Sunday Day 9

We woke up to a beautiful day.  For the first time this trip, we were all up and ready to get moving by 8am.  We thought maybe we’d get one last snorkel in, so we got ready, had something to eat and headed over to the Indian’s.  After hanging for half an hour or so and watching the birds, we decided it would be more fun to spend the time sailing back to the base.  We figured we wouldn’t get back by noon as we wanted to if we did the snorkel and sailed.

So, we dropped the mooring, raised the sails and began sailing back to Road Town.  Wind was decent and we moved along between 6-8 knots.  The closer we got to road town, the more the wind shifted, but we made decent time considering wind was coming out of the NNE.  We were at the entrance to the harbor around 11:45 and began dropping the sails and hailed Sunsail on the VHF.

As we pulled up to C dock, one of the TUI guys was going to meet us and take the boat in.  I told him I was happy and able to dock it.  He was happy to let me and told us to head all the way in to C dock.  We first had to lower the dinghy, so my crew took care of that as I tried to keep us steady.  Once lowered I headed all the way down to the inside end of the dock, spun the Cat around and started to back in.  We were right up against the inside edge of the dock next to a mono hull.  First attempt I was getting blown a bit too close to a piling in the water, so I pulled forward, repositioned and backed in without issue on attempt #2.  Got some compliments once done, thanked the guys and we began our cleanup and final packing.

I never know how it happens, but we always bring stuff down that will get used and not brought back home, yet we always end up with the weight of the bags being very similar.  No different this trip as I had to shift things around since we were at 50lbs in one bag and I only trust my sale to be accurate within two pounds.  We got that squared away and then I took care of the debrief, giving her about 6 items that needed to be addressed with the biggest being the generator – it was far louder than it should be and vibrated far too much – the whole boat vibrated – it was annoying, but bearable.  I’ve made a mental note to check this for the future as I would have been happy to have them put us on a different boat from the start.  Once done, we headed to the restaurant by the pool for our final bushwhackers and lunch before heading to the airport.

2:30pm came far faster than I thought it would and we were off to the airport for our 4pm flight.  Flight was on time and I got some great pictures.  There were two couples on the plan with us that had 6pm flights out of San Juan!  I think they probably made it as long as they were expedited since our group made it into the Jet Blue terminal by 5:45.  Not bad, but I wouldn’t count on being able to do that had customs been busier – it was dead quiet.

Grabbed a bit in the terminal and now we’re on the plane heading home.  Starting to think about our next trip already.  

One of the most unique Cape Air planes I've ever seen.  In fact, only unique one I've seen!

Until next time, hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did!

Saturday Day 8

Surprisingly, Stephanie and I were ready to go around 8am.  Rest of our crew, not so much.  So I told Stephanie to take the helm, put the boat in gear to hold us with the stern line and removed all the lines (stern last) and jumped aboard having Steph put us into reverse at that time.  I had her back us out (first time) and she did fine with a little coaching.

We knew we wanted to try to get 2 dives in today.  So our first thought was Cow’s mouth.  We had a great dive with Evan (sail2wind) and Greg here our last trip.  Unfortunately there was a decent north swell so it didn’t look good – very rough in fact!  So we figured we’d try the chimney thinking it might be a bit more protected.  Under other circumstances, it would have been, but the direction the swells we’re from were hitting it just right.  So, we bailed on that as well.  I decided the safest bet would be to just head towards Peter.  There were sites there we could dive or we could simply head to the Indian’s and Rainbow Canyon’s.  After reviewing the guide book, we opted for the latter and got to the Indian’s around 1pm.  We did our dive while the rest of our crew snorkeled.  After the dive we moved and did the same at Rainbow Canyon.  Both dives we’re great.  We saw Spotted drums and High Hats on both of them – this just seemed to be a trip we’re we saw them all the time.  Very unusual!  Visibility at Rainbow Canyon’s weren’t great, but once in, I was looking down and looked up and was startled by a large creature.  A spotted eagle ray was swimming by 5 feet right in front of my.  I aimed the camera at him and saw it was off, so I powered it up, hit record and still managed to get a great shot of it swimming by!

After the dives, we headed to the moorings outside the Bight by the Caves.  I told the crew about the caves and that we could dinghy over to see them as they’ve never seen them.  So once settled we got our gear ready and we’re headed over.  As we left the boat, I decided I wouldn’t take the camera and told Steph that we’d probably see something cool now.  We’ll, I was right!  I like to think if I had the camera, that we wouldn’t have seen it, but I’m not leaving it behind again!!  Once there we heard a group in the water mention an octopus.  So we swam that way and looked for a bit until I finally saw it.  I dove down to get a closer look and he moved.  For the next 15-20 minutes, we swam about watching him move all around and even swim which was very cool.  It’s just too bad we got no pictures or video of it – it was certainly one of the snorkel highlights this trip!

