Sunday, October 31, 2010

Yes, Dear- DEER! *

10/31
Early one evening while moored in Caneel Bay, St. John, we noticed movement on the resort lawn.  At first glance, we thought a small band of island goats had come to graze on the shady hillside under the trees that stood along the water’s edge.  Using binoculars, we soon discovered that the animals were not goats, but deer!  Then we scanned the entire bay and found that there were about 15 or so other deer nibbling all along the coast.

* This note was written with my deer hunting niece and brothers in mind:  Bethie, Marty, Joe, Ed, Larry, Rich, and Bubba.  (St. John, USVI is largely a National Park, so no, you cannot come down here to hunt!)

Saturday, October 30, 2010

ANCHORS AWEIGH!

AT LAST! 
10/26  We left Nanny Cay after completing enough maintenance to travel safely and comfortably for a few weeks.  We headed straight for one of our favorite BVI spots- The Bight at Normand Island.  I usually don’t venture into the water alone to snorkel, but did and almost immediately wished I had insisted that Dan join me, so I could put him between me and the huge fish (some 3 ft.) that I saw.  Later, we enjoyed a crazy evening aboard Willie T’s (The William Thornton) where a group of cruisers from Minnesota unknowingly entertained us with their various photo ops. The bartenders do tattoos.

10/27  Sailed around the south side of Norman Island to cast our fishing lines with no success. The south side of Norman Island is open water and less protected, so maneuvering Exit Strategy through larger seas was more demanding.  We dropped sails at Manchioneel Bay-Cooper Island and moored for the night.  The rest of the day was very lazy.

10/28  This was our first time in Road Harbor by boat.  Road Town is Tortola’s main city and has many shops, small department stores (similar to Dollar Stores, but more like $10 Stores), banks, restaurants, St. William’s Catholic Church (That’s a whole other topic!) etc.  Having so many businesses and conveniences nearby is nice… the down side is that the harbor is heavily traveled and the water is not the clear, beautiful blue that we’ve come to love here in the Virgin Islands. We came to Road Town to do two specific things: arrange for our boat insurance policy and clear out of BVI. Having accomplished those- we were off and on our way again.

10/29   Hello, St. John, USVI!  We’ve checked into the USVI many times before, always through Cruz Bay, St. John.  Our routine is to moor at Caneel Bay which is just around the “corner” from Cruz Bay.  After checking in at the USVI Customs, we usually amble down the winding, hilly streets as we window shop here and there and somehow always land up at Dan’s favorite beach bar on St. John- have you noticed that we have a favorite bar on every island?  The children were trick-or-treating at the two “malls” in Cruz Bay for safety’s sake. (The roads are not designed for pedestrians.)  We saw a large man wearing a very purple t-shirt; he, no doubt, was dressed as The Color Purple for Halloween.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

You've got Columbus Day; the BVI has St. Ursula's Day

The local morning news casters kept mentioning the holiday business closings for St. Ursula's Day.  We asked a few people what the holiday was about and no one was able to give us an answer.  There were limited hits when I googled it just now, but the following excerpt helps to explain it a bit.

File:Coat of Arms of the British Virgin Islands.svg
St. Ursula is on the BVI Flag.
The Virgin Islands were first settled by Arawak Indians from South America around 100 BC and inhabited the islands until the fifteenth century when Carib Indians from the Lesser Antilles Islands displaced them. The first European sighting of the Virgin Islands was in 1493 by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas. He called them Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes (Saint Ursula and her 11,000 Virgins); this was shortened to Las Vírgenes (The Virgins).
The source was not clear if Columbus landed in the Virgin Islands on or around St. Ursula's Feast Day, October 21st, but I'm guessing that is what moved him to name them as he did. 


Thursday, October 14, 2010

The Hen Knows...

An old favorite t-shirt of mine from the island of St. Lucia displayed a proverb that read, "The hen knows every morning that it is dawn, and yet she lets the cock crow."   Over the years of vacationing in various Caribbean Islands, we have more often than not been awakened each day by the crowing of a local rooster.  Here in the BVI it is no different, and most mornings we also hear the call of some kid goat!


So we rise, have some breakfast, and stroll down the dock to meet with our boat maintenance "boss" Milton.  Milton has been great at teaching both of us what we need to know about the various systems on the boat.  Dan, of course, understands much of what Milton explains about the engine, the rudder and prop, as well as the heads and water works.  I, on the other hand, ask for clarification often and Milton doesn't seem to mind patiently scaffolding me to an acceptable level of understanding for a first mate.


We began a round of deep maintenance on Exit Strategy during our first days here.  Then she was lifted out of the water and put on the hard to prepare for new bottom paint and inspection of the rudder and prop.  We hope to have her back in the water by tomorrow so we can move on board.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Up & Away Without a Hitch

Surprisingly enough-  When we left early Wednesday morning, the American Airlines agent at O'Hare checked us in easily & didn't charge us for the few pounds extra that some of our ten (YES, count them- 10) boxes full of all our worldly possessions weighed.  Then later that day at the Beef Island Airport, we prepared ourselves for the worst (i.e., having to open every box & pay a duty.)  At first, the lady customs agent looked at our stack of boxes and told Dan that she was going to have to charge us something. She requested our inventory and Dan politely handed it over.  The agent scanned Dan's chicken scratched notes and started checking things off.  Then she the blankly looked at the pile of  boxes and finally said with a slow shake of her head, "Oh, go ahead."  We didn't stop to ask any questions. In our experience, the best way to deal with Customs Officials is to treat them with the respect that Seinfield gave the Soup Nazi. Works every time.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The "Conditions of Our Release"

Recently, our children orchestrated a going away party for us that was nothing short of AMAZING!  Dan & I spent the last 5 years or so making plans to retire early and sail off into the sunset.  I think our children were the only ones who really believed us.  At the party, they formally granted us the following release to pursue our dream-


"The following conditions must hereby be adhered to for the release of this unlikely pair of Polish sailors to test their skills of life and love on the high seas Somewhere in the Sun...
Condition #1
       When the seas get rough, there shall be no pushing of the Captain overboard or setting of the First Mate adrift in the dinghy.
Condition #2
      When the seas are calm and the winds are blowing just right, take time to enjoy each other and the adventures before you.
Condition #3
       When you get lonely or bored, remember, our next visit isn't too far away!"


(We really do have to move onto the boat now-  Becky & Bob took all our stuff!)