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For the most recent reports from the BVI see this page.
- - - 2011 Hurricane Season - - -
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- Check out Irene's Eye!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:14:51 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Evening!!
OMG!! Check out that eye!!! Just spoke to a
very good friend of mine who lives in Road Town, the power has been out island
wide in fact she and several other friends were spending the afternoon at the
theater in Road Town watching "The Help" when 20 minutes before the end the
power went out and they sat there in the dark wondering if the movie was going
to be coming back on. They waited, hung out some more and finally decided
that after over 30 minutes the power was not going to come back on. They made their way out of the theater in the dark. Upon getting outside they were surprised at the velocity of the winds and heavy rain. She
reported to me that there were torrential rains all late afternoon and once making
back home she said that the power was out up until about 20 minutes ago. She
peeked outside and there is a lot of flooding and palm fronds everywhere. The television stations are down she said. She asked me what was happening with Irene and I reported to her what I saw on my computer.
She estimated that since 4pm BVI time and it's
currently aprox. 6pm central time that they have probably had over 4" of rainfall in 3
hours.
The Mermaid Gardener
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- It's still raining in VG!
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- By Jeff McNutt <jeff at divebvi.com>
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:04:39 -0400
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I made a quick run up to Leverick Bay during a "quiet" period to check on our boat/store around 5 pm. We decided to add some lines/fenders as it was pretty choppy/swelly on the dock there. I ran down to the end of the dock and measured 35 mph on my handheld anemometer. Heavy rains started up again as the winds have started shifting SE. I made another run down the Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour to check boats/store. There are a few limbs down around the island and very light traffic due to heavy rains continuing.
--
Jeff McNutt
General Manager, Dive BVI
SSI Instructor Trainer #21761
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- Report from Wet End about Tropical Storm Irene
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:20:29 -0400 (EDT)
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Nanny Cay beach at 1:50pm
Not many left at the docks in West End, but quite a few
still on moorings.
This report below from Wet End (oops West End!) Tortola,
BVI:
Raining pitter patter all the time, every now and then just a
gust... seas aren't churned up yet, no wind yet, just gusts at
about 15mph or so.
The last ferry is at 3:30 then they stop. Airport is already
closed up.
Many people did not get ready for this storm at all, as they
said "never heard of it!" Typical for the islanders to not watch the
weather until it's right on top of the islands.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While we were talking the current was still
on, but then the phone went dead and I couldn't reach my friend back in West End
again. So maybe the power did go down?
Matter of fact, all my BVI friends on Skype suddenly vanished.
So either internet or power or both went off already. 
Even though the tiny eye is reported to be near St Croix, as
you can see from the size of the storm, the Virgin Islands is in for some wet
and wild weather.
SUMMARY OF 200 PM AST...1800
UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...17.5N
63.7W
ABOUT 70 MILES...115 KM...ESE OF ST CROIX
ABOUT 185 MI...300 KM ESE
OF PONCE PUERTO RICO
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/H
PRESENT
MOVEMENT...WNW OR 290 DEGREES AT 18 MPH...30 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL
PRESSURE...999 MB...29.50 INCHES
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- Tropical Storm Irene
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:53:04 -0400 (EDT)
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1207pm
Bands of wind and rain are just now hitting the islands, with
winds expected to increase as the day goes on. Although hurricane strengh winds
are not predicted at this time, all BVI airports have closed and will remain so
for the rest of today
10:47am
Good morning.
news from
Tortola is that presently things are fairly calm on the southern side of the
island but winds were picking up on the north side and at Trellis Bay by the
airport. Irene should swing a tad south of Tortola , but winds are expected to
rise to 40 knots or more by around 5: 00 this evening. This is one huge system
that is just now passing over Guadeloupe, so she will be monitored very closely
!!
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- Ut oh!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:51:46 -0400 (EDT)
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Hi again, as you know, tropical storm warnings have now
been issued for the U.S. Virgin, British Virgin Islands and Puerto
Rico.
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- Irene Irene!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:51:19 -0400 (EDT)
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Ah, ha Irene is born.
She's a big ole tropical storm looking to spread lots of rain
and wind over the islands beginning tomorrow evening. Most computer models show
her passing a tad to the south of Tortola and environs, but she still needs
watching as she approaches.
Ironically , the name "Irene" comes from the Greek goddess
of PEACE, a 4th century saint. Lets hope that she will make her
"peaceful" way, away from the islands.
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- Irene bearing down!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:32:29 -0700 (PDT)
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Yikes,
This Mermaid is far away from this storm but I fear
that it will be upon the island soon! Batten down the hatches. From
the looks of the Cooper Island web cam everyone has listened to the
Tropical Storm warnings. My thoughts are with all my friends and
loved ones in Tortola. Glad my house is shuttered up! For those you
on the island I'm sure that rock and mud slides in addition to flooding will be
a huge concern as Irene bears down on the BVI. BE SAFE! Our thoughts
are with you!!
the Mermaid Gardener
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- First bands of wind and rain
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- By Jeff McNutt <jeff at divebvi.com>
- Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:38:09 -0400
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We're starting to get some heavy downpours and gusty winds here on Virgin Gorda. I've spent the morning securing our boats, putting sandbags out and getting ready for TS Irene. I'm hoping that the quick forward speed will help keep the flooding problems down.
--
Jeff McNutt
General Manager, Dive BVI
SSI Instructor Trainer #21761
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- Harvey and the future Miss Irene
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:10:20 -0400 (EDT)
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The Leeward islands, Tortola and Puerto Rico are in a "watch"
state as a tropical wave moves into the area over the next few days. Heavy
rains and gusty winds are predicted to affect these areas beginning this evening
and into Sunday. Air Force hurricane hunters will fly into this system this
afternoon, and more info on this storm will be available then.
In the mean time stock up in your "safe" place with
water, rum, batteries, rum, candles, rum, canned goods, rum. Oh did I mention
RUM ??!!! And for heavens sake if you own a boat batten down the hatches
and, PLEASE double secure your lines !!
HOLY COW! Get ready, this is going to be a test! Expect oodles of rain
and lots of gutsy gusty winds. Stock up and secure your boat and home for
sure! The future Irene is just begging to be named. 
Tropical storm Harvey is over at Belize and not a threat to the Virgin islands at
this time.
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- Quiet... for now
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2011 12:06:03 -0400 (EDT)
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All is quiet here in Tortola. Just lovely sunny, warm days
with light breezes. The seas are a tad rough with reports of rogue waves.
Sailors never take for granted the occasional rogue wave that can toss one on their fanny or completely out of da
boat.  I know many of our friends wear these nifty little
life vests while sailing. They really do look like little vests,
compact , non-cumbersome and inflate only when they "feel"
the water. I just think that ,that is a SMART idea.
!!
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- Wordless Wednesday
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:56:27 -0400 (EDT)
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- Yikes!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 15:59:14 -0400 (EDT)
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From a guest mermaid:
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- Gert is famous!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 22:12:12 -0400 (EDT)
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As some of you may know, Gert is the wonderful volunteer
webmaster of StormCarib.com
Now they've named a tropical storm after him!
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Bermuda, but not a threat to the
Virgin Islands at this time.
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- More to watch out for!
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:32:04 -0400 (EDT)
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Tropical depression 7 is located about 300 miles south
southeast of Bermuda and not a threat to the Virgin Islands. However a
tropical storm warning has been issued for Bermuda. So button down and get the
emergency supplies laid in. Better safe than sorry.
A trough of low pressure is located about 500 miles northeast
of the northern Leeward
Islands. While it has no closed circulation yet, it's certainly something
else to watch.
Tropical Storm Franklin was laid to rest at 11pm on August 13.
Bye bye Franklin!
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- Tropical Storm Franklin On the Scene
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:35:42 -0400 (EDT)
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August 13, day 74 of hurricane season and already 6 named
storms.
However, Tropical Storm Franklin is about 460 miles north
northeast of Bermuda and not a threat to the Virgin Islands at this time.
However, three more balling bowls have rolled eastward.
More to watch out
for.
If you haven't stocked up on your hurricane supplies, you
should do that now, while inventory is still readily available. I
remember one storm threat brought a raid on batteries and suddenly not a single
battery could be found on the island. Living in the islands means chaotic
inventory supply. While the stores have gotten a better handle on things over
the years, there is always a problem when the supply ships divert course due to
storms and have been known to skip or postpone an island delivery here and
there. If that's the ship with the batteries and candles, well, you see the
potential problem.
