usvi-on-line
EagleRayLover BD Trip Report Part III
EagleRayLover BD Trip Report Part III
Link to Part I: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=23472
Link to Part II: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=23479
Friday, June 8 - Boat day with Captain John Brandi, of Palm Tree Charters! Ever since we added this STJ staple to our itinerary, we always look forward to BVI/boat day. And we weren't about to let last night's Inner Visions show change that - no grumpy, reluctant early risers here! Surprisingly, we didn't score a parking spot by the NPS dock, so I dropped the family and all of our gear off there, and made the short drive to the lot next to the car barge dock. About the time I got back the Palma Bella motored into view, so we handed our gear to the good captain, slipped out of our shoes, and climbed aboard. After pushing off from the pier, we lingered in Cruz Bay for a few short minutes while we completed the last of the paperwork (most of this is done ahead of time thanks to the lovely and efficient Sue Brandi!), then we were on our way, cruising along the north shore. Occasionally Captain John would throttle down to idle while he told us a story relating to the geography, history, or celebrity fact/rumor concerning our current position.
Cruising the north shore:
The captain tells a tale...
Our first snorkel stop was at Mary Point. We have been (just barely) here before, but always as the turnaround point of a long snorkel from Francis Bay. It was nice to be able to take our time and see more of it without having to conserve energy and/or body heat for the return leg! There was little to no current, and the visibility was quite good, especially when the sun came out from behind the clouds! Here's a sample of what we saw...
Banded coral shrimp
Shane
Filefish
French angelfish
I suggested to Leslie that she and Jason dive down together, so that I could take a picture of them together. Looking back, doesn't it look like they're up to something?
Well...it turns out that they were! Unbeknownst to me, Leslie (who is usually on the other end of such things) had a surprise up her sleeves that she had been working. Shortly after that picture was taken they showed me a corked bottle, with what looked to be a note of some kind inside of it. My response?
"Cool"
Leslie headed back to the boat first, saying that she was getting cold - nothing unusual about that. Once I was back aboard, she was insisting that I open the bottle and examine its contents. I still didn't catch on. Tried to beg off with wet hands, but I was given a towel. Still no clue. Finally got the note out and the *ample* tape wrapped around it removed, and began to read...
"Steve..."
"Hey!"
[Some of you may have already seen this, but the story isn't complete without Captain John's video]
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dlErAS2D8p ... r_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
OK, so I'm slow. I kept reading - the opening verse of Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle" (which was sung at our wedding), a reference from a sitcom that we often use that's about mates for life, a "re-proposal", and the last verse to the song. Thankfully, the captain had the good sense to ask the dumb(founded?) guy standing there, "so, do you say yes?"
I said that of course I did, and it was only then, when Leslie let out an unmistakeable sigh of relief, that I realized that she had been nervous about all of this. But now that she had successfully pulled it off, she was all smiles, and boat day resumed, with the newly re-vowed happy couple and family!
Next up - crossing Pillsbury Sound over to check in at West End/Soper's Hole
Leslie and Jason smugly basking in the afterglow of their successful conspiracy...
Shane chillin' while the captain makes us legal
Doesn't this just make you feel welcome?
After getting official clearance to visit the BVIs we made another crossing, this time to the Indians, just off of Norman Island.
Here's one of the signature "headdresses" that gives this site its name.
The water clarity was really great here - it felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium
Once our leisurely circumnavigation of the rocks was complete we moved on to just offshore from Pirates, a site that Captain John referred to as "The Bight"
Scrawled filefish
Next was a family jump off of the Wille T!
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uDI-EkT3gv ... r_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
There were too many tickets in the kitchen window at the Willie T for us to eat there in a timely manner, so once we were all back in the boat it was full speed ahead for Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar - hopefully we'd get there before the kitchen closed!
The Palma Bella skipped across the sound with a smoothness that belied her speed! I jumped out, waded ashore raced to the bar and asked if we could still order food (I think dropping Captain John's name may have been the deciding factor), and we just made it under the wire! Guess what we had while we waited on the food?
Does this man love his job, or what?
There's nothing like finishing off an enjoyable day on the water with a relaxing hour or so at the Soggy Dollar, having a painkiller or three, perhaps playing a new game, and just enjoying the company of the best charter boat captain in the VIs!
Eventually, it was time to bid a fond farewell (for now) to Mic, the Soggy Dollar, White Bay, Jost Van Dyke, and the BVIs.
But you know what? If you have to leave this place, it's not too tough when the place you're heading back to is St. John!
We checked back in to the USA, thanked the captain and told him we'd see him soon. Back to the villa, rinse the gear, jump in the pool, fix some snacks - what a great day!
I'm pretty sure that the boys turned on the TV to watch the day's Euro soccer matches (can you believe this place has ESPN - AND a DVR?!) but I'm almost equally confident that I didn't stay awake long enough to watch with them!
Link to Part II: http://www.virgin-islands-on-line.com/f ... hp?t=23479
Friday, June 8 - Boat day with Captain John Brandi, of Palm Tree Charters! Ever since we added this STJ staple to our itinerary, we always look forward to BVI/boat day. And we weren't about to let last night's Inner Visions show change that - no grumpy, reluctant early risers here! Surprisingly, we didn't score a parking spot by the NPS dock, so I dropped the family and all of our gear off there, and made the short drive to the lot next to the car barge dock. About the time I got back the Palma Bella motored into view, so we handed our gear to the good captain, slipped out of our shoes, and climbed aboard. After pushing off from the pier, we lingered in Cruz Bay for a few short minutes while we completed the last of the paperwork (most of this is done ahead of time thanks to the lovely and efficient Sue Brandi!), then we were on our way, cruising along the north shore. Occasionally Captain John would throttle down to idle while he told us a story relating to the geography, history, or celebrity fact/rumor concerning our current position.
