March came in like a lamb
It seems as if it’s been quite a while since we’ve had a really peaceful night. With the SE wind that’s been blowing, Wednesday evening, that we spent anchored behind Buck Island, was definitely not peaceful. Yesterday, we moved over to Peter Island though and anchored in Great Harbor. With the exception of the area immediately adjacent to the shoreline, the bay is very deep. That probably keeps a number of boats away. ZTC is lying in about 30 feet of water now, deeper than we prefer to anchor, but when I woke up this morning, I could see the sandy bottom, that’s how calm and clear the water is. We’d probably stay here for a while if we didn’t have some things to do but we need to move back over to Tortola tomorrow to be on hand for the pre-survey of the boat that our friend Michael hopes to purchase. I think we’ll come back though!
We finally broke out the windsurfer yesterday and as with most sports, Rebecca appeared to be a natural at it. Unfortunately, the universal joint at the base of the mast, a piece which our friend who gave us the board told us would need replacing, broke before I even got a chance to try it. Following some advice from a friend, I’ll see if I can rig up a fix for it today until we can purchase a replacement part.
You can always just take the ferry over from Peter to Tortola for the day and shoot back at night
When you say you “moved to Peter Island” are you leaving out some administrative steps, or is it really that easy? I don’t think there is anywhere on the San Diego coast where you can anchor without getting permission ahead of time. And often paying a fee.
Do you have to scour island government web sites ahead of time to find out that kind of rule, or is it more like anchor first and answer questions later?
It is really that easy. These islands are all part of the same country (BVIs). Up to date guide books can tell you if there are any special circumstances surrounding the anchorage.
As an example, in this particular one, there are local fisherman who lay nets each day along the shore. You are advised not to get in their way by anchoring too close to shore. We were actually shooed away by them when we tried to do so. 🙂
It doesn’t surprise me either that Rebecca was a natural at windsurfing. Looks like fun … and the best toy to have if you’ve got the room!
We should be able to have some fun with it, that’s for sure.
We did it! We just now finished reading all of your posts from the beginning (we have been at it for a while). You two are an inspiration to us and are living our dream. Debbie and I are working towards the goal of cutting loose and join the fun exploring the Caribbean and living on board a sail boat at least for a period of time. We are probably still a few years out (been working on saving money and building sailing skills). We live across Lake Ontario in New York and have been lifelong boaters on the lake. However we are currently boat less. We have been to the Virgin Islands to take our ASA bare boat chartering courses. Last summer we were picked up to crew on a couple different racing yachts further expanding our experiences and will do that again this year. Until those mentioned above we had never sailed and had only had motorboat experience, though pretty well experienced in that area. We are counting the days until we can buy our sailboat and retire, sell the house and head south. We have really enjoyed reading about your “adventures”! Thanks so much for sharing! I know we will have questions along the way may we contact you in the future? Thanks again, Jeff and Debbie
Hi guys
Congrats on making it through all of the posts. I know there are a lot of them!
Sounds like your taking some good steps to prepare. You’ll have far more experience when you leave than we did, that’s for sure.
As for questions, I am happy to help. The best place to ask is via the comment section of the blog like this. That way everyone gets the benefit of the info. If you have something personal to ask that you feel outside the scope of the blog posts though, feel free to email us at zero to cruising ATT gmail DOTT com
Rebecca, can you teach a few of us how to use the windsurfer properly? The last time I tried it, I fell off in every possible direction for two days. My distance record on the thing is 7 metres under sail. Either that is a really wide board or your balance is unusually excellent….
I have two words for you… Google and Youtube!
🙂
I first learned to windsurf in Rehobeth, DE. That year there were a LOT of jellyfish in the bay. After my first stinging encounter I went back to the trainer they had on the beach (a board mounted on a pivot/swivel kind of thing), practiced for a half-hour or so and tried the water again with much better results.
You just need to find the right motivation 🙂
I can see how that would be motivating!