Our day started off at Great Thatch this morning...Brent, being the intrepid tracking dog, was taking the guests up to see the fort on Thatch. I did warn the guests that he has "been known" to wander all over the mountain before he found the right path! Brent was confident though, and off he went, machete in hand...

He found the path up right spot on, termite nests and all.

We had had a discussion about making sure you are actually touching trees on your way up and NOT cactuses...

They found the large crabs that live in holes..

and an artistic display of some of the old bottle pieces up there...

They found our geocache right where it was supposed to be...

Then they went to find the graves, Patty thought it was quite thoughtful of them to provide aloe vera plants all the way along so she could put it on her various scratches! We aim to please...Planted those last summer just for our guests.

Our intrepid explorer then zigged when he should have zagged and made it to the Salt Pond instead of the ocean. "Fine" he thinks, I will just cut across the shallow end of the salt pond to the ocean. He leads the way. And is immediately sucked down into quicksand like mud, exclaiming that it is NOT like the Salt Ponds on Salt Island...

They made a hasty retreat and went back up and around where they found us lying off shore waiting for them.

We then went for a snorkel down the shoreline...It was, as always pretty... This is Irma, our 84 year old!

And Andy our 82 year old! They could swim the pants off of me!

We saw coral banded lobster, and several large puffer fish, schools of Blue tang, and of course bait fish...

Then I got the universal sign for shark, or "Mullet" as we are supposed to call them for one little lady on the boat!

And yep, there he was. A proper shark too, I have to look him up!

By the time we were out of the water the buns were ready to go into the oven for lunch, and we had lunch before going for a sail over to Norman Island this afternoon.

Oh yeah, I forgot the inevitable, tweezers and needles that were needed after the trip up the hill!

They snorkeled at the caves and the lounger came out...

We gathered for cocktail hour...

Well, some did, some wondered why we were interrupting their nap, until they tasted the Bushwackers and then we managed to finish a few pitchers of them!

Brent is practicing being a guest here and decided he quite liked it...Don't get used to it Brent!

Seems in no time at all it was time for dinner, and it was Mahi Mahi on the barbecue tonight along with fresh homemade ice cream....



I think Bazza has a bait fish in the water to see what we catch tonight, but no serious fishing going on....

I think I left you about dinner last night. It was good, and we ate lots of seafood. I opted for a ham and cheese sandwich.

I think it was an early night all the way around...and today we spent most of the morning enjoying the snorkeling at Monkey Point. Brent took them on a snorkeling safari and took some great underwater pictures.

The Sergeant Majors at the bottom of the boat...

Snorkeling...

I am not sure which is the right way up on this picture the fish are so thick!







Brent's Flamingo Tongues...



BLue Tangs...

Turtle...

More blue tangs...

and the turtle again! They snorkeled for quite a time.

And then hung out on the noodles...

The territory is quite busy this week with boats, there were boats circling waiting for our ball, so we threw up the spinnaker and made our way down to Jost Van Dyke. I had to take this picture as we actually PASSED someone under sail! Does not happen that often!!

We had lunch under sail...

Here is my green onion and herb focaccia bread...

We made it to a very busy Soggy Dollar Bar at Jost Van Dyke. There were boats everywhere. Most of the younger crew went in for a drink (or maybe three!) and some took a well deserved nap after the strenuous sail....

It appears that a couple tuna appeared in my galley sink while I was in my cabin...

But that is OK as Bazza taught Brent how to not only clean the fish, but also sear and serve it! So Brent was promoted to head chef and I wandered away until the fish was gone out of the galley...

We only had one person who was determined they were not missing the tuna!

Sunset came around, we are now anchored down at Great Thatch after ANOTHER stop at Pussers Bar at Sopers Hole....

And the rest of the guests showed up for cocktail hour eventually as well...



There was a ton of bird and fish activity off of Little Thatch while the guests were in at Pussers, so I took the opportunity to jump in the water while the boat circled above me waiting.
Lots of pretty black coral....



See the spotted drum in this picture?

Tons of Mackerel...

Tons of different kinds of Angel Fish as well! I see more here then at any other spot in the BVI.

I just liked these unusual (healthy) coral...



Although these are showing quite a bit of damage...

Horse Eyed Jack with the sun in the background...

Lots of Squirrel Fish. There were actually some healthy sized schools of fish down here. Of course, right in the current lines...

Tarpon everywhere following the bait balls...



