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For the most recent reports from the BVI see this page.
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- Wayward Sailor...
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 14:01:48 EDT
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Ooops! here's the June 7th report, Dear Miss Mermaid's fault it
didn't get posted in time, she drove off the map...
June 7th
Sunday was a Sun Day! Few clouds and mostly sun for the majority of
the day... It was Hot, 91 which is hot for this place! Winds were
light at about 8 knots and seas were under 3 feet from what I could see and the
only big waves were from the ferry boats that sometime come in a bit closer than
they should. Most boats cleared out just after sundown and went home for a
week's work or turning in the boat that was chartered. And the BEST part
was I got to eat the leftover spaghetti I made Saturday Night. OMG it
always taste even better the next day and it was great the night I made
it.
Was talking to a special friend about Pasta. I said I always use the
Julia Childs Method of cooking Pasta Dishes. YES, I know Julia was into
primarily French Cooking but her basic method works with about any food type...
particularly when Wine is used.
As I apply Julia's method to cooking spaghetti is to first ALWAYS use a
good wine when cooking... DO NOT use cheap "cooking wines" and ALWAYs have
several bottles available.... it will never spoil... or I should say I've never
had any spoil. To make sure the wine is really good you first have to have
a glass as you set up for doing your dish. If it is good then the dish
will be good. On the boat where I have a limited supply of fresh veggies
and herbs and even the LP gas can be expensive and it can make the inside of the
boat very hot when you cook for long times.... I start with a basic jar of
sauce... such as a Ragu Traditional or the one's with something added but NEVER
Meat (you put that in yourself) As the basic sauce is heating you add a
glass of wine to it and let it marry into the sauce while you add the "other"
items such as sundried tomatoes, olives, garlic any special spices you love to
kick things up and while you are doing this you also have another glass of
wine. I generally add meat to the sauce, Slice up and break up a
chunk of pepperoni or some sausage you have. Allow it to all cook together
and that will take about one more glass of wine. When you taste test it
you may fine it needs a bit of pepper or salt and usually another glass of wine
for the sauce and yourself. I LOVE Angle Hair Pasta because it cooks so
fast on the boat... it takes about an additional half glass of wine and it will
be ready! If you drink a full glass of wine, it will be over
cooked. Just before serving up the sauce over the pasta, add in a good
hand full of shredded cheese and allow it to melt in and stir the mixture but to
not try to over blend it. Your going for layers of taste.
Put the sauce over the drained Angle hair and add a good cheese topping of
Romano and Assieago. Let it cool a bit... about a glass of wine worth of
cooling.. Then Eat IT! with a glass of two of wine and some nice
garlic bread then finish off any left over wine when finished.
The Julia Childs Method will always assure your Pasta Dish will be
Prefect!!! Also a Helpful NOTE: Place half the empty wine bottles in
your neighbors trash can. this will assure that the sanitation workers do
not hurt their backs when picking up your trash. Being thoughtful is
important... think about that .... while your having a glass of wine.
Mmmmm I feel like making pasta again ........ Think I'll have a glass
of wine and think about it.
OOooohhh Yes today has started out with a big gray cloud with huge rain
drops...Then the Sun popped out then another cloud with smaller rain drops....
Guess that means we will have a partly Sunny Day with rain??? Winds are
down to about 2 knots and were from the South at first light but now seem to be
clocking back to the East. Seas are calm with not much of a ripple in the
Bay or Channel that I can see. Could be a HOT one if the wind does not
pick up to the 8 to 10 knots the forecast predicts. One GOOD thing is the
haze seems to be a bit less today.... I can actually see some details
of Jost Van Dyke which has just been a dark green/ gray blob.
later
da Wayward Sailor
A Sailor does not live by Rum alone......
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- Wednesday
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 9 Jun 2010 13:59:51 EDT
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There's a tropical wave out there to watch...but not a threat the to Virgin
islands at this time.
Wayward Sailor sailed off the flat edge of the ocean and Dear Miss Mermaid
managed to drive off the map. Sooooo... that's why no reports from either
lately.
Sorry 'bout dat!
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- Sunday in the Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 6 Jun 2010 12:41:58 EDT
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We all need to remember the Sailors, Solders and Airmen who served the
world on this day in 1944. We owe them more than we could ever
repay.
We had a mostly sunny day yesterday! An overcast did attempt to move
in about mid day but didn't last long. We were able to recover a boat
which was adrift and return it to the owners who were 25 miles away from home
when, while snorkeling, noticed the boat missing from the mooring they "tied" it
to. Made my eyes water when they came by and saluted by all standing in
their boat and saying hip hip whoray to me on the way home.
Made my day.
At 6AM the sky is mostly clear with the sun about to pop over the
mountain!!!! Had good sun for the panels yesterday but did run the
generator to top them off for the nights energy needs. Cool 81 out now...
how nice that feels with the damp morning air. Winds are very light maybe
about 2 knots at best and the bay is like glass. the 6 other boats and
myself are pointed South??? those in the inter harbour are all mixed up.
One is pointed North, one West and one to the North East. This may be the
last sunny day for a bit as we are told we have another front moving in and the
early part of the week will have more clouds and rain but hopefully more Sun
than last week. We still have a haze and may get a short break from the
Sharai Dust. I'll try to get a photo to show people what it does to a
white boat but the dew need to dry first.
Going for my walk later this AM and do a bit of swimming along the beach
and probably chat with some people with my Park Hat on.... LOL always get
questions when I have it on... most from people wanting to know how to get my
job!!! They seem only marginally disappointed when they learn there is No
Pay.
Well off to make da coffee do a word puzzle then take a nap before I head
out on my walk.... now who would want a job that make you work that
hard????
Dat Wayward Sailor...
Ah, you did a rescue, good on ya sailor!!! Hip Hop
Hooray!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE:
Hi Dear Miss Mermaid.
I am as confused as ever as to whom and where you
are!
Are you the wayward gardner,sailor,and dear miss mermaid spinning
all
those delightful yarns are or you 3 distinct people? Me head
be
spinnin'!!
Are you in the BVI or in FL?
You mentioned Lake
Placid.Now I doubt you mean the NY Lake Placid so ya
must be going to the one
not that far from Orlando there in FL where I
think you or somebody claiming
to be you is.
So keep up the great confusion...I love it.
Mikey
Yeah Mikey, we are all confused! Tee hee hee *hiccup* have some
more rum and we shall explain...
Dear Miss Mermaid temporarily left da islands for medical reasons, but
arrived in America, well homeless! So dat crazy Mermaid searched high and
low and bought an old used motorhome to live in for the time being while she be
chasing about doing traditional medicine and alternative treatments and fun
stuff like dat. She will be back in the islands soon come mon, soon come.
Two of the mermaids cohorts, dat infamous Wayward Sailor and another person
who is famous for gardening, well anyhow, dey be helping da Dear Miss Mermaid
out here, by keeping all the local reports alive and well until she can get back
in person and take care of it all.
So some is written by Dear Miss Mermaid, some by Mermaid Gardener and some
by dat Wayward Sailor from his pirate ship.
Now, some of you may have heard, when Dear Miss Mermaid was brutally
attacked, she suffered a severe injury to her head. This has made for grand
speculation, did she split into three personalities??? After all she loves
gardening, and sailing and traveling and so on...
So go figure. I don't have multiple personalities, just ask any of
us... 
Which, by the way, Dear Miss Mermaid fled Lake Placid and rumor on the other blog is that she is at
exit 58 on I-4 with a bunch of firemen! Do tell... life just keeps
getting stranger...
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- Bright Lights in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 5 Jun 2010 10:42:41 EDT
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Life in paradise is good today!
No storms, no hurricanes, no worries. The pic below was taken moments
ago at White Bay on Jost Van Dyke in the BVI.
About our local correspondents:
Miss Mermaid Gardener has left the BVI to go garden elsewhere, but she will
return in a few weeks.
Dat Wayward Sailor is playing pirate somewhere in the BVI and probably
doesn't have internet access.
Dear Miss Mermaid is having way too much fun, she is broken down and
camping out at a repair and salvage facility in an old motorhome in
Longwood, Florida. See the
other blog for all the foolishness with alarms, 911 calls, fire trucks,
highway patrol and so on. Never a dull moment...
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE TO DEAR MISS MERMAID:
The book is laugh-out-loud
funny...and so many situations so true to the islands. We're excited as
we've been able to squeeze in a couple of days end of month and we're heading
down to St. John and St. Thomas...too quick a trip to get over to the BVI this
time, but maybe later in the year. :)
I did another post on my
blog yesterday about the BVI. A few years ago we went to Guana Island for
a few days (too expensive to stay very long) and had a fun time, met some
interesting people, and as always enjoyed the islands. I did a post about
the old Chinese fellow who lives and works on the island.
Anyway, I'm
saving the rest of your book to read enroute to get me in the island swing of
things!!
Cheers,
Katie
http://katiepickardfawcett.wordpress.com/
WOW! THANK you Katie! You made my day! You have a
fantastic blog, I wish my other
blog looked so pretty, I just have to learn more of that CSS programming
stuff. 
I am SO GRATEFUL for all the wonderful readers who have bought my
book; Hurricanes and
Hangovers. THANK YOU, THANK YOU! You are wonderful!
Don't be bashful, ask your friends or book dealer to buy books (yes,
wholesale prices are available for souvenir shops and book stores) just ask Dear
Miss Mermaid for details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BITE MY TONGUE! Just as I was sending this post off for you to
read, dat Wayward Sailor turned up!
Strange light in da Captains cabin this AM woke me.... well it was
8:30! Thought I had left the overhead lights on last night while reading
but then again I always use the small book light at night not the more power
consuming overheads. It was not the cabin lights.... even out side was
bright... climbed the companion way steps and stuck my head out the hatch and a
Large Bright Object was in the Eastern Sky just over the mountain tops. I
recall a story when I was younger about a couple of bright lights in the sky...
one was related to Christmas.... but I was not in a sandy waterless
wasteland..... the other was about something called the Sun. After
having a small pot of coffee and thinking about the strange light, a sailor from
another boat came along side in her dink and also commented about the bright
light and asked if she could buy enough coffee to make a pot for her and her
mate. Gave her enough and would never charge a sailor for the fixin's for
coffee in the AM if I had it available. She said it was the first time she
had seen the Sun out full in the AM in over 2 weeks and that a cloud and haze
had been following them for that long on their slow voyage from Puerto
Rico. Told her I was initially confused by the bright light but after a
couple of cups of coffee also recognized it to be the rumored Sun I had almost
forgotten about.
Sunny and 88 this AM.... going to get HOT. Water Temp is still 85 and
winds are light and variable but mostly Easterly at under 8 knots. Sir
Francis Drake Channel looks calm with seas under 3 feet and a few boats are out
sailing. Also getting lots of power boats moving around as though they
were lost with no idea where to go.
Had a LARGE group of teens on a group of 3 boats, two power and one
cat. All very loud and totally with out parental supervision. Five
and six year olds were running high powered dinks through the mooring in games
of chase and several started bow ridding which is against the Park rules and I
had to advise the adults who were getting to the point of being beyond
pleasantly drunk by noon.. Odd thing was one girl about 15 or so seemed to
be the only person acting as an adult and seem to bring reason to the
group. Was rather glad when they all left the bay about 5PM but they had
chased off about a dozen boats who would not put up with the noise.
Today we are filling up with the small power boats bringing in snorkel's
and scuba groups... this will continue until about 3PM then a more calm bay will
return. Hopefully a few voyagers will stop in for the night... they always
have interesting stories to share with da Wayward sailor but most still do not
believe the one about the mermaid who uses a computer and lives on the land for
a while. Just wonder what they would think about a certain sea girl that
makes cloudy days seem like sunny ones and can also cook.... and do many other
things. No... they would never buy into an old sea story such as
that. I'll just stick with the one of the Peg Legged Sea Gull.
Need to finish my Word Puzzle and get to less important things like
cleaning the Sahara Dust off the decks.
later da Wayward Saillor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What a great pic from White Bay
at Jost van Dyke or as I like to say Jost van Yikes! and my
friend who lived there many, many years, calls it Goats van Dyke!
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- Friday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 4 Jun 2010 11:14:07 EDT
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Passage West from Eastern End of Tortola to the Soper's Hole and St. John
area was fair. Had a East-SouthEast wind at about 8 knots with Sir Francis
Drake Channel current working with me and seas under 4 feet and not too much on
the beam. Not much Sun, you could occasionally see it looking through
a heavy vial of haze. One of those days it is easy to forget to
put sunscreen on or a hat! Not this time for me... still have a tinder
head from the last omission.
Winds died down to about 4 to 5 knots, allowing the mosquitoes to have a
free dinner on boats moored a bit toooOOOOOoo close to shore. I even had a
few venture out my way but the little clay diffuser for misquote coils worked
great and I was able to stay in my less than minimal state of dress with out
distress, and just good measure, I hung the netting in the Masters Cabin for the
night. Good night sleep with smooth seas with just enough rocking to put
an old sailor to sleep quickly.
This AM we still have winds between 4 and 6 knots but should edge up a bit
with the day. Temps now are 86 with water temp 85... this AM's swim was
like ...NICE....
Partly cloudy with continued haze but hopes of having some real sun for the
solar panels. Had to run the generator a bit last night for the frige and
a pack of Popcorn and limited use of a fan when the short showers cause the
vents and hatches to need closing.
Forecast is for a better weekend then more showers early next week.
Have a few projects I need a couple of days of no rain to finish and may give
one a shot today if it gets sunny enough. However putting things off is
not looked at as necessarily bad in da islands... that is just how it is
done....
later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Day 3 of hurricane season in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 3 Jun 2010 10:45:26 EDT
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No storms, no hurricanes, just paradise and flowers!
Can you name this flower?
Starfruit!
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- Day Two hurricane season in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 2 Jun 2010 08:48:25 EDT
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Sail from West End to East End Tortola on the 1st was really
different. Sun never came up. Just a heavy haze acting like a
fluorescent bulb. Could not see where the sun was or estimate what
time it was by the sun's position. Visibility was under a mile and when I
was off the Eastern end of Frenchman's Cay, I could Not see Norman or Peter
Islands.
