Sailing in Paradise

I'm Ba-a-a-a-ck! We got back Tuesday night late, but I had to work on Wed and Friday. (Brilliant - Commit to working the two days after your vacation!) Thursday I was supposed to be getting the house back in order, but spent more time working on my pictures. I am sorely disappointed in the amount of pictures I took. Only 450! Cut down to 200 some keepers. I was hampered by the fact that my battery kept dying! I got some great shots, but a DSLR camera is calling my name. I need a longer zoom, I NEED a wide lens! It's gone beyond WANT! Sorry, tangent, where was I???

I will have to bore you with details because I view this blog as my journal. I've never been able to keep track of things like this before, so this makes me very happy.

The trip was more fantastic than I ever imagined! I want to start out first by saying, it rained every day! Now, don't feel bad for me. It was a short 15 minute rain and two times we had rainbows because the sun shines through the rain. Definitely a stress free world!
The day before we left was crazy. I drove about 200 miles! That doesn't include the trip to Chicago. Callie to Marshall's Mom's, Trent to Mona's, car to the dealership to get my dent fixed, Remo to my Mom's. 5 minutes before I left the house I had a little anxiety attack! I was glad I was packed and ready to roll. When all my chasing was finally done I was able to relax! KD and I got pedicures and then we all had dinner. I got a chance to practice my negotiation skills with the hotel staff as there was a conflict with arranging our airport shuttle. I hate conflict. It makes me uncomfortable. I feel I handled it well and got us what we needed. Worst night of sleep ever. That hide-a-bed wrecked me! Thank goodness it was a short night considering we had to get up at 3:30am!

Captains Log, Star Date: (I said log! HeHe!)
Wednesday March 26th - We met KD and Mike at the airport. Short flight to Philly, then onto St. Thomas. We did a little shopping in Charlotte Amalie then took the Fast Ferry over to Road Town on Tortolla to check in at the Moorings for our boat. "Pain Killers" all around! Then we had a nice rushed dinner before our "Captains" class. I took diligent notes! We slept on the boat that night in the harbor. The mosquitoes found their way into KD's cabin, she woke up with some huge swollen marks!

Thursday March 27th - Our first day of sailing on the Carol K. We really liked the name of our boat because it reminds us of our friends who we always talked about going on this trip with. They were very envious of us when we told them we were going! We left the harbor to head for Salt Island for a little snorkeling. Beautiful day as were all the days. Good strong sailing winds. We had quite a heel going for any upwind legs. Smiles all around as we raised the sails. Mike got his intro to the crank. It was a short sail. It only took us 3 tries to get anchored - Salt bay was crowded! We snorkeled the Wreck of the Rhone. A sunken British Mail ship. Very cool and somewhat creepy. It looks like a skeleton and considering most of the crew didn't survive it feels sort of haunting. We sailed to Cooper Island and had dinner at the Cooper Island Yacht Club. Here we got our first taste of "Island Time". The service is sooooo SLOW, and you never have the same waitress/waiter. A different person for every interaction. A rousing game of Authors (Go Fish) to cap off the evening. We had a 3 way tie and I emerged as the champion in the tie breaker. I might have emerged initially victorious had my mom not been so "relaxed" while she was playing!

Friday March 28th - Long sail to Virgin Gorda, bigger winds! Of course this puts my Dad in heaven. It's so great to hear his cheers when the puffs hit. I'm not sure Marshall and Mike enjoyed them quite as much, but they got used to them in the end. We moored at the Bath's and took the dingy in. The swim to the shore was a little scary with the waves and tide holding us in place 15 feet from shore! A little out of breath we made it in! A short hike got us to the rock formations called the Bath's. Quiet pools of water between huge boulders (See Pic). I felt bad for all the people paying to get into the park from the tour buses. We came in from boat, they had to filter in through the "Top of the Bath's" restaurant. Good to be a sailor! Another sail to the Bitter End for some shopping and more "Pain Killers". Got to see the Lake Beulah burgee in the Bitter End Yacht Club. (Top right Red/White L.B.) Cool to see legacy's left across the world. I took a break from happy hour to take some sunset pictures, just as it started to rain. As I looked back at the boat I saw the rainbow. It was the kind where you could see the whole thing, one side to the other. If there was a pot of gold I could have driven the dinghy right to it! Marshall grilled up a fabulous meal for us on the boat as we enjoyed some calypso music coming from shore and views of the Eiffel Tower (One of the other boats had lights on their mast that resembled). While star gazing we realized the big dipper was upside down. You can't believe the number of stars in the sky!

