On Dec. 29 we left St. Martin at 4:00 am and travelled west 80 nm to Virgin Gorda, BVI, where we nestled in to the crowded anchorage at Vixen Point, off Saba Rock.  Our depth sounder was acting flakey, so we dropped anchor in fairly deep water.  Next morning we put down our dinghy, picked up Hunter and Devi, and crossed the Bay to the Customs and Immigration office at Gun Creek Marina.   It was a wet ride back to our boats, but we explored the southern shore of the Bay and made several stops, looking for a good place to be on New Years Eve.   We settled for the restaurant at Saba Rock, and made reservations for an early buffet dinner.  After the dinner on Dec. 31, we returned to Tusen Takk II and played some cards and Quiddler.  To our pleasure and surprise, the Terns actually hung in until past midnight, breaking their usual visiting pattern by a couple of hours.

On Jan. 1, we both moved over to Pond Bay, where we found a delightful and peaceful anchorage behind the reef.   When forecasts predicted a shift in the wind and waves a bit more northerly, we moved on Jan. 3 to a mooring off The Baths, and after going ashore and crawling through the crowded crevices of that remarkable location, moved to Marina Cay, which was not nearly so nice.

Next day we moved over to Little Jost Van Dyke and took a mooring near Diamond Cay.  We walked to the Bubbly Pond north of Foxy’s Taboo restaurant, and later that day returned to the restaurant for dinner, where the mashed potatoes that accompanied my (delicious) order of ribs inspired some mischief.  On Dec. 5 we moved to Francis Bay, USVI, checking in by phone, Barb having filed ahead a cruise plan with SVRS (Small Vessel Reporting System.)   On the way to the US Virgin Islands, as we passed Soper Hole, we noticed a very strange-looking vessel.  It turned out to be Venus, the $250 million, 260 feet-long superyacht that was commissioned by Steve Jobs.  Tragically, he died a year before the vessel was completed.  We know not the present owner.

But to learn about our experiences in the USVI, you will have to wait for the next episode of this blog.