Aboard Lady

Jolly Harbour, Antigua

Jolly Harbour, Antigua    +17° 4' 14.22", -61° 53' 9.24"  

Antigua looked so pretty as we approached Jolly Harbour.

Other yachts looked pretty comfortable in the anchorage.

Charlie hailed the marina on the radio, and was advised that before we could pick up a mooring, we should go in to the customs office (next to the big yellow flag), tie up there, and clear in.

We has to visit three different offices, but they are all located in the same building. As we were busy with the first official, Seraphim arrived, so Tom, Tom and Brigitte had to start filling our their paper-work outside - One person did not get to work today, another wanted to leave early (Friday), man they were really busy, with five different officials in three different offices (each with a different soap opera on their TV sets), a few more hanging around on the deck outside.  Eventually we got through the last official (cashier), and found our way to mooring #2.

Ashore we explored around the harbor area, purchase a few provisions at the American-style grocery and had a beer at the quarter-deck.  Dinner that night was at a Swiss steak-house.

The area reminds of S. Florida - recently-constructed condos and private houses built around dredged canals.  Attractive properties, for the most part.

Saturday morning, we caught the local bus (EC$3.25, about $1.20 US) to St. John's, the capital city.  The bus station is next to the central market.  It was market day, and there were fruit and vegetable stands spread out all over the place.  We walked up Market Street; it was busy, with lots of people around.  After visiting the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, where we learned about geological history, we stopped in the cruise-ship area for lunch. 

It was not the establishment who's menu is pictured here.

We passed the statue of Sir Vere Cornwall Bird Snr. on our way back to the bus station.  We don't remember ever before seeing a painted statue like this.  V. C. Bird, Sr, was "The Father Of Our Nation", born in 1909, had an elementary education, was elected to the legislative Assembly, and later became Antigua and Barbuda's first Prime Minister when the country became independent from Britain in 1981.

The bus ride back to Jolly Harbour was hot and dusty.  The twenty-two passenger bus was full.  We were the only fair-skinned people on the bus, and so far as I could tell, the only ones who paid the driver.  However, the EC$3.25 fare was a lot better than the US$20 that a taxi driver offered.

Seraphim  had caught a wahoo on their trip between Nevis and Antigua, and with the arrival of spouses Annie and Becky, it was time to party (Unfortunately Brigitte's husband was still working in Abu Dhabi.)  We had a lovely evening aboard Seraphim, and Tom did a great job cooking the fish.  Thanks so much for such a good time!

Next day we decided to move off the mooring and go to the anchorage.  We went in to the marina area to get fuel and water and waved goodbye to Seraphim. 

It turned out that the wind had clocked, and was coming at us from an unusual direction, and swells were building, after lunch we moved to the better shelter of the next harbor to the north, Five Island Harbour.

We could see the volcano emissions from Montserrat, way off in the distance. 

It was more comfortable, although there were places on the shore where the swells created big spray.

Another great sunset.

 

St Kitts and Nevis

St. Kitts and Nevis

The fishermen next to us in the Basseterre harbor unloaded their impressive catch.

We walked around the town, enjoyed a beer or two.  Supposedly, the Circus is a round-about in the town center modeled after Piccadilly Circus in London, England.  I didn't really get the same feeling.

After two nights in the marina, we decided to spent a night at anchor in White House Bay, where there would be some protection from the wind.  The cruising guide indicated that there was some snorkeling in the area.  We saw what looked like a dinghy mooring, and were please to find a lot of fish hanging around a wreck.

The next day we departed St Christopher, noticing all the clouds over Mount Liamuiga, that have yet to produce a shower this month, and headed to the next island, Nevis.

As we cruised past the Four Seasons Resort, we saw a beautiful yacht,Gitana, that we recognized.  We anchored off the port of entry, Charlestown.  Nevis is part of the same country, so although we did not need to clear in, these islands also require that you clear out.  We had received permission form St. Kitts to exit from Nevis. 

