MORE GREAT RESOURCES

Here are some links that will keep you busy and excited about our adventure. We will be sharing more in the future.

This one has many interesting clickable links:
http://angelinacat.com/BVILINKS.htm

Ditto:
http://vicharteryachts.com/usvi/US_Virgin_Islands_map.html


I have been looking for a quality satellite view of the Virgin Islands for a few weeks. I finally found what I think is the best view. If you look close enough you can find both of our Tarquin 59's in their port at Compass Point Marina. UNBELIEVABLE ! ! (I will show you how just call me). Also you can find Bubbly (Champagne) Pool, Sandy Cay (Spit), Saba Rock, Our Cost U Less Grocery where we will buy our provisions WOW ! !
http://www.flashearth.com/

Pat


PS:http://www.normanisland.com/info.htm
http://www.williamthornton.com/

DUTIES

I admit to taking a little license with the idea of Co-Cook. Perhaps this is a bad idea. My thought was that two people could share the scheduling of cooking and cleaning assignments and meal planning and provisioning. I envision this as a larger job than the other duties and we have extra (unassigned) cruisers to involve. BUT I see that there can be problems with this idea. I have no doubt that we need at least one cook on each boat. Perhaps we can table this until our next meeting (the 18th of March). I will add the discussion of duty assignments to our itinerary at the nest meeting.

Pat

Map?

Being older than most on the cruise (except Barbara) would it be possible to see a map of all our stops at our next meeting....a visual of what we're doing would be great. Looking forward to the next meeting. Is any one besides us having trouble getting into the blog? It seems fussy at times letting me in......usually says password and name does not match....

CABIN ASSIGNMENTS

CABIN ASSIGNMENTS

AWAITING FINAL DUTY ASSIGNMENTS.


Boat # 1 (tentatively TWO SHEETS):
V-berth Rick & Amy Skipper & Purser
Mid- Forward Jerry and Jacque First Mate & Co-Cook
Mid- Aft Dale & Kay Engineer and Co-Cook
Aft cabin Scott and Patti Coxswain & Master-at-Arms

Boat #2 (tentatively THE LOVE BOAT):
V- berth Greg and Darcy Engineer/(First Mate?)
Mid- Forward Ed and Andrea Ditzler (No duties assigned yet) Coxswain & Master-at-Arms?
Mid- Aft Todd and Lysa Bartender & Cook
Aft cabin Pat and Barbara Skipper & Sailing Documentor


Boat #2 will need a Coxswain and a Master-at-Arms.
Both boats need to have a First Mate assigned. This person will assist the Skipper at dockings, buoy hooking (mooring), anchoring and piloting the boat. This person could be the Engineer.

Pat

MARCH MEETING DATE IS SET ! !

We will meet on March 18th at Greg and Darcy's home in Gig Harbor. Their address is 4821 Deer Creek Lane. The social hour will start at 4:00PM. We will conduct business once everyone is a little tipsy. This (the meeting) should take 60 to 90 minutes. Topics will be:

• Pursers discussion of our finances.
• Cooks discussion of proposed menus. IE: what do you want to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner and in between. What is your beverage of choice? (This will help our two cooks prepare a provisioning list.)
• Discussion of our itinerary. Pat will discuss from Wednesday the 7th through Sunday at the time we sail. Rick and Todd will then lead the discussion about each of our days on the boats. Finally Pat will discuss what happens when we return to port on Thursday the 22nd at noon until everybody leaves the islands.
• We will have a final discussion about duty assignments. Should we have Co-Cooks? Who will be the First Mate for each boat, etc.
• Coxswain will show us pictures of his dinghy.
• Master At Arms will have a discussion about passports, and create a complete list of all cruisers full legal names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers.
• We can digress to a general discussion of how brilliant we all are to be taking this cruise together.

If Greg and Darcy wish to add a comment to this Post with further ideas for the evening please do so. It is their house after all.

Pat

DEFINITION OF DUTIES

Jobs On board
There are a number of jobs to be done on board. While the skipper is ultimately responsible for most of them, there is too much for one person to do. Sometimes 4 or 5 things need to be done simultaneously and if any one of them gets done poorly, we could be in trouble. Each of the following persons are responsible to see that the jobs get done, you should not be the only one to do them. Each of us should help with any of the jobs we are capable of doing. By dividing all the necessary duties on the cruise we will maximise our fun and skills and minimise the burden of no fun jobs.

Skipper: Navigation, Anchoring, Docking and overall safety of crew and boat.
The skipper is on call 24/7, is responsible for the safety of the crew and a boat worth more than a house, and is the final arbiter of all on board problems. Skippers also always seem to have a "moral obligation" to ensure everyone is having a good time. Thus, all skippers usually have at least one "cranky" evening from the strain, often -but not limited to- the last night of the cruise.
Feel free to ask to take the wheel or question whether we're pointed in the right direction. It wouldn't be the first time that a skipper aimed at the wrong island.
Early in the trip, I will want to play with moving the boat in docking and mooring conditions. I should practice with a mooring or float before going near anything that could cause a dent. I might even call a "crew member overboard" drill to test our skills. [If you see me picking up a seat cushion on our first leg, be ready for "the drill".]

