(Note: The following article was kindly provided to us by our very good friend, Pam Juryn, ex-commodore of The World Cruising Club, and founder of Harbourside Sailing School in Toronto).
Think about this:
You know that the British Virgin Islands are the most perfect cruising grounds in the world. You know that getting there can be a pain, but worth it. You are a sailor and want to take your girlfriend, family, or group of friends cruising there this winter, so what next? Most people think only of “bareboating”, or renting a boat that will sleep everyone, flying there and taking off. Okay, but you will find that there is more to it than that!
You fly to San Juan, and take the shuttle to Beef Island. You are there! If your luggage didn’t make it, you know it will be on the next shuttle an hour later, so you wander down the road, cross to the beach, order beer and sit under a palm tree for an hour. Not too shabby, but then comes getting a taxi to your boat which costs – ouch!
You are shown to your boat, and there it is – your bare boat – bare! Depending on the time of day, you either settle down to enjoy the heat, or go to the local store to start provisioning. Remember, all the food you are used to had to come by plane, so the prices are high, but what did you expect? You forget about some of the little luxuries you had planned on. Buying booze, you know, is going to cost, and it does.
Did you study the cruising guide before you came? Do you know where you want to go first? How long will that take? Boy, that’s a big wind! Hopefully you chose a harbour for the night that is not too far away. It will take you a couple of days to get used to this. Where was that good place to snorkel again? Better tie to a mooring ball at night so you don’t have to worry about your anchor dragging. I know, more money!
Okay, there is another way. Bare boating is not the only, or even the best way to cruise the British Virgin Islands. How about a crewed yacht? Don’t want to share your holiday with people you don’t know? That is an advantage, actually, as they KNOW the best places, they KNOW the secret anchorages, they know the best restaurants, and the best snorkeling, and they really like having people enjoy the islands with them.
Not only that, they fix things that go wrong, they can help with everything from showing you the best snorkeling to making sure there is a cold beer when you want one, to doing the dishes, and providing you with anything your heart desires.
This was brought home to me once when my friends Dave and Ida Warren were using their lovely Beneteau 51 for crewed charters, and I was down with a friend, and we bare boated because Dave & Ida were busy that week. Well, it turned out their charter fell through, so in our bare boat we followed them over to Peter Island, Great Harbour, where bare boaters were not allowed to anchor as the holding is so difficult. They invited us to dinner, which was marvelous as usual.
After dinner we were sitting in the cockpit on a perfect night, with the wind blowing gently, feeling that life was just about perfect, and I said as much, and then said, “the only thing that would make it more perfect would be some brandy”. Dave disappeared down below and a few minutes later handed my some Courvoisier in a brandy snifter. I couldn’t believe it! How perfect can you get?
If you are planning to go cruising in the British Virgin Islands, think about doing a “crewed” charter. It is the MOST luxurious way to go! It is a little bit more expensive than bare boating, but very much worth it!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
The Baths
There are many things in the beautiful British Virgin Islands that are wonders to behold, but, when it comes to the things one ‘must see’, The Baths is pretty much at the top of our list.
I can remember the first time Ida and I walked through the trails there. I couldn’t help thinking that this must be part of a movie set for Indiana Jones.
The Baths is at the south end of the Island of Virgin Gorda. The best way to describe this site might be to ask you to imagine a bunch of boulders, some the size of an average house, piled precariously atop one another… as though they just kind of fell out of the sky. Just how they all got there is something of a matter of conjecture. I envisioned this huge volcanic eruption, with these boulders being shot up several miles in the sky, then all coming tumbling down in a big heap. I like that because it sounds so exciting! But the most popular theory is that molten rock, known as magma, solidified and was pushed up through the earth’s surface, leaving these large, broken pieces of granite all along the water’s edge.
