The JD Sailing Adventure

Tuesday May 23, 2023 Lee Bay --> Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke (Erika) We all woke up leisurely between 7-8 am today, and ate some grub before the motor to Monkey Point for some great snorkeling. Once we got to Monkey Point, we jumped in the water for what may be our last snorkeling of this trip. We saw many fishies and made so many friends, the best of which were the two blue fishies who were fighting and the very kind nurse shark Alan met.                 Fish are friends, not food.         Snorkelers are not to be trifled with. After 40 hours on the sea (it was Sunday evening when we were last ashore for lobstah), we moored at Cane Garden Bay on Tortola and finally got our land legs back – not to be confused with Cap’n Jack’s Tortuga. We had a great lunch including margaritas (which made the “land swell” even stronger) and fish tacos.    After a nice stroll on the beach of Cane Garden Bay, we head...

Monday May 22, 2023 Anegada --> Lee Bay, Great Camenoe (Debbie) Monday was another amazing day on J Dog and so much of it unfolded in a way that Dad (JD) would have loved. We adjusted & adapted, imagined, improvised & indulged, relaxed, reveled, reminisced & reflected – in addition to a full 8-hour day of sailing! While we were suitably prepared for them, several squalls seemed to magically pass us by, and we pictured Dad and Ruth paving our path through the rolling seas and leading us to a safe harbor for the evening. The day began with bright and sunny skies over most of Anegada and our (now experienced) crew quickly prepared breakfast and readied J Dog for a brisk sail to……NOT to Guana Island.  After getting a windy/rainy forecast for the day, our esteemed Cap’n Al recommended a more ‘leisurely’ route heading south from Anegada, along the southeast shore of Virgin Gorda, through Round Rock Passage, past Spanish Town, across the Francis Drake Channel, and ultimatel...

Sunday May 21, 2023 North Sound --> Anegada (Kyle a.k.a. Winch Boy) We awoke in our slip at the Bitter End Yacht Club following a stressful day of drinks on the beach, general relaxation, and Hobie racing. The night before, after the publication of Saturday’s blog, Ryan, Erika, and I took the dinghy to Saba Rock where there’s a restaurant and (more importantly) an excellent bar. So it’s safe to say we were feeling the ill effects of our day off this morning. We checked the weather and got the go-ahead for our sail to Anegada, which can be prohibited in the case of too much wind or waves. We pulled out of our slip by 9:20, and were on our way. It was a single beam reach in 15-20 knot winds the whole way to Anegada, a prospect that excited the dedicated Winch Boy (me) following the mixture of smoked margaritas the night before and taxing gybes on the way out of North Sound. Between the strong winds, four-foot swells, and isolation of not yet being able to see low-lying Anegada while h...

 Saturday May 20, North Sound: Bitter End Yacht Club (Ryan) The day at Bitter End Yacht Club started off in true island fashion … nice and lazy with nowhere to go. The most pressing thing to do was register for the regatta (yes, you read that right, we found a way to race Hobies on the cruising vacation!). Despite all the lethargy and still weather, it turned into a surprisingly busy day. After Dad (Alan), Kyle, and I (Ryan) strolled down the beach to the sail shop to get officially registered for the regatta (first gun: 1400 island time), we enquired about any nearby hiking opportunities for the land lubbers in the group. And shiver me timbers, the hike turned into quite the slog. It went up, and up, and up, and then flat, and then up, and up, and then a little flat (and then a little more up) and then took a turn down toward the water. We promised Gramma Bronny we would “take care of her” this trip, but after forcing an open water swim to the Baths and a heat-stroke inducing hi...

  Friday May 19, Cooper Island à North Sound (Bronny) Another lovely day dawned with dramatic cloud formations. Everyone arises when they please and gets their own breakfast. By 8:00, all are fed and ready to set sail. Today the itinerary included sailing in fine fresh winds (15kt, gusting to 20). Erika set a new record for boat speed while at the helm, breaking 10 knots. The crew women, Lisa, Debbie, and Erika have been impressive in their competence in performing many nautical tasks, including taking the helm. Alan is our salty skipper, assisted by first mate Ryan and champion winch-grinder Kyle. Grandma Bronny mostly watches everyone else working and enjoys every moment. Today’s first destination was The Baths at Virgin Gorda, a popular spot for exploring an enormous pile of huge rock formations, formed deep in the earth millions of years ago. We had to swim from our dinghy a fair distance to shore while trying to keep our stuff dry. Once ashore, we waded through tunnels an...

Thursday, May 18, Norman Island --> Manchineel Bay (Alan) For all of you on the edge of your seats ... no we have not sunk (yet), nor have we been abducted by pirates (yet), nor have we been overcome with the magic of the islands and decided to unplug from civilization (yet, although that's probably the most likely to actually happen). It's actually Friday and we're at Virgin Gorda, but our internet access has been insufficient to allow any posting. Thursday was a marvelous sailing day. We awoke at our anchorage at the Bight, had a leisurely breakfast, and set sail. We took pride in being the only ones in the anchorage to sail off our mooring, rather than motoring. We sailed out to the Indians, a formation of rocks in shallow water off Norman Island, which is a renowned snorkeling and dive spot, and spent an hour or so snorkeling on the reef. We saw lots of fish and coral, as well as a few other tourists. Ryan and Kyle were both careful to apply sunscreen... except they ...