England is here

Of course, you all probably know by now that Toddy and Suzie are from the UK. They've been around us long enough now that we've  been able to influence a more proper way of speaking and acting...like us. They have thought so highly of our influence that they invited Suzie's daughters over for some in-depth training. Unfortunately, we were only able to spend just a couple of days with them so, I believe, it is almost impossible to correct their mannerisms and customs in such a short time. We tried our best. Maybe we can spend more quality time with them later.


This cargo boat, finally, veered past us
since we had the right-of-way. He probably thought
might-makes-right....

 We met them all at Soper's Hole and brought them back to the boat on the dinghy. After a few moments of getting acquainted with the youngins', we were off! Toddy and I managed the sails and helmwork, setting a course for the eastern end of Jost Van Dyke. We started our fun day with a stop at Sandy Cay. No, it's not something named for me...there's just a lot of sand there. Many charter boats go there for a peaceful, uninhabited tropical island to visit. So picture this...about a dozen boats (each holding 4 or more rowdy, partially inebriated people) all anchor along the western edge of an island slightly larger than a city block. Sooo, that would mean there is usually 25 to 50 people walking, sunbathing, etc along 150' of beach. So much for uninhabited! There'd be less people in a YMCA pool on a Tuesday morning. I guess it's sunny and warm and everyone's on vacation...and happy that they're not freezing their hind ends off in the US right now.

Sandy Cay



Charlotte, Hannah and Suzie

I took the youngins' to the beach for a snorkle and the oldins' made lunch and relaxed with libations. It seemed that the beach snorkling and such was less than inspiring, because they were signalling from the beach to be picked up 1/2 hour later.


Our next stop Diamond Cay on the eastern end of Jost Van Dyke. A short dinghy ride later, we were on shore headed to "The Bubbly Pool". The trail to the pool takes you through some mangroves and sandy areas, then up along a rocky hillside past manchioneel trees (highly poisonous) to a hidden area on the northeastern shore of Jost.

Ohh, a-hikin' we-a-go

The Bubbly Pool

Just when they thought it was safe to go in...
a large wave came through the slot

  Everyone, had a great time then we headed back to the boat. After a short sail back to Soper's Hole, we grabbed a mooring and took the Americanized-ones back to the shore. Later that evening, we met at the "Jolly Roger Restaurant" for dinner, seated on the waterfront dock. Most everyone ordered bbq ribs...not me, though. Can't stand to get the sticky goop on my fingers...I ordered a cheeseburger (in paradise). We sure had a great meal, and the evening view along the waterfront was nice!



Suzie, Hannah, Karen, Charlotte, and others in the background

And, yes, Toddy and I were there also (lucky us...we were the ones the girls were smiling at).

Land of the "Treasure Island"

Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of "Treasure Island," started writing this story of pirates and the sea in 1881 when he was about 30. Of course, it was the inspiration for Walt Disney and his theme park rides as well as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series of movies.

I've read most of the book, been on the Disney rides and watched all of the movies...it seems I have always been facinated with the subject of piracy and sea-faring ships. It's sort of a neat coincidence that Karen and I are here in the Caribbean and, specifically, around the Virgin Islands where most of these tales and theme rides were developed from. Not to mention that the area was notorious for many of the real pirates we are most familiar with...Blackbeard, Sir Francis Drake (he was a privateer, ie: country-sponsored pirate), Henry Morgan, Bartholomew Roberts, etc.

It has been strongly suggested by historians that Norman Island in the British Virgin Islands was the inspiration of Stevenson for his book. Just to the northeast of Norman Island is Peter Island. On the eastern end of Peter Island is Dead Man Bay. About 1/2 mile to the east of this bay is Dead Chest Island, another area referenced by Stevenson in his book. You know Dead Chest from the poem..."Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum! Drink and devil had done for the rest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum." Yep, it's also by Stevenson . Alledgedly, the poem is based on an real event when Blackbeard abandoned a number of mutinous crew on Dead Chest Island with a bottle of rum and one pistol. Most of them drowned in an attempt to swim to the larger Peter Island. Thus, they washed ashore in what became known as Dead Man Bay.


Welcome to the new age of piracy!

We spent a few nights on Norman Island, in Benures Bay. We've been here numerous times, snorkling the waters and hiking the trails. Many of the blogs have covered the fun we've had here. Here's some recent photos of our last trip there:

Damselfish

Caribbean Reef Squid

Full moon over Benures Bay



 One of our hikes took us to the top of the island where we looked down from a helipad into "The Bight". This is the place where many go to the rowdy "Willie T" bar...a large, wooden, sailboat converted to a floating libations vendor, where it's been rumored that folks go there to enjoy the scenery...numerous women (and an occasional man) having lots to drink, stripping down to the "birthday suit" and diving off of the boat. We've never been there, so can't tell you if the rumor's are true.