The hiking trail, which wanders through and around these monoliths, takes you through several tidal pools of water, between your ankles and knees in depth. And at the end of the trail you walk out onto Devil’s beach… a beach the likes of which you will never see again, because it’s entirely surrounded by these gigantic rocks. On a good day, you will find many families frolicking in the incredibly clear turquoise water there.
Like so many other sites in these islands, there is more than one version of why it came to be named ‘The Baths’. One has to do with the slave trade back in the 17 and 1800s.
Large groups of blacks were being continuously shipped across the ocean from Africa to the Americas. As one can imagine, this trip was incredibly hard… in fact, there was so much sickness on the passage that many died on the way. It’s a part of our history, that today, is so hard for us to contemplate. Of course, those that did survive the ordeal were in great need of a good cleansing. These poor souls were there to be sold as slaves, and so, in order to fetch the best price for them, one of the things their captors did was to take them there for a ‘Bath’.
Well, that’s only one version, but, whatever you believe, believe this: If you don’t visit The Baths on your vacation there, then you will miss out on something very big!
I can remember the first time Ida and I walked through the trails there. I couldn’t help thinking that this must be part of a movie set for Indiana Jones.
The Baths is at the south end of the Island of Virgin Gorda. The best way to describe this site might be to ask you to imagine a bunch of boulders, some the size of an average house, piled precariously atop one another… as though they just kind of fell out of the sky. Just how they all got there is something of a matter of conjecture. I envisioned this huge volcanic eruption, with these boulders being shot up several miles in the sky, then all coming tumbling down in a big heap. I like that because it sounds so exciting! But the most popular theory is that molten rock, known as magma, solidified and was pushed up through the earth’s surface, leaving these large, broken pieces of granite all along the water’s edge.
The hiking trail, which wanders through and around these monoliths, takes you through several tidal pools of water, between your ankles and knees in depth. And at the end of the trail you walk out onto Devil’s beach… a beach the likes of which you will never see again, because it’s entirely surrounded by these gigantic rocks. On a good day, you will find many families frolicking in the incredibly clear turquoise water there.
Like so many other sites in these islands, there is more than one version of why it came to be named ‘The Baths’. One has to do with the slave trade back in the 17 and 1800s.
Large groups of blacks were being continuously shipped across the ocean from Africa to the Americas. As one can imagine, this trip was incredibly hard… in fact, there was so much sickness on the passage that many died on the way. It’s a part of our history, that today, is so hard for us to contemplate. Of course, those that did survive the ordeal were in great need of a good cleansing. These poor souls were there to be sold as slaves, and so, in order to fetch the best price for them, one of the things their captors did was to take them there for a ‘Bath’.
Well, that’s only one version, but, whatever you believe, believe this: If you don’t visit The Baths on your vacation there, then you will miss out on something very big!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Scary Creatures of The Sea
When people think about swimming in the sea, quite often, one of the first things they'll ask about is what they should be 'afraid of'.
I used to have lots of fun with that one.
I would reply with something like, "Not much... but do keep an eye out for 'Snapp'n Jack'..."
"Who's 'Snapp'n Jack?" they would warily ask.
"Oh, he's an 8-foot barracuda with a real bad attitude", I'd reply.
OK, so what's the real story?
Well, here it is:
In our 11 years of chartering, there have been very few swimming injuries on our boat, and all of them minor in nature. And not one, I repeat NOT ONE, due to any creature of the sea biting someone.
On the other hand, of course, as with any other sport, one does need to be 'in the present'... and constantly mindful of the things around them. So before you even put a toe in the water, check with your captain, or, if you have no captain, then check the local boating guides as to what you may need to watch out for. Things like Sea Urchins, Fire Coral and Jelly Fish, to name a few.
Most of these don't add up to much, but we had one delightful couple aboard some years ago that decided to go off snorkelling before I'd had a chance to do my usual briefing. The young lady had seen a small cluster of sea urchins in the shallow water, and, realizing that her hubby was getting far too close to them, quickly made her way over and pushed him away. Good move. However, in doing so, she lost her balance and at down on a stand of fire coral. OUCH!!!