We did have a larger than typical number of sail boats out sailing around
Soper's Hole. Most charter fleets reduce prices as of June. Some on
the 1st others on the 15th but I would guess you could work a deal with some of
them.
Not as overcast and hazy this AM and I do hope for a bit more actual
sun. Those solar panels didn't get much work yesterday and I will have to
haul up the Honda 2000i tonight to top up the batteries to keep the frig in
operation. We definitely have had more winds overnight.... probably around
17 knots from the South East. Seas should be over the 3 to 4 that were
forecast, I would guess 4 to 6 in the open channels between islands and
probably 3 to 5 in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Temp is already 86 and
water temp is setting at 85. I actually see a few shafts of real sun light
breaking through the overcast and haze. Only a few boats appear to be out
and about now but the real sailors will love the winds. Just hope they
keep the sun protection on and a hat even when the clouds are covering
them. I'm still getting over a bit of over exposure to the top of my head
from a couple of weeks ago.
Heading into Road Town this AM for some coffee and a Danish and to do some
serious shopping for a couple of critical items and try to extend my visa a
bit. Wish my afternoon could be like last week... but that is not possible
this week because so many people are off island for a while and some for the
season. This is the start of the Slow season which really kicks in during
August/September/October. While I have been down during part of that time,
I've never been down for the full time. Looking forward to it and still a
bit concerned over the weather forecast for the season.
later
da Wayward Sailor
****************************************************************
You may think this gardener has gone crazy looking all over Tortola
for Peonys, this gal took the long trek back to the Midwest.
Lovely
Peonys are not subtropical plants. When I left over the
weekend my
tropical garden was starting to really come around.
I'm looking
forward to seeing it again in a couple of weeks, but until
I return,
my gardener will continue to keep the jungle and wild
tamarind at
bay. He will be continuing to fend of pests,
fertilize, do some
planting, and make all the plants happy with his
love of plants. Was
so sad to leave paradise, but as I walk
around my Midwest garden this
morning it too calls for my green thumb
attention.
Signing off just momentary...the Mermaid Gardener
Beautiful flowers from dat Mermaid Gardender of course!
Day 2 of hurricane season and nothing bad on the horizon (so
far!)
What would Dear Miss Mermaid do in her time of absence without all these
wonderful helpers? Read about Dear Miss Mermaid's current
where-abouts on the other
blog.
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- (no subject)
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 1 Jun 2010 09:08:41 EDT
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Day starts off very overcast with a light mist and winds about 10 Knots
from the East. Temp is 81 with water temp still at 84. Appears the
front that is over the Virgin Islands will continue as it reaches back well into
the Southern Caribbean and is drifting slowly our way. Better chance for
more sunny skies later in the week and lower chance of showers. Winds are
forecast to be between 8 and 12 knots with seas 2 to 4 feet in our area. A
Northern swell is anticipated to build up for a day or so then back to
normal. The Swell generally effects the Atlantic facing shores and has far
less effect in the Sir Francis Drake Channel.
I'll be heading up to Penn's Landing for a few days later today. I
need to check in on a distressed swimmer before I leave to make sure she is
OK. Lucky an observant sailors pulled her from the water and got her back
to her boat and located her family who were waiting for her in another location,
unaware of the problem. I'm really the wrong person to say it as I often
swim alone but.... you should Not Swim Alone particularly on Long Swims. I
try to make sure I'm around others when I take a longer swim but like most
sailors often kick around the water near the boat to cool off and get some
physical activity when other cardiovascular activity isn't available.
It will be great to kick back at Penn's Landing for a few days, make some
bus trips into Road Town to pick up a few thing and have a coffee and Danish at
a fav shop where I always meet interesting people to chat with.
Well off the check on my peep's then finish getting the boat sea ready and
cast off the mooring heading out into the gray skys which hopefully will break
open with some sun later today!
later
da Wayward Sailor
Today is the first day of Atlantic HURRICANE SEASON which runs
until November 30th.
THE LIST OF STORM NAMES FOR 2010 IS AS
FOLLOWS:
NAME
PRONUNCIATION
----------------------------
ALEX
BONNIE
COLIN
DANIELLE DAN
YELL-
EARL
FIONA
GASTON
HERMINE HER
MEEN-
IGOR E
GOR-
JULIA
KARL
LISA
LEE-
SA
MATTHEW
NICOLE
NI COLE-
OTTO
PAULA
RICHARD
RICH-
ERD
SHARY
SHA-
REE
TOMAS
TO MAS-
VIRGINIE VIR JIN-
EE
WALTER
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- Happy Memorial Day in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 08:46:47 EDT
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Having a kicked back Sunday in West End was the plan. Breakfast at Da
Best Cup, a walk along the shops, then quiet time on the boat... Well not that
quiet actually but true quality time... THEN THEY
ARRIVED.... Ever been kicked back enjoying... well .... anything then a dozens
of Big / Medium and Small race boats EXPLODE onto the scene?
hWell that Will Happen if you mooring is near one of the BVI Poker Run
Check in points. I was just off Jolly Roger's when the noise and smell of
hundreds of gallons of gas, diesel and nitro fuel started filling the air...
Boy! Talk about turning a kicked back Sunday into a near panic! Ever
see all these boat attempt to get up to a 40 foot dock.... all at the same
time? One poor Ferry Boat that was attempting to make his run to St.
Thomas had to leave the boat channel and make his way through the moorings as
the channel was full of million dollar race boats kicking up a 3 to 4 foot
sea attempting to hold a place in line to get there Poker Card. Not sure
where the next stop was but some appeared to head for Norman Island, the Bight
and others appeared to be headed to Jost Van Dyke. It will take hours for
the echos and smell of spent fuel to leave the harbor!
Today, Memorial Day, we started off with actually being able to see the
near full moon and a few stars. They have been covered by clouds and haze
for a week.... But, just about 6 AM another rain shower moved in and a mostly
cloudy start of the day took over. 82 degrees here after the rain, water
temp is still at about 84, winds are... well we have NO winds. Boats
pointing in all directions but we do expect a turn back to more typical wind
directions as the day goes on. Past few days have had West and South West
winds. Had some South Winds last night and those should move more East as
the sun rises and heats things up. Rain chance is near 50% until Wednesday
then it drops to the standard 30%. Seas are flat in the bay and most of
what I can see of the Sir Francis Drake Channel at this time but they should
move up to the 2 to 3 foot area as the day moves on and by mid week back to 3 to
4 with winds 10 knots and under but a chance for fresh breezes to occur later in
the week. Hope we get some sun... the little Honda seems to have cloned a
few copies on other small boats. I saw two other duplicate Honda 2000i
generators on other boats in the bay. You really have to see them as you
generally can't hear them unless you are real close but they do a great job of
keeping the boats house battery bank charged for my toys such as the computer
and other items like the fridge which is essential for Cold Red Stripe and other
critical foods such as a nice grouper steak I'll be having tonight.
later
da Wayward Sailor
 Those are the poker run go-fast speed boats coming into Sopers Hole.
approaching the docks to get their poker cards
Varoom!
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- Sun is out, come on down to the BVI!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 07:29:26 EDT
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- Big weekend in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 29 May 2010 08:59:00 EDT
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On 27 I sailed down the Sir Francis Drake Channel thinking I needed to have
a Fog Horn ready. Actually the surface visibility was about a mile and a
half but the overhead looked as though if it dropped it would be like sailing in
Pea Soup. Very few boats out, all the cats were motor sailing and all the
REAL boats were sailing with foresails or both the foresail and main as the wind
had a lot of South in it and going up or down the channel was about the
same. Problem was the winds were very light possibly about 7 knots at
best. I hung in Leinster Bay for the afternoon and had several showers and
could not really enjoy the near full moon due to the overcast.
On the 28 I had a nice sail down to Cruiz Bay to do a bit of shopping and
pick up my allocation of gas for the weeks work as Volunteer for the National
Park Service. Had on a minor and short sprinkle of two all the time I was
going to, in and returning from Cruiz Bay. Enjoyed the opportunity to pop
into the Baked in the Sun bakery and have a nice warm toasted bagel and
coffee. I was going shopping for food for the boat and learned a long time
ago that if I'm hungry when I food shop.... when I get back to the boat (or
home) I have lots of snacks but little food!!!! After shopping and
getting my Gas tanks filled, made the way back East and found I then had West
Winds working with me.... East going down and once in the channel had West on
the return trip... Nice!
Got to my mooring and was able to see strong wind gust about 20 seconds
between rolling across the bay. These gust were near 17 knots from an
average 10 knot now East Wind. Talk about confused winds! It took me
3 passes at the mooring to capture it! 3...OMG and I'm luck to have
grabbed and held it on that try as the winds gusted well over 20 knots with a
hard raid just after I tied her off and ran back to the cockpit for marginal
cover from near horizontal rain. Good thing the rain was actually
reasonable warm even with the wind chill effect! Would have grabbed a bar
of soap and had a nice shower but I would have probably slipped off the deck
into the water from the wind gust when they hit and having soap on the
decks.
On and off heavy rains mixed with very light rains most of the afternoon
and night!
This AM 29 May has started out with a few short sprinkles but I see more
Caribbean Blue in the sky. Still lots of clouds but we get a spotlight of
sun occasionally and hopefully more as the sun rises over the mountain's cloud
caps. Wind and seas have been calm most of the night temp is 84 and
will probably go up a bit. Water is actually warmer than the air.
Still have the haze which is now identified as Montserrat Volcano
Ash. Hope it clears out soon! Much like my batteries, I have a solar
soul and need the sunlight or be near special friend(s) who brings
sunlight to my soul. I'm luck to have had the alternate sunlight to break
up our recent cloudy weather and the rain is welcome anytime. I did
have one skipper tell me about seeing a water spout while sailing on the
South Western end of St John yesterday. Glad I was not there!!! I'll
seen sister/ Twin water spouts dancing off the coast of Destin Florida and
while a wonderful site to see from a distance... it is not something you want to
view up close and personal!!!!
I'll 2nd the Mermaid Gardner's recommendations on the Secret Garden!!
Chef Suzanne is something else. The only difficult part is having to
actually select something.... she has so many choices and all are TOOOoooo good
to pass up. She also has some drink specials that will seal the
deal. Last time I went I had a Watermelon Martini, it sounded cool and wet
and it was one of the best drinks I've had in a long time.... even my Own Dark
and Stormy and Red Eyes. Not sure I could have had another one and I was
the passenger!!!! not the driver... but to be honest da Wayward Sailor really
does not drink very much. But I do love a really good drink and Suzanne
knows how to make them and the food is even Better! Sorry but I can not
even Say what I had... it was a Chicken in a fantastic garlic sauce inside a
pastry and it was BIG. Well da Sailor did share an appetizer with his
special friend and the appetizer should be an additional food group.... maybe
called OMG...it was far beyond great.....When in Tortola you
MUST visit the Secret Garden..... MMmmmm wish they would deliver to
boats!!!
Well off to do some hiking... even thinking about all that great food is
probably cause to need to walk off a few pounds!
Fair Winds
da Wayward Sailor
Foxys Woodenn Boat Regatta on Jost Van Dyke all
weekend!
Rain
Will Not Stop Music Fest - ArcherPlatinum News Online
Speaking to BVI Platinum
News at the Cane Garden Bay Music Festival's new village on Thursday afternoon,
Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Committee, ...
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- Good Morning from still wet and gloomy Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 28 May 2010 11:56:41 EDT
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Good Morning from still wet and gloomy
Tortola
Yesterday it rained gecko's and lizards (instead of cats
and dogs) during the afternoon it truly looked like night. The
clouds were very thick and we had torrential rains all
afternoon. I checked my rain gauge at one point and it was
reading almost 2" and that was around 5pm. We still had more rain
off and on last night until around 1100pm then it was calm. When it
rains like this and the ground is so saturated we tend to have flooding
and roads that become pot holed and rutted. So last evening I stayed
home and raided my refrigerator found some leftovers. Sure didn't
want to run into a rock slide.
My girlfriend called me and
asked if I had power and I did, she said her's was all done mashed up!! I
felt lucky because mine was still on and I could pop some popcorn for a
movie. But lo and behold right as I'm at the end of my movie eating
popcorn my current done mash up!!!!! Decided that it was just time
to call it a night and hope that the power would come on before
morning. So much for a movie night and popcorn??? Any body for
rubbery popcorn from last night?
This morning the winds are up
slightly and we are starting to dry out. It's been sprinkling this
morning off and on but looking at the radar we seem to be on the edge of
most of the rain. I suspect that it would be a nice sail today seas
are not too choppy and you could do a nice long steady tack today in the
Sir Frances Drake Channel.
No gardening today way too wet so maybe
some art work or read a book.
From the Mermaid Gardener
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- rainy daze Tortola BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 27 May 2010 11:30:03 EDT
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Woke this morning to partly cloudy skies. Temperature
felt about average but the humidity was high. By 9am we have a light
drizzle it appears that we may this for part of the day. The weather
site said 40% chance of rain, well it's raining. So for
those out there sailing wear your rain gear or just make sure that you
wear clothes that may need a fresh shower rinse. There is not many
boat out on the horizon. Those that are out are finding light trade
winds, seas are not choppy, haze and rain are making visibility
tough. Looks like most of those folks sailing by East End are not
sailing but using their engines. I think that today might be a great
day to just stay inside and read a good book. (Such as Hurricanes
and Hangovers) 
Had a
special and very yummy dinner at "The
Secret Garden" again last night. It is the one place where
everything you eat is spectacular. Last night had the Coconut
calamari with a blood orange marmalade!! It truly was wonderful. The
evening was quite pleasant chatting with friends and meeting up with
acquaintances. If you are here on the island and want to give someone
special a lovely memorable dinner "The Secret Garden" is the place.
Bon Appetit from Rainy Tortola
The Mermaid
Gardener
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Raindrops keep falling on my head...
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE TO DEAR MISS MERMAID
Hi Miss Mermaid!
This is Amelia, from Our BVI Adventure here - hope you are
well!
I was curious to know if you knew anything about the tree at Smuggler's
Cove where people have placed large pieces of coral on the branches...how long
it's been like that, etc... It's very interesting!
Best,
Amelia
Hi Amelia!
