Kari and Ryan flew out a couple weeks ago for family
celebrations.
That left Jerry and I
aboard Valkyrie for a few days of work before Jerry’s buddy Dale and his
girlfriend Roni flew in for a week.
Work
included getting in the water to scrape the grass and critters off the bottom
of the boat.
(There’s one boat here at
Water Island that has not moved in years.
Besides grass and barnacles there are little lobsters who have made
their home in the growth around the propeller!)
After free Cruzan rum samples at the airport arrival gate we
took Dale and Roni to the boat for dinner.
The next morning off to the “big” grocery store on St. Thomas – Pueblo
for groceries and then to Honeymoon Beach.
Nothing like a burger at Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill to prompt a hike up to
the fort at the top of the hill. In just
one day Dale and Roni experienced shopping here, sampled the Water Island
cuisine, roamed the island, had a couple of painkillers, and listened to
Barefoot Davis play at Dinghy’s Beach Bar.
The next morning – Roni’s first experience sailing as we beat our way to
St. John in brisk winds. Back and forth
we tacked and strained our muscles cranking on the winches as we sailed to
Bitter End on Virgin Gorda over the first few days. Dale and Jerry had their “sailing fix” and
marveled at the grace and speed of Valkyrie.
“It’s like sailing a big dinghy!” they’d exclaim and let out whoops as
we whizzed by other sailboats. Every
anchorage we stopped at included a walk on shore for our guests to see the
sights, feel the sand beneath their feet, and mingle with the locals and
tourists. Dinners in the cockpit at the
end of each day followed by sailor’s tales and star gazing. And then back through the BVIs with light
winds the rest of the week. Our
whirlwind tour ended with tacking back and forth up Lindberg Bay on St. Thomas. Lindberg Bay, appropriately named, as this is
where the airport is just a short dinghy ride to the beach and up the
road. Hugs all around for Dale and Roni
as they flew back to Florida with smiles, tans, and a boatload of memories.
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| Yacht at the Bitter End Yacht Club |
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| Another yacht at the Bitter End. |
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| Dale at the helm |
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| Dale dreams of sailing his own boat to the Caribbean |
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| Dale and Roni |
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| Full moon at Cane Garden Bay |
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| Galley Girl |
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| Beautiful iguana |
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| Jerry poses at the kiteboard equipment center at Bitter End |
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| Roni enjoys a hammock at Peter Island |
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| Dale and Roni at Sandy Spit |
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| Sandy Spit thinking man |
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| Sunset at Cane Garden Bay |
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