Keith's New and Improved Foot!

We are unable to upload pictures again! So here is our past week's update: (This problem has been rectified, thanks to petter)

After Keith's stitches incident we left Nanny Cay and sailed through The Narrows to Cruz Bay in St. Johns, U.S. Virgin Islands. We checked in with Customs and immediately found a great bakery at Mongoose Point. It was nice sailing in U.S. waters where all of the "heads" are closed and use holding tanks instead of going into our snorkeling area. We sailed for a couple of hours southwest of the island in a series of tacks thru some moderate swells and waves, and then sailed into a very nice place called Gent Bay on the south side of St John's in Reef Bay with just two mooring balls situated 50 yards from shore between two reefs. Kathy kayaked over to the island and explored an old sugar refinery. It was really cool and had bats all over the ceiling and hermit crabs over the grounds (no, she didn't try to play with one again!). This was one of Kathy's favorite places so far, even though the chitras were bad. We snorkeled and took the gun out till we remembered we were in a National Marine Park. No fish tonight.

The next morning we sailed over to Coral Bay on the east side and had trouble finding a place to anchor. The locals people chased us out of the area claiming to "own" the mooring balls that we were anchoring close to (you go figure how you can claim to own property in the water!). Not only that, there was no dock!! We had to leave Keith in the boat (foot) and wade through the water to get to the store to get groceries. A very loud, friendly and very drunk lady kept Keith occupied until we returned. This was definitely not a place that we would return to.

In the morning we motored upwind over to Spanish Town (the original capital) on Virgin Gorda, having completed our BVI circumnavigation, hoisted up our yellow Q flag ( A "quarantine" flag, so as not to have to check back in with Customs again), and prepared to leave for the Anegada Passage that evening. We wayed anchor for the often very lumpy 90 mile open water passage expecting 6-8 foot waves and 15-20 knot winds in our faces, but were pleasantly surprised to have glassy seas. We rotated through the night in about 2 hour shifts going from the helm to the navigation table to bed. (My thanks to the crew for letting the cook sleep a bit longer than planned!) This picture is looking back to the west at Ginger Island at sunset from Anegada Pass. The stars were intense. We learned a bit of celestial navigation. It was so cool to see moonrise at 00:55. A beautiful half moon. Tides are minimal in the tropics...1-1/2 feet at most. The Northern Equatorial Current runs 1-3 knots generally. We had fun keeping track of our fellow sailors at night by following their nav lights. Overall it was a good first experience for night-time passage-making.

We arrived in Marigot, St Martin around 7:30 AM. After anchoring and a short dinghy ride Kathy and Keith ate in a wonderful French bakery and Peter and Bryan did their Internet Cafe thing as usual while waiting to check in with French Customs/Immigration. Kathy did a little shopping looking for "grandkid" items in the local market, but left early because of a grouchy vendor lady. (She was mad that I wasn't buying anything!)

We then motored over to Baie Grande Case on the French side of the Island (there are French and Dutch sides dating back to 1648 when they peaceably created a boundary dividing the Island east-west). There is a weekly parade and street vendor fair in Grand Case which happened to be scheduled that Tuesday evening, so we got cleaned up and ate dinner at a BBQ place in town, eating some great BBQ ribs and so-so island lobster. The parade consisted of a small float, 30 little girls dressed up like Minnie Mouse !, a percussion and brass band, and some older girls twirling light sticks. There are many wonderful French restaurants and many small shops. I did find some great handmade dolls for the grand daughters...still looking for something for Eli. That evening we waited in line for about an hour for chocolate crepes. They were yummy and I am quite sure that Peter is thinking about getting me a crepe maker for my birthday...hint, hint!

At this point I need to mention that Keith, who had been dying to get back into the water, finally bagged and taped up his foot, tied his foot to a blow-up donut, put on a lifejacket, tied on a tether, and swam in the ocean, all in full view of many tourists who came thousands of miles to experience real Island Life. We just told everyone we were from Canada. Yes, Medford Medical staff, we have it on video tape for the 2009 Christmas party!! (Just see Kathy in April.) Terry and Sarah, this may also be used for blackmail purposes when you see fit.