I first saw the coral trees at Smugglers Cove about
2 decades ago. I thought it was Bob or his wife, (both now deceased) who
owned 11 acres at the beach there and the old now run-down hotel and bar, which
was aptly named Smugglers Cove. Bob told me many times it was not him but kept
it a secret who was decorating the tree so artfully.
Then I began to suspect a certain home owner in the
area, who has been there about as long as Bob or longer, and makes daily treks
to the beach, but "they" would neither confirm nor deny it, preferring to keep
it a secret.
So..... Dear Miss Mermaid believes in
miracles, secrets, angels, ghosts, spirits and certain legends (as well as
mermaids...) so I stopped prying and poking into who was doing the
tree.
However, on all my trips to the beach, and there
was a glorious time in my life when I was able to make multiple trips daily to
that beach, I would approach the coral tree from all angles, trying to catch
someone adding to it, but alas, I never did. Yet over the years more dead coral
appeared on the tree. Somewhere I have loads of pics of that tree and if I
had more time today, I would search in earnest to post some, I know I have
posted some here in the past ten plus years (and if you feel like reading that
far back, and you stumble across one, alert us all!)
However, I do know how Smugglers Cove got its
name. The official name of that bay is Belmont Bay. Back in the 50's when
the little hotel was built (all four to six rooms of it) the owner named the
hotel Smugglers Cove Hotel.
Everyone loved the name and thereafter, Belmont Bay
faded into use and Smugglers Cove became the norm, but most all maps and charts,
correctly show it as Belmont Bay, as the name (to my knowledge) has never
officially changed. Bob and his wife, were the second owners of the little hotel
and I think it was they who added the bar and restaurant.
The bar became notorious for being self-serve. You
had to fetch your own drink, then place your money in the cigar box, under a
rock (to keep the wind from taking it away) and make change from same. Bob or
Nell would show up at some point and take the excess cash, leaving some behind
for others to make change with.
For seemingly eons this system worked great. But
then late in Bob's life, Tortola became discovered, a flood of tourists flocked
the island as well as a flood of off-island workers, but some chose not to work.
A few chose to rob Bob's honor bar by either stealing drinks or money or both.
Bob continued to restock the bar and keep up the
same honor system until the day he died, claiming he still made out more than
the bandits did, but his prices were so reasonable, and what with the frequent
thefts, I think Bob just grew tired of the accounting but refused to close the
honor bar or change the system.
PS:
FOUND IT! (Still looking for pic of coral tree)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOW, I wondered what those packages from the sky were...
Jailed
VI drug lord Springette takes standVirgin Islands Daily News
Springette described how he
sent hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to Tortola. “From
Colombia, they were dropped by aircraft into the BVI,
...
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- Cough, cough ... Wednesday in the British Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 26 May 2010 09:28:30 EDT
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TUESDAY (see Wednesday below)
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Hazy gorgeous day here in the BVI. Seas are somewhat
flat, not much of breeze happening. The pool water is quite
still and it feels like it is going to be another hot day with high
humidity. Has a lot rain last night here in East End. We
needed it, the plants, flowers and my cisterns love having the
rain. The winds have not decided which direction they want to
blow in, sometimes it feels like out of the southeast other times
it's coming straight out of the south.
Decided that
this morning would be a good time to run into Road Town, getting
errands done, maybe go through main street and check out the
shops. It's pretty quiet these days with no cruise ships in
town. So there is not a mob of folks trying to cross at the
street light. The other thought that runs through my head is
that on the way out of Roadtown I think I'll hit my favorite ice
cream shop, La Dolce Vita, yummy gelato. How about coconut and
dark chocolate, it's like making your own Bounty Bar or Mounds Bar
but with gelato. Yum Yum!
Cheers!
The Mermaid
Gardener
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WEDNESDAY
Good Morning from still hazy Tortola,
Yesterday was the worst
day for our magnificent lack of view. We had the worst inversion
layer going, the haze blanked us all day, it was quite humid.
Everyone in Roadtown was complaining, even friends of mine who live here
full time were complaining about how awful it all was, he heat, the
humidity, and the haze. You could not get comfortable at all and
there was no place to find relief, unless you worked at say Bobby's or
Rite Way in their freezer section. But out here not even the pool
was a welcome relief, ended up being wet and not cooling off.
Later
last night the wind changed direction and is now coming out of the East
and is fresher. The seas are up a little but we still have that
pesky haze hanging around.
I have a new squatter living at
my house, nope none of those bee's but a hawk has took up house near my
living room. They are making minor changes to the nest that used to
belong to a Thrasher and are getting ready to lay an egg or two.
I'll continue to keep you updated on if they do in fact decide to set up
house keeping and make some renovations. I'm thinking that they may
need to make some additions and improvements, you know us ladies we like
to put our own touches on our homes.
Enjoy the day! The
Mermaid Gardener
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MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE TO DEAR MISS
MERMAID
Hey Miss Mermaid. Me the pest . Get a couple of glasses of wine in me and I
get the e- m's . Ha do you remember what we used to call the L-D's ? after too
many drinks, we'd call friends long distance ?? So now I get the e-m's . lol
Seriously though I'm really sober.  So we have been covered in the thickest haze
today!! Truly limited visibility from Penns Landing out to Cooper.
Wow. You've been around longer than me so help me out. What the heck ? I
had to use my inhaler today (which I rarely need) been sneezing etc. Talked to a
friend who said her sinuses were acting up. Went to my tennis lesson at the
sports club and it poured rain and I had instant breathing relief. The
word around the club , not reliable, was that the haze was due
to "African dust" --- not Saharan desert dust but African dust. So -
okay I'm just a yokel from outside Chicago. What the heck do I know. We
don't get dust in Chicago. We get wind and snow and then pollen, and then
tornadoes and then wind and snow. Just like that. Hope you can fill me in. Went on to the weather underground satellite view
and it definitely shows our whole area covered in "white" .
Hope you are well.
Missa Lissa
Dear Missa Lissa,
You could never ever be a pest, so never ever think
that way, I love your emails! Ah yes, the L-D's, new term for me, but very
familiar LOL, get drunk and call all the missed ones long distance
LOL!!! Back with Fable and Fireless charged $4-8 per minute, this could result
in some horrendous phone bills and why the island used to sprout pay phones on
every corner like overgrown weeds; so few could afford home phone service, after
a few drinks and the "L-D's"
The good news is the Sahara Desert is located in
Africa. So that's why some folks say it's the Sahara dust and others say it's
African dust or maybe you totally misunderstood and they were really saying
'Frickin' dust!
That reminds me of my friend who had a 4 year old
who was learning to read English with some phonetic program where you sound out
the words. Mother and child went to the zoo one day and the child astonished her
mother by saying "Look mom! A freaking elephant!" Well, mom was a
tad surprised and disturbed at her baby's unusual vocabulary and asked
"Where did you learn that?"
The 4 year old said "From the sign, mom! I read the
sign!" and pointed. The mother looked over where she pointed and sure
enough there was a sign that read "African Elephant".
Now that 'Frickin' dust could very well be my old
neighbor who was having a love affair with his jack-hammer. The one that
was building his house with plans scribbled on a matchbook. One day he
would pour concrete and the next day he would jack-hammer it back out again. It
created this horrible teensy tiny dust that is horrendous on the lungs. So are
they building around you again? Maybe it's the jerk-hammers making all
that dust.
On the other hand, the islands have too many drug
dealers, maybe one of those gasoline powered go-fast boats full of cocaine
exploded and sent white powder everywhere! Ha ha! Then again, the Tortola
incinerator is none too popular and malfunctions often, maybe it's their dust
from another malfunction.
Then there is the volcano dust. But I checked
the volcano ash
advisories and it seems it hasn't been updated since the 19th and this is
the 26th, by my calculations, so maybe you are getting dusted with that and they
just haven't updated the reports lately (couldn't see from all the dust). I must admit, I am breathing a lot easier since I
temporarily left the islands. I sorely miss my cyclonic Hepa filter vacuum
cleaner, those are the best and all other vacuum cleaners should be banned and
outlawed. Mine was one of the first Hepa filter cyclonics on the market,
and it was a Euro-Pro Shark vacuum cleaner . Mine picked up miniscule dust, including Sahara dust,
Afrian dust, Volcano dust, concrete jerk-hammer dust and general frickin' dust
all around. When I sold and gave away my stuff (storage rates were
ridiculously overpriced, so I had to just let go of stuff) a lady with a
new baby came over and grabbed my treasured Shark so her floors would be
spotless for her baby to crawl on. Matter of fact, I used to vacuum so often, (just
loved that vacuum cleaner) that one day when I had just vacuumed, my friend
stopped over, kicked her shoes off at the door, then walked to the kitchen
to make a drink. She said "Oh, your floors feel so wonderful! You must
have just mopped!"
I was too embarrassed to admit, I hadn't mopped in
weeks, because that Shark kept my floors so spotless.
If I were rich and famous (ha ha ha) I would open a
store in the islands carrying nifty island items, stuff you can never ever find
on Tortola, like that wonderful Euro-Pro Shark vacuum cleaner, the automatic dishwasher that only uses 3 gallons of water
and it optionally plugs into a regular outlet and hooks into your sink faucet
(so apartment dwellers can have one), the quiet portable inverter generators and so on. So many nifty items out there on the world
markets and they are perfect for island life, but strangely, aren't
available on the islands. However, I will give Radio Doc in Road Town,
five stars, because when I last checked they were carrying some of that silicone bakeware, and silicone anything is perfect for the island kitchens. No
more rust! Yippee! Actually, I had gone there to inquire about a
steam mop, another wonderful invention we should have had eons ago, but they
didn't have any of those. They also didn't carry any apartment size washing
machines, you had to special order those. With a zillion apartments on
Tortola you would think... something like that would be useful. Well, AH...AH...AH...AHCHOO!!! Oh my
gosh, that dust is getting ME now. Good grief.
When I come back to da islands, I be having my new
baby with me.
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- Tuesday in Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 25 May 2010 10:50:50 EDT
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Another very calm night with winds shifting about but no sustained
breeze. Did have a nice shower about 5PM then really bright sunlight for
an hour. It was really nice and clean feeling. Took the opportunity
for a nice salt water bath and a double rinse off with fresh water from the boat
followed by just standing in the warm rain... talk about nice feeling
hair! Then it was time for a Sundowner... while the sun did set into a
dark cloud, the air was clean smelling (or was that just me?) and a comfortable
83 degrees with clam waters.... almost glass like again.
Heading out to do laundry and re-supply then a couple of days away from the
bay just sailing and walking about. Looking forward to spending time with
special friends and meeting some new ones over the next couple of days.
Wow.... Sometimes I have to think and wonder what I ever did that was so good
that I get the opportunity to live on my boat and do what I do and meet some of
the greatest people in the world!
Wishing all Fair winds and following Seas
da Wayward Sailor
By the way that low pressure system between Bermuda and Bahamas isn't
much of a threat but stay tuned!
The gorgeous Virgin Islands
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- Mermaid Gardener in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 12:40:21 EDT
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Today is Whit Monday, a holiday here in the BVI. It is observed
with most everthing closed except gas stations and grocery
stores. Everyone that I talked with yesterday asked me if I was
going to have a BBQ? Have no plans at this point, maybe go to the
beach but then again it will probably be really busy and parking can
be an issue at some of the beaches. So maybe I'll just ask a
friend over and fire up my own BBQ grill some steaks or fish, in
either case, the day should be fun, no hurricanes, seas are not
totally flat, slight breeze out of the west southwest. Good day
to just chill out and read a book, maybe I'll pull out Dear
Missmermaids book, sit back and enjoy paradise. From paradise, the
Mermaid Gardener  |
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- Whit Monday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 24 May 2010 10:01:10 EDT
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There is no wind in the BVI and it's Whit Monday, a
Public Holiday, so everyone will want to be at the beach cooling off. It's
hot and sticky.
I suspect that big low pressure system 500 miles
south-southwest of Bermuda with gale force winds, has sucked the wind out of the
islands.
I called friends in the BVI for a local report, but I
see now dat Wayward Sailor has sent a report.
From dat crazy
~~~~~~~~
From dat Wayward Sailor:
Had a nice sunrise over St. John and Tortola this AM, a few clouds but nice
sun which will feed da solar panels. Again last night the winds..... well
there were Not any. Another almost dead calm with an occasional cool
breath of air from varying directions. All of the boats point to different
directions and had to rig the mosquito net over the bunk and did burn a Mosquito
Coil to drive them from the boat a bit. The lack of wind actually helped
keep the vapors more concentrated and I didn't get the ambush attack when I slid
out from the netting to check on things through the night. I have found
one other product I like better but can not always get for natural mosquito
protection and that is Sandalwood Sticks. Looks like an incense stick but a bit thicker and
had a very nice but light aroma. Better than the smokey aroma of the Cobra
Temp is a very nice 81 at 7:30 this AM and breeze is just starting but is
confused as to which direction it should come from. We have a puff from
the North then South East then West then it just dies away leaving boats with
different hull designs pointing oddly at each other. Humidity is
increasing and now about 80% with a 30% chance of rain. It appears the
center section of Tortola from about Road Town or possible Nanny Cay down to
almost West end had a short shower already this AM but West End and Frenchman's
Cay did not get a drop.
Have a great group of sailors in the bay overnight and not a single power
boat! However some of the cats do tend to keep generators running for
charging batteries and other use. I actually ran my little Honda 2000i ( portable inverter generator) last night for some internet surfing and charging phones and
topping off the house bank of batteries which needed a little TLC since we have
had some clouds in the prime charging times of the day for a few days. I
also admit, I used the very small microwave to reheat some BBQ ribs I had left
over from a dinner at C&F.... a very popular spot in 'Road Town. They
were sooooo good ... Mmmmm Oh, there it goes again! Will miss
talking to some of the sailors leaving today, most going back to the States or
Canada for the season and one heading down island in a run to beat the first
storms. Wish all Fair Winds and Following Seas and the same to you
to.
later
da Wayward Sailor
Lawdy mercy! Dat Wayward Sailor has captured a gorgeous picture
of sunset in the Virgin Islands.