The Port Authority gentleman was the first official to receive us.  He insisted that we HAD TO take a mooring, and pay the overnight fee, despite our request to anchor.  There are LOTS of new moorings in some of the popular places where yachts like to anchor, and I guess they have to pay for them somehow.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the town on foot, then headed back to Lady, and motored north, picking up a mooring off Sunshine's a colorful beach bar and grill, where the umbrella and deck-chair attendant helped up pull the dinghy up above the waves breaking on Pinney Beach. 

After a delicious lunch we motored around the coast, back past The Fours Seasons (Gitana had left). 

We were surprised to see this little collection of English thatched-roofed buildings.  The swells an wind were in an unusual direction, and we finally found some shelter off Oualie Beach.  Of course, the required moorings had not yet spread this far, so we were pleased to anchor, and see Seraphim  close by.  We were able to find some snorkeling on a small area off Cades Point, where we saw a couple of large angel fish.

Next morning Seraphim and Lady were up early.  We had over 50 nautical miles to go, east to Antigua.  The wind was against us, but it was light, no more than 9 knots, and we made it to Jolly Harbour uneventfully.

Taxi Tour of Saint Christopher

Saint Christopher    Basseterre, St. Kitts.

Along with the Seraphim group, Tom, Tom, Brigitte, we engaged Emile and his taxi to give us a tour of St. Kitts.

He met us at the marina gate, and we boarded this comfortable van.

He showed us where the egrets nested...this picture is mostly fledglings. 

He pointed out the difference between the local sheep and goats.  The sheep might look like goats, they might be the same color as goats, but they are fairly hairless, unlike the ones we are familiar with.  Once we  learned that goats' tails go up, and sheep tails go dow, we became better at identifying them.

We passed a plantation that had impressive yard art.

And we paused in a village to photograph this ancient tree, may of its lower branches removed to allow room for traffic.

The views were magnificent as we traveled the coast road above the cliffs.

Teachers was a popular scotch in this village.

There is an old railroad that was used to collect sugar cane from the plantations.  Part of the old system is now used for a tourist train.  We had thought that we would like to take the train, but the two cruise ships in port that day had all the seats booked, and Emile informed us that only half the tour is on the train, the other half is on buses, and that he would take us places that the train tour didn't go, and his fee was only $20 US per person, rather than the $89 US that the train company charged.

One ruined plantation, the Wingfield estate, dating from the 17th century is now partly used for farming.  I found a pig, and there were lots of cattle grazing in the ruins! There is also an archaeological dig in progress there.

We also walked around the Romney Manor estate that hosts Caribelle batik.  Lots of pretty clothes were for sale, but this wasn't a shopping trip, although Brigitte did find a lovely oven mitt for her sister.  We enjoyed their gardens, amazing fan palms and the native crotons.

The Middle Island Anglican Church is closed during the week, because of stealing.  It was the first Anglican Church in the Caribbean, and the cemetery hold the remains of Samuel Jefferson, one of President Thomas Jefferson's ancestors.

We spent quite a bit of time walking around the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park, a World Heritage Site.  We viewed the video, and learned how 1,000 British soldiers held out for a siege of a month against 8,000 French soldiers in 1782, before surrendering.  The French did not keep the island for long...in 1783 the Treaty of Versailles returned the island to the Brits.  This history of so many of these Caribbean islands is based on the sugar trade, and the politics and economies were dependent on the price of sugar.

Emile had phoned and made lunch reservations for us at the Rawlins Plantation, now a charming Inn.  We sat in the shade of the porch and ordered our drinks.  They had a delicious West Indian Buffet set up.  We sat at a gorgeous highly-polished dining room table, and the six of us enjoyed a wonderful meal.

Well-fed, we resumed the tour and stopped on the windward, north-east side of the island to marvel at the waves breaking on the Black Rocks.

We briefly drove through some of the newly-developed areas before stopping at the local grocery store for a few provisions and ending our great tour.
 