We then sailed over to the Dutch side of the island, transited the 56 foot lift bridge that allows entrance into the 12 square mile, fully enclosed lagoon and went into a slip in Simpson's Bay Lagoon where we docked at Lagoon Marina for several days of repairs (aluminum, port fuel tank leak welded, new house batteries, etc). It was fun to experience the bridge transit. (We have it all on video...if we could ever get a decent Internet to post it!) Once inside the large bay we had a hairy time trying to locate our assigned marina space. The chart was marked incorrectly, buoyage had changed, and our depth sounder was showing a depth of -1 !! (Later we found out that the depth transducer had been painted over when they painted the hull, giving us an incorrect reading.) Keith cleaned this with a soft scrub under the hull, and it seems to be working better. Bryan checked us into Dutch Customs.

The Skillmans flew in to Princess Julianna Airport last Thursday to stay with us for a while and they are still here...until they get sick of us!! Kathy is SOOO GLAD to have someone else with estrogen here!!! Although she does get into more trouble with Stacy around...let's just say that Double Estrogen + 1 rental car+ 1 credit card + NO watch = very upset husbands. Even though the guys were worried as to why we took so long at the grocery store and boulangerie, we ended up having a great day of snorkeling and exploring the whole island. We rented a car the night before and visited the famous Sunset Beach where the jet wash tumbles people into the ocean. Keith, Mark, and Peter held onto the rickety chain-link fence while a big Continental twin jet took off. They asked a lady to use Keith's camera to video tape them and she ended up being blown away with Keith's camera instead of the guys. It was absolutely hilarious (now his camera is full of sand)!! (You need to check St Martin's Sunset Beach out on YouTube!) The jet blast was so hot, and their skin stung from blowing sand. It was intense.

Then we drove north a bit to Cupecoy Beach for a few fun hours of hot sun, blue skies, cumulus clouds and fair waves for body surfing. We took turns getting slammed in the shore break. We rented chairs and an umbrella and bought BBQ chicken sandwiches on the Beach. Peter got a crash course in French beach attire ( or more correctly, the lack of it). They use a lot more sun screen than we do.

The windward side of St Maarten has great kite boarding and wind surfing at Le Galion, and the leeward side (Philipsburg) sells cheaper, duty-free electronics! Keith bought an HP dv5-1140 laptop plus case and mouse for less than what Peter's laptop cost at home thru an e-store.

On St Martin we ate at "3 Palms" in Simpson Bay (best hamburger ever), and La California in Grande Case (best mussels!, served in a Roquefort sauce). Always served with the best French Bread ever.

Peter also found out while we were here that he got accepted to BYU Provo starting Summer term! He is excited to choose between BYU Idaho and Provo! We are very proud of him.

On Feb 22nd we tacked and then motor sailed the 14 miles to St. Barts Island. Winds were 20+ knots on the nose, and the waves/swells were 5 to 8 feet tall. After four hours at only 3 knots we were only half way there and the port engine suddenly quit. The Jib furler drum also got fouled. So we turned around and sailed on a 12 knot broad reach back to Phillipsburg. We repaired everything and fueled up. Diesel is 77 cents a liter. By the time we were back in Phillipsburg Harbor the engine was working just fine. We figured it must have developed an air bubble in the fuel line, likely from air in a less than full tank while sloshing around in rough seas. All the gauges, water intake and prop checked out fine, so we could not find any other reason for the sudden loss of RPM's and power. After getting everything shipshape, we swam around the boat, checked the anchor, replaced the propeller zincs. Peter donned scuba gear and spent some time down under. The water was very cloudy due to weather. Still trying to figure out how he did a 10 foot safety stop in just 8 feet of water. Kathy cooked a marvelous peanut chicken and wild rice dinner with fresh kiwi and pineapple, followed by chocolate no-bakes.

