Decsion, Decisions, Decisions....

We have to make a few but big decisions.....what to do and where to go for the hurrican season, which is approaching with big steps.... our options are going down the island towards St. Lucia......going back to Luperon or sailing our JUCA towards Panama and then New Zealand.....my favourite one is sailing JUCA to New Zealand. It does not only mean that we are moving into one direction and stepping through a door, it also means sailing back home (New Zealand) and fullfilling our dreams, plans and our sailing journey and I love closing the flow of a circle.

Happy Birthday Carlos

We had an awesome day today; it might have started a bit slow with no birthday cake, no presents and no shared breakfast with Dad. Carlos comment was that a birthday on the boat sucks. However while we finished off our lemon cake with lemon cream cheese icing, Daddy returned from Road Town with his big dream, a remote control car….yeah the day was saved. In the afternoon we went to the bowling center with a few kids that we have met in the last few months here in Trellis. This was Carlos first time bowling and with his first roll he got a strike and ended up being the winner of the whole game….way to go Carlos! After the bowling we went to back home to watch the movie Rango that I had bought earlier on as a surprise. We took a couple of kids and adults back to the boat and while we watched Rango we ate Pizza and enjoyed ourselves till late in the evening and celebrated his eights birthday in style. What is our lesson from today? Never ever give up….even though your day might start shitty, it can still end up being your happiest day of your life!!!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all our friends and family around the world. We are going to hunt for Easter eggs after breakfast, but at the moment everyone is still sleeping on JUCA, accept me. Lucky for everyone who likes reading our blog, because it gave me time to write about our last adventures and to update our blog. I know one thing for sure, we will have a quiet Easter filled with fun and lots of chocolate and doing nothing but eating eggs.

Day Sail Charter on Aristocats

Captain Kim picked me up and got me dressed into my uniform for the day, a purple shirt with Aristocats written on it…..I love purple. Once we arrived on the Catamaran Aristocats, we cleaned the boat, stocked up with fridge, got ice and breadsticks and we were ready in time when the guests arrived. Today’s charter trip was a wedding party, and included a family of 13 people from Venezuela; one couple renewing their wedding vows after 25 years. The grandmother was originally born in Egypt, grew up in Italy and then moved to Venezuela in 1945. I was in charge of the galley and cooking today, but my duty also included to put up the sail, letting down and lifting the anchor or getting the mooring, getting a broken stuck toilet brush out of the toilet as well as entertaining and attending to the guests. I loved it all very much and it was fun all the way, even though the galley was probably the hottest spot on the boat. We went to three snorkeling spots around Norman Island and served lunch in between. We arrived back in Road Town by 5.30 and then we cleaned up the boat and stocked up the fridges again so that the boat would be ready to use again the next morning. Luckily I will have a break tomorrow and can celebrate Easter with my family, but Kim will be first mate and take over my duties again on Aristocats. I really liked working on the Charter boat, thank you Kim and Steve for giving me that opportunity and I am very grateful for this experience and once again I learned a heap more about sailing today. I arrived back home at 7.30 and was absolutely exhausted, my family was happy to see me again and I all I wanted to do now is to relax in front of a family movie. Being out on the water all day and the heat wears me out, however it was worth it and I had a great day.

Treasure Hunting

It’s always good to have friends around you when you lost something valuable to you, not only to cheer you up but also to have the positive energy that we might find my earring lost on the bottom of the ocean. Kim organized a boat for us to go over to Norman Island again; she also involved Caroline and Mary into our Treasure Hunt for the lost earring. Equipped with metal detector and dive gear we made our way to Norman Island. It took us nearly 45 minutes to get us over there, the wind had picked up a bit from yesterday, but the visibility was still amazing. Once we arrived at Angle Fish Reef we got ready, putting on the dive gear, sorted out the metal detector and our sieves and off we went. As you can imagine it was like looking for the needle in a mountain of hay, only that it was in 30 feet (10m) of water. However we gave it our best shot, but unfortunately had no luck and had to give up once we ran out of air in our bottles. While we filled our dive tanks in the bight, we treated ourselves with lunch and a Bushwacker (Caribbean drink). The Bight was packed with people and boats, as I learned people from Puerto Rico love to come over here to spend their long weekends in the BVI’s. By the time we finished our lunch and went back to Trellis Bay it was 4 o’clock in the afternoon and I was very tired. We had an easy peachy evening and I went to bed early, because I had to get up early in the morning for my day on Aristocats.

