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.

 

PASTA a la LAWRENCE



This is the edible type of whelk. (Google Image)

The BVI Welcome Magazine ran an article about its local whelk stating that “islanders can still be seen harvesting the tiny mollusks” as they are “BVI’s Escargot.”  Well- we’ve noticed these turban-shaped sea snails along rocky shores in the BVI, but have never seen anyone collecting them, nor have we ever seen whelk offered on a menu when dining out.  Years ago, my brother Joe found a beautiful large whelk when snorkeling with us here.  The locals he asked didn’t even know what it was.  So when I read the article I couldn’t help but be intrigued about yet another free fruit de mer.  The magazine included a recipe for whelk soup, but it’s too hot for soup, so I prepared the whelk as follows and called it-

Pasta a la Lawrence (Whelk…Welk- get it?) Serves 2

Ingredients:

Pasta for 2, cooked & drained

¾ C. steamed & cleaned whelk meat

1 C. chicken broth

½ C. milk

½ C. sliced mushrooms

½ C. chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, diced
2 TBL. flour
1 TBL. butter (or margarine)
½ C. shredded parmesan or romano cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:
1.  Prepare your choice of pasta for 2 and set aside.

2. The whelk you collect should have a diameter of 5 inches or more.*  Scrub shells well before boiling in salted water for 5-8 minutes.  Drain & cool under cold water. Use a toothpick or seafood fork to remove the snail.  The meat is white and nearest the opening.  Remove dark brown circular disk at end. Cut off dark grayish entrails & discard.  Cut meat into bite sized pieces.  * IF THE WHELK IS MUCH LARGER, YOU'LL NEED TO POUND THE MEAT WELL AFTER CLEANING TO TENDERIZE IT.

3. Melt butter in a medium pot & sauté the mushrooms, onion, & garlic. Add the chicken broth & whelk meat & simmer covered for 20 minutes.  Blend flour into milk, add to pot, & bring to a boil to thicken.  Reduce heat & whisk in the cheese.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Pour over pasta & enjoy!

"Uh 1, and uh 2 and uh... m-m-m!"

The REGATTA: Part II

    We left for Road Town well before the posted start time of 11 AM.  Along the way we attempted to recalibrate the windex instrument that sits atop the mast by spinning our 46 foot vessel in small circles, but that didn’t fix it.  Our speed indicator wasn’t working either, probably due to algae growth on the hull.  I had brushed off the growth I could reach while at the dock, but that was hardly enough.  To make matters worse, I hadn’t been at the helm sailing since early August, so a short practice ensued during which the winds blew a strong and steady 18-22 knots, keeping the sails good and full. 

     Remember, our intentions for sailing in this regatta was for FUN and to join in the festivities at Willy T’s Floating Bar that followed.  That seemed to change for Dan the closer it got to the starting gun when he started acting like he wanted us to win or at least place well.  The most harrowing part of the regatta for me was the twenty minutes prior to the start when all the participating boats milled around the waters of Road Reef Bay avoiding near collisions.  I noticed that most of the other boats had a crew of four or more and all excess items were stripped from their boat decks (i.e., no bimini, dinghy, solar panels, wind generator, BBQ grill).  The customary warning horns were blown one to five minutes apart, but they confused us novices- 1 long, 5 short, another long. (So when DO we go?!) We watched the other cruisers sail through the gate and followed the leader. 

BVI Regatta Google Image...Dan wouldn't let me take my hands off the wheel.

     The one thing Dan did to prepare was to chart the course; however, an error was made in identifying the first marker, so we had to make a few extra tacks.  All in all, it was a wonderfully sunny day and the rest of the race was good for me as I watched my fellow competitors from behind the pack.  We even got to utilize our new whisker pole to sail wing-and-wing when we rounded the backside of Dead Chest Island as the winddiminished to 2-5 knots.      

Jorn & Dianna came in 4th on their s/v Scooby II.