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- Sunday, Saturday, the weekend in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 14:27:49 EDT
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From dat Wayward Sailor:
Saturday started out wet but turned into a very nice day! Great for
hiking where no computers or internet is available and most phones will not
work! Took 3 hours to get this report transmitted! WoW... yes such
places still exist! The winds of the past few weeks have for now abated...
actually last nigh they stopped about sundown and the skitters came out in
mass.... even over hundred's of yards of water to MY mooring! Boats are
pointed in all directions. Sea is Flat except for a spot where some fish
had swam near the surface. Reasonably sure people will soon have to move
around to keep from using up all the oxygen in a fixed spot.
This AM we have more boats in my bay than what we had last week with all
the rain. Temp is about 84 with NO wind and a 30 to 40% Chance
of rain. The haze is still with us. Seas still the near Flat
conditions of last night and do not appear be more than 2-3 feet
in the channel..
Yesterday while hiking, I ran across a pair of Bananaquit (Bananakeet)
building a nest in the center of the hike path just above head level. It
is a more or less ball of leave fibers which they enter from the bottom. I
Hope the photos I'm attaching work! I'm just hoping someone does not knock
it down by accident not knowing what it is or just do it intentionally as some
people seem to enjoy doing for some reason unknown to me. I'll try to
report on its progress/ status when possible as long as it last. The bird
is very small and the male has a bright yellow breast and dark back feathers and
wings. The female is rather drab in color dress feathers as it
the case of most birds and some of my ex wives........ unlike my most recent
friends of the female variety.... but I digress( is may be just old age but
probably something else).... The Bananaquit is much like a humming bird in
size but fly more like a normal bird and has a very nice and unique sound.
Hope these two, with poor housing location skills, survive the people who walk
under their home.
Getting lots of interesting people in the bay over the past few days with
many being live aboard sailors on the way South or full time locals. A bit
late to start South unless they are going to make a multi day run directly down
which is not what most of us do. We tend to do the lim'n thing and sail a
day and then hang around to absorb to new location for a few days/weeks/months
or years! Heck I'm on my 6th consecutive month here in the Virgin Islands
and still have more to enjoy before I move on probably after the Christmas winds
of next season have passed. Until then I'll keep da Mermaid and her fans
updated on what the boat level conditions are where we happen to find
ourselves!
Later
da Wayward Sailor
WOW! Mermaid Gardener and Dat Wayward Sailor are outdoing each other
on best pics! Thanks!
Send us a picture of you or your friend or someone reading "Hurricanes and
Hangovers" and we will publish it, the more unusual, the
better!
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- 90L Invest and Prickly Garden in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 23 May 2010 14:17:43 EDT
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First Atlantic Invest 90L is here, but no threat to the BVI at this time.
An extratropical low pressure system a few hundred miles northeast of
the Bahamas (90L), has changed little over the past day. This low has the
potential to develop into the season's first depression or subtropical storm,
and could be a threat to the Southeast U.S. coast by Tuesday or
Wednesday.
From Mermaid Gardener:
Sunday, seas are flat, no wind, warming up quite rapidly here in the
BVI. Was chatting with a friend over the weekend and we both
agreed that there are so many beautiful plants and cactus here in
paradise that can really get you in trouble. My cactus biting
tale is funny in hindsight but at the time quite painful.
Back a few years ago we had decided to do some brush cutting trying to
rid ourselves of some wild Tamarind trees. While down there
hacking and sawing through a bunch of Tamarind I accidentally backed
up into a cactus....my elbow and arm took most of the spines. Ouch!!!
That cactus bit me!!! I shouted! Pulled out a few spines that
went through my shirt & pressed on with being Jane of the
jungle...later after that job was done,w sat and had a cold beverage
looking at the damage that we did on the tamarind, we both agreed that
we did a pretty good job of hacking down the tamarind, but that old
cactus did not look like it had wrestled with Jane of the jungle.
The funny thing about those spines is that they are so small that
you can't see them but they feel like you are constantly having
acupuncture....decided once back in the states to have my doctor pull
out what was left. My doctor looked at my elbow and arm and could
not see a single one, but after getting out a magnifying glass he
pulled out about 10 itsy bitsy spines still in there...his comment was
so who won the battle.... I said not Jane of the jungle!!!! We
both chuckeled when I told him that I had brought back a few souvenirs
from my garden. Never going to wrestle again with the jungle and
its inhabitants I'll let my gardener be the pruner and the retired
"Jane of the jungle" will do a fine job supervising way far away from
that mean old cactus!!! No more spines for this Mermaid
Gardener!!!!  |
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- Saturday
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 22 May 2010 08:40:57 EDT
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It's 8:35am and Dear Miss Mermaid is still waiting for
that Mermaid Gardener or Wayward Sailor to roll out of their bed or bunk (or rum
squall) and let us all know what the BVI weather is really doing.
I'm still stuck in Orlando, Florida. I came here for a week, um 1-2-3
months ago, I forget, as that nasty head injury is till pesky, and well, first I
was sick, then I got well, then I got worse, then I found some medical
treatments, and they made me feel lousy. Now I am feeling pretty good and I
think I've found some part-time traveling work, suitable for a Mermaid, so quick
as I can get myself organized ha,ha, ha (I hear you laughing) I will get to fire
up The Beast and hit the road. Rumor is I am going to Lake Placid. Now
which Lake Placid? There are so many! I will keep you guessing while
you do your geography! Soon as I free some
loot, I'll be back in the BVI!
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE OF STOUT WASHED UP ON THE SEASHORE:
Re: Dinner before sunset?
'Looking forward to a really good dinner later
this afternoon then kick back and watch the sun set (hopefully) with a Sundowner
in hand with a great friend to talk to.' 'da wayward
sailor'
We share the same language....but the
cultures are so different. Traditionally, the British celebrate sunset,
and the end of the day (1800) with a 'Sundowner' (or two!) and then
dine in the cool of the evening (1930/2000) with wine, and continue
drinking brandy, scotch, rum or whatever takes their fancy for as long as
it takes.
Between lunch and dinner we take tea
(traditionally at 1600) with a slice of cake or biscuits.
Funny 'ole world!
'Luv Frenchie
Hey Frenchie,
Where I be from,
biscuits are made of flour, baking powder, milk and butter or shortening,
served at breakfast with jam or a hunk of meat stuck in it, such as a sausage
patty. Cookies are those sweet confections you call
bictuits.
You Brits put
luggage, a spare tire and junk in your boot. We put our foot in our boot.
But in the Caribbean, a boot is any kind of shoeware that isn't a slipper, a
slipper being any kind of shoe you can slip on and off, where as in America, a
slipper is typically for house wearing only such as bedroom slippers, which
ca be worn outside of the bedroom and around the house but typically never worn
outdoors or in public.
Brits buy petrol,
Americans buy gas. Don't drive drunk in America or in Britan you can be accused
of being pissed. But in American English, pissed is annoyed, not drunk.
Either way don't be
pissed on the dual carriageway in Britain or drunk on the divided highway in
America. Check your oil under the bonnet or we check it under the hood. We clean
our windshield, you clean a windscreen. You ride up in a lift, while
Americans take the elevator.
In Tortola,
elevators and lifts, are referred to as those boxes with sliding doors that are
always broken and in need of repair.
It's only
semantics...
So if you're
confused, don't get your knickers in a twist, or for you Aussie's don't get your
knickers in a knot and I won't get my panties in a wad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ANOTHER
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
And for you
bloody pirates!
Have fun still enjoying your log.....I
launch my boat in two weeks, weather here is gorgeous, high 70's.......though it
does bring out the Maine state bird.....the pesky black fly, boy do they
suck!
Fun link below-----
Nat
Dear Nat!
I went to that Pirate site and it named
me Bloody Ethel Bonny! OMG!!!
DMM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of
Pirates...
How can the post office brag
about its revenues when they can't provide private PO boxes (waiting list
is decades long) and mail from Road Town to West End (10 miles) takes 3
weeks?
Post
Office Generated $4.5M in Revenues
Platinum News Online
The BVI Post Office came in
for praise from Fifth District Representative, Hon. Elvis Harrigan for
generating some $4.5M in revenues for 2009. ...
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- Fried Day in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 13:42:16 EDT
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HazzzzzzeYYyy. Variable Cloudy with 50% chance of rain is what the
weather service is now saying through the weekend. Presently we have about
15 knot winds in the channel and seas under 3 feet for the most part.
Outside the seas are 3 to 5 feet with an occasional breaking crest.
On the sail down the Sir Francis Drake Channel yesterday afternoon it was
so hazy the Wayward Sailor had his hat off enjoying to cool breeze flowing
through his hair... Yes I still have some HAIR thank you much!!...... Now it is
growing from some very sun sensitive skin.... No way I'll be without head cover
for the next few days!!
Had only 3 boats in the bay last night... unfortunately the one that moored
closes to us was running its engines all night... guess they wanted to have the
Air conditioner going... At the time the breeze was about 15 knots
and the temps were about 80 which gives a nice a cool effect inside the cabin...
well into the mid 70's.... I needed a sheet for cover it was so cool but for
some reason the other boaters appear to want to sleep in full thermal dress and
under a pile of blankets.... well to be honest they were a bit on the overweight
side and probably were a bit warmer than what I was feeling and I was feeling
great even after my burned fish dinner!... Well it Was MY fault... coals were
hot and I just got distracted and over cooked the fish but the sides were put
together by my guest and all in all it was a great afternoon. I finally
learned how to cook great Plantains with out going through the boiling thing
with them.
This AM we are the only full size boat in the bay. A few small power
boats and rental dinks are in for the snorkeling and diving and a good number of
hikers came in for the same and beach time. Wonder If we will have the bay
to ourselves tonight??? Mmmm that could be nice. Looking forward to
a really good dinner later this afternoon then kick back and watch the sun set
(hopefully) with a Sundowner in hand with a great friend to talk to. Well
this is Paradise... someone has to do it.
later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Perfect Weather in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 08:47:36 EDT
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No hurricanes, no storms, no snow, just perfect weather in the BVI!
Don't be messing with da turtles!
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- Winds are up and Haze is rolling on in to the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 20 May 2010 10:23:31 EDT
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Good Morning from Hazy Tortola!
From my vantage
point you can really see the haze rolling in. A friend of mine who
visited me was surprised to see how the haze rolls in. You really
almost feel it as is comes in. When you are on the water sailing you
don't get to see this stuff. Checked the Sahara dust map and it
appears that this is not Sahara Dust....so what is it? Maybe Icelandic
ash.
But wait you can still get a sunburn today. My plans are
to spend plenty of time outside catching sunrays. No rain last night
just great BBQ ribs over at C&F.I took friend of mine over to C&F
for the first time. Yummy ribs, quick, and the waitresses are very
friendly.
Winds are still up, 18 knots blowing pretty
good. Seas are 3 feet on average in Sir Francis Drake Channel.
Some white caps. A good day for sailing around the islands.
The Mermaid
Gardener |
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- Flora, Fauna, Bees and Beer Caps in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 19 May 2010 08:21:26 EDT
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From dat Sailing Gardener!
Good afternoon! Lovely day here after having a
gloomy rainy Monday.
The skies have broken up a bit and it has
turned out to be a partly
sunny day. Got some sun bathing in,
the pool temperature is hovering
around 89 degrees, just
perfect. Both my gardener and housekeeper
were here today
sprucing up the place. I ended up making a Clarence
Thomas run,
that's pretty much the best hardware store in the island,
had to find
some window screen clips. In the bee frenzy broke one of
the clips off
one of the kitchen screens... So today I put on my home
repair hat and
got that thing fixed. I'm thinking maybe if I get
enough energy
up I'll look around the rest of the screens and see if
others need
replacing, or maybe I'll just sit out on the veranda and
watch the
boats go by. Now that's a nice idea!!!
Maybe I'll see that wayward
sailor out there in the Sir Frances Drake!
Sailing Gardener
From Dat crazy Dear Miss Mermaid:
One year all the stores were out of screen window clips. Since most
stores on the island, at that point and time, only ordered ONCE a year, it meant
waiting another year for screen clips. So if your clips were broken and lawdy
mercy, in this sea air, they do corrode pretty fast, then you were out of
luck.
So my window screens kept blowing out every time the wind got strong,
and in my little apartment, this was pretty often, as it was built to take in
the trade winds.
My beer drinking buddy was over when two screens flew out of the
windows, one breezy day, and one slapped him silly, spilling his beer.
I'll fix DAT he said and he got up to investigate the broken window
screen clips which were held in by little screws. He asked for a hammer and
I said "Oh no, these are concrete walls, we don't use hammers on them..."
He rolled his eyes and said he wouldn't dream of it.
I got out my big heavy bright yellow tool box and he rummaged around,
finding the hammer and an errant nail. He then opened another beer bottle and
took the metal bottle cap and knocked a small hole in it with the hammer
and my ice pick. Then he put the screen back up, placed the beer cap
over the screw hole and screwed it in. The window screen was now firmly held in
place.
He rummaged around the garbage pail and fished out a few more beer
caps, and proceeded to fix all my window screens. For years those beer
caps held my screens firmly in place.
Then a painter came over one day and he was a REAL painter, the type
that actually knew what he was doing (very rare in the islands, most just slop
paint on the screens, the floor, themselves and the cat and then call it a paint
job well done, while you are left with a horrific mess). Anyhow, he began
removing the screens in anticipation of painting the walls and not the window
screens. He asked about these beer caps holding them up, and I explained that
was the year the hardware store ran out of screen clips, but fortuitously, we
had plentiful beer caps that year.
He painted all day, and when he left, the paint was only on the walls
and not all over the furniture, the windows, the cat and me. I was very
impressed, but he left the window screens down and I figured it was to let the
paint get good and dry.
The next day he showed up with a pocketful of window screen clips and
put those in, tossing my now rusty beer caps in the garbage again.
Here's a beautiful gorgeous picture from dat Mermaid
Gardener:
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- More from dat Wayward Sailor in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 10:30:34 EDT
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Rains from Sunday & Monday seem to be decreasing and a bit.... a
small bit of sunshine is seen on both sides of the BIG cloud that appears to be
over Tortola. Crossing the Narrows this AM we noted the current was
flowing West at a good rate... probably near 2.5 knots with the wind possibly
adding a half knot or more to that if you have enough wind surface.
