A Week in the British Virgin Islands

 Back in 2011, the Woods family spent a week in aboard sailing vessel Charisma in the lovely British Virgin Islands (BVIs), and we've been itching to return every since.  So a full year ago, I began instigating a plan to return in Spring 2025.  But this time, we would go big:  we'd go, not in August, when hurricanes threaten and many hotspots are deserted, but in April, when things are hopping!  And we'd get ourselves one really big boat and load it up to the max with fun-loving adventurers.  I'm talking a five-cabin boat with a couple in each cabin: ten wild and crazy boat-lovers.

Luke & Janet

But to get a crew that big, Joan and I had to reach outside of the Woods clan.  The first invitation went out to Luke & Janet, our wonderful friends and neighbors from here in our little hamlet of Coldspring, Texas. 

 

 

Bart & Becky

Then we contacted Bart & Becky, our multi-decades-old friends who we'd gone skiing with in the Colorado mountains when our kids were little, and have stayed in touch since.  They currently live in South Carolina.  Both couples said "Heck yeah!!" 

 

And so, with my faithful brother Tim, his wife Theresa, their son Mitch, and his newlywed bride Mary, my crew was complete.  As before, I will use my Dragonfly account here on Blogspot to chronicle our adventures, since it's all set up and my followers all know how to get here.

Chief Hood Ornament

A few months back, I'd drawn up a list of official boat positions, and asked for volunteers.  I was Captain, and Joan would be the Admiral (outranked the Captain).  Tim would resume his role as First Mate.  Other crewmembers snagged other important roles such as Quartermaster, Boatswain, etc.  Janet (pictured here) and Mary both grabbed the essential duty of Hood Ornaments; this position has no function - it is only there for looks. 

Well, no vacation goes without a few snags.  For us, it began the evening before departure, when our charter broker contacted me to say that the boat we booked a year ago, a Sunsail 505, was no longer available.  (We later learned what happened: the previous charterers ran it aground!)  So, they moved us to an even bigger, nicer boat:  a Moorings 5000!  But a few hours later, the broker contacts me again and says oops, our mistake, that boat is not available.  So, they will put us on a Leopard 465.  It's a little bit smaller, but much newer, and loaded down with all sorts of bells and whistles and every newfangled feature imaginable.  However, a quick look at the layout diagram reveals one problem:  one of the five "cabins" had, not a double bed, but bunk beds!  Great for a family with kids, lousy for a fifth couple.  But, they will give us a partial refund.  I went back and forth with the broker, trying to get a better deal, but, it was what it was.  Things were going down fast … but Bart and Becky volunteered to take the bunks, and the refund money.  Crisis averted.  On with the vacation!

Meeting up in Miami

For us Coldspring natives, it began on Monday, April 7 at 2:30 am with a hour's drive to Bush Intercontinental in Houston and a layover in Miami.  There, we met up with Bart & Becky, and introductions made.  Luke and Bart were both ex-military helicopter pilots, so I knew they'd get along well.  Immediately, they start telling their "war stories", which went on all week long.

 

TUESDAY

Our vessel

The boat was named "Flambuoyant" (yes that is how it was spelled).  As promised, it had every modern feature possible, and then some!  Moses, the friendly and knowledgeable technician, arrived early Tuesday and patiently went thru everything (including how operate the @#$% generator, which ran all night, even tho we were plugged into shore power.)  The full tech briefing consumed a good three hours.

 

We finally untied from the dock at 1:00 pm.  With Tim delegated as Maneuvering Under Power Specialist, and me barking out orders, we cleared the marina without incident.  Once out in the open, up came the sails.  (Sure is easy with these power winches!)  The lazy jacks, which are great when lowering sails but can really get in the way when raising them, gave us a challenge - but we figured it out.

 

Full sail!

Engines off!  Music on!  Break out the beer!  Ah, this is what I came for.  Bart wanted to learn all he could about sailing, so he up to the helm and became my protege.  The girls assumed their duties as Hood Ornaments with excellent proficiency.