I am not even sure you could call these silversides yet, they are so tiny. There is many in this picture, but you may not be able to see them...

Steak for dinner tonight! and it is 930 and officially past my bedtime! I hear the women have been whooping the guys behinds at Catch Phrase every night, although each side seems to be accusing the others of cheating every morning!

I think this blog entry is going to be big on pictures and small on written words. I have had a hot hot day, and I look like a tomato!
First some pictures from last night, after we anchored at the west end of Anegada...Nothing special, just looking around us at another gorgeous evening...





The start of sunset...

DInner time...



and an absolutely gorgeous sunset just on dark......

For the billion people who emailed me asking where SImeon is...well, here he is!

Bazza had something break on his generator today which meant we had no power of any kind... That quickly meant I was not making a lot of hot meals in the galley so I elected to take most of the guests and Brent and go look at the cottages sliding into the water up on the point... We saw Pelicans on the way up...

I love them sitting in the trees!

Yes, they are still slipping into the sea, here are the random pictures of them today in no order at all (remember, many pictures, little words!)















We elected Brent to anchor the dinghy out while we went walking...

And we walked...and walked...all the way up to Cow Wreck Beach as a matter of fact!











We found Brittlestars out of the water and put him back...

and walked some more...



Happiness was finding the bar!

I knew it was a long walk back so I elected to not stay long and start the trek back slowly...

Squalls and clouds were coming in a bit...









We could see more as we upped anchor, including all the HI HO windsurfers going back in to the channel...

We had a strange sight at noon, lunch totally upstairs, not buffet! That does not happen much anymore...

We pass our version of the projects on Scrub Island, saying that construction will be completed in 31 days but it does not look like construction will be completed in 31 days!





For entertainment I decided to feed the fish and birds while the guests went ashore at Marina Cay







Our guests enjoyed their stop at Marina Cay, walking around and having RUM



They climbed the hill and waled the grounds...

Too pictures of Promenade in the distance...

Then it was back to the boat and SImeon helped them catch up with their charts and where they have been this week...

Andy and Irma are a great couple, and so active and full of like for people in their mid 80's but they kind of look like goofy and goofette here!

We mad our way over to Monkey Point for overnight, and i have mostly spent the afternoon and evening trying to cool myself down. People who don't go in the sun much and who have Roseaca should not go walking on the beach for hours. I had bags of icecubes down my top (they were calling it my Victorias Secret Water Bra!) headbands of ice around my head and I could barely function!

I have been on this yacht for 12 years now and NEVER, not once, been up the mast. Nor have I had a desire too, not particularly liking heights.
This morning I was minding my own business, chopping up things for ceviche in the galley when my husband came into the galley and mentioned that he thought I should go up to the top of the mast and take some pictures. It must have been the energy drink I had in my hand, but I thought "yes, I should" the colors of the water, sky and reefs were outstanding today. It was a very small moment of bravery followed by wondering what in the hell I had agreed to.
He promised me that i did not actually have to climb the mast, that they would winch me up....
GULP... I first asked him if he had the queen sized version of the harness and what it was rated for!

He desperately tried not to giggle as he was refitting me...(smart man)

I took extra lenses with me, as I wanted to get some wide angles of the boat as well as the sea...

My heart was beating quickly and I shrieked quite a bit going up!

By the time I reached the top there was not a chance I was changing lenses, so I blindly swept around taking a few pictures...

They yelled up that I could let go of the mast and lean back, but their was not one single chance in hell that i was doing that!













Then I wanted down quickly, and that will be the last time for the next 12 years I do that! Yes, it was nice.
I did start a trend though, and EVERYONE on the boat took a trip up the mast! That is right people, the 84 year olds made less noise then I did going up this darn thing!!







This is such a beautiful corner of Anegada, a trip was made to Conch Mountain. The mountain was mentioned hundreds of years ago in records and our guests always love going to see it. Today was no exception.



Bazza mentioned something about him staying up wind of the performance!




Some snorkeled, and Sting Rays and Nurse Sharks were seen today...

After lunch we took a long leisurely spinnaker run down to Raffling Point on the other side of Anegada, catching a random barracuda and yellow tail snapper, but nothing edible.
All are now walking on the beach and I am heating the oil for conch fritters! The charter yacht ZIngara had the incredible good fortune of taking pictures of an ORCA, about an hour and a half from St Croix! I never even knew we had any down here!

