British and U.S. Virgin Islands

The crystal blue water of the Virgin Islands is so inviting. The water is fairly warm, the winds just right for comfortable sailing and the Caribbean sense of time. What could be more wonderful? Being aboard a 40+ foot catamaran with dive tanks! Yes, I spent a week diving and sailing on a cat in the British Virgin Islands. We visited many of the islands from Torolla up to Antigua. We dined on some local fare and had our share of lobsters under a full moon. I slept under the stars on the trampoline and only had to come in one time cuz of a short sprinkle. And even in all this fun, I was studying a text on Multi-hulls to get an American Sailing Association certification for that even riding vessel.

The second week in the islands was on a 50 foot monohull. This was, among others, 2 fellow students for an Advanced Coastal Cruising ASA course, so there was more studying, and more sailing, some of it even overnight. We were blessed with good weather on our overnight crossing to St. John's. Other groups had traveled up to St. Martin, but that was scraped for our class due to the horrible crossing, with most people getting sick. I think the Captain's didn't enjoy being at the helm for 12 hour stretches, so they changed the agenda. We all made it without a burp, though the wind on the port side when on a starboard tack wasn't too pleasant. We never found out what the problem was, but the stench told us there was one.

I spent my birthday yet again in a sunny climate. We were in gorgeous bay on St. John's where I found my present underwater--the siting of two octupi while snorkeling. Imagine what I would have found if I'd been diving. BTW, the diving in the Virgin Islands is stunning. Captain Steve Burns has dived there for 20+ years and has discovered some unmarked sites. You'll have to dive with him if you want to enjoy them, though I'm now looking at writing a dive book for sailors, so stay tuned.

It was off to Minnesota after this. Back to cold weather--though I was able to enjoy dinner on my deck in 81 degree weather several days after I got home, before the cold settled back in. It was hard to put long pants back on, but one has to do that at times. At least I knew the warm weather wasn't far behind.

Now it's into planning for the next adventure--Malta. and Gozo. Malta is off to the west of Sicily, which is off the toe of Italy. Gozo is just north of Malta.