Cruising the north shore:
The captain tells a tale...
Our first snorkel stop was at Mary Point. We have been (just barely) here before, but always as the turnaround point of a long snorkel from Francis Bay. It was nice to be able to take our time and see more of it without having to conserve energy and/or body heat for the return leg! There was little to no current, and the visibility was quite good, especially when the sun came out from behind the clouds! Here's a sample of what we saw...
Banded coral shrimp
Shane
Filefish
French angelfish
I suggested to Leslie that she and Jason dive down together, so that I could take a picture of them together. Looking back, doesn't it look like they're up to something?
Well...it turns out that they were! Unbeknownst to me, Leslie (who is usually on the other end of such things) had a surprise up her sleeves that she had been working. Shortly after that picture was taken they showed me a corked bottle, with what looked to be a note of some kind inside of it. My response?
"Cool"
Leslie headed back to the boat first, saying that she was getting cold - nothing unusual about that. Once I was back aboard, she was insisting that I open the bottle and examine its contents. I still didn't catch on. Tried to beg off with wet hands, but I was given a towel. Still no clue. Finally got the note out and the *ample* tape wrapped around it removed, and began to read...
"Steve..."
"Hey!"
[Some of you may have already seen this, but the story isn't complete without Captain John's video]
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dlErAS2D8p ... r_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
OK, so I'm slow. I kept reading - the opening verse of Jim Croce's "Time In A Bottle" (which was sung at our wedding), a reference from a sitcom that we often use that's about mates for life, a "re-proposal", and the last verse to the song. Thankfully, the captain had the good sense to ask the dumb(founded?) guy standing there, "so, do you say yes?"
I said that of course I did, and it was only then, when Leslie let out an unmistakeable sigh of relief, that I realized that she had been nervous about all of this. But now that she had successfully pulled it off, she was all smiles, and boat day resumed, with the newly re-vowed happy couple and family!
Next up - crossing Pillsbury Sound over to check in at West End/Soper's Hole
Leslie and Jason smugly basking in the afterglow of their successful conspiracy...
Shane chillin' while the captain makes us legal
Doesn't this just make you feel welcome?
After getting official clearance to visit the BVIs we made another crossing, this time to the Indians, just off of Norman Island.
Here's one of the signature "headdresses" that gives this site its name.
The water clarity was really great here - it felt like we were snorkeling in an aquarium
Once our leisurely circumnavigation of the rocks was complete we moved on to just offshore from Pirates, a site that Captain John referred to as "The Bight"
Scrawled filefish
Next was a family jump off of the Wille T!
<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uDI-EkT3gv ... r_embedded" frameborder="0"></iframe>
There were too many tickets in the kitchen window at the Willie T for us to eat there in a timely manner, so once we were all back in the boat it was full speed ahead for Jost Van Dyke and the Soggy Dollar Bar - hopefully we'd get there before the kitchen closed!
The Palma Bella skipped across the sound with a smoothness that belied her speed! I jumped out, waded ashore raced to the bar and asked if we could still order food (I think dropping Captain John's name may have been the deciding factor), and we just made it under the wire! Guess what we had while we waited on the food?
Does this man love his job, or what?
There's nothing like finishing off an enjoyable day on the water with a relaxing hour or so at the Soggy Dollar, having a painkiller or three, perhaps playing a new game, and just enjoying the company of the best charter boat captain in the VIs!
Eventually, it was time to bid a fond farewell (for now) to Mic, the Soggy Dollar, White Bay, Jost Van Dyke, and the BVIs.
But you know what? If you have to leave this place, it's not too tough when the place you're heading back to is St. John!
We checked back in to the USA, thanked the captain and told him we'd see him soon. Back to the villa, rinse the gear, jump in the pool, fix some snacks - what a great day!
I'm pretty sure that the boys turned on the TV to watch the day's Euro soccer matches (can you believe this place has ESPN - AND a DVR?!) but I'm almost equally confident that I didn't stay awake long enough to watch with them!
Come see us!
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Backtotheislands
- Posts: 371
- Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:32 pm
- Location: Rockwall, Texas
Really enjoying your reports! especially the underwater shots...
We never got cold in the water. The only time I was cold was when we got back in the boat after snorkeling on our charter day.
We were on island June 20-27th and the water always felt refreshing to me. The temps made it to the nineties while we were on island. (said they were having a heat wave??) but tradewinds still prevailed. It was 106 Friday here when I went out for lunch back home...So I would trade for 92 on St John with tradewinds and beaches!
We never got cold in the water. The only time I was cold was when we got back in the boat after snorkeling on our charter day.
We were on island June 20-27th and the water always felt refreshing to me. The temps made it to the nineties while we were on island. (said they were having a heat wave??) but tradewinds still prevailed. It was 106 Friday here when I went out for lunch back home...So I would trade for 92 on St John with tradewinds and beaches!
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EagleRayLover
- Posts: 1474
- Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:56 pm
- Location: St. John -WooHoo!!
I wasn't cold during the first snorkel at all but I had to hustle back to the boat as Captain John was in on the Message in a Bottle and I needed to tell him how it went 
I was so nervous- the bottle could break, The note could get wet ( and I forgot the extra copy), but mostly be aside I thought Jason was a double agent and told Steve and that they had something else planned!!!! Crazy huh!!!
I usually don't get cold now until after over a 1-11/2 hours now that I have my great skin that has a little fleece lining!!!
I was so nervous- the bottle could break, The note could get wet ( and I forgot the extra copy), but mostly be aside I thought Jason was a double agent and told Steve and that they had something else planned!!!! Crazy huh!!!
I usually don't get cold now until after over a 1-11/2 hours now that I have my great skin that has a little fleece lining!!!
Leslie, Kids Night In Babysitting