British Virgin Islands

We all know that Fish Bay has had a lot of landfill going on in it and clearing out, leveling and much building done on it, but we were surprised on the way home today to notice that just toward East End past Fish Bay, close to Cedar School there has been a large area cleaned up, cleared out and leveled...


Obviously something going on, although I know not what...


We walked the area, and did not see too much of interest, obviously there was quite an old garbage pile there somewhere as we found some old glass, circa mid 1800's but not that much and just in pieces....





I have been 40 hours without a full throttle energy drink and 24 hours with no caffeine. You can probably guess about what my head is feeling like right now and i think I will go to bed and take a couple aspirin before i give in! My addictive personality strikes one more time!

And I have spent that few days sitting in front of my computer attempting to catch up on emails, web work and bluck...accounting!

Every time I think I have one knocked down more shows up. Picked up new outdoor cushions for the boat on Monday. That means all the purple ones that we just recovered every other year in the current favorite color can go to the garbage...

Bazza is working on "boats" plural, and it seems to be a toss up which one is at the top of the list on a particular day. I know he is putting in depth finders in mine that he wants to get in before the "OLD FOLKS" arrive next week and want to take the Bingo Bus out Fishing!

I have a funny story for you. I was on Necker Island for a meeting a few weeks ago. Been many years since I was on there, going back I think to about when the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated was shot there a decade ago....


I was told an amusing story about the flamingoes, of which we are seeing many more around up in this area. There is a reason for that! I don't know how much this was embellished...But apparently a few years ago Branson decided to buy some Flamingoes and populate the island with them. There are two salt ponds on Necker, so he bought a couple hundred Flamingoes.....


They hung around for awhile, they fed them, but then they ALL flew away! He waited awhile, they did not come back so he bought more Flamingoes, another 125 or some such. This time they thought they were smart and tagged them so they would know which ones were "their" flamingoes....



A couple weeks later, the other flamingoes from before all came back! Now there was about 400 flamingoes on the island. When we were there it was Flamingo mating season, and when they feed them they put something like Viagra in the feed...Now you have hundreds of horny noisy flamingo's having sex all over the island! Had to laugh, and a great story whether true or not....


Another purchase was 4 Galapagos Turtles about 4 years ago. They are huge!


Although had to giggle as I think this one really wanted out of his corral, what do you think????


Just a couple pictures of some of the lovely woodwork...


This here is a gigantic slab of hardwood in the shape of a gecko. I believe last time I was on island it was up in the big house....


OK, time to get back to work!

Things are really messed up for me. I would have posted this on Promenade's blog, however, it appears I don't know the passwords! They are on the laptop automatically and earlier today I was using Lisa's computer where they are stored as well! Oh well, some more random pictures in no particular order from the week just finished...

It was a shopping extravaganza when I showed up with some bright new tank tops. I knew some of these girls really wanted some and I have to thank TSHIRT1 who had them printed and out the door to me in a couple days flat so I could get them in time....




The last evening I made PAILS, MANY PAILS, of blue drink, although they were not that strong and we all sat around and enjoyed the breeze at the Caves telling stories of our favorite parts of the week. The guests, loved having the crew interact and eat with them so much, but it does not work very well when we only have a couple crew and 10-12 guests!


This is from dinner one night...


And from great hamburgers Lisa made on the last lunch. Lisa and I still cooked for 20 and we had more food then these guests could ever hope to eat. They were crying uncle by the end of the week!


This elegant picture is of me with a dozen cans in my dress for making the blue drink up! Who needs bowls or bags!!


This was the last evenings dinner. I am not quite sure what we were doing there. Perhaps too much blue drink!


I had gone out shopping and Lisa had asked for a present just like princesses do, so I did manage to find her something flowy and princess like...


This is our dinner platter from last night. Some liked seafood, some liked chicken, so we combined them for a different looking platter....


Rich and LIsa...


Richard and Margot....


How do you like these bright shorts! He looks like a tourist! That is because his clothes never made it from California so I bought whatever Pussers had! My luck they will probably become his favorites or something and then I will have to murder him...


It may be dinner but Conner looks like he is sleeping here.. These young ones have no energy nowadays...


Dinner table before food arrives....


Conner is looking perkier here! These are from Michael Beans night....


Some of our guests found Rum shots...


Another dinner night....


and Tom enjoying himself way too much with all his women at Beans!



So ends another charter week on Promenade. It was fun, although, for the crew, a bit discombobulated with all the crew and so few guests. Never really seemed to get into a rhythm and the boat looks definitely trashy by the time we hit dock this morning...