Good thing the seas are not up yet or some pounding could occur if your course
was into the present conditions.
83 now with winds near 16 knots and while the weather service says they
will top out at near 18... I'm not so sure as I've seen several gust and wind
fronts move down the channel that were at least 20 knots... problem is that they
are not steady but hit randomly about every 7 to 15 minutes. You really
have to keep an eye on the wind pattern in the water ahead of you and that is
difficult with 3 to 4 foot seas in the Channel some with white caps. On
the Atlantic Side the seas are 7 to 8 foot and seem to have a lot of North to
them for this time of year. Would suspect Cain Garden Bay may be a bit
rolley! One note: If you see surfers riding waves into the beach at
Cane Garden Bay.... do not take your dink to the dink dock or attempt to land it
at the beach... just do that another day!!! when the swells are not
present.
I'm hoping to run up to Penn's Landing for a bit. Love the place and
the people and at the East End, almost everything is near by, walking distance,
dink distance or you can take the local bus for just $3.00 always into Road Town
or any place in between. Some roving taxi's will share a ride at $2.00 per
person and you can not beat that and the ride can be very interesting. You
Never know who will be along for the ride with you. I'm looking forward to
the great showers at Penn's Landing and picking up some great fish at Sailors
Catch right next to Penn's Landing. You can also get LP tanks refilled by
the adjacent Gas Station. Right Breeze has move a half block down to a new
building larger than the older store and has much better parking and a dock you
can dinky up to!! Now that is what cruisers look for... a food store on
the water with dink space!
Well off to do laundry then figure I can make it to Penns today....
Later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Monsoon? Mini Hurricane? BVI weather be crazy mon
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 18 May 2010 10:20:25 EDT
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Monsoon??? Had a big and hard rain last evening.... about 2 inches of
rain water at midships in the dink. Will have to go pump/ bale it out
soon. Gas tank is starting to float! We have had some nice sun this
AM but overall it is mostly cloudy with a very nice breezy about 8 to 10
knots. Few white caps on Sir Francis Drake Channel here at the West End
but I can still see some swells that are probably 3 feet or so that make up
winding a pounding event for Power Boats and an occasional wet adventure for
sailors.
Had a wonderful day in Sopers Hole, West End on Sunday. Had an early
Brunch with a great friend and then just hung around the boat talking and
enjoying the nice breeze and movement of the boat at the mooring. Very
Comfortable setting and we put on a CD, I had made up which included... Charlie and Dana Hunt Black... they are really great! CD also had some Jim Morris, an Island Rock music man from Florida and of course some Jimmy Buffett songs. Good songs and great company and the
opportunity to nibble on some fantastic delicacies with a glass of Cherry
Kool-Aid of all things!!!! Well what can I say... cold and sweet sometimes
go with hot and delicious!
On my return trip I did notice a significant increase in the swells going
East to West around the Narrows. As I was abeam the seas and wind it did
make for an occasional roll of significant portions... a reminder to me to watch
the seas rather than dwell on the delights of the past few hours.... a hard
thing to do when really relaxed and still feeling warmth of the day and effects
of the Cherry Kool-Aid?????
Really it was JUST Cherry Kool-Aid with half the sugar!!! No Rum or
Anything... gotta get a few more packs of da stuff!!!!
later
da Wayward Sailor
WHAT? NO rum or anything? What kind of sailor are
ya?
DMM
And just how much rum did this crane operator have?
For your former Barefoot Windjammer Cruise lovers...
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- Drippy Mondaze in Paradise on Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 17 May 2010 08:36:25 EDT
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Good morning from rainy paradise. The winds
picked up over night as
this disturbed weather moved into our
region. 5:00am heavy rain with
blasts of downdrafts.
Luckily no sailors out this early, they are
still hibernating
pondering if this will be an all day rain wash out.
My gardens
will love this rain and I love hearing that rain water run
into my
cistern.
Think this morning I'll roll over in bed, nap for a bit, then
have a
cup of tea and hopefully watch the weather improve. You never
can tell
what the weather will be like later today probably good
tanning weather!
From Your Mermaid Gardener
This be a Bee update dat be from
dat Mermaid Gardener:
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Whew the bee's have been asked to move to a new
location. Unbelievable yesterday afternoon in my kitchen. A
portion of the swarm of bees must have found a crack or open space into
the kitchen. I had bee's flying everywhere. So my trusted
exterminator said that he would be out Sunday morning to invite the bee's
to move to a new location. I had no intentions of watching this
ordeal so off I went to meet up with a friend and I enjoyed the entire
afternoon not thinking about bee's. Came back later this afternoon
not knowing if my friendly bee's were still in the kitchen and west
bedroom or not.
Fantastic!! The bee's were not in the kitchen
nor the west bedroom, my exterminator did the job. He left me this
lovely note advising me that there would be just a couple of bees flying
about trying to find their new home and not worry they would be leaving
shortly. By this evening after having dinned at C&F for BBQ
ribs, came home to a quiet non buzzing home. Ah the sounds of
paradise without the buzz of hundreds of bee's. Sure didn't get any
honey out of this ordeal but did get a couple of nights of going out for
really good food. No complaints here on my end. Hope that the bee's
have found a lovely new home somewhere else on the island. Lesson
learned on this day..... a good exterminator is worth every
penny!!!
Mermaid Gardener
And From dat Wayward Sailor, here's a view from his
porthole:
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- The Bees Be With Me On Tortola & Mermaid in a Garden
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 16 May 2010 10:54:41 EDT
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No chance of freezing, and no hurricanes on the horizon. All is well and
weather is gorgeous.  The pic below was
supplied by the Mermaid Gardener:
One day when my friend sent pics we used on the blog here, I referred to
her as the East End Correspondent, a dry boring name... but I was in a
hurry (shame on me!) Now that she is more often on Tortola and helping
LOTS with local weather reports while I am on walkabout, it's high
time to give her a proper name; Mermaid Gardener.
So here's her next report under her new name MERMAID GARDENER:
Yep there is a colony of bees that decided that they
really like my
home and are making it their home. I noticed one
bee (one little teeny tiny itsy bitty bee) earlier in the day as I was
making Blood Orange Marmalade, but didn't think anything about it.
But guess the queen decided she liked the view. Then pretty soon the swarm
followed!
I've vacated the kitchen even though I have
mangos sitting on the stove waiting to be made into jam, Called the
exterminator in a frantic state, he told me
leave the house,
they will settle down & I'll call you back in an hour....great!
So much for mango jam and making dinner at home,
guess
I'll be going out tonight!!
Ah the island life!
Maybe I'll get some tropical honey out of this
ordeal! At the very least get them out of my house to go live else where
in paradise!
I might love gardening and know the value of bees
but this is crazy!
Oh my gosh, you DO have bees! Maybe we be naming you dat
Crazy BeeKeeper now instead of Mermaid Gardener! They must LOVE your
flowers. Which
local honey is very healthy for you, it helps promote and strengthen your
immunity to local allergens. I keep collecting up honey it seems, as I move
around, and buy the latest local honey.
And now:
MESSAGE IN A WINE
BOTTLE:
Dear Miss Mermaid,
Don't get your mermaid tail all in a twitter up
in the states. Come back soon.
WOWIE! A statue in my honor! Yep, that looks like me!
Keep those Mermaid pics coming (Dear Miss Mermaid collects pictures of
Mermaids, so send them onwards to my email address at the top of this
post!)
Another fun read, of true tales from the high
seas!
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- Winds are up in BVI, Pass the Wine
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 15 May 2010 10:31:14 EDT
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The guy's at the weather service were correct
about the winds!!! They picked up all day and were really up last
night! An easy 20 knots with mini gust near about 25 made the boats dance
about the mooring field!
You can really see the difference in hull design
and specifically how much keel a boat has when these conditions occur. Did
have a couple of short sprinkles after a heavy shower in late afternoon.
Thought West End and Frenchman's Cay were going to be the only places not to get
any rain until finally one did not creep too far North and gave everything a
good bath.... including me!
Soaped up and jumped into the nice salty warm
water then stood on the sugar scoop for a free rinse with cool rain.... well I
did add a bit of my own fresh water to make sure my hair was salt water free...
among other spots.
This AM was still breezy but down to between 18
and 20 Knots. Still some white caps on Sir Francis Drake Chanel but not
like yesterday afternoon and night. Still some real sailors out with all
sails up and heading against the wind and currents in an active pattern.
About 83 F degrees here now with mostly cloudy sky.... but an occasional
sunshine path through the clouds will light up the boat as it passes. All
in all, still a great day in Paradise.
I have a few things to do on the boat and a few
"projects" to push a bit further along and then some clean up as I expect a
possible guest to join me for a sail and having tools laying around just does
not add to the nautical experience... or is that naughtycal experience?
I'll never tell! 
Just hope for enough sun and wind to make the
day even nicer... or just heavy rain would do after getting all aboard and
settled in. That is cruising and it is all good......
later
da Wayward Sailor
Today's WONDERFUL
QUOTE:
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE TO DEAR MISS MERMAID
Well I found as I get older that I don't need "stuff" any more and if
you saw our funny little apartment you'd see. Just need the ocean and salt
air, friends, lots of wine and good food. That's the life for
me.
Island Girl in the BVI
And Dear Miss Mermaid agrees wholeheartedly. Well said indeed.
Amen. Pass the wine. You be a true mermaid at heart and soul.
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- Winds have picked up in the BVI and please pass the Rum!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 11:05:46 EDT
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From the East End
Correspondent...
What a difference a day
makes! Winds are UP! Could hear the winds picking up over
night. From where I live the winds will cross over Beef Island and
pick up some speed then run up the ridge line here at my house.
There are plenty of white caps out on Sir Frances Drake Channel, just a
few sailboats out , looks like jib only might be on the sailing plan
today.
Check out the palm tree in the picture, the fronds
are everywhere.
Went to a lovely going away dinner party for
friends here on the island. They have lived here on their boat for
quite a few years and are going to make there way back to Florida.
Discussion last night went from how much extra gas will I need to
carry,.to can we fill one of the extra containers with Rum.
...Somehow the conversation got onto that they should carry Mayonnaise so
the could use it to help cut the oil slick that they will probably
encounter up in the Gulf. You will have to ask Dear Miss Mermaid
about how that all works. I've only used it in my Tuna artichoke
pita sandwich's and for cooking never knew that you could use it for oil
slicks.. It was also said that chances are that they will be able to
use the oil slick to their advantage and make up time with a slippery
hull....pass around the Rum one more time......when someone asked how long
the journey will take....hum depends upon the Rum maybe a year .....pass
the Rum around one more time.....
The night was filled with great
food, fun, laughs and tears. We all wished them a happy safe
voyage. Pass the RUM!
Enjoy the day, I will do the same from
the BVI. |
News from dat WayWard Sailor:
Well the day started off with mostly cloudy sky and breezy with temps in
the 80 degree area. Chance for rain is 70% today and night. Still
think we will have sun popping out a good bit as the day goes on. We are
under a nice sun beam now and it feels good. Did have a nice couple of
showers last night allowing me the opportunity to run around in the boat closing
the hatches only to reopen them a few minutes later and repeat as
necessary! Nice thing is the really fresh smells after even a short
shower... really allows you to get back to sleep thinking really nice thoughts
of special people, places and FOOD... LOL
Marine forecast for today is winds 18 to 22 knots and sears 5 to 7
feet. Within the Sir Francis Drake Channel and along a good bit of the
coastal areas, the seas will be a bit less... probably under 5 feet but with
lots of small white caps which are very visible off here at the West End of
Tortola and Eastern part of St. Thomas. Good but potentially Wet sailing
for good boats and crews but I suspect that most of the charter fleets will hang
in the major destination moorings at the shops and bars/ restaurants... not a
bad thing.... the local business need the green as much as we need the rain for
making things green.
My sleep was like a rock last night... until the rain hit my face from the
overhead hatch! A rocking boat and good thoughts can make sleeping
something that most shore people can not really understand. May have a
chance to "practice" by taking a nap or two during any rain storms that pass
by..... BUT I have a few boat projects to get under way... including some
gardening work... GARDENING WORK????!!!!! well yep da Wayward Sailor
is attempting to become a Head Gardner.
Now you ask what is a Head Gardner doing on a boat.... Are you SURE you
want to know???
When in town I also went to a woodshop and picked up a 2 foot by 4 foot of
PVC board for a project. Why go to a wood shop to by plastic??? Well
it is an Island thing......
Fixing up a shelf to store my Honda 2000i in a cockpit storage dry
locker. I may even consider rigging it for operating the generator if I
can work the venting and starting problems out. Now that would be nice...
not having to bring a 45 pound suite case looking thing up the companion way
steps when I wanted/ needed to use it. I also have about 5 other projects
on going as I locate the parts/ items necessary to complete them..... also a
typical island thing but that is what makes it fun and so rewarding when you
finish... it is not like you can go to Home Depot or Sears and pick up anything
you need and be finished the same day.
Well off to get another fresh up for my coffee and wishing everyone a good
day from the West End area... WOW the Sun just came out Big time!
later
da Wayward Sailor
Dear Miss Mermaid thinks dat head gardener
of a wayward sailor is really talking about mowing the grass off his hull on his
pirate ship...
Warm
and Sunny Regards,
DearMissMermaid.Com
Author
of
Hurricanes
and Hangovers(And Other Tall Tales and Loose Lies From The Coconut
Telegraph)
Available in the USA, UK, France,
Germany, India, PR and the BVI
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- Where's dat dunshine?
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 17:50:21 EDT
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Dat Wayward Sailor writes:
Spent some time sailing, motor sailing and just motoring up and down the
Sir Francis Drake Channel over the past two days. Far fewer boats
out but a good bit of the sailboats were under sail. Winds are between 12
and 18 knots but they do have a few wind shifts that surprise you if your not
looking out at water surface. Most sailors can read wind on the surface
and can adjust for wind speed and direction before they come on to the wind
line. That is what race boats do but cruisers like myself use the same
techniques for ease of sail and smoother/ dryer rides.
