Progress on the House

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! What have we been up to lately? Well, today, up to our necks in insulation installation! We took some time out to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and then got right back at it.

We are making lots of progress on the home addition and are now working on installing the insulation and new windows. There's an inspection on those this week and then we can start on the drywall! The kids really want to go get a Christmas tree, but that has to wait until after drywall and the new flooring projects are completed. Fingers crossed we are done in a few weeks! 

We want to enjoy all this hard work before we sell the house in the spring. In between working at our regular jobs, working on the house, and dealing with the kids' schedules, we are also trying to continue to move things into storage and slowly sell or give stuff away.

BVI to USVI: Homeward Bound

5am found us up and about preparing to set sail for Road Town, Tortola. The trip seemed to fly by and we were a little sad it was over. On the other hand, we were missing our kiddos like crazy and thought ahead to when we would bring them back to enjoy these beautiful islands on our own boat!
We sailed as the sun rose and enjoyed a nice and relaxing ride. Coffee in hand, we took in the views and relished the last bit of time out on the water. Around 7am, we hailed BVIYC on the VHF and got crickets. Their website stated they opened at 7 am, but in fact, they didn't open until 8 am. Oh well, we decided we would just tie up to the fuel dock anyway and unload the boat.

As we neared the dock, two employees waved us over and helped us tie up. Awesome luck! They said they would go through checkout with us even though no one was up in the office yet. Perfect! We got everything off the boat, trash deposited, and by the time everything was checked off their list, the office staff let us know we were good to go. They even called us a cab so we could catch the 9:30 am ferry to St. Thomas! Only downside was Jared's sunglasses decided to go for a swim as we were walking away from the boat. He dug out his snorkel mask and underwater flashlight (the water was really murky) and dove in. After a few dives, he came up with sand. At least they were lost at the end of the trip and not at the start!

The cab ride to the terminal was quick and before we knew it, we had our tickets purchased and some time to kill. We set off to find Jared some new sunglasses and souvenirs for the kids. Mission accomplished, we stopped by an ice cream stand for a cold treat and head back to the terminal.

After going through security, we settled down to wait for the ferry. I had been writing down our daily adventures and was in the middle of this morning's recap when it was time to board.
















We started out sitting outside but the sun was pretty intense, so we decided to move inside the cabin. A blast of frigid air hit us,so cold, I wished I had my jacket! We took in the views for the next 45 minutes (so many other islands we want to explore), and soon we were on solid ground and walking in search of lunch in Charlotte Amalie.

Google showed us that a restaurant was close by at the marina, so off we went. The Hook Line and Sinker  is a nice place with views of sailboats all around. Let me just say that this restaurant has the BEST food! Definitely go grab a meal there if you are in the area. SO GOOD! The staff was great as well.

As we wrapped up lunch, I called David, our cab driver from the start of our trip, and a few minutes later we were heading to the airport, chatting all the way. If you want David's number, let us know. He is a superstar and knows these islands in and out!

After going through airport security, we grabbed a snack and settled down to wait for our plane to arrive. There isn't much to do at this airport, so bring a book or two. We were told to check in at least three hours before our flight. Well, it took us all of 20 minutes to get through to the gate. Not sure where that three hours came from, but we heard it from both our new boat broker AND our cab driver.

Oh well. I took the time to catch up on my journal entries and Jared napped. No sooner had I caught up on my writing, that it was time to board the plane. We were now on our way to Miami, FL to catch our connection to San Francisco, CA. We settled in with snacks and just watched the islands disappear beneath us. As we flew towards Florida, we tried to identify the various islands we were seeing. This flight did not have the cool interactive map (guess we just lucked out on our first leg of the journey), so I noted the shapes and decided I would look them up once we got to Miami.

We landed 45 minutes ahead of schedule and had time to get some dinner before catching our connecting flight.

Around 11:45 pm, we landed in SF and much thanks to the baggage claim gods, our luggage was out FIRST! Wahoo! We were in our car and driving to the grandparents by 12:10am. By 2:30am, we had showered and crashed into bed (after kissing each of our kiddos). Matt woke up and briefly smiled and gave me a hug before falling back asleep.

What a trip! It solidified our entire reason for going cruising with our family. The island time, culture, and new sites we experienced, were just the tip of what we will be seeing. All in less than 6 months!

We are lining up a trip to Florida in February to attend the Miami Boat Show and hopefully buy a boat! If not there, then we are for sure going to look in Croatia or Greece. I really want to start over there anyway; so much history and things to see! Not to mention the food and culture!

We've been asked about sailing the BVIs in October. Let me just say that it was great! There aren't many boats around, so you have your pick of the anchorages. We had The Baths to ourselves for a morning; same for most of the snorkeling spots and beaches. Saw only ONE tiny mosquito the entire trip! We came prepared to wage battle after reading travel forums and it was all for nothing (guess we will just pack away the repellent wipes and blankets for another trip).  So, yes, October is an awesome time to visit the islands! =)

Last Night in the BVI: Snorkeling The Indians

The Indians are comprised of four large rocks jutting out of the sea off of Norman Island, named after the Arawak Indians. There is a 5th Indian underwater. Pelican Rock is on the other side.

There was only one other boat tied up when we secured ours to the mooring ball. I think it was a cruising family, as you can definitely tell these boats from your typical charter boat. Lots more gear and items on board. Again, we can hardly wait until that is US cruising around with our family! =)

Anyway, they were heading back to their boat, and we noticed that we didn't have too much daylight left and had better get going. We set off in the dink over to the dingy mooring that was set right up along the snorkeling area. Secured that, geared up and jumped in. Well, Jared jumped in. I was a bit more hesitant, as this was out in the open sea and the word 'sharks' kept popping into my head. I joined him a few minutes later, after he promised to stay next to me. I really need to stop reading so much on the internet... My fear came not from personal experience, but from reading a few sailing forums online and how some people have seen bull sharks in the area. Reef sharks don't bother me, but bull sharks do.

