We left Nanny Cay for the USVI''s and met up with our friends Josh and Tiff, and Jacques, who are aboard a very slick, and very fast, catamaran called Occam's Razor.
 |
| Josh, Tiff and Jacques |
 |
| Occam's Razor |
We met up with them at Christmas Cove and shared our respective passages south. Also did some nice snorkeling on the reef at the anchorage, and had awesome pizza made on the boat "Pizza π."
 |
| Pizza π, right. Hungry customers, left. |
After a couple of days there we moved to Honeymoon Beach on the west side of Water Island. Considering how close it is to the hustle and bustle of Charlotte Amalie it is a surprisingly laid back place.
 |
| Honeymoon Beach on Water Island |
 |
| Cruise ships sneak in and out, just astern of us. |
 |
| Josh and Jacques out for a "dog paddle" |
 |
| The Kon Tiki gets a bit closer to us than we'd like! |
After Susan went home I hung out with Occam's for another week and through Christmas. I had some really great photos of those two weeks--Did I mention the pictures all drowned?
We sailed east to Coral Harbor St. John, which was another funky place. Then we crossed paths with Geof and Talya aboard Wynot, as they were headed to Caneel Bay. Fun hanging with them, and they always know where the best dining is! One photo is salvaged by having previously sent it by email:
 |
| Geof and Talya aboard Wynot, sailing downwind in the Drake Channel |
Last stop before splitting up was in the North Sound, Virgin Gorda. There we met up with long-time Outbound owners David and Gretchen aboard Callisto, and new Outbound owners Kurt and Pamela on Big Frisky. Visiting Occam's Razor from Florida were Phil Lambert of Outbound Yachts and his wife Monica. That was a nice surprise for all of us Outbound owners! Also in the North Sound for the holidays were Michael and Nancy Keyworth aboard their very pretty Swan 44 Chasseur. I had some nice shots of all of them, but, you know . . .
The Chrismas winds were really howling that week, and the next. Despite all the wind Jacques kept Santa in the saddle!
 |
| Jacques and Santa |
After Christmas I sailed solo for a few days, shooting into Spanish Town and taking the dinghy over to The Baths (which although Susan, Jason and Rachel had all been to, I hadn't). Then on to Marina Cay, and then to Penn's Landing, East End and finally back to Road Town. There, just after New Years, I met up with Sam, who sailed down with me this fall, and his chef/hostess friend Alex, to join me for the sail to Antigua. By January 4 the Chrismas winds settled just a bit for the passage, but the seas were still pretty lumpy. We got to Jolly Harbour by dusk January 5, anchored out a night and then put the boat to sleep for a couple of weeks at Jolly Harbour Marina.
Next blog: Susan and Bennett return to Jolly Harbour, Antigua at the end of January. Bennett is armed with a new (well not so new) phone for more photos. Anyone have a waterproof case for an old Iphone 5?