St. Martin to St. Kitts

St Martin to St Kitts   Offshore between Simpson Bay and Basseterre

The winds were quite strong, and often NOT from the prevailing east and, due to a big storm far to the north, 10 foot swells from the north were also predicted, so we ended up spending almost another week in Simpson Bay Lagoon, where the water was much flatter.

We spent our time doing boat maintenance - here's Charlie at the Island Water World (local yacht chandlery) dinghy dock - going to buy more boat parts.  When we went to Bobby's Marina for drop and pick-up of laundry, this lovely dog always greeted us.  She is one of almost a dozen that have been given a new home by the marina management.  They are so spoiled they were not really interested in the doggy treats we would bring with us!

It wasn't all work though - we did manage to get to the beach and enjoy the Karakter Beach Bar a couple of afternoons.

Our friends Stan and Dawn (Dreamweaver) and Leslie and Tom (Farhaven) and Peter (Kynda) arrived at the lagoon.  We all got together for a meal on Lady one night.  Another time we girls took the dinghy to Marigot on the French side, where we browsed the markets, and had a delicious lunch at a lovely patisserie.

Valentines Eve, three couples got together at the Sint Maarten Yacht Club, where they had a lovely party, and we won prizes for identifying famous lovers.  It helped that I know all Henry VIII's wives.

Finally on Monday February 15th, the winds and swells were more favorable for the trip to St Kitts.  We departed the lagoon, along with a number of other vessels and sailed close-hauled in the south to south-east wind.  We did not think that we could get to windward or the island of Statia (aka St. Eustatius), so we eased off, and sailed to leeward of that island, surprised at all the oil tankers.  Turns out that there is a refinery on the island, so they have crude oil coming in and refined products leaving.  The only possible anchorage was too exposed for our liking, and the cruising guide indicated that moorings might be missing, so we took a picture of the waterfront, some of it in ruins from previous storms, and sailed on.

Approaching St. Christopher  (St. Kitts) from the north, we sailed past Fort Charles on Brimstone Hill.  As we sailed along the western shore, we could see the remains of old sugar mills - about every mile or so there was a tall pillar sticking up, a chimney or wind-mill ruin.

As we entered Basseterre marina, an interesting craft was leaving.

Dockmaster Chuckie and Assistant Dockmaster Charlie helped us tie up, and we headed over to the cruise-ship Port Zante to clear in.  We were able to get through Customs, but Immigration had left, so we were told to come back the next morning to finish formalities. 

We had talked on the radio with yacht Seraphim on the way down.  They arrived at Basseterre shortly after us, and we made friends with Tom, Tom and Brigitte, all from Florida, who had gone through the Simpson Bay Bridge that morning ahead of us (the blue boat) and were on their way to Antigua.

Saint Barthelemy

Saint Barts. Various anchorages    February 4th to February 8th, 2010

We arrived at the port-of-entry, Gustavia, and check-in at the Capitainerie was SO EASY, compared with most of the other islands.  The French official, who wore polo shirt and slacks, rather than white shirt and tie that we see most everywhere else.  We completed the entry using one of their computers, and it took very little time - such a difference from leaving Anguilla!  We had a drink with Joe and Joanne, and saw them off on the ferry back to Anguilla.

Next morning we explored Gustavia on foot.  There are lots of mega-yachts tied stern-to on the quay and others out in the anchorage with us.  There were swells coming in, and the gang-planks on their stern were rising and falling quite alarmingly.

The streets were crammed with cars.  Some of them are quite small.

It was interesting to see the local church, with a large anchor outside.

Lots of the houses and other buildings have red roofs - the whole place is very delightful. We stopped in at a local museum, installed in the old Wall House.

City Hall is a new building, next to  the old Wall House.  Both of them are right on the harbor, so you can visit by dinghy if needed. 

We had been advised by a number of friends that we should go to Le Cafe Select for lunch.  It was a lively place, with visitors from a cruise ship anchored near us.  Jimmy Buffett was there last year helping them celebrate their 60th anniversary. We enjoyed our cheeseburgers in paradise.

