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.