Scootin' Along

I'm writing today's blog knowing full well that I won't be able to post it until tomorrow, at the earliest. Anegada has many charms, but easy access to the rest of the world isn't one of them. And, I still can't get my photos to work!

We went ashore today and rented a scooter to take us to the other side of the island. We had high hopes for snorkeling the third largest barrier reef in the world. But, like many other coral reefs, this one is in rough shape.

We actually snorkeled twice today. Our first trip into the water was a disappointment. Most of the coral was bleached out and broken. The highlight was the baracuda patrolling the reef. Jon took his go-pro camera encased in a protective housing under the water with us. "Barry" was very interested in the camera and the pole it was mounted to. We snorkeled for about a half hour and he followed right along with us the whole time.

After Barry drove us out of the water, we picked another spot further down the beach to try again. This time, we were able to see a healthier underwater ecosystem. Giant coral caves hid large snapper, a flounder shuffled along the sand and a strange looking creature that looked like a poisonous snake slithered along the bottom (I quickly swam away).

Anegada is an interesting spot. It reminds me a lot of the Abaco islands where Jon and I spent our honeymoon and other subsequent trips. I'm fond of the desolation. But the anchorage is pretty exposed and very shallow so you feel pretty vulnerable to the elements. At low tide, we have probably less than a foot of clearance from the tip of our keel to the sand below.

Tomorrow, we head back to the civilization of Tortola, the largest island in the BVIs. Tonight, we are sleeping in the aft cabin on our boat to check it out for future guests. We want to make sure that it's a comfortable spot for those who decide to join us on our next adventure!

P.S. Charles Barkley has not embarked on a singing career since his retirement from basketball. My earlier post about the music on our iPod was in reference to Charles Bradley, not Gnarls Barkley, which would be the obvious assumption ;).

 

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Dead Calm

One of Nicole Kidman's first movies took place on a sailboat floating off the coast of Australia (in the pre-surgery days before Tom Cruise). The title of the movie, "Dead Calm," describes the sailing conditions - perfectly flat water in all directions. Sounds idyllic, until the villain (Billy Zane) shows up and poor Nicole is stuck without the ability to sail away.

This sounds like our day. Jon obsessively kept watch for Billy in a life raft - though maybe he was just bored. And, I'm clearly not tall enough to be mistaken for Nicole.

We set out this morning for the island of Anegada, roughly 12 miles straight out to sea from last night's anchorage in Virgin Gorda. Anegada is nicknamed "the drowned island" because it's flat, unlike the other mountainous islands in the BVIs. This is the only destination where line-of-sight navigation isn't possible.

Winds were predicted to be 7-12 knots out of the southeast. That would have put us on a great course for Anegada - slow and steady but the wind at an ideal direction. Instead we found ourselves in 3-4 knots (if that). So we ended up having to motor sail all the way. But it was beautiful to see such clear, teal water for miles. We could even see the bottom for a good part of the trip.

We had planned to visit Anegada when we were aboard "Journey's End" last fall. But, we decided to skip it. I'm glad we took the time on this trip. This island is surrounded by the third largest barrier reef in the world. Quite a treat for those of us who enjoy snorkeling. We're staying two nights so tomorrow will be a day spent in the water - not on it.

Stupid technology won't let me post any photos now. Will share when I have a better wi-fi signal!

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Rock and Roll

 

For every major occasion (holiday, vacation, etc.) Jon puts together a playlist for our iPod. Past iterations have included "Fall into Frost," "Avante"' and "(there was a) Girl from Natucket." Our playlist for this trip is titled "Tootsie Roll." A fitting name.

Our current playlist includes some new artists (Alabama Shakes, Charles Barkley) and some oldies (Paul Simon's "Kodachrome"). The great thing about these playlists is that I can hear them again months - or years - later and the music brings me back.

Our experience for this current trip will be colored by the rock and roll of last night. In my previous post, I mentioned that we were moored at Cooper Island, a notoriously "rolly" anchorage. And since we got there late, we had to pick a mooring ball on the north end of the anchorage.

We had a nice appetizer dinner at the Cooper Island Beach Club, and then headed back to "Tootsie." (FYI - I'm the dinghy caption on this trip. More on this in a later post). Minutes after we safely arrived onboard, a big squall hit the Cooper anchorage. Well, we thought it was a squall. Turns out, it was a major weather event!

One boat lost it's mooring and ended up on the rocks (not good) and most of the islanders lost power and had to deal with some major flooding. After the downpour of rain, the winds picked up to almost hurricane levels (we heard - not confirmed). We had a restless night sleep at Cooper. My dreams were filled with safety rescue efforts!

But, the day dawned bright. We were up early (or just never really slept), so we left Cooper before 8:00 AM (VERY early for us). We had a wonderful sail up to the North Sound of Virgin Gorda and arrived at our current mooring before 11 AM.

We took off in the dinghy and did a lot of exploring this afternoon. Then, we headed back to "Tootsie" for a relaxing cocktail hour. Jon is listening to Ray La Montagne and smoking a cigar. Life is good....

