Jost Van Dyke to Virgin Gorda

 Virgin Gorda 

is the third-largest island (after Tortola and Anega) and second-most populous of the British Virgin Islands

Daily Update

• Weather: Same as it ever was
• Awesome snorkel with a truly professional snorkel / dive boat...top of the line 
• Almost everybody aboard ship went to the lunch BBQ, meaning we saw a lot of people for the first time
• The medivac emergency  of a few days ago was from a woman experiencing a seizure (something her husband said was "normal" and the ship doc recommend she be offloaded.
• It is possible that DB and THB will receive a credit for the unprofessional jetboat snorkel excursion per one of the onboard excursion coordinators (who was on today's snorkel)
• Very nice dinner at the French bistro

Two more days to go, 3 to be back in the Loft.

a model of the Legend, another WindStar ship, that DB, THB, DA, and SA will be boarding in early April. No sails...if we all agree it is a go

RF educates THB: radar signaler, not wind turbines

SS advises this is a flag flown to indicate the ship is at anchor,  something the Wind Surf does every day instead of tying  up to a dock

For you homeowners with leaky roofs, it is hard to find the source of the water entry. THB thinks ships are similar as there are now 5 or 6 buckets catching leaks in the lounge

not exactly the pic THBB wanted to take, it does show a few scuba tanks aboard our snorkel boat. After checking with the staff assistant, this is mainly a dive boat. Steve the cap'n, gets in the water without a snorkel and frequently free divess to 20 feet to point something  out on the ocean floor. A font of knowledge, he also adjusts THB's snorkel in about 3 seconds and his goop method for cleaning masks is the best yet. A+++ rating . 

Snorkel spot #1: clear water, not a lot of fish, perfectly calm, super easy to get in the water and back on  the  boat...THB thinks  this must be because it is designed for top heave divers with tanks and us snorkelers are lightweights in comparison

Cap'n Steve has been plying these waters for 18 years and the drop-off in that time has been immense and severe the last two years. Warming  water, acidification, pollution, poaching, overfishing...you name it, we humans have changed everything  below the surface.

No pic of spot #2. Very similar as the rocks go down about twenty feet and the ocean flattens our. 

At the beach BBQ, THB does his best baseball basic food groups: dawgs and brewski's...pretty god!

DB's appetizer: fig tart

THB's appetizer: sort of a tomato jam with toppings; he needs a spoon to eat it

Three of us have rack of lamb: THB finished up DB's bones 

Book Review

Charles Dickens, a Life, by Claire Tomalin (read by Alex Jennings, pub'd 2012): THB has read many of Tomalin's books, she is very good, and this one is no different.  Maybe best listened to by those of you who read one or more of Dickens's books, even if  you didn't like them. He was a cultural genius of his times and his private life is fascinating if a bit  challenging to keep track of all the many real individuals let alone all the main / notable characters from his many bestsellers. Recommended (may be reco plus if you fondly remember your Dickens readings). THB's fave: A Tale Of Two Cities, he believes was written by someone  else.

From Tortola to Jost Van Dyke

JOST VAN DYKE

is the smallest of the four main islands of the British Virgin Islands, and a short sail from Tortola (a good thing because their was a medical emergency in room 208 necessitating a delay in departure)

Daily Update

• Weather: mid 80s, very hot in early afternoon in direct sun
• The ship needs a lot of daily maintenance. Fortunately our room, #330, is not subsumed by the smell of paint. 
• Dinner: BBQ served outdoors...very good, lots of variety

there are only two  outlets in each  half of the room; one with European adapter requiem, one of the US standard. Both over the desk, none near the bed. This is DB's CPAP occupying a desk extension cord and taped to the floor

short trip to Jost Van Dyke

early tender ride to a snorkel and beach excursion necessitated using room service: waffles, berries, yogurt for two. Here one of the crew is identifying the band members. On the wheel is Cheeky

.

DB consulting the stage manager

local hillside upscale architecture 

RF on horns, MB on bass, DB on drums

Mick, the lead singer, joins his bandmates 

The Flying  Nun, Groupie

Approach to the best snorkel spot of the trip

weighing anchor

Almost a secret: Pirates Bite on Norman Island: X marks the pot lots of different species of tropical fish, some very large fish, one THB had never seen before, some new growth coral and a few caves to explore. AWESOME, DUDE!!

due east of Puerto Rico

main spot for the rest of the morning: for the price of a shared drink you got chairs, umbrellas, clean restrooms, white sands, beautiful clear turquoise water 

DB and THB share a Pain Killer today (partially seen on right)

ship is now leaking between floors 3 and 4; you can hear the chant: pump you swabees, pump out the bilge as fast as you can, pump, damn you! (sounds of whips slashing through the air)

Anguilla to Tortola

 

