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! =)

BVI continued: Boat surfing and The Baths!

I put away the camera shortly after this photo because the waves were really rocking the boat as we prepared to enter. We had radioed Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbor about 30 minutes before and were told to go into the B dock where someone would meet us to help with the lines.

Once we got to the point to where the waves were actually breaking (not even to shore yet), things got a little hectic. Jared was at the helm and I was making sure we were in the right position to enter. You have to go straight and then turn 90 degrees fairly quickly. We tried timing the entrance in-between the breaking waves but they were seconds apart. Camera went away as I needed to hold on with both hands, we were rocking and rolling that bad. The most scary experience was right after we turned 90 degrees. A wave broke and we were caught in it. Scared that it would push us sideways into the shore, we had that motor full speed and just prayed we wouldn't be pushed too far. The boat rocked WAY over so that the deck was under a bit, but she rolled right back the other way and righted herself. I looked back at Jared as we cruised into the spot behind that little jetty and were safe from any more waves. Whew! What relief. Here is a photo of Jared right after that (we were celebrating the fact we did not run aground)!

See the waves coming in behind him? We are still rocking a little, but not as bad. #tensemoments

Nothing was marked, but we figured the staff member waiting at the end of one of the docks was our guy. So, we turned in and he told us we would need to tie the dingy to the bow and back the boat in to the slip. Ok, fine. I took the helm for a bit while Jared moved the dingy and then I handled the lines while he backed into the slip. It took us a few tries; the swell was still coming in (we were the first dock and the swell came right in and pushed us around.

Finally, we were tied up and hooked up to shore power. By this time, we were dripping with sweat  and spent a few minutes hovered over the AC vents in the boat. I took out our cruising guidebook and noted that the marina closed at 4:30 pm.
Oh crap, that's in 2 minutes, we have to go check in!

We scrambled up and out of the boat and over to the marina office. Once settled, we grabbed our shower gear and headed off to the marina showers. We had been showering off the boat, but let me tell you how awesome a real shower feels. We were feeling pretty darn great after that! Dropped off our stuff and decided to check out the area and find a place for dinner (our first meal out since being on the boat).

We ended up at the marina restaurant and watched another beautiful sunset. Island sunsets just can't be beat! You'd think we would sleep like babies that night with the AC and all.
Nope.
The swell coming in was causing the lines to slowly loosen--more like jerking around. The boat would move one way and then jerk hard as the lines grew taut, and then slam back against the fenders and the dock. Jared was afraid this might cause damage to the boat, so we added a few more lines to tighten things up. Finally, after that, the boat was snug as a bug and we could finally get some sleep.

Woke up around 7 am the next morning to eat breakfast and a mug of coffee before heading out to find a taxi. We needed to check out by 11 am, so we were pressed for time.

Let me just say that taxis are easy to find because they are everywhere! They are also MUCH more affordable than back in the states. For example, a ride from one end of the island to the other was $4 per person!

While chatting with our various drivers throughout this trip, we learned that the government sets the rates, there is a taxi union, and that most of them are self-employed and have other jobs as well. All of them were super knowledgeable about the islands, always friendly, and loved to share information.

We walked out into the marina parking lot and met our driver, Mr. O, who gave us a great tour as we drove to the The Baths. He said he'd meet us in 2 hours to take us back to the boat to check out. Perfect!

We had forgotten to bring our nature permit with us, so we had to pay the entrance fee, which wasn't that much, $6 total!

This is an awesome little hike. Immediately on the trail, huge boulders surround you. Nowhere else have I seen cacti growing among ferns. The ferns seemed to wind their way around the cactus like a feathery scarf. We had the entire place to ourselves, save for a couple of employees getting ready for a big rush of tourists later that morning. We came out to the beach and turned left to enter The Baths.

Magical. That is one word that comes to mind. Wandering through the twists and turns is just an amazing experience. The light dancing upon the water and splashes of light dancing off of the boulders is just spectacular.

Out of The Baths and onto the beach at Devil's Bay! Stef is looking on, wishing she could snorkel!


By this time, we had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet Mr. O at the top of the baths. We turned around and just as we were heading back through the caves, we were faced with a huge group of people. So grateful that we had this entire experience to ourselves. Definitely bringing the kids back when we are cruising this way!

We headed towards the beach bar to get an icy blended, when we discovered they wouldn't open for another hour or so. Oh well, back up to the top.

Gorgeous view and a pool to cool off in!