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- Bowling Balls and Alley Etiquette
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:22:46 -0400 (EDT)
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From our guest Mermaid:
The Atlantic ocean is brewing up
back to back storms with a 40% chance of them becoming a threat at some point
but hopefully not to the BVI as computer models are predicting they will take a
north-easterly course. But we never say never , because you never know with
these darn storms . I know Dear Miss Mermaid refers to these blobs on the
satellite screen as "bowling balls" rolling off the coast of
Africa.
So true.
So let me digress for a minute about bowling balls.
Tortola actually has it's first bowling alley , located in the lower level
of the Cinemaplex building in Roadtown. Being the
bowling champion that I am ( at least in my family ) I had to check
it out. First, my rented shoes had seen better bowling days. I mean they
were used and abused and only a week past opening ? But never the
less I love to bowl so who cares how my shoes look as long as they don't
disintegrate Ok.
The bowling balls seemed no worse for wear. So we're good . Now
if you are a serious bowler you know that there is a certain bowling
etiquette.
Ummm ...
That has not quite caught on yet in Tortola and so often you may find
groups of people traipsing across your path as you are ready to roll
that ball. No problem, mon. Nevermind...
Also you pay by the hour and it is all computerized. So when our computer
shut down for 15 minutes we asked the attendants to please reimburse our 15
minutes . Not ,and nevermind. Too complicated.
The islands just do business different than the rest of the
world.
From Dear Miss Mermaid:
The way I see it, the islands are just the bowling
pins and the storms roll off Africa aiming for a strike...
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- Keep Your Eye Out, Just in Case
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2011 14:55:58 -0400 (EDT)
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Lots of disorganized mess headed to the BVI. Keep a watchful
eye in between pub crawling and beach bumming. 
Here's a funny island tale from Dear Miss Mermaid
Hitchhiking is acceptable and often done here, some folks
rely on that method to commute to and from work regularly.
If you think you haven't seen any hitchhikers
here, think again. 99% of the folks standing under a shade tree are
patiently waiting for an offer of a ride. Ditto for those standing
near speed bumps.
On Tortola, I often
departed West End for town alone and arrived with a car load. I've met all
sorts of interesting folks this way and never once have I met anyone
scary. When my car is in the shop, I often continue with my errands by
hitchhiking and am surprised at the number of times folks actually go out of
their way to take me to where I am going, rather than just drop me off and let
me finish walking.
Pickup trucks
are unofficial busses and it's not unusual to see pickup trucks loaded down with
hitchhikers. If you are driving a pickup truck that is not full of stuff,
folks smile at you, cause they assume you are going to stop for
them.
A friend of mine who drives
a pickup truck is notorious for picking up all the hitchhikers. He
says if he had a dollar for every ride he has given, he would own a Rolls Royce
by now. But he prefers his ratty old pickup truck and the hitchhikers are
grateful for his generosity.
Once upon a
time, his brother and his new bride came to visit our lovely island. My
friend graciously loaned them his pickup truck to go sightseeing. He
forgot all about mentioning the hitchhikers to them, it seemed irrelevant.
But as they bounced their way to town, they
encountered one of many speed bumps that require you to come to a creepy crawl,
just to make it over the mammoth bumps. At one such bump, four men jumped
in the back of the pickup truck, thinking it was their usual ride to town.
The young bride began screaming hysterically, the young man slammed on the
brakes and grabbed his wife then the two of them jumped out of the truck
and began running while screaming "HELP! Police! HELP!"
Typical Tortolian, style, other motorists
stopped to help and finally they got it all sorted out, meanwhile the four
hitchhikers are still in the back of the truck laughing so hard they can't pick
themselves up to get out of the truck!
After that, says my friend, his brother and
bride opted to take a taxi everywhere.
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- Wildflowers on Norman
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2011 13:37:48 -0700 (PDT)
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Good
afternoon,
The
weather has been quiet since Emily but never fear we are always on the watch for
the next wave and potential storms coming our way. We have Invest 92 and Invest 93 to watch right now they are just a bit off of Africa but we still need to keep an eye on them. Provision up!! That includes water, batteries, dried fruit, granola bars, snacks, Rum, ginger ale, bitters and a few limes for those dark and Stormy's!!!!
Cheers!
the Mermaid
Gardener
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- Rains bring Flowers in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 07:40:24 -0400 (EDT)
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Greetings Miss Mermaid. !! Don't have much to report
except that things are looking lovely now that "Emily" has bypassed us .
The fauna and flora on Tortola are in their glory with all the rain that we have
had and the island looks so lush !!
Reminds me of a funny story. My husband, woke up one
morning to find a herd of cows nibbling at his hibiscus trees. Well, he
sort of chased them off with a little spray paint to their haunches
hoping that when they found their way home the "owners" would finally keep
them confined. Ha . I can't believe he spray painted them !!!! Apparently
that didn't deter either the owners nor the cows as they returned the next day
to chow down on the lovely hibiscus flowers. Now there is a cattle grid
into the parking lot to keep them away. I couldn't make this up if I wanted
to. How funny is that ??!!
This reminds me of a similar story, where the roaming cows attacked a
house painter's garden in Road Town. In sheer frustration, he ran out one night,
with a bucket of paint, dousing one slow moving cow completely in purple
paint. I understand the panted purple cow was around for a few weeks,
before the paint wore off.
A rehabilitated alcoholic, upon hearing this story, claims the only
reason he quit drinking, was because he was stumbling home from the bars one
night when he ran into a purple cow on the road. He decided he should stop
drinking because it was causing him to hallucinate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tropical Storm Emily is about 50 miles northeast of Freeport Grand Bahama
Island.
Many of the webcams in the BVI are down at the moment. Maybe internet is
working intermittently.
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- Emily is fickle
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2011 12:30:16 -0400 (EDT)
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Guest mermaids are helping with the weather reports.
Hi, weather hazy and hot. We've had lots of thunderstorms
over the last few days. just on my way out so catch you later
Emily is totally undecided whether to regenerate or not,
but her remnants continuing to produce thunderstorms and cloudiness
from Cuba to the Bahamas.
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- Emily a non event for BVI?
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2011 09:39:45 -0400 (EDT)
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Guest report from Tortola:
Yesterday he said that the storm had passed Tortola to the
south. They had some wind and rain but nothing major. Apparently still raining
there today. I do know that because of the winds, the crew spent extra
time securing the boats with double lines. Sorry I don't know
much more. I believe that Emily was sort of a non-event as to what
she could have been.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As of 8am, Tropical Storm Emily was about 100 miles
south-southest of Port Au Priince Haiti.
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- TS Emily in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 13:49:07 -0400 (EDT)
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Tropical storm Emily leaving wet and messy wake.
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- Tropical Storm Emily
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 15:03:52 -0400 (EDT)
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234pm
Tropical Storm Emily is 215 miles southeast of Puerto Rico
~~~~~~~~~
212pm
Tropical Storm Emily has winds of 45mph
Better run for cover now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And from our Guest mermaids and mermen on
Tortola in the BVI:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
10:25am Tuesday
Good morning
from rainy Pennslanding,
This morning
we are seeing the effect of T S Emily. Heavy Rains and winds up to 33 mph. The
System is about 180 miles south of us. We are in a safe distance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
844pm Monday night
It's alive !! It has a name !!! Emily , cripes. What
took it so long ? All tropical storm warnings are issued for the U.S.
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Did they forget about the BVI or are
we really going to escape this one. Good grief.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7pm Monday
Hi D.M.M.
He said that they are still keeping an eye out for the "unnamed" storm, but
looks like it is going south of Tortola, judging by his estimates and computer
models.
But speaking of "unnamed" storms, I remember last year right after we were
hit by Earl we got hit by an "unnamed" storm that wreaked HAVOC on Tortola. It
dumped more rain on us than Earl !
Earl may have packed more winds but the rain from "unnamed" was sort of
devastating. It washed out roads and created guts and ravines and rock slides
and the torrential run off from the hills swept away cars and
flooded parts of Road Town including some major businesses.
Some of those businesses never recovered and hence never re-opened.
That storm by the way later became Otto.
I hope this "unnamed" storm doesn't sneak up on us the same
way. More later... 