Thanks guys, and we will see you all next year I am sure!
A wonderful week aboard Promenade! It really felt like (Sailing?) with friends. Chris did not want to build it up too much. She wanted to be sure I really had fun. She needened of worried. Thanks so much for the hospitality, wonderful food and cunning adventures. Best of fun to Richie and Lulu in Vancouver aboard the stink pot. Hope to come aboard again and really DIVE the wrecks.
TOM, Orange County

Thanks for a fabulous week. You are all truly a delight to be with and I look forward to seeing you again soon.
CHRIS, Orange County

Just another wonderful week on Promenade in paradise. Does life get any better? Great hosts, great crew and great friends. Once again, meeting a new friend Margot and getting to meet Conner, Rich and Lisa along with renewing our friendship with Kerry and Bazza. Thanks for a great week. See you next year for I hope at least two weeks! This open cabin cruise was the best!
Sharyl, Orange County

It's been wonderful! I really enjoyed sharing our vacation with you
Pam, Riverside County


It's difficult to capture my appreciation in a few sentences. What an incredible week we had! The crews expertise delivered to us amazing dive sites and Lou Lou's skill got me in and out safely!

Thanks to you Richie for always finding the best weather. Kerry and Bazza- It's a world put right. Thanks again for your friendship and making my time on Promenade so special. Conner: great show on the couch of doom!
Margot (8th trip!) Vancouver, BC

So! I see that dinghies being stolen from charter yachts and from docks in Tortola just seems to be picking up steam over the winter. We are hearing more and more every week. That someone actually had the nerve and gall to go to Little Harbour on Peter Island and try to take three tenders off of backs of crewed charter yachts is fairly brazen I think. In the meantime they untied one of the yachts stern lines! I am not sure what the answer is, other then to bug the marine police (what are they going to do over there?) and to put up and lock your tenders as much as you can...

I will be sending Bazza out to search out heavy chain for both the new tender for the yacht AND the runaround. It is all just a stop gap though, if people want to steal them they will find a way.

On other things, I had quite frankly forgotten which country I was in when I went into town this week and thought I could breeze through about 4 things in an hour or so. I got one done.

One of the things I had wanted to find out, was, I had faxed in a wire transfer request to Scotia Bank here for paying for the house in CA. I was not surprised to see a wire transfer charge on their, typical and expected, but I was not expecting to see was an ADDITIONAL fee of $70.00. I soon found out when I went into Scotia Bank. It pissed me off so much (generic banks in general...) I wrote it down!

Jp Morgan, our correspondent bank used for wire transfers is now levying a charge on all wire transfers. This charge will be taken out by JP Morgan after the wire transfer is processed and sent to the next institution /beneficiary. THIS IS NOT A BANK CHARGE AS IT IS NOT IMPOSED BY SCOTIA BANK.

By the way, on top of your wire transfer fee it is an additional outgoing fee of somewhere between $25.00 and $70.00 depending on the amount and the incoming fee is $20.00 to $35.00.

Excuse me Scotia Bank, but HOW stupid do you think we all are! (Don't answer that as apparently we are damn gullible)
WHAT else do you call it "if it is NOT a bank fee!!" It that supposed to make us feel better if you tell us that? Are we supposed to believe that? And then are we supposed to feel better/be snowballed, when you tell us they "send it on to the next institution/beneficiary?? For god sakes, the person who receives the wire transfer ALREADY pays a wire transfer receiving fee! Are you telling me out of the goodness of your heart you are giving them MORE money? Or is there now a "third" anonymous person or institution that is getting a piece of the pie?

Banks suck. They are as greedy as can be. Bailed out, record profits and not giving out loans or credit in the USA. I believe that this is either they have all gotten together and decided to institute to get more money and pass the buck around blaming it on someone else but they are all sharing...We see it all the time.

It does not matter which way you turn, there is someone wanting to take more. We stopped using/accepting credit cards as much because of the percentage charge for using it internationally, even if it is US dollars, and went more to wire transfers. Now this comes along. Just where and how exactly do you pay or accept payment for things without you losing most of it to a third party? Do I start requesting people bring dollar bills in their backpacks for charter fees?

OK, calm deep cleansing breath, and now I must go figure out what in the hell I am supposed to do with this mound of new and washed linen that is piled up in the salon. For a moment I wondered if I could get away with telling the next guests that they were throw pillows!

It has been so many days since I blogged I was not even sure where to start! So I guess going back to SUnday, I was piling up "stuff" on the floor and packing while Bazza was out doing last minute things to get ready. I actually did not have that much stuff. Apparently I had packed enough already away in boxes!

