July 13-20

Day 1, Thursday:

We arrived at Compass Point Marina around 12:30 to board the SV Aliwe. Following a short boat briefing, we made our way to Waterlemon Cay, on St. John, for the night. We enjoyed spectacular views of Caneel Bay, Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay. Blackbeard tales along the way kept us entertained.

As soon as we pulled up to the mooring ball, the floating carpet was deployed. A marvellous time was had goofing around on the floating surface. Gage and Darby kayaked to the beach on Waterlemon Cay, where they climbed the rocks looking for beach treasures. Not wanting to miss out, the rest of us joined them with our snorkel gear. We enjoyed dinner and drinks on the boat, finishing the day on a positive note.

Day 2, Friday:

We had coffee and breakfast on the boat before departing for customs check-in at Sopers Hole, Tortola. We dinghy’d over to the wharf to see if there was anything interesting in the stores. Back on Aliwe we sailed over to The Indians for lunch. Collin and Casey had their first scuba dive of the trip and the rest of us snorkeled around The Indians. We then took a short hop to The Bight on Norman Island (Treasure Island) where we moored for the night. We enjoyed time on the floating carpet again, followed by sundowners (happy hour) at Pirates Bight.

Day 3, Saturday:

A busy morning for us! Our first activity for the day was reverse bungee jumping. Darby and Gage had enormous fun reaching great heights. The next activity was jumping off the top of Aliwe  – whoohoo – very exhilarating. After that, we were off to Willie T’s where we jumped from the second floor. Unfortunately, Gage found it a little too high to jump but the rest of us thoroughly enjoyed the plummet.

Our next activity took us to Angel Fish Reef, Norman Island for the second scuba dive. After the dive we headed to The Caves for a great snorkel. We saw a small flounder, trumpet fish, blue tangs and some jellyfish. Gage and Darby enjoyed duck diving to get a better look at things. We then made our way up the chain of islands and arrived at Cooper Island for lunch. Casey, Kacie, Darby and Gage took the paddleboards and headed to Cooper Island Beach Resort to see what was there.

We enjoyed lunch on the boat before heading out to The Baths, Virgin Gorda. We took the dinghy to the dinghy line and then swam in to Devil’s Beach where we picked up the trail through The Baths. The boulders were awe-inspiring! Great fun was had climbing up and down the boulders and wading through the water. Once we got back to the boat we made our way to Savannah Bay, Virgin Gorda, for the night.

That was a very busy, happy day!

Day 4, Sunday:

We left Savannah Bay for Fallen Jerusalem. We beached the dinghy with a cooler and snorkel gear in hand. We all had a fantastic time on the beach, swimming in the rock pools and exploring the huge boulders. The third scuba dive took place that afternoon on Kodiak Queen (the scuttled WWII ship with the large mesh Kraken). Kacie, Darby, Gage and Corinne snorkeled over the top of the wreck. We then rushed off to catch the tarpon feeding at Saba Rock. Gage had the opportunity to feed and witness the tarpon jumping out of the water to catch the fresh fish thrown down to them. We then got to see and touch sea cucumbers, starfish, a large moray eel and a sizable lobster.

We enjoyed appetizers and drinks on the east side of the island while Darby and Gage explored the area. We enjoyed a lovely dinner back at the boat, the perfect ending to another busy day.

Day 5, Monday:

Following breakfast, we sailed out past Saba Rock, Oil Nut Bay and circumvented Necker Island before picking up a mooring ball at Leverick Bay. We grabbed a taxi ride to Hog Heaven for lunch and enjoyed the beautiful views of the surrounding islands.That afternoon Casey met Stitch, his Kiteboarding instructor for a two-hour lesson. The rest of us enjoyed a swim in the pool at Bitter End Yacht Club.

Day 6, Tuesday:

We decided to stay at Bitter End for one more day. Casey enjoyed his lesson the previous day and wanted to solidify his skills. Kacie and the kids enjoyed watching the lesson and played on the beach before we all headed back to the pool. After lunch we set off for Great Dog and snorkeled and dived at The Chimney, the spot with the beautiful corals. Our next stop was White Bay on Guana Island. The kids took the kayak to the beach to play on the rocks while the rest of us enjoyed a cocktail on the boat, where a happy and peaceful evening was spent.

Day 7, Wednesday:

Once breakfast was done we headed to the rocky shore in search of lionfish. Unfortunately there were none to be found, but we had a great snorkel all the same. After a last scuba dive, we went back to the boat and off to White Bay on Jost Van Dyke. We hit the beach in time for lunch at Hendo’s Hideout, some time to chat to other visitors on the beach and enjoy this beautiful spot with amazing white sand and crystal clear turquoise water Several libations later and back on the boat we headed to Mahoe Bay for the night.

Day 8, Thursday:

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and started packing before the kids and Corinne hit the water for their final snorkel. Gage managed to wave at Christmas tree worms and picked up a sea slug, he had finally perfected his duck diving. We dropped the mooring ball at 10 and we were off to Cruz Bay for USVI check-in. Once we were checked-in we sailed back to Compass Point Marina to disembark Aliwe and catch our taxi to the airport. Homeward bound!