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- Virgin Gorda update
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- By Jeff McNutt <jeff at divebvi.com>
- Date: Tue, 2 Aug 2011 06:50:12 -0400
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The sun is shining this morning after some passing squalls last night. The wind is out of the east at 10 mph, with gusts to 19 mph. Seas are 3-5 ft on the east side of VG with only a few whitecaps down the Sir Francis Drake Channel. We're keeping an eye on the radar, as it looks like we've got more squalls coming our way, but nothing major.
--
Jeff McNutt
General Manager, Dive BVI
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- Virgin Gorda update
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- By Jeff McNutt <jeff at divebvi.com>
- Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 19:35:55 -0400
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We're starting to see our first bits of real clouds now. The winds are out of the NE around 15 mph with gusts to 20. We've watched and waited and watched some more...hope 91L continues to go west and leave us alone! I will update everyone in the morning as we should start seeing the rain/winds by then.
--
Jeff McNutt
General Manager, Dive BVI
SSI Instructor Trainer #21761
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- The UnNamed Storm
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 1 Aug 2011 12:25:08 -0400 (EDT)
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Local heavy rainfall and gutsy gusty winds are on the way with
the unnamed future Emily, who is about 250 miles east of Martinique.
I think everyone is confused about this dang storm.
More info soon...
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- Mariner Mermaid reports in
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:33:33 -0400 (EDT)
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Good Sunday morning from Tortola.
Looks like we may have to start getting serious about the T.D. soon to be named
Emily at any moment . Aircraft reconnaissance will be
flying in to take a look at this storm later this morning at which point we will
have a better measure of what this lady is going to do. Forecasts still pinpoint
it to head right over the Lesser Antilles and though "watches " for
Tortola have not been posted yet , people are definitely making preparations.
We seem to attract the hurricanes with E's . Last year we had to deal with
big bad Earl but I just can't visualize a hurricane named Emily
being anything but polite or poetic like Emily Dickinson, or Emily
Post .
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- Day 61 of Hurricane Season
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 10:12:41 -0400 (EDT)
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Batten down the hatches, run for cover, stock up on storm
supplies, be prepared for electrical, cable, phone, and water outages.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Keep a close eye on this disturbance.
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- Future Emily could be on the way to the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 30 Jul 2011 14:08:35 -0400 (EDT)
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As you know more reports are
coming in form the weather stations about soon to be "Emily". Advanced
warnings have been issued for the British Virgin Islands for Tuesday afternoon
to be prepared for a possible severe tropical
depression/hurricane.
Showers, thunderstorms and a load pressure system about 900 miles east of
the Lesser Antilles, could be named EMILY in the short future.
If you are on Tortola better shop for rum, food, batteries and hurricane
supplies now, rather than later. Some stores run out of things rather
fast, especially batteries and the citrnella candles. I used to buy those glass
globed candles by the CASE. It really lights up the home well, to have
lots of candles, not just one.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From Mariner Mermaid
Well well well, things are beginning to look a little interesting
here in the Caribbean. We are monitoring a "wave" that is predicted
to become a tropical depression within the next couple of days and which is
given a 70% chance of becoming a "her ricane " in the next 48 hours.
Most forecast models are showing it's progression, with north-northwest winds ,
to pass through the Lesser Antilles and Puerto Rico. Although still
some distance away and still somewhat unpredictable, it's a good plan to be
prepared . Tis the season . Hurricane preparedness kit. Bottled water,
flashlights, RUM, candles, batteries, RUM, canned goods, football
helmet ( for flying coconuts ) seriously ! More rum and
well you get the idea.
Stayed tuned folks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the way, Tropical Storm Don
has been laid to rest. Whew!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Below... the calm before the storm...
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- Just A Wittle Wave...
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2011 12:48:04 -0400 (EDT)
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From Mariner Mermaid
We are still experiencing
a little wave that is creating rain and light wind gusts for most
of Tortola. But the big news or lets hope will not be big news is
that there is a big blob rolling along out there in the Atlantic that COULD turn
into a tropical depression and or hurricane and which is predicted to
affect the Lesser Antilles in a couple of days. This storm, if it does continue
to develop will be named Emily. Isn't that a sweet ole name. I can't imagine a
lovely lady like " Emily " could take a bite out of us ?! Well we here at
the marina will keep a watchful eye , and react as necessary when the storm
seems inevitable. These storms can typically be very funny and can change
strength and direction at the drop of a hat. Will keep you posted. All
eyes to the sky 
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- More from Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 17:54:17 -0400 (EDT)
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Good afternoon from an overcast Tortola. There is a millimeter of sun
peeking through so I have high hopes. Although winds are mild the seas are a tad
rough with about 6 ft. waves. Watched a few boats grind their way up the channel
and it did not look like my kind of fun. If that's not your cup of tea either
read on.
Oops! As of 3pm, some wave is coming through with
squally rains and winds.
There are so many
great things to do when visiting Tortola. Sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling,
fishing, surfing, windsurfing, paddle boarding, phew,out of breath. But for
landlubbers and" landlubbering" look to the BVI mountain bike club for
excitement. You don't have to be a member to join in their many fun adventure
races on Tortola and off island like Anegada, Norman and Peter Island. And you
don't have to be a pro , for they offer novice and cadet races along with a pro
and masters division. The course route is determined by ability.
So if you think
you can ride on coral, and sand and dirt and up hills and in the heat then this
is for YOU !!! How do I know this ? Because I was persuaded to enter
the Anegada race in the novice division. What the heck, I was more excited
about the $ 30.00 entry fee which covered round trip ferry ,
buffet lunch, and awards. Wow !! You can't beat that
with a stick. So while I'm a pretty good bike rider and had high expectations, I
got blown away by a very fit young thing that made me look like I was standing
still, and she had the NERVE to wave at me as she passed me . I won't say
what I was thinking here in a public forum.
Turns out she takes spinning classes three days a
week. How's that for training. ----- Anyway it a
was a great day and I made a lot of new friends even with the $%# at &.
Ha. The BVI bike club also offers a social ride for all abilities,
every Sunday at 7:00am. Now if I can just get my little fanny up and out
that early, see you on the trail !
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- Thursday in the Beautiful Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:18:10 -0400 (EDT)
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Tropical Storm Don is named and traversing the southern Gulf
of Mexico. Luckily he's not a threat to the beautiful British Virgin
Islands. A hurricane hunter plane has gone to visit Don but no details
yet.
Oh ouch! A mini tsunami briefly rocked Nanny Cay
recently on Tortola when this 62 foot Gulfstar was unceremoniously dropped
from the slings by accident.
Rumor is the stern strap on the travel-lift gave way, then
the bow slipped out of the forward straps. I wonder what the stern of the
sailboat looks like now.
Today in the BVI is just a great day to be limin' at the
beach with a Painkiller Rum drink.
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- Sunrise!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:28:58 -0700 (PDT)
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Sunrise sweet
sunrise! Dawn of a new day here in Tortola.
Had an early morning squall
come through but look at what is now peeking around Beef Island...a spectacular
sunrise.
Trade winds are nice and
the temperature is lovely, could be another hot one
today.
Cheers!
the Mermaid
Gardener
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- Tuesday night
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:51:40 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Evening,
It was a very nice day here
in the BVI. We do have Invest 90 that is far to our west and it will not be a
concern for us. This morning the day started out bright and sunny with a
light trade wind. By afternoon the temperature heated up and there were
some scattered showers. I ran into Rite Way for a few groceries and while
I was in there we did have a rain squall pass through.
I've hear from a friend
down at Nanny Cay that they too had a couple of scattered showers and many of
rain drops were really large. That same friend is having his boat put up
on the hard for the hurricane season. The work that he had to complete was
pretty much like the work that I used to have to do on taking my 23' Precision
sailboat out of the lake for the winter. Only real big differences where that up
north I didn't have a dingy, plus no head, you know a 23' is small and then
there is no water tanks on a sailboat like that. Pretty bare bones, but I
ended up hauling her out right around October and taking all the sails off, boom
down, and the mast came down as well. She rested on a trailer out in my
yard all shrink wrapped for the winter. Down here, it's not that dramatic,
but there are more things to take care of, especially having water tanks, a
refrigerator, head and dingy. Yesterday walking through Nanny Cay I could
see that the boat yard is starting to fill up. Paraquetta bay too is
gradually filling as well. I know though, that the first hurricane scare
of tropical storm that comes our way the boats will go in there in
droves. I don't want to wish that on us at this
point.
