Our share the cost trip to the BVI/USVI

[firefyterx]

Well we spent the week from Feb 20th to Feb 27th in the BVI and USVI. We flew into Tortola on the 20th. Matt and Jamie arrived late afternoon and were met by a taxi and taken to Smoke and Roses our 47 foot Robertson and Caine Sailing cat. We had some airline delays and arrived late evening. Agnes and I arrived at the boat and Jamie introduced us to Matt who turned out to be a great guy. We had a couple drinks and got acquainted. We were all tired from travel and we were early to bed and also early to rise. Jamie and Agnes did the provisioning while Matt and I readied the the boat. We were out of the harbor and checked out of the BVI and headed for the USVI by about 1:00. We couldn't wait to get wet so we detoured to The Indians a dive spot near Norman Island We realized it would be tight getting to customs so we decided to spend the night in the bight on Norman, home of the Willy T. a 100 foot schooner turned double decker bar whos' claim to fame is Naked women jumping from the top deck. (This is no longer allowed) but we still had a great time later that night after dinner. There is no spearing in the BVI so we had a dinner of Chicken Kabobs and rice, with Grilled Pineapple for desert.

We were up with the sun and off the hook by 7:00 headed for St Johns to check into the USVI. We then steamed across Pillsbury Sound and into Redhook where we met Eric Wright our Guide and after this week Friend. The wind was blowing about 15 knots so we decided to stay in the sound. The vis was not great but we managed some snapper a grouper and a couple of bugs in our first 2 dives. We then move to a wreck the major General Rogers. The markers were gone so it took a while to locate it. We dropped the hook and realized the current was ripping. Matt and I decided to jump off the bow and go straight down the chain and eric opted to follow us down going under the boat to the chain. Agnes and Jamie sat this one out. Matt and I went hand over hand down the chain until we were just 30-40 feet from the wreck. Eric made it part way down the chain and decided enough was enough. Matt and I found out that as long as we were in the lee of the wreck we were ok but being away from it took too much effort. Matt fond a nice coral crab and I took a shot on a nice snapper only to put the free shaft completely thru it and watch it swim away from the wreck. It was sick but due to the current I couldn't pursue it. I went back to check on Matt and we decided to call it a day even though we had plenty of air. We went up the chain did our safety stop and got out for the day. That first beer tasted great. We dropped off Eric and set the hook in Red Hook for the night. There was a better anchorage around the corner but we didn't want to chance it as it was getting dark. We dined on seafood pasta made with snapper grouper and crab with zucchini and wine sauce, along with garlic bread and Parmesan Cheese. We had a few drinks and again were early to bed.

More to come

[firefyterx]

The next day started with breakfast and then a trip to the dive shop for fills. Eric wasn’t able to join us but gave us a number of options to dive. The wind was still blowing 15-20 and the seas were about 5-7 feet. I’m glad we had a large seaworthy vessel. We headed out to Frenchmans cap about an hour and a half jaunt. We tied up to a mooring ball in the lee of the island and began our dives. Vis was over 50 feet. Agnes and I went one way and Matt and Jamie the other. Although the seas were high making some swell there was no or little current. Agnes got a nice hind grouper with her trusty spear pole and I got a couple of snappers. We returned to the boat and were surprised that Matt and Jamie were not on the board as they had entered the water before us and we had seen them just a short time earlier while we were returning to the boat. We decided it would be best if I took the dingy to look for them in case they got turned around while navigating around the island. I started in the area we had last seen them and then thinking the worst went away from the island with the waves in case they surfaced away from the island and were not able to swim against the waves. I worked my way down the side island and found them on the exact opposite side. It seems they had completely encircled the island and missed the boat as they passed. They were running low on air and surfaced to find huge seas. Neither of them panicked as they figured I would come for them but Matt decided that it would be easier to wait on a flat rock near the shore. Big Mistake! As he approached a big wave deposited him on the rock and the next yanked him off, throwing him into a washing machine like action. This could have been a bigger problem had Matt panicked but he dropped his gun, weights and stringer with a nice grouper and inflated his BC. This whole ordeal took only seconds and Jamie could only watch. They quickly rejoined and I soon appeared around the corner of the island. Matt let out a whoop and Jamie asked his what he was so happy about these waves suck. Matt said, ”There’s Dan”. And when Jamie turned around I was only 30 feet or so from them. I threw them a line and towed them away from the island to where they could enter the dingy with the motor in neutral and I didn’t have to worry about being too close to the rocks. We went back to the boat and recounted our adventure (the difference between an adventure and an ordeal is attitude and outcome). Matt and I decided to back dive the spot to recover Matt’s gun and equipment. We set some rules for the dive up front. We would take no chances to recover anything and we would have Jamie drop us just out from the spot so we would have ample air to return to the boat. We recovered Matt’s Gun and weight belt within 5 minutes of entering the water but the stringer with the grouper was not to be found. I’m sure a cuda or a shark wanted his grouper more than we did and carried it off. We quickly returned to the boat and had lunch while we relocated to Buck Island for our next dives.

