Awesome Sail

Heading out on the ocean side of the Islands back to St Thomas to register for US Small Vessel phone check -in interview. 
Mizzen and Jib out and we are flying downwind at 10 knots in 20 knots of wind. Not bad for an old girl

Gord is just not happy unless he's saving someone!

Aquarius heading to grab that last mooring ball

Salt Pond is a favorite anchorage, with reef, behind, 2 both sides and a fabulous white beach in front. The salt pond is hidden from view and rightly so, as it is very unappetizing. Ocean Wings and Aquarius make it their next stop.



We're barely anchored when Gord hears a very calm distress call on the radio. A 32 ft Beneteau just outside the entrance to the next bay ( about 1 1/2 miles away) is dead in the water, can't start their engine with a line wrapped around their prop. They are looking for a Big Dinghy with a Big Motor to tow them back into the bay.
Now it is choppy out there and we are running with the spare 9.9 engine on a 12 ft caribe. But Gord is quite prepared to head out to the rescue.  Cooler heads talk him into dinghying up to the small power boat on the ball ahead of us, it's got 2- 220 hp engines. A much more likely towing vessel. They are heading out anyway and agree to go to the rescue. They pass the point, they're out of sight and we can only assume there was a happy ending.

His good deed for the day, accomplished!

Willy T's - Jan 20th-21st

What do you mean you haven't heard of Willy T's?
                                               google Willy T's bvi ,      you'll be shocked!

Just a barge in the middle of The Bight, on Norman Island, it rocks with music and scantilly dressed patrons every afternoon and evening. It can get pretty raunchy sometimes and even the scantilly comes off as "happy holidayers"  jump from the upper deck into the turquoise water below to the sounds of cheers and toasts.

Afternoon at Willy's

<>

      

patrons of Willy's

Even Pirates stop at Willy's




Dar's Birthday

Out to dinner but we are bringing a boat made dessert.  This is the ugliest birthday cake I have ever seen/made  with a propane oven that fluctuates up, down and off. It's just not a piece of cake to bake a cake.  What can I say its " A Boat Cake"   it's the thought that counts... right!

Birthday Girl

Ugly Boat Cake

More Chillin in North Sound

Micheal Bean - Thursday show

Carl engrossed in the show

Pirate Trivia winners

And in between there is "Harbour TV" every boater knows what that is!! It's very entertaining to watch the new or charter boaters either anchor or pick up a mooring ball.


Plow through the anchorage at 4-5 knots. Drop the anchor in their chosen spot, immediately overrun it and then wonder why it doesn't set. They think that charter company must have given them an anchor that doesn't work. So, lets do it again and again and again.

Mooring balls are almost as entertaining , and we admit can be difficult to grab, but the trick is to actually get the boat to the ball, not 30 ft away, hnaging over the side trying to reach it with a 10 ft pole, while the boat drifts farther away. Again, let's try it over and over.

Hangin Out in North Sound - lucky Fri 13th- 19th

It's time for some R n R, dinner out and lazying on the beach at the Sandbox.

Entertainmant for the evenings is

Party Animals




Jumbie night



The Jumbies on Fri night



There is no way to hang out in North Sound without gorging yourself on one of their famous Blue Cheese Burgers.   " Calorie City"



Gettin Fat on a Blue Cheese Burger at the Fat Virgin Cafe





Happy Hour at Saba Rock





Saba Rock





The Tarpon are sooo hunger, they leap right out to get it



The Year of The ******** Jan 10-12, 2012

I think its the chinese new year of the Dragon coming up. But, I'm officially renaming it to " The Year of the Dinghy"

More on the ongoing saga of "the Dinghy". Well it was a row into shore today.  Rowing past the Mega yachts in our lowly little dinghy to the dock so the Tohatsu dealer could come fix it. His not showing up till its dark. But we do have working motor now. What follows in the next week is nothing but Dinghy issues. We head to Virgin Gorda to meet and help Carl and Dar launch.  On our heels is no other than Patti and Jim, come to find their engine guy to fix their dead dinghy. Now we tow them. Carl launches after fixing his dinghy motor, gets in the water and the dinghy dies, so we now tow Carl and again we tow Jim . As we're pulling away from the dinghy dock, we find a cute little blue dinghy has gone awol and is floating out of the bay. Now its a recue job, but we're all up for it. Jim gets fixed, Carl gets fixed and we head off to Leverick with Carl and Dar as we're enjoying a peaceful dinner onboard,  Carl looks over and says where's my dinghy?  It's dark and the rocks are 500 ft off our stern, so the boys dash for our dinghy jump in with flash lights and take off into the night. 15 min later they are back with the deliquent dinghy in tow.

Enough is enough.  Am I not justified in calling it the year of the dinghy?  What might happen next.?

Shared space Jan 9, 2012

 

 

Harbours, Marinas and achorages are all shared with little fishing boats, small single handers, cruising couples, charter groups, party boats and Mega Yachts.  We all share the space, the swimming, the facilities and the view. Its all the same to everyone.  We just so happen to be sharing this last while with Larry Ellison of Oracle on his mega yachts Rising Sun  and Bill Gates on Goygpus.
You just never know who your going to be hob knobbing with. Small world "A"
I wonder if they ever have Dinghy problems?