Rainbow Canyon dive site

After our snorkel, we headed back to the boat where we just relaxed, had some drinks and chatted with each other.  Had some snacks too – no real dinner or even lunch today, just lots of snacks, but that seemed to be enough and we all called it an early night around 9:30/10pm.

Relaxing in the forward cockpit (aka front porch).  This was a great place to relax at night!

Friday Day 7

Today our plan was to tour Virgin Gorda.  We got up at a decent time, but were slow getting going.  I had hoped to be at the Baths early to avoid any possible cruise ship crowds, but it looked like that wouldn’t be the case.  We finally headed out and made it there by 9:30.  We had breakfast and then hiked down to the Baths.  We hiked through to Devil’s Bay, stopping for a swim along the way.  Once at Devil’s Bay, we saw a couple in the rough surf trying to make it to shore and having trouble.  I didn’t realize how much trouble until the made it in and the woman was pretty much pushed up on shore and collapse.  We helped her up and got her over to a rock where she sat and caught her breath for a while.  Replaying it in my head, I’m pretty sure she was drowning.  It didn’t occur to me at the time, since she didn’t look distressed, but that’s exactly the problem when you are drowning, you don’t wave your arms and act like they do in the movies – you are very still and silent as she was and continued to be for quite some time once on shore.  Fortunately she was ok.  This is another great reason to skip swimming in to the baths and go via car.  Surf was sporadic though, so timing was really the issue, but that’s hard to tell as you swim in.

After hanging a bit at Devil’s Bay we turned around and headed back through the Baths and back up the way we came.  We stopped at Top of the Baths again to wash our feet, have a drink and relax in the pool for a bit.  After our drinks, we headed out to stop at Spanish Town.  Stephanie, Andy and I did a wreck course and we needed to pick up our certification cards.  We stopped, grabbed the cards and did a little shopping and continued on.  It was starting to get late so we headed right towards Hog Heaven where we had some drinks, enjoyed the view and had some lunch.  Stu ordered the chicken.  Apparently one of their relatives was nearby.  Every time he took a bit, a chicken let out a call.  It was funny for awhile, but boy was this chicken persistent!  Food, drinks and views were excellent!  On our way out, we saw why the food was so fresh!  There was a group of pigs roaming around.  We stopped for some pictures and then headed back to Leverick.  Dropped off the key to the rental at the office and headed back to the boat.  It was now about 5pm and we had the BBQ around 7:30. 

Their food is really fresh!!

So we spent a couple hours relaxing and getting cleaned up.  Close to 7, we decided we were hungry again and headed over to the BBQ, grabbed a drink and then Paula showed us to our table.  We headed up to the buffet and we enjoyed the great food!  I ended up making a 2^nd trip.  We relaxed talking to the table next to us and drank buschwhackers while waiting for the Jumbies!  They finally made their appearance and we’re great!  IF you haven’t done the BBQ and Jumbies, you really should.  Our group had a blast and would do it again in a 2^nd.  This was our 3^rd time and we loved it.  At the end, they did their typical pool splash, but unlike last time we saw them, two of them jumped in!

Stephanie and I were exhausted at this point, so we headed back to the boat and called it a night.

Thursday Day 6

Today was our Wreck Certification course.  Steph, Andy and I were doing the course together and we got up to have breakfast before meeting Dive BVI.  Breakfast at Scrub was great!  Laura was also feeling better and joined us.  After breakfast, we grabbed our gear and headed over to meet Dive BVI.  They pulled up, loaded us up and we were off for the Rhone.

We were the first boat in.  Grabbed a spot and started getting ready.  We went over the training we were going to do with Tara, but a lot of it was just enjoying the dive too.  Steph and I have dove the Rhone a few times before, but this was Andy’s first time.  We descended and spent the first dive going around the bow as you typically do.  I ended up swimming through the hatch (as seen in the Deep) twice (we passed it twice) and we also did the swim through which is always very cool!  Over all, the dive was great!

We had a 45-60 minute surface interval before heading in for dive two which would focus on the stern.  For this, we did some line training using the reel.  Seemed to go well at first until we go the line all tangled.  We sorted it out though and moved along to enjoy the site and this part of the dive was great too. 

After the dive, we headed back to Scrub where we collected the crew (aside from Laura and Andy who would be staying at scrub another couple of nights) and off we headed for North Sound.  We motored the whole way as it was all upwind and we were late leaving scrub (3pm or so).  We got to Leverick before 5 and docked.  I headed up to check on the rental car.  Went back to the boat for a bit and then back up to take of the rental.  Back to the boat for a bit, said Hi to Nick and then we were off to Coco Maya for dinner! 

