Tuesday, April 20. 2010
We must be crazy...
As apparently, we only THOUGHT we did not want any boats. As we seem to be now making it a full time occupation buying all the damn things. We have now bought another one.
This is a Bazza boat, and although it was NOT a great time to buy this, it was so perfect for what he wants that we had too... (Yeah right!) This will be good for fishing, diving, his ROV, moving "stuff", a work boat and who knows what else...It used to be an old moor secure boat at one time.....
I have mentioned a couple times now that I should just rent a house with a dock, so I had a place to put all my boats!
This is a Bazza boat, and although it was NOT a great time to buy this, it was so perfect for what he wants that we had too... (Yeah right!) This will be good for fishing, diving, his ROV, moving "stuff", a work boat and who knows what else...It used to be an old moor secure boat at one time.....
I have mentioned a couple times now that I should just rent a house with a dock, so I had a place to put all my boats!
A beautiful calm night anchored off of Eustatia Island.
Seas look like glass. Not a breath of wind anywhere and it is that hazy cloudy type of weather where everything seems very still and heavy with lots of cloud....
I LOVE having all us crew on board! My duties today was DINNER, which meant no breakfast and lunch for me. I slept through it all and woke up about 10 AM when Lisa and Margot were just about to jump in the water for a dive on the Rhone...
The rest went for a snorkel safari. Not sure what was going on in the islands, every dive boat from every company USVI and BVI was on the Rhone this morning. Not quite sure how they were really even going to see the wreck in between all the bubbles!
The saga of the icemaker. For various reasons, NONE to do with me, by the way, we have been waiting for this new ice maker for well, 5 months now. It has been here and back in the states and lately our ice maker which has been pathetic for awhile, was doing nothing besides making large large blocks of ice in the bottom of the well. The excitement was high, the ice maker was fitted and Richard is looking SHEEPISH here for a reason. That is because HOWEVER it was done, the wrong ice maker was ordered and it is a size too small for our boat! It makes very nice ice, just not enough for us with 10-12 guests!! With a smaller ice maker and a smaller compressor, I am beginning to wonder whether we are actually going to be turning into a 4 pax or something! Needless to say, although we will use this icemaker, a larger one will be ordered. I did wonder whether it could be my own personal ice maker in my room or something, but there is literally, no where to put it! Not to even think about the drain of two ice makers on the generater and battery power...
After the dive I thought people might appreciate Moccha Frappucino's and the first people who put up their hand and stamped their feet were Richard and Lisa!!! Apparently they miss them when I am not here!
The never ending quest for diesel continues...quick motor up the channel to Spanishtown, but no, could not get none there, so up we continued to Leverick Bay. Very happening spot and we found diesel! The guests went and did a bit of shopping...
As soon as we saw these sandals on the boat we KNEW who's they were. THey had to be Sharyls! And we were right!! THey are cute....
MUCH cuter actually then the shoes the princess came home with at Leverick that she needed for being on the fancy white boat this summer. After looking all over Puerto Rico for hours and finding nothing, she was pleased to get some right at Leverick Bay! At a decent price... The princess is NOT as convinced as others that she needs deck shoes and thinks that her purple slippers with the pink flowers are perfect galley wear in winter thank you very much!
Our fearless leaders hard at work...
And Sharyl's funky toe nail designs to go along with her fancy sandals....
Then it was off to Eustatia, where, we decided to take the guests for a run in the power boat. Now, the power boat has several names in the running...
1) Bingo Bus (as that is what we called it when we rented them for the old folks last year...)
2) Puppette (my nickname)
3) Fu**in Texan (not saying why we think it should be called that!)
Some one suggested it needed a dignified name, which none of the above fit...I don't know! We are still thinking! However, BELIEVE ME it is comfortable! Margot and I found the comfy seats in the back...
We waved good bye to Promenade and off we sped at 30 knots....
We went into Oil Nut Bay looking for turtles in the crystal clear water...
And sped around Necker Island looking for flamingoes (we did not find any!)
This is a cruise ship in the distance in the clouds...
We took a few of them over to Bitter End to look for tshirts (unsuccessfully)
Watched the sunset....
Watched this large mega yacht tie up stern too to Bitter End docks....
And came back for family dinner of barbecue ribs, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes, and CHOCOLATE Candy ice cream!