Bazza must be going back to his Australian roots here! I have to remind him that it is MY hat not his!

Brent laptop had a problem. Brent was quite concerned when Bazza said he would look at it and it was in a billion pieces in his workshop. Apparently they all went back where they belonged and are working again any how...

First up today was a trip to the Baths. I am sure Irma is just snorkeling, but she looks like a seal who has lost her way to me...

Brent herded cats around the Baths I understand this morning, they were going every which way and when he came back he said I had to give them less options. For example, "You have two choices here guys, you can either take the dinghy to shore, OR you can go to shore by dinghy" He thinks that might help solve his problem! We will see...

Anyways they had a nice walk through the rocks, some just went backwards and double back as well...





After all that exercise it was time for some napping on board...



I saw Bazza come out the south side of the Baths and thought maybe he was
1) going trolling
2) getting out so he could get the spinnaker up
3) going to st martin
after this happening for awhile I finally had to give in and ask, and the answer was, hitting the south drop off so we could troll along it....I understand that we caught half a dozen fish, sushi grade tuna and sushimi grade tuna, mackerel (that somehow was let loose while someone went to find a knife...so much for dinner)...a rainbow runner and a couple barracudas...

This gave Brent a promotion from sous chef to chef as it is quite a bit of work to get the sushimi ready. I happily went down to sous chef and gathered up plates and drinks and took them upstairs for him!

IT all went at cocktail hour anyways...

We had a flat enough day that by the time we made it to the Rocus on the Anegada Reef we stopped for a snorkel, and a dive...
A school of some type of Jacks right under the boat. They were not the usual ones we see...

The winches on the 380 foot long wreck...

Fish...

Snorkelers...

More snorkelers...







Found our diver....

I quite like this picture...



A few groupers hanging around...











and an anemone right out in the open...

Some hummed the theme song of Titanic I am sure!

Some gathered to watch the hunters...

Some just assumed the afternoon position...



Some waited around for cocktail hour...

We are anchored right up by conch mountain, and of course, the scenery and sunset is spectacular. There is a nice breeze, the humidity is low and there is not a boat in sight. We cannot complain about that too much!

Barbecued ribs for dinner tonight...

I think the main entertainment is going to be watching the stars tonight. They will be gorgeous out here, tomorrow is a trip to see conch mountain, a snorkel and then probably to the beaches of Anegada...

Well this group mostly made it all the way over from Seattle Washington over a couple days and here they are arriving at our dock in the British Virgin Islands!

The first sit down...



Andy and his wife Irma were on Promenade probably 15 years ago and have now brought their children instead of their rowdy friends from the last time! 15 years ago was before we owned the boat.....

We had our "boat talk" while sailing up the channel to the Baths over cocktail hour...

Of course we had a laughing gull permanently on our engine, and we tried to feed him a cracker which he could not get to, the winds apparently were not right!

Brent did his towel demonstrations... and we anchored at the Baths right on sunset, so that gives us a perfect spot to explore the Baths in the morning.

8 guests this week! A piece of cake!!!

SwimVacation
Summer Newsletter 2009


Hi fellow swimmers.

What will you discover on your SwimVacation? A secluded island cay? A better crawl stroke? A baby sea turtle? Our clients have discovered all of these things and more while swimming and playing in the crystal clear waters of the British Virgin Islands.

Our all-inclusive 7-day open water swimming adventures aboard a 65 foot trimaran sailing yacht are the perfect way to get in touch with your adventurous side. Experience swimming as it should be; warm, safe water, beautiful scenery, and a big soft towel waiting for you back on the yacht.

SwimVacation hosts swimmers with a very wide array of abilities. Our motto (one of them) is "your distance at your pace". Join us on an upcoming trip; we can't wait to swim with you.


NEXT TRIP: NOVEMBER 8-14, 2009

Early November is a great time to visit paradise; uncrowded airports, sunny days, and warm breezy nights are typical. Our trips are limited to about 9 guests, and they fill up fast! Don't miss out - make your reservation today and get ready for an amazing aquatic adventure.