 

 

Our first destination was The Indians, a premier snorkeling and diving spot near Norman Island, about 6 miles south of the marina in Road Town.  That politically-incorrect moniker comes from the narrow, pointy rocks that jut skyward and look like Indian headdress feathers.  There were a handful of other boats already moored there. 

 

We picked up a mooring ball, and we guys grabbed snorkels and jumped right in.  The water was crystal-clear and the coral was spectacular - however, it was very exposed to heavy wind and waves.  The rough conditions made snorkeling quite exhausting.  I'd have to find us a better spot for this type of activity.

On to The Bight, a small bay on the east end of nearby Normal Island.  Norman was the most westward of the so-called Little Sisters, a group of islands that bordered the southern edge of the BVIs.  There were already at least 50 boats already moored here, including one huge super motor-yacht.  Janet said she expected to see James Bond come flying out of it on a jet ski any minute.

Concert.  Come by dinghy

 

Once moored, a small boat circled around the mooring field announcing a free, live concert at 6:00 behind the humongous catamaran "Ascension", right next door.  Everyone is invited.  Come via dinghy.  So we and at least a dozen other dinghies buzzed over and rafted up, as this hot chick with a guitar belted it out to the crowd.  A gal on the dinghy next to us handed out margueritas in paper cups.  What a party!

 

WEDNESDAY

My itinerary for the week was organized around a clockwise circumnavigation of Tortola.  So we left Norman Island and headed for the Thatch Island Cut, on the west end of Tortola.  This would involve a dead downwind sail.  Despite all the cool onboard features, we did not have a whisker pole, a necessary tool for sailing at that wind angle.  So, we had to do downwind tacks.  Not a problem on smaller boats, but on a big boat like this, a gybe (when the wind crosses over the stern) can be a challenge.  If done wrong, it can be dangerous, and can really stress the rigging.  Plus, the westbound channel was a bit narrow, limiting our maneuvering room.  But with Bart assisting and following my excellent directions, we did pretty good.

 

This boat sails very well.  Interestingly, it did not have a traveler (a trans-beam adjustable track with the mainsheet attached to a car).  Instead, it had a continuous double-ended mainsheet.  When sailing downwind, one must harden the leeward side to prevent boom bounce.  It basically does the same thing as a traveler-sheet combo, but takes a little getting used to.

the Captain and his protege

 

The music played and we were jamming and singing.  It just doesn't get any better than this.

 

I had picked out Sandy Spit, just east of Jost Van Dyke, as an interesting little stopping point with a lovely beach.  Bad decision.  The swells and surf were heavy, and there was no good place to beach the dinghy.  Another boat had also anchored and dinghied ashore, so I kinda assumed that if they did it, so could we.  But, it turned out that they also regretted their decision to come here.  Our dinghy got swamped and dragged over some rocks.  Then we barely got it back into the water.  Everyone in the landing party came away with a few "boat bites". 

"Let's go there!"

 

We headed to nearby Jost Van Dyke (pronounced "yoast"), an island on the far westward end of the BVIs, and picked up a mooring ball in Diamond Bay.  We're getting pretty good at this mooring thing (thanks to my excellent leadership).  Then we headed ashore to check out Foxies, a bar and grill with a reputation for being one happening place.  I told the barkeep that I was feeling pain and needed something to kill it, so he whipped me up their signature drink:  the Painkiller.

While at Foxies imbibing on their drink fare, a helicopter flew in and landed out in back.  Luke makes friends with anybody, anywhere, so when the copter crew and passengers came in, Luke immediately struck up conversation with the pilot.  They traded some "war stories".  Man, did I do a good job selecting this crew!

Big fish under the boat at night

After dark, we turned on the boat's blue underwater lights, which attract lots of little fish, which in turn attract a lot of BIGGER fish.  Humongous tarpons could be seen below, providing us all with hours of entertainment, watching nature unfold.