There is something about the Virgin Islands that make every sailor feel as if he’s been set free. The fact that the sailing is always good really has nothing to do with it. I think it is more the people who are there. They band together to make you feel like your happiness is the only reason they are there.
This particular voyage started when Jody suggested we do something different for Thanksgiving. As far as I am concerned, cruising the Virgin Islands is my favorite pastime, so I suggested we head there for Thanksgiving. Besides, the Caribbean 1500 was about to arrive, and the folks at the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda asked if I’d stop by to welcome the 1500 participants. Let’s see. The Virgin Islands in November? Yeah, I think I can do that.
I contacted our friends at Sunsail and after a few hours in the air (Okay, so it was more like 8 hours!) we were loading our stuff onto a Beneteau 473 named Chateau Deux Mers, which we decided meant “Shadow Duck Mers.” We had made arrangements with the folks at The Ample Hamper to stock the boat and they had done it about an hour before we got there. We’d talked with them at the Annapolis Boat Show and found their service to be great. Just download the shopping list from their online site and then fax it to them. They do the rest.
The boat was ready to go, and less than 20 minutes after we stashed our gear we were being shown the systems by Carlton John. It only took about another 20 minutes. The boat was more than adequate for Jody, myself and our friend Melody. Jody and Melody are best friends, and since Melody and I were once engaged, I guess that means she and I are pretty good friends as well.
We had arrived at about 3 pm and by 4 pm, after all the stowing and being checked out, we were sailing over to Marina Cay to see our friend Michael Beans who performs there.
We had to get there before dark (charter rules!), and as we approached the moorings area we found all the moorings were already taken. Marina Cay is a very popular area for an evening stay. The full moorings didn’t deter us in the least. We anchored in a small lee just across the channel in the bay of Grande Comano. It was just a two-minute dinghy ride to Marina Cay.
We radioed in for dinner reservations, and at 7 pm Michael came in for dinner as well. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Michael Beans, he does the “Happy Arrgh” show in Marina Cay, and he does a heck of a show. He wasn’t planning to start this season until New Year’s Eve, so we enjoyed a great dinner with him and the new property manager of Marina Cay, Abi. She’s a blonde firecracker who’s taken over the management duties there, and she seems to be doing one hell of a job.
That night we did a little rockin’ and rollin’ as the wind gods decided to blow a little. Being on a new boat (for us) we had to find all the little things that went clank in the night, and our first night’s sleep was pretty fitful. Banging halyards and groaning doors were found, silenced, and then new noises were found.
But morning came, as it does, and it was beautiful. After a quick dip we dinghied over to Marina Cay for breakfast. After bidding farewell to Michael and Abi we made our way back to the boat and were met by Aragon, who runs an Art Studio in Trellis Bay, just across the channel. He was in his boat offering local artist’s wares, as well as fresh local fruits. We bought a couple of the odd looking local goodies and were soon on our way.
We hoisted anchor and started the long motor over to Virgin Gorda. It was straight against the wind, but we are used to that. We’re cruisers!
We did get to set our sails for the last mile or so into the Bitter End Yacht Club. We were met on the dock by Jay, who was running the marina area, and he helped us hook up to some electricity. After securing the boat we jumped in the dinghy and motored over to the dock by the swimming pool. Might as well be decadent while it’s available, right? I’ll tell ya what, downing a cold Pina Colada poolside at the Bitter End is one of the better ways I can think of to enjoy life.
A little later we ran into Jason, the manager of the Bitter End. It seems that the Caribbean 1500 had been delayed due to weather problems. They didn’t plan to be in for a few more days. Gee, darn! All this way and we’d have to just sail around and enjoy ourselves. What a bummer (NOT)! Over dinner that night we decided that we might as well head out and see some of the sights while we were there. We made plans to sail down to the Baths the following morning, and to get an early enough start so we would be sure of getting a mooring.
We got an early start after downing some hot coffee, and set the sails as we rounded the tip of Virgin Gorda. The winds were as perfect as they could be for a run down-island to the Baths. It was a good thing we’d left early, because less than an hour after we tied up the last available mooring ball was picked up.
For those of you who have never visited the Baths, it is a place of such beauty that all you see are a bunch of folks like us walking around on the beaches between the rocks and clear blue water, shaking their heads and mumbling things like “beautiful,” “unbelievable” and “phenomenal.” The locals must get tired of hearing it, but to those of us who get to visit, it is all of the above.
After climbing the trails along the beach and visiting all the grottos and sea caves, we came out on the beautiful white sand beach at the end of the trail and took a swim. Then it was back through the caves and crawlways. I gotta tell ya, for a guy who is 6’4” and a tad over 350 pounds, getting through some of those crawlways was more than an adventure! It almost bordered on an ordeal!