First Mate

The first Mate will assist the Skipper. Occasionally drive the boat, take charge of the crew upon catching a buoy (mooring), and docking.
These are usually "All Hands" maneuvers. You're coordinating the crew for the skipper. Do a good job, and you'll make it look like he knows what he’s doing. Let's have fun critiquing other boats' misadventures.
Mooring We'll do this 10 or 15 times, hopefully only once per mooring.
Be the skippers eyes as we approach a mooring buoy. He can't see it from the helm when we're close, nor can he hear you from 50 feet away when the engines are running.
Guide him with hand signals for "left", "right", "faster", "slower", "stop engines", "back up" and "back up really hard".
Keep your hand and arm visible when you point. He can't see your arm in front of you any better than he can see the buoy. Straight up is straight ahead; 45 degrees off of that is 45 degrees horizontal.
Try to avoid the "YOU FOOL!" signal. Instead, use a combination of "back up really hard" and "circle around and try again". He'll get the idea.
Grab and secure the mooring line with the boat hook in the middle of the line, not the loop (or you won't be able to let go), and put it on the nearest cleat. Often takes two to accomplish. We'll lead it through the fairlead later.
Ensure mooring line is adequate: If the line on top of the buoy is bad, back it up. If the line between the buoy and anchor is bad, we move.)
DockingWe'll do this four or five times. This is when the skipper will be most nervous.
Direct the laying out and tending of fenders and dock lines before we come into a dock. The skipper will say which side as we approach. We may even back in and tie off to the stern cleats, like Chesapeake Bay crabbers.
We weigh about as much as a tractor trailer, so:
·
Do not fend us off with your feet or hands. That's what fenders are for.
Do not try to stop the boat's motion yourself. At most, throw a half turn around a cleat and let it take most of the strain if I ask you to. Sometimes, I want to go further up the dock than I said five seconds before. The engines will stop us pretty smartly.
Do not jump off onto the dock. If you can't toss (or preferably hand) the line to someone on the dock, I will go around. On a cruise in the past one crew member didn't heed this warning and broke both ankles. Ended the trip for him and his wife and the remaining three couples were pretty bummed out for the rest of the trip. Months later, he still hadn't recovered.
The most important line is the center spring line. Given a good spring line to work against, I can pivot the boat around any way I want.
The bow line usually goes on last. You'll probably have to override the dockside recommendations and give them the spring line.
If any line goes in the water, particularly aft near a prop, tell me immediately so I can put that engine into neutral. Anchoring We'll do this once or twice during the trip
We don't anchor on coral or where our rode (chain or nylon) could drag past and damage coral, remembering that the boat will drift around. If you can see coral, we probably shouldn't be there.
Lay out anchor line(s). We anchor with a minimum of 5:1 measured from the bow roller to the bottom. The bow roller will be 5 to 7 feet above the depth sounder's reading. If we do not have all chain, then we go with 7:1. When in doubt, lay out more.
We dive down on the anchor once it's supposedly set to make sure. The skipper will do it independently the first couple of times because he's paranoid.

Coxswain
You are responsible for the dinghy.
Ensures someone will drive the dinghy. It's a lot of fun, so everyone should get a turn or two.
Ensures the dink is properly secured to the boat, whether under way or at anchor.
Ensures the dink's drain plugs (sometimes 2) are pulled to drain the water on the floor and between the floor and hull, and puts them back in before we lower it into the water. [Not catastrophic, but slows us down and gets our feet wet.]
Checks tube pressure and tops it off when necessary. Do you know where the foot pump is?
If the dink is in the water when we move (almost never done when we have davits)
·
You have no other duty or care than watching the dink while docking or undocking.
Ensures we do not run over it or its painter while we're moving. If we run it over or catch its painter in a prop, we could have a very bad day.
Ensure the motor is tilted up when not in use, particularly if being dragged behind us.

