Before getting stuck into this post, I want to let you know that I added a couple of photos of Timberline Lodge to the Oregon post, in case you are interested….
I can’t believe it is almost a month since we returned to the BVI from Oregon.  We have managed to have a bit of fun in between trying to prep ourselves and the boat for a passage back north again to the Chesapeake. We have decided to depart the BVI towards the end of this month for Bermuda with just the two of us onboard. We will try to pick our weather window in the last week of April when the Trade Winds are relatively stable. Hopefully while in Bermuda we will manage to see at least one or two of the Louis Vuitton challenger races for The Americas Cup, perhaps with Cliff and Nancy who will be crewing with us for the next leg to the Chesapeake. The plan is to depart Bermuda around May 7th.


So, what have we been up to? We have spent time in North Sound on a couple of occasions where we anchored off both Prickly Pear Island and in Leverick Bay. On the second occasion, we welcomed Kim and Mehrnaz back from their adventures ‘down island’ and shared some good times with them, hiking, trying out the SubWing and exchanging tales of our down island experiences over a few beverages and meals together. It’s always good to be around them. Other anchorages we have visited recently include Peter Island, Kelly’s Point on Norman Island (enjoyed the snorkeling here, swimming with several different schools of fish and a turtle), Penns Landing, Road Town moorings (convenient for provisioning, etc. but is usually rather rolly), Cane Garden Bay (which we haven’t been to since our first visit to the BVI in 2005! Thankfully it wasn’t a cruise ship day when we were there so it was a very pleasant experience.) and a new one to us, Long Bay on Virgin Gorda, which also has good snorkeling.

While at Penns Landing, we met an Australian couple, Greg and Tracy, who were getting their boat ready for a passage to St Martin.  One of their first goals was to properly rename the boat, which they had recently purchased.  Tracy, being an actress, was the master of ceremonies but enlisted Howard to perform it.  So, with ceremonious appeasing of the wind and sea gods from all directions using champagne poured into the water and the sinking of the old name on a ‘silver’ nugget to the depths, the boat was renamed ‘Chica’.  We heard they made it safely to St Martin so hopefully it is working….

Flaming bryer in the shape of a man at the Trellis Bay Full Moon party.

Most recently we were in Trellis Bay and stayed for the Full Moon Party. It was the first time I (Hope) had been there by boat for the event although I have been several times by car.  We had a good time and were quite impressed by how well it is run so we fully understand why it is such a popular event.  The bar seems to have been raised since we last attended one, mostly inspired by the flaming artistic bryers around the Aragorn Art studio, many that were sculpted spheres.  The grand finale was when they lit the one in the shape of a man at the edge of the water.  There were also flame dancers and lots of music, some better than others!

In between all this fun, we have had the rigging inspected and have had a suspect shroud replaced.  We have also been trying to figure out how best to resolve the issue of our generator which has been condemmed.  Since this boat relies so heavily on electrical systems, we need some way to generate power other than just the solar panels and the engine.  We considered a wind generator but have fortunately been able to find a used generator that our trusty mechanic reckons should be much more reliable.  He plans to install it next week so let’s hope he is right and the installation goes well!

I have also had a go at baking bread in the pressure cooker!  While it doesnt result in a crusty bread, we are quite pleased with the results and it certainly saves quite a bit in terms of propane and heat added to the already hot boat!