We dove 2 dive sites here Andre’s reef and Dive flag rock. These were very productive. We brought in a mixed bag of schoolmaster and mutton snapper, lobsters, grouper, a trigger and a large African Pompano. These dives were in the lee of the island and vis was again good. We decided to spend the night on the hook in Charlotte Amale. For dinner we Had The pompano and the trigger smothered in Agnes’ sour cream and Parmesan sauce along with asparagus. After dinner we sat out on the trampoline marveling at the beauty around us and thankful for the great day of diving. Stargazing with good friends and a few drinks was a perfect end to an exciting day. We were all spent and started to fall asleep and one by one we retired to our cabins

[firefyterx]

The next day began again filling tanks and meeting Eric. We headed south west out of Charlotte Amalie to Saba Rock. We anchored in an area called Fish Butt Surprise (not my name). On the first dive we all got fish and bugs. Agnes pointed to a large Hog fish that practically skewered it self on my shaft. I shot him right thru the eye and out the gill, stoned. It was a nice area with a little current and good vis so we decided to back dive it as we all saw some massive snappers there. On the second dive we again saw the Snapper in question and I guess he didn’t get that big being stupid. He never let us get close enough for the shot. We were starting to be much more selective about our catch as the coolers and freezer were getting full. The next trip we will make arrangement to ship fish home. On the third dive of the day I forgot to write down the name but it had become overcast and the vis suffered. Fishing was slow and I’m not sure what we got. It was getting late and I was anxious to get back to port before dark. We were all beat and enjoyed a few beers on the way in. Once anchored, we sat and just shot the shit over a few of our favorite beverages. Eric stayed until dinner was just about ready. We dingied him in and then dined on Rib steak and Lobster. We all ate way too much.

The next day started much the same filling tanks and picing up Eric. While the tanks were filling, Agnes and the guys slipped off to do some shopping, while Eric and I humped tanks. There is something wrong with this picture. Agnes picked up some liqueurs that we can’t get in the states, Jamie got some t-shirts and Matt got what everyone brings back from a dive trip, A Rolex. He had been waiting to get somewhere you could get a good deal and the USVI is as good as anywhere. As he was leaving the lady who sold the watch assured him he could wear it diving and he was thinking are you out of your mind. He didn’t wear it diving.

The 1st dive of the day was the west side of Water Island it was an easy dive and we picked up a couple of bugs. We then headed to what was supposed to be the highlight of the day, basically a sunken island called the Arena where the water in the middle was 50’ or so and the outer reef reached up to about 37’. This area was surrounded by 90’ of water. Matt was first in the water and just waited in the water while Jamie and Eric quickly joined him. There was little or no current. They proceeded into the arena and Agnes and I quickly followed. But by the time we got in the water there was more current. We had barely got to the chain and Agnes had had enough so I escorted her to the surface. I had already see lots of fish and had even missed my first shot. I definitely wanted to get back down and assured Agnes I would stay within sight of the anchor chain unless I found the guys but as I approached the Anchor it was apparent that the currant was building and I need to stay behind the structure if I were to stay. My decision was made easy as the guys were on their way back and it was getting untenable down there. We aborted the dive heading up the chain and back to the boat. By the time we were on board the current was ripping like I have never seen. It reminded me of riding the tailraces of the Missouri River below the dam when the turbines were open. I really wanted to hunt this area. I gotta get back there next trip at slack tide. Agnes still had 2600lb in her tank and the rest of us had between 1400lbs and 1800 lbs so we decide this would be a 4 dive day. We moved to Salt Cay and had a nice easy dive with good vis where we picked up some grouper and Lobster. Next we moved to Lucas point to use up our partial tanks and finish out our day. It was getting late but we wanted one last dive. There were snappers and lobsters, a nice end to the day. After the dive we wentback to Charlotte Amalie for our last night in the USVI. We were joined for dinner by Eric and his wife Gale. Dinner was Grilled lobster, Fried snapper, asparagus, and Salad. We were sitting at the Quay on the main street in Charlotte Amalie and after dinner an ice cream truck came by and we flagged it down. Agnes suggested that we have sundaes with vanilla ice cream and Tiramisu, a liqueur made to taste like the dessert made in Italy. It was a perfect complement to a wonderful dinner. We sat and talked late into the night and after a while realized that our night had to come to an end. We said our goodbyes having made great friends. At the beginning of the week we were simply internet acquaintances and after diving together for a week I feel we have made a friend I will look forward to visiting whenever we get to our boat. Eric and Gale are truly great people. We the pulled away from the quay and anchored out in the harbor.


The next morning we filled tanks for only 2 dives each and headed north thru Pillsbury sound. We decided to dive Carvel rock. We knew the tide was going to come in and we would again have current. Matt and Jamie called the dive early and Agnes and I circled the rock. Agnes missed a nice Grouper and we saw a number of shorts. As we came around we missed the cut between the rocks and surfaced on the wrong side. We weren’t that far but a week of diving and a slight current made it seem much farther. It was good to see Jamie on the boat so we could just call for a tow by the dingy. We had gotten a late start this morning and had to get to Soapers Hole to check back into the BVI by 4:30. We weren’t sure we could get a dive in and still check in that night so we headed for the BVI. After check in we decided we didn’t need another dive and there were still t-shirts to buy for the kids. We stayed in right where we were thinking it would be good to get a good nights sleep before our day of travel. We dined on Hog fish and lobster and retired to the trampoline to relax. We turned in early having expended all the energy we had during the week. The next morning we were off the mooring be 7:00 and headed back to Roadtown. About half way there the port engine started to overheat. So we limped in on one engine and later found a hose clamp had failed causing the antifreeze leak. We packed our gear and were on the way to the Airport by 1:30.

The diving and was great. Besides the fishing we saw Eels, turtles, sting rays, eagle rays and other Marine life to numerous to mention. But the best part of the trip was the Camaraderie. We made 3 new friends in Matt, Eric and Gale. We spent time with an old friend Jamie and could not have had a better group. A boat of any size is a small area to spend a week with other people but this was truly a great group and therefore a great trip

[stallbaum]

Awesome.

[SEATUX]

Stop It,,,your Killing Me!

[Prater]

Sounds great, maybe next year will be a better time for me...