Cook
The Cook does not prepare all the meals and clean up after all the meals are done. The Cook does prepare and post a duty roster involving everybody on the boat with a meal to prepare and clean up after. With eight crew on each boat and three serving/cleaning periods on 11 days there will be 33 periods divided by eight for a total of just over four meal periods per person for the whole trip – NOT TO BAD ! ! Perhaps our cooks will provide a rotating schedule that will involve each person once every 2 ½ days. Great !
Everyone takes a turn or two at making meals - whatever his or her forté is.
Ensure we have a menu and people to cook it.
Meals are planned around, and food is stowed according to, what food spoils most quickly.
Know where all the supplies are. Thus inventories the supplies against the checklist as they come aboard and directs where they are stowed

Master-at-Arms
Do a head count of all crew before we pull away from the dock. Would hate to leave one of the crew behind.
Ensure no lines hang in the water to be sucked up by the props. [Thus you back up the Coxswain and Special Sea and Anchor Duty.]
Ensure that the public areas are clean and neat
No laundry is hanging from the rigging as we enter or leave port (pet peeve and a safety item).
All fenders (those big, ugly, white things AKA "bumpers") are stowed by the time we've gotten 10 feet away from the dock.
Organizes cleaning parties as necessary.
Because the Engineer is pretty busy at the start of the trip, ensure all water tanks are full before we leave the dock on departure day. After that, can remind the engineer to check the tanks. For some reason, the crew gets cranky if we run out of water, so the MAA would want to double check to keep the natives from getting restless.
Theoretically, the MAA ensures the rest of the crew are happy - or at least aren't mutinous. If you can intercept problems, you might lessen the skipper's "moral imperative" to keep everyone happy. If you can't resolve a problem, though, bring it to the skipper and he'll try to ensure ill feelings don't fester.

Engineer
These are unseen duties that we won't notice if done properly.
Attends boat walk-through with the skipper.
Ensures we remember to turn on all lights and instruments during the boat checkout to ensure they work. A second set (The Master At Arms) of eyes help.
Knows where the equipment, tools and spare parts are, thus directs the equipment inventory at the start of the trip. Except for cooking gear, this doesn't intersect the cook's inventory.
Ensures someone checks that water tanks are full at start of trip and before leaving any port/dock. At least two people should check this one.
Maintains the "gripe sheet" - everything we find wrong or broken on the boat- so we can tell all at the end of the trip and the problems get fixed. Too many charterers rely on memory and forget.
Checks out the diesel each morning (water, oil, raw water filter & "other")
Ensures batteries and refrigeration are kept charged, morning and evening.
Ensures domestic water pump is off while under way.
Knows which water tanks are empty and how long the water should last. Only one tank is on at a time, If we have more than one tank.

Purser
Prepares a spread sheet of income and expenses and shares this information with all cruisers on the BLOG and in person at our monthly cruise meetings.
Prepares a monthly budget of assessments to each couple sufficient to pay all deposits as required by VIP.
If needed, assesses a levy from all crew during the cruise.
Pays for the provisioning of the boat.
Maintains the kitty and pays the incidental group charges.
Keeps records. We trust you, but sometimes memory is weak.
Refunds all excess funds upon return to home.

NEXT MEETING DATE ? ? ?

Lysa has suggested Sunday the 18th as a replacement day for our next meeting. Please respond to this POST with a comment as to whether the 18th works for you. If so, great. If not please give three other evenings or more that would work in the month of March on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Assume all days through the 11th are out.

Thanks, Pat

HOLY COW! Y'ALL MUST THINK I'M NUTS!

When I was reading Pat's comment about meeting date, I was in the February zone because we were going out of town. March 18 will work for us for a meeting date.

AND, I don't know what I was thinking about traveling 24+hours....it's 14 hours....was thinking of another trip we are making to South Africa next year! Holy Cow! I was really out to lunch....I'm really not that ditsy....well, sometimes. See everyone on March 18.

Jacque

SOMETHING TO WHET YOUR APPITITE

Here is an article that is right up your alley !


http://www.fineedge.com/ARTICLES/Power_Cruising/BVI_Power.pdf


Let me know what you think. If you want more, just let me know.


Pat

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PLANS HOTEL ETC..

CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS MADE ARE IN GREEN

Wasting away in Margaritaville. Welcome Jerry and Jacque. And for all, ... here is what should be our definitive statement on hotel rooms for the entire trip. I will include a detailed arrival schedule (days only - no time of arrival, we will add these details later LIKE NOW).

Rick Lester and Pat & Barbara and Greg & Darcy will be traveling to Saint Thomas leaving Seattle on Wednesday the 7th of November arriving on Thursday the 8th. The FIVE of us will need a hotel for one night (Thursday).

NOBODY arriving after Thursday (the 8th) of November will need a hotel room until after the cruise is completed.

EVERYBODY arriving on Friday the 9th and Saturday the 10th will be able to sleep on Boat # 2 (The LOVE BOAT) on Friday and Saturday nights.

These are the travel dates as I understand them: (PLEASE CORRECT ME WITH A COMMENT TO THIS POSTING ... ALSO PLEASE GIVE ME YOUR ARRIVAL TIMES IN SAINT THOMAS (ST). THIS WILL HELP WITH OVERALL PLANNING)

Arriving in ST on Thursday: Rick Lester, Pat & Barbara, @ 2:20 PM Greg & Darcy @ 9:15PM. (G&D we will pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel. If you wish, let me know and I will make our reservation for the 8th to include you. This would make our transportation issues more simple).