After we had thoroughly explored the Baths we swam back out to the boat and hoisted sail once again, planning to sail to Peter Island for the night. As you know, the best laid plans of mice and men oft go astray, and so it was, as we were sailing downwind past Cooper Island we made a snap decision to sail in and pick up a mooring by the Cooper Island Beach Club.
As it turns out we’d made a good decision. After picking up a mooring we called in on the VHF for dinner reservations and felt totally decadent as we dinghied in to the pier just after sunset.
As we entered we were taken to a table overlooking the bay and all the boats. Once again, beautiful. As you will notice throughout this story, beauty seems to pop up quite a bit, and until Shakespeare writes some more descriptive prose, that is all I can say.
Anyway, back to the dinner at Cooper Island. Kisha, our waitress, had a great attitude. It made the meal a real adventure. The food was great. Jody had the mahi-mahi and it was grilled to perfection. I had the conch Creole and it was just hot enough to curl your toes without burning a hole in your esophagus. Melody’s grilled shrimp with penne pasta was also passed around and all we did was try to convince each other that ours was the best. It ended as a tie! We ended the evening sitting at the beach bar looking out over Drakes Channel to the lights of Tortola. Another perfect night.
Well, almost. As I was boarding the dinghy on the dock after dinner I slid my hand across the dock, and a splinter of the dock wood went deep into the palm of my hand. I’d had enough “anesthesia” with dinner to where it wasn’t too bad.
Until morning. Then it felt like it was half the pier stuck in my paw. We tried to get it out, but it was too deep and we just managed to jam it further. Oh well, such is life!
In the morning we once again dropped our mooring and headed out. We cut between Salt Island and Peter Island, deciding to visit the William Thornton over in the Bight at Norman Cay. It was a downwind sail, and as we got out into the unprotected waters of the Atlantic the swells picked up a little, just to make things a little more exciting. The whole trip from Cooper to the Willy T. took a couple hours, and it was a very fun sail.
As we approached the caves off Norman Cay we decided to snorkel the sea caves there, and we were lucky enough to arrive just as another boat was dropping a mooring. We picked it up and donned our snorkel gear. Just before we dove in to check things out we ran into the folks who won the Sunsail Charter at our Advanced Cruising Seminar. They were tied up just down the beach. We made plans to meet them later at the Willy T. and hit the water.
Snorkeling in the Virgin Islands is some of the best there is. The water is as clear as glass and the fish are unafraid of people, as they are protected, so they swim right up to check you out. We swam in and out of the caves, daydreaming of buried treasure and never found any.
After an hour or so we dropped our mooring by the caves so a new boat could come in and live the adventure, and we headed around the reef to tie up next to the Willy T.
To those of you who are not familiar with the William Thornton, known affectionately as the Willy T, I will try and fill you in. It is an old pirate ship that has been set at a mooring in the middle of the bight at Norman Cay. At the bow is a galley that cooks up great burgers, jalapeno poppers and fish & chips. Amidships is the dining area, open to the seas. At the aft is the bar. A very popular place in the BVIs.
Now one particular phenomena that occurs at the Willy T. is a change that comes over people when they drink there. Inhibitions seem to just fly away. A little after 1pm we were sitting and talking to Allan, the bartender, when Melody and Jody start whispering to each other. The next thing you know they are both up on the poop deck, taking off their bathing suites and jumping in the water. When they were back in their suites, sitting at the bar, Allan handed them both T-shirts commemorating the fact that they’d jumped naked off the Willy T. Soon the other folks at the bar were lining up above decks, doffing their duds and jumping into the warm Caribbean waters, au natural.
I think this endeavor must be sponsored by Kodak, because the cameras were a popping all afternoon. Allan tells us that it is like this every day, all during the season. As the folks got their T-shirts, Allan would apply temporary Willy T. tattoos in some very interesting places.
It was difficult, but soon I dragged Melody & Jody away from the partying at the Willy T. and we pulled anchor to head over to one of our favorite anchorages in the Virgin Islands, Little Harbor on the south end of Peter Island.
By this time my poor paw was throbbing pretty regularly, but I didn’t want a silly little splinter to ruin our vacation, so I just went with it.
The wind was on the beam and the sail that afternoon was great. Soon we turned the corner and dropped a hook in another beautiful bay. All the boats were tied stern to at the beach, but we opted to anchor off a bit and spend the afternoon and evening off by ourselves; an afternoon of swimming and relaxing, topped off by a barbecued steak dinner and a movie we watched on my laptop, under the stars. Then I laid down and tried to ignore my throbbing, and now swelling hand.