It got hot in the afternoon, so we headed back to Lady, pulled anchor and headed to Anse du Colombier, a recommended anchorage.  We hoped that it would be less rolly that the Gustavia anchorage, and it was.

Next morning seas were rolly, but we bravely launched the dinghy and dragged it up above the surf line and hiked over the hills and along the cliff path to the village of Flamands.  There were huge swells coming in top the northern bay from the north.  The path was quite narrow, and  we took care not to fall off the cliff.

We got to the village after about 45 minutes.  It had a couple of nice hotels, a number of villas, and a small grocery store, where I was able to purchase and mail a card to my mother.

It seemed as though the breakers were even bigger as we walked back along the cliff path.

We were glad to see that our dinghy was still safe.  Lady  was rocking and rolling, so we decided to move anchorages, and headed to Ile de Fourchue.  There were a number of other boats in the anchorage, and some of the brave young people swam ashore to explore the uninhabited island, but we did not - we just swam from the boat, but we could tell that the swells were building again as the water was becoming cloudy from all the sand being picked up.  where we spent the night - the swells picked up again and it was not a very comfortable night.

So, we headed back to Gustavia and had another day there.  We had met some other cruisers, Dawn and Stan from Dream Weaverwhile we were at Anse du Colombier, and we had dinner together with them and other friends from Farhaven, Lesley and Tom, at Eddys - yummy asian tuna three ways for me!

The boat motion at anchor was still considerable from the swells, to we decided to give ourselves a break and head back to the lagoon at Simpson Bay. 
 

Anguilla

Road Bay, Anguilla    February 2nd to February 4th, 2010

We cleared the Simpson Bay Bridge at the 0900 opening on February 2nd, 2010 and headed past the beach, Maho Bay, around Marigot Bay, towards Anguilla, arriving at Road Bay late in the afternoon, but time enough that blue Customs and immigration office was still open.  The immigration officer was able to arrange for a rental car for us for the next day.  We checked out a couple of the local bars, and met some cruisers and another couple who were on vacation, and ended up all of us going out to dinner together.  We shared a taxi over there, and the vacation couple, Joe and Joanne, from Philadelphia expressed interest in sailing with us.

Our rental car showed up promptly, and we enjoyed touring the island by road.  Part of the car decision was that Anguilla charges about $100 US per day for a cruising permit, and we wanted to see the anchorages, and decide if it was worth that kind of expense to visit other parts of the island by boat.

We stopped at Shoal Bay for lunch and a swim.  We were told that it was some of the best snorkeling, but that was not really accurate.  The reef we swam on there was about 99% dead, and there were not many fish.  We saw some of the other anchorages, cruised through a gorgeous but in receivership golf course development and decided that we did not need to spend money on a cruising permit, that Road Bay was quite good enough.

In the evening, we met up with Joe and Joanne, and made finalized details for them to sail with us to St. Barts the next day.

They met Charlie at the Customs office on time, but the official was 45 minutes late opening.  Then, the official informed them that other official who had to clear out visitors was taking the morning off, and they had to go to the commercial dock, a half-mile dinghy ride, to clear out.  The commercial port took care of the passports, but they had to return to the regular office to clear Lady. What we thought would take a few minutes ended up taking an hour and a half.  Despite that, Joe and Joanne were good sports, and we had a good passage to St. Barts, but had to motor quite a bit of the way as the wind was light and they had to get there in time for the return ferry.

On the way we passed an interesting mega-yacht.  The name of it is A, and local reports say it is owned by a Russian millionaire "banker". She is 395 feet! The door you see by the stern is the "toy box" where 40 foot go fast boats are stored.

Visitors!

Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles   18 02.5N 063 05.66W

Our dear friends, NeMar and Tom Noulles, decided to extend a trip they were making to Miami Beach, Florida and spend a few days with us in Sint Maarten.  We met them late on a Monday evening at the Princess Juliana airport on the last flight that day, got a taxi to the dinghy dock, and got them and their bags safely aboard.  What fun is was hearing about what they'd been doing since we saw them last in August 2009.

