Karen's Notes: Little Sailing Gremlins Resolved

Mon., Jan. 3rd & Tues., Jan. 4th: Waiting for a new boat

     Our flights went beautifully on Mon. but we hit some glitches when we reached the TMM base. We weren't pleased with the condition of "Henry S," the charter boat we booked for the week.  As we approached the boat, the first clue that there were problems was the cinder block sitting atop the forward hatch. Hmm. As we opened the companionway door, fumes greeted us. We scurried cabin to cabin like dock rats inspecting our new home. The aft cabin smelled of diesel fumes; the saloon reeked of foamy cleaning chemicals that had been poured into the bilge; the forward cabin was covered with dust from sanding the table in the saloon. The shower seat in the forward head was missing and that exposed black mold where it had been. Opening the refrigerator in the galley, Karen was greeted by rusty shelves.

 We were supposed to spend the night on the boat but the cleaning fluid fumes were horrific. By now, it was dark and the TMM office had closed. While we were feeling sorry for ourselves on the deck of the boat, Eddie, the restaurant manager of the nearby Ft. Burt Hotel, walked by with a menu, etc. Roy chatted him up and decided to book 2 rooms at the hotel and off we went. Rats can speedily abandon a sinking ship. With our duffle bags in tow, we dogged BVI car traffic on the main road and hiked the steep hill to the Ft. Burt Hotel. We thought we were entering Paradise!

     We had two rooms higher on the hill and dropped off our duffle bags. Next, we went back to the open-air lobby for drinks. I found WiFi there and Roy emailed the manager of TMM who we thought was in Wisconsin. Barney, it turns out, is now back here in Road Town. He emailed back and said he'd meet us at the boat in the a.m.

     As promised, Barney was waiting for us today. He took charge, and is letting us upgrade to "Snowbird," a Privilege 43.5' catamaran, at a fair price.  Sallie and Taya were watching from their balcony at the Ft. Burt Hotel. It was like watching TV without the volume. When they saw us walk from the TMM office to the large catamaran, they felt like they had won the lottery.

     Roy contacted Bobby's Supermarket and delayed our food delivery until noon and announced that we were on a new boat. The other detail was our cooler of frozen meat. Barney had us stow it in the huge ice locker so that's taken care of.

     TMM needs to prep the boat so we're having a late breakfast at Ft. Burt Hotel and will go back down at noon.We're hoping that all the sailing gremlins are gone. The Privilege has 4 cabins so Sallie and Taya will be happy campers (sailors?)!

From Ft. Burt Hotel...

Karen
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Leaving the TMM Dock

     I'm not certain what time we departed TMM but we were on our way in the mid-afternoon. Heading out of Road Town, we set our course for The Bight, Norman Island so we had a following wind.

   As Gene Autry would sing...Back in the Saddle Again: The Admiral and Capt. Roy

     Capt. Roy had pre-set his super-duper mooring bridle and instructed Sallie and Taya in their jobs: they were "Hookers" (e.g. they hooked the bridle on to the mooring line). As The Admiral, my job was at the helm and I motored expertly up to the mooring. With a strong wind, they missed the ball on the first attempt, but we were successful on the second try.

     Roy couldn't resist the turquoise water and took a quick dip. The rest of us deemed it too late in the day for a swim and opted instead for cocktail hour.

     Dinner our first night was spaghetti with chicken-basil meatballs, Italian bread, and salad. After viewing the stars, we headed to our cabins around 9:30 p.m.

Oh, I love the BVI!

Karen