Seaman’s Log

This is our account of our sailing trip to The British Virgin Islands. My friends, Dick and Craig were on a four month trip and we would join them for 8 days.  

Diane and I took a flight from Salt Lake City that left at 11:55 PM to New York, JFK. Despite Diane’s worry about an overnight flight, we had a smooth and restful flight. It was aided by just the right amounts of meclizine and ambien. Better living through chemistry, you might say. We had some breakfast and some really fantastic coffee at JFK. Our second leg would be a long flight to St. Thomas. Although we were on the standby list for an upgrade, we found ourselves back in the economy cabin. However, on this 757, we were on row 19 which happened to be a bulkhead row and gave us leg room as if we were members of the one per cent. Without the other amenities, I might add.

We arrived in St. Thomas about 1:30 PM(Atlantic Time which is one zone east of the Eastern Time zone). The airport was crowded with mostly sun burned tourists who were trying to get a few last drinks in before they headed home. We took a taxi to the Ferry Building and went to the  Petite Pump Room restaurant located above the  ferry. As we sat overlooking the water, Diane could not believe how blue the water was. The ferry ride took us about an hour to get to Road Town, Tortola, BVI. It took us about an hour to clear customs. I wasn’t sure they were even going to let us in. I had lost one the forms we had to fill out. The not so sweet old lady decided that we were the ones she was going to hassle that day. Diane finally asked if we could get another form. Welcome to Tortola, have a nice day, mon.

We took a taxi to our hotel, Maria’s By the Sea. We could have walked, it was so close. We checked in and found that Dick had left a phone number for us. I tried calling it but could never reach him. We got settled and I decided to do a walk-a-bout. This worried Diane because it was dark and I tend to get lost a lot. I explored Road Town and was looking for a place to buy some food to take back to the hotel. I saw this food truck with some people milling about and noticed two older men with white hair. Everyone else I had seen was black. I can’t believe that I just happened to run into Dick and Craig. They were ordering from the food truck, called It Bang Good. Well, it was. We ordered up some ribs and barbeque chicken and headed back to the hotel. Diane was on lookout duty from the balcony and spotted us a block away. Our first dinner on the island was outstanding, or “It Bang Good”.

The next morning, Sunday, we ate breakfast at the hotel with a view of the sea. Dick and Craig came by and borrowed the shower(thank goodness). We set out to get provisioned from the grocery store and then loaded up the dinghy and went out to the Panacea, our home for the next 8 days. The Panacea is a 37 foot monohull boat made by Beteneau. It has two cabins and a nice salon and a head with a shower. There is also a shower off the back of the boat. The galley is roomy enough with a double sink, two burners, a refrigerator and a freezer. All the comforts of home, almost. Dick gave up his cabin for us and would sleep in the salon. The cabin was wide enough but for head room, it was like being in a cave or MRI scanner. You did not want to sit up suddenly. After getting settled, we got underway. We did a combination of sailing and motoring depending on the wind conditions and the seas. We headed towards Jost van Dyke to look for a mooring spot on Diamond Cay. There were none so we sailed back to Cane Garden Bay where we picked up a ball. We took the dinghy to shore for a walk on the beach and some refreshments. We had dinner on the boat that night. We had hot dogs, chili, salad and Doritos. Why does food taste better when you are on the ocean? Soon, it was bedtime.

We awoke on Monday feeling refreshed. We went to shore for more provisions and took a walk to the Caldwood Rum Distillery. It was closed so we could not take a tour. We set sail again for Diamond Cay but the seas were too rough to take an anchorage there so we went to White Bay. This was on Jost van Dyke. We found a mooring ball there and I took a snorkel swim over to the reef to see the fish. I spotted a barracuda and a tarpon as well as hundreds of brightly colored fish. We took the dinghy into the white sandy beach and hung out there for awhile. When we got back on the boat we tried out the grill and had some nice steaks along with a salad.

Tuesday morning, the galley slave, Diane made an egg scramble for breakfast and then we sailed to Marina Cay. We grabbed a ball and went to shore to use the internet and browsed around Pusser’s Store. That night we were entertained by Eric Stone, a singer of pirate songs and ballads. Diane took a chance and ordered a Painkiller, virgin of course. It was then onto the restaurant for a real meal. I had the coconut encrusted mahi mahi and Diane had Caribbean Curry. We were really roughing it now. That night it was windy and the boat was rolling a lot.

On Wednesday the seas were still rough and the wind was howling. We cancelled our plans to sail to Monkey Point for snorkeling and did a layover day at Marina. Later in the morning we took the ferry over to Trellis Bay and stopped for coffee at “D” Best Coffee. We went into the shops and watched as people set up for the Full Moon Party which is supposed to be a drunken orgy but we would be gone before that. We found a restaurant called the Mongoose for lunch. Diane had this dish called a Roti which is like a burrito with curry and spiced  chicken and vegetables inside. Quite good. We ferried back to Marina and then onto the Panacea. Tacos for dinner that night.

On Thursday, the winds were still a bit high so we motored over to Great Dog Island for some snorkeling. Diane and I got out and had a good outing but some one came and said we could not hook up to the mooring balls there. We headed out to Virgin Gorda. Columbus saw the island first and named it because it looked like a fat woman. We motored over to Leverick Bay and got on a ball. We went in for the Michael Bean Show that coincided with Happy Arrrrr. This was a one man pirate band. He was dressed up as a pirate, told pirate jokes and riddles, and had a lot of audience participation. He played a guitar, a harmonica, and he stomped his feet on plastic beer cartons for the drums. I guess he is pretty famous around these parts. Back on the boat that night Diane whipped up some roasted garlic fettuccini with marinara meat sauce and a salad. Still roughing it.

We left Leverick Bay on Friday and had good winds for putting the sails up. We went to the Baths and went to shore and left the dinghy at the dinghy dock  which is just a rope with buoys on it 75 feet from the shore. From there we swam to shore and took a hike on Devils Bay hiking trail. It reminded me somewhat of the Subway as we were in and out of the water and up  and down over boulders and it was cave like. When we came out of the caves, we found ourselves at another beautiful, white, sandy beach.. We reversed that route to get back to our starting point. Getting back into the dinghy was a bit of a challenge but we all accomplished it. We left no sailors behind, sir! We sailed over to Cooper Island and moored at Manchioneel Bay. Saturday, we set out to find the wreck of The Rhone. Diane and I went into the water looking for it and then Dick started waving to us. We  found  this sunken ship and marveled  at it. It was a British ship that sunk in a hurricane in 1867. It is very popular with scuba divers although we got a very good look at it. Dick even found some booty. He found an underwater flashlight near it. From there, we sailed to Norman Island where we parked the boat at The Bight and took the dinghy over to snorkel The Caves. This was a neat area where underwater caves had formed and you could go in as deeply as you dared. That night we had dinner at The Pirates Bight Restaurant on shore.

Sunday would be our last day on the Panacea. We sailed a short distance to The Indians, another snorkel site where I got to see a turtle and hang around with him for awhile. He was funny looking but I guess he thought the same of me. We  sailed on to Soper’s Hole, a marina about which there are many sailing songs. We had lunch there and then sailed to Road Town. It  was a long sail with rough seas and many tacks. We moored the Panacea in the bay in front of Maria’s by the Sea and took the dinghy in with all our gear and walked to the hotel. We said goodbye to Dick and Craig and took a real shower. The adventure was over but the memories will remain. The pictures, too!