Roadtown Tortola. Want to rent a boat?

It’s Monday morning early and we are tied up in a marina here in Roadtown Tortola.  It’s hard to believe that the four of us, my crew and me, have been aboard together for nearly two weeks and on the move most of the time.  Since clearing into the BVI last week, we have moved from anchorage to anchorage each day in spite of the unusually windy conditions.

In each of the three seasons Brenda and I spent cruising the Bahamas it was “unusually” windy and each year those who had been going to the Bahamas for years always said, “this is an unusual winter.  It’s NEVER this windy.”   All I can say is that I am getting a complex and am wondering if there is some sort of little “wind goblin” that has been following me around for the last five years.

Well, enough of that I guess although it will be interesting to see how things go for the rest of the winter when Brenda and I return at the end of the month.  Fingers crossed.

We decided to come into a marina for a night yesterday to get out of the ceaseless wind, get cleaned up and do some laundry.

Roadtown is the largest city in Tortola and is also he home of the largest charter fleet in the Caribbean with literally hundreds (thousands?) of charter boats.   We walked over to the Moorings marina and I was stunned to see how many boats were moored there.   Given the fact that there are boats from this company everywhere in the BVI, it’s hard to imagine that there could be so many still tied up in the marina.  The company “The Moorings” also owns other brands including Sunsail, I think.  Rows and rows of them too.  The marina was quite nice.  It’s hard to believe that with all these boats sitting there in high season that anyone makes a profit.  However, who ever said that boats and profits went together? All of these boats are privately owned and put into charter through these companies.

Pandora is in another marina across the way and it is very nice to be tied up on a dock for a bit.   Oh yeah, and the AC is on and blasting.  Nice a dry with no humidity.    Me and my crew went out for lunch at the marina yesterday for burgers.  They tasted great.   This chicken was walking past our table in the restaurant during lunch.  Can you imagine a chicken walking through a marina restaurant in the US?Chicken’s and all, this is my crew.  Dave on the left, Jerry and Jim to the right. They have worked hard to keep Pandora in good shape in spite of the rough trip down.   I hope that they will sail with me again.  Soon. Beyond the marinas, the main drag in Roadtown seems to be dominated by t shirt shops and other small stores catering to cruise ships.  Two were docked when we arrived and by evening both had left. Well, in a few days we will all disperse for home and Pandora will be snug, I hope, on a mooring in West End Tortola where she will stay until Brenda and I return toward the end of the month.

Tonight I hope to have a farewell dinner for the guys before Jerry heads home on Tuesday.  Dave, Jim and I will sail together for one more night before we too head our separate ways.

All and all, it’s been a fun trip but it’s been very tough to be away from Brenda for this long and I can’t wait to see her later this week.  My plan is to fly to BWI on the 19th and stop for a few days with Brenda to see Rob, Kandice and little, well not so little any more, Tori.  Remember?  She’s our nearly brand new granddaughter. One month old now.  Go figure.

Isn’t she cute?  Grampy who? For sure, Roadtown is the place to rent a boat and there’s no shortage, that’s for sure.

Well, that’s about it for now.  Time to make coffee.   Need to keep my crew happy.  Besides, just about every scrap of food is now gone so I had better run out to a market and find something for breakfast.