If you haven’t been to Coco Maya, you should add it to your list.  It was great!  Steph said she could never eat out in the BVI anywhere but here and that would be fine.  They offer all sorts of tapas, large and small and we ordered a number of small ones, one large and enjoyed them all.  And not only is the food great, the place has a very unique atmosphere with some interesting bar seating  and a gas firepit with equally interesting lounge chairs around it.  We got to enjoy this while waiting for our table.

After dinner, we headed back to the boat and called it a night.  It was a long, busy day!

Wednesday - Day 5

I was really surprised today that we got up as early as we did, given the drinking we did the night before.  But, we were up at a decent time and headed out of Cooper with a goal of Monkey point.  We sailed up to Marina Cay where we dropped the sails and motored the rest of the way.  Monkey point was half full when we got there so we grabbed a ball and did some snorkeling.  Snorkeling was great and everyone enjoyed it.  Steph, Andy and I are taking a wreck course with Dive BVI today though, so we couldn’t stay too long as we needed to get to Scrub so we could do the classroom portion (1.5 hours).  So we left and we’re docked at Scrub around 1:30.  This gave us time for lunch before sitting down with Tara for our classwork.

Andy and Laura decided to stay at a room on scrub, and we’re thinking about just staying here as Laura was pretty uncomfortable from some jelly fish stings she got.  So they got settled in their room at this time as well. 

After the classroom work, we had about an hour before a night dive we had scheduled with Dive BVI as well.  Time came quick and we headed out to Diamond Reef with them.  This was the first night dive for all 3 of us.  It was definitely fun, but I think we all expected to see a bit more life that you normally only see at night.  I suppose it all depends on luck of the draw as well.  We did however enjoy the dive and still saw some things that you don’t see as often, including a crab that was sitting on some coral eating.  Then some tarpon at the end of the dive circling us.

After the dive, we grabbed dinner at the restaurant by the pool.  Dinner was good, drinks were better (although pricey!) and we called it a night after dinner – another long day and we were all tired!

Tuesday Day 4

We got up and had a light breakfast and started heading towards Pelican Island thinking we’d dive.  Wind was great so we instead decided to sail and head towards our evening destination of Cooper Island.  We had a great sail doing about 8 knots most of the way.  Prior to picking up a mooring at Cooper, we wanted to get a dive in so we took the sails down near Salt and then headed to Vanishing rock.  Current looked decent but not too bad, so we got all our gear together and got in.  Once in, we realized it was stronger than it seemed – probably would have been fine at depth, but one of the 3 divers in our group only has 1 dive trip under his belt so we decided to play it safe and bailed.  We instead moved over to Cooper, picked up a ball and had some lunch.  After lunch, we took the dinghy to Cistern point for a dive.

The dive at Cistern point was great and we had a blast.  At one point we found some cleaner shrimp so I put my hand down for them to clean but didn’t notice another type of shrimp in a nearby hole.  He took offense to my being so close and reached out pinching my finger.  So we moved on..  Saw a number of big tarpon and a lot of the other typical fish you see as well.

After the dive, we headed back to the boat, relaxed for a bit and then loaded up the dinghy with our empty tanks and headed in.  We got in around 3 and no one was there.  We were told to keep an eye out for them as they may come back and we could get them filled.  So we started drinking.  And I don’t think that stopped until we left after dinner 6-7 hours later!  We played some darts during this time and chatted with another couple who were on their Lagoon 52.  We invited them to join us so they got their two crew and came back and all 10 of us had dinner together.  It was a fun night!  Once we got back to the boat, it took about 5 minutes before everyone was headed off to their cabin for the night.

Monday Day 3

Another great morning.  This time we got up earlier and we’re on our way in to the dinghy dock by 9am for breakfast.  We headed over to D’Best Cup and had a great breakfast.  We then did a little shopping and we’re heading out of Soper’s by 11am. 

Wind was great today blowing 16-20 knots so we raised the sails and had a nice sail over to the Indians.  We got our dive gear out and half the group dove and the other half snorkeled.  It was one of our friends first dive in 3 years, so we took it easy and just circled and headed back to the boat – this was a great refresher dive!  Saw a decent number of fish and one we’ve never seen plus a rare one.   Got some video of them both!

We had thought about a 2^nd dive at Rainbow Canyon’s, but as it was now getting later we decided to head to Norman and call it a day.  I thought about getting shots at the Indian’s with my copter, but it was so windy I decided against it.  Once at Norman, the wind wasn’t quite as strong so I took it out for a flight.  Flight was great and I got some great shots!  It was the landing that was a problem.  With the wind what it was, I was trying to land at the stern of the boat on the space between the hulls.  The wind was pushing it back and forth and it ended up bumping into the side, the prop that hit stopped spinning and the copter and camera dove straight into the water!  I immediately put the controller down and jump in after it lifting it out right away and immediately rinsing it with fresh water.  As I write this, I’m still not sure if either will work at all.  I’ll find out after letting them dry out overnight and will power them on tomorrow.  Fingers crossed!