Guest rooms are available for singles, couples, and friends.
THE YACHT PROMENADE


One of the things that makes SwimVacation so special is the fact that we live right on the water for the whole week. This gives us the flexibility to find the best swimming conditions every day. The vessel that makes it all possible is the Promenade, as 65 foot long, 35 foot wide trimaran sailing yacht. The three hulls allow for a very smooth, stable sailing experience. The roomy cockpit has a permanent shade awning where we take our meals and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the islands. The staterooms are spacious and well-appointed, and fully air conditioned when needed. There is plenty of deck space for stretching out, and the trampoline is a favorite spot for napping or watching the blue waters beneath go by.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING

"My experience with SwimVacation onboard the Promenade in December 2008 was FANTASTIC! It was the perfect break from the months of swimming with that black line on the pool bottom staring me in the face...The food was great, the sailing was thrilling, and the staff and other swimmers were the BEST...Now that I'm home and back in the pool, I know I'm swimming more efficiently as a result of the underwater video taping and stroke analysis session...One of my workout buddies asked me the other day if I would go on that BVI swim trip again. Without hesitation I answered, 'Yes I would!'" Linda C. Georgetown, TX

Feel free to contact us with any questions at (207) 975-5489 or SwimVacation@me.com, visit our web site at Swim Vacation
Let's go swimming!

Sincerely,
Hopper McDonough

The BVI Tourism Board and the BVI SCUBA Operators were hosting various SCUBA writers and photographers from around the world here this past week. Some were freelance, some were not. They spent the entire week in the BVI diving our sites, staying in our hotels and getting a feel for our beautiful island. Although they attempted to get around and dive with everyone, we were on charter this past week.

Abi O'Neal, who is Director of Watersports Marketing at the Tourism Board (I am sure I am paraphrasing your title Abi! Sorry!!) did a great job of hustling all her little "chickens" around as she called them. I was especially pleased that she took the extra time to ensure that those who could not visit with these journalists during the week, had a venue last night where we could come and show off our wares. This was held at "Ginnys" in the new Moorings Expansion. A lovely spot it is too. There were actual honest to god FLUSH toilets (modern ones) with NO waste basket beside them to throw your toilet paper into!! That was pretty impressiveI thought..No sign on the door either telling you not to put paper in the toilet...
Anyways, I digress, you can tell that i have lived on an island for too long!
One of the main purposes of this event was to start promoting WRECK WEEK 2010 which will be held June 12th through 19th, 2010! Now that is exciting!

I made the Director of Tourism, and Abi stand still for a billionth picture of the week!

When I arrived everyone was busy setting up their little tables, although most have had an opportunity to visit already this week........

My little spot for Promenade looks pretty bare, but considering I managed to do all my appetizer and dinner prep work at lighting speed on Friday so I could make if from Salt Island INTO Roadtown at 5:00 on a Friday afternoon for this, I did ok. My guests will be glad to know that I did manage to put on a Promenade Tshirt!

Jim Scheiner of Rainbow Visions was showing some of his beautiful photography that he mounts on canvas...

Mike Rowe of Sail Caribbean Divers is looking very professional here at his space...

Muffy from Blue Water Divers...

Colin from Jost Van Dyke SCUBA, talking to the "tall fellow", John Bantin the Technical Editor for DIVER magazine out of the UK...

The beautiful buffet set up in Ginnys.

Did you know that Ginny's has an ice cream bar in it? Well, neither did I! Although it appears that Abi knew exactly where it was!! She deserves it after a week of taking divers around the BVI!

Jim Scheiner is doing some beautiful panoramic photography which he displayed. Here is one he did of the saloon on Cuan Law, calling it the "SpaceSHIP Cuan Law!" Very nice...

I could not convince Mark from Peter Island Divers to stand at his table, so I just took a picture of the table!

I seem to have misplaced this nice young gentlemans card. He is based out of Puerto Rico and works with the BVI Tourist Board as well as writing travel articles for Puerto Rico's largest newspaper. He covers the BVI extensively as we all know that the Puerto Ricans LOVE the BVI!! We also found a shared love of COSTCO in Puerto Rico. Sigh...

Here are all the writers and photographers coming in, I believe they were stolen from Charley"s Bar!


I felt a lot of enthusiasm from everyone, and even with just that short time, I was glad I had made it over. I am sure all who dove with them this week have many photo's and stories, which hopefully we will hear about!

Our group included an Editor who wrote for a group of Magazines in Germany, A photo editor from Argentina, A photo Coordinator for a travel group in Mexico, Contributing Editors to Dive Training magazine, and a Canadian that I would not let get away until we talked and bonded over "ehs" Rob is an Executive Producer for Dive Zero in Kelowna BC and not having lived in Canada for awhile, I promised him that I would go on the website and see what it was all about! I believe they do many web TV channels on SCUBA and travel, but our internet is never fast enough on the boat to do too much of those things. COnsidering it has been off for the past 18 hours.....