    The finish line was NOT located where posted.  It seems we had missed an announcement given during registration and cocktails at the Royal BVI Yacht Club last night.  We sailed into the Bight of Norman Island among the moorings around Willy T’s. The racers who had finished were relaxing and watching the last of us come in.  I turned to starboard to pass behind the bar to head for where we now thought the finish line was, but a sudden strong wind took hold of the sails, so I  had to go hard to port to avoid crashing into Willy T’s!  Immediately, I started the engine as we were in the midst of boats and moorings and I knew for safety’s sake, I needed to be in total control.  Our friends Jorn & Dianna yelled and motioned frantically to us that we must go around by the committee boat, but I chose not to because I was already motoring.  I assumed that our disqualification would result since we hadn’t properly crossed the finish line.  That was OK with me because, first and foremost, I hadn’t caused any damage to our boat or anyone else’s.

     I spoke to the committee boat guy before the results were announced and, thankfully, he saw us come in and didn’t disqualify Exit Strategy.  The William Thornton Virgin’s Cup Regatta is all about FUN after all. We declared our goal in Part I of competing for last place.  Sadly, we didn’t quite reach it, as there was one boat that finished after us.  Oh, well, there’s always next year…

A few cool ones made 9th place seem OK.

The REGATTA: Part I

      We’re about to register to sail in our first regatta this evening.  It is the annual William Thornton’s (Willy T’s) Virgin Cup Race whose course lies largely in the Sir Francis Drake Channel in the BVI.  Well, the route is totally within the channel, but it is a short route as regattas go and just our speed. One rule stipulates that a woman must be at the helm for the duration, although not necessarily a certified virgin- although there has been a bit of jesting about that among the contenders we know.  I am that woman.
        We only decided to join in the fun a few days ago after our young German friends said they were going to compete for last place.  We could hardly pass up a challenge like that, now, could we? 
       Jorn and Dianna “sold up & sailed away last spring” and they’ve kept Dan company at Nanny Cay while I was gone recently.  They encouraged us to enter the regatta, but the moment we committed, Jorn sternly said to his wife, “Come, Dianna.  We must not talk to them anymore.  They will want to learn our sailing secrets.”  So we invited them over for cocktails that very evening, hoping to employ the Colonel Hogan method of getting good old Colonel Klink to talk.   I’ll let you know if it worked after the regatta runs its course tomorrow.

       Stayed tuned for the REGATTA: Part II.

Our 1st Anniversary

On Brewers Beach after a brew.

Tell the truth-

Would you rent a car from a business named iTGO? To celebrate our one year anniversary on board Exit Strategy, we decided to lease a car and tour the parts of Tortola that we haven't been able to get to by boat. There were many recognizable rental agencies available, yet Captain Dan chose iTGO.  Tank Jah, iTGO ovah de rockiess, ruttiess dirt roads; iTGO up de steepess, winden montens; den when iTGO don de odder side, de brakes be good.  An de Capten- he always tink to stay lef on de road!

All kidding and island speak aside, we spent two pleasant days tripping from one beach to another, one store to another, and of course, one more bar to another. Some of the paths we took were quite remote and the car and our nerves held up just fine.  Dan kept saying, "How can we get lost?  We're on an island!"  We repeatedly pulled over to ask for directions, but the roadside people either never heard of the place for which we were looking or they couldn't speak English (not even the Queen's)! We finally resorted to asking them to show us where we were on the map and sometimes that helped.

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Smuggler's Cove Beach

Saw my first LION FISH under a ledge in the reef along Smuggler's Cove Beach! This species is highly invasive and poisonous.  (Google Image- I didn't want to stick around to take a photo.)  

We visited Good Moon Farm that is located on an old sugarcane plantation known as Turnbull Estates.  This organic farm is perched on a mountainside, so all the planting beds are terraced, as was the sugarcane in bygone years. As all agricultural undertakings are, this one is  work in progress and Aragorn, the owner aims to expand.

A large ghost crab was curious about us on his beach.