After a fantastic ice-blended drink, we headed back to the marina to check out.

Leaving YGYH was much easier than getting in. The waves were still breaking but not as close together. We headed out in-between the waves and out into the beautiful turquoise water, pointing the bow towards Marina Cay. Little did we know that we had stowaways on board...but that's for the next post.

Such a beautiful color!

Boat Shopping in the B.V.I. Part 1

We continued our search for our floating home this past week, traveling all the way to the British Virgin Islands! We left the kids in the care of their awesome grandparents while we headed off for a long overdue vacation. Well, it was sort of a working vacation, as we had boats to see and things to research. Still, a vacation none the less! =)

Our school district has a fall break in October, so we decided to take advantage of this time off. We had been in contact with our broker and he was setting up a list of boats to view. Hours were spent on the internet locating other boats to see, along with preparing for the trip. We had decided to charter a boat rather than stay in a hotel, so that we could easily move about the islands and take in as much scenery as possible. Plus, these were unsailed waters for us, so we were happy for the new experience.

After spending the night at the grandparents', we kissed the kids as they slept and slipped out the door. At 4am. Yep, we had a 2 hour drive to San Francisco to catch our 8am flight. Lots of coffee was involved. 

After checking in and getting through security, which didn't take that long, thankfully, we made our way to the gate. We boarded fairly quickly and settled in for the long flight to Miami, our first stop on this journey. We had only about 30 minutes to get to our connecting flight to St. Thomas, so we were hoping that this plane didn't get delayed.

The plane we were on had this cool interactive screen in front of each seat. I loved playing around with the map, which provided all sorts of info such as length to destination, airspeed, etc. You could also watch a variety of movies (free), or play games. Future note: this will make flying with kids a lot easier.

We landed in Miami with just enough time to get to our next gate, which was already boarding.  Noticed that not all of the planes have the upgraded tech we experienced on the first flight. Oh well, it was only 3 more hours. By now, it was dark, so there wasn't much to see out the window. This plane had overhead screens every few seats and played the new Star Trek movie. However, they did not provide sound, and our headphones were in our backpacks overhead. Didn't really feel like getting them out anyway, as we were tired by this point. Amazing how traveling can wipe a person out.

We landed in St. Thomas around 9:30 pm and exited the airplane outside. The heat hit us in a huge wave. Wow, what a difference from our cold weather on the California coast. After picking up our luggage (just one bag, that held stuff for the boat), we walked out into a flurry of activity. Taxi driving in the islands is a popular career and there were no less than 20 different taxis outside of this tiny airport. We hopped into one of the vans and sped off to our hotel for the night, Emerald Bay Resort.

What a beautiful place! Right on the beach (Lindbergh Bay) and the people are great! We put our stuff in the room, called the kids to check in and say goodnight,  and headed out to check out the beach. We were given a welcome drink upon arrival, so we took that to the beach and enjoyed the view. The water was warm, again a stark contrast to our 50 degree waters back home. After spending about an hour relaxing, we decided to grab some sleep before continuing on our journey the next day. The time difference of 3 hours did not affect us as much as I thought. It was surprisingly easy to get up at 7am to find breakfast, despite it being 4am back home. We ate at Caribbean Fusion, which was on the hotel property, a lovely beach front restaurant. We sat at a table closest to the water and had our coffee. While we waited for our breakfast, it began to rain, so we moved inside. The food and staff were wonderful.

Around 8:30 am, we were checking out, when a couple offered to share their taxi with us to the ferry terminal. After chatting a bit, the woman mentioned her dad lived around the corner from us! What a small world! They left at the Charlotte Amalie terminal, but we had a boat to see in Red Hook, so David took us all the way to the other end of the island, "no problem".

David, our driver, was a cool guy. He talked about his visit to California and his hope to buy property there someday, how he grew up in Florida and moved to St. Thomas as a teenager and met his wife, how he splits his time working as a taxi driver and a construction worker, etc. He had all sorts of fun facts about the island and by the end of the short trip, we had a nice friendship going. He gave us his card, so that when we needed a ride back on St. Thomas, to give him a call. 

We arrived in Red Hook and the terminal happened to be right next to the marina, where the boat we hoped to see was berthed. This is where we began to learn that our broker was not really doing his job. In fact, he hadn't confirmed anything with the owner's broker at all. Needless to say, we only saw the boat from the dock. The owner's broker said that they could possibly arrange for another viewing on our return trip to St. Thomas on Thursday, so we set that up and went on our way to secure tickets for the ferry ride to West End, Tortola.

