Just Can't Get Enough!

We had a great dive experience on the wreck of the RMS Rhone, she sank in 1867 and was the first ship deemed "unsinkable." Our first dive was on the bow section of the wreck, the kids were all old enough this time to go all the way down, 90 feet deep. Between dives we heard the story of the ship and saw a big sea turtle off the back of the dive boat. We learned that "sleep tight" or the British version,"tucked up tight" came from the passengers on board ships being tied into their beds at night so they wouldn't fall out. Another fun fact is the origin of the word "posh." A POSH fare on a ship was the most expensive and stood for Port Out Starboard Home, they would be on the side of the ship with the best airflow and views both ways.

After scuba diving and lunch, we sped downwind at speeds of up to 9.7 knots to Norman Island for our last night. Because of the strong winds, instead of jibing we did a 360 to move the sail over to the other side of the boat. We picked up a mooring along the shore and set out to snorkel. We saw lots of fish, the highlights were a couple of eels, a sea turtle, a school of 6 barracuda and a big angelfish, but John couldn't find the octopus this year.
We returned to the boat to discover that we had run our last water tank dry. We wiped the sea salt off of our bodies and sat down to enjoy cheese and crackers and the ice cream treats that we purchased from Deliverance, the grocery boat that came by. It was a great day of underwater adventure, but we were all exhausted!

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Scuba with Britton

At 9:00 this morning we got picked up by Dive BVI's boat, Sea Monkey. We did a quick review and got right into the water. Once we were down, it was really easy and pretty. My favorite fishy things were the honeycomb trunkfish, peacock flounder, goldentail moray, queen angelfish, HUGE hermit crab and the lobsters. My favorite parts of the wreck were the lucky porthole, Captain Willy's spoon and the crow's nest. My favorite parts of the dive were the swim throughs, they were a great new experience!

 

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Scuba with Griffin

The dives were great, it was great to scuba dive again! My first dive I saw lots of cool fish, my favorites were seeing the lobsters, a huge grouper, an angelfish and a really cool peacock flounder. My favorite part was the swim through of the bow. Going through, it was amazing to see all of the cool schools of fish and the inside of the wreck, it was like a maze. The second dive was cool too. We dove the stern of the Rhone. My favorite fish were the moray eel, the lobster and the puffer fish. We also did a swim through by the rudder, it wasn't as long but it was still amazing! It was an amazing experience!

 

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Scuba with Carter

I couldn't clear my ears on the first so I wasn't able to go on that dive. I wish I would have because it sounded like fun, but I got to hang out with Rudy and listen to his shark stories.

The second dive took me some time to get to the bottom but once I was there I was fine. One of my favorite fishes was a peacock flounder. I also saw a huge trunkfish swimming above me. When we went on the swim through the propeller, there was a big school of squirrelfish. Our dive master was messing with a moray eel, she was trying to poke it, I think. She also poked a big lobster with her pen. It was fun!

 

 

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Scuba with Nick

After I jumped off the glorious dive boat, Sea Monkey and descended 90 feet to the bow section of the RMS Rhone, I saw a gigantic queen angelfish. I swam through the hull of the boat where I saw several schools of fish swimming around me. On the way out I swam up through the escape hatch used in the movie, The Deep.
In between dives we were informed on the story of the RMS Rhone and we saw a huge sea turtle before going back down on a second dive at the stern section of the wreck. We saw a lot of neat fish, some huge lobsters and the lucky porthole where the only surviving passenger escaped. My favorite part of the second dive was seeing a huge spotted moray eel. I headed up only to run out of shower water while washing my hair.

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Double Rainbow

It was a crazy windy night in Manchioneel Bay, the boat was spinning on the mooring all night. We had some rain showers in the morning but they were followed by a magnificent double rainbow.

 

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Chocolate Extravaganza Fail

We ordered the Chocolate Extravaganza for dessert at the Cooper Island Beach Club. Parts were really good and parts were really bad, the chocolate quantity was a bit lacking, and we came up with a few alternate names for it:

Banana Nightmare, Going into the Danger Zone, Hot Mess and False Advertising.

 

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Thanksgiving in the Islands

This is the way to go...no cooking, no stress, good friends and good food! Cooper Island Beach Club.

 

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Rough Life!

Relaxing before Thanksgiving dinner after a hard day of sailing and snorkeling.

 

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Snorkeling in Manchioneel Bay

After lunch we loaded our gear into the dinghy and headed over to the rocks to snorkel. John got in first and saw 4 barracuda while the rest of us were getting ready. We all saw lots of fish and coral and John got more great underwater footage with the GoPro. Some of our favorite sightings were the barracuda (we all saw them later), trumpetfish, blue tang, sea urchins, rainbow parrotfish, squirrelfish and some juvenile yellowtail damselfish.

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Ashore

 

 

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Thanksgiving Day Sail

We sailed downwind today from North Sound, Virgin Gorda to Manchioneel Bay, Cooper Island. We all took turns at the helm and sped along, reaching speeds of up to 8.5 knots. We saw a three masted ship, a small cruise ship and a couple of cargo ships, we sailed through some rain, and we reached our destination right on schedule for lunch on the boat.

 

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Another Great Night

We dinghied ashore for dinner tonight at the Bitter End Resort. Dinner was great and the Key Lime Pie was voted the best so far; just the right blend of tart and sweet and topped with meringue. We took photos on the beach and then enjoyed the end of the movie at the outdoor theater. We made it back to the boat just ahead of a rain storm, it was a downpour!

 

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Paddle Boarding in the Rain

It was a beautiful sunny day at the Bitter End Yacht Club until suddenly it started to rain. And then it rained harder. And unbelievably, HARDER! The wind was blowing ferociously and we had left all the boat hatches up. Everything on the boat was thought to have been shredded to pieces and blown and sucked off the boat into the hurricane-like weather.

Just kidding. But my mom and I did fall off a couple times and had to fight against the wind and waves. A seat cushion did fall off the boat, (Dad caught it) and we did leave most of the hatches open.

By: Britton Nelson (with restrictions from Shannon and Courtney)

 

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Sun in the Afternoon

We dinghied across the sound to Prickly Pear Island for a relaxing afternoon. We went for a short snorkel off the beach and saw a sand diver, starfish, a sea cucumber, a big hermit crab and a conch before settling down on beach chairs in the sun.

 

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A Day at the Beach

After a yummy breakfast of biscuits and gravy and the retrieval of the main halyard behind us, we are spending the day relaxing on the beach. We have rented a two-man kayak and a paddle board, and have some chairs in the shade within wifi range...Life is Good!

 

 

 

 

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Monkey Up the Mast

This morning while the wind was calm, we pulled Nick up to the very top of the mast to retrieve the main halyard shackle. He was a little nervous, but climbed up a few steps and gave Chop a thumbs up. It was windy but he had a great view of the island and all of the boats. Griffin kept the main halyard running free so Nick could pass it down to reattach, Shannon took pictures, John filmed with the GoPro, Courtney caught the shackle when it came down, and Britton and Carter observed. It was a successful mission!

We are headed ashore for some fun at the beach and to purchase a new shackle pin.

 

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Captain Shannon

Shannon took her turn at the helm today as we motored over to North Sound.

 

 

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