Virgin Islands

GOODBYE AND HELLO

We arrived at our first Virgin Island, St. Thomas, which is one of three main U.S. Virgin Islands, the other ones being St. Croix and St. John. St Thomas is one of the few virgin islands with a commercial airport.

 It was here that we bid Peter a fond farwell. We really enjoyed Peter's exuberance for exploration, his "joie de vivre", his love of other cultures, his charming even-keeled personality, his winning smile, his spanish speaking and Domino playing prowess,  and most of all... HIS COOKING!!!!!  Peter loved to experiment in the kitchen and we were very willing and happily satiated guinea pigs. Not only that, he washed dishes, kept the head (bathroom) spotless and  pulled three hour shifts like a trooper on our overnight sails. THANKS FOR JOINING US PETER! 

We dropped Peter off at the airport, had a cup of coffee in the baggage claim area and before we knew it, Jeff's sister, Leta arrived. 

While other cruisers thought we were crazy, we headed back west to Puerto Rico. We just had to go back to the islands of Culebra and Culebrita so Leta could experience snorkeling in such pristine untouched waters.  

Leta relaxing on our way to Culebra after an ultra-long journey from California

Isn't this brother and sister snorkeling adorable?! (Like two peas in a pod!)

We took Leta back to the natural jacuzzi on Culebrita. I can't believe I climbed over these treacherous rocks a SECOND time to get there! Yes, it was worth it to experience again the crystal clear pool of water hidden like a jewel in the middle of these black rocks.

Next, we went back to St. Thomas to spend a few more days exploring...

Can you pick out Grace?  We were anchored in this bay.

CUSHION FIASCO

While we were venturing about, we regaled Leta with our sad tale of woe regarding our salon cushions. Shortly after leaving Chicago we noticed some wear on our cushion upholstery.

As our trip progressed, this wear morphed into total disintegration.

Need I say more?! We had requested a reupholstering quote in Ft. Lauderdale and it was so outrageously high (over $7 g's), we decided to buy our own material and sewing machine and tackle this project ourselves. Not daunting at all... only seventeen cushions, no two alike in size or shape and Jeff and I have very limited sewing experience! Anyway Leta happens to be not only a master seamstress and quilt maker, sewing since she was a wee girl, but an industrial engineer! So in between snorkeling and cruising we analyzed, scrutinized, hypothesized and experimented until our efforts gelled into a tight hardcore factory-output formula for pumping out these puppies. But first I had to learn how to sew...

  

In the meantime... we journeyed back east to the British Virgin Islands in light winds. AAAAHHHHH!!!!!! No struggle here! While Culebra and Culebrita can not be beat regarding coral, the British Virgin Islands possessed unfathomable treasures of the sea.

Rounding "Mosquito Rock" on our way to Virgin Gorda.

Here we have the famous "Baths" on the island of Virgin Gorda. This spot is surreal both in and out of the water.

We had a fabulous time sailing, anchoring, snorkeling and sewing our way around the BVI's.

Weather Report, Island style 

Road Town, Tortola

The BVI's are a sailor's dream because every island is "line of sight".

We anchored for an overnight stay at Salt Island and had the most amazing snorkeling experience ever!!!!!!  In the late afternoon we jumped in and came upon a fairly angry octopus, "Hector" who was being shushed away by another angry octopus "Ralph" trying to protect his territory. Hector was actually out in the open, swimming around. It's rare to see an Octopus, let alone two with one swimming! We were able to watch and swim with Hector for a good fifteen minutes. Naturally I didn't bring my camera to capture what would have been amazing footage! So the next morning we went back out, my camera in hand and lo and behold, Ralph and a third octopus, "Daisy" were nestled cozily at the same site. Hector was nowhere to be found.

Coming upon Ralph the Octopus protecting his fortress under the sea

Yes, this is still Ralph. Octopi change color as a defense mechanism. I guess I swam a little too close. 

You can see a glimpse of Daisy under the rock on the right hand side.

Now Ralph is really pissed! I swam too close to Daisy! He's shooting off a full kaleidoscope of dazzling colors now!

Already putting poor Ralph through enough stress for the day, the three of us snorkeled off to see...

A flounder. Talk about amazing creatures of camouflage! Notice the two eyes on the same side of its head.

A female parrotfish.

Christmas Tree coral that shrinks inside itself when you touch it.

 A Tang

Alone again

After twelve very short days we headed back to Road Town, so Leta could catch a fast ferry back to St. Thomas and her flight home.

Parting photo of lil' brother and big sister .

With Leta's help and supervision we completed nine out of the seventeen cushions.  Thank you Leta. We could not have done this without you! 

So after ten weeks, Jeff and I looked at each other... we were alone. What do we do now?;) Why finish the cushions of course! And sew we did!

A special thanks to Jack Buscio our Beneteau Dealer who promptly communicated our cushion issue to Beneteau. Although this was beyond any warranty period and the company that manufactured the original material was no longer in business, Beneteau graciously offered to compensate us for all our expenses plus a tad more for our, in my words, pain and suffering!  Thank you Jack and Beneteau for taking care of your customers.

We left the British Virgin Islands via Virgin Gorda, our next destination being Anguilla. Just as we left the tip of the coast, we were treated to a Bon Voyage display by a humpback whale. Life is good...

A wondrous journey to all,

Pam