It’s been 6 weeks since we arrived back to the British Virgin Islands. We took the first night in Soper’s Hole (West End Tortola) to recover and get some much needed rest. Then we headed to the Bitter End where the boats in the rally would gather through to US Thanksgiving.
This year in Bitter End we opted to anchor instead of taking a mooring (last year they were free to the Dawgs, this year it is a cost of $20/day). Yes, we are cheapo’s. Hey, I figure we can always use the money to eat out or take in a happy hour now and then.
Both Paul and I took in 10 days of yoga. Judie on Rum Runner arranged with a yoga instructor to come to the Bitter End pool deck and take us through our sun salutations, etc. for $5/person. A great deal for an hour of instruction and after 11 days on the water, we all could use a little loosening up.
We also joined in on the pizza party, happy hour at Saba Rock and at the Fat Virgin, homestyle thanksgiving dinner at the Fat Virgin, and a lunch and hike down from Hog Heaven. We also had a musical jam session on our boat with Kalunamoo, Rum Runner and Destiny.
Paul took some time out of his day to aid a fellow boater who had hurt his fingers in a block on the passage and needed a few repairs done to his boat. Luckily for Pete his fingers recovered nicely and the repairs were manageable for Paul.
As our net controller, Bill from Kalunamoo, departed on Thankgiving day, I volunteered to take over as Net Controller for our morning net until the end of November. It was fun to do, Paul did the weather report for it and I did the rest.
As we tired of North Sound we headed over to Little Harbour on Peter Island. Here the water is clear and the snorkeling is terrific. It’s a harbour where you need to stern tie so you are close to shore. We love it there, but the bugs, oh my, we got bites galore, mostly from little flies. While in Little Harbour we got together on Blue Sky with Simplicity (Ralph and Kathy) and Accapella (Martin and Ellen). We had some great appies, followed by my Curried Cauliflower over rice and Kathy’s Apple Pie.
On December 10th we headed to Road Town and picked up a mooring for the night. These are new moorings to the east of the new cruiseship dock at a cost of $30/night or $10/hour. Let me tell you, you’ll never get everything done in Road Town in 1 hour, so even if you are not staying for the night, pay the $30 so you have all the time you need to get reprovisioned. It’s a short dinghy ride to the dock near BVI Yacht Charters, walk through the gate and cross the road to the large Rite Way store. There is also a hardware store and fuel station for Propane within a block of each other. Paul got the propane tank refilled and met me at the grocery store where we stocked up. We take a taxi back to our dinghy for $10. Well worth it when you are buying a lot of heavy stuff.
Later that day we headed into Road Town to the Salty Dawg gathering at Bamboushay Lounge. Here we enjoyed live music provided by the local college music program and might I say a very talented group. We enjoyed a delicious meal with about 80 other Salty Dawgs and their friends and family. It was good to be joined by Linda and Bill from Sapphire who were delayed in their departure and missed all the events in North Sound.
Since then we’ve wandered back to Peter Island, Soper’s Hole, Cane Garden Bay and back to North Sound. We managed some snorkeling along the way at Peter and North Sound.
On Christmas Eve we watched the Lighted Boat Parade from Saba Rock Bar but were first entertained by an amazing kite boarder. Sorry about the pic quality but it was dusk just before the parade.
First run directly at us in the bar – this guy is going about 25 mph!
And one more run with altitude.
Finally the lighted boats!
We’re not sure where we are headed next, but we’ll be in the BVI’s until mid January as we have our son and daughter in law coming for a delayed honeymoon on Blue Sky (can’t wait).
