Sailing to the BVIs

Catching up from the holidays ... Amy and I were invited to sail to the British Virgin Islands with friends Jeff, Lisa, Tony, and LauraLee.  Even given my history of seasickness, I did not want to pass up the opportunity!  How many more times would I be invited ... how many other weeks could I easily take off a few days of work ... what other friends would want to spend their STX vacation on a boat instead, etc.

We set sail on Monday afternoon (12/27), but not before a full day of working for the Bank, baking for Polly's, then of course baking for the sail - I'm getting tired of all this baking and not getting to enjoy any of it, plus I couldn't forget the birthday cake for Lisa!  Needless to say, it was an exhausting day, and I was happy just to sit down and breathe by the time we hit the boat.

Luckily my friend Lisa is also a nurse practitioner, so after telling her my concerns for the trip, she was able to prescribe me the motion sickness patch for behind my ear.  I applied the patch on Monday morning and it definitely made me feel a little irritable (or maybe it was my to do list beforehand!), but I looked at it as proof of entering my system.

Monday night was great - weather could not have been more perfect (I was wearing a sundress, not even a  need for a cover-up) - and I was giving all credit to the patch, as I felt completely fine on the sail.  It had been a long and busy day, so I was exhausted and went to bed early.  Nothing like waking up in the morning on a boat in the middle of the BVIs!

Our first stop was Tortola - such a cute little place!  We did a little shopping while Captain Grant checked us in, then set sail again - made a pitstop for everyone else to go snorkeling.  Given I was feeling great and didn't want to take any chances of making myself sea-sick, I stayed on the boat and just enjoyed the view.  We then stopped on Jost Van Dyke at the Soggy Dollar Bar - very cool and touristy place.  Again, I knew my limits and didn't want to chance anything, so stuck with drinking water and gingerale.  Then, all of a sudden, "The sea was angry that day, my friends" (insert Seinfeld quote).  It was rough just taking the dinghy from the island back the sailboat.  And from there, we entered the Atlantic, where there were no islands around to slow down any of the swells.

I have learned from prior experience to stay on the front of the boat, always keep my eyes on the horizon, and have the fresh air hit my face.  I stayed out front as long as I could possibly stand it - holding on for dear life, watching the enormous swells and anticipating the hits to the boat, getting soaked and then cold.  I finally gave in and went to the back of the boat.  Unfortunately, within 30 minutes, poor Amy got sick first, then I wasn't too far behind her.  We spent the rest of the rough sail hanging on to the back of the boat - us and our bucket, saltine crackers, and more gingerale.  Both of us will admit it was a pretty awful few hours!  And apologies to Kindred Spirit - I still owe you a bucket!

We finally made it to our next destination (Beef Island) - but by then, Amy and I had lost our appetite and hit the sack (okay, I admit, I was able to stomach some birthday cake).  Luckily we woke up the next morning both feeling much better.  We sailed over to Trellis Bay and walked around the very unique, artsy island.  We made another stop on the way back for Lisa and Jeff to scuba dive, while Amy and I had secured our seats on the front.  Unfortunately the sun didn't come out that day - so it was so much cooler on the sail back than on the way out.  But we were entertained by an awesome dolphin show during our final sail -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBkxqU6_i1g. 

Finally arrived home safe and sound Wednesday evening ... so great to be back on land!  Fun with friends and cool trip overall, just hate that I don't think I'll ever be a sailor!