Next day, we started off with a tour of the harbor by dinghy, and stopped off at the Simpson Bay Marina, where we had a delicious lunch at Zee Best - croissants, crepes, yummy!  We caught one of the local buses and went over the hill to Phillipsburg, where we spent the afternoon at the beach - us and a few thousand others who had arrived by cruise ship.  There were colorful umbrellas and chair, we swam, and NeMar and I were also able to walk along the beach.  There were a number of vendors on the beach - clothes like sun-dresses and T-shirts, and one lady was offering aloe vera massages.  Tom tried it first, and decided it was so good that NeMar had to have a massage too.

After another bus-ride back to Simpson Bay, we stopped at Le Gourmet Marché for a few provisions before returning to Lady.  After swim-platform showers, NeMar helped me (or did I help her?) fix a delicious dinner of snapper with mango salsa topping, green salad with roasted peppers, garlicky bread.  A wonderful meal - how great to have a professional chef on board!

Wednesday we rented a car to tour the island.  We were amazed to see a fine golf course, with once-beautiful homes around it that were ALL now falling down and in terrible repair.  We later learned that the properties had been very badly damaged by hurricane Linda in 1995, and that the property ownership repair responsibilities had been in dispute since then.  We stopped in Marigot and enjoyed seeing the farmers' market offerings of lobsters and other fish, fruits, vegetables and spices.  Lots of different aromas.  We purchased a few items from some of the regular market stalls - they offer lots of clothes - T-shirts for $5 each, three for $10, dresses, bags, jewelry - some of coral, others in silver, banana leaf, or larimar from the Dominican Republic, all sorts of St. Martin souvenirs, art, mahogany and teak bowls, pestles and mortars and other wooden wares.  It's a very entertaining place to while away an hour or so.  We continued our tour around the island, and stopped on the east coast near Orient Bay to watch kite-surfers, enjoying the strong winds and rollers, but did not get to the naturist beach.  Lunch was at Captain Oliver's in Oyster Pond.  That evening we enjoyed dinner ashore at Skip Jack's, where Tom and NeMar were able to devour a giant lobster.

Thursday was their last full day with us.  We returned the car, and then rode the dinghy out through the cut, under the Dutch Simpson Bay Bridge out to the bay, and beached the dinghy near Karakter Beach club.  We swam, walked, collected shells, had a delicious lunch and got lots more sun.  That night Tom and NeMar treated us to a wonderful sushi dinner at Bamboo Bernie's in Maho Bay.  They spent their last night at a local hotel, as their flight out was scheduled for 8:15 Friday morning, and we thought that it might just be too difficult to get to the flight on time from the boat.

This was lovely visit.  Charlie was pleased to have good friends with us for his latest birthday.  We can't wait for them to come back and see another island with us. 

 Thanks for such a great time, NeMar and Tom!  We're SO glad you came!

Sint Maarten/Saint Martin

Sint Maarten/Saint Martin   18 02.53N 063 05.62W

Monday January 18th to Saturday January 24th, 2009

We said goodbye to our friends in Nanny Cay and headed to North Sound Virgin Gorda, stopping en route at Spanish Town to talk to Customs and Immigration and inform them that we were leaving the territory.  When we entered the sound we saw a magnificent sailing yacht.  The Sea Cloud II seems to be more of a cruise ship; what fun her guests must have! We anchored in the sound, off Leverick Bay Resort where we have been a number of times before for a quiet night and day, preparing for an overnight sail Tuesday night.

We departed North Sound, and headed past Richard Branson's private resort of Necker Island, heading south-east.  The sun set behind the Virgins as we left.  The wind was good, and we were able to sail close-hauled most of the way - about eighty miles - and motoring the last twenty miles as the wind was on our nose.  We were amazed at the traffic!  There were all kinds of cruise ships going different directions at slow speeds.  Apparently cruise ships do not was to spend the night in port, as it incurs more charges, and so they slowly cruise from one port to another.  At one point as we neared St. Martin, there were five other BIG ships heading in approximately our direction, none of them going a whole lot faster than us.

