all the urgency and pushiness of the power boats after the tranquility of the BVI’s. We attempted to find somewhere to anchor right in the bay where customs is but it was too crowded so we ducked around the corner of the bay and found a pretty anchorage called Honeymoon Bay. There is a gorgeous beach that is part of the giant conservation parkland that makes up most of St. Johns. We breathed a sigh of relief and hopped in the dingy to head back into Cruz bay to customs. Finding the dingy dock amongst all the huge ferries and barges was next to impossible and we almost got rammed and swamped a couple of times by reckless ferry captains!! After asking a couple of people we found the office and ended up at the end of a long line of people coming off a packed ferry- bad timing on our part. Customs went smoothly and we headed back to the boat to relax and spend the night. Next morning we decided to head to Great Lamesure Bay with a group of friends. It is a wonder bay surrounded by protected lush hills and forests. As we lay on the bow at night watching the stars all we could hear were island crickets and tree frogs. There are no inhabitants on land except one tiny park warden’s hut and it is very protected and green and alive. It was expected to be very rough weather the next 3 or 4 days and we were happy to be tucked safely in our little bay with our friends moored around us. Next day friends asked us to go on a hike, sure we thought that would be fun. Little did we know they were experienced hiking enthusiasts and it was going to be a 5 hour hike!! Yikes, as Rick, Ashley and I dragged our bones up to the top of what seemed like an endless mountain with sweat just pouring down our bodies, we realized we were really not hikers per say. We did get to see a really cool hidden fresh water fall with Petroglyphs from ancient Indians carved in the stones and an old rum mill filled with bats and hermit crabs but it was a very long hot hike. I ended up carrying poor little Ashley a bunch of times when she just got too hot or exhausted to continue – she was after all doing this on 3 inch legs!! We still had fun and some great pics. I was so happy to fall into my bunk after and nap! The next morning we noticed a hawksbill sea turtle swimming around our boat in slow lazy circles. He would come up for air and then dive down and eat sea grass on either side and do this over and over for hours. I was ecstatic and took tons of photos. Michele and I decided we had to get in and snorkel with him and it was glorious. He wasn’t scared of us at all and just kept eating and going up for air and down again. He even came close to us on his passes and then did a little water ballet as if to say “I know you are there and aren’t I beautiful to see”. And he was. He moved like he was flying under water, so graceful and free. We felt truly lucky to have been able to swim with him and be so near. He is on the endangered list and it made it that much more precious to see him out in his world – happy and healthy and magical. The next day our other friends and Rick came snorkeling with me and he did his water ballet again for us all. We all were so in awe and touched by the simple beauty of our time with our sea turtle. He continued to come to our boat every day for the 5 days we were there and to swim all around us for hours and it never ceased to touch and amaze me. I will never forget him. The Spanish Virgin Islands We absolutely loved these islands. No one is there at all. It is so laid back and cut off from civilization that it is intoxicating to the soul. The island of Culebra has a tiny main street with local shops and villas. Nothing is spruced up or geared for tourists – it is all just real people living in a tiny ocean village. It seems almost deserted on the roads and anyone you met spoke only Spanish but always had a smile and an “ola” as you passed. There really is nowhere to rush to, nothing to get and all locals around you. We took a taxi ride to the beach on the far side which is only about a ten minute ride and our cab driver Willie gave us a running tour, even showing us his mom’s house as we passed!! It was a place you felt you could just slip into and disappear from everything. We met a lot of cruisers at the ‘Dinghy Bar’ a restaurant that everyone goes to by dinghy and ties up right under your table. Most of the cruisers we met here had come for a short visit years ago!! The beach was beyond words. Miles and miles of soft golden sand and reefs to swim out to with huge walls and coves full of fish and sting rays. There is hardly a soul on the beach and as you walk down the beach you come to a military tank washed up on shore that the salt has melted and formed into a mesmerizing piece of art. We all spent a great day body surfing in the waves, snorkeling and walking the beach. It was hard to go home at night. Some locals told us about the next island over called Isla D’ Culebrita. I don’t know what that means in Spanish but it should mean island of your soul’s dreams because it is beyond perfect. As we rounded the edge of the bay and started in it was this perfect oasis of a horse shoe shaped beach with palm trees kissing the shore and impossibly green rolling hillsides all around. One side had crashing surf and volcanic rocks with untouched reefs below and the other had cliffs with miles of grass that looked like Ireland. It was unreal. And completely deserted – not a soul or a hut in sight any where. No roads or power lines – just a tropical paradise just for us. We all just looked at each other and laughed – life really couldn’t be this good could it?! We all wanted to stay here for ever and just leave once in a while to go venture out for food. Pam and Chuck were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and we decided this was the dream beach wedding everyone pictures in their heart. You really couldn’t dream up a more beautiful setting. Michele and I eagerly planned the ceremony and went to the beach to set up tiny candles and a white gauze path for the couple to walk down. Michele, Louise and I all made yummy things to eat, brought chilled Champaign and the festivities started at sunset. It was the perfect night and we even had a full moon to bless the events. Everyone was happy and touched to be part of such a special time in our friend’s lives together. Looking out from our own private beach to our beautiful boats all swaying on their hooks – we all just sighed and I know none of us will ever forget that night. Paul and Michele have a diving apparatus called a Hoopa – this is a little motor with air hoses that floats on the surface of the water as you scuba dive 30 ft below. It’s really cool and you can go so much closer to the fish and the coral reefs with it. The boys went out and then the girls and we all were so impressed with the beautiful undisturbed reef and hundreds of fish. It was very addictive and opens up a whole new world under the surface. We all sadly had to head back to St. Thomas and leave our private island to shop and get some supplies and do some mailing. We vowed to return and made our way back to civilization. The hustle and bustle of St. Thomas was almost obscene after the stillness and simpleness of the Spanish Virgins. St. Thomas is a big island with huge bays for giant cruise ships to dock and unload thousands of shoppers to spend, spend, spend. We anchored out close to down town and made our way to shore. It is busy with crowded streets, traffic and stores and taxis everywhere. There are hundreds of jewelry shops and store after store of places with wares to sell to tourists with money. We were a little overwhelmed by every one asking ‘do we need a ride back to the ship’ and ‘my friends shop has a sale on gold’. There was a huge open air market right where the dinghy dock was and they sold everything you could imagine. It was fun to watch all the people and get caught up in the tide of shoppers but it was also great to slip back in the dinghy and escape to our quiet boats bobbing in the bay. The bay is pretty and the lights at night along the hills are mesmerizing. This is the closest we have been to civilization since we got here. There are even K-Marts, Home Depots and McDonalds here – all which were strange to see again. We managed to get a lot of our shopping for parts and things we needed done but it always seems to take a long time to run errands. There are these open air taxi/buses called Safaris that you have to flag down and jump in. They only cost $1 dollar in town and $2 to go to the ‘country’ which was not the country but bigger stores further out of town. One afternoon I took Ashley ashore for her walk and the whole downtown was having some kind of street party. There were booths set up everywhere with local wares for sale and steel drum bands all over the place. Most of the steel drum bands appeared to be kids from different schools all playing Christmas music. It was some kind of giant Christmas party spread all over the town and everyone local was there. All the tourists off the cruise ships had left and the locals had gathered to celebrate. It was intoxicating – full of sounds, smells and colorful sites and voices all around. By the time Ashley and I got back to the boat Rick was ready to call out a search for us! I told him what was happening and he and our friends Chuck and Pam decided to head back to shore for the night time portion of the party. It was still going on in full force with bands around every corner and people everywhere all dressed in their finest. We had a great night wandering from stand to stand, watching the locals and swaying to the awesome reggae tunes. In the main park all the trees had been decorated, each by a different class or school, for Christmas and tiny lights strung everywhere. It was magical. We went back to the boats armed with bags of fresh BBQ’d jerk chicken and feasted. Just when we thought the night was over Chuck called us to come up on deck and look outside. There was a boat parade happening all around us! There was a line of boats of all different sizes done up in hundreds of Christmas lights and inflated figures winding there way through our anchorage and along the shore. We could hear the crowds on shore cheering as each boat passed by the town. They looked so incredible in the dark as they glided by. Everyone on board was singing and yelling ‘Merry Christmas’ and we were just staring and laughing like kids in Santa’s toy land! It was a spectacle like I have never seen and we felt the magic of Christmas as we watched the festive boats circle around us. I wish the kids could have been here for that as I often do when we see something special in our adventures. I miss Madison every day and that is the one thing missing in this beautiful place. At this time of year we are missing being with family and loved ones and sometimes it gets very sad for me but we will be back in February and you are all in our hearts. St. Johns, USVI After making our escape from St. Thomas – we only meant to stay a day or two and ended up there 4 or 5 – we made our way back over to St. Johns to find our friend Joe. Joe is the son of Mike, the Captain of the Miss Midland, a cruise ship in our stomping grounds on Georgian Bay. We met Mike last year as we both cruised the beautiful waters of Georgian Bay and he told us to look up his son down here. As we went to visit Joe at his business, a very tropical, happening beach bar called ‘Joe’s Rum Hut’ we found out Mike was down visiting and we had a little Penetanguishene reunion! It was great to see Mike and Joe again and to see Joe’s most excellent bar and hang out. We all went for a relaxing sail on our boat the next day and it was awesome to have Joe and his friend Tim give us the low down on the islands and who is who and the best places to see and be. There is nothing like local knowledge to make a place come even more alive and exciting when you are somewhere new. Tim owns a local sandwich shop and he brought amazing and tasty sandwiches for lunch. It was a great day spent with great people. Our life here is lovely and one day flows into the next. Sometimes, actually most time you don’t know what day it is but it really doesn’t matter too much. We also do everyday things such as provisioning, laundry, cleaning, boat repairs, and charter related things but these aren’t too exciting to hear about. LOL. We have been enjoying mornings spent doing things like yoga on the beach, lazy swims or breakfast in the warm sun as the island comes alive around you. Evenings are for talking about the day’s adventures and sharing good food and drinks with friends. Our days are filled with finding the best snorkeling spot or beach and enjoying each new anchorage with its unique character and rhythm (finding good wireless internet access is also very exciting!! LOL). I have never seen more rainbows then we have here in the islands… huge, breath taking arches soaring over our boats in the anchorages with colors so crisp and bright you swear you could touch them. It must be a sign that we are in the golden place at the end of the rainbow. Cheers, |