Montserrat, Les Saintes, Dominica

Past few weeks have had Victoria and I island hopping down the Leeward Islands. Our trip has been relatively uneventful, weather cooperative, with many wonderful and magical sites of the islands. Each island is unique to itself, with its own personality. Montserrat was particularly incredible with its active volcano. The local population seems to take it in stride! Hiking to the top of the lookout overlooking Les Saintes was amazing. Past few days we have been in Dominica, where the terrain is the most rugged I've seen anywhere short of the Grand Canyon. Waterfalls, hot springs and cool river pools. Ferns as big as trees! And of course, the little critters abound. Next stop...Martinique.
BTW, Victoria is also keeping a blog, and you can find her blog at: www.aboardthebelami.blogspot.com

Hello all, greetings from Bel Ami Voyages. Been a while since I last communicated. Life has a way of movin on whether you are on board or not. Currently hanging on the hook at Village Cay Marina, Island of Tortola. Dave Gibson, marine electrician extrodinaire who I met while on the hard in Nanny Cay, spent the afternoon successfully trouble shooting my marine radio (ICOM 802 Single Sideband). Man’s a genius with electronics!! My crew Victoria is currently cooking up our dinner as I type this: Blackened ahi tuna, polenta with beans, and salad. OK…, with Victoria onboard, I’m not going hungry!!! We are en route to St. Martin, waiting for a good weather window to cross the Anegada Passage. Weather has been less than cooperative lately, and we have found ourselves sailing in 30 knots winds on the nose…not very pleasant. Next few days things should improve.

Lots has happened since Carnival in St. Thomas in May (see post below). Bel Ami was hauled out at Nanny Cay for refit (check out the pics above…especially the ac unit in the aft stateroom hatch!). Took all of 3 weeks, during which time I enjoyed the Nanny Cay facilities to the max, including some great open Mics at the local bar (imagine, me an accordion rock and roll star!). Made some good friends along the way, especially Johnny Wallis, who invited me up to one of the most spectacular houses on Tortola. Ah….the lives of the rich and famous! Actually just called Johnny, and he and friends are at the bar at Village Cay, so I’ll soon wrap this up and join him for a few!!!

Towards the end of my stay at Nanny Cay, spent a long weekend partying with the Aqua Action crowd at Jost Van Dyke. Diane and Sam were wonderful hosts, and Ivan’s Stress Free Bar was the place to be for that weekend.

End of May I picked up my crew Victoria, and for the past month we have been making preparations to sail south for Hurricane season. Our plan is to visit many of the islands of the Lesser Antilles on our way to Trinidad and Venezuela. In the meantime, we spent time at honeymoon bay, Leinster Bay, Cruz Bay for the steel drum concert, and took some great pictures (see slide show above).

I am also in process of creating a charter boat company so that when I return to the Virgins in the fall I will begin chartering Bel Ami…stay tuned for details. Speaking of Charters, I had my first “official” charter with very much in-love honeymooners Sam and Cody, who spent much of the day sailing with us. We dropped them off in Cruz Bay and picked them up in Reef Bay after they hiked down the Reef Bay trail. Sam and Cody, best wishes for a glorious life together!

Carnival St. Thomas!

Carnival St. Thomas!
On May 1st Captain Bob White and famous Hula Mary joined me on Bel Ami and we sailed from the east end of St. Thomas to Charlotte Amalie for Carnival. Flew the kite (cruising spinnaker) most of the way with great success (sail didn’t get fouled, nobody got hurt….). After a wonderful sail, we spent the day in town negotiating the crowds, heat, noise…but eventually ended up in Glady’s Café in the AC with closed circuit TV! Also ran into St. Thomas friends Dave, Lynne, Bert, Mis-sea, Bobby and Sherry. Later in the afternoon, we went back to Bel Ami which was anchored nearby, had a great dinner onboard complete with fantastic fireworks. Was a day to remember!