No 29/13 Virgin Gorda, BVI

Hi from Clare,                                  Wednesday 20th November 2013

THE END IN SIGHT
We arrived at The Bitter End Yacht Club in Virgin Gorda around lunchtime Saturday. It took 11 days to complete the 1420 miles of the Salty Dawg Rally from the States to the BVIs. Most the boats have arrived now except for a few smaller boats who took refuge in Bermuda for a few days. I have included some photos of our voyage which were taken by Bruce on the Aussie catamaran 'Remi De' as they passed us on day 4. Needless to say the photos of Deb at the wheel and Andrew with his Mahi Mahi were taken on one of the quieter days on the trip.

 

 

 

Salty Dawgs in the rough and the smooth

REAPING THE REWARDS

So now we are enjoying life in the sunshine and swimming in lovely clear warm water. Yesterday we went for a walk up over the nearby hill so we could get some photos of our gorgeous surroundings. As a Rally participant we have a free mooring ball here until mid December and also access to the Yacht Club's pool. I think that's where we are heading this afternoon. The beaches are lovely but I have my eye on one of the lounges by the pool under the shade of a palm tree.

 

 

Anchorage views at Virgin Gorda



Last night we went to the bar at Saba Rock for a few Painkillers and to watch the Tarpon feeding. Believe me two drinks are enough, they certainly don't hold back on the rum. Tonight we have the weekly Wednesday Welcome Ashore Party held at the Yacht Club and then tomorrow night we have the Salty Dawg Finale Dinner. At this stage there are about 300 yachties attending so it should be a lively affair.

Friends from Remi De and Endless Pleasure


SO WHAT'S NEXT
The Dinner tomorrow night is the last official function so we will then be free to explore new horizons. We haven't any firm plans; we will just have fun making them up as we go.

Love Candy and Deb xxx

At 2:42 PM17/11/2013 (utc) our position was 18°29.84'N 064°21.60'W

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No 28/13 Closer to Paradise

Hi from Clare, Thursday 14th November 2013

Today is day 9 of our 11 day sail from Hampton on the east coast of the America to the BVIs in the East Caribbean. It is a sparkling day with 30 degree air temperature and 28 degree water temperature. We are presently motoring as the wind has dropped out and it is not due to return until this afternoon. It is quite nice to have a bit of respite and Andrew stopped the boat earlier so he and Deb could have a quick dip in the sea out the back of the boat. I was waiting for a loaf of bread to come out of the oven so I missed out this time.

For the last five days we have sailed with the wind forward of the beam and so have been heeled over; nice to be level again. When the wind comes back this afternoon it will be behind us making the next few days of sailing easy going. We are having a good trip, two more fronts have passed over but we have been far enough south to miss the strongest winds and torrential rain. We did have one decent rainfall but we were glad to get a free boat wash.

The boats further north have taken a bit of a hammering. Three boats (all Catalina's a 37' a 42' and a 47') have lost their rudders. While the 37' boat was being towed to safety by the Coast Guard we heard that the people had been taken off and the boat abandoned. There is one other Catalina in the fleet; guess they are feeling a bit anxious.
Our half way mark was celebrated on the only other day when we had little wind and so we sat in the cockpit and had cheese and biscuits and a glass of coke. We are looking forward to arriving at our destination, the island of Virgin Gorda. We will then be able to add some rum to the next coke.

We caught a beautiful Mahi Mahi which we will finish tonight. There is nothing better than a freshly caught Mahi Mahi and we had been longing for one for some time. We will put the fishing line out again this afternoon.


Love Candy and Deb xxx

At 11:02 AM14/11/2013 (utc) our position was 23°10.71'N 064°45.21'W

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