By the time she got back on board, she was crying with the pain. Ida laid her face down on the settee and administered her first aid (alcohol and hydrogen peroxide...in generous quantities!) while the poor girl blubbered through her tears, "That was like someone putting a blowtorch to my _ss!!!"
Yes, she knew about sea urchins, and now I think, she'll always remember Fire Coral.
I used to have lots of fun with that one.
I would reply with something like, "Not much... but do keep an eye out for 'Snapp'n Jack'..."
"Who's 'Snapp'n Jack?" they would warily ask.
"Oh, he's an 8-foot barracuda with a real bad attitude", I'd reply.
OK, so what's the real story?
Well, here it is:
In our 11 years of chartering, there have been very few swimming injuries on our boat, and all of them minor in nature. And not one, I repeat NOT ONE, due to any creature of the sea biting someone.
On the other hand, of course, as with any other sport, one does need to be 'in the present'... and constantly mindful of the things around them. So before you even put a toe in the water, check with your captain, or, if you have no captain, then check the local boating guides as to what you may need to watch out for. Things like Sea Urchins, Fire Coral and Jelly Fish, to name a few.
Most of these don't add up to much, but we had one delightful couple aboard some years ago that decided to go off snorkelling before I'd had a chance to do my usual briefing. The young lady had seen a small cluster of sea urchins in the shallow water, and, realizing that her hubby was getting far too close to them, quickly made her way over and pushed him away. Good move. However, in doing so, she lost her balance and at down on a stand of fire coral. OUCH!!!
By the time she got back on board, she was crying with the pain. Ida laid her face down on the settee and administered her first aid (alcohol and hydrogen peroxide...in generous quantities!) while the poor girl blubbered through her tears, "That was like someone putting a blowtorch to my _ss!!!"
Yes, she knew about sea urchins, and now I think, she'll always remember Fire Coral.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
More on Haiti
We are all well aware of the terrible devastation inflicted upon Haiti by the severe earthquake in mid- January. It is still a very sad situation… and it will take many years for these poor, but very proud people, to fully recover.
In order to help ensure a reasonable quality of life for these people, and especially the future of the Haitian children, most of whom cannot read or write, The Good Samaritan Foundation of Haiti have been working with the Rotary Club of Tortola to provide many of the basics, and are in the process of building a new school there. This school will cost a total of about $140,000. We are still in need of further funding.
Michael Beans, originally from Michigan, is a local musician in The BVI. He is the driving force behind the 11 year old Foundation, and puts it very succinctly in his YouTube video… “You cannot teach an empty belly”. (See www.youtube.com/user/HaitiSchoolApeal)
In June of this year, Michael, along with TGSFH director, Pamela Solman and Tortola Rotarian, Stephen Cooper, made another of their trips to Haiti. The main purpose of their trip was to break ground for a new school to provide education for more of the children. But they also took the first steps to initiate micro loans that will enable locals to start new businesses. They even introduced tooth brushing to the school children.
Please consider making a donation, be it large or small, to:
The Rotary Club of Tortola
PO Box 10
Road Town, Tortola, BVI
www.thegoodsamaritanofhaiti.com
Let’s all open up our hearts!
Supported by: Davida Yacht Charters info@saildavida.com Phone: (340) 344-5813
In order to help ensure a reasonable quality of life for these people, and especially the future of the Haitian children, most of whom cannot read or write, The Good Samaritan Foundation of Haiti have been working with the Rotary Club of Tortola to provide many of the basics, and are in the process of building a new school there. This school will cost a total of about $140,000. We are still in need of further funding.