                            TORTOLA

is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands (a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean)

the previous night's PowerPoint slide

sunrise as the ship nears Tortola

Daily Update

• Weather: sunny, low 80s, no rain, sunny all day

Zodiac's on board

some sort of windsock being raised

• Before we head ashore, we have a tete-a-tete with James, the hotel manager. He's been on vacation, just back two days ago. Basically, we get the universal buck-passing: WindStar Miami is way short to staff and for months has not fixed the data loss of missing bookings, leading to difference between what the  customers have received on their confirmations (or, in some cases, not received) and what info  the  ship has on hand on its computer system. On top of that, he relates that very few people have signed up for excursions...except the example he  gives we know to be untrue since we and MB&RF had signed up to the same excursions! James says that they are nearly full to capacity and this specific cruise had fewer pre-bookings of any cruise he can remember

Magnet moves from inside room to outside

pool where THB tested his snorkel equipment; salt water

Zodiac in action

one of two elevator's out of service. DB and THB heard that a  recent cruise both were out...definitely making the ship non-ADA compliant (that if there hasn't been a  recall of all ADA rule's in the last few days)

Repaired tender...are we on the maiden post-repair voyage?

• On shore,  freelancer Orlando arranges our day: he  will taxi us and anther couple we just met on the tender to Smuggler's Cove (arranging different pick-up times): $40/pp round-trip. He takes VISA, payment on return to Soper's Hole. He coordinates our lunch at the beach bar. He gives us much local info (not a DJT fan!). Delightful guy, we add a gratuity of $15USD. 

Soper's Hole

Smuggler's Cove

• Snorkel update: THB and DB walk down the beach aways and set up a spot in  the shade, only to realize THB's  snorkel has been sliced nearly in half. Our best guess is that happened either yesterday at end of the snorkeling  or this morning before leaving  when the fins were put into the mesh bag on top of the snorkels. What to do: THB takes the first shift, DB the second. Water is lovely, clear and mostly devoid of fish. 

Do NOT tell Dr Dixit

• Lunch at the beach bar: share bbq ribs and chicken and a Painkiller cocktail -  dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice and cream of coconut, total $35USD. It's Tuesday, a methotrexate day, so THB only has a few sips. We share a table with  a couple from London visiting one of their three sons who has a villa just up from this lovely beach

Orlando makes this a special day, LOVELY!!!

• Back  on board, clean-up and then attempt to rest-up in the room when our eyes go blurry from the heavy shellac smell. There's no hope: THB asks the maintenance guys if they can open the portholes...nope, that is the carpenter's job (nothing has changed since the 1700s and the era of wooden sailing ships). THB then asks to have this note put in the suggestion box: NO PAINTING ON OR NEAR THE BRIDGE!

sign of the times: this leads to a downstairs room on the private tender shuttle...not meant for the downstairs occupants? for the staff?

Dinner excellent, mussels with truffle frites for THB, salads for both THB and DB, shared chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Antiigua to Anguilla

 

Anguilla

is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Maarteens

Daily Update

• Weather: Pleasant, low 80s, windy at times
• Full British: right hand drive, drive on left side of road
• Mysteries solved: THB's earbuds are found by DB  except she found her own earbuds; and DB spots the missing red bathing suit hidden under a t-shirt in THB's closet

• The cruise is run with excursion tix and room key/personal identification

THB's morning breakfast pancakes with blueberries and walnuts cooked in and yogurt added as a topping 

Part of the first wave of cruisers to hit the beach via hired tender: 11 snorkelers xfer'd to a  speed boat, 56 to hang out at a local beach

Snorkelers aboard the jet boat 

One of the crew as we leave the harbor

the island is limestone, no underground water source, sparsely occupied; snorkel #1 a bit murky, some fish, 1 turtle; snorkel #2  gorgeous clear water and very few fish

Below: unbeknownst to THB was snorkel spot #2 skipped for an unknown reason

Snorkel spot #3: oops, no snorkeling, just a sand bar island for 1/2 hour rest up (THB had missed the missing #2 snorkeling announcement)

restaurant tip from Wind Surf tour manager: Savi Beach Club

DB's drink (neither of us liked it)

highly touted pina coconut concoction 

light local beer

great, not crowded outdoor seating; cab rid from wharf was $80 (includes a timed pickup, and the driver was right on schedule); $155 for THB and DB

THB has excellent Poke Bowl

DB has nigiri; not pictured - shared veggies tempura 

remote control flush (there is one at loft, we use manual mode)

hydroponic herb garden

After the jet boat adventure, MB&RF (our  travel companion, we met on the first Antarctica trip - fellow kayakers) 

Dinner: Just okay, no pics necessary

In The Something Else Category

Severance, Season 1, 2022, 9 episodes on Apple TV: if you make it even half-way through, this is a mind-crushing statement on the nature of working at a terminal for 8.5 hours each day, going home to your shitty little life while holding no memories of the work (or vice-versa) then getting up the next day and doing it all over again. THB also thought this was a referendum on the Mormon Church, or maybe it is just the nature of any patriarchal cult that is still going strong after starting up in the 1860s.  Binge watch, Season 2 has already weekly episodes..