{"id":6502,"date":"2017-01-26T17:47:35","date_gmt":"2017-01-26T22:47:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6502"},"modified":"2017-01-26T17:48:30","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T22:48:30","slug":"the-countdown-has-begun-pandora-were-on-our-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6502","title":{"rendered":"The countdown has begun. Pandora, we’re on our way."},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s only three days until we winterize our home here in CT and head to Tortola to join Pandora for a few months of sailing in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n

Our plan is to stay in the BVI only long enough to become acclimated again to life aboard and then, with the first weather window, make our way to St Martin where we will join up with our friends Maureen and Bill aboard Kaloonamo (I’ll never figure out how to spell that name). \u00a0We have “buddyboated” with them for weeks\/months at a time over the years and are looking forward to spending time with them again.<\/p>\n

They have spent the last few years sailing in the Caribbean and usually summer in Trinidad. \u00a0 They are great fun and know their way around the islands which will make it easy for us to just tag along and enjoy the ride. \u00a0 Can you say “tour director” Maureen?<\/p>\n

When I arrived in the BVI after my trip down from Beaufort, I spent some time cruising the area with my crew. \u00a0The deal was that if they did the run with me, I’d spend time with them cruising once we arrived.<\/p>\n

It was a fun time and a few of my recent posts are about the places we visited together during that week, prior to heading our separate ways.<\/p>\n

The BVI is a wonderful area to cruise but I have always thought of it as the “charter mecca” that it is. \u00a0In fact, I have been told that something like 90% of all boat charters are out of that area and just about every boat you see is a charter boat.<\/p>\n

With that comes a very different sort of “cruiser”. \u00a0Unlike the folks that we have hung out with over the years, those who visit the BVI for a holiday seem to us to be very focused on “living large” while they are there.<\/p>\n

I wrote about our recent visit to Norman Island<\/a> which is perhaps an\u00a0apt example of the sort of place that the BVI seems to be\u00a0for many\u00a0folks on holiday, a sort of “aquatic pub crawl”. \u00a0 I do expect that my description will elicit some strong words from those that don’t agree. \u00a0What can I say? \u00a0It’s just a\u00a0first impression.<\/p>\n

Over the years Brenda and I have certainly participated in many “sundowner” cocktail events ourselves but in the BVI this activity has it’s own “twist” as witnessed by this photo of a young couple sleeping it off after a few too many at Willy T’s. \u00a0\"\"This is the sort of “sundowner” that Brenda and I prefer. \u00a0 This photo was taken at a recent Salty Dawg Sailing Association<\/a> event. \u00a0\u00a0\"\"BTW, if you enjoy cruising, you owe it to yourself to consider joining this group. \u00a0Yes, plenty of wine flowing but somehow it’s just different\u00a0and more our speed. \u00a0Perhaps it’s our “semi advanced age”.<\/p>\n

In any event, the BVI is great fun but there aren’t quite as many cruising types there as we expect to see as we head south to those islands less frequented by the charter set.<\/p>\n

However, our plan of heading south means that we will first have to make the nearly 100 mile run from the eastern end of the BVI to St Martin and the run takes us directly\u00a0into the prevailing easterly trade winds. \u00a0 We will work with the weather router Chris Parker with the hope that we will be able to find a decent window to make the overnight crossing. \u00a0Unfortunately, it’s likely to be “uphill” all the way as the trades blow from the east\u00a0nearly\u00a0all of the time. \u00a0I am hopeful that Brenda will have had an opportunity to become acclimated to life aboard again and you know how much she loves overnight passages.<\/p>\n

I expect that it’s going to be somewhat uncomfortable for her but I am pretty confident that it won’t be nearly as nsaty as the conditions that the crew of the Dagmar Aaen<\/a> encountered in the Southern Ocean. \u00a0 Remember the video that I posted from the gale we encountered in our run to the BVI? \u00a0Well, that was a mere zephyr compared to this. \u00a0As you watch this sort piece, notice how one of the crew’s life vest is inflated after a particularly large wave washes over the ship.\u00a0