Michael Beans, originally from Michigan, is a local musician in The BVI. He is the driving force behind the 11 year old Foundation, and puts it very succinctly in his YouTube video… “You cannot teach an empty belly”. (See www.youtube.com/user/HaitiSchoolApeal)
In June of this year, Michael, along with TGSFH director, Pamela Solman and Tortola Rotarian, Stephen Cooper, made another of their trips to Haiti. The main purpose of their trip was to break ground for a new school to provide education for more of the children. But they also took the first steps to initiate micro loans that will enable locals to start new businesses. They even introduced tooth brushing to the school children.
Please consider making a donation, be it large or small, to:
The Rotary Club of Tortola
PO Box 10
Road Town, Tortola, BVI
www.thegoodsamaritanofhaiti.com
Let’s all open up our hearts!
Supported by: Davida Yacht Charters info@saildavida.com Phone: (340) 344-5813
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Pirates
Pirates!!!
Those ugly scoundrels! Those dirty, filthy heartless killers! The scourge of all mankind back in the 16 and 1700s for sure.
So I ask… what’s this fond fascination we all seem to have for these villainous creatures here in this 21st century? Shouldn’t we be reviled by them?
It’s rather an odd quirk of human nature I think, that so long as you are incredibly good at what you do, you can pretty much do anything you want, and it really doesn’t matter whether it’s a good deed or not… you will definitely build a good following of admirers. You may not get away with it, but that’s beside the point. Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillanger, Al Capone… just to name a few.
The Virgin Islands, where we’ve spent most of our time chartering is chock-a-block with pirate stories. Our guests so often ask us about the evildoers that plied the waters there (with a real gleam in their eyes, I might add!). One of the most popular entertainers in The Virgin Islands is Michael Beans, a singer/guitarist who stages a Pirate Show four times a week. He absolutely packs the place every night with sword-carrying revelers (not always very sober!) dressed to the nines with headscarves, earrings and sashes. Beans is so real that I’m sure there are pirates somewhere in his past! Typically high-spirited and adventurous types are so easily caught up in this kind of merrymaking.
Last season we had some guests on board with a little boy of about five years old. They were fun-loving types, so we all dressed up like pirates and went off to the show. Little Aubrey (I think maybe some relation to Jack?) really got into character and turned out to be one of that evenings highlights… swinging his sword around and shouting A-R-R-R-RGH!!!!
I wonder if his parents should be keeping an eye on him? ©
Those ugly scoundrels! Those dirty, filthy heartless killers! The scourge of all mankind back in the 16 and 1700s for sure.
So I ask… what’s this fond fascination we all seem to have for these villainous creatures here in this 21st century? Shouldn’t we be reviled by them?
It’s rather an odd quirk of human nature I think, that so long as you are incredibly good at what you do, you can pretty much do anything you want, and it really doesn’t matter whether it’s a good deed or not… you will definitely build a good following of admirers. You may not get away with it, but that’s beside the point. Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillanger, Al Capone… just to name a few.
The Virgin Islands, where we’ve spent most of our time chartering is chock-a-block with pirate stories. Our guests so often ask us about the evildoers that plied the waters there (with a real gleam in their eyes, I might add!). One of the most popular entertainers in The Virgin Islands is Michael Beans, a singer/guitarist who stages a Pirate Show four times a week. He absolutely packs the place every night with sword-carrying revelers (not always very sober!) dressed to the nines with headscarves, earrings and sashes. Beans is so real that I’m sure there are pirates somewhere in his past! Typically high-spirited and adventurous types are so easily caught up in this kind of merrymaking.
Last season we had some guests on board with a little boy of about five years old. They were fun-loving types, so we all dressed up like pirates and went off to the show. Little Aubrey (I think maybe some relation to Jack?) really got into character and turned out to be one of that evenings highlights… swinging his sword around and shouting A-R-R-R-RGH!!!!
I wonder if his parents should be keeping an eye on him? ©
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Remember that old saying, “The family that plays together stays together”?
When was the last time you heard that?
Just this morning I listened to a television commentary entitled ‘The Crunch for Time’. It was all about how families are splitting apart… no longer having the time to sit down together for a family meal. Too busy with their jobs… too busy glued to the boob-tube… too busy with their computer games, etc, etc. And about the resulting problems that will come of that. How many nannies know the kids better than their own parents do?