Of course I have to comment on my FIRST Californian earthquake! I was sitting in the living room, and of course, I am pretty used to having things "move" with living on the boat and the RV. The blinds started shaking, the chandeliers and fans starting swaying, the wall unit jumped, and the TV did a lurch... by this time I had realized that it was an earthquake and my first thought was "I don't know where I am supposed to go in an earthquake" Do I run outside? Get in a bathtub? Stand in a door jamb? Silly me decided to stand in a door jamb. And I looked up at the top of the door and had to laugh as the door jamb was about 3 inches wide and I am, about, what...we won't even go there wide! It did scare me! THen I saw water slosh out of the pool and felt all the aftershocks too. Funny thing was my sister had mentioned we should anchor the TV's and I thought that was maybe overkill, but Bazza had just anchored them that morning!!!!!!
Apparently you do need to anchor your flat screens in California. Bazza was out driving and felt nothing of course. I thought he should have rushed home to check on me in our first CA earthquake, but since he was oblivious, he was not too worried!

When he did arrive home though he had important things to do. We were having the house tented and sprayed while gone for termites and whatever other nasties may be living around there so he had to double bag all the food etc. This people, is all ice cream. Yes, apparently we wanted to make sure we did not run out! AND we had ate quite a bit in the last couple days "trying to get rid of it" ahem.

The shuttle bus picked us up at the door for the trip to LAX. That is wonderful! It was great being able to leave the car tucked away in the garage and not at an airport. We made it to LAX and through the yucky American part of the terminal and onto the yucky american plane that did not look like it had really been cleaned well in this century. I did not know that it was possible to make seats large like that in business class and them STILL to be totally uncomfortable. But at least they fit my ass. Lets just say that American did not impress me one more time and there upgraded classes are marginally better. However, the direct flight from LAX into San Juan WAS a definite winner. It made the trip to the Caribbean so much better. I slept most of the time, and woke up and there we were, back on familiar ground in Puerto Rico.
After a short stop it was onto St Thomas. Then things REALLY looked familiar! We picked up a car and went running around picking up important things like wine glasses for the boat, and some of those very same packages that we had mailed etc etc. It was typical St Thomas, although thank god a light traffic day with it being Easter Monday!

I have wanted a "run around" boat for years. It never came to the top of the list. Off charter, I get so tired of taking 5 hours to get out to the Chikuzen on Promenade (yes, I am exaggerating) to do one dive or to go to St Thomas having to make a two day production out of it. I told Bazza when we left here that I did not care if I was only on island for a short time or long time, I was getting one. He probably did not think I was too serious...Anyways, I have always kind of looked. I started sending him links months ago which he would basically ignore or say "well, I want a 4 stroke" He did tell me 25-30 feet would be good. I continued looking, and sending links. Then I progressed to communicating with people about boats and talked to Joe at Nauti Nymph about a couple of his boats that he was selling. In the last couple days Bazza sat up and realized that I was totally serious and whether he wanted a Nauti Nymph or not he was about to get one. He gently wondered if we should wait until something ideal came along. I not so gently said that if he would have been looking the last few months for what he wanted he would have a leg to stand on and that if and when he found exactly what he wanted he was more then welcome to sell the Nymph and buy something else. Until then well....

So, he is looking. He turns to me and says "do you want it" and I nodded my head. As you can see here below, I got it. He tells me that I have a car, a boat, a house a RV and a new IPAD. There is nothing else I can buy now, I have it all. OK, I will work for awhile then while waiting for more toys to come on the market!

We found Promenade, AND found the guests enjoying their last nights sunset on the Bimbo mats. This is actually John, and John is my oldest son's boss, Chad. Chad is the Edmonton Regional Director of Rayacom (to do with cleaning contracts) and he has been doing it for a couple years now. That is the "paying" job, the new nightclub is the "fun and might make a ton of money but also may loose my shirt" business...

Lisa was having chicken alfredo for dinner! So, she not only fed the guests, but also fed us, which was great as I was quite hungry by this time. It had been a long day!

Lisa thought this was a familar looking sight when I was around!

Loved watching Rich and Lisa do the "last night after dinner" slide shows and charts with the guests! The last night is always so busy on the boat....

I had my camera out left and right. This is at dock and the entire crew and their guests. The guests stayed at VILLA TOA TOA for a few days in advance and loved it. THen they really loved the boat trip, now they are spending one night decompressing at the swim up bar at the Tamarind Club before jetting back to Calgary...


That catches up Monday, you will have to wait for Tuesday and the gossips and happenings until next blog entry. After spending over one hour in SCOTIA Bank line yesterday, I am afraid I must go to town to find more banks to do that with! Plus the accountant wants me in to sign off on the books so they can get them filed before tax deadline here on island...

SO IT BEGINS.....

Going to look at one Nauti Nymph has for sale on Monday, although Bazza would prefer 4 stroke. Thought I would throw this up here in case anyone knew of one for sale. We don't want a piece of junk....