Catch ya later from a warm
and sunny Tortola.
Cheers
The Mermaid
Gardener
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- Watch Out For JellyFish This Time of Year
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 26 Jul 2011 10:53:53 -0400 (EDT)
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It is an absolutely stunning day
here in Tortola and there is nothing at all on the horizon to be concerned with
 . It's a great day to visit a local beach or an out island
for lunch, a swim and a good read. There have been box jellyfish ( sea wasps )
sightings at Cooper and Norman Islands. No doubt they also will be seen at
the Baths, so before entering the water look for the purple flags
which signify that jellyfish have been sighted in that area. And should you get
stung, your best bet to is to dab on some vinegar to ease the fiery
sting. Things to carry in your beach bag. Sunscreen, beach towel,
sunglasses, good book, and VINEGAR  . Also a little rum takes away all sorts of pain
!!! *hiccup*
You can also pee on a jellyfish sting to take out the sting.
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- Sometimes a Mermaid must go to sea!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:13:29 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Monday
afternoon!
Sometimes a mermaid just
needs to go back out to sea and feel the ocean water on her mermaid tail.
Took off over the weekend, for a much needed rest in the ocean. Can you
guess where this picture was taken? Went to a very nice quiet beach not too far
from East End. Had to swim a little bit and I forgot my hoe and my shovel
just let my mother nature take me there. 
Winds have been up quite a
bit for most of the last 3 days and we did have some rainy weather over the
weekend. 20 knots and seas were 4-5 feet with some 6' waves out on Sir
Francis Drake. High today is going to be 88 degrees with a 50% chance of
rain. Winds are 18 miles an hour out of the East. There is nothing
out there on the horizon as far as storms. Wahoo!!! 
I can see a change in the
amount of boats that are out sailing. Pretty quit but still some sailing
action. Cooper is always busy but I believe that they will be closing for
the season sometime soon. That is what happens here during July August and
on through to November. With festival happening, any kind of government
paperwork that needs to be completed needs to be done soon. Festival shuts
down the government for a couple of weeks. August Monday is huge here and
everything is closed. I have not seen any restaurants closing yet but at
the season winds down they will start to close after festival. I'm going
to send this off and hope all of you out there can figure "where in the BVI was
I?"
Cheers!!! 
The Mermaid
Gardener
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- Sunday Brunch
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:17:28 -0400 (EDT)
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FROM A GUEST MERMAID:
Sunday morning in Tortola. We had lots of rain and some
wind overnight from the "wave" that passed by, and this morning we are overcast
but the rain and winds have subsided some.
A group of friends met this
morning for the last breakfast of the season at Da Loose Mongoose up at Trellis
Bay. Looks like this group will have to figure out how to make their own
darn breakfast now until the Mongoose re-opens
in a couple of months.
Speaking of good food , we hosted a dinner party not
too long ago celebrating a slew of July birthdays . Threw some mahi-mahi on the
grill and accompanied it with mango salsa !! Oh yum. The mango salsa was
delicious but REALLY difficult to make . Here is the recipe if you
can stand it
MANGO SALSA
RECIPE
Dice a mango
Dice a cucumber
Dice
an avocado
Dice a red onion
Dice a jalapeno
Mix all
together
Serve
Phew !!!!!!!
You don't really need to add anything more as the flavors
blend so nicely together and create their own "marinade"
Enjoy your
Sunday
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- Wave Dancing in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 13:16:42 -0400 (EDT)
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We have some
guest Mermaids reporting today.
Good Saturday morning from
Tortola.
There is a bit of a little system "wave" , ( I call them
blobs ) presently hovering around us and the Leeward Islands.
We are under overcast skies with some drizzle and winds around 10 m.p.h. Last
night we had a moderate .24 inches of rainfall, but later today and tonight we
are expecting the rain and winds to increase slightly as this "blob" moves
on towards Puerto Rico. The national weather service is giving this "wave"
only a 20% chance of turning into a major storm, so we will say adios to you.
Oh , and , tell your friends to stay away too . With a
pleasant 84 degrees reading here we are a lot more comfortable than the eastern
seabord.!!
Dear Miss Mermaid,
This is sort of an abstract
story and maybe you can find a way in your creativity to fit this in somewhere,
if you want. It's about the Guineps .
Natural fruits are so abundant on
Tortola this time of year, but I am most fascinated by one that appears in late
July called the Guinep. The guinep grows in bunches in leafy green trees ,
typically along the sides of roads. Though they are fairly abundant and
accessible for most who can reach them, the children of the island seem to make
the most delight out of competing and selling them along the roadside,
hailing down taxis and any other moving objects to buy their little fruits
and make a little money for the fruits of their labor . No pun
intended.
Guineps take some getting used to as they have
a semi-hard outer shell that once bitten into and discarded gives way to a
somewhat tart and tangy cream pulp. It's really tasty though , believe me.
The juice which is light in color however stains a dark brown and was
actually used by the Arawak natives to dye
cloth.
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- Bret, Cindy, and a Tropical Wave too
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:38:18 -0400 (EDT)
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There is a tropical wave about 200 miles east of the Lesser
Antilles producing thunderstorms, gusty gutsy winds and tears from heaven.
Tropical storm Cindy is about 590 miles north northwest of the
Azores.
Bret degenerated to just a low pressure area. Bye bye
Bret!
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- Ah to be back where it's cool!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:30:30 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning from the BVI!
I'm back on island. You readers know me, I come
and go off the island, just like a butterfly. But OMG it feels wonderful
to be back on island. I left the scorching Midwest with highs of 100 and
the humidity a killer. Here it is a lovely 84 degrees, trade winds are up
to 17 knots and we are expecting a 50% chance of rain showers today and this evening a 70%
chance of rain. Wonderful for the cisterns and plants.
As I arrived on island Monday I saw that the festival
flags have been put up and the island seems to be coming to life again for this
years festival. Yesterday I was down at the Pub with my art group and
we had one shower pass through Road Town. The island is lush again
after our drought earlier this year and my flamboyant is defiantly showing her
colors. I'm just wondering why is it that we refer to certain things
as she, my house is a she, my flamboyant is a she, boats can be she, and
many other things are she but I rarely hear someone refer to "him". Hum
well that's way too much deep thought for this morning!!!
This morning I’m going to try to get in another bit of
time painting on my art work and I'll be catching up over lunch with a
friend. Should be a lovely day!! I think that soon in a day or so
I'll try to hit the beach and take in some soothing mother nature (again a
female reference) sea water. Hum!?!?
Have a great day and if you folks in the Midwest want to
cool off just come down here where the trade winds will do the job!
Cheers!!!
the Mermaid Gardener
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This morning after a really good rain
shower |
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We be limin at Festival
soon!! |
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- Tropical Storm Cindy has formed in the central Atlantic.
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 20 Jul 2011 18:47:17 -0400 (EDT)
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Tropical Storm Cindy has formed in the central Atlantic. She
is warbling about 666 miles east north east of Bermuda.
Tropical storm Bret is 480 miles west of Bermuda.
If you're in Bermuda, watch out!
Stock up on rum and hurricane supplies before they're all
gone.
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- Sea of urchins in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:12:01 -0400 (EDT)
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Our 15 minute rain shower came
early this morning as a small wave brushed over us and is now affecting
mostly Puerto Rico. It's a lovely 84 degrees here . Maybe some folks in the
states would like to come on down to get out of the heat and cool
off !!!! It is a lovely time to visit as life is a little
slower and quiet in the "off season ". We are beginning to see many of our
favorite restaurants closing for the season, but there are still quite a few
great spots to try out . I was out kayaking the other day and saw a
lovely shell that I wanted to investigate . I reached over the side
and totally flipped out of my kayak. I landed in the sea, amongst a
sea ,of rather large URCHINS . Yikes . I did manage to get back in the kayak unscathed,
except for my bruised ego. A few days later under an unusually low tide I
paddled back to the site where I had tipped and saw literally about 100 of
these lovely urchins. Some had met their demise and I managed to collect
quite a few. I have attached a photo of them. By the by I would NEVER take
a live sea urchin !! I also won't reveal this location for obvious
reasons . Some people consider sea urchin to be a delicacy and I
don't want to see the sea urchin population decimated like the whelks have been
for their conch meat. Don't get me going on that . So stay cool up there.
More soon..