It was also nice to run into Mauricio Handler, (great photographer and friend) who is coming over for dinner in a couple weeks (you hear that people! I have a few days OFF and I am voluntarily going to be COOKING DINNER for friends!!!! GO figure!)

I quickly scurried back to East End to drop off the car, the dinghy picked me up, took me out to Beef Bluff and I managed to get dinner on the table right on time and then make discs of pictures for the guests to take home!

CCT Internet has been down since Last night, I am huddling in the car stealing someone's connection to upload this!

What can I say? When Brent dresses up to go to Willy T's he really gets dressed up! Look pretty dapper there (Is that the word I am looking for? Perhaps not...)

Most went over to Willy T's for a drink, although there were not many hanging around. Not that our group needs any help to party!

We have these two birds that are obviously land birds that we think are or have made a nest up "somewhere" on our masts! They have been with us for about 5 days now. All the time. They make nice chirping noises! I don't know what kind they are, have to get a better picture!



We made our way up to Roadtown for a stop to get some diesel and then over to Salt Island to dive the Rhone. There were quite a few boats and it was a bit swelly with the wind from the southeast. We decided then to make our way over to Beef Bluff for the afternoon. Meredith and ALicia took the tourist picture...

We managed to get the gang together (under protest) to take a few pictures that Joann wanted of the group...





Everyone just lazed around and enjoyed their last afternoon on the boat. I had to go to town for a Tourist Board and BVISO (BVI SCUBA Organization) event, which of course I took pictures of and will put up next entry!



You all have been wonderful hosts. We love Promenade and its toys. I want to especially thank the boys for putting up with my "kids" Brent was a "hoot" during evening to morning drinking games. Simeon and I spent a lot of AM's together, since we were first up. Diving was great. Kerry your cooking was wonderful , now I have to lose an extra 15 lbs. Finally Baz, better luck fishing next charter! MICHAEL, ORLANDO

I'd like to thank you for the most relaxing , fun and adventurous vacation of my life. In one week, I saw the Caribbean for the first time, and ate more delicious food in a seven day period then ever before. I really appreciate brent's and Simeon's wake boarding teaching techniques. Brent was encouraging enough to stick with me until i got up and SImeon's blunt question (What the F*** was that? as opposed to Brent's encouraging manner!. Editorial note) had me up the next time. The trip was perfect and every member of the crew was great. DO Less. HUNTER

Thank you for a wonderful time. The food was great. The service was great. It was so much fun to be on the boat for the last week. Thanks for Everything, Jo ANN, ORLANDO,

What a wonderful adventure. Everything was amazing. This was such a relaxing time. I just wish it did not fly by so quickly. Thank you for everything, all of you do to make this vacation so perfect. Happy Sailing. KATIE

Thank you for such a great time! I loved the private locations we were able to see. The food, entertainment, drinking games, etc. will be in my memories forever. ALICIA, KISSIMMEE

Thank you for the experience, fishing, diving, snorkeling and the best dinghy safari ever! SAMMY, KISSIMMEE

Thank you all so much for such a wonderful vacation. I had such an amazing time. While I am going to try to forget some of Brent's drinking games, this was without a doubt one of our families most unforgettable vacations. Thanks again. MEREDITH

From the moment I kissed Brent's cheek, I knew that this trip would be special. Kerry, your breakfast burrito's were magical. Simeon, thanks for the scowls and early nights. I think I'll miss you the most. Have a safe trip wherever you may travel. Bazza, thanks for keeping Sammy busy fishing, Brent, I owe you a pirate challenge stop. BRYAN, BOSTON

On another note, the 3rd of July is Fishermans Day here, for those who are around and interested

I understand there was a Boston Whaler accident last night up at Biras Creek. Two people traveling to Gun Creek and one stepped away from the throttle and they were thrown out, Unfortunately, a young man died. I don't know any other details.
The wind has shifted and we had a great sail down to Jost Van Dyke from Guana Island this morning. I spent the time in the galley doing prep work, and apparently we were hitting 11 knots sailing down here!
White Bay was as pretty as ever and the guests spent a few hours in at the various bars...

Before we pulled up anchor and went around to Great Harbour for some shopping. As you can see, Great Harbour is nice and empty. The closed we have anchored here in a long long time!

Love the Pelican!