Saturday March 29th - With the winds, we made good time sailing. Always shorter than expected. Our next day was spent in Marina Cay. We heard of an undiscovered and soon to be extinct reef for snorkeling off Cam Bay. It was a jewel. Marshall and I always took a little longer to get out into the water, KD came swimming back with great news! Dad found a sea turtle! The night before we were all commenting on what we would like to swim with. This was mine! After further exploration we swam with another turtle. It's easy to loose yourself in this underwater world. I turned around and was inches from the coral! KD and I were both stuck in a maze of shallow coral with the waves crashing all around us! That was an exciting swim out! I got scratched on a brain coral once, physically and emotionally scarred for life. My heart was racing! It gave me a headache. I decided to skip the next excursion. We did some shopping at the Pusser's Rum Store (the official rum of the British Navy). Go to their website http://www.pussers.com/ and click on the Red Box web cam link in Marina Cay. Type in March 29th - 3:38pm. You'll see a picture taken of Marshall and I. Also 4:15pm, you'll see our group shot. Another delicious meal on the boat with grill master Marshall and crew. A raucous game of Sequence with Marshall and I victorious! A very stormy night on the sea. It is a wonderful thing being rocked to sleep by the ocean, I might describe that evening as S.B.S. causing. Fortunately it didn't last long.

Sunday March 30th - "A day without bacon is a day without sunshine around here." - Mom. We ate well, the boat was provisioned including 4 lbs of bacon. First stop, Monkey Point for more snorkeling. I was still a little gun-shy from my close encounter the day before. Another windy sail to Sandy Cay, a very small island with a beautiful beach. My Mom and I kayaked in to shore. I got my best pictures here until my battery ran out! It was an unplanned stop, but well worth it. Next stop, Jost Van Dyke and White Bay, which was packed! We opted to moore in Great Harbor and take the dinghy to the Soggy Dollar Bar, the home of the original "Pain Killer", (if you haven't figured it out yet this is a drink!). Our dinghy captain Marshall got us there safely in just under 20 minutes. Comparable to a ride to Stein's in the putter. We also hit Ivan's, and Foxy's for dinner but no sign of Kenny Chesney who sings of those places on his CD tribute to his life in the Virgin Islands. It was my theme song for the trip. I tried to set this blog to music, but it was too difficult to figure out after several attempts. While in harbor we were boarded by a French artist selling his paintings. He and his wife are sailing around the world. We all bought something. This is the kind of souvenir Marshall and I look for on our trips.

Monday March 31st - Short sail to Soper's Hole for fuel and water then off to the Indians. I loved swimming with the turtles in Cam Bay, but this was such a great spot. Three rock formations standing up in the water next to the bigger island. There were very sunny shallows and on the other side a huge deep trench with sea life all around. KD and Dad took the adventurous route through an underwater tunnel and out the other side. Mike tried the same but his wet suit made him extra bouyant. He got his own little coral souvenir. We were glad the blood didn't attract the sharks! Off to the Cave's for some treasure hunting and more beautiful snorkeling. This was Norman Island, the setting of Robert Lewis Stevenson's book "Treasure Island". (Also one of the cards in the game Authors. I should also mention, "the beautiful" Lousia May Alcott). We were unable to recreate the famous Pirate Ship picture because the pirate ship of old sank and the replacement just wasen't the same, so we had dinner on the beach at Pirate's Bight.

Tuesday April 1st - April Fools Day and we were the fools! Leaving our 85 degree paradise for the gloom of home. 6am diesel wake up call and back to Tortolla. 10am Ferry to St. Thomas for what we thought was a 3:30pm flight. Plenty of time to get back to the airport! Wrong! Flight was at 2:30pm! We were advised to get to the airport 2 hours ahead of time. 1 hour will have to do! Oh well, we made it. Getting off the plane, we could feel the cold of Chicago. I've had a chill ever since. Good to be able to use a real toilet. It's a little awkward to shower in the same spot you take care of your "business." Gives new meaning to the 3 S's! (Ask your husbands about those.)

Enjoy the Jennyography.