Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Friday 16. March 2007
After a rough trip from Ponce in Puerto Rico we finally anchored off of the old Danish colony in Christiansted in St. Croix.
The town is really small and nice with loads of bars, restaurants and cafes that we frequently visit. The locals are really nice here and when ever you pass them, they always say “hi” and smile.
Goos and I had a long talk about the trips we have been making. Goos was really tired of sailing and didn’t feel very good on the last one. Therefore we came to the solution that I continued alone on Solitude and Goos would fly back to Curacao after a short trip back to the Dominican Republic.It was really sad to see him go but we gonna meet up in Curacao when I get back for a beer or 100….
I made the trip up to Tortola by myself without any major problems. It was such a feeling get the genoa out and sail by your self but 3 miles from St. John when I had to take the sail in again life got tough. It was such a fight to hold the boat on course and pull the robe at the same time. Exhausted, still adrenaline pumping and with bloody hands I manage to do it. At one point, Solitude wanted to go back to
St. Croix while I was pulling the rope. Finally the anchor bit the bottom and I could open my Medalla beer from Puerto Rico, lean back and enjoy life again.
Trellis Bay, British Virgin Islands, Friday 23. March 2007
After 3 days of rolling back and forth in Roadtown, Tortola I had enough and sailed 6 miles south to Deadmans Bay by Peter Island. The trip took only an hour and in first try, the anchor bit the bottom. I was now surrounded by beautiful turquoise water, a whitesand beach and palmtrees.
I took the dinghy to the beach but I miss calculated the depth when I jumped off and my shorts got wet. After a minor fight with the dinghy I got it onto the beach and put the little anchor good into the sand.
The few people that hung out on the beach were looking at me like I was from Pluto, it just said hi to them and smiled.
The bungalows were really fancy and it got even more fancy when I got to the reception. I found the bar and order a 5 dollars beer, the first, only and last. This place was really nice, the swimming pool had a view of Tortola and palmtrees around it.
I couldn’t help it but went to the reception and asked the smiling lady how much a bungalow would cost. With food and extra 17%, for reasons I don’t know, I could get one for 900 dollars per night. With my limited budget that was a lot of money, I could live on Solitude for 1 or 2 months or get a new autopilot but if people has the money to do it, why not?
Back at my humble floating home I made dinner and drank another beer and went to bed around 9 pm.
The next days was spent with reading, walking on the island taking photos and snorkling. On one trip I saw two Southern Stingrays and wanted to get a photo of them but when I returned to check if they were still around I couldn’t find them so the scuba equipment stayed dry.
After three days of enjoying life to the fullest I took the anchor out and sailed up to Trellis Bay by Beef Island. The bay is right next to the airport so it would be easier when Andy would come on Monday. The bay was really crowded with sailboats but I found a spot and got the anchor out again. This time there was no luck and a second anchor had to be put out. With mask, snorkel and fins I got them placed in the sandy bottom.
On Tuesday Andy and I are heading south, back to Curacao a trip that should take between 3 and 4 days.
