First Sail

Since this is basically a recap of last years short season, because we didn't get the boat until late February, I am going to do kind of a recap of the season in just a few posts. That way, all the super exciting stuff happening this year will be more current. We picked the boat up in St Martin in February, and spent a few weeks adding important stuff like a watermaker and some solar panels. We also added another battery to the house bank to up the storage capacity. Then we were ready to go. So we thought. Our plan was to sail 90 miles West, to the BVI's, and spend a few weeks there before moving South. The trouble was, it was crazy windy. Winds were 35 knots and higher, almost enough to blow you off the dock! It finally started to decrease and we made our way through the bay and past the draw bridge out of Simpson Bay. Early the next morning, we set sail for Virgin Gorda in the BVI's. This was our first sail on the boat, and it was wild. The winds had increased again, and we were showing 30 knots apparent wind and we were sailing 9 knots with the wind at our back. The passage is called the Anegada Passage, and is notorious for big confused seas. Lucky for us, we were going downwind. The swells were sometimes breaking, and were huge. We made it in one piece, and the boat was great. The BVI's are the sailing capital for a reason, and they didn't disappoint. We had a great time with friends and family, and soon it was time to start South.

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