Secret Cove

Dropped the hook in a new spot yesterday,

tied the stern to a rock,

the water was clear,

and so was the sky!

Name it!

We've been lamenting for about how we wish we could have a pet on the boat. Lots of people are allergic to cats, dogs are too big, a monkey is only a good idea if it's small and trainable, a flea circus would only be fun for a week or so. Plants have been our substitution for pets and they are still growing and amazing us every day, but there is no replacement for a pet. SOoooo. When my parents we down we found a little tiny hermit crab on the beach, who happened to be living in a really sweet shell. Now this little guy lives in a crabitat during the night, and has a nice leash tethered on the bookshelf during the day. Above, he is making friends with the ladybug also living on the bookshelf!!
The big question now... WHAT DO WE NAME IT? Because it's our first pet we have to come up with a good name. Help us out! Do us a favor and leave a suggestion.

Chaille Parents Visit

My parents made it down for a quick 5 day visit to our little paradise! No one was ready for the week to be over (even though we did get an extra day in there somewhere!). Picked up in St. Thomas, hit all the good spots and introduced the parents to a few local friends, then ended the week in Road Town as Sasha and I prepare for another string of charters. As always, it was great fun to host my parents and a couple of their friends. Hope to see a few more Chailles before the season ends!!

Algal Bloom!

So here in the BVI the water temp has gone up about 5 degrees and the algae is everywhere! I've never been diving in water this murky (one reason I don't dive in NYC), but we took the plunge and much to my delight there was a thermocline at about 60' depth and the temp dropped at least 5 or 6 degrees, and the water cleared up! The colors were still very green because the light had to filter through all that algae, but at least we could see the wrecks as an overcast cloud of greenish brown algae hung above us. Oh, and there was this 7' reef shark checking us out:

Michael Beans at Marina Cay

One of our favorite people in the BVIs is Michael Beans, but he is so much more than a one-man pirate band who hosts Happy Arrrrr! at Robb and Rodie White's old house on top of Marina Cay.

Beans is also a humanitarian philathropist, as he donates his time and efforts to help the people of Isle La Vache, Haiti (who helped him a long, long time ago). Currently he is raising money to build them a new school. While at the same time he entertains us every Mon - Thu with pirate songs, quick humor, conch-shell-blowing contests, free rum, and the best way to spend the two hours between 5:30 and 7:30 pm!

We always have a great time, and everyone we have brought up the hill has enjoyed it as well, young and old!

For more information about Beans and his charity, visit his website at http://www.beansmusic.com/. This last photo is the beautiful sunrise over Virgin Gorda with Marina Cay and Beans' ferrocement ketch in the foreground.

Girls just want to have lunch

A couple of amazing, delicious, healthy lunches! Yesterday we had Tara's famous grilled eggplant sandwiches, with fresh greens, local tomatos, grilled onion, and a lemon aioli on fresh foccacia bread. The eggplants were sliced thick and then salted with sea salt and allowed to sweat for 15 minutes or so. They were then rinsed and brushed olive oil mixed with chopped herbs before grilling for about 7 minutes on a side.

A closer look, before being served with a side of slaw and sliced fresh pineapple.

Today we had a caribbean chicken salad with diced mango, celery, and green and black grapes in a light mayo dressing.

It was delicious!

So I have to admit, Sasha is much better at blogging than I am. But what I lack in online time I've been making up for in cleaning, organizing, and healthy cooking. On our week off Sasha and I kept busy with small projects and a couple large ones, too. Here I am emptying out the starboard hole. We've been using it as the "I don't know where else to put this" storage. Not any more!! We cleaned everything out and took a fresh inventory. I have to admit, I love my non conventional pantry. Mo mother has a step stool to reach the top shelves, I have a ladder to reach the bottom!


Lets play a little game of I Spy. Can you find 1) an orange, 2) a lemon, 3) a Caroline, 4) a grapefruit? We finally have a solution for all those people out there who forgot to clean their grill for the past 2 years. If heavy duty oven cleaner is no mach for your cooked on food and layers of rust-- USE A POWER SANDER! Then email the supplier and check on your ten year warranty. No really, the power sander worked well. The grate is now smooth rust. Sasha finished up the job wth lots of oil and a little heat to season the metal. We'll see how it works.
Here's a trick I learned in an old cruiser's book. To keep produce fresh longer rinse everything in a 10:1 water/ bleach mix. It is just one more step between buying and storing, but I can really tell a difference, especially in the tomatoes and avocados.
Tofu, round one. I'm trying to like this stuff. I enjoy it at thai restraunts, but I've never been brave enough to try on my own. If you dredge it in flour, then fry it, and finish it off with lots of fresh made peanut sauce... it's actually prett tasty.

Beef Island

Current Location: The Lagoon, St. Thomas
Lat/Lon: 18°18.8' N 64°52.1' W
Air Temp: 83°F Sea Temp: 81°F
Weather: Clear

Well we are here in the USVI getting ready for charter. The internet is much more cumbersome to use here since we have to go back to dialing up through the cell phone. At least it works, albeit slowly, so no photos today!

However I want to share a link to an update on the Beef Island court case, the BVI’s first environmental suit. They are trying to stop the huge development slated for the Beef Island mangroves that I had mentioned earlier.

Meanwhile... sailing in Boston

Beautiful new sails on the MIT Sailing boats, but what's that hard white stuff all over the water?

Little Harbor, Peter Island

Current Location: Little Harbor, Peter Island
Lat/Lon: 18°21.3' N 64°36.1' W
Air Temp: 80°F Sea Temp: 80°F
Weather: Clear

Little Harbor is where many crews go on their time off. Getting there is easy, leave Road Harbor and head south.

Anchoring is easy too, drop the hook in 25' of water over sand, back down to the shore, and tie the stern to a rock to keep from swinging.

Beautiful sunsets too!