June 25th
Our vacationers arrived on Sunday at various times during the day. Great to see everyone and everyone’s excitement about the coming week. Only problem is we were missing one vacationer, Austyn Keelty. Her flight was canceled. She was put on a flight the next day. After much deliberation on how to get her to Nanny Cay the fastest way – she went to St. Thomas and then whisked away on a private ferry from St. Thomas to Nanny Cay (courtesy of her dear parents with a dear price tag). Now – able to shove off as scheduled!
Our two newest captains, Grant and Mike, showed their skill to the charter company and got the green light we all hoped for to take their 45 foot Power Cats out without any assistance!
Day 1 -Monday afternoon, we had a short sail over to Peter Island. After a recon mission in the dinghy, the Beasley’s opted for dinner ashore at Oceans 7 Yacht Club. I was personally hoping to see Oceans 11 stars but I guess I had the wrong number 😊 Gearing up for our Tuesday adventure.
Day 2-Tuesday morning onto to the Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda Sound. An afternoon of relaxation, a little football, exploration and adult beverages. Super fun happy hour at Saba Rock with amazing views, great vibe, friendship and a bunch of wannabe pool sharks.
Day 3-Wednesday onto Virgin Gorda to a cool snorkeling spot which was about a 2 hour sail. The famously known Baths, a BVI National Park, was a hit. Wonderful snorkeling and everyone marveled at the incredible and unique geologic formations. The Baths was formed by granite that eroded into piles of boulders on the beach.
Our son, Kirkland, was just coming off of a bout with Bronchitis, so he and I hung out on shore after several attempts to try and snorkel – but the breathing was just not there. Mike also hung back with us – reason – unknown 😊
Final stop on Day 3 was Cane Garden Bay – known as one of the most beautiful anchorages of the BVIs. Our dinner at Myetts Restaurant was fun and Myetts will never be the same. Little did we know that we had 9 extroverts, our dear millennials, that gladly took the microphone and owned it. (Mic Drop!).
Day 4 -Thursday it’s all about Great Harbour and White Bay. Once anchored and settled, time to hop in the Dinghy for an afternoon at White Bay and Soggy Dollar – home of the infamous Pain Killer. I personally dig the Nilla Killer (Pain Killer with Vanilla Rum – uh huh – that’s right)
Most patrons arrive by water so hence the name Soggy Dollar and it’s been THE spot to hang for years. Glad that after Irma they built back exactly the same – no frills with great adult beverages
Well we cannot leave out Foxys – our younger crew definitely enjoyed the late night outing. Thanks to our “Uber” Dinghy driver, Trent, who made the rounds of dropping everyone back to their respective yachts.
Day 5 – Friday – weather not looking great for sailing on Day 6 to Norman Island so we opted to head out solo a day early and get tucked away at a safe anchorage. Disappointing to the younger Beasleys as we left their posse for 24 hours. However, we arrived at Norman Island – albeit a bit windy and hairy grabbing a mooring ball but secured it after a couple of tries.
So that called for us to scope out Willie Ts a day early and we all decided their Pain Killers were only #2 to Soggy Dollars. But the most refreshing drink was at Pirate’s Bite – their Bushwackers never disappoint. Dessert in a glass.
Day 6-Saturday – Rest of the crew showed up on Saturday amid some nasty but manageable weather. We convened at Pirates Bite for beach lounging, lunch and Bushwackers.
Later in the afternoon, we made our way to Willie Ts and had a drinking AND diving contest of sorts. All contestants got an A+ -mainly for their style. Best dive combo (IMHO) goes to Elizabeth and Kirk Beasley. Way to rock it !
That evening all 15 of us dined at Pirates Bite. But the highlight of the night was the DJ (so we thought) – fantastic selection of music. BUT, when all 15 of us descended on the dance floor for some amazing moves and singing – DJ gets second place. Quite memorable by all accounts. You should see the videos. No we are not posting them 🙂
Day 7 – Sunday started out early on a most unfortunate note. Our deal Elizabeth had been suffering a few days back with cramps but we were not sure why and it seemed to pass. But at 6am – she alerted Kirk and I that she needed to go to the emergency room pronto. She had been suffering for hours with severe cramps and could not move from the fetal position in the flex cabin. We jumped into action -readied the sailboat, hoisted the outboard motor, pulled up the dinghy and moved off of the mooring ball as fast as possible. This still took a while and then we had to motor back to the marina. All and all, it was almost 3 hours by the time she and I hopped in a taxi headed to emergency room in Tortola.
Once at the hospital, the triage took forever but we got her admitted. The doctor ordered some tests and some pain meds to get her pain under control. After 3 hours at the hospital, turns out she had – you guessed it – a kidney stone. Since Elizabeth was scheduled to fly home on Monday, we opted to wait to treat this until back in the states. (provided she was up to travel back with her brother on Monday, July 4th.) Turns out, Elizabeth was 100% better but knowing that a trip to the Urologist was in order in the states. God Bless Elizabeth as that was a tortuous time. And high praise for the Emergency Room in Tortola. They did a great job.
The rest of Sunday was getting the boat ready to be taken out of the water for hurricane season and out to the boatyard from July 5th through November 1st.
Monday, July 4th – the Olson and Keelty yachts returned to Nanny Cay just in time for them to grab a taxi and head back to the states. Elizabeth and Kirkland also headed back. Elizabeth being in much better form.
BUT we ended up with a straggler late in the day. Trey Olson, taking in last minute views near the airport, unexpectedly lost his license and credit cards off of a pier in Beef Island. (crazy set of events). No cash and no credit card – no travel ! No money for departure tax. After deliberations with the fam – Trey ended up coming back to Nanny Cay Marina. We met him at the taxi stand – paid the driver and then loaned Trey money to eat, pay departure tax and head back to the airport on Tuesday for a rescheduled flight.
However, this worked out really well for the Lisa and Kirk ! Of course we were thrilled to spend some additional time with Trey but we also had a helping hand taking down the bimini and storing it for hurricane season. And we had a great farewell dinner at Omars.
Final preparations done to put Salted Rim in the boatyard strapped down for insurance (literally).
Thrilled to have shared the BVI experience with our dear friends along with Elizabeth and Kirkland.
Be well. AND we will be back in November.