We did have a glorious start of the day today. Overcast with good
winds and rain. Now you ask how could this be good? Well you just
had to have been there. In da islands what may seem bad is very often
very, very very nice depending on the circumstances at hand. Something
unexpected just occurs and even overcast and rain can look far better than you
may assume. It is all about attitude and a bit of lower latitude probably
helps! Sharing great food and times with friends is the key
ingredients.
On and off showers with a few spots of sun and breezy winds are on tap for
most of the islands today and tonight. Things are really looking green and
the flowers are all coming out. Even the birds seem to enjoy the short
rain showers
later
da Wayward Sailor
The East End Correspondent writes:
Hello from cloudy Paradise!
Woke
this morning just after sunrise to see some rain squalls coming
through. The rain shafts are so interesting to see from high up on
the island that it's always fun to watch. The winds have picked up
over the last day or so and the clouds have thickened. Not many
boats out sailing, must have hunkered down to let this disturbed weather
pass. Not sure if that Wayward sailor passed by my house or not, from my
distance up on the hill most sailboats look alike with the exception of
the larger Oysters (Hum I want one of those) need to work on Santa for
that one.......Most boats have full sails out but are not heeling over too
much, it would be a nice downwind sail going from Trellis Bay to Sopers
Hole today.
Due to the cloud cover, I kicked up the timer on
the solar heat to the pool, call me a wuss but do like a pool that is on
the bit warmer side. Still working as I type on my tan near the
pool, listening to the surf from Paraquitta Bay. No one has started
to haul their boats into Paraquitta Bay yet, that's a fantastic place for
boats during hurricane season. I usually get to watch Moorings and
Sunsail maneuver the boats through the very small channel at the
entrance. They stack them up side by side tightly.
Yesterday
was a fun day for me. Joined my art group for a lovely day of painting.
While picking up my friend en route to art group I stopped and snipped a
Purple Wreath (Petrea Voluilis) which was to be my botanical art
subject. It's flowers are lovely purple with sticky wide
leaves. The petals are quite dainty and it will usually wilt quickly
so as soon as I could I dashed it into water, but lo and behold not quick
enough so I've started painting a wilted Purple Wreath. For me
living periodically on the island it's important to meet people and make
friends so my art group along with practicing botanical art I'm enjoying
new relationships with ex-pat's, Brit's and locals. We end the
morning with lunch. Our hostess made Greek chicken and the
works. Quite a lovely morning plus started that wilted Purple Wreath
watercolor.
Will close for now, all is well and paradise is still
here waiting for you to come down and join her.
East End
Correspondent.
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- Wonderful Whether Weather on Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 13 May 2010 10:04:55 EDT
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Dear Miss Mermaid is still on walkabout, but the local
Tolan's haven't sent up their weather reports for today. Maybe there is just no
weather in the BVI today *giggle*.
But I can tell you there is NO SNOW in the BVI and so
far, no hurricane scares. Hurricane season starts June 1st, but those nasty
little boogers can pop up at any time, like an unwanted loud sneeze during
prayer at a funeral. So we are all grateful
that the predicted busy season has not decided to start early.
At least not yet.
MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE
Speaking of your "Wayward Sailor correspondent" please gently remind
him/her that the stories he/she regaled us with the "turns"
(sic) ----- I'm sure they meant " 'terns". Giggle.
Missa Lissa
Dear Missa Lissa,
From previous pictures published here of dat Wayward
Sailor with super hairy legs (and unpainted toe nails) propped up on his
compass pedestal while sucking down a Red Stripe or some such islandy beer, that
he/she might be a HE... Of course there are women and she-sailors, I
am sure, who have hairy legs and unpainted toe nails, who drink islandy beer,
and to them, we apologize, as we sure don't mean to offend *tee hee
hee*.
But some days dat Wayward Sailor does keep us
in stitches with his creative (and we mean real creative!) writing...
Now if the rest of you are confused...
TERNS are birds and TURNS are what we take at the bar when we are buying drinks
for our friends.
Aren't you glad we cleared THAT up.
Dear Miss Mermaid
Our East End Correspondent took this picture of the Virgin Islands
while flying high.
Another BooBoo...
On May 5th (on a post way down below) I forgot to give you the link to
the BIG images, so better later than never... here ya go!
This article linked below, is rather hilarious, I think I even
know who his seatmate was, but of course, I would not divulge that here.
*giggle* (No, it wasn't me...but the description and what she was eating
fits a certain island lady I know, and thinking it might be her, just made me
laugh even more, cause then the story would have to be true for
sure!)
THE
BIGGEST ASSHamptons
Independents
I was going to make a presentation for the advertising
account of the British Virgin Islands on the island of Tortola. I had to
catch a plane for San Juan ...
WHAT? Some t'ing went DOWN in price in the
islands???
BVI
Airways cuts priceBVI News
Online
In an effort to make flying more affordable BVI Airways
has 'trimmed down' its round trip price to St. Maarten to $141 with passengers
only having to pay ...
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- More from Tortola BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 12:23:03 EDT
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Another weather report, from a land locked she-sailor on
Tortola:
Weather today.....light breeze, half sun and half cloud...no rain anywhere
I've been today.
The seagulls are back. I do think it's so unfair the way they wait for the
pelicans to catch the fish then get on their backs and peck the pelicans head
whilst the poor thing is trying to empty its neck sack of water. The gulls just
want a free meal....and some of them get it!
There are hardly any cruise ships this month and the season seems to have
wound down early.
Sometimes when I get the kids home from school, we go for a swim at the
little beach. Usually at that time we have it to ourselves as the guests seem to
be having a nap or getting ready for dinner. It's nice just to have a sea soak.
Dear Miss Mermaid is grateful for all that contribute here, while she
is on walkabout!
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- Ooops! More from the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 10:23:25 EDT
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Dat Mermaid is making a mess of things! Dat Wayward Sailor wrote a
really nice report for Monday and she thought she posted it for him and instead
she sent it back to him. Ha! Ooops! So here it is, a day late, well
two days later...
Got up
early and made the 1.75 hour run down to Cruz Bay from Wet End (um West
end!)s. Went to the Lumber Yard because I needed a Hair Cut.
When I got their it was full up! Who get a hair cut on Monday????
Told me to come back so since I was at the Lumber Yard I stopped in at the
Coffee, Donut and Bakery for a nice cup of coffee and a great Danish.
You all
know that the US Virgin Island belonged to Denmark before the US purchased them
in the early 1900's. Met up with a friend who was at the Lumber Yard to
pay his Power and Water bill then we went shopping at the Lumber Yard for a gift
for his wife... seems he forgot Sunday was Mothers Day...MMmmm.
Got a hair cut and it was so great of a job I had them cut all of
them!
On the way out I stopped by the Lumber Yard Ice Cream shop for a cone of
real strawberry ice cream.... OOooboy was it good. Checked out the new
day tours the Lumber Yard shop was offering all over the island and to Jost
Van Dyke and Tortola... Wow!!!!!! Glad I own my boat... a few of those
trips and I could have bough another one!
Picked up some real estate books at the Lumber Yard.... prices here still
seem high and not dropping.... wonder what the actual sales prices look
like?
Took a walk over to the new Market Place for some fresh meat and veggies
and had a lunch at the bakery... Meat Lasagna with a salad and garlic
bread $9.00 and I was full. Well I did have two of the Summer Ales
they had!!!
Walked back to the Lumber Yard and picked up a block of Ice and a small
bag of Ice for the boat. Then went to one of the very few places a boat can
get fuel and picked up 5 gallons of gas for the dink and generator.
I actually need a piece of wood for a project I'm working on in making a
shelf for the generator on the boat. You ask Why did I not buy the wood
at the Lumber Yard???? They do not sell wood!!!! or lumber....it is an
Island thing....
On my way back East, hit the tail end of a small squall line that appears
to have wet most of the Eastern part of St. John and all of Jost Van
Dyke. For about 10 minutes I had 5 foot seas and some rain and to the
North West nothing was visible through the storm for a good while... then the
sun came back out as I was approaching my mooring... great timing!
Wonder if the 3 mast boat hit the same squall I saw them heading into?
later
da Wayward Sailor 
I hope my next boat looks like THIS
one! Me likes! (from dat Crazy
Mermaid!)
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- Gardening in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 12 May 2010 09:59:39 EDT
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Good Morning from Paradise!!
Woke up this morning and toured
my gardens, checking out the changes that have occurred while I was
away. Most of the plants look healthy even though it had been quite
dry prior to this past weeks rainfall. The bougainvillea are not
quite as full of foliage. Saw my gardener today and he told me that
between the rain and the wind they had gotten pretty beat up. You may be
asking why have a gardener, but when you live in a subtropic area you have
to keep the jungle at bay on a monthly basis or your gardens will become
overrun quite quickly. My gardener is worth every penny that I
spend, he has a monthly schedule of taking care of pruning, spraying for
pests, weed wacking, and fertilizing. I know my gardens are in
really good hands with him coming every week to take care of all my
flowers and shrubs.
My lime tree is doing quite well
with lots of cute baby limes on it. My tree unlike many others on
the island is a true lime and not a key lime tree. I've found so
many wonderful uses for my limes, from just squirting limes over fresh
barbecued fish, to a lime butter sauce for grouper, limes in my diet
coke, in adult beverages, and even lime jelly that I made from scratch
that I use for making vinaigrettes with.
I have seen pomegranate trees, almond trees, mango trees, and star
fruit trees here on the island. None of these do I have, I've
planted a dwarf plantain tree that is not suppose to get very tall and
should bear fruit in about 6 months. I think to myself lots of luck
there, I won't believe it until I see it blooming. I know
for many people it's always amazing to hear that Tortola has many
different types of micro climates. Where I live in East End we tend
to be more arid than the hills along Ridge Road, up there it's more of a
rain forest type of micro climate. East End tends to be dry with a
lot of cactus's. The soil is poor and we have to improve it with
mulch or addition of new soil. That means either finding good
quality top soil from here or getting bags of Miracle Gro top soil.
There seems to be three really good books that I use when I'm
planning a new garden area. " Gardening in the Caribbean" By Iris Bannochie, or
" Flowers of the Caribbean" and lastly " The Subtropical Garden" by Gil Hanly. I
find each one of these brings a little something different to the
garden. Subtropic gardening is quite the change from Midwest
clay. I am surprised though that
Zinnias grow quite well down here and can take the head
along with drought, really well. Everyday is a good day in
your garden...have a great day! East End
Correspondent |
WOW! Thanks for the pics and posting! Dear Miss Mermaid gone
on walkabout, but the blog continues!
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- tuesday, back in the islands mon in the BVI!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 11 May 2010 07:30:34 EDT
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From your East End Correspondent:
Finally got out of
the midwest today, after having suffered with potential snow and freezing
temps over the weekend. Nothing like a chilly forecast for Mothers
Day. Boarded my flights bright and early this morning hoping that
I'd make it all the way down here in one day. These days with the
flight schedules changing you never know if you will make it all in one
day. So plan ahead if you are going to come down.
But lo and
behold I was able to make the early morning trek out of the midwest down
to San Juan, plus made a Cape Air flight at 3pm. Wow what a joy it
was to arrive at Beef Island while it was still daylight. The island
looked very green after the reports of much needed rain that has fallen
over the last week. I have to admit that my pool is quite
full. That's great since I won't need to use cistern water to fill
her up for a few days. I've got the solar blanket on it and that too
will help with not only water loss but heat loss. Will probably look
at what the temperature is in the pool in the morning before I decide
whether or not to use the solar heat to bring up the pool temperature.
Sometimes I can be a wuss about the pool temperature but what most people
don't realize is that with the tradewinds picking up in the evening the
pool temperature drops dramatically so hence the solar heat to just kick
it up a little..
Got to my house and just was not in the mood
for going out for dinner so made myself some Bow Tie spaghetti with a
tomato sauce that included capers, artichokes, and sun dried
tomato's. Picked some limes off the lime tree. Watched the sun set
out on the veranda overlooking the Sir Frances Drake Channel, and had
quite the pleasant night. However, I have to admit that the
mosquito's are a bit hungry. As I sit here writing this I'm getting
nibbled on.
Tomorrow will be a day of stocking up the pantry
and fridge ( Riteway run). Plus going to Sailor's Ketch,
that's down by Penn's Landing. I'll be picking up some excellent
fish for grilling this week. I have to admit it's great to be back
home on island, tradewinds feel great on my face and the temperature is a
far cry better than the midwest..
Until I write again....East
End Correspondent on Tortola
Maybe we should name her the flying Mermaid, what with the great
pics she takes from her lofty perch!
Dat crazy
Dear Miss Mermaid, is still on walk-about, but you get to hear local
reports from the East End Correspondent and dat Wayward Sailor, who is out
roaming the high seas in his ship afloat.
I'm amazed
it's near freezing in the midwest! No wonder you ran
back to Tortola so fast, I would
too! |
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- Monday madness in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 10 May 2010 09:49:59 EDT
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My dear friend on Skype relayed this live weather report from
West End:
Weather is fine and sunny again after the bad rains which
more or less stopped by Saturday late morning. There have been a couple of
light showers this morning and it looks like there will be a few more during the
day.
Dat Wayward Sailor sent a message in a bottle:
Locked up again... takes 10 min each time it does it
to come back to life. Having to run Honda no sun yet and more
rain.... just a mist but it seems to impact the wireless link.
At first I think OH MY GOSH! Locked up???
But he means his laptop. Mine just crashed and died. I am so sad. I was behind
on my backups, and I was trying to BACKUP when it died. Grrrr..... Dear
Miss Mermaid is a just a TAD grumpy...
HOWEVER, this story, about the Guavaberries, really
cheered me up!
Quito Rymer set to perform at St Lucia
Jazz Festival | St Lucia ...
By admin
With over 80 original tunes ranging from sweet island blues, to
lovers' rock, classic reggaes and even ska, the band has had a strong following
in the BVI. Rymer is a self-taught professional musician. While growing
up he learnt the art ...
ARC yachts head homeYachting Monthly
World Cruising Club's transatlantic
sailing rally ARC Europe fleet has crossed the start line just off Nanny Cay
Marina, Tortola. The ARC Europe route takes ...
