Sunday. To Sea!

There comes a time when living on a boat tied up in a slip in a marina gets a little old.  For us that happened this morning, just in time for us to make last minute preparations before the guests arrived. I got us some breakfast sandwiches in the little grocery shop here, which is a pretty good operation and not crazy expensive like you might expect in a place where people park their yachts. This marina at Scrub island is a small but very busy place. A small, 35 passenger ferry runs to Tortola on the hour. Another support boat zooms around, dropping provisions and equipment. Sailors, maintenance crews, girls in bikinis, boat captains, laundry people, resort staff, generally drunken young folk and old salts smoking cigars can all be found here, doing their thing. It’s a very temporary community whose only goal is to gather as much stuff to cram onto their boats and sail away as soon as possible. 

Katharine was thrilled to get under sail!

Heather and I ferried over to Trellis Bay, which is a stone’s throw from the airport, to pick up our first batch of guests. There we found Celine, Hank, Carol, and Judy, relaxing around a table under an umbrella, sipping cool drinks. As we hugged hello, the ferry we had just gotten off of left to return to Scrub, leaving us behind. Guide fail. We ordered another round of soursop juice and waited for the next ferry, during which time guests Miriam, Beth, Kathy, and guide Alina were delivered by our driver Iris. 

Back aboard Yacht Toulkin (Tulkas), we showed the guests their rooms as Lisa put out a lunch of salads and sandwiches. Heather and I gave our usual talks about seasickness, boat life, safety, and the Two Hour rule. This involves providing information about our daily plan to our guests only two hours at a time, necessitated by the fact that we often change plans due to wind, ocean conditions, or our own whims.

Lulu put out an amazing welcome lunch before we left the marina.

It’s pretty impressive to watch a yacht skipper maneuver a 54 foot long, 40 foot wide boat with two engines and two props out of a slip and out of the marina, doing only a 2-point turn. We headed to Guana Island, a quick sail. Heading around the open, exposed side of the Island, I headed to the bow seeking shade from the foresail. Soon I spotted a dolphin, coming right at us. I shouted out and we all watched it zoom by. Behind us, the dolphin, now joined by another, turned around and they both swam past us again. They positioned themselves with tail fins barely touching the bow, using our thrust speed to push themselves along in an act of play. They were Atlantic White Sided dolphins, and their noses were pink. They looked up at us while showing off their skills, leaping from and twisting through the water. A delight. 

Two Atlantic White Sided dolphins came to play and thrill us. What an awesome greeting to the BVI.

Riding our bow with grace and speed!

We pulled into Muskmelon Bay, Guana Island, and picked a favorite anchor spot. No other boats were in sight, we were totally alone. Steep, lush hillsides surrounded us with cactus atop the short, rocky cliffs and turpentine trees above. 

Hopper joined the anchoring team - Lulu messages Skipper with hand signals and cues Hopper when to trigger the anchor.

We planned a swim around half the bay. I was living vicariously through first-time guests Beth and Judy, remembering the first time I swam in this wild place. We jumped in and stroked along cliffs on the east side of the bay, a really dramatic spot. During these first swims of the week Heather, Alina and I will take note of how our swimmers look and feel in the water, their comfort level, pace, and how straight they swim. This looks like a great group of swimmers. 

A Southern Stingray greeted us first thing after we jumped in.

Judy shared with us that this was her first OCEAN open water swim! We are so honored and thrilled to have been a part of it!

I left the swimmers with Alina and Heather, climbed back aboard and made a batch of Painkillers for the evening cocktail. It’s a local cousin to the Pina Colada, a tad sweet unless you increase the quantity of rum substantially. Our happy hour was briefly forced inside by one of the 10-minute downpours we’ve been seeing here. They keep the decks clean. Lisa put out a dinner of pan seared Mahi Mahi and white sweet potatoes, followed by a dessert of chocolate and cheese. Elegant, nourishing, delicious.

A lovely rain in the golden light of evening at the end of our swim. No one wanted to get out of the water.

First days often end early on SwimVacation, and this one was no different. I’m in a hammock this week, up at the helm. I was rocked gently to sleep, hoping our guests were getting a good rest as well. In the morning we’ll explore the other half of this bay, then take off to parts I can’t tell you about yet - it’s outside of our 2-hour rule.

Hopper