Sunday = So much cheese.

New guests!  A mix of familiar faces and some new ones, and an even split male/female, which is rare for us, as women often outnumber the men on SwimVacation. Karen, Jeff, Pam, Patricia, Bill, Kyle, John, and  (guest) Heather. West Coasters outnumber East Coasters 4-3, with one guest from the heartland. 

One of the many advantages of running more than one trip in a row is that we can improve on things like our welcome talk, remembering little pieces of info to relay to our guests that can make a big difference over the week. 

The wind is up this week, a seasonable 20-25 knots in the channel, which was bumpy as we sailed across. Looking around at the new guests, I saw no green faces, and they’re already getting their sea legs. We pulled into Great Harbor, Peter Island in fine shape. Lisa put out a big Mediterranean platter, and I thought how cool it is that cuisines from our other trips (like Greece) can slip into a menu in the BVIs. Cross pollination. 

Lots of talks. Towel hanging, typical day, swim safety, boat safety, fire safety, man overboard, general health.

I can sense that this group is eager to swim. We settled on a 35 minute swim away from the yacht, assuming a similar amount of time for return. Kyle, who has joined us twice in Hawaii, has a really smooth stroke, and he speeds along pretty effortlessly. He will often lead the pack this week. 

Wildlife put on a good show for us in Great Harbour, with two stingrays making a mess of their dinner time, a sea anemone (first one I’ve seen here in years!), a lionfish (invasive, boo), and a sea cucumber who gave us some educational FaceTime. - HP

Tortola sparklers and canapes made the rounds, followed by salmon with a creamy spinach sauce, potatoes, and broccoli. A big cheese plate for dessert with more varieties than you’d expect to find on this little outpost, so far from France. 

Our new deckhand Danny is a delight. He picked up on the routines here really fast, and is a pleasure to spend time with. He and I are swapping sleep locations this week, I’m in the small coffin berth and he’ll swing in the hammock up at the helm. 

A very stiff breeze rocks these swimmers to sleep. 

Hopper