We arrived at Simpson Bay at daybreak on Wednesday 20th, and dropped anchor and slept for a couple of hours, waiting for the Customs and Immigration office to open.  Charlie was one of the first in line, paid the charges, and we were ready for the Simpson Bay Lagoon bridge opening at 0930.  The bridge only opens three times a day for in-bound traffic, and there was quite a line of boats - large sailing yachts, other cruisers like us, power boats that were too tall to fit under the bridge, and a mega-yacht Victoria Del Mar immediately in front of us.  Much excitement as Victoria Del Mar drifted off course in the narrow channel and hit the bridge.  We could see crew people running around grabbing fenders.  We signaled to the boats behind us that we were reversing, as the mega-yacht was also backing up.

There are all kinds of marinas in the Simpson Bay Lagoon, many of them catering to the mega-yacht trade.  It is a wonderful sheltered area.  The frontier between Dutch Sint Maarten and French Saint Martin crosses the lagoon.  We had to pay $40 to spend a week at anchor in the Dutch side.  The also charged us $30 for using the bridge! (We have since found out that we can stay at anchor on the French side for $7.50, and that the bridge charge was supposed to go away Jan 1 2010.)  Once we were comfortably anchored, we started exploring by dinghy.  Isn't it cool to have the local chandlers with dinghy docks?  The airport is adjacent to the lagoon, and the flight path for planes taking off is right over us.  When the Air France and American Airlines jets depart it's LOUD.  We stopped at the Simpson Bay Marina, looking for friends Kate and Kurt (Myananda) who had sailed in the Caribbean 1500 with us, and had been here for a while.  They had temporarily moved to another yard for work, but it was nice to run into Kim from North Star, another C-1500 participant.  We found Kurt working on solar panels, and let him know that we were here, as we had brought canvas and other spares from Nanny Cay for Myananda.  He informed us that the Turtle Pier Bar and Grill was having a party for cruisers that night (and every Wednesday) so we went looking for it and found it close to the airport.  They had cages with parrots and other tropical birds, and also some monkeys.  We found another bar closer to the airport and walked from it to the airport to determine that it's a five-minute walk from the airport to the dock, should anybody comes to visit us while we are here.  The cruisers party at Turtle Pier was lots of fun $2 beer and wine, $3 burgers and hot-dogs.  We met other people who are here doing a lot of the same things we are. 

There is a cruisers' net on the VHF radio every morning at 0730 on channel 14, and people are welcome to ask questions and it's very helpful resource.

Thursday we dinghied ashore, looking for a wifi hot-spot to check email.  We found Bonita's Cantina near the bridge, a great BBQ place run by the former owner of Oklahoma Joe's in Stillwater! A great place for lunch and an opportunity to use the Internet, when you take your own laptop.  We used our BVI phone for a couple of calls, and then found out that the $40 we had pre-paid was quickly used up in international roaming charges, so we found a place to sell us a Chippie SIM card, that will work in the Netherlands Antilles, and also on the French side of St. Martin.  We hope to be able to re-activate the BVI phone when we get to another former British island, like Anguilla or St. Kitts.  We tried an ATM machine and asked for local currency - it gave us a 100 guilder note.  That was a surprise, we thought we'd get euros. All the stores also take US dollars, so we got some of them too.  We took a walk through one of the neighborhoods near the bay beach, saw some of the old and new houses, old and new churches, the local catholic elementary school and ended up at the end of the road next to the airport at a lovely beach bar called Karakter 000.  The bar is an old bus.  We ran in to Kate (Myananda) as we headed back, and she told us that the buses here charge $1.50 per ride.  We rode with her to Maho Bay, and wandered around looking at the casinos, shops and restaurants.