Arriving in ST on Friday: Dale & Kay @ 3:55 PM (someone will pick you up in the community rental car).

Friday night will be our one and only Sleep-A-Board night. The LOVE BOAT will be moored in Compass Point Marina and CANNOT leave the dock. (Because of the Sleep-A-Board status) On The LOVE BOAT that night will be P&B in their permanent cabin; the Aft Cabin, Rick Lester in a Bunk (probably) G&D in their permanent cabin; the V-Berth, and D&K in their temporary cabin Mid - Forward.

On Saturday Pat and Rick will receive their Skipper training, briefing, and checkout. This is expected to take four to six hours between 9am and 3pm. While this is going on any cruisers that do not participate in the Skipper training, briefing, and checkout will most likely take the community rental car and purchase our provisions and deliver them to the dock. This will probably take four to six hours also.

After The LOVE BOAT has been provisioned (with food and beverages and supplies for BOTH boats) and the Skipper indoctrination has been completed, The LOVE BOAT will cruise to Crown Bay Marina. (We will get to Crown Bay as soon as possible, hopefully by 4PM) This is a marina that is many miles closer to the airport and close to the place where we will drop the community rental car. One of the Sleep-A-Board cruisers will have driven the rental car from Compass Point Marina to meet The LOVE BOAT at Crown Bay Marina. Once all of the Sleep-A-Boards have been reunited, someone (volunteers anyone?) will drive the rental car to the airport and shuttle Saturdays (seven) arrivals (see below) from the airport to Crown Bay Marina. (two to three trips) DO NOT FEAR ! ! From experience I can tell you the local tourist welcoming committee will greet everyone at the airport with free rum ! They do this before you go to baggage claim. DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY ! ! After you get your bags our volunteer shuttle driver will whisk you and your mate away to Crown Bay where your personal 60 foot yacht will await your arrival. (Que the Dating Game Theme Song).

http://www.crownbay.com/index.html

Arriving in ST on Saturday: Amy Lester, Todd & Lysa, Patti & Scott, and Jerry & Jacque ALL @ 3:55 PM

Cabin assignments for Saturday will remain as on Friday with the addition of Amy in the other Bunk (probably) Todd and Lysa in their permanent cabin Mid - Aft, Scott & Patti and Jerry & Jacque will find make shift quarters on the boat. It is my suggestion that the group purchase four sleeping bags (if everyone approves and we cannot get bedding from VIP) in Saint Thomas for use on Saturday night for those two couples. UPDATE: Jerry and Jacque will arrive in ST on Saturday and have a hotel reservation for the 10th in ST. They will join us on Sunday morning at Compass Point Marina. Unfortunately Boat #1 (TWO SHEETS) will not be available to us until Sunday morning. After all cruisers are on board and the rental car is returned we (all 12 of us) will depart Crown Bay for Water Island. I believe not having boat #1 available could be a blessing in disguise as we will have one night to all be together (albeit, crowded). (Minus Jerry & Jacque and Ed & Andrea).

We will spend our first night on the hook at Water Island. On Sunday morning at a time arranged with VIP, we will return to Compass Point Marina to acquire TWO SHEETS. At that time the stowaways on The LOVE BOAT will go to their preassigned cabins on TWO SHEETS.

Least we forget... Ed and Andrea will be joining us on Thursday (I believe) the next week on Tortola. We will meet at a place to be determined. (Note to E&A: Please leave a comment with the time, date and place of your arrival in the islands. We will arrange our itinerary to me up with you upon your arrival). We would like to know what day you will leave ST as we wish to include you in the Thanksgiving dinner.

On Thursday morning the 22nd (Thanksgiving) we will return both boats to VIP at Noon. We will then travel to our hotel in Saint Thomas. This is the hotel night I will book for all couples staying in Saint Thomas on Thursday night the 22nd. I will also book a reservation at Craig and Sally's Restaurant in Saint Thomas for Thanksgiving dinner. I can't imagine a better night or a greater group to give thanks with and for.

http://craigandsallys.com/

PROPOSED ITINERARY

Hello, fellow cruisers. Please review this proposal. Tell me whats missing and what you don't want. This is just an outline. There will be many details to fill in over the coming months.

Additional note: With as many as 16 or more cruisers going together on a single trip it is inevitable that there will be different wishes and different styles of vacationing. Together we will create an itinerary that will balance the wishes of all.

Perhaps the best way for me to describe this task is "We will create a through plan that will allow us to go to as many places in the Virgin Islands that a relaxed schedule will permit. We will do this with detailed planning that will allow us the freedom to spend the maximum time doing nothing ."

If we are sucessful at this we will all see the places most important to us, do the things we wish to do and feel no push or pressure to maintain anything more than a RELAXED ISLAND PACE.

I am confident this adventure we are all planning will be a joy to participate in and one of our fondest memories after the fact.

