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Our found bottle covered in barnacles and tiny sea creatures inspired us to write a short story about ourselves, our adventure and where we found it. We hope someone far away will spot it one day and pluck it from the ocean, send us a message and then return it to the sea. It seems such a romantic and random way to communicate in this age of instant messaging and skype, but one that touches the soul in a way electronics never will.
Our last couple days on the ocean were perfect and serene with the right amount of wind to get us where we need to go - to the finish line! We spend them relaxing and enjoying this gentle ocean and our abundance of time to appreciate it. Seldom in life do we seem to slow down enough to enjoy the quiet,simple moments.
John spots land and shouts "land ho !" - haven't we all dreamed of shouting that some day?! What a sight, it makes your heart soar and a big sigh of relief whooshes out as you realize we made it, we made it and everyone is safe and sound! The only downside to sighting land is that it teases you with its seemingly close proximity. When you spot it you figure, oh good, we will be stepping ashore shortly and celebrating being on solid ground. But no, the last miles to shore are slow and long and it is hours before we reach Tortola. Minute by minute the islands come into view and they grow more colorful, lush and vibrantly alive as we draw near. It is such a treat to be approaching in day light. Last year we pulled in near midnight and we missed this incredible paradise that lays before our eyes now.
As the finish line draws near we all feel our excitement rise. We pour ourselves an ice cold Grand Marnier and toast ourselves and the end of a very successful crossing! The temperature goes up about 15 degrees as we near Tortola and we all grin and say " welcome to the tropics!". We are sweating buckets and gazing with amazement at the turquoise blue waters. It never ceases to be the most incredible blue I have ever seen.
We pull into the familiar Road Town Harbour and are greeted by our friends Jeff and Debbie from "Daydream". They help us with the lines and hand us an ice cold bottle of campaign as soon as our feet hit the dock. What service!! We all wobble a bit on our feet and try to get used to no motion under us. Your body plays tricks and keeps swaying slightly as if you are still on the boat! We toast ourselves and "Sophisticated Lady" for a journey very well done!!! We are one of the first bunch of boats to pull in and its great to see familiar faces and the jauntily waving Caribbean 1500 pink rally flags. Thank you so much to our wonderful crew, Dwight and John. We could not have done this without you both and you are amazing men and wonderful sailors! After our arrival we have a few days to
rest, do lots of laundry and try to adjust to the heat before the awards
ceremonies begin. We celebrate our first night on land by eating a wonderful
dinner on the patio of Village Cay Marina. We all pig out and laugh about
everything moving on "island time". "Island time" is very different from what
most of us are used to. It is very relaxed, slow moving and liquid. Its very
much like molasses being poured and you have to become one with this pace
or lose your mind uselessly fighting it. Island time always wins, like the slow
and steady turtle!
Every year the Caribbean 1500 awards something called the Tempest Award to a boat within the fleet. This award is given to the boat that goes above and beyond the call of duty to help another boat in need or distress. It is a great honor to receive and this year it was awarded to "Sophisticated Lady" and her crew for the helicopter rescue we helped coordinate at sea! We were just glad to be there and to be lucky enough to help a fellow boater in need.
Soon after arriving in Road Town the stifling heat drove us to spend an afternoon snorkeling at one of our favorite spots, the Pirates Bight. Our new friends Scott and Elaine from "Over Margaritas" joined us and it was gorgeously refreshing! We dove into the azure blue waters and spent the next 2 hours snorkeling over the reef and into the 4 caves that dot the coastline. What a day!
The night of the Caribbean 1500 award ceremony finally arrived and everyone gathered to talk, to laugh, to hear others stories and above all, to cheer and support each others successes. To Rick's huge delight (and all the crew too!), we won 2nd place in the race!!! Well earned Captain and crew, well earned... We couldn't have done it without the valiant late night sailing efforts of our fantastic crew... thanks Dwight and John!!
Dwight rented a jeep one day and Rick and I joined him for a ride around Tortola. It was breathtaking to tour the island from the steep and twisting roads that wander up the mountains. The roads are incredibly steep and often turn into little more then rain gouged, pitted paths surrounded by lush green jungle as you near the top. Hidden in the green were picturesque villas painted in pastel colors enclosed by luscious bushes heavy with perfumed flowers that scented the air. The view from their balconies of blue-green waters lapping endless curved beaches edged with gently swaying, glossy palm trees was surreal. It truly looked like a perfect postcard come to life. Dwight took us to the very top of the highest hill to one of his favorite restaurants called Skyworld. It was a round open air villa with panoramic views for miles and miles on every side. We had a bird's eye view of every island in the chain and it took our breath away!
We have a few days to ourselves before our first charter and decided to visit our favorite anchorages with "Over Margaritas". We have spent the last few days sailing between the islands and enjoying the sun, sand and warm ocean. Elaine and Scott invited us to join them in celebrating the US Thanksgiving . We anchored together at Diamond Cay and had a delicious pot luck meal of all the traditional dishes. We ate by candle light surrounded by millions of stars and gently rocking waves. We even stuffed ourselves with home made island pumpkin pie! It was a fantastic evening as we slipped into dreamland under the watchful gaze of the stars and the bright lights of Tortola off in the distance.
Well, we hope this finds everyone well and we'll look forward to seeing many of you real soon! We now have Skype Internet Telephone on our computer and have had great luck with it working in many of our favorite anchorages... if you have Skype, you can contact us by our Skype ID - 'WindInMySails' and leave a message if you miss us. You can also reach us at our new Florida based phone number which dials directly into our Skype, the number is (954) 889-SAIL (7245) and you can leave a message if we're unavailable and we'll get back to you ASAP!
Thanks again for all your great emails during our passage, it's always great to hear from you and we'll look forward to hearing more from you soon... Take care till then!!
Cheers,
Terri & Rick 'Sophisticated Lady'
Wind
In
My Sails Inc. |