 Tropical storm Bret is 360 miles south of the Outher
Banks in North Carolina and not a threat to the BVI.
Who'd a thunk it?
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- Monday in the BVI, day 48 of hurricane season
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:57:20 EDT
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Another mermaid has arrived on the scene to help with local
weather reporting!
Mabe we'll call her Mermaid Mariner.
Good Monday morning from Tortola . My handy dandy weather
station says it is 84 degrees with 80% humidity. It is a tad overcast with
intermittent sun breaks, and light breezes. I assume we will get our daily 15
minute shower before the day is out. There is nothing looming out on the
horizon, but we'll keep an eye on the "waves" rolling off the coast of
Africa.
I overheard a conversation yesterday about lionfish being found in
Trellis Bay among many other places.. Lionfish are a very invasive
fish that are native to the Indo-Pacific region. They were accidentally
introduced into the Atlantic Ocean and have slowly but steadily increased in
numbers here. Lionfish are characterized by red, white and black
stripes and venomous spiky tentacles. Although spear fishing is not allowed in
our waters the Department of Fisheries has made an exception to the rule and
one may spearfish the lionfish. ! I understand that this a quite
delectable fish, but I think I'll pass on that for awhile.
I'm off for a hike to the beach and a little swim time. More than
likely I'll get my rain bath before the
swim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tropical storm Bret is up around the Bahamas and no
threat to us, thank goodness!
It's true the lionfish have arrived in the BVI and are
decimating the marine life. Every restaurant in the BVI needs to put Lionfish on
the menu. That is the fastest way to begin to control their invasion.
Every cook, fisherman and restaurant should buy this
Lionfish Cookbook.
This book provides a unique blend of tantalizing
recipes, background on the lionfish invasion and its impacts, and information on
how to effectively catch, handle and prepare the fish.
While many traditional native seafood species are under
immense fishing pressure and in need of protection, lionfish are a tasty,
nutritious and environmentally conscious seafood choice.
If you can't beat them, then EAT THEM!
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- Live from Tortola
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:52:14 EDT
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From Tortola, East End
Hi Miss Mermaid. The weather here has been
beautiful. High 80's , light winds and pretty calm seas. Nothing much in
the horizon, BUT for the first time this season there are some tropical
waves rolling off the coast of Africa. Still a gazillion miles away so no
worries yet. The water temperature in the calm shallower waters like
beautiful Well Bay and Long Bay in the east end are around bathtub temp.
so if you choose to get a little cooler you need to swim out to deeper water.
That may not be for everyone as some folks like to be able to touch
bottom, and most enjoy the bathtub temp. anyway as they gather in
the shallow waters to drink libations, frolic, and gossip , but no
BUBBLES are allowed, as in bubble bath. Speaking of enjoying the shallow waters on
Tortola. No matter what beach you are on it is always advisable to watch for the
beach flags posted that will warn of rip currents, jelly fish, rough seas
and etc. Not that this is always a concern but knowledge goes a long way
!!
Thanks to Missy Lissy for this wonderful
update.
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- Tropical Storm Bret
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:29:25 EDT
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Tropical storm Bret has formed off the Bahamas, he is not a
threat to the British Virgin Islands at this time, thank goodness for small
favors.
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- Day 46 hurricane season
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 15:55:20 EDT
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Kitty meets iguana!
No storms, no hurricanes. Hooray! 46 days safe so far.
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- Whether the Weather is Nice or Knot in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:19:20 EDT
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Washed ashore last night in a German beer bottle:
Greetings to you from me and Tortola. Haven't chatted with you for a
while. Hope you are well. Thought you'd be interested in a conversation I had
tonight with a pilot from Fly BVI. The jest of it being, who has the last word
on when to fly or not in tropical weather, which we are experiencing
now that hurricane season is upon us. He said it is definitely at the
discretion of the pilot whom he said has more local weather knowledge than the
"weatherman" will have. Which reminds me of a joke . Where else can you have a
job and be paid for being so wrong 7 days a week !! Ha or something like that.
 Anyway my pilot
friend said that we are going to get a little bit of weather here tomorrow
and I am seeing lightening in the sky this evening. When asked if friends would
make it in tomorrow afternoon on their flight from Puerto Rico, my pilot
friend looked skeptical. Well I am not a skeptic, but have to go
with the guys who fly. And looking at the radar, doesn't look like a sun
shiny day. View from the porthole
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- Dances with Shark
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 08:52:38 -0400 (EDT)
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Winds look to be in the mild to low range until Sunday. Today we expect 8 to 12 with 2 to 4 foot seas but by Sunday it will probably be back to 14 to 19 knots with 3 to 5 foot seas. All with a chance of showers and Thunder Storms. Last night I had a great view of distant cloud to cloud lightning off to the North and Northwest. Tortola got several moderate showers during the day but looked clear overnight from my view point off Norman Island.
I is 84 but the heat index is about 92. Should get hotter as the day goes on but we will still have this high overcast. Still it is enough Sun to make my solar panels reasonably happy... that and I run my little Honda 2000i a couple of hours while doing computer stuff and fixing dinner.... Last night I did the Pizza thing in my small electric toaster oven that has a pizza stone .MMMmmmm Good. Love doing a Pizza Throw Down where each person does one to share by other "Judges"... but last nigh it was just me  BUT I did get highest votes for my pizza from da judge 
Last evening, on my last dive off da boat about 5 or so, I had an encounter with a group of Squid of the Large type, two turtles, a huge school of Blue Tangs (probably 200) and most of them about 9 to 12 inches long, and a nurse shark........
 While the photo is from Bing Share File, this is exactly what I saw except it was about 12 feet off the bottom and I was about 6 to 8 feet above it snorkeling. We looked at each other for a while, both obviously thinking what a great looking specimen. We circled around for a bit but while knowing these sharks... we have lots of them in Florida... I know they are not considered Dangerous to people in general... I still maintained a good of a distance as I could with out looking like I wanted to play fetch or catch me with it. This is the first large shark I've ever seen while in the water here in the BVI. Since I only snorkel here, I've probably missed opportunities but have noted many small fry sharks, generally under a foot or so in the shallows while walking or snorkeling. Nope I did not dream of Sharks last night, our meeting was a fun experience.
Going for a hike over to Money Bay on the Caribean side later this AM. Not a long hike but will get my parts working better than laying around on da boat..... or I could clean the boat up a bit... MMmmm big choice...... well as hard as it may seem, I think I'll do the hike
later Wayward
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- 11 & 12 July
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:17:49 -0400 (EDT)
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Sailed over to Norman Monday, and had the bay to my self except for a few short term boats in for only a few hours snorkeling. This was the Sun Set I had ALL to MYSELF Wish my special friend was here to share it with... AND my fantastic Meat Loaf, 4 Chesses Smashed taters and Corn on da cob.....even had a little Red Wine with it as I watched this.....
Tonight on the 12 it was nothing to write home about
Had a few showers over night but Tortola appeares to have got a good soak from where I was anchored, same occured tonight while I was dry and swinging in the breeze with my Sundowner in hand. Did have an unarthorized boarding last night.....
 Amazed it could jump that high into da boat. It was only about 3 or so inches and already dried up when I found him/her/it this AM while having my coffee in the cockpit.... did not appear to be very appatizing so early in the AM. If you recall, a really large one attacked me one night in the cockpit while I was watching a movie... Adventures in Paridise with Gardner McKay as Adam Troy..... the darn thing hit me in the chest after jumping more than 5 feet high and passing from the aft to me setting against the cabin a good 10 feet from the aft  At least this one did not hit me
Looks like we will have 8 to 12 knots of wind mostly from the Southeast for the next few days. Here in my cove on Norman the winds clock about 360 several times a day due to the curved shape we have which deflects the winds. Boats often are pointing in all different directions... when they are here. I've had the place almost to myself most of the time  . Winds should pick up to about 16 knots by the weekend and be more from the East.
We still have a high chance for rain and Thunder Storms for the entire week and we still have a heavy haze that is not Saharan Dust. Guess it is the old Temp Inversion thing and it is very muggy most of the time. Temps in Mid 80's with lows near 80 or 79.
Still seeing charter boats out but fewer cruiser boats. Most have put them on hard or gone out of the box for the year. I know St. Maarten was getting really dead by the time I left a couple of weeks ago. BVI seems to have a better out of season draw than the Leewards and most of the Windwards. Not totally sure why but probably because we are so close to the US and in the US most people still take their vacations in the Summer. It is a gamble for them on the weather but the cost are well below the high season rates.
