Collection of Images & Themes : click the image

Sailing at Club Colonna, Antigua – consolidating on American Sailing Association classes 101, 103 and taking the theory part of 104 (passed!).

The trips ashore and back to the boat during our recent BVI sojourn brought the most fun, the largest laughs, the wettest clothing – all as we dinghy-ed about the place. No trip went by without someone getting wet, and even the warm Caribbean waters at 80 degrees feels cold when you’re not expecting it, and resulted in shrieks and shouts as waves broke over the front or sides of our yellow Caribe . The windy days brought the most action and even careful control of the outboard failed to avoid some of the wave actions. Of course having eight in a dinghy made for six (we think) was a cause of much of the inflow. Add to this the trips we made at night, as we went ashore for dinner, dressed somewhat more formally than in the day, only to return in the dark to search out our boat having downed several Pain Killers, Dark & Stormy’s, or the equivalent didn’t exactly help keep the waves out of the Caribe. With the boat lights and a flashlight in-hand we giggled as we sought out Hakuna Matata amongst the moored boats, fending off what seemed like tsunami-like waves from our already wet bottoms.

And yet more entertainment was provided by our entry into and egress from the Caribe dinghy. In short, in the seven days we tried it we never really got it right. This despite several experiments involving lines (ropes), front-loading, side-loading, wrist-grabbing, in calm and in rough seas. All this resulting in much fun amongst we eight and to those that had the luck to be able to watch our antics from the safety of their neighbouring boats or restaurant seats.

Ashore, you could often tell those that had, like us, dinghy-ed ashore. Identified by their soggy bottoms and wet shoes, carrying plastic bags of valuables we all shared the camaraderie of the of the dinghy ride. Proud we were, of our damp patches.

But, and for the record, it has to be said that this years performance was an improvement over last year, when the same crew member took two (or maybe three) dunkings from the dinghy, much to the amusement of the drier crew members.

Still, a lot of fun! Well worth the soggy bottoms.

Annual excursion, sailing in the British Virgin Islands underway, with friends Keith (skipper) and Ann (skipper-ess), Peter and Ro, Pat and Diane.

The now traditional first-night dinner of Island Roti’s, washed down with equally traditional but substantially more potent Pain-Killers (made of rum, fruit juice, rum, fruit juice, rum etc) was a great start to the eight day trip for us all.

We’d made ourselves at home on the good ship Hakuna Makata (Swahili; No Worries), a Beneteau Oceanis 523, and slipped our berth at Nanny Cay the following afternoon, and motored to The Bight at Norman Island for our first overnight mooring of the trip.

After cooking aboard we spent a windy night and woke to a tropical rain shower, not an unusal combination for this area.

Still blowing the next morning we opted nonetheless to raise the sails for a challenging sail down Drakes Channel to Spanish Town at Virgin Gorda. The sailing was fabulous, with a heeling boat and variable wings at around 20 knots. We passed the Queen Mary enroute, an elegant and understated ship, unlike other cruise ships that reminded us of klingon vessels.

Spanish Town was a stop on the way to our most favourite place and one of the best places on earth – Bitter End, at Virgin Gorda. Unable to get a slip at Bitter End for the first night we moored offshore and dinghy-ed ashore for dinner. Eight of us in the inflatable was a squeeze and the hilarious antics of getting in/out and staying dry as best you can was the highlight on the night.

A three night stay at wonderful Bitter end was enjoyed by all, relaxing, dinghy-ing about and – just fun.

Sailing to Jost Van Dyke was planned but winds required us to a more sheltered mooring at the beautiful Cane Garden Bay at Tortola, with dinner ashore at Quitos. The next morning we dashed back across to Small JVD, to visit the Bubbling Pool – which wasn’t, due to low tide. Duh! Oh well, off to the Caves at Norman Island for some snorkeling.

We were back in Nanny Cay that afternoon, reluctantly ready for the flights home the next morning – another memorable trip!

Lynne at the helm, and our Crew of Eight

Bitter End, our boat in the slip, blue cover