It seems like such a short time ago that we sailed all over the British and US Virgin Islands on our 37" Island Packet, "Journey's End." But setting sail on "Tootsie," our 41' Beneteau for the week, was a whole new experience.
Since we are late in life sailors, we need to maximize these opportunities. Jon and I want to get as many sea miles under our belts as possible in the shortest amount of time. So, we are once again taking advantage of the sailing playground in the Virgin Islands, to learn some good lessons...
Provisioning - buying the food and liquor that we'll consume for the next week - was a breeze. Since there is only two of us, we don't need a lot. It doesn't make sense to make big meals, but we decided to get charcoal and food to grill during the week. It's much cheaper to go ashore the happy hour drink and appetizer specials, and then make dinner on the boat. I could live for a month on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (as long as there are small potato chip pieces to go with each bite), but Jon wants a little more variety in his food options. Burgers and hot dogs will have to suffice this time.
The check out process was also so much easier. "Tootsie" has many of the same boat systems as "Journey's End." Lighting the stove, flushing the toilets, starting the engine - these are all quite similar. But, "Tootsie" has some new features that have been fun to explore. My favorite is the drop-down transom!
When the transom is lowered, it gives us about 15 feet of decking just above the water line where we can dangle our feet in the water and look aft (aka - over the back of the boat). This is also a great place to sit while taking an outdoor shower. I will take a photo tomorrow to share - it's AMAZING! (Not me - the transom).
We're spending the night at Cooper Island, the destination of our first trip to the islands for Jon's birthday a few years ago. This spot is notoriously "rocky" so we'll get our sea legs tonight!
Here's a shot of our neighbors at Cooper...
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