Friday we dinghied over to the French side, and parked in Port Royal in Marigot.  It was a charming little harbor with restaurants and boutiques all around.  After a yummy lunch - crèpe au poulet for me salade césar avec poulet for Charlie - we strolled around the town, visited the marina at Fort Louie, watched the market vendors and purchased some duty-free vodka. It was quite amazing that although everyone we spoke to spoke English, between themselves they spoke French, whereas just down the road, everyone seems to speak English - I haven't heard any Dutch.

Saturday we parked the dinghy on the north side of the lagoon at chandler Island Water World's dock, and walked up to the most amazing Ace hardware store we have ever seen - more like a combination of Home Depot on the ground floor and Bed Bath and Beyond on the upper floor!  We also found Grand Marché, a lovely supermarket.  They delivered our groceries and us back to the dinghy dock.  In the afternoon we took the dinghy under the bridge out to the bay beach, and had a nice swim off the Karakter 000 place.  We delivered Myananda's canvas and parts Saturday night, and were rewarded with a delicious filet mignon steak dinner.  Thanks Kate and Kurt, dinner was wonderful!

AL does the VI

Virgin Islands January 9th - 16th

Our son, IV, his lovely wife Olivia, and their adorable daughter, Anna Louise joined us for a week.  We arranged for a local taxi, George, to meet them at the Beef Island airport and bring them to Nanny Cay, where we had spent the day getting Lady prepped for their arrival (provisions, baby food, diapers, beach toys).  We checked them in to the Nanny Cay Hotel, and headed to Peg Legs, a local restaurant for a delicious dinner.

Sunday they boarded Lady, and we enjoyed breakfast together before departing the marina and headed along the Sir Francis Drake Channel. It was a glorious day, with nice wind and turquoise water. 

We had booked the family in at Leverick Bay Resort and Marinain the North Sound of Virgin Gorda.  The hotel was very accommodating and their room lovely.  Charlie and I stayed aboard Lady on one of the resort's moorings.

Anna Louise went swimming using her purple and yellow life-jacket that I had obtained at the Seven Seas Cruising Association swap at Camp Letts last October.

Our friend Jeff Gentzen had phoned to let us know he was in the area, and would be aboard Straybo, off the Bitter End Yacht Club the following evening.  Jeff and IV have been friends since the were in kindergarten at Barnard Elementary School in Tulsa; we taught Jeff to sail when IV brought him along for weekends at Grand Lake, OK; he is now a professional captain working on a 73 foot Swan sailing yacht.  We modified our plans so that we could meet him Monday evening, so after the family checked out of the hotel, we left North Sound and sailed to The Baths, a magnificent area for swimming with enormous boulders.  Anna Louise went swimming again, and then we took turns to snorkel and watch Anna Louise. While ashore we were able to walk across the lower end of the island to Devils Bay.  Anna Louise has a wonderful Kelty backpackthat she can ride in very comfortably, and it will carry a lot of her stuff too.  She sits in it very comfortable riding behind her dad or mom.  I'm sure it was a great help getting though airports on the way here.  After a lovely day, we sailed back to North Sound, picked up a mooring near Bitter End Yacht Club, and Jeff came over for a drink and visit.  After dinner  Anna Louise went to sleep, and Charlie and I baby-sat while IV and Olivia met Jeff ashore at Saba Rock and then went on to a party at Biter End Yacht Club.

Tuesday morning we dropped the mooring and headed north to Anegada, a low-lying island about two-to three hours sail from Virgin Gorda.  We had a great breeze, and Anna Louise had a grand time playing with toys, lines, and family as we made the passage.  We picked up a mooring off Neptune's Treasure, where we had a room reserved.  While the rest of us decided on dinner choices, Charlie rented a jeep, and once he returned we loaded the car and headed to Loblolly Bay.  Anna Louise swam with her parents, while Charlie and I snorkeled on the reef.  After lunch and a nap, we loaded up the Jeep, and headed to Cow Wreck Bay, where we played on the lovely sand beach and made friends with some local children.

All too soon the sun was getting lower in the sky.  We took a diversion to fee the flamingos, but being the flighty creatures they are, the flamingo pond was deserted.

