Sailing the BVI

It has been a busy summer. I was surprised to see that I had not posted anything since our trip to Miami. A lot has happened since the. The big thing in our life has been the birth of our grandson Alton in April.

From the sailing standpoint, we sailed to the BVI again this year. It was a great adventure.

Suz and I sailed with our friends Lois and Dennis as we did in 2009. Much of this story was adapted from Lois's story for the Mark Twain Lake Sail Association  "Scuttlebutt" newsletter

We flew into Tortola and caught the ferry to Virgin Gorda to stay two days at beautiful Guavaberry Spring Bay. Suz and I explored new dive sites off of Ginger Island and the Dogs with Dive BVI. Dennis and Lois hung out and snorkeled at the Baths, Spring Bay and Savannah Bay.

Suz diving BVI 2011

We arrived just in time for the full moon party at Leverick Bay. We enjoyed delicious Caribbean BBQ for dinner, then danced to live local reggae music and watched the amazing Mocko Jumbies Sky Dancers stilt walkers.

Mocko Jumbies Sky Dancers BVI 2011...

This year we chartered, Alegria del Mar -- a Beneteau 46, through B.V.I Yacht Charters, Port Purcell, Roadtown, Tortola.

Suz and Lois had outlined the nearly perfect sail plan, so each day we went with the winds and just “sailed the sails”. We started out at Norman Island (Willie T’s of course). We had visited Willie T's before, but not on a full moon Saturday night! The ship was rockin' and lived up (or down) to its reputation! Suz was lucky to escape with her reputation and cloths intact!

We got up early the next morning  and motored out to catch one of the few mooring balls at The Indians for some of the best snorkeling in the BVI. We enjoyed more snorkeling at the Caves on Norman Island before heading for anchorage and dinner at the Cooper Island Beach Club.

We decided Saba Rock was calling so headed there for a fun two days. Again thanks to Mark and Suz’s planning there was “music” on the beach BUT all was not just fun and games. We went to CLASSES. Yes, one night we went to Vodka 101 (free drinks sponsored by Finlandia Vodka) and being good students the second night, we went to Tequila 101 (sampled some of the finest Herradura tequilas).

Our stay in North Sound included a dingy ride around Saba Rock to a quaint little beach complete with hammocks, beach huts for shade, shower, bar, and chess. We played two games of chess on the beach. Suz and I let the guys win both times! We couldn’t snorkel here because the bay was filled with jelly fish. So beautiful in the water but there were so many that we thought it wise to stay out of the water. Also saw a sting ray here, too.

Lois at the helm in great winds BVI 2011....

We left Saba Rock and sailed for Anegada with great winds and fair skies where we enjoyed a delicious dinner of lobster and snapper and sunset on the beach at the Anegada Reef Hotel.

We sailed back to Trellis Bay to swap out the blown out head sail and visit the Loose Mongoose. While getting ready for dinner we heard the scrunch and saw the agony of a large catamaran running aground on the reef surrounding The Last Resort. Glad we don’t own that cat as watching them get it off wasn’t pretty.

Leaving early the next day we crossed between the Camanoes to snorkel at Monkey Point. Suz spotted an octopus which was the big find for the day. From there we kept a “weather eye on the horizon” and ran into showers and strong winds before seeking refuge in Cane Garden Bay.

Sandy Cay was known for good snorkeling so we planned to stop by before crossing to Foxy’s Taboo. However, the unsettled weather, and strong winds limited snorkeling opportunities.Lois and Dennis hiked the little island of Sandy Cay to see the foliage and little critters (lizards and snails). It was fun to see these little guys running around with a shell on their backs.

The afternoon was spent in Diamond Cay for several “Wreck on the Rocks” rum drink and the trek to the Bubbly Pool.
Our time was winding down but not us.

Mark and Suz headed to Foxy's BVI 2011....

We had a romping sail over to Foxy’s (Foxy was actually there in the afternoon but says he no long plays for guests). We spent our last night in the beautiful Great Harbor on Peter Island. Warm sun and a glass of wine makes even the best of sailors mellow.

We had great fun and adventured to places on the islands none of us had been before. Great friends, food, fun, and sailing made the trip a special one. Sailing the BVI is an adventure every sailor would enjoy!

Lois and Dennis enjoying BVI 2011....

Miami Beach

We planned two days of our trip to explore Miami Beach and South Beach during our trip to the boat show. We had a great time.

From Strictly Sail Miami .

The skies were bright and sunny both days. It was warm...in the 80's each day.

We arrived about 10 each morning and wandered up and down the beach with our "toes in the water and our ass in the sand, not a care in the world, a cold beer in our hand." Well, maybe not the cold beer on the beach.

Suz wanted to start her summer tan so brought along her swim suit and beach towel. She played in the surf and laid in the sun while I took pictures and people watched.

I saw all types of people: young kids and old couples; tall and short; thin and not so thin; some young ladies that looked great in skimpy (or one piece) bikinis and some who should have worn a big t-shirt.

Several sailboats sailed by, as did a flotilla of little boats. A couple of para-sail rides toured the area each day. Container ships and cruise liners come an went.

Three hours of sun was more than enough for us. We explored the little shops and galleries of South Beach before heading home.