I find all of this to be very sad.
But, take heart. Not all families are like this. I feel very fortunate indeed to have married into a family that is incredibly strong on family values. And the past weekend was evidence of this.
We celebrated my mother and father-in-laws 60th Wedding Anniversary… and what a Celebration it was! A huge family tree was constructed, and on it was over 100 photos of the immediate family dating back over 70 years. The parents, the kids, the grandkids, and the great grandkids. It was held at The Sturgeon River House Museum www.sturgeonriverhouse.com, originally a Hudson’s Bay trading post from the early 1800s, turned into a banquet hall/event venue. 118 people were there… all the children, all 14 grandchildren… all 7 great grandchildren, and a huge assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. They came from across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and the British Virgin Islands. Now that’s what I call ‘Togetherness’!!! In fact, whenever there is a project to do, a celebration to prepare for, an occasion to observe… they are always all there to pitch in. It never ceases to warm my heart, make me realize how lucky I am to be part of it, and wonder why all families can’t be more like this. ©
When was the last time you heard that?
Just this morning I listened to a television commentary entitled ‘The Crunch for Time’. It was all about how families are splitting apart… no longer having the time to sit down together for a family meal. Too busy with their jobs… too busy glued to the boob-tube… too busy with their computer games, etc, etc. And about the resulting problems that will come of that. How many nannies know the kids better than their own parents do?
I find all of this to be very sad.
But, take heart. Not all families are like this. I feel very fortunate indeed to have married into a family that is incredibly strong on family values. And the past weekend was evidence of this.
We celebrated my mother and father-in-laws 60th Wedding Anniversary… and what a Celebration it was! A huge family tree was constructed, and on it was over 100 photos of the immediate family dating back over 70 years. The parents, the kids, the grandkids, and the great grandkids. It was held at The Sturgeon River House Museum www.sturgeonriverhouse.com, originally a Hudson’s Bay trading post from the early 1800s, turned into a banquet hall/event venue. 118 people were there… all the children, all 14 grandchildren… all 7 great grandchildren, and a huge assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. They came from across Canada, the U.S., Europe, and the British Virgin Islands. Now that’s what I call ‘Togetherness’!!! In fact, whenever there is a project to do, a celebration to prepare for, an occasion to observe… they are always all there to pitch in. It never ceases to warm my heart, make me realize how lucky I am to be part of it, and wonder why all families can’t be more like this. ©
Thursday, June 3, 2010
The Power of "NO"
Ever think about the times when death was literally on your doorstep?
I can think of two times.
The first was many years ago, when I was driving home one beautiful evening, top down, in my treasured little MGB, and was struck at the driver’s door by a car running a red light. I didn’t see the car coming because the car sitting at my left was a big station wagon. We had both started pulling away together on the green, when the wagon suddenly nose-dived. I automatically hit the brakes as well and stopped, with the front of the MGB about six feet ahead of the wagon. The offending car, estimated by witnesses as doing about 50 mph, ripped the whole front of my MGB clean off… taking with it the bumper, the grill, the rad, etc. I was fine. But, a little quick math the next day told me that I had come to within about one second of buying the farm. Whew!
The second time that little word “NO” literally saved our lives.
November 16, 1999. We had set sail at around 5:30 in the afternoon for our passage from Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad to The British Virgin Islands… four days or so… non-stop. We had recently purchased a new dinghy and outboard and it was up in the davits. We weren’t even out of the harbour, when Ida noticed that the dinghy was hanging a little loose. When she mentioned that fact to me, I looked at it, rolled my eyes, and, being my normal not-so-fussy self, said “Ah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it”. Then I got the ‘word’… “NO”. Now don’t get me wrong… I don’t do ‘everything’ I’m told (just most things!). The important part of this is that we had established a rule before we went cruising together back in ‘95. If we were about to do a passage, and one of us was not feeling good about it, that was it… we DID NOT GO, period. No explanation needed… we just didn’t go. So we pulled into Scotland Bay, a beautiful fiord at Trinidad’s north end, and dropped the hook while we made the necessary adjustments. Well, by the time this was done, we were feeling a little hungry, so we had a bite to eat. And then, feeling a little tired, we thought, what the heck… it’s beautiful here, and there’s really no hurry, so let’s spend the night.