That's us on the left

Last picture the camera ever took!

After that incident, we did some cleanup on the boat – decks were really dirty – not sure how that happened.  Had my second unexpected dive into the water when the rope on the bucket came loose, I dove off the bow and grabbed it just as it sank, loosing my contacts in the process when I had to open my eyes underwater to be able to see it.  After this, we just relaxed with some drinks for the evening, eventually making dinner (mexican Monday!) of burrito's.  They we're good!

Update on copter incident - Bad news is the camera is toast.  Time for an upgrade I guess.  Good news is copter isn't so bad.  3 of the 4 motors seem to work.  I still need to take it apart, but it seems just 1 motor and/or speed controller needs to be replaced as well as the GPS board.  Not too bad and certainly a lot less costly than replacing it. 

Sunday Day 2

Today we woke up and took our time getting ready to move.  We finally got moving and over to Diamond Cay and started making breakfast around 10:30am.  While breakfast was being made, I decided to test out my new toy – a quad copter that I can attach my camera to.  I flew it around diamond cay and got some picks of the boat and anchorage.  We then got ready to head to the bubbling pool.  We hiked over and it was definitely bubbling today.  I took a swim in the pool and then got out the quad copter for some more shots.  I had two batteries so I could get about 20 minutes total flight time.  First flight was for video and second for photos.  They all came out great and look pretty cool. 

After spending 45 minutes to an hour, we made our way back to the boat.  We then headed over to Sandy Cay where we did some snorkeling and swimming.  We then grilled up some chicken sandwiches for lunch.  It was at this time we realize we were never delivered a few key items from our Riteway order (lunch meat for our lunches and some ground beef for a taco dinner).  

After lunch, we had originally planned on going to Cane Garden Bay, but as it was late and we needed some provisions and wanted to get some diving in tomorrow, we ended up heading towards Soper’s Hole where we got our provisions and having had such a late lunch just had a bunch of apps and drinks at Pusser’s before heading back to the boat and calling it a night.

Saturday Day 1

We arrived and were at baggage claim by about 5am.  We all agreed that getting a room at the hotel even if for just 2.5-3 hours was worth it.  So we collected our bags, except for one.  The bag carousel stopped moving and we were missing a bad.  I started to talk to a rep from JetBlue and we walked over to the office nearby.  While we were chatting, the alarm came on again and the carousel began to move.  Our bag was there!

With our bags in hand, we headed to the hotel, grabbed a room and got some sleep.

Our view from our room - not the best, but not the worst either.  One thing is sure - looks like a great day!

 

We got up at 8:20am, got ready and went to meet our other friends at the Cape Air desk.  Once all checked in we headed to get some breakfast – it was now 9:40, so we figured we had enough time to eat.  At about 10:15, a woman from Cape Air came up and told us we were boarding.  We inhaled what was left, paid and headed down for our flight.  Took off a bit early and likewise arrived in Tortola a bit early.   Got some nice shots on the way.

Magen's Bay on St. Thomas

Sandy Cay

Our whole group (6 of us) were met with the VIP arrival and we relaxed while we were checked in.  It didn’t save us any time this time, but it was nice and relaxing nonetheless J

Once checked in we were off to the Sunsail base and to our boat – a Sunsail 444 – Shazam!  (There’s no exclamation point in the name on the boat, I added that).  We got our provisions, dive gear and everything else we needed and we were off just a bit after 2pm. 

We hoisted the sails (well, the winch did all the work) and we were sailing down the drake towards west end.  JVD was our goal.  Sailing was decent for a bit until we had to turn to head directly downwind.  At that point I furled in the jib and fired up the iron genny..  We cruised the rest of the way and made it to Great Harbor close to 5.

Once settled on the mooring, we lowered the dinghy and then we all jumped in for a swim.  We cleaned up after swimming and then headed in to Foxy’s around 7pm.  We were asked if we had a reservation and we didn’t, but they had room for our group of 6.  Which was good because we didn’t have much on the boat which would have been good for dinner.  We didn’t realize Saturday was their Buffett night.  It worked out great though since everyone loved it.  Food was great and drinks were too!  After dinner, we headed back to the boat were some went to sleep and a few of us hung out for a bit before calling it a night too.  It was a long day!

Shazam - Day minus 1

Friday Day minus 1

We drove in to Logan Friday evening leaving home around 5:30pm.  Got in a lot faster than we expected, so we had a couple of hours.  We headed to the terminal and just sat and waited chatting with each other. 

Our flight finally boarded and we were off to our first stop – JFK.  Arrived smoothly in JFK and headed to our departure gate which was right next to a bar.  So we sat at the bar and had a few rum punches. 

Flight departed just about at midnight and we were off to our 2^nd stop in San Juan.