We hope the weather changes so we can begin our transit to St Barts and Antigua. It is looking like Mark will have to change his return flight back to the States on Wednesday. We are sad that he has not been able to see anything beyond St Martin, but the weather rules, and St Martin is beautiful. Tomorrow we will stay here and swim and maybe try kite boarding. Hopefully by Tuesday the high pressure front will have passed and allow us some good wind and seas. Chris and Mal fly into Antigua on Thursday for two weeks. We are so excited to see them.

We have been monitoring the civil unrest and rioting on Guadaloupe and Martinique, and will adjust our itinerary as needed.

Last but not least, Keith was happy to have his STITCHES REMOVED today! Brian, our captain, took them out. He left a couple of them in at Keith's request to help keep the wound stable. They will be removed tomorrow! Yaayy! Keith will soon be free to swim without floaties! Notice Stacy's hand...she is a hand model (more specifically, a right hand model).

Life is good and we are happy!
Kathy

We are experiencing very erratic Internet connections. It takes hours to load and reload pictures, etc. It is now Friday 2/13/09. We are in Nanny Cay on south side of Tortola, BVI doing some boat and people repairs. Because of the paucity of Internet access we are way behind in blog posts. Due to the screwy nature of this blog site, we are forced to load from the bottom up, rather than from the top down as we typically write and read. So forgive the screwiness. Doubly difficult given the week or so of updating to do.

Phone texting seems to be the most reliable means of communication. FYI.


If you want to follow this post chronologically, then start with the bottom pictures ( the associated captions and commentary usually follow), and then read up.


NANNY CAY, TORTOLA


...my foot slipped on wet deck, and stepped down onto the end of a deck cleat, tearing thru my 3-4 toe interspace about 3 cm on plantar and 1 cm on dorsal surface. Luckily neurovasc intact, no fracture, and minimal bleeding. This was a deep wound, and though I toyed with the idea of self-treatment, opted for professional help.

We weighed anchor and motor sailed past Cane Garden, Sandy Cay and around Steele Point, past Soper's Hole and then a hard beat to windward up Drake's Passage to Nanny Cay. To add insult to injury, our dinghy motor got bucked off the dinghy into the water in the rough seas, and took a major effort to get it loaded back on board. Will need to visit the small engine mechanic today.

Anyway, I cabbed over to Peebles Public Hospital in Roadtown. I walked up to front entrance, filled out a brief registration form, no I.D. or health insurance needed. Paid my $30 for a consultation, waited maybe 5-10 minutes, and taken into treatment room. VS, O2 sat, and removal of my Telfa dressing and Bounty paper towel and duct tape bandage, and then met the ER doc. From Nigeria, some Ortho-surg post grad in UK, then few years in Grenada, now here. Used a nice laceration pack, lido local, and multiple nylon closures w/o absorbables. Dressed, and walked out on my own steam a few minutes later to be picked up by Kathy in a cab coming back from Bobbies Market after another $450 grocery run. We have a very full fridge. Our taxi driver took me back to the boat in a marina cart...that's gotta be a first.

Anyway, I am doomed to a few days of dry non-weightbearing. I must say, however, that I am really very grateful that this all happened in the time and place that it did. Timing actually very good (we were due to be in Nanny Cay anyway today for some boat maintenance, good and kind medical care, and a chance today to blog, finally, with my foot up. Kathy is arranging for a bunch of laundry to be done, and she and Pete now at the pool.




GUANA ISLAND



Thursday Feb 12th dawned bright, sunny, warm, full of promise. I got up alone and went for a kayak ride over to Monkey Point, tied off my kayak on a ball, and enjoyed some amazing snorkeling. Saw tarpon, baracuda, yellow snapper, and large schools of small fish. The pelicans were diving. A little spooky swimming thru clouds of prey fish so thick you can't see the predators out there. Then began a slow paddle back to the boat, for the kayak sprung a leak, many of them actually. These must be old kayaks, and lots of sun exposure has weakened the plastic, for it split multiple seams top and bottom, and the kayak swamped just as I got back to OneLife. This kayak is headed for the junkyard. We still have a 2-man kayak on board.

Back on board I was putting the paddle away on the foredeck, and then...