Later, Wayward
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- Tuesday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 13:36:27 EDT
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A tropical wave approaching the Windward Islands, has
diminished. Guess we scared it away!
Weather is hot ,sultry, sunny with a few showers. we had
quite a lot of rain overnight so the harbor looks rather brown at the
moment.
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- Humm nice view!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:51:38 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning,
Tings here are still quiet here...that's the way
we like it!!!  Weather today is improving some
blue skies and high clouds. With last week being such a gloomy one it's
nice to see that the weather is improving slightly although the weather folks
are saying that we have a chance of rain Wednesday and into Wednesday
night. Probably going to be a hit and miss kind of
shower.
Current temperature is 86 degrees winds are out
of the South East at 11mph.
There are several tropical waves out in the
Atlantic Basin that the hurricane folks have been watching. They are
saying right now that none of the areas are expected to become organized into a
tropical system in the next few days.
The first wave is located along 85 west, near the
southern coast of Nicaragua. The other wave is located near the Windward
Islands a couple of hundred miles east of the Windward's. This wave too is
not expected to developed into anything organized at the moment.
Now is the time to continue to check the weather
for any formation of hurricanes, plus time to stock up my
pantry!!!
Cheers with a sign of
relief!! 
the Mermaid Gardener
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- Some sun finally
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 09:11:38 -0400 (EDT)
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By mid Day Saturday we had some sun fall on us.... and did it. Felt like a steam bath down town in Road Town where I was shopping Winds were still up but did not seem to help much until later in the afternoon when is was just Paradise re-discovered Had a nice dinner in the cockpit with a glass of wine... unfortunately at the end of the meal the nice glass (actually a nice plastic wine glass) and half a glass of wine decided they wanted a swim and jumped overboard. (actually it was a combination of a wake, the 14 knot winds and me not holding on to the glass  ..) Did you know plastic glasses do not float? Well maybe the black dolphin that was swimming around earlier in the afternoon will find a new toy.
 7 AM view to the West in a rain shower.
 7 AM view over Sir Francis Drake Channel. Heavy rain moving East.
Winds will run 9 to 14 knots for the next few days with seas 3 to 5 feet and probably 2 to 4 in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. I'll know for sure later when I head over to Treasure Island (AKA Norman Island) but I feel like a pirate today so it is Treasure Island Arrrrrrrrrrr We will still have a good chance of isolated showers and a posibility of a Thunder Storm today and the forecast shows a good chance for more rain in the half inch area for several days next week, but heck... we all know how these forecast move rain about and it will give me a good chance for a nice deck shower or two hope no one is too close
Already have one meal planned out. Meatloaf, 4 cheese Smashed Potatoes, garlicked haricot verts ( green beans, my niece tought me that word) With probably some iced tea made by da ol sun itself. MMmmmm but now a cup of coffee and a sweet Danish.... Note this is Not a Person of the Danish persuasion I'm talking about ( premptive CYA)
First I need to do one more dink leak repair and transfer a bit of fuel. Probably will not move out until I figure the weekenders have pulled anchor from my special cove
later, Wayward
Note several people have asked me why I like Cheap Sun Glasses... Well now adays even the cheap ones have UVA and UVB protection and are polarized. A quick check for distortion... anyone with glasses knows how to do this and bang.. nice but cheap Sun Glasses. One other reason is Sun Glasses always last less than a year, often only a few months... and the more expenisive they are the higher the probability they will be lost or damage... Murfies Law. AND THE BIGGEST REASON IS....................
ZZ Top NEVER did a song about expensive Sun Glasses
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- Drink Da Coconut Watah
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 09:06:10 EDT
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Day 40 of hurricane season and all is safe and clear for now,
though the pesky African dust is lingering in the air with more on the way.
Coconut water has five electrolytes that are present in our
bodies. This includes potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, sodium and
calcium. Coconut water does not contain any preservatives, fats or
cholesterol and is superior to any sports drink on the market.
A study
in 2005, showed that 71% of the test subjects lowered their blood pressure,
now that is some good news. While coconut water has some natural sugars, the
fact that it is also high in fiber, causes the body to absorb the sugars slowly,
not causing spikes in sugar levels like man-made drinks can cause.
Coconut water is reported to cure your hangover! Wake up on
the beach drunk? Chop open a coconut and drink the water for instant
relief.
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- Weather to Watch and Wait in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 12:48:20 EDT
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The tropical wave is bringing wet weather with it, following
by African Dust. We used to call it the Sahara Dust, now it's become the
African Dust. It coats the sky, draping a powdery fine dust on everything
below. But it sure makes the sunsets spectacular.
Looks like summer with all that mess rolling across the
big pond.
Time to stock up on emergency supplies, just in case.
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- Heavy Rain and Thunder Storms underway
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Fri, 8 Jul 2011 08:13:48 -0400 (EDT)
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Small craft should exercise caution
15 to 20 knot winds with 4 to 6 foot seas are forecast today with cloudy sky with Thunder Storms.
We have had almost an inch of rain over night around East End Tortola with Thunder Storms that seem to be hanging off shore At present, the winds are very low and from the South Southwest, probably under 3 knots and the seas are near flat. These will change as the winds pick up and probably change back to the South East.
Expecting another Gray Day in the area.... guess it is time for more cowboy movies and popcorn or a good book
Later, Wayward
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- Thursday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 14:21:08 EDT
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Breezy with a few showers but it's very humid.
No hurricanes headed this way at the moment...
But there is a tropical wave about 550 miles east southeast of
the southern Windward
Islands.
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- Special Report BVI Ferry ran aground at Current Cut USVI
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 10:34:21 -0400 (EDT)
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CHARLOTTE AMALIE, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued 98 passengers and four crew members who were aboard a ferry that ran aground in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Coast Guard spokesman Ricardo Castrodad says five people were injured after the Royal Miss Belmar struck a reef near the island of St. Thomas late Monday.
Castrodad said in a statement Tuesday that the agency is helping investigate what caused the incident, and will help remove the ferry, which remains afloat.
Many of us know Current Cut well. Looks as though the ferry hit the St. James Island side at Christmas Cove. Winds have been high and this area can develop some strong winds in the very narrow passages and current problems are the cause of the name given the cut.
This was NOT a standard ferry run as it was at about 10PM and the last commercial ferry leaves at 5pm. Must have been a special run as that number of passengers is large since it is not a standard run. Visibility may have been a problem as the moon is almost always gone behind clouds and from the cut you see many lights of St. John and St. Thomas. Note some time ago a ferry ran down a sailboat in the area in daylight hours. Some concern as to if a helms person is in place and actually performing duties as these ferry's are often on Auto-pilot. Since the US will have some control over this investigation since it was in US waters... we may actually find out what occurred.
Normal report is below.
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- more of a mixed bag
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 10:06:24 -0400 (EDT)
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Small craft should exercise caution
Was planning on heading over to my special cove on Norman Island today but......
Winds will be between 16 and 20 knots with seas 4 to 6 feet and I can see a few white caps in the Sir Francis Drake Channel. Chance of rain is between 70 and 40% with a chance of some heavy showers, probably more than an inch from now to Sunday with Thunder Storms in the afternoons and mostly cloudy sky. MMMmmmm think I'll just hang around Penn's Landing for a few more days At least I may be able to dink up to Red Rock and cry in my beer.... Mmmm no, I just can not mess up a good Red Stripe... I'll move it to starboard a bit to keep it safe. It is a bit of Rock and Roll out here in Fat Hogs Bay but rather be tied to one of Walter's moorings than on a fresh anchor if a blow hits me at night
Look at this We have a new harbour light.
A new Green Buoy and it is Lighted!!! This will be welcomed by lots of people.
View of one of the many rain showers moving around in front of me this AM.
Looks to raining itself out over the channel before it reaches Tortola but lots more to the East and Southeast. Road Town stands a good chance of getting several short showers today from the look of these clouds.
