Thanksgiving Potluck

    People back home have been asking, “Do they have turkeys in the Virgin Islands?” 

    The answer is- YES, although it is nearly impossible to find one small enough to roast in our oven.  I suppose we could have found a turkey breast, but instead we opted to join the Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner on Honeymoon Beach, Water Island, USVI.  About twenty-five people gathered under the canopy of Joe’s Beach Bar, bringing a variety of dishes to share.  Just as the buffet was set-up, a sudden downpour threatened to turn everything into soup.  Fortunately, a few people who were still sober moved quickly to rearrange the table and saved the banquet!  One guy said a brief blessing and we ate and drank our fill at a leisurely pace among good friends.

All the usual fixings and then some...

Jeff of s/v As You Wish (waving) thoroughly indulged at the dessert table.



Gene (of s/v GeWil) has carved a few turkeys in his days;
Wilma (his wife) brought the BEST Rum Cake ever!

The crew of Sandie Annie, GeWil, and Pirate's Lady have after dinner drinks.

 

PHOTO SHOOT

  

  
  All the men on and around Honeymoon Beach noticed it well before the women and uttered not a single word.  As the afternoon sun began to fade, flashes of light on the northern point of the bay caught the attention of the women.  We scoured the site and discovered that scantily clad female model-types were posing amid the rocks around The Water Island Resort.  The buzz at Joe’s Beach Bar during the cocktail hour focused on this being an annual event.  No one knew anymore details, such as, were they compiling photos for a calendar, a magazine, or what?  The photo sessions continued for days.

     This morning a photographer approached our boat and politely asked if he could take a few pictures.  I went below to powder my nose.  Captain Dan took off his Speedo. When we came back up on deck, the photographer was at Exit Strategy’s bow attaching a black Velcro-edged wrap around our anchor’s snubber line…  He snapped a shot from every angle possible: straight-on, from the right and the left, telephoto and wide, from the top.  He spent a good half hour aiming to get at least one perfect picture in the best light.  



No high wind stress today

    As it turned out, Matthew (the photographer) was a friend of our friends' (Gene and Wilma of s/v GeWil) son Chris. Matthew needed to take some pictures of product called a "Chafe Pro" which is wrap designed designed by a client to protect lines from breaking during high hurricane-type wind conditions.  Only  a few hours were left before his return flight home and he was desperate to complete this "work" during the last hours of his "business" trip. 

Chris, the designated driver; Matthew, the photographer

You Read It Here First-

     This morning Dan went to finish up the necessary paperwork for his Captain’s License.  Arriving early is his habit, so he wandered around the medical complex a bit.  A voice called out, “Hey, nice shirt.”

     Dan has two favorite T-shirts: one from Rock Bottom Brewery’s “Better Beer. Better Beer Drinkers” (Orland Park, IL) and the other is “Foxy’s Firewater Fine Island Rum” (Jost Van Dyke, BVI).  Today he was sporting the latter and the voice belonged to none other than Foxy Caldwood himself.

     They chatted for a while as kindred spirits do and Dan learned that Foxy was there for a knee replacement.  Which just goes to say that he'll be kicking around for many more years to come.

Anchor OH-oh

     Charlotte Amalie's Long Bay is the harbor where two to three cruise ships dock on any given day during the high season. It is a busy area and the water in the bay is not as clear as most other VI anchorages. We chose to anchor there for about a week because of its proximity to businesses and services we needed to visit.
      Over time, we have become pretty confident in setting our anchor.  When we sailed Lake Michigan's waters as newbies, we learned to use a Danforth anchor with a strong, durable line and a sandy bottom with good holding was always easy to find.  Since purchasing Exit Strategy we've gradually up-graded our anchor and setting techniques.  We occasionally dragged at anchor during our early voyages on ES using a CQR anchor; a swivel was attached to the anchor chain to correct it.  The anchor was then able to flip over and dig in better, but most often it laid on its side and the captain would dive down to manually correct it.  When we moved on to ES, that anchor was quickly replaced by an over-sized Delta model.  Problem solved.
     We left plenty of room to swing when we set anchor in Long Bay.  Everything seemed fine until there were high winds one night.  We noticed that ES seemed to be pivoting about on a short lead, although still holding firm. The next day we saw our anchor buoy floating freely at our stern- its line shredded.  Later that day, some friends said they had noticed our short swinging pattern, too.  Then we recalled that last season some other cruising friends got their anchor stuck in the same vicinity.
      The captain & I discussed a plan to safely weigh anchor and get unstuck from the submerged obstacle with minimal damage.  Specific hand signals to be used during the delicate process were reviewed. (No fingers allowed.) Dan slowly eased ES in the direction the anchor chain was wound indicated by my outstretched arm. The chain caught and stopped, so Dan stalled ES.  The chain relaxed and we proceeded until another catch, followed by ES pausing again.  Alas! We were free with no damage!

“Bóg dokonuje”

…is what my college roommate Liz used to sigh and say whenever something unfortunate happened to someone just when all was going so well. “Bóg dokonuje” (God does).

      A few days ago after hearing about the cold conditions back in the Midwest, I was boasting to our friends and family there that the weather here is pretty sunny and fine all the time.  Well, today is our second day of dreary and 60% chance of showers.  Yesterday I spent most of the day reading a cruising guide for the Leewards and high lighting good anchorages for our down island trip.  Today I finished that by mid-morning and started making a batch of flour tortillas from scratch!  We had a nice warm luncheon of cheesy bean burritos- a most pleasant change from a sandwich. 

      The weathermen try to get creative with their radio broadcasts by interchanging “partly sunny, partly cloudy, or scattered clouds”, but we’re getting wise to their lingo. We’re about to go ashore to take a walk around the grounds of the Cannel Bay Resort.  I suggested that the Captain wear clothes that will dry easily.

Drizzly all day, but still a spectacular sunset.