FYI Mark, dinghies can swamp here also, just as on Cypress Island, if left unattended. Nevertheless, a stunning afternoon.

We anchored in 30 feet of water over sand on the north side of White Bay on the leeward side of Guana. Good snorkeling here, lots of fish. There was a little excitement this night. We started hearing lots of dinghy engine noise close by, then some Channel 16 chatter about a Footloose boat ? adrift in White Bay. Some locals found the boat and towed it onto a mooring ball near us. San Juan Coast Guard station was involved.


This picture of Peter just sort of says it all. What a glorious day.


So after spending two nights at Anegada, we motored out thru the reef line and into open seas, where we raised the main and jib and set off on a blistering broad reach toward our next destination, Guana Island, named after the iguana shape of one of the rock outcroppings on its western side. What a ride we had! We had 4-6 foot following seas in 30 knot winds, gusting to 35 knots. We were doing 10+ knots S.O.G. Here a picture of me and Bryan.


ANEGADA ISLAND (anegada da veeda, baby)

On Feb 9th we sailed out of Drake's Anchorage through North Sound out past Necker Island. This is a private island owned by Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic and adventure flying fame. How would it be to own an island? Anyway we sailed a comfortable close reach 14 miles north to a low-lying coral island called Anegada. Kathy and Peter are gaining good experience navigating. They are routinely getting fixes, doing dead reckoning (why must they call it that?), obtaining electronic fixes (lat/long). We have an excellent, new, GPS chartplotter, and together with our paper nautical charts and cruising guides we feel we have very good nav capabilities.


Anyway, Anegada is ringed by an extensive reef, good for lobsters, harder for boaters. There is a well marked entry channel however, and we found a good anchorgae over sand in just 8 feet of water. With 150 feet of anchor chain out we weren't going anywhere. Which was good because we were in the midst of a moderate to fresh breeze of 20+ knots. Over the side for a swim/snorkel and to check the anchor holding. No fish here.

The next morning we dinghied to shore, tying up at Potters by the Sea, a small restaurant where we hung out wth the dreadlock locals for a while (they say they are speaking English, maan, but mostly I'm clueless. Think we had a better go of it in Spanish Panama). Anyway, then rode bikes around. After a while we decided to permanently shake the scooter monkey off the Williams' backs, and rented two 50 cc scooters. Pretty safe and gutless (highest point on the enire island is 30 feet). We started out in mixed skies, and ended in a downpour. After just a few minutes we were freezing wet. Pulled off to the side of the two-lane concrete road under some tall bushes. The squall passed mostly and we drove into The Settlement (sounds like an M Night Shyamalan movie) and stopped at a small bakery run out of her house (Dotsy's). Then off again north over rough unpaved roads to Loblolly Bay, where there was supposed to be excellent snorkeling. Unfortunately, still raining, rough surf and current and lots of coral damage, so we stayed just briefly. Kathy got smart and bummed a ride back to Potters with some other boaters on a taxi while Pete and I rode the scooters back (we felt like Lloyd and Harry in Dumb and Dumber riding to Aspen on mini-bikes). Then a very wet dinghy ride back to OneLife and tacos for dinner. Unfortunately not many photos of this place, but got some cool video.

In the evening after dinner we have developed the habit of playing Rummikub, UNO or watching movies on Pete's lap top ( the promised TV w/ DVD player on the boat never materialized, along with several other promised and advertised items, like watermaker, satellite email, and life raft ( the life raft we are picking up in St Thomas in 2 days). But Bryan has been wonderful, very experienced, calm and pleasant demeanor, loves to teach, handy fixing things around the boat. Of note, water has not been an issue. We're just reasonably frugal and no problems. We have hot water, freezer, and a microwave that sometimes works (not always enough on-board amps to run it). We have a satellite phone if we ever need it. I removed and cleaned the boat speed transducer which was non-functioning...vinegar and a toothbrush works great, and I helped Bryan up the bosun's chair to replace a steaming light.


