Hello there, and thanks for checking in on me. I'll consider this the starting point for my round-the-world trip. First stop was Tortola, the main island of the British Virgin Islands, and pretty much the hub from which getting to the other islands, as well as the U.S. islands, is made possible. Tortola is a pretty good place to really develop some hiking stamina as taxi cabs are really expensive (over $20 for a 4-mile transit) and I don't think there's more than 100 meters of flat surface on that entire island, except for the main road along the south shore. [View Full Entry]

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Before Mel & Brad came to cruise, we’d emailed back and forth about great things to see and do in the ports, good tours, good things to do on your own, my recommendations, their interests, etc. And for our day docked in Tortola, Mel wanted to do as I did last month and head over to The Baths at Virgin Gorda. I’d also mentioned to a bunch of friends how we could get to The Baths on our own and that I’d be going already, so then we ended up with a whole group of us going. Me, Mel & Brad [View Full Entry]

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Virgin Gorda is the third-largest (after Tortola and Anegada) and second most populous of the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Located at approximately 18 degrees, 48 minutes North, and 64 degrees, 30 minutes West, it covers an area of about 8 square miles (21 km²). Christopher Columbus is said to have named the island "The Fat Virgin", because its silhouette resembles a rotund woman lying on her back. The main town is Spanish Town on the southwestern part of the island. An unusual geologic formation known as "The Baths" located on the southern end of the island makes Virgin Gorda one of [View Full Entry]

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Every summer for 13 years now, I’ve spent at Centauri Summer Arts Camp, in some capacity or another. There is a family who lives in Tortola (British Virgin Islands) and sent their two boys to camp for about 5 years, though it’s been I think 4 years since they’ve been there. The boys used to joke with me about me coming to visit them in Tortola. It was a nice little fantasy that I never really thought would happen. But now, here I am, sailing on the Liberty where one of our ports of call is Tortola! Thanks to the magic [View Full Entry]

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The time has come to say goodbye. After 6 months of travelling the Caribbean on Ocean Star, I now have a few months off to travel back to England, see my family, hang out with Mrs Mott, and generally enjoy some rest and relaxation! I hope you have had fun hearing about my adventures and finding out a little bit more about the weird and wonderful sights of the Caribbean, whether it was learning about the islands of the Lesser Antilles or seeing photos of the strange marine worms that live on coral reefs. Have a great Easter! Kirsty [View Full Entry]

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This is the last week of our current trip around the Caribbean, on Sunday all the students fly home and it will be a time for maintenance, training and rest aboard Ocean Star. To round up the end of the marine science courses, the shipmates spent this morning at a local school in the British Virgin Islands teaching the children about strange marine creatures and their ways of living and surviving in the sea. After a short lesson we split the group up into three and each section learnt about a different endangered species - turtles, whale sharks and Elkhorn coral. [View Full Entry]

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Latitude 30 deg 20 min N, 70 deg 20 min W; 400 miles SE of Cape Hatteras, 200 miles SW of Bermuda and 700 miles from BVI; wind NE 30 to 35 kts; seas 12 ft; 3 reefs in the main; 70 % of our small jib; surfing 9 to 10 kts. We have come through several squalls tonight and there is lightning all around; its 5 AM; black; the wind is fairly steady, the seas are building. At our last radio check the previous night at 7, several boats had reported waterspouts and all had reported squalls and lightning. However [View Full Entry]

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Everyone has now arrived on Ocean Star and we set sail from Tortola on Saturday morning to our first anchoring spot at Virgin Gorda. All the students are from around the United States, in fact I am the only person from the UK aboard, so I am introducing them to important English traditions like marmite sandwiches! Before departure we had to stock the boat with food for 15 people for 80 days. Shopping for this type of trip isn’t like going with your mum to the supermarket; everything is ordered from a wholesaler and delivered by truck. You can check [View Full Entry]

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Voyage de noces à The Baths Central America Caribbean » Virgin Islands » Virgin Gorda By MOANA June 29th 2007 France et GuyNotre voyage à the Bath, le 20 juin, c'est dommage que nous ne puissions photographier ce que nous avons vu dans le fond de l'eau. C'est aussi à [View Full Entry]

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The pickin's are slim at this time of year for restaurants on Virgin Gorda. Here are the ones we enjoyed (in no particular order): 1) Dixie's - local joint in Spanishtown open late and serving up tray after tray of fried chicken, fabulous milkshakes, and reggae videos. We got to meet "Chicken Harry" and "Shadow", two frequent patrons. 2) Island Pot (see previous post). We only saw Island Pot open twice in the week, it seems to be run by high school girls and their moms on non-school nights. 3) Bath & Turtle - this place has a variety of things [View Full Entry]

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