After a little swim the next morning we went ashore and buried a little treasure and a treasure map for some friends of ours who were coming to sail the islands the next month. After hiding our buried treasure, we hoisted the hook and took off on one of the best sails of the trip.
But first I tried once again to get the splinter out of my hand, as it was swelling pretty bad and turning a strange blue color. Unfortunately, all I had was my boat knife, and that wasn’t the right tool to operate with.
Sailing from Peter Island to Soper’s Hole has to be one of the best sails on earth; the wind just aft, a warm 15-knot breeze and puffy white clouds drifting overhead. I don’t think it gets much better!
As we sailed we heard the VHF calling “Lost Soul, Lost Soul, this is the Maritime Academy.” It was Rags, the owner of the Maritime Academy back in the US, who does the schooling for Captains licenses. He and his wife, Kathy, were just leaving the Sunsail base and heard we were in the area. We told him where we were headed, and later that day they joined us on a mooring right next to us in Soper’s Hole. We called Lou at the Jolly Roger and planned a dinner for later.
A guy came by a little later to collect for the moorings. He looked at me for a second and then introduced himself as Cowboy. He was one of our readers and he’d called me a few months earlier for input on some cruising gear. Since then he and his wife had taken off from Florida and were now cruising the Virgin Islands, picking up a little side money by collecting for moorings.
As we talked I found out he had been an emergency room technician in his previous life. I showed him my swollen and blackened hand, and he said that he had the right “tools” aboard his catamaran to do what had to be done. A little while later Rags & Kathy came aboard, and the scene from “ER” took place.
Rags held my hand down while Cowboy started slicing me up like a Christmas goose. They say it only took about 15 seconds, but I’m thinking it was more like an hour or two!
But it was over. The swelling in my hand started to subside immediately, and soon we were all heading ashore to the Jolly Roger to celebrate with a big dinner. Oh yeah, and a few drinks to help the pain (right!).
There were a couple other cruisers, Jeff & Donna White who keep their Hylas 49 over in St. John, who were there as well. So after dinner we all sat around and talked story, which is a highlight of any cruiser’s voyages.
The next day Shadow Duck Mer dropped her mooring (that’d be us!) and set sail for Cane Garden Bay. No visit to the Virgin Islands is complete without a stop at Cane Garden Bay.
We wound our way into the reef-protected bay, and were soon enjoying another perfect VI day. After awhile we went ashore so the ladies could do some shopping,
and I opted to “save a table” for us at one of the beach-front bars and enjoy the, uh, scenery… Cane Garden Bay has a beautiful beach, and some of the best looking “scenery” a man could imagine!
At dinner ashore we learned of part of the charm of the islands when we were joined at our table by three guests, an adorable cat and her two “watchers.” Two local young ladies who were just about too cute to be real. After dinner we walked the moon covered beach, and ended up walking into a place where we heard some great steel drums. Soon Jody and Melody were out on the dance floor with about a dozen other ladies, while all the guys sat back and enjoyed the show.
In the a.m. we once again headed out, this time to sail over and see our friends Foxy & Tessa. As we sailed to Jost Van Dyke we decided we wanted to take a swim before heading into Great Harbor, so we stopped on the east end of Jost and visited Foxy’s new place, called Foxy’s Taboo. It has a dock and electricity, and one of the prettiest blue anchorages in the islands.
After a quick swim we hoisted the hook once again and sailed the rest of the way down-island to Great Harbor. It was Thanksgiving Day, and we were starting to salivate for everyones favorite Thanksgiving meal, lobster!
What, you thought we’d have turkey? Not in the Virgin Islands! Lobster is the meal of choice.
We ran into Carrie & Brian Bershee, our cruise winners, along with their brother who joined them on the trip, and we kicked back on the aft deck for a few cold ones and then we all headed in to Foxy’s. There we found Foxy and Tessa enjoying happy hour, and pretty soon we had a party going full swing, with Rags & Kathy as well. It was a fun evening, and it ended all too soon.
But we were on a mission. We had some lobster to down, and they were being cooked to perfection a few hundred feet down the road at Corsair’s. If Foxy’s is the place to drink and party, then Corsair’s is the place to eat. Lena was on hand, and soon she was bringing large platters of lobster and steak, a typical Thanksgiving feast for the Caribbean!
After dinner we all waddled back to our respective dinghies and made our ways back to our various boats. It had been a perfect Thanksgiving.
The next morning we started to wind down a little. The end of our voyage was in sight, and we didn’t like how it looked. We tacked our way east, against the winds, to Monkey’s Fist on the small island of Guana.
Too soon we were back in the Sunsail base slip, and packing up to head back to civilization.