VIRGIN GORDA ISLAND



Here is a great vista looking east out the Anegada Pass, which we will sail in a few days. This will be our longest sail of the trip, 100 nautical miles, to St Martin. We will need to choose our weather wisely. This trip can require up to 20 hours, often motoring due to traveling almost wind on the nose. We will start the trip in the evening around 7-8 PM so as to arrive in St Martin during daylight hours where daylight is crucial for entering the harbor safely and clearing Customs.



Isn't this just a classic Tropics/ Corona beer commercial? Kathy lounging on a chaise on a pelapa over the water under a breezy blue sky. What could be better? Except that she was suffering from an acute crab bite on the palm of her hand. Who'd have thought that little crabs could be so vicious. Even after being dropped 4 feet. You should have heard the shriek. I have not heard that sound in 31 years. I expected the local authorities to come running assuming an assault in progress.


We hiked past Biras Creek through some cool mangrove trails. I hiked 525 feet up to the top of the local high spot up on the northern tip of V.G. called Alvin's Height (I felt right at home...my grandfather's name was Alvin). Easy climb past great vistas of the Atlantic, past wild goats, unique cactus ( turban cactus with sweet, small, pink cactus fruit..."don't eat that, Keith. Sweet doesn't mean safe"). Wouldn't you know it...the moment I arrived at the top to enjoy the view the heavens opened up and I got wet and my view quite limited by the squall. The rain was warm so no problem a few minutes of sunshine wouldn't dry out. After the rain though the colors seemed so intensified. Even the lichens on the rocks were fluorescent. Saw some very cool bromeliads growing right out of rocks.

Some of these islands have natural salt ponds where commercial salt production has occured for centuries.

As soon as we hit land Peter made a beeline for the local pub for a burger, some fries, and an Internet connection.

The weather continued very breezy with numerous showers. Here is a picture from land looking out past the dinghy dock into the harbor. Many boats, some of which are immense, beautiful motor yachts 200 feet long. We saw one yesterday at Soper's Hole with it's own helicopter on the poop deck. What Hollywood star or Kuwaiti sheik owned that one, we wondered. Kathy and I took a dinghy ride around the harbor (again while Peter was eating). We tied up at Saba Rock and watched several neon green morays in a tank, along with the cannon and anchor from The Rhone, a Royal Mail steamship sunk off Salt Island in 1867 in a hurricane. We motored over to Vixen Point on Prickly Pear Island...only Kathy was qualified to go ashore. Swam and bought Cokes here. Ate a lousy, expensive meal at the restaurant at Bitter End Resort that night...don't ever go there.


We did a little hiking here to get a vantage point. Just beautiful. Interesting plant life. Despite tropical nature, the plant life seems mostly scrubby even on the windward side. So far very few palm trees.

On the 7th we motored upwind again to the east. This was a beautiful spot on the southwest side of Virgin Gorda called The Baths. Not sure where the name came from. There are several hundred yards of these beautiful large granite boulders at waters edge. Supposed to be great snorkeling here, but water very rough and poor vis due to weather conditions, high winds and high seas, so just a quick snorkel and off again for 3 hours of close haul north to Gordo Sound. Kathy motored us past Anguilla Point...there could not have been more than 6-12" under our keels, but an incredible white sand beach was here. We motored into the protected waters of the bay and tied up to a mooring ball in front of Bitter End Yacht Club.


After spending a relaxing, warm day snorkeling in The Bight and Treasure Caves on Norman Island, and after the rather speedy return of Seabbatical and Bryan after repairing their starboard engine starter back at Nanny Cay, on Feb 6th we high tailed it upwind (iron spinnaker) to Manchioneel Bay on Cooper Island, where we tied up to a mooring ball and barbequed steaks on the back deck. The charcoal grill took some getting used to, and required finishing off the meat in the oven broiler to avert a crew mutiny. We were all hungry ! Kathy made a fantastic lemon cake despite a rather crummy oven. We dinghied over with the cake and had a delightful evening with JF and Babs and Tom on Seabbatical.