Think it may be a good time to check my stock on popcorn and movies.... or maybe just grab my i pod and have a book read to me Love those free audio books I can load to da fantastic i pod and close my tired eyes and enjoy a good book. http://www.booksshouldbefree.com/Top_100 is the place I get a lot of these... even if you do not have an i pod you can down load as MP3 and enjoy.
later da Wayward Sailor
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- Thunderstorms.....not a beach day!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 08:25:23 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning,
It's pretty gloomy out on the horizon
again. It seems that this weather pattern we are in is sticking around
giving us more clouds than sun. I know I talked with a very good friend of
mine and we both agreed that when the sun is not out we end up getting
gloomy ourselves. It currently 78 degrees and looks like we are expecting
to inch up the thermometer to 82 degrees. The wind is light 7mph out of
the south and we have a 60% chance of rain today and then 50% tonight. No
complaints about the rain we can use it, however, this cloudy weather makes me
want to curl up in bed with a nice book. Looks like the next sunny day is
going to be next Wednesday.....whew that's a long time to have this weather hang
on without any sun!!!
Thought a brighter happier sunnier picture
of some of my desert roses might just be a good pick me
up.
Enjoy!!!
Hopefully brighter
Cheers!
the Mermaid Gardener
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- Gloomy 4th of July for all the Ex Pats!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 09:46:02 -0700 (PDT)
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Happy 4th of July!!
From the looks of several of the web cams the day
is a continuation of yesterday gloomy, rainy, and some wind. 
Just glad
that we do not a hurricane bearing down on us!!!
Cheers!
The Mermaid Gardener
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- Happy 4th from the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 4 Jul 2011 11:25:49 EDT
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No storms headed our way. Yippee!
Happy 4th of July!
Play with fireworks on your computer here.
Yesterday was wet, blustery, with thunderstorms and
squalls!
Must be hurricane season!
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- more rain with some sun possibilities
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2011 09:13:08 -0400 (EDT)
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Small craft should exercise caution
Expect East southeast winds 15 to 18 knots and Seas 4 to 6 feet with Scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms for the next few days. This AM we have had several short showers but they will add up with what we have had. The nice thing is I have not seen any major flooding in the area. Sure some places seem to have a problem when we get a couple of hours of rain but they typically have that due to location and poor overall planning concerning that location. We should get about .4 inches today then trace amounts for the following few days.
Forecast Temps remain at 88 for highs and 79 for lows with a heat index add on when ever the sun does pop out for a few hours. Expect partly to mostly cloudy sky today with better chance of sun the remainder of the week. Clouds are low and not moving very fast.
Lots of wet stuff out here, looks like a hit and miss sunshine opportunity for a while. Hope the cooling effect of the seas works for us
latter da wayward sailor
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- Can we say....WET
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Sat, 2 Jul 2011 11:30:41 -0400 (EDT)
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Small craft should exercise caution
Can we say WET.... you could if you were here in da BVI
Late afternoon winds and a few showers turned into a heavy downpour last night and early this AM. I'm reasonably sure we had well over 3/4 inch of rain here at da boat. Topped my aft water tank up very nicely.
Most of yesterday was overcast with increasing winds. I took a walk from East End to Trellis Bay in the AM and was surprised how DEAD most places were. About the only activity was at the Trellis Kitchen were it appeared the crews from more than a half dozen of Moorings flotilla lead boats were having breakfast. Never saw that many flotilla lead boats in one place. They are the ones with all the flags on the Aft stay. Did a couple of book exchanges and took a hammock to get into one for a few hours then took the walk back to Penn's Landing but stopped by the Riteway market for some pizza fixin's before going back to da boat.
As the afternoon progressed the winds came up stronger and took a South component. I did pop in for a quick shower at the Landing before I settled in for the night but had to pick my time between strong wind and showers to make the trip.
From early this AM we have had a significant amount of rain and the winds have totally died out. What little we have is from the West.... yep I said West. I would say under 2 knots and the bay is like a pond with only ripples caused by boats passing or you could use it to shave with. The dink has more than 4 inches in the aft and the gas tank is floating, glad it seals well Will have to pump her out soon as we could get more rain later tonight. Present temp is about 80 and the high is expected to be about 88 but unless the sun finds a way through the thick clouds, I don't think we will see it. Night time temps will probably be near 80. We do expect some rain over the next few evenings but as time goes on. lesser amounts.
Forecast are for seas 4 to 6 feet and East winds 15 to 19 knots.... we sure do not have that around East End at this time but as the day moves on we may see the change.
Later
da Wayward Sailor
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- Day 29 and Arlene is named
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:15:36 EDT
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Darn, we couldn't finish the month without a named
storm. This time it is Arlene. She is not a threat to the British Virgin
Islands, thank goodness.
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- Arlene not a problem for Eastern Carib
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:56:47 -0400 (EDT)
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Tropical Storm Arlene looks to cause Mexico a heavy rain at least and winds could be a bit high. Not good sailing weather in that location but here in the BVI it is 88 but feels like 100 This is with a East Southeast wind of 12 to 16 knots at present. Seas in the Sir Francis Drake Channel appear to be 3 to 5 feet and a fair number of boats are out but we still have a heavy haze and you have a major glare when looking about. Time for a good pair of cheap sunglasses.
We have a decreasing chance of rain and those thunder showers, only trace amounts of rain are expected for a few days.
With all the clean up I'm doing on da boat, I could probably use a bit more rain to fill the tanks or I'll have to make a water run into Penn's Landing for filling my three 5 gallon blue Jerry cans..... my back does NOT like doing that lugging around and it is sOOooo much easier for the rain to do it. I even love the opportunity to get out on the Port side and take a rain shower.... that side of the boat does not feed the water tanks... only the Starboard side has access to the water tanks Rain showers are nice for the hair... although I do not have as much as I once did
Thanks to those who followed my blog on the first part of my trip back from St. Maarten I posted yesterday. I'll finish it for those who are interested later this week.
Later da Wayward Sailor
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- Da Wayward Sailor is back in da BVI
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- By Da Wayward Sailor <dawaywardsailor at aol.com>
- Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 12:50:19 -0400 (EDT)
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Small craft should exercise caution
No the Caution statement is NOT because da Wayward Sailor is back in da BVI....errrerrr Well probably not ... more on that later!
Winds for the remainder of the week should be between 14 and 21 knots from the East and Southeast. Seas are 4 to 6 feet and again from the East or Southeast. Generally looking for partly cloudy sky with around a 40% chance of rain with Thunder Storms possible. Not much in rain accumulation is expected... we did get a good dose on Monday and over the weekend. Temps should run between about 79 at night to 88 in the day with heat index of around 100 or higher.... stay in a cool place and drink lots of water!
Did not have any Sun on Monday... started off like this...
I did make it into Road Town with out getting too wet. Seems the rain only dropped when I was on da bus or in a building so I was cool with that Had to go and check into Customs and Immigration and pick up a few items I used up on the trip back from St. Maarten. Today we had a bit lighter clouds and so far only a few misty sprinkles... not enough to close the hatches or even go in out of the rain to finish a word puzzle.
I've had a couple of people ask me to show the photo I said I would of the lady on Orient Beach on the French side of St. Martin.... well here she is and note this is the French side and she is a tad under dressed and some what abrasive... and has been having a beer or two.
 MMmmmm
At another beach on the Dutch side I noticed this sign.
I walked on toward a beach bar which seem to have the largest number of people and noticed they had the Ground Control Frequency as the background sound for the place. Noted some chatter about a landing and looked up to see this passing about 100 feet high...
A bit later a little larger plane took off and sand blasted a few people who did not read da sign.
Saturday about 2 AM I sailed out of St. Maarten for BVI. I had watched the weather and a front was moving in for early the following week and I had what looked like a nice window for the trip. Winds were to be 14 to 18 knots from the East and seas under 6 feet... probably 4 to 5 for most of my trip and I was looking at a 12 to 14 hour passage single handed..... with NO Auto Pilot not even a Naggigator aboard... You know what that is????? That is the person who keeps you awake by giving additional incite into what is going on and using the usually feminine art of Nagging. Well, they do have their value
As I got clear of the wind shadow of St Maarten, I noticed the winds were a great deal more South than forecast. My course was exactly down wind Now some down wind is great... really great if you are a Square Rigged or are set up for a long term Wing in Wing sail.... I'm not Started of tacking... well actually since the wind was to my rear they were Jibes and did 45 min legs but notices after the second one I was sailing great... about 6 to 7 knots but was only making about 1 knot on course made good. MMmmm let us calculate that... 84 nautical miles at one knot... that comes to about 84 hours sail rather than the 12 to 14 I had planned... and I'm singlehanding with out auto-pilot. No way was that going to work! I set up for a hand controlled Wing in Wing which was fun for about the first few hours. Seas were just pushing us along generally but occasionally a few would have more of a South or due East component which would goose da boat in da rear and make here wiggle enough to dump the wind or most of it from at least one sail and sometimes both. This resulted in about a 4 knot made good which was darn slow but this is a small boat with not a lot of sail.
