Carnival Parade - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

Our favorite float in the parade was the "Rising Stars". This is obviously a young people's group that teaches pan band music along with a few good morals as well. We estimated at least 150 drums and drummers in total on board the 3 double decker trailers (steel pans on top and full bass drums on the lower level). The trailers were literally bouncing off the ground with the beat. A rocking good time radiating all around - great fun!
Following each group in the parade is their "support" wagon which provides food and drinks to the dancers; a good thing as the day is hot, the progress slow and the beat never stops.

Carnival Festivities - St. Thomas, U.S.V.I.

We arrived in St. Thomas just in time for the final climax to their 20 days of carnival festivities.
We dropped anchor in the main harbour of Charlotte Amalie on April 25th. As we've made numerous stops here in the last couple of months it was extremely odd, for the first time, to see the cruise ship dock empty - hard to believe the season is coming to an end. Makes us feel like it's time to start thinking about heading south.
The carnival party was in full swing with a concert underway on shore, just off our bow. We enjoyed the music through the evening but were glad for the quiet when it finally came at 3 a.m.
The next day we danced along with the parade (well, for 6 hours anyway) then headed back to Sea Star. Much to our shock, as we headed out into the harbour (Barry rowing us along) I could see our boat moving off in the distance!! I could see someone was on board and a powerboat along-side. I started shooting pictures as Barry rowed for all he was worth. We finally caught up to her to find the Police on-board, relocating her (anchor and all) to clear the area for the fireworks display that evening.
We probably should have been upset but we were just so relieved to find that she wasn't being stolen. We lifted anchor and happily moved out of the way.

Spectacular Snorkelling

We snorkelled in 2 wonderful locations in the B.V.I. on April 24th, 2008.
Our first site was off Salt Island's rocky shore where we viewed the wreck of the R.M.S. Rhone (of the movie "The Deep" fame, yes, starring Jacqueline Bissett).
The 331 foot wreck was clearly visible in 20-80 feet of water. We could easily identify the propeller, cargo room, port holes, propeller shaft, rudder, boilers, water pump, grating, bow sprit and mast.
It was absolutely breath-taking to see "her" laying there but sad and eerie as well to think of the tragic events in the hurricane force winds on October 29, l867 that led to her and most of her company's demise.
During our time at this location we also sighted an eagle ray, a school of squid and a large sea turtle.
We next sailed around neighbouring Peter Island to arrive at our second snorkelling location - "the Indians" (off Norman Island).
The surrounding water was crystal clear and we were awed by the abundance of sea life in the area - all manner of corals, fans and every colour of fish imaginable.
As well, at this location we sighted a great barracuda and a blacktip shark, for a total today of 1 shark, a school of squid, 1 barracuda, 1 sea turtle, 1 eagle ray and thousands of colourful reef fish - WOW what a day!

Anegada - A bit of a wash

On April 21st we sailed in perfect light wind conditions 23 miles north to the teal blue waters surrounding Anegada.
This very unique island is a coral and limestone atoll, 11 miles long and 2 miles wide with its highest elevation being 28 feet. It is ringed with 9 miles of virtually deserted white sand beach - the total island population being 250.
Spreading out for 10 miles southeast of the island is the immense Horseshoe reef, where 250-300 wrecks lay.
When we arrived we found the main harbour anchorage to be very crowded with mostly charter boats. We dropped anchor east of Pomato point amidst the sea grass beds, turtles and occasional coral head.
Regretfully the water was very murky, we therefore made arrangements to take a taxi across the island in order to snorkel.
Unfortunately we didn't have the opportunity to follow through on our plans as our Johnson outboard broke down. Barry found its connecting rod bearing had let go - looks like we'll be paddling our dinghy for awhile. We certainly can't complain as the Johnson is 17 years old and has run for almost a year since it was submerged in salt water when our dinghy sank.
While in Anegada we had hoped to dine on the island's speciality of lobster but the flat $50.00 per plate charge deterred us and we headed off on April 23rd to snorkel at Normal Island having enjoyed Anegada's warm water and beautiful beach but not much more.
Anchor to anchor - Spanish town Virgin Gorda to Anegada - 23 miles - 5 hours

The Baths - Virgin Gorda, B.V.I.

Awesome natural beauty - Located at the south end of Virgin Gorda is an area where gigantic rocks and boulders shaped by volcanic pressures millions of years ago, have created a bather's paradise.
The boulders form delightful hidden rooms, lit by shafts of light, magnificent coral ledges and caves with intricate passageways leading throughout.
Our hearts jumped each time we heard the crashing of the sea on the boulders outside and then felt the water gushing through the crevices into the caverns.
The Park's department maintains stairs and ropes to assist in climbing along the trail through the boulders.
We visited 2 days in a row; both calm sea conditions; but we were in awe to imagine what a sight the baths must be when conditions are rough - certainly the indentations and holes etched in the boulders are evidence of the power of the sea in the past.

Devil's Bay / The Baths National Park, B.V.I.

Virgin Gorda is a mountainous island 10 miles long by 2 miles wide, with a population of 1400.
A National Park at the sound end of the island protects the Baths and Devil's Bay area. The park beautifully maintains the trail leading down and through the baths as well as other visitor services.
At the top of the trail is a restaurant (Top of the Baths). This unbelievable restaurant offers a breath-taking view down the Sir Francis Drake channel (which was dotted with hundreds of sails), and surprisingly it also has a pool so one can cool off as well as dine. The grounds were a mass of flowering blooms.
We took the trail through the baths along to the powdery sand beach of Devil's Bay where we donned snorkel gear and enjoyed the pretty surroundings, and many fish, underwater as well.

Air Show - Beef Island Airport - Tortola, B.V.I.

Our anchorage in Well Bay, Tortola put us in a prime position to enjoy the local airshow on April 18, 2008.
It was a pleasure to relax on board in the shade of our bimini and let the entertainment come to us.
We often find the anchorages are adjacent to airports. It probably has to do with being at sea level and in the islands that often is the only place the land is flat.

Soggy Dollar Bar - White Bay - Jost Van Dyke, B.V.I.

Claiming to be the originator of the "painkiller" cocktail, the Soggy Dollar Bar sits on the white sand beach of White Bay.
As the water and beach are both irresistible it's not surprising that many patrons swim in to enjoy Nick's cocktails as they lounge in the sunshine.
It was funny to see the money pegged up to dry on the line behind the till.
We agreed these painkillers tasted best, perhaps it was the ample amount of freshly grated nutmeg that made them so enjoyable; certainly the surroundings didn't hurt.
The Virgin Islands are home to the largest number of charter boats in the world. Sadly the charter company, "Moorings", was at work removing from the reef in White Bay, one of their fleet - a 50 foot Beneteau.
There goes one unlucky skipper's deductible.

Sandy Spit - B.V.I.

If Sandy Spit looks familiar to you it's because you may have seen it pictured in advertisements (Diners Club and American Express come to our mind).
Truly it is the vision we all think of when dreaming of the perfect desert isle.

Cactus on the Cays

The botanical garden of Sandy Cay held a unique assortment of cactus, many in bloom, however the most unusual cactus we've found so far was on St. John - the vanilla scented, night flowering cactus - "cereus".
It was almost vine-like as it twined its way along the tree trunks and limbs.
As it only flowers at night it is pollinated by bats.

Crabs on the Cays

While strolling the trail on Sandy Cay we came upon hundreds of soldier crabs.
They live in abandoned shells, mostly the West Indian top shell, locally called the whelk.
They were all busily underway, though we're not too sure as to where they were going.
Also seen in abundance is termit nests. We learned in St. John that they are actually very good for their forest environment.