It was good and we managed to eat about all of it tonight! Even though I still could not count how many guests there were for dessert....
And these are just some random pictures of fish I took last night at Salt Island when I wandered in for a little look see!
Tomorrow is a day we are all looking forward to. No wind means it is off to dive the Rocus, then off to Shell Mountain on Anegada and to anegada tomorrow!
PS: I LOVED the power boat!! A little TLC, and some good cleaning and she will be nice! What a nice comfortable run in it!
I LOVE having all us crew on board! My duties today was DINNER, which meant no breakfast and lunch for me. I slept through it all and woke up about 10 AM when Lisa and Margot were just about to jump in the water for a dive on the Rhone...
The rest went for a snorkel safari. Not sure what was going on in the islands, every dive boat from every company USVI and BVI was on the Rhone this morning. Not quite sure how they were really even going to see the wreck in between all the bubbles!
The saga of the icemaker. For various reasons, NONE to do with me, by the way, we have been waiting for this new ice maker for well, 5 months now. It has been here and back in the states and lately our ice maker which has been pathetic for awhile, was doing nothing besides making large large blocks of ice in the bottom of the well. The excitement was high, the ice maker was fitted and Richard is looking SHEEPISH here for a reason. That is because HOWEVER it was done, the wrong ice maker was ordered and it is a size too small for our boat! It makes very nice ice, just not enough for us with 10-12 guests!! With a smaller ice maker and a smaller compressor, I am beginning to wonder whether we are actually going to be turning into a 4 pax or something! Needless to say, although we will use this icemaker, a larger one will be ordered. I did wonder whether it could be my own personal ice maker in my room or something, but there is literally, no where to put it! Not to even think about the drain of two ice makers on the generater and battery power...
After the dive I thought people might appreciate Moccha Frappucino's and the first people who put up their hand and stamped their feet were Richard and Lisa!!! Apparently they miss them when I am not here!
The never ending quest for diesel continues...quick motor up the channel to Spanishtown, but no, could not get none there, so up we continued to Leverick Bay. Very happening spot and we found diesel! The guests went and did a bit of shopping...
As soon as we saw these sandals on the boat we KNEW who's they were. THey had to be Sharyls! And we were right!! THey are cute....
MUCH cuter actually then the shoes the princess came home with at Leverick that she needed for being on the fancy white boat this summer. After looking all over Puerto Rico for hours and finding nothing, she was pleased to get some right at Leverick Bay! At a decent price... The princess is NOT as convinced as others that she needs deck shoes and thinks that her purple slippers with the pink flowers are perfect galley wear in winter thank you very much!
Our fearless leaders hard at work...
And Sharyl's funky toe nail designs to go along with her fancy sandals....
Then it was off to Eustatia, where, we decided to take the guests for a run in the power boat. Now, the power boat has several names in the running...
1) Bingo Bus (as that is what we called it when we rented them for the old folks last year...)
2) Puppette (my nickname)
3) Fu**in Texan (not saying why we think it should be called that!)
Some one suggested it needed a dignified name, which none of the above fit...I don't know! We are still thinking! However, BELIEVE ME it is comfortable! Margot and I found the comfy seats in the back...
We waved good bye to Promenade and off we sped at 30 knots....
We went into Oil Nut Bay looking for turtles in the crystal clear water...
And sped around Necker Island looking for flamingoes (we did not find any!)
This is a cruise ship in the distance in the clouds...
We took a few of them over to Bitter End to look for tshirts (unsuccessfully)
Watched the sunset....
Watched this large mega yacht tie up stern too to Bitter End docks....
And came back for family dinner of barbecue ribs, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes, and CHOCOLATE Candy ice cream!
It was good and we managed to eat about all of it tonight! Even though I still could not count how many guests there were for dessert....
And these are just some random pictures of fish I took last night at Salt Island when I wandered in for a little look see!
Tomorrow is a day we are all looking forward to. No wind means it is off to dive the Rocus, then off to Shell Mountain on Anegada and to anegada tomorrow!
PS: I LOVED the power boat!! A little TLC, and some good cleaning and she will be nice! What a nice comfortable run in it!
Monday, April 19. 2010
First day of charter again and over to Salt Island
Deja vu...I am sure I was just blogging....Back to the last morning with the Cape Cod Pirates. These guys were organized! Up at 6 AM and packed before we even sailed back to Tortola. Smitty is hard at work guarding the luggage from pirates here!