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- Sunday in da islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 9 May 2010 23:17:49 EDT
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Dear Miss Mermaid had a major technology meltdown, so the
reports are coming out at dark thirty, my apologies. My poor computer just
passed right out. I am using a borrowed one, and mon, it ain't easy. First my
cell phone died and now my computer. Some days I just want to live under the
coconut tree, fish for my supper and toss notes in a bottle into the
ocean!
And now a word from dat wild and crazy Wayward Sailor who is
reporting the weather for Dear Miss Mermaid (she too busy busting up her
technology stuff it seems...)
Happy Mothers Day!!!
This AM in da islands would make any Mother happy! Nice cool temps
around 80 with moderate winds of 10 to 15 knots and mostly Sunny sky.
Saturday turned out to be a nice day with only a few small scattered showers
reported. Most to the North of the Virgin Islands. Chance of rain
today is back to the almost standard 20 to 30%.
Had a nice walk in the afternoon then a swim for a bit.... life is good....
No Life is Great!
Met up with one old sailor who was telling be about a ship wreck near here
in which he had some first hand knowledge. It appears the powerboat had
not properly set its anchor and when the wind shifted and winds picked up at
night it foundered on the reef that connected to the island. The boat
immediately attempted to pull off the reef with out tending to the anchor line
which apparently at that time was mostly rope and not fully chain like we use
today. As you can guess the rope wrapped around the prop and rudder
making the boat helpless.
The old sailor then said he was able to save all the liquor and most of the
beer..... I asked him about the PEOPLE.... he said "yea, dems the reason
alright, iffin it twernt for dem I'd probably been able to save all da
beer!" Well everyone needs to set his own priorities but I
think even a power boater should rate over a few cases of beer.... well then
again....if it were Red Stripe????? LOL
Reminds me of an area in Florida many many years ago that had poor
families of "Salvors" along one of the coast who would assist ships who ran into
problems along the shallow coast line for a fee or split of recovered
items. When things got real slow... rumors say they would occasionally set
bond fires up on beaches that would confuse some ships and increase their chance
of "assisting" a distressed boat! Most of the present day relatives of
these families are now lawyers, Government officials, bankers and real estate
brokers... guess some things never change!!!!
Making a hopefully down wind run into Cruz Bay in the AM Monday. Hope
to have a post to ya later in the day with anything interesting I find along the
way when I get back into my wireless internet zone.
later
da Wayward Sailor
Found a note on the seashore in a bottle!!!
Dear Miss Mermaid:
Here are some clips of the Leatherback turtle I saw on
the beach Yesterday. Please pass them on.
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- Saturday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 8 May 2010 08:46:35 EDT
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Working off the generator this AM. No Sun to speak of yesterday and
from about 5 PM on it was very heavy rain... we mean HEAVY.
Not much wind but OMG at the wet stuff coming down. Had two 2gal
buckets filled before dark and this AM the dink had about 5 inches of water in
her. (The dink is
that little boat that follows the big boat around everywhere and is used to
commute between the anchor and mooring to the bar, um
shore.) Took forever to pump her out and built up a hunger for
breakfast. Tried my microwave omelet maker again... still have not got the
hang of it. either dry on edges and eggs runny in the center or eggs like
rubber. Tried doing the fixin's separately then adding them at the
end. Results were mostly rubbery eggs with a great filling.
Will probably stick to the LP Force 10 Marine Oven/ Range for omlets.
However it did allow me to cook up some great coffee... actually heated water in
the microwave and put it into my French
Press... MMMmmmm what good coffee..... seems like that is a method a
certain Mermaid once showed me but DO NOT let her know I ever learned anything
from her!!!! YOU Know how those MerPeople get! Dear Miss Mermaid is a tad
hurt...of course I showed you the French Press method for boat coffee, it's the
BEST!
Only about 79 here now... feels great since the boat decks/ cabin
top are still wet and I can't open the side ports because the moisture
runoff will .... well run in. It will fix itself up if the wind picks up a
bit. Actually see some Sun between the clouds and hope to see more through
the day but those "weather guys" at the service say we are in for partly cloudy
days through the weekend.
Seas are near calm with only a few ferry boats kicking things up every hour
or so. Saw two of the medium size Cruise Ships come down the Narrows and
make a turn for Jost Van Dyke. Looked like one thought he was in a sports
car and was not making the turn and had to back up. Now that had to be
something to talk about with the captain!!!
Looks like my week of volunteer work will be light due to the less than
great weather for the weekend. I'm however looking very much forward to
meeting up with a friend about mid week where we can exchange sea stories and
such. Heck we even talk about growing herbs on da boat!.... NOooooo not
THOSE herbs.... I mean da ones you cook with!
Well I've finished the rubber eggs and need another cup or two of this nice
coffee! Must have made it stronger today because I feeling warm... not
sure if it is the coffee or up coming events I'm thinking about!
Attempting to keep Dry.... think I'll go for a swim... it will probably
feel drier!
Later
da Wayward Sailor
Two
beautiful air plants, alive and thriving. Dear Miss Mermaid had a friend who was
on his wooden boat one day when a powerful wind kicked up and blew an air plant
right into his boat. He had a vacant hook on the bulkhead, under a sunny hatch,
so he hung the air plant there. He would spritz it with water every day from a
spray bottle and that air plant lived for years on his boat.
Warm
and Sunny Regards,
DearMissMermaid.Com
Author
of
Hurricanes
and Hangovers(And Other Tall Tales and Loose Lies From The Coconut
Telegraph)
Available in the USA, UK, France,
Germany, India, PR and the BVI
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- Friday with da Wayward Sailor
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 10:35:33 EDT
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AM has been overcast with light rain. Nice and cool but almost no
breeze. Forecast say the sun will make an appearance later and that will
be nice.... batteries running low and I may have to ask Miss Honda to offer her
services if the solar panels do not get enough sun. Overall forecast
indicate a mix of sun and clouds over the next few days. Here in da
islands it typically is not cloudy for long and we do need a bit more
rain. Mountains do look a lot more dark green than a few weeks ago.
Message in a Rum Bottle: found by da Mermaid and
forwarded to dat Wayward Sailor for an answer:
Subj: Dark rum and gentle breezes
I stumbled across your wonderful blog and now look
forward to your updates. My wife and I are headed down to bareboat charter
........... May I ask if you would tell of a few good, not so crowded
anchorages? Especially around Virgin Gorda? A few nights in the
crowded spots make me want to get away but lack of area knowledge leads me
wondering where to go? Thanks for any advise. We look forward to
picking up your book, Tom & Deborah
Well Tom and Deborah that can be a touchie subject! It really all
depends on what your personal likes and dislikes are. The other side is,
everyone else will see the locations and when you arrive you may be surrounded
by Mermaid fans!! Not a bad thing!!!
Gorda Sound has lots of places you can separate from the flock and get some
more private time. The major tourist spots in North Sound are located at
the far Eastern and Far Western portions of the sound. These have moorings
much like many of the other charter boat destinations. Outside these
"destinations" are great places to anchor and be more separated from the crowds
although in May you will generally have lesser crowds than the prime winter
season.
One great place is to the East of the primary entrance between Mosquito
Island and Prickly Pear Island. Lots of places along Prickly Pear to
anchor and also have a short swim to nice beaches with few if any other
people. If your charter company will allow, another great spot that very
few people use is the Western side of Prickly Pear. You will need to
follow your charts and GPS carefully as it is a shallow area and should
not be used when a strong North East winds or swells are present. You can
snuggle up near Saba Rock and have near total privacy.
In the sound you can also generally get well away from the crowds by
anchoring in Robin Bay... water is not as clear and beach is a more rocky pebble
type but few boats hang in the area and it is very quiet. Another area is
on the inside of the large reef at the entrance and to the west of Mosquito
Island. Great white sandy beaches and nice clear water but Mosquito Island
is privately owned and you should not go wondering about the island. (Dear Miss Mermaid notes that
the beaches in the BVI are public, so you can wander on the beaches, anywhere in
the BVI.)
The Eastern side of Virgin Gorda is not considered acceptable anchorage by
most charter companies... lots of reefs and potential for problems and too far
to run to a more safe location in the dark. Much of Virgin Gorda is open
to Northern Swells if they are running. Inside the North Sound Area you
are generally more protected. While the Northern Swells are more frequent
in the Winter time... they can and do occur as fronts move through. I've
had friends stay at Long Bay on the Western side of Virgin Gorda just below
Mountain Point. They had few others ever sail through and spent several
days. I've personally never tried the spot. Let us know if you find
other spots that turned out well!
You will need to check with your charter company to see if some of these
are OFF LIMITS for your charter.
Fair Winds!
later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Friday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 7 May 2010 10:25:01 EDT
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I called my friend on Tortola for a weather report since dat Wayward Sailor
hasn't woke up yet (or he is bailing out his boat!) Here is her report:
It's overcast and raining here. It's been raining heavily all night and
as usual some of the hills looked like rivers on the way to take the kids to
school this morning.
Not really bad. It's just the runoff from the hills. Quite a lot of
rocks come down on the drive from West End to road Town.
I'm sitting at the Pub at the moment and when I look across the harbor
at the top of the hills on the other side they are disappearing in
mist.
Before I finished this report, my friends reported it was raining so
hard, the bar was filling up and the boats were disappearing into the heavy
mist.
Now THAT is something I loved about the BVI, when it rains, people flock to
the nearest bar and stay dry until it stops raining. This means, if it's
raining, you're likely to be late for everything (and maybe a tad dwunk
too!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(\_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A book to check out:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(\_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tortola on TV again, another murder mystery.
48
Hours Preview: Shelley's Last BreathCBS News
While Tortola authorities ruled
Shelley's death an accident, her parents had their doubts, especially after
David began showing a bizarre lack of remorse in ...
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- Here's Dat Wayward Sailor
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 6 May 2010 11:07:16 EDT
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Great afternoon and night in the Virgin Islands. Nice breeze and
lower temps made for comfortable sleeping in my self rocking bunk. Not
sure I can sleep on land again!
Day has started out very nice with East Wind about 8 to 10 knots and no
significant chop or swells on the waterways...... that is until a ferry boat
comes along!!! Looks to be a mostly Sunny day with a lower chance of
rain. 81 now with a few small clouds passing by and very few boats out
sailing yet.
In reply to the readers note to us... yes, many Charter Boats are simply
Condo's that have been placed on pontoons... some have sails but are typically
not often used. Being a mono hull guy.... ie a REAL BOAT. I have also been
disappointed by the noise and odors at night from these large boats in crowded
mooring and anchorages. While most charter boats make the same general
loop with few deviations they typically stick to the primarily tourist
area.
After my first few trips down I tended to hang at the non-tourist locations
mostly at anchor. Significantly fewer boats and far less noise. I
also found that many places in the USVI such as St. John and St. James have
great locations but many do exist in the BVI such as Little Jost Van Dyke and
areas in North Sound and even places on Norman Island outside the Bight.
Not sure if you enjoy hiking but many good trails exist which most charter
groups just never make use of. Try some of these as an escape from the
crowded floating condo bays!
Last nigh while lounging in the cockpit with a sundowner.... well an After
Sundowner as it was DARK with no moon rise yet.... Anyway... had large splashes
near by and the Pelicans do not dive much this far out in the bay at night so I
checked it out. Well to my surprise more than a dozen Tarpon about 3 feet
in length were hanging around the stern of my boat due to the 2 small LED lights
I use while at anchor. These are not very bright... actually they are
garden path lights I got at K-Mart that self charge in the day and run about 6
to 8 hours at night. Guess they were the only light the fish could find
and they gathered hoping to find some small fish swimming by..... and they
did.
I was out on the sugar scoop... (the low extension on the aft of the
boat making it very easy to get in and out of the water).... and had an
explosion of water that got me wet when a larger tarpon made for a thumb size
fish that swam into the light range. Quite a show but I did attempt to set
up a reflector... a paper plate to reduce the light going downward and about
that time the moon started its appearance at about half size and the Tarpon
moved out.
As many of you know I've recently started some Boat Projects. Of the
six I have started I completed one in less than a month.... it may be some kind
of record but impossible to check as in da islands... we don't bother with
things like keeping records.
I figure if I have completed one job I need to look for another
project. Maybe a marginally larger job than installing a small lighted
compass in the Masters Cabin (which is really Kool). I've attached a photo
of a possible boat project that I may consider or turn over to the Dear Miss
Mermaid when she returns. Note from DMM: Oh yea, I just love
projects
I'm SURE she will know exactly where it is located as she probably has swam
around it years ago. It does need a bit of work and I would suspect the
engine may not fire up on first attempt... or ever! It would however be a
nice long term project.
What do you think? I
I'll add a few other possible project boats I come across and if one
strikes the fancy of some of the readers, myself or the Dear Mermaid will act as
broker! Dear
Miss Mermaid says dat Waywards Sailor can be the broker!!!
later
da Wayward Sailor
 Sunset in paradise (Virgin Islands)
If you think this is crooked, then you've not had enough rum
yet.
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- thursday in the bvi
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 6 May 2010 09:55:53 EDT
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I just wake up, ready to write and my old Thinkpad computer (AKA
laptop or notebook, take your pick) is getting cantankerous. It
won't let me use the "C,D, or E" or the number 3 key for typing until it warms
up. This seems to take about 3 cups of coffee. Since I type horribly
and I'm homelessly dyslexic, (ooops hopelessly dyslexic) typing is all
around comedy for me.
Rarely can anyone decipher what I've typed until the spell heckler and I go
over t'ings. Often the spell heckler is confused and sometimes I am
totally lost and wonder what I typed as well, or meant to type. Once the spell
heckler and I get through a rough edit, I have to reread and edit more and
well.
You have no doubt read my many boo-boos... T'ings get
overlooked by my wittle brain. (da islanders say t'ings in stead of
things).
Um, not that the laptop drinks coffee...Dear Miss Mermaid does...so lately
my reports are going out late...tsk tsk tsk and of course Wayward Sailor and
others are helping while I am on walk-about. Currently I'm in
the southern Atlantic Ocean, swimming along, like a mermaid should, typing on my
laptop computer...
And now for Da Wayward Sailor...
Ooops! Nuttin' from Dat Wayward Sailor, I
guess he gone on sail-about to parts unknown (read that out of internet range)
or his 'puter is cantankerous today too, like my old one.
