Well - it has been awhile. I hadn't realized that the last post was Isla Margarita, and so much has happened since then. We spent a lot of time in Trinidad and Grenada, and then made our trek up the Caribbean chain to St. Maarten where we spent about a month or so.

Trinidad was a good place to get things done, but not such a good place for waterfun or even land fun. You have to be careful there because crime is rampant. Nearly every morning there was a report of a stolen dinghy, not to mention other thefts including someone's flip flops. The moral of this story is be diligent about locking things up and keep a watch on things. Even with all the problems Trinidad has we found it a refreshing visit after being in Venezuela. We made so many friends there at the cruiser's potlucks on Thursday nights. We also learned that cruiser's love to play Mexican Train, although their rules differ from the way we learned to play.
From Trinidad we went back and forth several times to Grenada.

Grenada is an amazing place. It is a beautiful, lush island with wonderful people who love Americans because we helped them fight communism in 1983. The way they express this makes you feel like you personally were responsible for saving their freedoms. It is truly humbling. Grenada is full of wonderful history. The forts, a several hundred year old rum factory where they still make rum the way they did hundreds of years ago, and of course my favorite an organic chocolate factory.

We left Grenada with our friends from England, Sue and Paul Pilsworth onboard to help us crew up to St. Maarten. What a pleasure it was to have them onboard, and as always they taught us things we didn't know. Sailing is an art that can never be perfected. Things can always be done differently and a little better. On our journey north we stopped in Bequia, St. Lucia and St. Kitts. Mostly we sailed up and were able to make 9 knots on the jib alone. It was a grand time and I'm so happy we had our friends with us.

We spent about a month in St. Maarten and had visitors. We made a trip to Anguilla which is a lovely island with soft, white sand beaches. If you want a laid back vacation with time to relax Anguilla is the place to do it.

We did a couple of day sails to St. Barths which were lovely sails and and the wind was perfect.

While in St. Maarten we became a charter boat, and decided to check out the chartering grounds in the BVI. My mom came to visit us in St. Maarten and made the trip to the BVI with us. She was a real trooper making a long day's crossing. We instantly fell in love with the BVI and spent some time island hopping to learn all the favorite spots. Once of the BVI's big attractions and party places is the Willie Thornton, (Willie T's) which is a ship that is moored and is now a restaurant and bar. It is known as the wildest place in the BVI and is known as one of the top 10 beach bars in the world. Willie T's painkillers are just that, until the next morning. LOL!
Willie T's is located at Normal Island. We loved this spot because there is so much snorkeling so close by. The Caves, The Indians, and right there in the bay at Norman's. We saw rays, turtles, octopus and all the other usuals. Mom was a champ at snorkeling and went nearly everyday with us. We also visited Marina Cay and spent an evening listening to Eric Stone and dancing the night away.

While in the BVI Ocean Jedi attended her first charter boat show. I have to say she was stunning. Although it rained (I mean poured) all weekend the event was a blast and we made many new friends. We have found that the charter boat community is like a family. They rely on each other, and although we are in competition for charters you would never know it by the way information is freely given. We love our new friends and can't wait to spend more time with them.

After the boat show we have been spending time bouncing back and forth between the BVI and USVI. Once treasure we have found is St. John. What a gorgeous place and so little visited in the grand scheme of things. US citizens who love the ocean and don't want to travel abroad should really try St. John. It is amazing. It iis a National Marine Park. The waters are pristine and teaming with life. Once of our favorite spots is Waterlemon Cay. Around the Cay is a beautiful reef. Unfortunately in the shallows people have broken the corals and destroyed it, but on the backside where the water is deeper the reef is very healthy. Sharks, octopus, corals, snails, starfish, turtles and a fish nursery make it so fun and interesting. I have never seen so many baby fish before.

I was snorkeling close to shore and felt/heard something and all the baby fish started jumping and hittine me in the head. I thought - uh oh - something is chasing them - wonder what it is. Just then a school of large fish swam under me and as I turned around I saw a pelican with his bill full of fish. I have to say it scared the cr*p out of me that it was not the reef shark right under me making his attack. LOL.

We are now in Red Hook on St. Thomas in the USVI. We are preparing to bring OJ north through the Bahamas to the states. We nervously excited about this trip and are anxious to have her in the states. We hope you will all consider a visit once we are there. We look forwad to seeing you soon. Fair Winds and Following Seas to you all.