 

 

 

 

 

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Swifty Sails Again

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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Back to the Islands

"Back to the Islands" is a great tune by The Baha Men, and is our unofficial theme song. We arrived in Tortola, BVI, two days ago after a long but uneventful trip. For the past few days, we've been staying at a small inn perched high above the water on the northwest side of the island. Here is the view from our patio - a great vantage point to watch the fun down below...

Jon has been actively checking NOAA, windguru and other websites to try and predict the weather we can expect for our second sailing adventure. The last few days have been rainy and dreary. It looks like we're caught between two different pressure systems - high and low - resulting in some unsettled weather patterns.

We'll board "Tootsie" in the morning, our home and transportation for the next week. I see glimpses of a red sky in the distance. Let's hope the riddle holds true and tomorrow brings a "sailor's delight."

 

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Photos and Footnotes

We might be home, but we're still living on "Journey's End" in our hearts and minds!  We calculated that she carried us just under 100 miles in 10 days.  And we are proud to say that we only used 7 gallons of gasoline for a total of $41.00 throughout our trip.  That's quite impressive compared to our previous powerboat rental fuel costs which were roughly 10 times that amount.  Sailing is proving to be an economical endeavor!  Below is a map showing our journey.  The dark blue line is from days 1 - 5 and the green line shows days 6 - 10.

Technology made it difficult for me to include many images in my posts while we were at sea, but we did take photos above and under water during our trip.  I guess one of the benefits to being back home is the ability to review our adventure in pictures.  Below are some highlights...

The Crew (Captain Jon and First Mate Amy):

The Vessel:

The Crew at Play:

The Crew at Work:

Favorite Views Above the Water:

Favorite Views Below the Water:

And Our Favorite Spot to Sit and Dream of Our Next Journey:

Newbies No More

I'm writing this second-to-last post for our Virgin Voyage blog while on the airplane flying from St. Thomas to Atlanta. We have very bittersweet feelings about the conclusion of our first sailing adventure.

Last night we had to pack up our belongings and clean the inside of the boat to prepare for our final sail back to "Journey's End's" home in Red Hook Harbor. While in the process of packing, I realized that we had spent more time aboard this boat than we had any other place except for the homes we've lived in - 11 nights spent in a space 37 feet long by 13 feet wide. And we absolutely LOVED it!

Once we got used to the space, there was plenty of room for both of us. We spent mornings drinking coffee in the cockpit. Our triangular bed was far more comfortable than we expected, despite the fact that Jon's feet hung over the end. I discovered the convenience and joy of using the outside shower after using the one in the head for a few days. And we spent the later parts of the evening sitting on the back transom dangling our feet in the water while looking up at the stars. It was truly magical.

And this morning, as we sailed into Red Hook in a squall with boat traffic coming from all directions, I finally experienced the exhilaration of being at the helm in adverse conditions without feeling nervous. Well, actually I was a bit nervous at first. But it gave way to excitement when I felt the power of "Journey's End" and knew that she could take care of us.

While we still have a long way to go before we can call ourselves "real" sailors, we are no longer wet-behind-the-ears. We learned a tremendous amount on our travels aboard "Journey's End." Putting all of our training into practice has given me more confidence in my abilities. And it's given me a much greater appreciation for the calm, steady nature of Jon. He is a rock. I guess that makes me the hard place.

 

FYI - stay tuned for photos coming this weekend...

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Our Journey's End

(And this is Thursday's post)

This was our last full day aboard "Journey's End." We had a short but brisk sail to another bay in the National Park of St. John. The "breeze" picked up quite a bit today and most boats had their sails reefed, included ours. Reefing your sails makes the sail area smaller - important for stability on really windy days. And today our wind indicator registered gusts of over 26 knots per hour.

We ended up just relaxing once we arrived in this secluded anchorage. For our next trip, we'll have to remember to take more time to simply enjoy our surroundings. Sailing is a very fun way to get from point A to point B, but some days we might have done too much. Regular life is about rushing from one thing to another. Travel should be about immersing yourself in the simple experiences.

When I travel, I like to read books about the places I'm visiting. On our first trip to the BVIs I read "Don't Stop the Carnival" by Herman Wouk. It's a fictional account of a dissatisfied Brit who comes to the islands and begins managing a resort. Quite a challenge working with people who operate on island time. "Feet, Fins and a Four-Wheel Drive" was my choice during our land-based trip to St. John. This was an entertainingly written guidebook about the off-the-beaten-path spots to visit but also provided a great historical perspective of the island.

On this trip, I chose "An Embarrassment of Mangoes" for my reading enjoyment. It's a memoir from the late 1990s about a couple who take a year off and travel the Caribbean on their 40 foot sailboat. The author is the wife, who had virtually no sailing experience before they decided to take their journey. She's very upfront about her fears during their year aboard the boat, but she manages to overcome them to have a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Her stories about gale force winds during overnight passages make me look like a chickensh**. She's my inspiration!

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