By the way, if I can toss out the begging bowl... Please email
ALL your friends, relatives, lovers, enemies, coworkers,family,etc., to
suggest they buy Dear Miss Mermaid's book (so she can use the proceeds to buy a
cheap refurbished laptop type computer). A big hug and and a huge
thank you!
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- Cinco de Mayo (Mexican Holiday on May 5th) in the British Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 5 May 2010 10:23:31 EDT
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Here in Sopers Hole West End Tortola for a night or two. Took a drive
with friends up Sage
Mountain and discovered the amount of rain here was more of a hit or near
miss. While about everyone had some over the past week, a few got
only a half inch or so while others got more than 4 inches. I did see lots
of flowers in vivid colors and took a few photos. Click here to see these beautiful BVI flowers in
full size with vivid colors
Had a nice evening with friends who are on way back to UK for the summer,
but will return around October. Glad they are planning on coming back and
next year we will get to do some sailing to the US and Spanish Virgin Islands.
Most of yesterday was overcast with some sun occasionally, and today looks
to be partly sunny with less overcast. Still a fair chance of rain which
means it WILL rain if I don't close all my hatches when I leave the boat.
It will NOT rain if I do close them. Odd how that works.
Presently about 81 with winds around 8 knots and still a bit of a chop but
no white caps on the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Saw few boats out sailing
yesterday but lots of them in the moorings. Think many really do not want
to be sailing if the winds pick up. At this time of the season, we often
have a somewhat less qualified group of charter people down. They are
expecting the normally lighter winds of summer and we are having recurring days
of the stronger Winter Winds. I can actually feel the
winds picking up as the boat swings on my mooring here in Sopers
Hole.
We will be topping off water and fuel and a few food items for the next
week then will do a more in depth provisioning next week when I can
get to the "real" stores rather than those that cater to the charter boats and
charge higher prices for the convenience... which is only fair.
(Ha! Dear Miss Mermaid notes after shopping on Tortola for umpteen
years, food is pricy, no matter where you go!)
Well off for a nice shore breakfast and start of another day as a pretend
charter boat person.
later
da Wayward Sailor
Well, surprise surprise when Dear Miss Mermaid was wandering
the Space Coast of Florida, what did she find but a message in a bottle for da
Wayward Sailor! WOW, talk about forwarded mail...
Wayward
Sailor....
I'm enjoying your daily posts,
and find them very entertaining. We were recently in the BVI on a bareboat
charter so I'm suffering from BVI withdrawls. Some observations from our recent
trip:
1. Lots of bareboats that think the
side of the boat is a good place to store the
fenders.
2. What the heck is that sticky up
thing in the middle of the boat for anyway? (we used less than 5 gallons of
diesel during 9 days, 36 ft boat)
3. Why do people travel all the
way to a beautiful tropical paradise and then stay inside an air-conditioned
environment, and foul the air with their generator running all night long?
Almost every place we went there was a boat (big catamaran usually) behaving
this way.
4. Smokers? We realized that we
had to check the boat in front of us before picking up a mooring to see if they
were smokers! Lots of them were.
Don't get me wrong we had a terrific
time and will return, I've been "doing" the BVI's since the '80's when my
parents had a boat in charter out of St. Thomas.
Keep up the posts.....hope that the
weather remains.
Dear Miss Mermaid notes that "withdrawls" as written above could
mean he truly misses da island lingo and now finds Americans (or
Maine-iacs) hard to understand OR it could be a misprint for withdrawal, and he
craves the sailing and the beautiful BVI (as badly as the smokers crave their
cigarettes...)
THANKS for writing, I am sure dat Wayward Sailor will be more than
pleased! He'll probably even have a few Red Stripe beers just to celebrate
his message in a bottle!
Should DMM get jealous? (No way!) First dat Wayward Sailor
getting phone calls, and now fan mail washed up in a bottle on the
seashore...
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- Tuesday in the beautiful British Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 09:36:08 EDT
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Sir Francis Drake Channel has a few small white caps kicking about since
the winds picked up Sunday. Start of the day here again was a heavy shower
then bright sunshine. Winds appear to want to hang around and now are
gusting to about 20 knots or so.
I think they know, I'll be letting go of the mooring in a bit and in an
hour or so will be attempting to pick one up single handed in West End's Sopers Hole where it is crowded and due to the arrangement of the small
mountain called Frenchmens Caythe winds can become confused..... usually just as you are
attempting to pick up a mooring ball's leader line.
Well such is da life of a singlehander in higher winds.
About 81 now and with winds and sun causing the seas to grow a bit, it
should be a good day sailing here in the Virgin Islands.... possibly wet at
times but still great sailing. Winds have been much more like the
Christmas Winds rather than Spring winds. Overall forecast calls for more
showers but mostly sunny and with winds up to 25 knots but mostly down to about
20.
Well closing the hatches, stowing the gear that always seems to come out of
the storage places when you are moored for several days. Funny why the
stuff can find it way out and not find its way back?
Will be casting off the mooring lines once the engine is warm. No real
point in raising the sails for a mile+ long passage so I'll be pretending I'm a
charter boat!!!!!
Will try to shoot a report or two in over the next couple of days with
photos.
Later
da Wayward Sailor
By the way, Dear Miss Mermaid has gone on walk-about.
Read about her travels soon, at the other blog.
If you've read her book, she needs you to post a review at Amazon, if you can find the
time. It doesn't matter if you bought the book there or not, just a
willingness to post a review, once you've read the book. THANK YOU! The
more reviews, the greater chance of some free book publicity.
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- Monday madness in the Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 3 May 2010 10:01:57 EDT
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Talk about changes.... day started off with heavy showers and dark sky with
light winds. Now while we do have some clouds around we are under bright
sunshine and are having breeze winds. Now about 82 with East Winds near 12
knots with some gust at about 15. Will probably have some continued
variable conditions over next day or two until we get a more stable air mass
over us. Radar showed a huge front moving South East which should clear us
soon.... unless as many of these things do... they turn around and come
back! Well the rain was good for almost every one.... even the charter
boats didn't seem to let a bit of rain keep them from motoring about as
normal.
While we had the invasion of Sea Gulls a week or so ago... this past week
we have had the invasion of the Turns. While the Sea Gulls have seem to
spread out a bit the Turns seem to be more social and tend to stay in large
groups. Good thing is they do not typically hang around boats crapping on
everything begging for hand outs like the Sea Gulls. The Turns seem happy
to actually fish for food. They do have a tendency of making a lot of
shrill noise as the group fly around hunting for the next group of small fish
that wander a bit too close to the surface of the water.
In the part of Florida where I lived, worked and sailed for years we had
the Turns with the black heads. They are called Wrights Turns. These
in da islands have white heads with just a bit of silver gray in the wing
feathers. Are these Wlefts Turns????? errr well we are in the Virgin
Islands and people tend to drive on the left........
Think I'll hit Sopers Hole for a day or so and will try to get a few photos
of sober sailors shopping..... it may take more than a day. Sad thing is
I'll be saying good by to some of my fav English friends who are returning home
for the summer but I'm sure they will enjoy the change and probably have things
to do when they get back home.
later
da Wayward Sailor
Road Town, Tortola, BVI, at night. Dear Miss Mermaid remembers
when big catamarans ad trimarans were just a novelty, not commonplace like
now. Square boats... who'd a thunk it?
Sailing
the British Virgin IslandsJustLuxe.com
Now if the beauty of the British Virgin
Islands isn't enough to loosen the knots of suburban life, I'm not sure what
is. However with the balmy breeze ...
CCT
Expands its 4G Broadband InternetPlatinum News Online
CCT Global Communications, the
BVI´s leading local telecommunications provider, is pleased to announce
the expansion of its 4G broadband internet service ...
BVI:
Shipwrecks, corals, easy divingGlobal
Adventures, LLC
What has attracted boating enthusiast for centuries is
now drawing scuba divers from around the world to the main islands of
Tortola, Virgin Gorda, ...
OOOPS! Crime wave hits Tortola
again!!!
Canadian Charged with Bigamy
Platinum News Online
However, Finnegan wife´s in British
Columbia after learning about the marriage here on Tortola made
a report and investigations were carried out where
...
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- Peek-a-Boo Rain and Shine in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 2 May 2010 13:31:08 EDT
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Sunday may better be know as NoSun Day if the forecast are correct. A
change to Rainday may be better. We had on and off Showers most of the
night, some with a good bit of the wet stuff falling hard at times. This
AM it is overcast with scattered showers.... I've collected about 2 gallons of
rain water that will go to washing a few towels later on in between
showers. Hanging them on the life lines and getting more rain to rinse
them well should make them nice and soft. I'm sure much of the islanders
water supplies have been helped out a great deal and will probably be topped off
soon and that is a good thing.
We like
emerald green islands!
Yesterday a fellow in a newer looking 45 foot or so power boat backed into
the No Boating area of the St
John National Park... probably looking to get a bigger tip from his charter guest
for not having them actually swim the additional 60 or so feet out of the No
Boating Zone.
After a number of other boaters complained about the safety violation a
Ranger approached the boat and was told by the offending skipper... he
"accidentally drifted into the No Boat Zone". ONLY a power boater would
"claim" he drifted into the No Boat Zone from his location. He would have
drifted with his stern IN TO a 12 knot wind and IN TO a current of a knot or
so. A sailor would have not been in the No Boat Zone but, would
have had a more realistic tell if he had. Many Power boaters pay little or
no attention to wind and current as they overpower them with horsepower from
their engines. This is not a very safe thing to overlook even if you do
have a thousand horsepower engine. They are known to fail and only then
will they realize they are being blown on to shore or a reef!
(Can you
tell this is written by a sailor?)
Presently 78 outside but 82 inside because of the blowing rain, ventilation
is always a problem on boats. Of course, much of that heat is due to the
pot of coffee I cooked up a bit ago. We are having very small bands of
rain sweep through this AM. Seems about every 5 to 7 minutes a ban passes
over and last about a minute..... just enough time to first open the hatches
then rush to close them; then when finished closing them you can open them
again. Think this is natures way of forcing us sailors to get our excises
even when it is raining out.
Cardio
for sailors: stretch, lift, open hatches, walk away... rush back running,
stretch, stretch some more, close hatches...repeat every few minutes, at the
whim of the rain Gods...
One good thing is the winds did not get up to 25mph last night but only to
about 12 or so much of the night. Looks like the next day or so will be
about the same but we do have a chance for Thunder Storms later this
afternoon. Thunder Storms are not a frequent event here in da
islands. Back in Florida, in some locations they occur like clock work
every day in the summer but not here.
Being on a sailboat with an aluminum mast 50 feet or more sticking into the
air makes you feel like you are saying "Hit ME!!!" when a thunder storm
passes. As I often have my feet propped up against the mast in the salon
when I'm reading... I suddenly remember.... MMmmm not a good idea!!!
Today I'll do a bit of clean up inside the boat them take a swim. Yep
a swim in the rain... hey... when your wet your are wet and the rain does not
matter. If the Thunder storms roll in... well that is a different
fish! Will probably kick in the good ole Honda 2000i later to charge the
batteries and watch a few old DVD's. May Sea Chase with John
Wayne ? or Captain
Blood with Errol Flynn? Or Captain
Ron???? Will even have PopCorn from the very small microwave
I now have for use when the Honda is in service! Solar
panels are not going to have much activity today except for getting a nice wash
down.
Dear Miss Mermaid
notes da Wayward Sailor is plumb spoilt now, with a microwave! However, that being said,
they are loads of fun when you do have a small generator, as you can fire up the
generator, run the microwave then shut it off again. Ahhh, the lap of
luxuries available...
Just took a look outside... I see several groups of people heading to the
beach and snorkeling areas from the beach trails... Looks like some people are
not going to let a bit of rain and clouds interfere with their weekend... bully
for them!
Well looks like it is time for another cup of coffee.
later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Wayward Sailor in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 1 May 2010 10:45:08 EDT
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Yesterday was not as hazy as the previous day and the sun was out almost
all thay. Da Solar panels LOVED it and I got to watch a couple of old
movies on my DVD player with out guilt of using power.
Did have a bit of excitement yesterday about noon. Two swimmers
became distressed and had some one pull them out of the water. The Sir
Francis Drake Channel in the BVI is very wide but closes down to a narrow
opening at the Western End of Tortola and the Thatch Islands and the Eastern end
of St. John. Currents are typically 2 to 3 knots Eastward. With
increased winds and a chop from ferry boats it often feels stronger. Many
swimmers go around Waterlemon Cay counter clockwise which is actually best....
however some become concerned when they reach the Western most portion of the
cay and the reef extends some 50 feet further West and they "feel" they are too
far from land and instead of going on around the reef and into the lea side of
the island with minimal to no current, they instead fight back toward the East
against the current and soon become distressed.
Those in good shape just hang in and make it back but generally lesser
swimmers too frequently panic and require assistance. Good thing is that
many of the boaters are aware of the situation here and do keep an eye out and
act when necessary. Yesterdays swimmers were lucky and had someone respond
quickly and when returned to their boat they easily saw how they could have just
continued on around with no difficulty. Problem is most swimmers do not
look at the nautical charts that show the currents typical for the area. While both
the BVI and USVI waters are generally safe, all swimmers need to know about any
special conditions that exist in any specific area.... read the charts!
Today started out partly cloudy and we have a very brief shower then the
sun popped out. We will probably have several similar occurrences today
and into the night with the near full moon taking over the duties at
night. Winds are increasing with possible 20 knots in minimal seas at this
time but that to typically changes when winds are up for more than an hour or
two. Should be some great sailing for the next few days and some great
snorkeling when the sun is out. We are having a growing number of people
snorkel at night during the fullest parts of the moon. I'm a bit tOOoooo
much of a chicken to enjoy swimming in the dark where predator fish are the most
active and who know.... those attack squid may be out still looking for
me!!!!!
Well time to "think" about doing another boat task..... or maybe a swim or
possibly a nap would be a better option.... decisions, decisions...
decisions.... this is a HARD job!
later
da Wayward Sailor
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(now make that thrice, as
I struggle to rewrite and edit and email this) while writing this, so if you get
mumble-jumble on your end today, it's just jumbies. 
