Given that we are still VERY slowly working our way around the BVIs, we decided to extend our stay for another 30 days - and went through the Customs and Immigration procedure in Spanish Town, which basically involves "importing" your boat (for $201, good for one year) and going through an interview and filling out more forms. So we are able to stay in the islands until Feb 17th, when we will then head back West to the Spanish Virgin Islands and PR.

We finally, finally went to the Baths on VG the prior week - albeit by taxi from Spanish Town, rather than fight the boat crowd for a mooring. The Baths are absolutely beautiful and well worth a visit, despite the massive winter crowds. We ventured away from the main beach area to explore the caves and snorkel off Devil's Bay, about a 20-min trek (and I mean trek) from the land entrance. After this, we sailed to another new area - Leverick Bay at Virgin Gorda. This is a very pleasant resort/marina that allows mooring guests full access to the resort/pool (+ a free bag of ice for each night of mooring). And there were laundry facilities + a surprisingly good market. We ended up parking ourselves here for a few nights as we could even pick up the resort's wireless internet from our boat. And, we were pleasantly surprised by their Carribean night on Fridays - all you can eat buffet for $30 + live band as well as witnessing "The jumbies". Of course, I personally also like the "2 for 1" happy hour.

Then it was onto Cooper Island, which we also had not yet visited. After studying the map, and with the winds as they currently are, we decided to head for a mooring at Manchioneel Bay. Lunch at the Beach Resort was uninspiring, although the Resort/Restuarant itself is very lovely. We also made our best purchase yet there - our colourful hammock (made in Mexico). We hung this right away, attaching one looped end to a winch on our main mast and the other is tied (securely) onto a line on our forestay. As the winds and swell picked up last Monday, however, we decided we could use a calmer anchorage and headed for Sopers' Hole. The Carribean Sea really picked up, with up to 30 knot winds although we were fortunate to have following seas and the winds/current pushing us along to as fast as 9 knots ! I felt sorry for the poor charter boats that were headed in the opposite direction, towards Norman Island as they were getting beaten to death as we watched their bows being thrown up...up...up and then crash into the waves. Unfortunately, alot of other boaters had the same idea and when we arrived at Sopers Hole at approximately 1pm, the entire mooring field was full and there was very limited room to anchor. We attempted to drop anchor in the North corner but there was very little swinging room (and the neighbouring boats looked at us nervously) so we hauled on the anchor and headed to Cane Garden Bay - knowing full well we would feel the effects of the swell. Really, this Northern swell has given us little respite in the past few weeks. We grabbed a mooring ball in the North East corner of Cane Garden Bay but we still rolled like crazy - albeit not as much as the monohulls on the opposite site of the bay. THIS is where the hammock came in very handy and I very happily swung back and forth on it while we were tossed around at our mooring. We have been waiting for a nice window to spend the night at Jost Van Dyke, waiting for tranquil conditions. Our prior attempt to land a mooring ball there (during a northern swell) resulted in my tumbling on the front deck.....

Tired of being tossed around all night (and it was so rough earlier in the evening that John was feeling a little seasick) we managed to squeeze into the Sopers Hole mooring field the next day, also with plans to do a few important but muntane tasks via internet (pay bills etc), reprovision as well as get John set up for his PADI qualification. Interestingly, when I have to perform these muntane tasks, I am brought back with a reality shock of the bureaucracy that I left behind on land. Nothing is ever straightforward, there are hidden fees for everything and you can never reason with any of the telephone customer representatives - they all sound as though they are reading out of a textbook for any question/comment and then add the obligatory "Can I do anything else for you - have a NICE day!" (after you have been screwed over in some way). And, believe me, there isnt alot of understanding when you explain that you are not regularly receiving their mail or do not have constant access to the internet as you are living on a boat. The fact that nothing really works that well here in the Carribean no longer stresses me out like it did when we were chartering - I just roll with it, but dealing with any 1-800 number (to work out bills/insurance) is what now stresses me out......

But we left this all behind as we set out for Norman Island, where we have been hanging out for the past 5 days as John finished up his PADI certification and we enjoy snorkeling on the coral reef. I also love watching all the pelicans flying around the island, then diving into the coral reef to fish for dinner......It would have been an uneventful few days had it not been for our decision to re-visit "Willy Ts". I won't bore our readers with all the details nor embarass the participants but our few free rum punches at Pirates Bight turned into dinner at the restaurant, and a drunken evening at Willy T's - filled with meeting interesting people, dancing and partying with a great group of Canadians - then a bit of jumping off the back of the deck. The festivities then ground to a halt when one of the Canadians unfortunately slipped and fell, hitting his head and VISAR coming to the rescue. John and I stayed behind to provide assistance....

The weather forecast calls for a weakening of the tradewinds and moderation of the swell so we hope to FINALLY make it to Jost Van Dyke this week !