Over all the first 60 miles or so were fine if not a bit less than interesting. At dawn the flying fish came out and that was interesting to see them act. Later afternoon, a pot of dolphin joined me for a while. This was very interesting and include the grays and several small blacks. The small blacks seem to have some interest in me and came along side to take a look rolling on their sides to eyeball me just about 5 feet from the boat. Like most sailors with nothing else to do I did talk with them... actually made whistling sounds and that seem to draw a few more for a while but they seem to tire of the sport before I did and soon left me alone again. A few boobies flew by for a quick look while I was miles away from anywhere. Only saw one boat, a cruise ship early in the AM soon after I left St. Maarten and one Container ship a few hours after sun up on Saturday. The next boat I saw were 2 sail boats within 20 miles of BVI. One seemed to be heading toward St. Kitts or some place South and was probably out of USVI another was heading due East heading into the Atlantic.
When I was within 25 miles of BVI I noted a "small" rain shower headed my way... I could see a cloud but not a dark one from which appeared a light shower was heading my way. Within 10 Min I could see the cloud had darken considerably and the rain appeared heaver and looked to pass me to my West... or most of it anyway. The winds did pick up and some of that was good... I started making 6 knots still in a wing and wing but with the storm cell coming up I fell back to a safer standard pattern keeping a bit of separation from the approaching cell. All this time my main was reefed and I was just going to pull in the Jib to under 50% just to be "safe" when I got a very strong clear air gust about 25 knots. I allowed the boat to round out and headed into the wind allowing the boat forward motion of about a knot... actually heading directly away from my intended course but a much easier ride for the duration of the storm cell. It lasted about 10 min then the wind was dead calm for about half an hour but the seas were rather a mess with whitecaps breaking in all directions for a while. I turned around and headed back on my BVI course and motor sailed mostly for the next 10 miles. About 15 miles off BVI I noticed a bit of irregular rhythms to the diesel engine. First though was fuel problem.... all the wave action often causes junk to break loose in the tank and can clog filters... OR it could be a more serious engine problem. As it was near dark, I decided to go ahead and put the boat into the wind and lock her up by back winding the job and go down to fix what I hoped was the ONLY problem. I've done this several time over the years... these things always occur at or near the worst moments. I had only recently changed the filters and I always re filter the fuel when putting it into the tank... but Caribbean fuels are always dirty for some reason and they grow things in them even with the additives we add to the tanks to condition them. As it ended up it was Just the fuel filter and I had her up and running in about 5 minutes. It was already getting dark and my speed was again down to about 3 knots as the seas were turning more East causing more of a roll and the sails were doing little. Then things got interesting........
More later.... Da Wayward Sailor returns....
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- Monday, day 4 of Summer in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 17:27:49 EDT
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No storms affecting the BVI at this time. The first month of
hurricane season may pass by without a single one being named. How lovely. Just
4 more days to go though.
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- Gloomy rain filled day!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 09:56:34 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning,
It's cloudy and there is no way we
will be seeing the sun today. Last night we had showers and again early
this morning plus from the look of the radar we are going to be having more
showers coming our way today.
You can see on the Sahara dust map
that we are thick with clouds and that the Sahara dust is right behind it.
High today will be 82 degrees with a 80% chance of rain and thunderstorms.
I figure all is good when we don't have any hurricanes coming our
way.
Cheers!
the Mermaid
Gardener
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- Day 26 of hurricane season in the Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2011 10:41:41 EDT
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Tropical wave in the Northwestern Caribbean, no threat
at all to the Virgin Islands. Day 26 of hurricane season and all is well!
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- Saturday morning! Scattered showers!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Sat, 25 Jun 2011 10:22:51 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning,
No Hurricanes out there at the moment!!
Temperature right now is 84 degrees but feeling like 90 degrees. Winds are
out of the south at 5.4 mph and we are looking at a 70% chance of precipitation
with possible thunderstorms. Winds are predicted to pick up slightly and
more out of the east. 
The forecast over the next few days shows that we
are looking at a rather disturbed weather pattern, continued scattered
showers over the next few days. I'm sure hoping that we get some
substantial rain, could use more water in my cistern.
This weekend starts the Highland Spring HIHO
2011 race event. It is a fun filled week of inter-island sailing,
SUPing & windsurfing with great parties. If you are in the BVI you may
want to check this out at http://go-hiho.com and possibly see
some really excellent windsurfers.
Have a great start to the weekend!!
Cheers!!
the Mermaid Gardener
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- Beatriz no threat to us!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 08:08:25 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning
Whew!! Beatriz is no threat to us in the Caribbean
today!
Tis hurricane season so we need to keep vigilant! Stock up on hurricane supplies, don't forget the bug repellent and rum for no see-um bites!!! It's currently 82 degrees and partly cloudy. The weather sites predict that we have a 60% chance of rain today. We could use it!!
Cheers!
the Mermaid Gardener
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- Day 19 of Hurricane Season
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 17:12:57 EDT
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Very quiet *shhhhhhhh* hurricane season *shhhhhhhhhh* so
far.
Check out that incredible cloud, it looks like St Thomas
is a big lumpy coal train with a trail of smoke...
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- Sticky hot!!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2011 11:18:38 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Afternoon on Father's Day
It's hot hot hot...how about
90degrees. We have had occasional showers pass through and it's forecasted
that we have a 40% chance of rain. Winds are South East at 12
mph. Time to pull out the fan or stand in front of the freezer. No,
even better I think spending the afternoon at Riteway is a great
plan! Too bad they don't have a coffee shop in Riteway...I'd spend the entire afternoon chillin out!!
Enjoy the rest of the
afternoon!
Cheers!
the Mermaid
Gardener
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- Friday in the BVI
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:38:55 EDT
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Hi, weather good today, sunny with a light breeze. There were
really bad thunderstorms a couple nights ago and the island lost power for part
of the night. A few transformers were hit and blew big time!
Square boats...who's a thunk it?
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- D.O.A. on the beach!!
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:14:14 -0700 (PDT)
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Good afternoon,
Today has been a more comfortable day with us having
some cloudy skies. The sun does not bite as much and the temperature is
pretty comfortable.
Last week I walked the Trellis Bay beach and look
at what I found!!! A large dead squid.....no calamari here...look at those black
specks in the sand those are little flies or dead creature seeking bugs!!!
I've seen several small squid swimming when I've been out snorkeling but this
guy was large. I think he could have made really good deep fried calamari
rings if he wasn't D.O.A.!!!!!
Inky cheers,
the Mermaid Gardener
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- Wednesday, Hump Day in the Virgin Islands
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- By DearMissMermaid at aol.com
- Date: Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:20:06 EDT
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Just another slappy happy day in the Virgin Islands. The water is warm, the
seas are calm, the skies are blue, the winds are cool.
Watercolor of Manchineel Bay, BVI
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- Just a little Flamboyant
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- By The Mermaid Gardener <mermaidgardener at yahoo.com>
- Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 06:03:30 -0700 (PDT)
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Good Morning,
Today is starting out to be sunny with our usual
scattered puffy clouds. The Marine forecast does indicate that at the end
of the week winds will be up to 19knts. Current temperature is 83 degrees
winds south east at 12 mph and we have a 30% chance of showers today. Our
best chance of showers appears to be tonight. Let's hope that we receive a
spritz of rain to freshen up the plants.
My Flamboyant tree is now starting to be very
showy!!! It is stunning!! Last year after hurricane Earl went though the
islands I had huge mess to clean up and the Flamboyant was one of the trees that
really had to have a haircut. I was worried earlier this year thinking
that it sure looked dead...no leaves on it. As we all know mother
nature has a way of telling the trees and plants that it's drought time and do
not send out leaves or flower. Once we started having rain last month the
entire islands vegetation changed and of course it was then time to leaf out and
put forth stunning flowers.
Opps...sorry the horizon is off, maybe it's just my
driveway that slants!!!! Still a great picture of the flamboyant!
Cheers!
the Mermaid Gardener
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Older reports from the BVI have been moved to another page.
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