So, while I anticipate including a lot of detail in our "itinerary" this detail will only show what is available to couples that wish to keep up a high level of activity. All couples should make their own decissions about participation. Nobody can do everything. But because of the diversity of interests of each of our couples I will try to include as many of the possibilities as is reasonable.

Caribbean Cruise 2007

(Proposed) ITINERARY


FRIDAY Sleep-a-board B&P G&D D&K Rick Lester Compass Point Marina

SATURDAY Skipper training sleep-a-board everybody (12) Water Island

SUNDAY Motor to Compass Point to pick up second boat Depart for Saint John Trunk Bay @ noon or sooner. Spend the night in Cruz Bay.

MONDAY 8 AM motor to Sopers Hole clear customs. Spend 2 or 3 hours in Sopers. Motor to Jost, Sandy Cay and FOXY'S

TUESDAY Jost and Bubbly / Champagne Pool ETC. Marina Cay

WEDNESDAY Cross to Apple Bay / Cane Garden Bay. Evening at Bomba’s Shack anchor off?

THURSDAY East End of Tortola Trellis Bay. (Pick up Ed & Andrea?)

FRIDAY East End of Tortola Marina Cay / Pussers

SATURDAY Gorda Sound @ East end of Virgin Gorda. Leverick Bay and more. We should find a Laundromat here, might help to freshen up. Maybe a sunset dinner at Saba Rock, I hear they have a great band.

SUNDAY Gorda Sound. Bitter End Yacht Club. Rental kayak, little sailboats, bicycles, boaters paradise.

MONDAY Motor to the baths at 10 AM. Get a rare buoy. Three hours? Overnight at Cooper or Peter Island

TUESDAY Norman Island. Perhaps a daytime crossing to Nanny Cay for fuel and or water. Hiking on the Island.

WEDNESDAY Norman Island AM. Then to Sopers Hole to depart BVI and Customs. Motor to Saint John for one last night on the boats.

THURSDAY Return Boat to Compass Point Marina by 12 Noon.

Dates we are available for next meeting

We are out of town on February 18; we are free on March 9, 10, 11 (the 11th if during the day); also free on March 23, 24.

I think we will keep our room on November 10 at hotel; after traveling 24+ hours I think I would like a bed instead of sleeping bags....will join you'all on Saturday to say "hey" and then sleep in hotel hooking up early Sunday morning.

JJ

Possible Name for Boat #1

Yesterday Rick came up with a possible name for not only the Boat he's captaining (Boat #1), but the dingy as well. The boat's name would be "Three Sheets" and the dingy's name would be "To the Wind".
Imagine on the walkie talkie.... "this is Three Sheets To the Wind... come in To the Wind"
It just makes me laugh :-)

GOT SO EXCITED MADE PLANE RESERVATIONS!

We are on the same flights as Patti/Scott with the exception of last stretch from Dallas back to Seattle on November 23.

Also made reservations at the Emerald Beach on November 10. Wanted to be sure that the reservations for Thanksgiving dinner and hotel were for November 22 not November 23.

We are set!

JJ

TO OUR NEW/OLD/NOT SO OLD FRIENDS

We are so excited to be joining you all on this journey! We are not able to make the March 3 meeting as we have a previous commitment.
Pat: Count us in for the November 23 dinner and hotel reservations....thanks! If you keep the next meeting on March 3, we will give our balance due to Patti and she can bring it to you.

Thanks again and Bahama Mama's here we come!

Final Cost Per Couple & Deposit Schedule

OK here it is... the final cost per couple for the whole trip (of course excluding airfare and spending money). $4,255 per couple for whole 11 day cruise and $3,400 for our 7 day cruise couple. Since we've got both boats full we have the maximum financial benefit for each couple, yeah... more money to spend on swimsuits :-)

The deposit schedule above shows that we will have sufficient funds to pay the deposits on the boat as they become due and have all the money we need for the trip (provisions, etc.) by September, after that each couple can focus on saving extra fun money. I believe that I have everyone shown at what they've deposited... please let me know if I have made any mistakes. For the couples that have joined us since our last meeting, you will need to catch up in March with a $1,300 deposit and then you'll be on the regular $500 per month schedule. I know that Ed and Andrea have already given Todd a check for $1,000 so (since their total expense is less for 7 days) they're next deposit ($500) will be due in April.

We believe that we have sufficiently accounted for all expenses to be incurred on the trip and may possibly have some left over... the only caveat is this: If we end up needing a captain for one of the boats (unlikely, but possible) then the cost will be spread among all couples and will be approximately $200 - $250 per couple.

That's it, please post comments if you have questions or concerns.

I THINK I HAVE A NAME FOR BOAT # 2

Love, exciting and new,
Come aboard. We're expecting you.

Love, life's sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.

The Love Boat soon will be making another run.
The Love Boat promises something for everyone.
Set a course for adventure,Your mind on a new romance.