Next morning we’re awake at around 5:30. The howler monkeys are making more noise than the crowd did when Henderson took the winning goal in the Canada/Russia series back in ‘72. I get on the weathernet, as we always did before any passage, and was shocked to hear that a weather system that had passed through several days before, had actually turned around 180 degrees (this almost never happens), had upgraded to hurricane ‘Lenny’, and was now in the process of demolishing the southern end of the windward islands… right where we would have been, had we left the night before! A book was written about this, “At the Mercy of The Sea’ by John Kretschmer. It tells of three sailboats that went down, along with their crews, two of whom we had met previously. Very, very sad.
And again, “Whew!”
The point of this little anecdote? Well, if you are cruisers, make the “NO” rule part of your life… because there is absolutely nothing to be gained if you’re not both exactly on the same page. ©
I can think of two times.
The first was many years ago, when I was driving home one beautiful evening, top down, in my treasured little MGB, and was struck at the driver’s door by a car running a red light. I didn’t see the car coming because the car sitting at my left was a big station wagon. We had both started pulling away together on the green, when the wagon suddenly nose-dived. I automatically hit the brakes as well and stopped, with the front of the MGB about six feet ahead of the wagon. The offending car, estimated by witnesses as doing about 50 mph, ripped the whole front of my MGB clean off… taking with it the bumper, the grill, the rad, etc. I was fine. But, a little quick math the next day told me that I had come to within about one second of buying the farm. Whew!
The second time that little word “NO” literally saved our lives.
November 16, 1999. We had set sail at around 5:30 in the afternoon for our passage from Chaguaramas Bay in Trinidad to The British Virgin Islands… four days or so… non-stop. We had recently purchased a new dinghy and outboard and it was up in the davits. We weren’t even out of the harbour, when Ida noticed that the dinghy was hanging a little loose. When she mentioned that fact to me, I looked at it, rolled my eyes, and, being my normal not-so-fussy self, said “Ah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it”. Then I got the ‘word’… “NO”. Now don’t get me wrong… I don’t do ‘everything’ I’m told (just most things!). The important part of this is that we had established a rule before we went cruising together back in ‘95. If we were about to do a passage, and one of us was not feeling good about it, that was it… we DID NOT GO, period. No explanation needed… we just didn’t go. So we pulled into Scotland Bay, a beautiful fiord at Trinidad’s north end, and dropped the hook while we made the necessary adjustments. Well, by the time this was done, we were feeling a little hungry, so we had a bite to eat. And then, feeling a little tired, we thought, what the heck… it’s beautiful here, and there’s really no hurry, so let’s spend the night.
Next morning we’re awake at around 5:30. The howler monkeys are making more noise than the crowd did when Henderson took the winning goal in the Canada/Russia series back in ‘72. I get on the weathernet, as we always did before any passage, and was shocked to hear that a weather system that had passed through several days before, had actually turned around 180 degrees (this almost never happens), had upgraded to hurricane ‘Lenny’, and was now in the process of demolishing the southern end of the windward islands… right where we would have been, had we left the night before! A book was written about this, “At the Mercy of The Sea’ by John Kretschmer. It tells of three sailboats that went down, along with their crews, two of whom we had met previously. Very, very sad.
And again, “Whew!”
The point of this little anecdote? Well, if you are cruisers, make the “NO” rule part of your life… because there is absolutely nothing to be gained if you’re not both exactly on the same page. ©
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