Enjoying a beer at Sapphire Beach (Red Hook, St. Thomas). After a pickup from the airport, we drove East to Red Hook Bay and checked into the Sapphire Beach Resort, our accommodations for the evening. We enjoyed a drink and tasty Mexican meal at Agave on the main drag of Red Hook.

Bomba Charger, the ferry that travels from St. Thomas to Tortola, got us in to BVI after 4pm. Covid testing and customs lagged on, plus throw in a 35 minute cab ride, we didn’t arrive to the east end of Tortola (technically Beef Island) until late in the day. When we took the final ferry, just about a 10 minute ride, from Beef Island to Scrub Island, we were greeted by the picturesque Scrub Island Marina. We hung out at Scrub Island Marina (pictured) for the evening, chatting with each other and eating dinner. Our dock neighbors were Captain Damian, the Frenchman, who provided great info about dive sites; as well as Andrew, a Brit from Guyana, who discussed with me at length the cuisine of his country (land turtles are tasty!) versus the places he had visited! A long day of travel proved to be a voyage in and of it’s own, we turned in early to be prepared for vessel orientation in the morning.

After our morning orientation, I fired up the engines to Kokomo, our Lagoon 500 Catamaran, just before noon. In front of a considerable fanfare, I was the first to pull out of my slip, ahead of Christophine II, our partner boat. I headed West to practice man-over-board (MOB) drills due West of Little Camanoe Island. The crew got lots of time at the helm and successfully performed drills, much to my delight. Next, we performed an anchoring drill at White Bay on the West side of Guana Island. After that, we proceeded West again on the North side of Tortola, sailed for a bit, but struggled with the boat rounding up on a downwind tack. After dropping the sails, we motored into Brewer's Bay and anchored successfully by hooking a huge rock (my trusty mate Alex dove the anchor to confirm for us). We geared up and dove Brewer's Bay enjoying large lionfish, eel, turtle, lobster & cleaner shrimp. While cleaning up scuba gear, we were graced by an unbelievable sunset featuring Little Jost Van Dyke in the background (pictured). Christine and crew made a delicious chicken/veggie/rice dinner. The crew of Christophine II joined us for evening drinks and we enjoyed many under the bright stars!

Dive 1: Brewer’s Bay

We pulled anchor up (it took 3 people in the water: 2 moving the anchor and 1 at the surface indicating when to lift the chain). Our path was West to Smugglers Cove on the West end of Tortola, where we just anchored temporarily. Christophine II explored Belmont Pond to the East and made the call to proceed North to Great Harbour on Jost Van Dyke. We grabbed a mooring ball and picked up provisions and scuba tanks. We then ventured NE to Sandy Spit for anchoring, then hopped in the dinghy and explored "Playground" on the NW corner of Garden Cay, just east of LJVD. We saw "hook" a large shark, and about 20 more sharks (Black Tip Reef Sharks & Nurse Sharks), a turtle and many schools of fish (other divers were very successful in their Lionfish hunting). Upon arrival back to Great Harbour on JVD we did a night dive in the harbour (Al, Alex and I), where we saw a large ray, squid and giant tarpon. Christophine II made a feast of spaghetti with turkey meat sauce, Pete's famous garlic bread, salad and Lionfish ceviche. We partied until the wee hours.

Dive 2: Playground - Green Cay

Dive 3: Great Harbour (night dive) - Great Harbour JVD

Breakfast was delicious empanadas (chicken and lentil with a sweet hint) that were purchased from a local family on a dinghy. We hurried back to the Playground for another dive. The first shift of divers had a great dive, us on the second shift, caught a bunch of lionfish and explored further East on Garden Cay and enjoyed more sharks and tarpon, plus many other great schools of fish. We returned to Great Harbour (pictured) for more provisions and tank fills at Jost Van Dyke Scuba. After departing Great Harbour on JVD due South, our destination was Norman Island. Kokomo was joined by George who came on board for assistance with sailing. After raising sails and tacking peacefully in the wake of Christophine II, we rounded South through the Thatch island Cut and started the engines as we pounded into the wind on the North side of St. John, jumping in and out of US territory. With the sun low in the sky, we surpassed the Pelican Island dive site (although Christophine II did dive the site, with Chris reporting that it was a lousy spot of shallow water). After grabbing a mooring ball at The Bight on the West side of Norman Island, we began dinner preparations as it was our night to host the Crew of Christophine II. I called it a night early as we planned a dive first thing.