Day Charter Assistance

I got up early this morning; practice Yoga, had a swim and a shower and by 7.30 am Kim picked me up to drive to work. The catamaran “Aristocats” is lying in Road Town. When we got there we discovered that there was no water this morning in the Marina, so we had to bucket it out of the harbor to clean the boat. Kim gave me a short introduction what our jobs will be during the day and by 9.30 the first charter guests arrived. Once the guests had settled in on the boat and Captain Steve had giving a short briefing and outline for the day, we were ready to leave the Marina. We nearly forgot to take the Power plug out of the station, but before disaster hit we rescued the situation. There was no sailing on the agenda, due to lack of wind, actually there was no wind at all and the sea was calm as a fishpond. In the matter of fact the water was so calm that you could see everything on the bottom of the ocean, even in 25 meter depth. However it did not help to find my earring that I lost while snorkeling today. We had three stops throughout the day where we dropped the guests off for a snorkel. While they enjoyed the sea life and a swim, we prepared lunch and the rum punch and when they came out of the water the food and drinks were waiting for them. They all enjoyed themselves and everyone was very happy. On our way back we had to rescue and tow a little motorboat back into Road Town. Luckily we were back in time as some of our charter guests had to catch their cruise liner to Antigua. Once everyone left the boat it was our time to clean the boat, doing the dishes and getting rid of all the rubbish and relax with a drink on the afterdeck. What an enjoyable day that was and I am looking forward to Sunday, which will be a wedding party of 17 people. On our way back to Trellis Bay, we had a flat tyre and had a good laugh while changing it....... this has been a day full of events from the start right to the end.

Getting ready.....?

I haven't really decided yet for what we need to get ready.....the Easter Bunny trying to figure out how to swim to the boat,.....for Carlos Birthday (my precious little boy is turning 8)......my job opportunity on the Catamaran Aristocats ....our departure from Trellis Bay or .......another day filled with sunshine and having fun in the sun. The days seem to get hotter and hotter by the day and especially right at the moment with no wind around it seems the air is standing still in Trellis Bay. For this time of the year this kind of weather pattern is pretty unusual for Trellis Bay; the wind is always giving us always a fresh breeze on the boat or on the beach. The water temperature seems also rising by the day, jumping into the ocean does not seem to be so cooling at the moment; mind you 28 degree water temperature is close to taking a bath in the bathtub at home. However with that warm weather and rising temperature we also have little bugs, similar to sand flies, coming out and annoying us in the morning and at night. Once we cleaned the boat this morning, we went to the beach to meet up with the other children and Mums. The children have found not only a surfboard, but also a kayak that they could play with. The played cargo ships collecting see grass, sand and other creatures that they could find in the shallow water. The mums were busy talking to each other or on the phone or working on the computer. I suppose us mum still having a pretty busy lifestyle regardless where you life or school holidays. I have talked to yellow Kim today and she asked me if I could help her out on a day charter boat. They are short on one crew member and she was wondering if I be interested to fill in. As you know I am always open to learn and experience new things and said …..of course, when do I start? I am suppose to come with her on a charter tomorrow to have a look of how things work and then I could fill in on Sunday if I like. Allright…I better have an early night to recharge my batteries fully and can fulfill my duty as first mate assistance on the day charter boat “Aristocats”.

Quiet time ....not today!!!

I need a break from all this partying and fun in the sun. I urgently needed to do some chores on the boat. I had to fold and put our washing away, which I washed in between. I had to clean the boat and I needed to have some sleep. Well I managed to accomplish most of the things on my list and we squeezed in to go snorkeling over on Scrub Island. Wow, that snorkeling was amazing, even Julia and Carlos were surprised how clear the water was, how many different fish and corals we discovered. We all enjoyed our time in the water and to be amongst all the beauty that the sea has to offer. Back on the boat we had a quiet after afternoon and only went to shore to say goodbye to Rhianna and Mark. They are flying to Orlando tomorrow to join the crowds at Disney World. OH, I clearly remember our visit last year….the mad crowds during Easter Break, we could have not picked a worst time to go….I have never ever seen so many people in one location……however…have fun and enjoy your time off! Everyone was at the “Loose Mongoose” that night…Kim and Kerry, Caroline, Kay and Tony, Kim and Brian, Rhianna and Mark and Trevor and lots of others. We had lots of fun and lots of chatting went on until ten and then I had to leave….I was sooooo tired and just need to see my bed…..but it was a great night….one of those night were it is really hard to leave and you really want to keep that moment, the laughter and joy forever in your heart. Thank you Trellis Bay…you are very special…..I love you all !!!

Bingo.....Full Moon again

After a short lesson of reading and math, I had to realize it would be very hard to keep Julia and Carlos attention for much longer. The beach was packed with kids having fun in the sun and enjoying their time off school. So we closed our session and went off to the beach. Joe and Rhianna have brought the paddle boards again and all the children including us adults had lots of fun on them all day. After being all day in the sun, paddling in the water and chatting away I was totally exhausted at night. However another Full Moonshine Party was organized for that night. Julia and Carlos were so exhausted they claimed, they did not mind not attending the party that night, mind you after three of them they probably realized it is always the same. We stayed until they lit the fires on the beach and then went home. Later that night Sven, Caroline and me decided to pay the “The Last Resort” a short visit…. only for an hour…only for one drink…..only for one dance……well as you have guessed we did not come home until midnight and once again we had rocked the night away under a Full Moon.

