 |
| AAAHHHH! |
We continued our fun activities with Tom and Krista...next stop was at the Peter Island Resort. We walked along the beach like we were resort guests, even stopping for a few minutes to enjoy the overpriced drinks and the free (pirated) time in the hammocks. All of the beaches are available to anyone in the BVI, although this resort (among others) 'highly' recommend not using any of their fixtures unless you are paying guests. No, we didn't get chased away.
Our next stop was to the dive site for the wreck of the "RMS Rhone". This was a British steamer that was lost in a hurricane in 1867. Here is some info you may be interested in:
Anyway, we grabbed one of the moorings over the dive site and Tom and I suited up....Krista wasn't dive certified, so Karen stayed aboard to keep her company.
 |
| Part of the ship's crossbeams and hull |
 |
| Tom next to one of the propeller blades, in its stern opening. The diameter of the propeller is about 19' |
 |
| More of the wreck site, including the long propeller shaft |
 |
| We saw quite a few lobsters at the site. Getting caught taking one would be like getting caught grabbing a cannonball from Gettysburg |
 |
| Tom next to one of the boilers |
 |
| We sure had a great time on the dive |
After the dive, we headed over to Marina Cay. Krista was convinced it was time for her to get a little dive experience. In the evening, we went to the Rob White Bar on top of the little island, to watch Eric Stone perform.
 |
| At the Rob White Bar, Marina Cay |
It started out as a rather peaceful evening. The rain shades were down along the sides of the bar so the numerous rain squalls that came through didn't get everyone wet. We were even laughing about how we were able to stay dry. Krista and Tom were introduced to Eric and then headed down to the gift shop while we stayed for a few more minutes talking.
Later, we ran into Eric's girlfriend, Kim, racing up the trail towards the bar. Kim asked if we knew if anyone left up at the bar that had a Moorings charter boat. It had dragged it's anchor and was drifting across the bay towards the opposite shore. We said that we were the last ones leaving, so didn't think it was anyone at the bar. Then, she said it was a charter boat, named "Outta Control". Ahh, we finally understood. Our boat looks like a Moorings charter boat. Panic set in...we raced down to the marina gift shop to get Tom and Krista and take our dinghy towards the other side of the bay. We were told that one of the marina's ferry boats was standing by our boat and had a search lite for us to follow...about 1/4 mile away. I didn't mention that this was all done in a driving rain storm...
We arrived at our boat, finding it had snagged its anchor before crashing into the shore. The ferry boat captain told us that it would be ok to use the marina's fuel dock to tie up for the night instead of trying to re-anchor. "Follow me" he says. The wind and rain were horrible and Karen at the helm was having a hard time hearing me and seeing the ferry boat through the rain and darkness. I ran forward to the bow and pulled our anchor, as Karen started to move the boat towards the marina. For whatever reason we don't understand, the ferry captain turned his boat back towards us. I screamed at Karen to stop at the same time she saw what the ferry boat was doing and threw it in reverse. You wouldn't have been able to squeeze a basketball between the front of our boat and the side of the ferry. Wow! Close one! We made it over to the fuel dock without further incident and had a well-deserved drink to celebrate our fortune. The next morning we could see the course our boat took through the mooring field and were absolutely amazed at the distance our boat went, missing several other boats along it's path. We ran into our friends Colin and Audrey on shore, and they told us of their interesting night watching an "outta control" boat weaving through the mooring field unattended, then with their spot light, noticed it was "Outta Control". They quickly called the Marina and told them of the run away boat. The marina sent the ferry......So yet again....proof that the LORD sure looks after us!
The next day was Krista's intro to diving. We had contacted a dive shop we knew and requested their instructor, Neal, to help Krista out.
While she was getting an "in-depth" intro to diving, Karen, Tom and I played around the reef.
 |
| Krista and Neal, working on some bouyancy "issues" |
 |
| Tom headed North and Karen going the other way |
 |
| Karen and me playing leapfrog |
 |
| Tom took this pic of a Lionfish...it's a large one, about a foot long |
 |
| Boo! |
It appears as though we may have a new diver...Krista really seemed to like it.
We ended up our time, the next day, at the restaurant at Marina Cay.
 |
| One of the restaurant's specialties is a breaded foot-long hot dog...and it's good! |
Shortly thereafter, we headed to Nanny Cay for the rest of their vacation, while Karen and I traveled to the airport for our return trip to Oregon for Mom's funeral. Once again, all of our friends filled in for us...Toddy, Sue, Phil and Brendan made sure that the balance of Tom and Krista's vacation went well. There was more sailing, dinners out at restaurants, dancing and even driving vehicles on the LH side of the road.
No comments:
Post a Comment