The Bight

The hiking version of Karen

Looking down into Benures Bay

Karen thinks I need help

Relaxing at the bar halfway on our hike

Daysail With Spokanites

There was a recent addition made to the politically correct subculture list of America...you know the one: Native Americans (Indians,) Hir (gender-neutral for him and her,) chronologically advantaged (old people,) etc. Well, the one I'm going to blog on are the Spokanites. They are a small group of folks living in the eastern desert of Washington State. The most identifying feature of these folks is their desire to travel to remote areas of the world to seek adventure. No distance seems too far. For instance, they would think nothing of flying all the way to Puerto Rico, just to hop on a big boat, then motor 80 miles just to hop on a tiny boat.

Royal Caribbean's "Serenade of the Seas"

Jason (works in Africa) and Regina (used to work in Billings)
Both live in Spokane...together



Alicia and Courtney (I probly speeled both wrung)



Regina and Karen worked together in the operations center
for Big Sky Airlines

 Actually, Jason used to work for Big Sky Airlines as well, piloting their Beech 1900 turboprops, hauling people all over the US and Montana.

We had a great time, sailing from Road Harbor to Little Harbor, Peter Island. Great sailing conditions, with the wind out of the East. Everybody enjoyed snorkling and a great lunch by the hostess, Karen. Then we were off to Tortola. The host (me) decided to keep most of the sails down and just motorsail back...the sky was darkening, rain was athreatening, winds were agathering...and it made me think of a great story to share.
I told them all of the time, about 2 years ago, when a group of inexperienced sailboaters got caught in a freak windstorm (similar to the one brewing up) and the boat got knocked over about a mile from where we were. Of course, all of the boat's hatches and ports were open, so the boat filled with water and sank in about 3 minutes. Everyone survived, but only after losing everything. I noticed that I was the only one with a smile for the rest of the trip.

Much Ado About Very Little

The natives back home in the States are getting restless...they're not happy about the low number of blogs I've been publishing. I think it may have something to do with the coooool temperatures up north. I sort of remember what that was like, but considering the temps here...about 80 almost everyday...it is just so hard to get motivated to do more than I do. So I've set down my rum/orange juice and decided to write a little about what we've been doing for the last week or so.

While snorkling around Trellis Bay, I came across a large shark-looking fish (about 4' to 5' long) swimming under me. I didn't have a clue what it was, and neither did others that I described it to. Finally, I ran across someone who suggested it might be a shark remora. What I know of remoras couldn't fit in more than this paragraph, but I do believe that remoras live most of their lives attached to fish larger than themselves, so one would have to wonder how large the host fish would need to be to have a remora this large attached to it. Since I didn't get a photo of the one I saw, I got permission from an online site http://www.thejump.net/  to post one of theirs:

After leaving Trellis Bay, we stopped in Marina Cay and bought a couple of nice sun hats for all of the sun we've had to deal with. We also met Charlie in the dive shop (BVI Scuba) who is working and sending $$ back home to the States for his family. Charlie says that he and his family hope to relocate from Florida to Wyoming someday. He, and his instructor Neal (from the UK,) invited us on a dive around the reef, and we didn't hesitate to say yes. We didn't see any large fish, but we did see a small green sea turtle and a quite a few of the smaller reef fish. Everyone got the chance to play with a small arrow crab...except Karen...she was satisfied to watch us handle the little spidery-looking critter. I didn't get a pic of it but here's one that you can see by going to this link  http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/images/photo%20gallery/arrow.jpg There were a lot of gorgonians and sponges, but most of the coral was "tired looking"...not in very good health. We've been snorkling on the east side of Marina Cay and the coral is much healthier there.

Charlie

 

Karen





 

A somewhat smaller remora trying to attach itself to Charlie's tank



Juvenile grouper

Neal and Karen in a forest of gorgonians



Later that evening, we went to the island for the Eric Stone show...he replaced Michael "Beans" Gardener, who has moved on to perform his pirate show at Leverick Bay Resort in Virgin Gorda. Eric plays a wide variety of music, much of it his own compositions. Although he would cringe if he read this, I think his music is similar in fashion to Jimmy Buffett or Christoper Cross (you remember him don't you?) Anyway, we had a great time and really recommend his show to anyone headed this way.

Eric Stone at Marina Cay

The next day, Karen and I motored north between Scrub and Gt. Camino Islands and set sail, going about 6 miles north into the Atlantic, then tacked back towards the islands, then back out/in again, eventually making the entry into the North Sound of Virgin Gorda. Along the way, we caught a small skipjack tuna. We had no idea that it had been hooked on our line, as there wasn't any action. Of course, being towed on 50# test at 5 knots for about an hour would take the fight out of any fish less than 20" long. The fillets sure tasted good, and as an added bonus, the meat was already "tenderized"!!