Love won't hurt anymore
It's an open smile on a friendly shore.

It's Looooove!
Welcome aboard - It's Looooove!

EMAIL ADDRESSES

We need the email address for Ed and Andrea. We want to invite them to read, post, and comment in and on the BLOG. Thanks Lysa and Todd. Please send the address to my email address.

FISHING ANYONE?

Fishing in the Virgin Islands. The fishing is excellent in the Virgin Islands. If you are an avid angler, you'll find a wide variety of game fish looking for a fight. Bring your own tackle or rent it locally.

Let's talk about this at our next meeting. We will want to accommodate anyone who wishes to go after the fishes.

GREAT NEWS ! !

I FIXED MY MISTAKE (WRONG DATE, CORRECT DAY)
CORRECTED FEBRUARY 15TH AT 1:40 PM

The boats are full. Congratulations to all of us. But Patti, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that if I had to invite every one I rear ended we would need another boat! Well anyway we are all happy it is you, Jerry and Jacque.

I will plan to make a dinner and hotel reservation for all couples staying in Saint Thomas on Thursday night of Thanksgiving. Currently the plan is to get a reservation at Craig and Sally's for 16 for dinner. I hope they are open. I will need to hear from J&J, E&A, and G&D. I am not sure you are going to be in Saint Thomas on Thursday the 22nd. If you are, please let me know. I will include you in the dinner reservation at Craig and Sally's. I will also get a reservation at the hotel on the night of the 22nd in S.T. if you wish. I am sure we can get a great rate for 8 rooms at the Best Western in Charlotte Amalie.

I feel like I am already there. I have been reading so much about the places in the BVI's. Only 269 days to go.

The Party is On ! ! !

WELCOME ABOARD 8TH COUPLE

Congratulations Jacque and Jerry Johnson. We now have our eight couples. Jacque and Jerry live in Port Orchard and met Patti in 1979 when Patti rear-ended Jacque's brand new camaro in the school parking lot. They've been friends ever since!! J and J will be busy this week getting their airline reservations and getting caught up.

Welcome, Jacque and Jerry, to the trip of a lifetime!!!

MARCH MEETING

Greg and Darcy have generously invited all cruisers to their home for a social / business meeting on Saturday the 3rd of March. Thank you G&D ! Their address is 4821 Deer Creek Lane in Gig Harbor. There are many (four or more) people who cannot attend this meeting. I suggest we move the meeting back one week or to some other time that works for all. Let's talk. I will make some phone calls. Please call each other and we will come up with a date that works for all. If no date improves the attendance we can stay with the 3rd.


Pat

GOING, GOING, GONE ! !

I just got word that the seventh cabin has been taken. Welcome Ed and Andrea Ditzler. We are very happy to have you join us on what will certainly be a very memorable and unique event shared by good friends and family. I understand their current plans have them on the boat for seven days. Perhaps they will fly to Saint Thomas and ferry to meet us on Tortola. I am sure we can work out the details. They will occupy the fourth full cabin (Mid - Forward) on Boat # Two (unnamed).

We have been informed the Ditzlers will not be available at the next meeting as they will be in Mexico. (This is one unlucky couple). Along this line I have discovered there are others that cannot make the Saturday 3rd dinner meeting. I would like to find a consensus on a later date. I have heard there is no resistance to attending, just conflicts in our schedules. 14 busy people - - go figure. I suggest moving the meeting to the next Saturday in March. Please call me and other cruisers to see if we can find a date that works for all. While we understand scheduling conflicts I feel strongly that the group will benefit greatly if we can keep a discipline that has 100% attendance at these social / business meetings as our goal. Results of a meeting date change will be posted on the BLOG.

We now have seven couples that have paid their deposits (currently $800 as I understand it). We will require a $500 payment from all couples at our March and all subsequent monthly meetings. (until we have collected what we will need for the compete trip). I believe our newest couple is paid a little ahead (maybe $200) . This payment in March will give our Purser (Amy) the cash to make the required payment in March of the additional 15%. This will bring our total payments to VIP to 25% of the cruise (about $6200). A final 75% payment is required in August (90 days before sailing). Our current payment schedule ($500 per month per couple) will provide for this.

Just to make things absolutely clear, NOBODY going on the cruise gets a penny from our account. Every dollar will be used for payment of items we are required to pay for to make the trip possible. Every penny will be accounted for to every person. This account will be used for the following items:

• Boat rental to VIP
• Boat insurance to VIP
• Boat fuel
• Purchase water for the boat
• Payment of moorage
• Payment of tourist taxes (BVI)
• Payment for provisioning of the boats. Food, booze and supplies.
• Any money not spent on these items will be returned to you after the cruise on a "pro-rata" basis.

