With the boat spruced up a bit, beer in the fridge, a large pot of chili prepared and oodles of corn chips, hummus, salsa and rum onboard, we were ready to receive Scott and his friends by 2pm on Thursday, whew! Sadly some of them weren’t able to make it at the last minute due to a large snowstorm that hit the US East Coast that day but the 7 who did were such a pleasure to have onboard.

 We had a blast with them. The first night was spent with all of them onboard, that is when they weren’t checking out the watering holes in Red Hook. The following morning Kiel cooked scrambled eggs for all of us, then we headed off to Great Harbor, Jost Van Dyke (Scott at the helm) where we moored, checked into the BVI, they rented a car (or two) so they could transport their camping gear, explore a bit more of the island and set up camp at Ivan’s on White Beach. We joined them for a Pain Killer or two at the Soggy Dollar Bar while some had a go at using the SubWing or simply being in the water at the beach in beautiful White Bay. Tyler I’m sure captured some of the fun on film when he flew his drone from the dinghy with Howard at the helm while delivering the SUP (Stand-Up Paddle-board) from Timing to the campsite. We met up again later in the evening at Foxy’s; they seemed to enjoy the BBQ but I think most of us found the music too loud for our liking so it wasn’t a late night.

On Saturday the wind picked up a bit so John was keen to try out the kite board that he had lugged all the way from Florida. So, while I was cooking pancakes for breakfast, Howard ferried the guys and their stuff back to the boat. Then we set off for Sandy Spit off the Northeast end of Jost VD, anchored and went ashore. John put on a very brave face when he discovered a leak in one of the kite’s air tubes upon inflating it almost entirely, rendering it useless, what a shame but we still enjoyed more snorkeling, Sub-Winging, and even walking around the tiny sandy spit. From there we had a great broad reach flying full main and genoa in about 15 knots of wind, keeping both Little Thatch and Great Thatch to starboard back to Caneel Bay on St John, which is within a reasonable dinghy ride of Cruz Bay for checking back into the USVI. With Jay in charge of the dinghy, the guys had dinner ashore and got a feel for what Cruz Bay has to offer, while we relaxed onboard.

We still managed to pack some fun into our final morning together, first sending Tyler up the mast to retrieve the non-functioning Windex while, unknown to him, Kiel et al plotted to give him a soaking using water pistols on his way up. Meanwhile airline pilot Allen successfully managed to control the drone to capture the event and to guide the drone safely back onboard for Eric to catch. And they still had time to swim ashore before we had to head off to Red Hook in time for the first lot to depart. The long weekend went all too quickly but we can honestly say we thoroughly enjoyed having them onboard; fun-loving, courteous, considerate guys. I must be one of very few very lucky mothers to have had the pleasure of being a part of their son’s bachelor party.