It was time then for another sail down to West End on Tortola for a bit of shopping for food and cocktail hour (margaritas and ANOTHER round of conch fritters! They like them!)

Our guests, since they had started drinking that morning at the Soggy Dollar Bar, just decided to keep up the fun and it was time for the shot game...Of course, only if everyone played!

We had a fun time, and even had a couple trick shots...



Poor Sammi was the winner, or loser, however you want to call it, with having to swallow about 6 shots tonight at least, everything from Jager to Bacardi 151 (he did not like that one here!!!)

Surprise though, I won the game!!! All 22.00$ of it and I only had to drink two creme de banane shots! THis was good as I still have to make dinner, which was steak and mashed potatoes tonight!

THe guys are fishing, looking for Tarpon, and I can only guess what the rest are up to. I love this picture of the three young ladies, lined up watching the two boys anchor. Of course, they may have been telling them how to anchor which would be about right in the female/male world!

I just about wrote that we were up early and on our way out to the Chikuzen to dive. That would be a lie! We were not up early, we were up at the normal time, threw up the spinnaker and made our way out to the Chikuzen. I was anticipating a great dive, as I could see the wreck from the surface.. There were some funky currents though and both Simeon and I zigged and zagged a bit looking for it!
Good visibility though!

One of those dives were everyone was pointing at something special, and mostly that is what i have pictures of...people pointing! Here Brian is pointing at two eagle rays that were circling at the surface...

And here they are....

Wandering down the wreck....



Hunter pointing at "something"

Alicia and Sammi pointing at "something"

and finally I found it! It was a goliath Grouper, the smaller of the two! He is more skittish then the larger one is and quickly ducked away. Still amazing to see!

The barracuda were hanging straight up and down on the lee side of the wreck to be cleaned I imagine....

And we also saw the Cobia...

A good dive on the wreck even though we always seemed to be kicking into the current no matter which way we went...Sammi put it best, wherever the Eddy was, well, we were not in it!

Watching our resort diver on the top of the wreck...We have now ruined him for any normal diving!

Sammi in silhouette coming back up to the boat.

It was a sail into Muskmelon Bay on Guana Island for a bit of a lazy afternoon then, some hung out, some snorkeled, Sammi caught an octopus on his fishing line and Brent took too long bringing the net over I understand!
Sunset came around as it always does...

The boys went looking for some live bait for fishing...

Seafood Scampi was served for dinner...



We had a trivia game at cocktail hour so the pirate tattoo's came out....

And they finally landed a decent sized fish tonight, a Tarpon...



Had a bit more of a breeze this afternoon, which was very welcome after the hot sticky days we have had. You know what happens right after blogging though, I go to bed! Good night!

I just about wrote that we were up early and on our way out to the Chikuzen to dive. That would be a lie! We were not up early, we were up at the normal time, threw up the spinnaker and made our way out to the Chikuzen. I was anticipating a great dive, as I could see the wreck from the surface.. There were some funky currents though and both Simeon and I zigged and zagged a bit looking for it!
Good visibility though!

One of those dives were everyone was pointing at something special, and mostly that is what i have pictures of...people pointing! Here Brian is pointing at two eagle rays that were circling at the surface...

And here they are....

Wandering down the wreck....



Hunter pointing at "something"

Alicia and Sammi pointing at "something"

and finally I found it! It was a goliath Grouper, the smaller of the two! He is more skittish then the larger one is and quickly ducked away. Still amazing to see!

The barracuda were hanging straight up and down on the lee side of the wreck to be cleaned I imagine....

And we also saw the Cobia...

A good dive on the wreck even though we always seemed to be kicking into the current no matter which way we went...Sammi put it best, wherever the Eddy was, well, we were not in it!

Watching our resort diver on the top of the wreck...We have now ruined him for any normal diving!

Sammi in silhouette coming back up to the boat.

It was a sail into Muskmelon Bay on Guana Island for a bit of a lazy afternoon then, some hung out, some snorkeled, Sammi caught an octopus on his fishing line and Brent took too long bringing the net over I understand!
Sunset came around as it always does...

The boys went looking for some live bait for fishing...

Seafood Scampi was served for dinner...



We had a trivia game at cocktail hour so the pirate tattoo's came out....

And they finally landed a decent sized fish tonight, a Tarpon...



Had a bit more of a breeze this afternoon, which was very welcome after the hot sticky days we have had. You know what happens right after blogging though, I go to bed! Good night!

