We headed out on Friday, May 24th for a 3 day shake down cruise. Got a bit of a late start to headed to Norman Island, where we’d been before. It was a short sail of about 2 hours. What a blessing to be out of port where we got bounced around quite a lot as the marina has no burm to break the water, so waves are constant. The sail was uneventful, however when attempting to get the mooring ball, Paul discovered a problem with the gear in the starboard engine would not consistently engage. The clutch would need replacing before we head out. Another cost and delay. We enjoyed a nice sunset and a relaxing evening. The bay was fairly quiet compared to our last trip here. Of course we knew not to put ourselves too close to Willy T’s (famous floating bar).
Saturday, May 25th we headed from Norman Island to Virgin Gorda. This was a distance of 26.9 NM (naughtical miles). Took a good part of the day in 15-25 knot winds. Blue Sky likes the wind and the waves and keeps us comfortable along the way even in up to 6 foot swells. We anchored in basically the same location as our previous visit in February. We opted to wait another day for going ashore and spent a quiet evening on board and we’re happily retired for the night by 9pm.
On Sunday, May 26th we opted to stay anchored for the day and do maintenance and chores. Around 9:30am we noticed a number of motor boats of all shapes and sizes beginning to arrive to the dock and area near our anchorage. 
We’d heard there was a boat race on Sunday, so the start must be here. Many of our fellow cruisers started to depart. We opted to stay and embrace the experience. Around 11am two helicopters, a ferry full of spectators and a plane arrived. Then the lead boat started out for what we thought would be a start line. However, only a few boats followed. Most seemed more laid back and waited. Then the gun went off and chaos happened. Boats began heading in two directions out the only departure points in the bay. There must have been at least 100 motor boats all at once, the noise was quite something. Then peace returned to the bay.
We decided to get on with our chores. The scrubbing of the hull was needed, so Gwyn got in the water and got it started. Paul joined the fun. An hour and a half later, it was done. Apparently in these waters, this is a weekly chore to keep the algae and barnacles from taking up residence. Swim done, we fed ourselves lunch and took a nap (we deserved it after all that work).
We woke to the sound of the arrival of the first racing boat back into the bay. Let the party begin. Music, racing, and spectators were everywhere; on shore and on the water. It was a fun people watching day.
Although majority of the boats left by dusk, some stayed and partied well into the night. One advantage of a boat is the noise doesn’t travel down into the bedrooms, so we weren’t kept up because of it.
Monday, May 27th. Awoke early to watch more of the racing boats depart before 7. We also prepared ourselves for an early departure. We arrived back at BVI Yacht Charters 4 hours later. Almost immediately work got underway on the starboard motor. This would take a full day to complete the repair to the clutch along with oil changes to both motors. We also hired a canvas guy to replace the windshield on the boat so we’d have better visibility. This will take until Thursday to complete.
At 6pm we opted to go for a walk to buy some more groceries. When we got out to the store a major rain storm had hit. We stood around for 15 minutes (this is a typical length of a rain storm here), but it didn’t appear to be easing up, so we decided to walk back in the rain. There is a gate that saves us about 15 minutes that we cut through, but as luck would have it, the gate was locked and we had the extra distance to go in the rain. We looked like two drowned rats when we got back to the boat. We laughed at each other and then sat down to dinner and enjoyed a glass of vino.
Tuesday, May 28th Paul worked on maintenance while Gwyn headed to town to pick up items from the Chandlery. More investigation was done on where we can stop along the way to the mainland USA. Turks and Caicos is one option, with the Bahamas another.
Today is Wednesday. We hope to leave this port tomorrow and head to the USVI. Paul is busy installing our new radio. Later today we will go and buy the last of the heavy provisions for the trip. The fresh stuff we will get just before departure from the USVI.