It was now around 11 am, so we grabbed a cold drink (ice water and soda; which by the way, we probably drank more cold soda on this trip than we've had in the past year), filled out the customs forms, and waited for time to board the ferry. 11:45 am rolled around and it was time to go. We initially sat up top, as we wanted to take in the view of all the islands, but a rain shower and lightning put a stop to that plan.

We sat inside the air conditioned cabin and watched the islands and colorful water pass by. We docked around 12:45 pm where it was pouring. Thankfully, there were many taxi drivers waiting. One lady motioned for us to go to her van, where we escaped the showers. Another couple joined us, and turns out they were from Gilroy! Again, what a small world. We were treated to a scenic route of the island, going around Cane Garden Bay and eventually cutting down along the middle of the island towards Road Town. Port Purcell is where the boat we chartered was located. All in all, it was about an hour's drive.

We chartered Amethyst, a Beneteau 34, through BVI Yacht Charters (used VI Sailing initially and they set it up through BVIYC). By now, it was around 3pm, and if we wanted to leave port anytime soon, we had to get a move on. Sailing at night is not allowed.

Since we have our sailing certification, checking in was a breeze. We had a quick chart briefing (we also took a course online, so this made it even quicker), Tony took us through the boat and showed us all the systems, etc., and by 3:30pm, we had our empty packs on our backs and were walking to the nearest grocery store, Rightway.

It was about a 10 minute walk, (watch out though, because there aren't any crosswalks, and we had to remind ourselves to adjust to the fact that they drive on the opposite side of the road) and we thoroughly enjoyed the AC once inside the store. Provisioning in the islands is definitely more expensive than the mainland. I enjoyed comparing the prices though, when I could. Many of the items did not have a price on the shelf, so we were sort of guesstimating how much things cost. For the prices I did find, you can basically double the cost from the mainland. There were many brand names we recognized, although definitely not the big selection we are used to. One costly item was apples. It was $2 for ONE apple! One roll of toilet paper was $1.79 (yep, one ROLL, not a package).

We met another cruising couple while shopping and chatted up awhile. When we got to the butter, we both exclaimed how we couldn't possibly use up the double containers that they were sold in, so they said to meet them up front and they would give us one of the tubs. Cool! We checked out and all in all, it was about $170 for the week. We filled our packs and ended up having to buy a couple of plastic bags to carry it all. Our menu contained fish, sandwich makings, salad, bbq items, eggs, pancake mix, jam, coffee creamer (we brought our own coffee and pasta from home), pasta sauce, and light snacks. We didn't get ice, but since the boat had a fridge and freezer, we figured we didn't need any. We bought the nice couple their bags (to pay them back for the butter), and headed out. Next door, is a store called Cash and Carry, which sells bulk items (sort of like Costco). They had closed by the time we finished shopping, so I waited with our purchases while Jared went back into Riteway to get a case of water. We were advised NOT to drink the water on the boat. While reading online, I read about how you never know when the water tanks were last cleaned, so its best to use bottled water for drinking.

We made it back to the boat around 4:30pm and Tony said that since we knew what we were doing, he'd let us go ahead and leave port. He recommended sailing to The Bight on Norman Island, but we ended up going straight across to Peter Island and picked up a mooring ball in Great Harbour.

Turns out others had the same idea, because we had about 10 other boats in there with us. Not exactly the solitude we were looking for, and wow, did those people like to party. At one point, two catamarans had a music war going. A LOUD music war. One even upped the ante with a rainbow colored light show. It made fun entertainment for all of about 5 minutes, before we swore we would do everything possible to ensure we never anchored or moored with these people again.

We don't begrudge them party time, however, we were tired from traveling and trying to sleep with all that racket was difficult. It was also HOT. So darn hot, because we failed to notice the entire anchorage was sheltered by the island, and to add to that, the boat did not have much ventilation. A couple of tiny hatches and a few even smaller porthole windows. Even with the windscoop up and fans going in the cabin, we were sweating like crazy. Jumping in the water to cool off didn't really help either. So, we kept everything open, despite warnings of mosquitoes (which by the way, we only saw ONE the entire trip, thankfully). Jared tried sleeping up on deck, but that wasn't any better. We learned an important lesson that first night: find an anchorage where the island is lower and allows wind to pass through!

Torola off in the distance.