We skipped ahead in our blogging to tell you about the sail that earned us our “Big Boy Sailor Pants” and the fun we had with our guests in The Bahamas. But we never had a chance to share the joy we felt when we backtracked from Martinique to the BVIs.
We left the beautiful, very French island of Martinique and 44 hours later spotted the familiar beauty of Virgin Gorda, BVI. Our sail was comfortable and uneventful with some dramatic sunset paintings.
Gold sunset at sea.
Then the stunning hues of water and land greeted us as we entered North Sound, BVI via Oil Nut Bay channel. There were scattered clouds but the sun pierced them and the air was clean which allowed the full pallet of colors to show.
To say seeing familiar land was welcome is a inadequate as saying the view was “nice.”
After anchoring and swimming to shore with Captain so she could enjoy some terra firma, we “had” to go to Saba Rock for painkillers and bushwackers. The drinks were cold and the waitresses friendlier than usual. Or maybe the alcohol was strong and we were just happy to be back?
The wind allowed for a quick kite set the next day. Frank has become a huge fan of launching and landing his kite from the boat thereby avoiding sand, so we moved LIB waaaay up by the reefs in front of Saba Rock to allow boat departure and landing.
That little building back there is Saba and Frank is to the left.
Bitter End Hotel huts are in the background.
A big highlight of our return to the BVI was meeting up with Dave and Renee of Alegria. We first met them in Puerto Rico and we were looking forward to catching up with them and swapping stories about travels over the last 6 months.
Of course I dragged Renee on a hike so Captain could run around and we could have some much desired “girl talk.”
Sweat, laughter and stories shared while hiking Bitter End.
Frank and I made sure to visit Norman Island where we enjoy walking the deserted trails and seeing the uninterrupted expanse of ocean from the hilltops.
We hiked on Norman Island to get Cappy some exercise and to enjoy the view.
We even saw some famous people from our childhood while we were hanging out near Pirates.
Gilligan and crew!
These “youngsters” dressed the part well, but we had to teach them the words to the TV theme song. Apparently they were part of a group of 25 or so and this was their entry into the costume contest. Others in their party had dressed as Poseidon which was very cute as they arrived to the dock, but once on land they dropped their inflatables and they looked like any other tourist in a swim suit.
Poseidon had an unusual following
We had noticed that our spinnaker had some transparent areas so we returned it to Doyle Sail Loft and they repaired it during our stay in the BVIs. Since Doyle is directly above TMM, we had a chance to visit our former charter management company. It was great to see everyone at TMM and hear all about what was happening. TMM has a ton of new sailboats so it was fun to look around and see some of the most popular new cruising sailboats which they have available for charter.
Jost Van Dyke and that people watching mecca of White Bay was where we met up with Dave and Renee again. We spent the day strolling the beach, lolling in chairs and generally enjoying ourselves as we observed the antics of adults at play.
Foxy’s Taboo has some of the best food available in the BVI, at least according to my taste buds. So while we were anchored off of Sandy Spit, we dinghied over for lunch. There was live entertainment, excellent food and the usual post card view.
View from our lunch table.
The familiarity of the BVIs ratchets up our relaxation and removes the slight stress that accompanies new places. Frank and I loved absorbing the surroundings and taking in the plethora of beautiful anchorages.
Dusky sunset on Jost Van Dyke
We visited most of our BVI favorite spots and enjoyed sailing within the calm that is the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Seeing all the vacationers and their intense joy in their surroundings reminded us how fortunate we are to be “living the dream.”
Our weather waiting spot – not a hardship!
Our final few evenings were spent in Cane Garden Bay as we waited for a good weather window to leave for the Bahamas. Those last few days we definitely questioned why we were so intent on leaving the Caribbean and heading to the U.S. Neither of us has spent any time on the east coast in a sailboat so we don’t know what to expect. We are leaving a comfortable, sailing paradise for the unknown conditions of the east coast…
Ticket to Ride 