We had a late lunch on Sunday at the old Waldorf Hotel on Ocean drive. They had tables on the patio. We ordered a Hawaii pizza and Suz had the "small" margarita. We laughed when we got the check...$13 for the pizza and $18 for the margarita. :-) Suz said it was worth it!

From Strictly Sail Miami

We may not be able to attend Strictly Sail Miami each year, but it was sure nice to enjoy the sun for a few days.

Strictly Sail Miami

Brrrr....it's cold here in Missouri. I looked at my frequent flyer miles and discovered Suz and I could fly to Miami for the Strictly Sail Boat show. It was over the President's Day weekend, so Suz had an extra day.

From Strictly Sail Miami

We flew into Miami early Thursday morning with plenty of time to attend the boat show in the afternoon. Many of the same vendors were there is were at Chicago. The big difference was that the boats were in slips in the marina. Beneteau, Catalina and others were there as in Chicago. But Hylas, Passport and the big catamarans were also there.

A Hylas 70 (center cockpit) was one of the first boats we visited. It was huge! The wenches were the size of a 5 gallon bucket and hydraulic powered. The master stateroom was as big as our bedroom. It even had a climate controlled wine cabinet. I was surprised to see it had a roller furling main as did all the really big sailboats at the show. The owners (wife and husband) sailed the 70 ft boat with just the two of them unless they were crossing blue water and overnight passages. Then they had at least one other crew member. We were amazed they could sail a boat that size with just by themselves.

Passport had 50 and 60 ft sailboats on display. They were beautiful. The Passport 60 had three large cabins and a huge galley. We would be happy to sail the world in either of these.

We were surprised to see a center cockpit Tartan 5300. It had a great "utility room" built in with a stacking washer and dryer, wet locker for wet suits and storage for dive gear including 4 tanks. A compressor was included!

We toured several big catamarans and decided they had lots of room, but were not what we wanted.

Dinner at Lombardi's Italian ended a great first day.

BVI Here we come!

We met with Lois and Dennis yesterday to plan our summer adventure to the BVIs. We plan to dive for 3 days then sail 10 days on "Alegria del Mar" (Sea Joy) a 2008 Beneteau 46.

We hope to stay on Virgin Gorda for the first three nights while we dive with Dive BVI. We dove with them in 2009 and had a great adventure. We hope to dive "The Dogs" and "Alice in Wonderland" this time.

"Alegria del Mar" should be fun to sail. She is in the BVI Yacht Charters fleet. She has two cabins, AC with genset, and a roller furling main sail.

Now all we need to do is lose those holiday pounds so we look better in a swimsuit.

Stillwell’s Christmas letter, 2010

Each year seems to go faster and faster. 2010 was no exception for the Stillwell clan.

Ellie’s adventures were the highlight of the year. After a very busy and successful senior year, she graduated from Hallsville High School in May. Her salutatorian speech was great! She was funny, articulate and entertaining.

Ellie had many opportunities for colleges and chose University of Washington in Seattle because “it is as far from Missouri as you can go and still be in the continental US.” It also has an outstanding biomedical engineering program and Japanese study program.

We flew to Seattle in July for orientation and had a great time visiting campus and a few of the sites of Seattle. Ellie took advantage of a six week freshman early start program and left us in early August. She is learning all the things that a freshman experiences…new friends, new places, no money, tough classes, small dorm rooms… We look forward to her being home for a couple of weeks at Christmas.

An equal highlight of the year was the announcement that Andy and Ashlynn are expecting a baby in April. Andy works for National Instruments and Ashlynn is going to grad school currently working on her PhD at the University of Texas in Austin. They spent a couple weeks in Australia recently with a conference speaking tour for Ashlynn. Exciting times!

We’ve enjoyed a few grandparent weekends with Finn and Anna, Amy & Sean’s kiddos. Finn is four and a half (almost five) and Anna turned one is September. Both kids are wonderful and a lot of fun. Amy and Sean both continue as architects in Kansas City.

Mark continues his interim position as director of the Cooperative Media Group. It was supposed to be a short term position, but unknown budgets, state appropriations and a university hiring freeze has limited options to fill. Mark has learned a lot about video and radio production and is enjoying the experience. He anticipates he will be in the position at least through next June when next year’s state appropriations are know.

As if he didn’t have enough to do, Mark completed his two year term as regional vice president then was elected to the Epsilon Sigma Phi Second Vice President position this fall. He will progress to VP, then President in 2013. ESP is extension national organization with more than 6,000 members.

Suz stays busy as educational technology director for the Hallsville School District. She provides training and technical support for teachers and administrators. Suz was excited this fall to learn that she would be eligible to retire July 2012, only one more year!!…until Mark reminded her that Ellie isn’t
scheduled to graduate until June 2014.

We didn’t find time to go sailing in the Caribbean this summer, but took a week to dive in San Salvador, Bahamas. San Salvador was the first island that Columbus found when he “discovered” America. We had the usual travel challenges of delayed flights and missed bags …going and coming. Suz had an ear drum injury that ended her diving early, but was able to snorkel above Mark and the group as they dove. Overall we had a good time seeing lots of tropical fish and a few sharks.

The sailing season at Mark Twain Lake is never long enough. We had many good sailing adventures. Suz was elected Mark Twain Lake Sailing Association Commodore for 2011 so we’re planning many sailing weekends at the lake.

Take care and sea you soon.