All cruisers will be separately responsible for payment of any food and beverages consumed on shore. You will also need to pay for any activities of your choice, IE: scuba diving, renting a little sailboat, jet skis, ferry rides, rental chairs at beaches, rental cars (Except for the car we use in Saint Thomas to get us to the boat and provision the boats, if we all agree to share this cost). You will also need to allow for purchases you will make of souvenirs, bail money, and toys you will want (floaties for example).

You will need to pay for your hotel at the beginning and end of the trip...if you stay in Saint Thomas. BTW, I have committed to getting us the best deal (price-value) for a hotel on the last night (Thanksgiving Thursday) at one hotel (makes transportation easier) once we have all of our cruisers on board. As far as I know, everybody is planning to depart Saint Thomas on Friday the 23rd of November. Please wait to make this hotel reservation. Barbara, Rick and I will pay for our own hotel on Thursday night the 8th of November when we go early to secure provisions and receive our skipper training. I do not remember if G&D are arriving in Saint Thomas on Thursday or Friday the 9th. Please let me know in your comments. All cruisers will be able to "Sleep - A -Board" boat #2 on Friday and Saturday nights at no additional cost.

There is a small hospital in Saint Thomas if we need. All health care in the Virgin Islands is less sophisticated than what we find at home so don't get sick or hurt...but if you do you might want to find out about your insurance providers policy coverage in the Virgin Islands. Remember you may need a helicopter to get to the hospital quickly so this might be something to ask about also. Just trying to be cautious, ya never know.

BACK TO THE CABINS...
With seven couples this leaves open just the single (Mid - Forward) cabin on Boat # One (unnamed). After that cabin is taken we will have two full boats and a great cast of characters. Also, there are two bunks in a small room (closet) in the aft cabin of each of the boats.

There has been talk of Velecia Williams (a friend of P&B) joining us on Boat #2 in one of the bunks. If she is able to make the trip she would use the head in our (P&B's) cabin.

Fears of needing a smaller boat have certainly been put to rest by now. We can now concentrate as a group on just how much booze it will take to keep us floating for two weeks. I for one am working on a system to haul aboard a 50 gallon keg of Caribbean Coconut Rum and lash it to the poop deck. I know it only comes in bottles but it sounds fun to say it anyway.

With this posting I will be updating our Cabin Assignment posting. I hear Amy will be posting an update of our finances soon. This will show where your money is going.

Aye Aye,

Pat

TOURIST TIPS IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

Keep Left - we drive on the left side of the road (steering wheels are also on the left). Pedestrians - before crossing the street look to your right - that is where the traffic is coming from

Before you do business of any kind ( ordering a burger, buying a hat, hailing a taxi etc. ) say "Good Morning, Good Afternoon and Good Evening (at the appropriate times of course) and you will be amazed at the better service you will receive in return. Also at night time "Good Night" is used as a greeting! It is difficult to say "Good Night" when you enter a room but you will give the impression that you have been here awhile.

When in town, government buildings, and restaurants don't go shirtless or in your bathing suits. Not only is it frowned upon by locals it is also illegal and can result in a fine!

Alcohol - we have very liberal drinking laws in the islands. You may walk around the streets with a cocktail, you may enter a bar or restaurant with a cocktail (as long as you have the courtesy to buy your next one there), you may even get in your car and drive with a cocktail in hand. Here's the catch - you can drink and drive but you cannot drive drunk. You would be surprised how very few drunk driving accidents occur here. Drinking age is 18. The Virgin Islands is also a place where you can drink outside & smoke inside. A bottle of rum at KMart is around $3 and a carton of cigarettes is around $12.

Do not expect anything to happen in a hurry around here. The more anxious, obnoxious, or in a hurry you appear the less likely you will get service. Not only did God send you here to soak up the sun and relax She (or He) sent you here to teach you patience. Oh and "fast food" - well, isn't.

Wear sun screen! It is painful for locals to watch very white people become very red people.

Do not ask a local if they live here. If someone is working here (as a bartender, clerk, taxi driver , etc.) then we guarantee you that they do not commute from Atlanta every day... yes they live here! - It is acceptable to ask "How long have you lived here? or "Do you live here year round?" (some people do work here seasonally).
Do not ask, "Do these islands float?", "Are these islands here year round?", "Does the water go all the way around the island?" " Can you swim underneath the islands?" "Why are all the boats in the harbor pointed in the same direction?" "Is there a bus to take you to Puerto Rico?" Enough said about that.
Do ask the locals, "Where is a good place to eat?" "What's your favorite snorkel spot?" "Where's the best place to by cameras, liquor, jewelry etc.?" We love it here and will happily share our favorite places.

Basically kick back, enjoy, relax - no worries, no hurries.

OUR BOAT IS POPULAR ! !

A competitor of VIP offers one Tarquin that is an exact copy of our boat. They call it a trader 585. This is the schedule of available dates in 2007. As you can see it is a good thing we booked when we did. VIP says all three of their Tarquin 59's are in constant use. They need an investor to purchase another one for them.