Dinner at Neptune's Treasure was delicious, most of us had locally caught fish, and Anna looked divine in her turquoise outfit.

Wednesday we had a long sail - Anegada to Norman Island -one end of the BVIs to the other.  The wind was good, and it was another glorious day. 

Once we got to Norman Island, Anna Louise took a nap - here she is on one of the settee cushions moved to the floor of the VIP Guest state room, with a couple of cushions wedged in.  While she was asleep, her parents and Gran-dad were able to take the dinghy over to The Caves and snorkeled and saw lots of pretty fish.  

After they got back Anna Louise woke up, and was able to swim herself.

We went ashore for drinks at Pirates Bight, and Anna Louise played on another sandy beach.

Thursday we had to head back to the dock, as the appointment to finally get the rudder fixed was for that afternoon.  We stopped at The Indians on the way, and IV and I snorkeled around the rocks while Charlie and Olivia stayed on Lady.  We were thrilled to see a small  eel and a hawksbill turtle.  Once we got back to the dock, Charlie was busy with mechanics.  We checked out some of the shops, and went to the beach.

Friday it rained!  All day! Fortunately the weather did not stop IV from joining the dive-trip he had booked, and made two dives on the wreck of RMS Rhone.  We were at the dock, so spent a lazy day on the boat, went out for lunch, did a little shopping and had our last family dinner at Peg Legs, and heard all about IV's big adventure.

The last of Anna Louise's's stuff got removed from Lady, and Charlie got a final picture of his feet with hers.

George the Taxi driver was here promptly at 0630 Saturday morning to pick everyone up for the trip to the airport to go home to Tulsa. 

This was a very special week for us. We were so please to have them aboard.  Anna Louise was born to be an island girl.  She had a splendid time.

(This post is probably of very little interest to anybody but Anna Louise's other grandmother, Rickey Engle.)

Holidays afloat

Virgin Islands

When we departed Nanny Cay for a holiday cruise around the islands, we were pleased to see that QM2 was visiting Road Town, so we headed over to get a closer look at her. 

Christmas Eve, a number of cruisers met in Maho Bay on St. John for a dinghy raft-up floating cocktail party.  We have to start these kind of parties quite early as the days are short and darkness comes pretty quickly.  Jim Wohlleber and Yvonne Thayer (Beckoning) were well-prepared.  Look at their decorated dinghy and their smart white hats.  Very festive!

Everyone brought their own drinks, and the food got passed around.  As you can imagine, it was yummy.  After the party we went over to Beckoning and watched a DVD movie with Jim and Yvonne.

Christmas Day was kind of rainy.  We met Beckoning and Cat Ionin Soldier Bay on Norman Island.  At 1600 the crew of all three boats met on the catamaran for a wonderful Christmas dinner.  Jim and Yvonne had cooked a turkey, Dixie and John had hors d'oeuvres and vegetables, and I prepared a West Indian Christmas pudding.  Another yummy meal.

Between Christmas and New Years, we re-visited some favorite places, and visited others for the first time.  We snorkeled on the wreck of RMS Rhone, we visited the graves of the victims on Salt Island, we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary with dinner at the Cooper Island Beach Club.

There were lots of boats out the week after Christmas - by the time we got to North Sound, Virgin Gorda for the New Year, there were THREE cruise ships, and over thirty other mega-yachts anchored there.

We decided to join our friends on Bojangles IV ashore at Leverick Bay on Friday Jan 1st, where in addition to a delicious Caribbean buffet, the jumbie dancers came to entertain us.  These are a local family and they dance on stilts, with bright costumes.  They get everyone involved in the performance.

After that we cruised back around Jost Van Dyke, where we stopped in at Little Harbor one evening.  Another night found us back at the Norman Island Bight, where we had a delicious meal aboard Beckoning with Jim and Yvonne, between drinks at the Willy T, and dancing ar Pirates Bight.

By Saturday January 9th, we were back at Nanny Cay eagerly awaiting the arrival of IV, Olivia and Anna Louise.