Thursday, June 29, 2017

Kim visits!

We'd been putting off repainting the cockpit sole for a while and since we were in 'clean up the boat' mode now before my friend Kim arrived, we decided to go ahead and get it done. It wasn't a big job and it looked so much better once it was finished.

Tape...
Paint...
Remove tape.... then stand back and approve of paint job.
The afternoon Kim arrived we whisked her off to Francis Bay where we spent a few very low key nights before heading over to the BVI. Kim and I met on Tortola over 20 years ago (!) and chartered here a few times together, but she hadn't been back for a long time and wanted to see some of the old familiar places as well as places that have become favorites of ours since we've been down here on Saralane.

Skip and Kim zip over in John H to visit her fellow Pittsburghers on s/v Megerin in Francis Bay.
Getting right into the swing of things with painkillers on Jost Van Dyke.... or "Hey honey, hold my drink while I take a photo!"
Kim, literally getting into the swing
We'd been to the bubbly pool while Steve and Cindy were on Jost Van Dyke in April and it was crashing and wild, but when we went with Kim it was hardly even a pool, much less a bubbly one. Still, it's a nice walk out there.

Bubbly pool? What bubbly pool?
Kim was on a quest for roti which was just fine with us, since we're always up for a good roti. First up was the Roti Hut in Trellis Bay.

Brown food was the bane of my existence as a food photographer. It's not very pretty but it sure tasted good.
Yep... it tasted good.
Very attentive, and ultimately disappointed, kitty waiting under our table hoping we wouldn't eat everything on our plates.
Local art and questionable information at Aragorn's studio in Trellis Bay.
We rented a car one day to take in all of Virgin Gorda, which is really something to see from the ridge road. The Baths were a must and we walked through the boulders through to Devils Bay. Of course we had another roti for lunch.

Watching the rain approaching from the east
The Baths


Baths visit and Virgin Gorda ridge road view
Devils Bay
Boulder that looks like it's eating a bunch of little rocks. (Does anyone NOT see this?)
View of North Sound from Hog Heaven along the road.The tiny boat close to shore at the very bottom of the photo is Saralane.
Another day, another roti for lunch... us, fat and happy and full of roti at the Fat Virgin Cafe.


Kim has no trouble lounging at the fabulous pool at the YCCS.... it's most definitely a favorite spot.

Kim was such an easy guest to have on board and her visit was really too short. It's taken her all these years to come for a stay and we really, really, really hope she comes back. Soon. Any time. Anywhere. (In case you're reading this Kim!)

Bye Kim! Come back soon!
It was back to business when Kim left; we moved Saralane into the marina at Nanny Cay where I stayed for two weeks or so while Skip delivered the Outbound 46 Wynot from Tortola to Rhode Island. Aside from a short diversion to Bermuda to wait out some bad weather, his trip was uneventful which is just as it should be.

Seeing off Wynot - Skip at the helm, crew Ed and Matt sort out things up on deck
I had a couple of sweltering weeks in Nanny Cay, slowly doing boat chores and a few fun things mixed in. Our friends Dave and Wendy were down on a charter of their own and we caught up one evening for dinner. 

Dave and Wendy, all smiles after ten days in the BVI
Once Skip returned we hightailed it out of Nanny Cay and had a few cool evenings in Benures Bay on Norman Island where the water is clear and inviting. We pulled John H up on the rocky beach to scrub off the evidence of his two weeks in the not so inviting water of the sweltering marina.


Saralane in Benures Bay with Tortola through the haze
Seagrape along the shore
Yuk. John H needed some TLC.

John H and Saralane tethered
Blue blue water and sandy bottom
Having spent our allotted time in the BVI, we cleared out and have been in St John for the past two weeks. We quickly became set in our ways here, doing things on the boat through the mornings. Around 2:00 or so one of us says "It's 2:00 already?! Geez... we should go to the beach before it gets too late." Tough life I know, but that's our day to day. I partially blame the wifi that we seem to magically have on board.

If we tear ourselves away from Francis Bay I'll have something to write about, but for now we're pretty content.