There is an article in a recent edition of Voyaging Magazine (fall 2006). The author is on our boat and takes our cruise. He recommends extra time in Virgin Gorda's East Sound. I'm gitten wrapped around the axel. I better stop. 272 Days til the cruise.


http://www.powell-graphics4.com/calendar/2098/calendar.cgi?uid=42


Pat

O' by the way, I will continue to make changes to the Official Itinerary after getting input from each of you. I
expect we will make improvements to the schedule and activities for the next nine months.


There have been concerns about getting quality cuts of meat that we would recognize. USDA choice is a proper requirement. We can get these items in Saint Thomas at Cost-U-Less. Here is their site.

http://www.costuless.com/products.php?l=2&subsection=Meat&id=21

There ore other higher cost options we can use later in the week in the BVI's

NEWS FLASH ! ! !

Ladies and Gentlemen we have our sixth couple joining Caribbean Cruise 2007. Welcome Dale and Kay Robertson (D&K) to our November cruise in paradise. They have booked their flights to Saint Thomas to arrive on Friday the 9th and return on Friday the 23rd. They have not picked a cabin as of yet. They are planning to sleep-a-board on Friday the 9th and help with provisioning and our skipper checkouts on Saturday the 10th. Once they pick their cabin we can assign them duties and titles.

With the addition of our sixth couple I have great confidence we will have 8 couples for the cruise and probably have to tell some friends there is no more room.

MORE NOTES ABOUT THE CRUISE....

I intend to rent a car in Saint Thomas when Barbara, Rick and I arrive on Thursday. I hope to find a large enough vehicle to accommodate the transportation of all cruise members (not at one time) this would eliminate the need to pay for a taxi. My plan is to rent the car from Thursday 2:20 PM (our arrival) to Saturday afternoon. This would facilitate our provisioning and transportation to the boat for all and to and from our Hotel (Barbara, Rick and me) on Thursday night / Friday morning. I will inform you on the BLOG of my progress in finding a suitable vehicle for this purpose.

I spoke with Nori to get an update on our confirmation of our charter dates. She informed me (new news) that our second boat that we requested for a Saturday Night sleep-a-board will not be available as it is returning from mechanical service with the owner on Saturday and will not be ready before Sunday morning. DO NOT DESPAIR ! ! I am sure we can fit everybody aboard the first boat that we (P&B, Rick Lester, G&D and D&K) will be sleeping-a-board on Friday. After we complete our skipper checkouts (Rick Lester and I) on Saturday we will find a slip in the Crown Marina in Charlotte Amalie. This marina is less than 2 miles from the airport. One of our Friday sleep-a-boards could drive the rental car for the round trips necessary to transport all Saturday arrivals (T&L, S&P and Amy so far) to the boat. We might even find having all 16 of us aboard for the first night might be fun! We would need extra bedding or sleeping bags (for three couples - remember we have the two bunk beds available) but surely this will be less expensive than hotel rooms. If anyone would not want to do this they could stay in a hotel on Saturday night in town.

We will need a complete list of provisions for our departure from our cook(s) before we travel. This will allow us (the Friday sleep-a-boards) to acquire the items on Friday or Saturday for delivery on Saturday/Sunday to our boats. So far our Cook and Bartenders are Todd and Lysa. Hopefully we will have a Cook for the other boat. However our menus will be such that Lysa and Todd could provide a list to review at our next meeting at Greg and Darcy's

I know there is a great desire on the part of our fellow travelers to have every detail prepared in advance, including our itinerary. This is the purpose of our BLOG and our monthly meetings. Rest assured we will not go without an agreed upon itinerary months in advance. I hope to have a good outline of our itinerary completed at the next meeting. I will plan on being prepared for this goal. Please call me if you have any special desires. I might even publish on the BLOG a rough draft before the meeting.

On another note, I was informed by Nori that "rafting" of the two boats is not allowed. I am sure we can find many ways to share our fun from one boat to the other. Many of the couples have "walkie-talkie" type radios. I recommend one in each cabin. I have a couple of sets to share if needed. We should bring them to the next meeting to make certain they will all communicate with each other. Please post a comment if you have radios to bring.

I hope everyone finds the monthly meetings useful. I know it seems we don't do much. I believe having the meetings allows us to get comfortable with each other before the cruise. This way there won't be such a "culture shock" when we get on the boats. Planning for the trip is at least half of the fun.

Until next time...

Pat

BOAT NAMES

Hello,

I had a conversation with Nori of VIP yesterday. I asked her if the boats had names. She said yes. I asked her what they were and she replied that she could not tell us. She explained that in the past they have told charter guests the boat names and they would arrive with hats or shirts with the boat name on them. They were disappointed to find VIP needed to swap boats for the charter because of a mechanical or some other need. Nori explained that they have three Tarquin 59’s and they cannot predict which boat we will get. So, we will have to give the boats our own names.

Pat