Dive 4: Playground - Garden Cay

We woke early and hopped on Christophine II for a quick ride over to The Caves (in hindsight I believe we were at Treasure Point). We had a great dive and enjoyed the rock structures as well as the schools of fish, plus large lobster. We dropped the mooring ball and left The Bight proceeding East to Peter Island Yacht Club on Peter Island (in Sprat Bay); Christophine II radioed that all was closed, so we continued to Cooper Island for the next dive shop at Manchioneel Bay—only to find them closed as well. I used the VHF radio to the shop and they directed us to Hodges Creek, near Buck Island on the East side of Tortola. It was a very shallow entrance with limited protection and a tight mooring field, quite hair raising! After securing provisions and tanks, we were off again. We grabbed a mooring ball at the RMS Rhone Wreck on the SW side of Salt Island, a beautiful spot. The wreck was great, with lots of life and the largest lobster I've ever seen (it wouldn't fit into a 5 gallon bucket). After the wreck we hooked around to the North side of Salt Island and anchored in the secluded bay. Before dinner, a much needed shower and beer was enjoyed while watching the sunset over Tortola (pictured). We had a delicious dinner of salad, jerk chicken and roasted potatoes. The night cap was a massive bonfire on the beach—it’s an uninhabited island and it was just our 2 boats.

Dive 5: Norman Island – Caves (Treasure Point)

Dive 6: RMS Rhone Wreck

It was a 5:30am alarm for the weary sailors, tired from the bonfire the night before. I wished to wake our fleet mates, but it was then that I found out our air horn was empty, an oversight of a critical safety feature. We went straight back to Manchioneel Bay to drop 10 scuba tanks at the shop door, an efficient stop it was due to the crew’s readiness. Christophine II sailed straight on past us to Spanish Town Harbour on the West side of Virgin Gorda. We met up with Christophine II and landed straight at the fuel dock, a smooth entry for our crews first dock maneuver. Hannah the Harbor Master was a huge help with docking and information, as we took on 90 gallons of diesel, and then taxied to our Covid tests. After the Covid tests we sailed south past The Baths and scoped out the dive site called Alice's Back Door, but decided to continue SW around Ginger Island to South Bay. We dove Ginger Steps and were pushed in our capabilities with navigation due to currents. We observed sharks and many other great sea creatures. After Ginger Island we went to The Baths and dinghied around, but another boat told us they were closed so we pulled off the mooring ball and went to scope out The Blinders just North of Fallen Jerusalem, Christophine II called it off as we were in open ocean and there was a strong ESE wind. We proceeded back to Spanish Town at Virgin Gorda and while underway I snagged my finger on a retaining clip while moving the dinghy, it needed some attention, but all was good! We spent the night moored at Spanish Town Harbour.

Dive 7: Ginger Steps – Ginger Island

Based upon the information we receive from Hannah when checking out of the harbor, we altered course for The Baths, as according to her, “they are some of the most incredible sites in the world.” We had an amazing dive with tons of sea life and very shallow spots to swim through around the massive boulders. We enjoyed worms, a large ray in the sand (which then swam impressively around). We made our final sail North to Great Dog to check out the Airplane Wreck dive site. The airplanes were a dud, but the rope art was an incredible site. The reef was excellent with unique fish, a large crab and tons of other life. After all had dived, we were off into the sunset with a final destination of Scrub Island. Our final night spent at the marina on Scrub Island was filled with relaxation and a trip up to the hill top for star gazing.

Dive 8: The Baths – Virgin Gorda

Dive 9: Airplane Wreck – Great Dog

On Saturday morning we woke early to organize the boat and check out with the marina. It took a good bit of time to complete all preps and get my Captains Log paperwork signed by the manage at Dream Yacht Charter. We took the 9:30am Scrub Island Ferry back to Beef Island. Then a 30 minute cab ride had us back to the Road Town Ferry terminal for the 11am Ferry back to Charlotte Amalie. Finally, a quick taxi over to the airport, which was packed due to Spirit cancelling flights.