Got back to dock and found out that the marina is putting in finger piers so they can accommodate cats. Really too rolly for anything other then cats in this marina anyways....
The final breakfast, but I think they finally got sick of me taking pictures and decided they would not even look at me! Can't blame them there....
The guests say that every time they come on the boat, the week goes faster then it did the time before. They thought they blinked and turned around and all of a sudden it was gone!
By the time we waved good bye to the guests, Richard and Lisa snuck on somehow and then it was a busy day. Of course we were all out of routine and not sure what to do with ourselves, so Bazza and I finally got out the way and went to bed to watch Amazing Race for awhile. That was a nice thought but the big compressor for filling tanks on the back of the boat went kaput and no matter how many times they hit it with a mallet it would not start. Not totally a surprise, we knew after 12 years of loyal service (and not ever once having to fill tanks ashore!) it was close to the end of its life...That meant that Baz and Rich spent a couple hours taking it out and replacing it with a smaller one that we had in the storage locker (smart aren't we??)
Then Rich and Lisa did not make it town to do the grocery shopping or pick up the laundry or anything so it was all put over to be done in the morning....
This very excited little girl from Vancouver BC has been on the boat 8 weeks now! Even though she may be a guest, she is really not a guest any longer, but has become such a good friend of all ours too. I am not sure that i have ever seen someone so excited, considering she just spent two weeks on here in February..
Dinner was blue drink and wings and french fries, served gourmet style! THe wings were hot hot hot! I had fries and used the hot wings as an excuse to drink a bit more blue drink, although smart enough to stop before getting too carried away! We have a ton of work to do in the morning.
Notice "Mr. I have never met a camera I did not like is back again?"
We are measuring Margot as we speak for her crew uniform, but she knows without being told that when she stays on the boat before charters she has to help with laundry! Good thing she likes laundry!!
Wasn't too much longer and then our California gals showed up this morning...Bazza and I had had a quick couple hours in time hitting the accountant, department stores, bank (thank god only the ATM machine!), the bakery, NAPA, the 2 liquor wholesalers, Bobby's, Riteway and the french deli! The car was absolutely stuffed... THEN It all had to be carted down the dock... (RIch and Conner were off with one of the other boats in our "fleet" doing some stuff)
They are looking a little giddy here as they just came on the red eye over night from LAX....
Our tiny little group of only 5 guests (Richards parents had had a cabin on board, but they never made it out of the UK with the air space being closed...and that was really too bad as they would have gotten to see what Rich and Lisa did here! First time!! and Rich's mom....they do do a spectacular job too!) is looking happy. We gave them painkillers...
We think it is going to be a fun week! Seems like a small group as with both Rich and Lisa and Kerry and Bazza on board, we needed an extra cabin!
Chris's husband, Tom is now the only MALE guest this week. Poor man, whatever will he do???? He looks miserable already!
Lisa, of course, still cooked as if it was a dozen guests on board!
I loved it though, as I did not cook it! I am quite happy with my role of bottle washer this week....
They listened in rapture intently to all the rules on the boat....
This afternoons crew was Kerry, Bazza and Lisa. An unusual combination on the boat! Which meant that Bazza got to work the sails all by himself. We had to go down to Roadtown to get diesel. Unfortunately, our luck, but the boat that was on dock when we arrived TOOK all the diesel in the pumps!!!!!
We made our way over to Salt Island, and you may think that Pam is on the back sun tanning, but you would be incorrect! It was a tad wiggly and confused on the way over there!!!
There are pros and cons on whether we have the big table in the cockpit or the coffee table. Margot's definite preference is to have the coffee table up, and as soon as the boys got back Lisa had enough of her whining about it and it was changed around...
Lisa made a wonderful parmesan encrusted mahi mahi, fried and then served with squash, and homemade tartar sauce. A girl after my own heart! Fish that is breaded and fried one way or another! It was good too!
5 guests and 5 crew with all repeat guests, also means that we get to eat at the table with the guests (don't worry, they really want us too!) We have warned our cabin boy Conner, that just because there is so many crew on board, DOES NOT mean he gets to slack off and do less! Low man on the totem pole and all...It is the 4 of us who get to do less and enjoy our guests more!