Holding the new world-record skipjack tuna



No ciguatera here!

In the evening we went to shore and sat at a table on the beach, $10 drinks in hand to watch the Michael "Beans" pirate show. He says he's really happy with the new venue and with new stage being built for him. We really liked the setup on the beach, where you can watch his show with sand between your toes.

Happy, Happy, Happy
(notice the tans from the incessant sun)

Leverick Bay's most famous pirate!

Yep, she's all mine

When you are near the beaches in these islands, the mosquito and "no-seeum" population can be pretty nasty so most of the bars and restaurants have a ready solution for everyone.

Right up there in necessity with the condiments!

The Lord looks after us all!

Most of you know me as being, somewhat, full of it...especially when it comes to this blog. Well, here's something that happened in the last couple of days that is no "bull!"

We've started to develop a keen interest in looking for cool "pirate's treasure" in the various anchorages we go to. We don our dive equipment and look around the sea floor under the moorings and anchor areas for...whatever! People doing this have found $$$, fishing poles, various dive equipment, and so on. Karen and I have found an anchor, $20, and the like. It's kind of like dumpster diving. There's a lot of stuff that's just plain interesting. Unfortunately, we also see a lot of garbage such as beer bottles/cans, old motors and transmissions, plastic bags, etc.

Yesterday, we dove here in Trellis Bay, Tortola. This is the place most charter boats visit for the Full-Moon Parties, New Years Eves and so on. We thought it would be a great place to see what there was to see. We had only been under for about 20 minutes when my eye caught the sight of a boat propeller. It wasn't just an ordinary propeller, but one that is designed to fold back on itself...a new Flexofold! These retail for over $1400...in the States. Needless to say, I was "jacked" (EXCITED) I was already trying to figure out if it would fit our boat, and if not, what I could sell it for. I got it back to the boat by dragging it across the sea bed, while Karen stayed above me to keep me in line towards our boat; it weighed about 35# so I wasn't going to just swim it back. When we got back to our boat we discovered our camera had come loose and floated away. It was in a floating underwater case with a bright yellow strap, so we felt it would be easy to see.

We decided to take the dinghy around the bay to look for it...and we looked and looked. Two hours we looked. No camera. Anybody that was out on their boats were asked to keep a look-out for it. When we got back to the boat, I told Karen I was going to snorkle back along our previous route, in the chance it was snagged on something. I finally found the spot where we found the prop. No camera. What I did notice was the boat next to me. No prop! All of a sudden, I realized the $$ were really flying away...no $400 camera and, now, a rightful owner to the prop. I just couldn't figure out how his prop fell off.

Anyway, I swam back to our boat and told the news to Karen. About an hour later, the owner of the "propless" boat came back and I went over and gave it back. They said the boat was brand new and on its first sail from the factory in N. Carolina. To say they were baffled and thankful would be an understatement. I turned down a dinner for Karen and I...instead I just asked them to keep an eye out for the camera.



Steve wasn't angry, he's just Canadian


And like Paul Harvey would say...Now...for the rest of the story!

I told Karen last night that we should get up at 1st light and dinghy over to the shore, in case the camera washed up...I wanted to be there before there were a lot of other people walking along the beach. Although she didn't share it with me, Karen thought it was a dumb idea...it was probably already picked up the previous evening, so it would be a waste of time. But my darling wife humored me and woke me up just before sunrise today to go look for the camera on shore.

So we took the dinghy to Da Loose Mongose and tide to the dock. We walked the entire length of the beach and didn't see anything. Then, walking back towards the dinghy, Karen stopped to watch a number of people getting onto a ferry. When she looked back to continue walking, the camera was there at her feet, floating in the water!! We both just looked at the camera and started laughing. This was too unbelievable to even imagine. We thank the Lord for it all...the guy got his prop back, we got our camera back and you all get the benefit of blogs with pictures...everybody wins!!!

Hello everyone, this is Karen. As you know I don't write on our blog very often but wanted to tell you my take on this experience. I know that God uses all of us to do His work, but normally we don't even know we are. It appears to me that God needed us to find the Prop and give it to the owner, who didn't even know he lost his prop. When we brought the prop back to our boat, God must have said, "No, no, no, that wasn't my plan." So He says, "Now I'm going to take your camera so you will go look for it and in turn  you will discover the owner of the prop. Now go my children, do as I say." So we go looking for our camera, and return the prop to it's owner. Now God says, "Well done, now here is your camera! And, Oh by the way.....I love you!" Pretty cool story huh?