Mountain Point has flies. It is summer. We killed a billion! I then shut up the boat and every little nook in the galley, kept the a/c on all morning, as I seemed to have a ton of prep work to do today that was not getting done very quickly for some reason...
The guests slowly woke up this morning. Lets just say that some along with our youngest crew member were up until the VERY wee hours of the morning!

I tried to be multitalented in the galley this morning and set up my computer so I could play my scrabble games with Lisa in between cooking, but after about 3 words I had to give up as I was getting even less done that way then I was before! Some days are like that! When my chartering career is over with I plan on NEVER making some of these dishes again! My mom thought it would be a good idea if she got in some of these ingredients in bulk for me, so when I went home I could cook for them daily!!!

Simeon had all the guests in the palm of his hand today. They went snorkeling into the Moon Pool and then jumping off cliffs into the pools!
THey have to hold their breath and duck down under for a bit to even get in there...








Then it was time for some heart stopping action from my point of view anyways watching these people climb around and jump off rocks!

OK, not heart stopping here, more like deciding whether he should actually be doing this or not!

And just like climbing Mount Everest they made it!













We then left Mountain Point to get away from the flies! THey wanted to go wakeboarding so we sailed up to the outside of Preckly Pear and Eustastia...less flies!
We had lunch under way...

Along with a pitcher of Margaritas...

Which led to someone looking for a shady cool place for a nap in the afternoon!

We were right up on the beach, and it was HOT, so the lounger came out and they lazed around in the water for hours....

Really pretty day out here...

We went and anchored over by Saba Rock tonight, for some shark fishing (no luck) some went for a walk around Saba (??Did I just say that, it was more a stroll to the store and then maybe a stop at the bar!) and dinner tonight was chicken sate with cous cous and homemade ice cream!

Way too warm for me out in the sun at this time of year, I have to hide mainly down in the air conditioning, except for when I am in the water...Tomorrow is a potential trip out to the Chikuzen for a dive!

Viking Dream dinghy was retrieved finally today, very dirty, but all there. It had been tied to the back of the boat in Trellis between 8 and 9 PM with the cocktail lights on and it was stolen then, so lock then at all times it appears!

We woke up to a beautiful day at Salt Island, and it was time for a refresher dive for two of our guests, and a first ever dive for Hunter...
Hunter, first time in the water...

Simeon with all three on the surface...

Then it was time for some new skills and refreshing of skills in the shallow water..





I hung around and watched, there is some squid eggs here...I saw plenty of brand new baby squid snorkeling here as well...

Then our poor two certified divers I was taking out to reef with me. I say poor as how many times have I dove at Salt Island? 200 maybe?? AND I could NOT find the damn reef! They basically circled the bay with me swimming around looking for it...

Ok, we found a little conch or two, yippee...

As they were running low on air I finally had to take them up shallow so they at least saw SOMETHING! I could still find the shore line!!! Ah well, it was a good skill builder for those who have not been in the water for a few years...

Watched a barracuda under the boat...

Came up to find wake boarding going on....

and pictures of guests paying attention and only using their spray sun tan lotion on the back platform (it makes the decks all slippery and mostly gets on the decks not on the person when you use it in the cockpit)..Good girl!

A butterfly came to visit me in the galley, and i think I lost Brents attention for an hour while he followed it!

It was lunch under way, nice sail to the Baths, a trip to the Baths, and then another sail to Mountain Point for overnight.
THe obligatory sunset at Mountain Point...

Apparently we are trying to throw away our brand new lounger already, as here it is being rescued as soon as it was put in the water tonight!

BIg dinner tonight, with Bruschetta, Ribs, garlic rosemary potatoes and Key lime pie for dessert, along with a few bottles of red wine to wash it down with....

Brian was dressed up for dinner, with his napkin as a cravat....

I know there is some killer catch phrase going on out there now after dinner as well as some fishing action on the back decks.
I mentioned three dinghies that were stolen from Trellis Bay last night, and here is an update:

The Horizon dinghy was recovered in the mangroves at the west end of Fat Hogs Bay, where we dock, without the outboard...
Serendipity's dinghy was spotted by a charter captain pulling into the north side of C dock this afternoon with a teenager on board, and was recovered, although the person not caught..
Viking Dreams Dinghy has still not been recovered, despite searching up and down the shoreline to Roadtown.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY! I DID PHONE MY DAD!