My gosh I am caught up...time to go to sleep!
Got back to dock and found out that the marina is putting in finger piers so they can accommodate cats. Really too rolly for anything other then cats in this marina anyways....
The final breakfast, but I think they finally got sick of me taking pictures and decided they would not even look at me! Can't blame them there....
The guests say that every time they come on the boat, the week goes faster then it did the time before. They thought they blinked and turned around and all of a sudden it was gone!
By the time we waved good bye to the guests, Richard and Lisa snuck on somehow and then it was a busy day. Of course we were all out of routine and not sure what to do with ourselves, so Bazza and I finally got out the way and went to bed to watch Amazing Race for awhile. That was a nice thought but the big compressor for filling tanks on the back of the boat went kaput and no matter how many times they hit it with a mallet it would not start. Not totally a surprise, we knew after 12 years of loyal service (and not ever once having to fill tanks ashore!) it was close to the end of its life...That meant that Baz and Rich spent a couple hours taking it out and replacing it with a smaller one that we had in the storage locker (smart aren't we??)
Then Rich and Lisa did not make it town to do the grocery shopping or pick up the laundry or anything so it was all put over to be done in the morning....
This very excited little girl from Vancouver BC has been on the boat 8 weeks now! Even though she may be a guest, she is really not a guest any longer, but has become such a good friend of all ours too. I am not sure that i have ever seen someone so excited, considering she just spent two weeks on here in February..
Dinner was blue drink and wings and french fries, served gourmet style! THe wings were hot hot hot! I had fries and used the hot wings as an excuse to drink a bit more blue drink, although smart enough to stop before getting too carried away! We have a ton of work to do in the morning.
Notice "Mr. I have never met a camera I did not like is back again?"
We are measuring Margot as we speak for her crew uniform, but she knows without being told that when she stays on the boat before charters she has to help with laundry! Good thing she likes laundry!!
Wasn't too much longer and then our California gals showed up this morning...Bazza and I had had a quick couple hours in time hitting the accountant, department stores, bank (thank god only the ATM machine!), the bakery, NAPA, the 2 liquor wholesalers, Bobby's, Riteway and the french deli! The car was absolutely stuffed... THEN It all had to be carted down the dock... (RIch and Conner were off with one of the other boats in our "fleet" doing some stuff)
They are looking a little giddy here as they just came on the red eye over night from LAX....
Our tiny little group of only 5 guests (Richards parents had had a cabin on board, but they never made it out of the UK with the air space being closed...and that was really too bad as they would have gotten to see what Rich and Lisa did here! First time!! and Rich's mom....they do do a spectacular job too!) is looking happy. We gave them painkillers...
We think it is going to be a fun week! Seems like a small group as with both Rich and Lisa and Kerry and Bazza on board, we needed an extra cabin!
Chris's husband, Tom is now the only MALE guest this week. Poor man, whatever will he do???? He looks miserable already!
Lisa, of course, still cooked as if it was a dozen guests on board!
I loved it though, as I did not cook it! I am quite happy with my role of bottle washer this week....
They listened in rapture intently to all the rules on the boat....
This afternoons crew was Kerry, Bazza and Lisa. An unusual combination on the boat! Which meant that Bazza got to work the sails all by himself. We had to go down to Roadtown to get diesel. Unfortunately, our luck, but the boat that was on dock when we arrived TOOK all the diesel in the pumps!!!!!
We made our way over to Salt Island, and you may think that Pam is on the back sun tanning, but you would be incorrect! It was a tad wiggly and confused on the way over there!!!
There are pros and cons on whether we have the big table in the cockpit or the coffee table. Margot's definite preference is to have the coffee table up, and as soon as the boys got back Lisa had enough of her whining about it and it was changed around...
Lisa made a wonderful parmesan encrusted mahi mahi, fried and then served with squash, and homemade tartar sauce. A girl after my own heart! Fish that is breaded and fried one way or another! It was good too!
5 guests and 5 crew with all repeat guests, also means that we get to eat at the table with the guests (don't worry, they really want us too!) We have warned our cabin boy Conner, that just because there is so many crew on board, DOES NOT mean he gets to slack off and do less! Low man on the totem pole and all...It is the 4 of us who get to do less and enjoy our guests more!
My gosh I am caught up...time to go to sleep!
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