We snorkeled for about 40 minutes before the sun began to drop below the horizon. This was the best snorkeling of the entire trip and highly recommend this as one of your MUST STOPS if you venture this way! Beautiful purple sea fans waved back and forth, colorful coral as far as the eye could see, and the multitude of schools of fish were just breathtaking.

Hoping our new camera works better than this one. Just doesn't do it justice!

We had scoped out a couple of anchorages on the way over and decided upon Soldier's Bay. It had a low point where the breeze would pass through and was shallow that we could see the underwater world below. Just amazing. You could even see the shadow of the boat on the sea floor below in the moonlight.

You can see The Indians and Pelican Rock in the background!

We had a great evening, despite it being our last one in the BVI for awhile. We enjoyed it for awhile before reality set in.
We began the task of packing up and getting ready to depart for home the following morning. We had an early wake up call of 5am! We needed to be sailing by 6am in order to make port in time to check out and catch a cab for the 9am ferry to St. Thomas!

We will be heading towards those lights bright and early the following day!

BVI ABC's: Ants, Boats, and Cruiseships

As we pointed the bow towards Marina Cay and settled in to read over the guide book, I saw our first stowaway. A large black ant, crawling across the page that I was reading. Then, another, and another, followed by a huge group of them next to the seat cushion where our binoculars were resting. No big deal, as I swiped them off the seat and onto the back of the boat. A quick rinse with the transom shower and they were gone. Looks like we picked up some ants while at the dock. Well, 'some ants' turned into quite a lot of ants! They were all over the deck of the boat! I waged battle for the entire passage to Marina Cay! Fortunately, they didn't make it beyond the cockpit and the deck. I didn't see any ants while at the marina, however, it just proves that anything can get aboard if one is not careful. Chalk it up to another lesson learned.

Marina Cay is nestled in front of Scrub Island and Camanoe Island. It was about a 40 minute sail over from Virgin Gorda. It is a flatter island with a very shallow reef surrounding it.

Marina Cay, Scrub Island, and Cam Bay services: restaurant, bar, hotel, fuel, ice, water, garbage disposal, WiFi, ferry to trellis bay, and Pussers store.

We sailed up to the channel entrance, dropped the sails, and motored over to the mooring field. We were all alone, save for one tiny sailboat maneuvering the mooring balls as part of their sailing school course. Picked up our mooring and jumped into the water to check out the sights. We decided to dingy over to the dock to check out the island a little while later, as it was hot and a cool drink was beckoning.

Amethyst is right behind the cat that just pulled up. The cat that almost ran aground on the reef about 10 minutes after this shot was taken.

Walking from the dingy dock to the other side of the island.

We entered the reef to go snorkeling from this side and ended up swimming all the way around to our dingy.

Tied up to the dock, we peeked over the side of the dingy and saw lots of fish right below us! We walked along the island path through lush vegetation to the beach area lined with chairs and thatched umbrellas. A boat was unloading a group of tourists, so we decided to just head out into the water for some snorkeling before it got too crowded. Turns out, we ended up being the only ones out there the entire time, as the group mostly concerned themselves with just the beach bar and the water's edge. 

I have to say that we were quite disappointed with the visibility and quality of the snorkeling. Could it be that it once was an ideal spot, but with growing tourism, the scenery was destroyed? A couple of engines were found, with marine life growing on them (mother nature taking over), however, the scenery wasn't as bright and colorful as we have seen in other locations. The urchins were huge though! They were triple the size of the urchins back home with much longer spines.

The further from shore, the better it got, however, due to the swell happening, it wasn't as clear as it could have been. I found a lonely conch trundling along the sea floor, as we swam closer back to shore. I was surprised at just how bright the orange coloring is on the other side. Two little eyes peeked out at me, curious as what creature had turned its world upside down (yes, I set it back on it's original course).

Can you see the little purple and yellow fish peeking out?

I turned around to show Jared and right there behind me, there was a barracuda, still as stone watching me. I have read about these fish and how they are most famous for their large sharp teeth.  This one looked to be a juvenile, however, it was still too close for comfort. It is quite eery, as these fish are not scared off in any way and just hover there staring at you. This ranked high on my 'creep-o-meter', so I slowly swam away with the hope it wouldn't follow. Just another reminder that we are a guest in their home.

It's hard to see with the background, but there it is!


After snorkeling a bit, we decided that we had better get a move on if we wanted to snorkel The Indians and our last anchorage for the night. We headed back to the boat to drop off the snorkel gear, change into dry clothing, and pick up some cash to buy snacks and cold drinks for the passage.

As we walked along the shaded path, sprinkled with patches of sunlight and scurrying lizards, we paused a moment to take it all in. What an amazing and beautiful place, these islands are. We can't wait to bring the kids back here on our cruising adventure.

Back on the boat, we set our course for Norman Island and The Indians. What a glorious afternoon it was sailing along. Being that it was still hurricane season, there weren't that many boats out and about. The only encounter we had was a large cruise ship coming from Tortola heading straight for us. They did not turn or change course, so we slowed a bit in order to let them pass. You'd think they would be a bit more polite, considering their wake would make things quite rough for us. Nope. Jerks.

Anyway, I found a few more ants while underway. That occupied me for a good while and I finally got the last one just as we were approaching the mooring balls at The Indians.

Up next, our snorkeling, shark worries, and Soldier Bay!