Sailing Ohana

I am so far behind on these blog posts that when I started to write this, I had to review our path on the charts rather than what I usually do, which is to write from memory. The BVI’s we’re a bit of a blur, anyway. Our passage from St. Croix, USVI to Tortola, BVI was rough… Jackson barfed, which was the only time on our boat this season. I stand by my theory by that there are no smooth passage days between St. Croix and the other Virgin Islands. We arrived at the port to check in since it was a new country, and the BVI’s require that the captain and crew present in-person. Unfortunately we chose Road Town (a busy port city) for our check in, which was full of charter boats, cruise ships and waves. If we had known better we would have checked in at the charming nearby town of West End, which we discovered when we checked out. The Road Town harbor was so wavy that we barely got the dinghy down without breaking the davits. We dinghyed to the government building where we had to wander around the building with no guidance except a single word or mumbled answers from extraordinarily grumpy workers. We zig-zagged back and forth all over the building, from one unhelpful desk to another, until we completed the multi-step customs and immigration process. Then we walked to the grocery store in the very hot sun, grabbed some provisions, and walked back to the dinghy dock along with hoards of cruise ship guests. We saw an elderly man trip and fall hard on the sidewalk and I was proud of my family who immediately ran to his aid, picked him up, and collected his belongings for him. We could not escape Road Town fast enough, and we wanted to meet up with our friends who were eagerly awaiting our arrival.

We headed directly to The Bight on Norman Island, right next to Willy T’s, a famous floating restaurant/bar on an old steel-hulled boat. It was a little rocky that first night, so the next morning while the women did yoga at the pavilion on the beach, Tommy and dads/husbands moved the boats further into the bay, grabbing mooring balls at a lovely spot in front of the pavilion and beach front restaurant. We were invited to a potluck on Una Vida, and had a great time hanging out with them, Malusi, Cosmic, and Gray Jay.

Over the next couple of days at the Bight, we enjoyed beach time and some fun rainstorms in which the wind blew our (very expensive) cockpit cushions off the boat a couple of different times. Luckily Tommy found them washed up on the rocks one time, and the other time we watched a cushion get carried over to the shore next to Cosmic, where Otis rescued it as soon as the storm cleared out. We had drinks at Willie T’s and the kids jumped off the top deck, which is the tradition there. There is a sign prominently displayed on the top deck which says, No Jumping No Diving. 🤣

The beach is soft white sand that was brought in by the restaurant for tourist boats visitors. While we were hiking, Isabelle and I found the giant pile of extra sand that is kept nearby; I assume it’s there to add more when the beach washes away. We hiked around the island and along the way got to explore the large, verdant gardens that belong to the restaurant. They grow everything from herbs to melons, papayas, tomatoes, eggplants, and even some plants we couldn’t identify. The restaurant menu looked amazing, but was outrageously expensive so we never ate there. The views from our hike were stunning, and I wish I had brought my phone to take photos.

We snorkeled the famous “Indians” and were blown away by the size, depth, and health of the reef and fish population there. The boys spent a lot of time practicing their free-diving there with some of the other boat kids, and Jackson is proving to be exceptional at it. It stresses me out when I watch him dive so deep underwater and stay down for so long.

The wreck of the RMS Rhone is another famous dive spot that we visited, on our way to Cooper Island. The RMS Rhone was a 310 foot Royal Mail Ship that sank in a hurricane in 1867 in a killing 123 people. There are many interesting stories about it. It was fascinating to see all the parts of the boat, the giant winches, masts, and decking, and there was some good coral growing and decent sea life in the shallower area where we snorkeled. Supposedly the really good stuff is much deeper, where some of our friends dove with scuba gear. Jackson free dove about 55 feet down to check it out with our scuba/dive friends standing by. I spent a long time looking for the anchor, which is supposedly nearby, but never found it.

Tommy’s back started bothering him and he had to take it easy for a day or two. One night with Malusi and Cosmic we decided to hang him upside-down over Malusi’s trampoline, as spinal decompression. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard… Right before Easter, hanging him like that was especially funny. It was hilarious and also touching that everyone wanted to help Tommy and his back — and it actually helped!

We pulled into Manchioneel Bay at Cooper Island and were immediately put off by the layout of the mooring balls and anchor area.  There were a number of balls that are reserved by charters boats mostly, and some that are first-come, first-served, which were all taken, of course. You have to arrive early in the day to get a ball in the BVI’s…. The charter world here is intense and busy. The area for anchoring is deep (which requires lot of chain, or “rode”), but very tight between rocks and an area that’s open to the ocean, so you don’t want too much rode or you’ll swing too far and hit something. There is a current that whips around some rocks nearby as well. Our friend from Gray Jay and our friend Stirling who lives on St. John both mentioned how difficult that bay is… I think Stirling said that he found that the currents and wind often “do not agree”. They were right. We had a hard time anchoring; it dragged at first because the anchor was strangely twisted (thanks to our friend Jay from Cosmic for diving on it and diagnosing), and once we had ours set, our friends’ boats dragged too. After a very tense arrival and almost leaving for a different island, we hung out at the beach bar for the happy hour with friends and got ice cream at the little coffee shop. The proprietor was closing up when we arrived, but when he saw Spencer’s disappointment, he served him a scoop. The other highlight was that Jackson did more free-diving practice (with experienced drivers, following strict safety procedures) on Collette, and went to 65 feet which is his record now.

That night as I was getting ready for bed I looked out the window and saw that Malusi was dragging, and they ended up having to re-anchor in  the wind and rain. Tommy’s joking comment after the worst night on anchor we have ever had, was that it was a terribly bumpy overnight passage, and to make matters worse we ended up right back where we started. Ha ha.