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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Unfortunately we decided to leave the BVIs after our brief 3 day visit. There were many reasons why we cut our time there short, but mainly it was due to weather (as sailors we live and die by the weather and when a good weather window develops- you take it or wait for the next one, which can easily be 2-3 weeks later). Besides, we were tired of the crowds and ready to explore new islands and anxious to get farther south, one step closer to Trinidad which will be our final destination for hurricane season which is rapidly approaching. But [View Full Entry]

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The BVIs are as crowded as they are beautiful; there must be at least a thousand or more charter boats out here. First you have the bareboat charter, people who come out for a week or two and rent a boat from a charter company, then take off on their own to explore the islands. I think it is safe to say that the majority of these people don’t really know what they are doing. They cruise thru the anchorages and swim areas at full speed, super dangerous, in a race to get a mooring ball. Typically they panic and run [View Full Entry]

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One area in the BVIs that we were excited to explore was Cane Garden Bay on the western end of Tortola. Unfortunately we had skipped this anchorage on our trip 10 years ago and we wanted to make sure to visit it this time. Cane Garden Bay, as the name implies, was a major port for the sugar cane industry. In fact there is the still a working rum distillery in Cane Garden Bay which has been in the Callwood family since the 1800’s. It is the longest running distillery in the Caribbean and definitely worth a stop. Seriously, we couldn’t [View Full Entry]

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We decided to cross the Sir Francis Drake Channel into the territorial waters of the British Virgin Islands, a whopping 2 miles away from St. John. Our first stop was Soper’s Hole on Tortola to clear customs and visit Pusser’s Landing. Pusser’s Landing used to be the base for sunsail charter boats and has a great restaurant, bar, and many fun shops to explore. It is amazing that we were here 10 years ago, seems like ancient history. Jay and I had just started dating, about 2 months into our relationship, when we decided to charter a boat together in the [View Full Entry]

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Here we are...Had a beer at Foxy's yesterday and a hamburger, Dad had Conch fritters, and then I had another Presidente for George, incidentally George, you owe me 4 bucks, you asked me to have a beer for you...hehehe While waiting on lunch, long wait, M walked out towards the beach, spoke to a local, he told her a cute story...There is this huge black dog on the beach, a local dog, he asked me if I knew which brand he was. Sure he is a black labrador, he says do you know his name? I said NO. He replies his [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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We finally escaped St Martin. We had some good news. Our auto pilot could be fixed without having to wait for parts from the States. It is amazing what you can achieve when they want the dock space. After about 10 trips to the supermarket and a lot of hair pulling trying to work out where to put every thing, we were all provisioned ready to go. We said goodbye to our friends knowing that we would catch-up in a week or so. The first stop was Friars bay on the west side of St Maarten (French Side). We wanted too [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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