School Holiday Fun

School Holiday has begun on Tortola, the beach is filled with children enjoying themselves. After a bit of school we joined the other families on the beach. I took a bunch of children with me for a stroll on the beach. A couple of hours later we arrived back, with not one single rock or coral unturned on the beach. We had so much fun and it was pure joy to watch the kids exploring the beach and looking for crabs. It reminded me so much of our holidays back in Denmark when we were kids…..long long time ago! However I believe it is still the same fun. The kids collected containers and all sorts of stuff they found along the way to collect crabs and other midgets. If I would have not been so worried about them getting sunburned we could have stayed for hours. We went back on the boat for a rest and all of a sudden there was a knock on the hull. Visitors arriving on Paddle Boards! Rhianna and Joe went around the harbor on their Paddle Boards and heard our loud music and came over to investigate us. We had a drink and some of Kim’s yummy fudge and then they went back to shore. We joined them a while later on the beach and had an awesome afternoon.

End of Term

End of Term and tie to kik bak and rela.....Sorry for not having posted any pictures on the last few entries, but I do have to use Carlos Computer as the keyboard from our computer is giving us a bit of trouble. However I will post the pictures over the weekend. We are now unofficial off school, but will probably continue with a small program.....everything is else is going on as usual, keeping our routine on JUCA going. Going to bed now...good night everyone and sweet dreams to you too.

The next day.....

We took things really easy this morning. First we had an extended breakfast. Everybody was talking and exchanging experiences we had over the last few days. It was great to have the family together again. Once we finished our breakfast Sven dropped us off at the beach, where we got picked up from “yellow” Kim. Kim was going into Road Town again to do her rounds and we had to do a second trip to the Immigration Department. This time I made sure that I had all the right documentation with me. The weather has packed in and it was raining hard on the way to Road Town. Everything went smoothly at the Immigration Office today and after a couple of hours we had all our extension to stay for another few weeks in the BVI’s. Now we were in for some fun time. We were going to meet”rowing” Kim and some other Mums at the cinema complex to watch a movie and to hang out together. It was the last day of the school term and that meant holiday fun for the BVI children, I haven’t really told Carlos and Julia about the upcoming school holidays, as I was thinking to keep school for us going for a bit longer, both of them would be more then upset if they knew that the other kids are on holiday and they are not. However according to my children I am a mean teacher already, so I better live up to that reputation. Once we arrived at the cinema complex, Julia and Carlos thought we arrived at Lollipop land ….huge bouncy castle, playground, merry go round and a food court with an ice cream shop…..uihhh….for the next hour, while waiting for the others Carlos and Julia went mad on the bouncy castle and all the buildup energy from the last two visit at the immigration department got released. Carlos was red as a tomato and felt like he had a swim in the water…..all I could see the heads of my kids bobbing up and down in the bouncy castle, luckily there were the only blond ones in amongst all the dark heads so easy to locate. Then the other children arrived and what a big hallo. We gave the children something to eat, while we decided what movie to watch. They choice fell on “RIO”…..12 children (age ranging from 2 to 12) 6 adults, movie tickets, mountain of Popcorn and buckets of lemonade later we are all sitting in a comfortable seat enjoying the movie. It is a funny movie, once again with a meaning for the adults and great exciting and funny effects for the children. Rowing Kim took us home and as soon as we are done with dinner, Carlos is dropping to the side fast asleep. I believe he had a great day and exhausted his resources….finally ........this does not happen too often!

Big Day Out

Today we had to do our trip to the Immigration Department. Caroline took us into Road Town after the yoga class. After she dropped us off we walked towards the Immigration building and took a Number. I could not believe our luck when our number was called within the next five minutes. We handed in our passports and had to sit down again while the visa extension got processed. After roughly half an hour she called us and I thought to myself, great that went all smoothly, until I came to the counter and she asked me to show her our tickets out of the country…..oh….no we are leaving on a yacht in Trellis Bay…..ok then, show me your boats paper……oh no…I must have been blond in my previous life…..I did not bring the papers and therefore had to come back with proof that we were living on our yacht. Great so, I just wasted our time, our day to come to the immigration department for nothing, because I forgot the boats paper….well I suppose you always learn something out of these kind experiences. However we turned the day into a day filled with fun. We went to the Village Cay Marina and Julia and Carlos did have a swim in the pool while I had a drink with Kim, Patty and Penny. By the time we got back to the boat, we had time to do some cleaning up, eating something and then walking over to the airport to pick up Sven. It was great to see him again and he was surprised and happy to see his family. We had lots of things to talk about and to catch up on; we all had a great night as our family was reunited again.