900 Horsepower and SPF 70

So here I am in bed, 45 minutes into my tossing/turning episode…so physically depleted but so mentally stimulated.  I just had the most amazing weekend, literally the most exhilarating & memorable experience I’ve had thus far.  We pulled into St. Thomas late Friday night/early Saturday morning and because of our last few owners trips the majority of my crew was owed vacation….some took their time in FL and the others (myself included) decided to take my vaca down here in the BVI’s – duh!  My crewmate Bobby and I are on the same page in terms of ‘taking advantage of our surroundings’ so we pulled out the Lonely Planet book and got to work.  It wasn’t long before we had a rough draft itinerary which included but wasn’t limited to: St John’s, Virgin Gorda, Norman Island, Jost Van Dyke, and Tortola (a necessary stop to clear customs), and after asking our Captain’s permission Bobby, Ziggy, Mark and I packed up the Intrepid with beers, pillows, sunchips and protein bars and hit the open sea.
Mind you this “tender” is a  $1/2 million, 900 horsepower beAst and there are maybe 2 boats in all of yachting who would allow their crew to “over night”.  So…as we pulled out of our Marina I looked at my friends and in unison said “IS THIS REAL LIFE??!!??”

Backtracking to the day before, the first night Bobby was on watch so we had him drop us off in St. John’s where we spent the day scuba diving, soaking up rays at Cinnamon Bay beach, and eating and drinking at the best local (non-touristy) spots.  We met a lady whose lived on the island for 15+ years and showed us the most intimate, beautiful spot to watch the sunset.

Haley found us a sweet, cheap little “apartment” about (pic) about 10 mins outside of town so at the end of the night we meandered back to our spot and crashed.   With the excessive rooster crowing and excitement for the adventure that was to come we woke up early to catch the Ferry back to ST Thomas to meet Bobby for Part II.  After Ziggy, Mark, Bobby and I cleared customs in Tortola we headed to the Baths in Virgin Gorda.  Hit in 2 days what takes most people a week, and the best part was it was all FREE!!   I caught myself at several points throughout the journey looking around thinking what did I do to deserve such greatness?  Some people go their whole lives dreaming about going to a deserted Caribbean island, tying up to some random mooring buoy just so they can jump out and swim to shore to watch the sunset – just so happens that was/is my life.  All in all, my new ‘family’ and I had a great little adventure and I can’t wait for more to come.  Literally exhausted but just had to share….nighty night from the Caribbean.

Xoxo,

mE