The boat galley where Kathy does her magic. We have been eating very GOOD!. The work space is small, only room enough for one person unfortunately. Bad for cooking, good for doing dishes. We have had to purchase many items for the galley...dishes, bowls, microwave, etc. Everything is very expensive here. We have spent $2000 on food and boat items in the past 10 days, but should be less expensive from here on (we hope, otherwise we will be home sooner. Can you be homeless on a boat?)


Our home for the next 2 months, One Life, sitting at the dock in Nanny Cay on south side of Tortola, BVI. It's nice having marine services so close...shops, grocery, land showers, swimming pool. Not so nice...mosquitoes, some marine head (toilet) smells. Surprisingly, here in Caribbean holding tanks are not used, even in marinas, and everything goes immediately overboard into the water. Makes for easy use of heads, but bad for the nose, and even worse for water quality at times. We definitely do not swim at times near the boat, and generally try to anchor apart from others.

NORMAN ISLAND


One Life sitting on mooring ball in The Bight, Norman Island, Feb 6th.

There are three sea caves on the west end of Norman Island just above Carvel Rocks. Robert Louis Stevenson based his book "Treasure Island" on this location, so the rumor goes. Caves really are spectacular. You tie up your dinghy to dinghy floats outside, then snorkel in. Pete and I took our dive lights into one of the deep caves...very creepy due to high turbidity. We had no idea what sea creature was waiting for us in the shadows. OK. I'm not quite the Dirk Pitt I thought I was. One of the caves was truly beautiful, multiple compartments, spotty light shining down (like in the Yucatan cenotes) and tree roots streaming down, lots of fish, etc.

There is a local boat here, Deliverance, which visits all the boaters in the bay offering ice, booze, trash pick-up, baked goods, etc. Nice service and quite the racket. Boat name appropos.

Keith

On board e-mail not working. We are relying on intermittent Internet. So sorry.

Views from under our dingly. Beats our lobby aquarium.


Merman.


Seabbatical at Indian Rocks. Saw snapper galore, baracuda, shark.

Galley salon on OneLife.

We are presently at Bitter End Resort on northern end of Virgin Gorda. Kathy just got bit bigtime by a land crab she was playing with. Was a great sailing day. 3 hours of a close haul up west coast from The Baths.

Well, got to go. Crew waiting. Fajitas waiting for us on the boat.

More to follow tomorrow. We are going to spend another day here before we head up to Anegada for a few days.

Keith

Yeah!

* fer some reason it was really slow to upload pics onto here, so unfortunately you're gonna have to make due with... reading..
Yeah! So we are now finally on our boat! At the moment we are just chillin in "The Bight" within the Norman Islands. It's kinda weird that we get internet here, what with being in the middle of nowhere. Looking back however i realize that there has been quite a gap between the last blog, so i am gonna do a small recap. Once we landed in San Juan, we spent the night in a Best Western and took a small Cessna over to Tortola where we will pick up and provision our Catamaran.


After the long and expensive taxi ride to the docks, we realized that our boat wouldnt be ready until several hours from then, so we killed the time by geting our provisions early. During that time we also met the other couple that would be accompaning us on another boat, Babs and her hubby, "J.F.". Once we finished the provisioning and organizing, we spent the night on the boat. The next day we met our Capitan, Brian, and unfortunately we were unable to leave that day, which allowed us to finish any last minute problems. So now we were off, Brian helped my dad at the helm, and me and my mom with the sails, until finally we were out of the marina and were heading towards a place called "the indians". It's a pretty random name for a cluster of rocks, but it had some pretty good snorkeling, so we snorkeled and whatnot until we had decided to sail the last 20 min towards our landin' spot of The Bight. After spending the night here, we woke up to find that Babs' boat's motor or something had broken, so we sent Brian out to go sort things out. While he was being Mr. Mechanic, we dingy'ed out to some caves, where the movie Treasure Island was filmed (or written... can't remember which). This was a really good snorkeling spot, with lots of fish and really clear water.

*Yeah, like, there was supposed to be a pretty cool pictuere here but...

So yeah, now we're just chillin in The Bight waiting for Brian to get back, but we are thinking that we might have to wait here another night... also, getting internet is random so the blog may not be updated as often as we would like..

This is a Petter Post..